2019 is here, which means it is time for my annual year-end movie ranking! Each year I make a list of every movie I watched during the calendar year, and then at the end of the year I rank these movies from my least favorite to my most favorite viewing experience. Worth noting: these aren’t necessarily movies that came out during the year, just movies I happened to watch that year.
I have been doing this ranking for years and years now. If you want a link to past movie rankings, visit my blog index, located >>HERE<< and read on to your heart’s content.
To be quite honest with you, I get sick of writing the same thing over and over again each year, so I have decided to do things a little differently this time around. Rather than do a straight up numbered ranking, I am going to break each movie down into five different categories: the ones I can’t remember (I probably was dozing off or multi-tasking while watching and didn’t pay any attention to them), the ones that were bad (not necessarily BAD movies per se, but movies I didn’t enjoy watching for some reason or another), the ones that were meh (not terrible, but not great), the ones that were good (I did enjoy), and then the cream of the crop, the Top 20. The only ones I will talk about in great detail are the Top 20, otherwise I am just going to throw an extremely brief description of my viewing experience next to each film.
Got it? Good. Let’s go.
Can’t Remember:
Wind River – Jeremy Renner is a gruff outdoorsman trying to solve a murder. That’s all I remember.
High Tension – I’ve seen this movie once before, a long time ago. This time watching it I multitasked and didn’t pay any attention to it while it was on.
Hostiles – Cowboy movie with Christian Bale. That’s all I remember.
The Invitation – I got nothing.
The Cloverfield Paradox – Same.
Orbiter 9 – Dude, totally the same!
Spirited Away – Multitasked and didn’t pay attention. I need to watch this again because I always hear how it is so good.
The Iron Giant – Seemed reminiscent of Pete’s Dragon, from what I remember (which isn’t much).
Silent Hill – Decent movie that I’ve seen a few times before. Wasn’t really paying attention to it this time though.
The Shining – Great movie, I just wasn’t paying attention when I watched it this time around.
U-Turn – Ditto.
The Land Before Time – I started playing on my phone as I watched this. The “big emotional moment” early in the movie didn’t have an impact on me because of this, and I stopped paying attention shortly thereafter.
Extinction – This movie features copious amounts of running and hiding from things with guns. I think.
Bad:
Dunkirk – More like Dull-kirk, har har har.
Spotlight – Dull-light? Eh, not as funny. I’m done with the dull puns.
Hereditary – Pretentious, boring, not scary one bit. I hate ambiguous endings too. It’s a no for me, dawg.
The Witch – Same! I actually did see this a few years ago and hated it. Decided to give it another shot in 2018. Nope, still hated it.
Lincoln – Overly long and mind-numbingly boring.
Rings – I expected this to be bad, and I was not let down.
Veronica – No. Just no.
Kubo and the Two Strings – I watched this after just having watched Coco. Big mistake. This was dreadful and made little to no sense to me.
The Dark Tower – They turned one of my favorite book series of all time into THIS? THIS???
Terminator Salvation – I’ve seen this movie several times now and each time I expect it to get better. It does not.
Meh:
mother! – Entertaining in a way, but it made no sense.
Arachnophobia – Liked this when I was a kid. Now it’s just... okay.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – I almost could put this in my “can’t remember” tier. I multitasked as I watched this and missed half the movie. I’ve seen it before though, and I know I like it.
The Terminator – Same.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army – Same x3!
Red Dragon – Better than Hannibal, but that’s not saying much.
The Fly 2 – The Fly 1 it is not.
The Grave of the Fireflies – The little girl was too whiny and annoying for me to feel a whole lot of empathy for, and isn’t that really the whole point of the movie?
Masters of the Universe – Good movie if I am watching it drunk or really stoned. Unfortunately in 2018 when I watched this I was neither.
American Psycho – Meh book, meh movie.
Dr Strange – One of the worst Marvel films. It is pretty to look at though!
The Godfather 3 – I didn’t hate it like most people seem to, but yeah it doesn’t stack up to the first two.
