{2019 in Review} Top Ten New-to-Me Movies
Let the wrap-ups begin!
#10. The Lion King (2019)
While there were definitely some lackluster elements to this remake, the visuals were gorgeous and it's worth the watch for Timon & Pumbaa alone.
#9. Unicorn Store (2017)
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| Doesn't this just give you safe, happy, snuggly feelings?? |
*SPOILERS!* Personally, I think the movie could have been more compelling as a unique coming-of-age story if Samuel L. Jackson's character had turned out to be a con-man. I think that would have made it more cohesive and less jarring than the magical realism direction it ended up taking. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The colors are very happy, and I really liked the humor.
#8. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
It feels like I don't find that many genuinely new-to-me period dramas, so I was happy to discover this one. I thought it a good adaptation of the book. It portrayed the domestic abuse situation well. And the cast is fun.
#7. Woman Walks Ahead (2017)
This movie stayed in my mind for several days after I saw it. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about the ending, and at certain moments Jessica Chastain's acting seemed a little off, but it was beautifully filmed and I loved Michael Greyeyes. Sam Rockwell was good, too.
#6. Little Women (2019)
This latest iteration left me feeling a little heavier than other versions have; I didn't feel that there was as much joy infused throughout. I also didn't like the dual timelines. But I really enjoyed most of the cast performances and I loved Laurie and Amy. This was also the most convincing Jo & Friedrich pairing I've seen so far, although he's too young by the book's standards. (But, again, that makes it more convincing. 😄)
#5. The Impossible (2012)
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| so this part makes me cry |
Wonderful movie. You know, if you don't think about the fact that they cast mostly blonde British actors to portray a Spanish family. *clears throat*
#4. Madea's Witness Protection (2012)
Hysterically funny comedy, although no one else in the film comes close to holding a candle to Tyler Perry's performance as Madea + Joe.
#3. Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
For years, I thought I "wasn't a Mary Poppins person". I was wrong. I was (and am) not a Julie Andrews Mary Poppins person. Two different things. 😛
Absolutely loved this. Very little I would change. ♥
#2. Frozen II (2019)
Y'all.
Y'all.
I'm going to buy this as soon as it comes to DVD.
Put another way, I am going to pay upwards of $20-$30 to buy this as soon as it comes to DVD.
Do you understand how rare that is for me?? Do you??! (For those of you who don't, it's rare. I don't like spending more than $10 on individual things, especially if they're books/movies.)
ANYWAY. All that's to say that I really loved this. Basically my only complaint is that, while the song itself is good, the "Lost in the Woods" sequence was overly cheesy and lowered the tone of the whole movie. In my opinion. But that's not a terribly big deal. 😉
#1. The New World (2005)
This is another one that I paid an uncharacteristically large amount of money to possess. I'm still hoping to review it sometime in the not-too-distant future, so I won't say much. I just loved it, that's all.
What new favorite movies did you discover this year?
So to me . . . with The Unicorn Store, I was HOPING AGAINST HOPE the entire time that it WOULD be a magical realism story, because I'm sooooooooooooooooo tired of stories where the magic turns out to be A Ruse and "the real treasure was the life lessons we learned along the way." I was like, in my head, "if they have the guts to make the unicorn real, I shall Take Off My Hat to them."
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to explain why that was so important to me, but--it was? *scratches head*
And then she gives up the unicorn so he can go and help someone else and I cryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
FROZEN II, Y'ALL. Frozen II. *happy dances*
And see, though I don't personally like the decision all that much, I kind of understood why it was important to the story that it ended up being magical realism? Like . . . I get it, I just don't personally jive with it, if that makes sense. To be fair, I don't tend to like magical realism in general.
DeleteEXACTLY. It was so amazing. The first Frozen movie is one of my tip-top favorite Disney movies, and I liked this one MORE. *contented sigh*
Right! Whereas magical realism is MY FAVORITE kind of fantasy and one of my favorite genres, period, so it makes sense why I loved it and you didn't so much ;-)
DeleteI loved it tooooooooooooooooooo <333 I can't tell which one I liked better, but I LOVE THEM BOTH MUCHLY.
Precisely ;)
DeleteI feel like The New World would be my kind of movie; I definitely intend to watch it someday! (And I really hope you'll do a review!)
ReplyDeleteYes, I was so pleasantly surprised by Mary Poppins Returns!!!
Ahhh! You've seen Little Women?!?! (I'm going to see it on Tuesday and then we shall have to discuss Things!)
Ooh, I hope so! I will say, it does make certain artistic choices that will cause it to appeal to a pretty limited target audience. But I love it, and I hope you'd enjoy it, too. ;) (Aww, thanks!)
DeleteSAME.
