Marc Savlov’s Top 10 Films of 2019

1) Monos

¡Silencio! Niños peligrosos jugando!

2) Parasite

Class warfare, South Korean style. Bong (Joon-ho) hits all around!

3) Tigers Are Not Afraid

"We are princes. We are warriors. We are tigers." (They are children.)

4) Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood

He's Rick fucking Dalton, she's Sharon Tate. They're in movies.

5) Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

"We should all laugh more at our elected officials – it's good for us and good for them."

6) One Cut of the Dead

2018 Fantastic Fest Audience Award winner serves up blood, guts, and heart to spare.

7) Starfish

What to do when your world ends and then the World ends? Lovecraft!

8) Booksmart

Laugh, cry, microdose on LSD to ease off brazen, honest high school angst. Instant classic.

9) Jojo Rabbit

"Love is the strongest thing in the world." – Not Hitler.

10) Ready or Not

"It's true what they say: The rich really are different." (Hail Satan?)

Near Misses

Greener Grass, The Lighthouse, Hail Satan?

Most Overrated

The Irishman, Knives Out, Joker

Most Underrated

In Fabric, Funan

Wild Card

Cold Pursuit Neeson beats plowshare into sword!

Acting Kudos (Male)

Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Edward Norton (Motherless Brooklyn)

Acting Kudos (Female)

Paloma Kwiatkowski (Riot Girls), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is my Name), Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)

Best Director

Trey Edward Shults (Waves), Peter Strickland (In Fabric)

Best Original Screenplay

Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos Santos (Monos), Max Eggers and Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse), Sion Sono (The Forest of Love)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Taika Waititi and Christine Leunens (Jojo Rabbit), Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Greta Gerwig (Little Women)

TV Series/Event

What We Do in the Shadows

Worst Film

Rambo: Last Blood Promise?!

The Little Film That Could

Riot Girls: Canada's postapocalyptic Booksmart adds puppy, mohawk, retro-badassery.