Inception – A movie that I really wish I liked more, because the concept is so cool and it is so visually striking. I just… don’t.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – I liked this a lot when I saw it in the theater several years ago. Now, watching it on the small screen and knowing what happens in advance, it is not nearly as cool.
Mary and the Witch's Flower – Saw this in the theater. Great animation and an intriguing story line, but it sort of fell apart in the second half of the movie in my opinion.
Robocop 2 – Decent film, I guess. I made the mistake of watching it shortly after the original, however, and it only paled in comparison.
Brother’s Keeper – Interesting documentary if a bit boring in parts.
Prometheus – Not good or bad, this movie is just “meh”, and that is why it is here.
Annihilation – This movie got a lot of critical acclaim, but I wasn’t too fond of the ending. I like the concept of it as well as its visual style, so maybe my opinion of it will improve if I ever watch it again. UPDATE: I have watched it again in 2019. You'll have to see if my opinion changed or not in my 2019 movie ranking.
Cargo – OK, I guess, but a concept I’ve seen in movies and video games a million times in the last few years. Had a hard time connecting to it because of that.
The Road – I like the doom and gloom, but no subsequent viewings of this movie have had as big an impact on me as when I saw it the first time several years ago. Without that emotional oomph it is not nearly as good a movie.
Solo: A Star Wars Story – Probably a decent movie if I can get past the disappointment of how untrue this is to the Han Solo origin books I read when I was a kid.
The Incredibles – I want to like this series, but it’s never been anything more than just okay for me.
The Incredibles 2 – My opinion has not changed with the sequel.
X-Men – I remember this being better the first time I saw it.
Doom – I know this isn’t a good movie, but at least it is mildly entertaining.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Saw this in concert with a live orchestra playing the music. Great experience, except for how distracted I was with how uncomfortable the small seats were for my long gangly body.
Scarface – I can see why so many people love this movie. It’s a good film, but a bit too drawn out for my tastes. I also found it hard to connect with the characters.
The Thing (1982) – Classic movie, I just wish I didn’t get bored and antsy about halfway through it every time I watch it.
The Hateful 8 – Long, slow, full of dialogue. Despite this, the movie didn’t actually seem that long. Interesting setup, and the characters in this film kept me interested in it. Was I crazy about it? No. But it was still decent.
Good:
Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon – Not nearly as epic as people make it out to be, but it is still a good film.
Logan – I’m not quite as ecstatic about this movie as most people are, but it is still pretty good.
Ready Player One – An entertaining movie, sure. But at the same time a huge disappointment after how amazing the book was. I need to watch this again in a few years once memories of the book have faded a bit.
Get Out – I understand that people like this because it is a socially important movie, but looking at it JUST as a movie, it is a fun film but nothing too outstanding.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – Probably the best of any of the Lisbeth Salander movies I have seen.
Jigsaw – Surprisingly entertaining. I thought this would be a mindless cash grab, but it was fun.
Texas Chainsaw – Interesting twist on the Texas Chainsaw story. This movie wipes away the events of all the sequels and acts as a direct follow up to the 1974 original. Surprisingly not trash!
Return of the Living Dead – One of the best zombie films I have ever seen. Would rank higher if I didn’t succumb to the distraction of playing with my smart phone about halfway through the movie.
Ant Man and the Wasp – Certainly not the best Marvel film ever made, but it is an entertaining movie that is essential viewing before watching the Avengers: Endgame
Signs – One of M Night’s better films. Would rank higher if I hadn’t seen this 20,000 times already.
47 Meters Down – Entertaining movie about two women trapped in a shark tank in the ocean. It’s a lot of fun while you’re watching it, but there isn’t much to think back on after the fact.
Space Jam – I thought this was pretty dang fun, although I am sure I would have liked it a lot more if I had first experienced it when I was a kid in the 90s.
Man’s Favorite Sport? – Old Rock Hudson movie that my wife made me watch. I thought it would be lame, but I found it to be surprisingly entertaining.
Una – Fascinating movie, even if it isn’t necessarily “fun” to watch.