YES AND WE MUST DISCUSS ALLLLL THE THINGS. Email me post-haste as soon as you see it, there's a dear. ;D
YES MA'AM. I most certainly will!!! 😉
Delete(Oh, and the best new-to-me movie that I saw this year is definitely Testament of Youth! I finally got up the courage to watch it and I *loved* it. Also, apparently I didn't watch very many new movies this year because I could hardly think of any to choose from, but anyhow...)
Yaysies! Thanks. ;D
Delete(Ooh, nice! I *still* don't have the courage to watch it and I doubt I will at this point. But I'm glad it exists for other people. ;))
And that is perfectly alright! :)
DeleteWondering how you watched The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Woman Walks Ahead ( as in, did you rent them, or stream them for free somewhere, and where, etc) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSure thing! They were both included free on Prime Video with an Amazon Prime account. I don't know if Woman Walks Ahead will still be on there, but I would guess that Tenant would be because Prime has almost all the slightly more obscure BBC miniseries for free. (I.e. 2009 Little Dorrit, 2008 Sense & Sensibility, 2006 Jane Eyre, 2016 Doctor Thorne, etc.) Good luck!
DeleteI just ran across Woman Walks Ahead on Prime Video yesterday! So yes, it's still there. 😊
DeleteOh, good, then! Thanks. :)
DeleteAlso, I meant to mention this in my first comment: both Tenant and Woman Walks Ahead have some significant content. Obviously I don't know what your personal boundaries are but I wanted to warn you just in case. I can be more specific if you'd like.
Yay, I love reading these lists! I really liked Mary Poppins Returns, too! I'm surprised to see The Lion King so high because I had a lot of doubts about it. My sister saw Frozen II and loved it, so I'll probably see it eventually. Glad to hear that Little Women is so good! I'm hoping to see if in January. I'll have to check out all of these that I haven't seen.
ReplyDeleteSame! Yeah, see . . . honestly, #9 & #10 probably wouldn't be on this list except that, unfortunately, I didn't find a ton of great new-to-me shows that I completely loved this year. But I DID greatly enjoy both of those, so I guess it's okay. ;) Have you seen the new Lion King yet?
DeleteI love the first Frozen movie; it's one of my favorites; but I loved this one more. So. You know. :-P
What were some of your favorite movies of 2019?
Many of these are things I want to see. Good list!
ReplyDeleteI'll be eager to see what you think of them when you do get around to them!
DeleteI still haven't seen the new Lion King yet! My library doesn't have A New World and I'm so annoyed by that. >.< I really, really want to see it!
ReplyDeleteI have seen Mary Poppins Returns (which I DID like, but was a little bored by) and Frozen II (ditto), but I did heartily enjoy the new Little Women movie!! I agree - I appreciated the IDEA of the flashbacks, but it was too overdone and a little confusing. Some of it felt a tad modern, but I loved extra details that were added from the book, and some of the cast I really appreciated. (I really liked this Amy, too! She seemed much more relatable.) (I actually saw myself in her, haha. :P)
My favourite new-to-me movies for 2019 were Aladdin, The Rise of Skywalker and the Little Women (2018) miniseries.
Ach, that's the worst, when you really really really want to watch/read something and the Resources That Be do not cooperate. :-/
DeleteYeah, I just don't think it's a story that lends itself well to flashback form. I understand what they were trying to do with it, but I don't think it worked. :-P (Loved this Amy!)
Oh, and I really like that 2018 miniseries adaptation, too. Have yet to see The Rise of Skywalker, but I'm excited. ;)
Aaaaand I'm back once again to say OLIVIA. I love how you are always finding the most GORGEOUS LOOKING period pieces that make me want to RUSH OUT AND WATCH THEM IMMEDIATELY because wow.
ReplyDeleteAlso I enjoyed the New World quite a bit as well!
*blushes* YAY. I'm glad; I love the aesthetic of period dramas. <3
DeleteSo nice to know someone else who likes it! (Also I've missed you--not in a guilt-tripping way but it's nice to hear from you again. *big hugs*)
Grace and I saw the trailer for the new Little Women movie, and I felt like they were trying to make Jo sound rather feminist , which I don't believe is an accurate depiction of Jo at all. I've never read the whole book, I must confess, just the first few chapters so maybe someone who has can clarify this for me?
ReplyDeleteHey, Katherine! Sorry I took so long to get back to you.
DeleteThere's definitely a stronger focus on gender "politics" in this one than in other versions. Jo and Amy both struggle a lot with the restrictions placed on them because of their gender, and it is addressed several times. Personally, I think it's very authentic, at least for Jo's character: she's always chafing against the unfair limitations of society when it comes to women, and this adaptation just brought that element of her original (book) character out more clearly than others have.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, Olivia! I know what you mean - there were definitely more restrictions back then.
DeleteI've since heard from others that it was really good, so I think that I'm going to have to succumb and watch it! (Ha Ha, just kidding!) I'll have to put that on our bucket list! :)