12 Years a Slave – Same, but this movie is a lot more well-made and grander in scale than Una.
Psycho – Horror classic that withstands the test of time.
Last House on the Left (1972) – An enjoyable 70’s revenge film.
The Shape of Water – Fun movie with an original concept. Its popularity is a bit overblown, but that doesn’t mean it is not still a great film.
The Whole 9 Yards – Not generally a genre I enjoy, but this was surprisingly fun.
The Hobbit: The Legendary Journey – I liked this movie more than I ever have in previous viewings, but it still pales in comparison to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, in my opinion.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Same.
Stripes – I am not a huge comedy person, but I still thought this was great. I can’t believe it took me till 2018 to see this for the first time!
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Saw it in 2017 and found it mediocre. I liked it a lot more the second time around, knowing what to expect coming into it.
Zombeavers – Zombie beavers may be a dumb concept, but this is still a pretty fun movie. It doesn’t try to be anything less ridiculous than it really is.
Water For Elephants – I mistakenly watched this while trying to find The Shape of Water online. To my surprise, I liked it and continued watching all the way to the end even after I realized my mistake.
The 13th – One of the few documentaries I watched in 2018. Not only is it the best, it is also the most informative and eye opening.
The River Wild – This movie brought me back to the 90s like nothing else I watched in 2018. Pure, unadulterated, Kevin Bacony fun.
Baby Driver – Fast paced and highly entertaining. It has a great soundtrack and some really solid visual effects as well. Adrenaline junky popcorn film at its finest.
The Ritual – Really strong horror movie, although I didn’t find it very scary. The story and the twists are what kept me interested.
Tombstone – Classic movie with a great cast. One of the few westerns I enjoy.
Alien Covenant – Better than Prometheus in nearly every way.
Jurassic World 2: Fallen Kingdom – I am sure that this is actually a terrible movie, but I had a lot of fun with it.
The Princess Bride – I didn’t grow up with this film, so I don’t have the same nostalgic memories about it that most people do. In past viewings of the movie I was unimpressed. This time around, however, I finally understood why people like it so much. I had a very fun time watching.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Entertaining film that sets up the world of Harry Potter beautifully.
The Matrix – Haven’t seen this movie in its entirety since it came out in 1999. I was surprised to find that it still holds up and is just as fun nearly 20 years later.
Gone Girl – Saw this once before a few years ago. I had forgotten how good it was. Really got into it this time around.
Hellboy – Fun movie with a terrific title character.
Spider-Man: Homecoming – Loved it when I watched it in 2017. It wasn’t quite as good when watching it a second time in 2018, but it is still a great movie.
Into the Wild – This movie got off to a slow start for me, but once it hit its groove I really started to appreciate it. I became so interested in McCandless after watching this that I went out and read the book and many many internet articles about his life.
Hard Rain – I remember this movie from when it came out in the 90s. I expected it to be a cheesy and somewhat entertaining action movie. While it is true that this is indeed a cheesy 90s movie, it was a lot better than I expected.
Wild – Love this movie, and I think it has been in my top 20 the last few years. The only thing is that when you watch a movie so many times it starts to lose its emotional impact on you, and that is just what happened here.
Robocop – With a name like Robocop, you may come into this expecting something goofy or comical, but that is not the case. I love how dark and satirical this movie is. One of Verhoeven’s best.
The Fly – This is such a fun movie, and one of my all-time personal favorites. The fact that it just narrowly missed out on making the top 20 should tell you how strong the top 20 is.
That’s it for now!
In my next update I will rank my top tier from #20 to #1! The top tier includes the following films. What movie will rank as my #1 viewing experience in 2018? Stay tuned to find out.
Trading Places
Bohemian Rhapsody
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A Quiet Place
The Return of the King: Extended Edition
Face/Off
Boogie Nights
Menace II Society
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
The Silence of the Lambs
Thor: Ragnarok
Lady Bird
Star Trek: First Contact
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Con-Air
Coco
I, Tonya
Deadpool 2
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
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