Top 7 - My Most Anticipated Films of 2019

2018 has been and gone which means we're now in a time for new starts. Or more realistically, it being the second week of the year, you considering that maybe your new start can wait until next year, yeah, definitely do it next year. Regardless, and as with all things in my life, this has me thinking about films, specifically the ones that are coming out over the next 12 months. As ever, this is going by UK release dates and nothing I've already seen will be making the list, meaning The Favourite and Beautiful Boy do not make the list. I'd also like to add that if you're waiting for a best TV of 2018 list, I haven't done one this year, but I did talk about it a bit on my twitter, which you can find at @quitenerdyblog. With that sorted, on to the honourable mentions.

Avengers: Endgame

Maybe the most obvious choice here, Avengers: Endgame only isn't higher because it has such a high chance to disappoint. I don't think it will but there's a lot to be worried about, as well as a lot to theorise about.

High Life

I've never seen a Clare Denis film before but after reading the crazy synopsis (which I recommend you do) and reading the glowing reviews, it's fair to say my attention has been grabbed.

If Beale Street Could Talk

Sometimes all you need to do is reference a film I love to pull me in, which is why the new film "from the director of Moonlight" has me excited straight away.

Velvet Buzzsaw

Dan Gilroy's last film didn't make it to Exeter so I still haven't seen it but his new film is a Nightcralwer reunion and about some kind of cursed painting which is a premise just bonkers enough to have my curiosity.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Weird that Tarantino's film about the Manson murders isn't going to be the most controversial film on my list but it's Tarantino and so even if he makes a mess of it, it'll be fascinating to dissect.

Rebecca (2019)

I haven't seen the original Rebecca yet (Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner) but Ben Wheatley remaking it with Armie Hammer is a fascinating idea and Suspiria (2018) has shown me that remakes of classics can be risky, yet very rewarding.

Uncut Gems (Adam Sandler in it)

The Safdie Brothers won the hearts of many, myself included, after their wonderful crime blunder caper Good Time, and so while I obviously have reservations about being excited for an Adam Sandler film, in the Safdies we trust.


Those films all sound great but now, these are the seven that aren't to be missed. Hopefully none disappoint as much as The Predator or Mute did last year but only time will tell.

7. Jojo Rabbit

Remember when I said Tarantino taking on the Manson murders wouldn't be the most controversial film on the list? Well, here is the reason why, a comedy from New Zealander Taika Waititi about Nazi era Germany, in which he plays Adolf Hitler. Already, that sounds absurd and offensive to a degree that many would find unacceptable but I have complete trust in the deft hands of Waititi. For a start, he's said the film isn't really about Hitler and he's hardly going to paint Adolf as a misunderstood guy so that fear for anyone can go straight out the window. He's proved himself to be a great director with the dark mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows (a vampire comedy) and Thor: Ragnarok (the most joyously ridiculous MCU film yet) but as far as I'm concerned, it's Hunt for the Wilderpeople that is not just his masterpiece but one of the best films of the decade. It is at once hysterical, joyous and deeply heartfelt and because of that film, I will see anything Waititi releases, even if it is a comedy set in war torn Germany. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right?

6. Midsommar

In June last year, debut director Ari Aster released a little horror film called Hereditary. It scarred and scared just about everyone who saw it and while I didn't adore it as much as some critics seem to, I was blown away by the craft on display. If nothing else, I think everyone who saw it felt that what they'd seen was a showcase that promised that whatever Aster did from here on out would be as meticulously constructed as this and hopefully just as scary. While still unconfirmed in terms of a 2019 release, Midsommar is his next project and while his name is very exciting, what also draws me to the project is Florence Pugh. Pugh is (in my opinion) one of the most exciting young actors working right now and if you didn't see The Little Drummer Girl last year, you have no idea what you missed out on. Regardless, anything she does is a project I can be excited about and after the underwhelming Malevolent last year, I'm completely ready for her to be the scream queen on a horror film that deserves her. You treat her right Ari Aster!

5. Little Women

Hey, it's Florence Pugh again! Here, it is again the cast which is a huge draw, with Pugh being far from the biggest name in the cast, which also includes Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet and Saorsie Ronan. Those last two are obviously very exciting for me as Chalamet was in the wonderful Call Me By Your Name and both were in Lady Bird which, if you saw my post last week, you know I adore. Speaking of though, the other reason Little Women is such a wonderful prospect to me is that writer/director of Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig, is making this her sophomore feature. Those two things combined overwhelm the period setting that would usually dissuade me and I can't wait to see what Gerwig will do to create a new twist on a text that has been adapted throughout decades.

4. Us

"The new film from the director of Get Out" was already a pitch to pull in the crowds but on Christmas Day, Jordan Peele blessed us with a trailer for Us and from that alone, it easily makes this list. The premise seems to be about a family who go on holiday and end up finding clones of themselves who want to kill them. There's also lots of rabbits, masks and a surprise appearance from Tim Heidecker. From the trailer, it does feel like that might have been the big twist but I put huge trust in Peele and wouldn't be surprised if that is merely the surface of this twisted tale. We've also been promised that the film won't focus on race as much as Get Out did but that it'll still be a societal critique about how we are our own worst enemies. Be prepared to get creeped out and then laugh a little and then feel like absolute shit again.

3. Vice

I know there's been some polarising reviews for Vice but my excitement is yet to be crushed. Part of that is because of a newfound love for Adam McKay's previous film The Big Short, which developed over the summer. Essentially, there was only about three of us left in our Uni flat and we ended up watching The Big Short because it was one of my flatmates' favourite films. I was re-won over with the razor sharp dialogue, flashy fourth wall breaks and lingering sense of anger and Vice seems to be following the same path. Even aside from that though, it released an incredible trailer set to the song The Man by The Killers. In it, Dick Cheney is basically shown wreaking havoc on the American political system and carving a path that would later be followed by Donald Trump. Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell and Amy Adams are all astounding performers and it's hard not to imagine all three being great here. Hopefully it'll be a film just as hilarious and anger inducing as The Big Short.

2. Burning

It says a lot about how much Burning has me enticed that I haven't seen a single thing the director has done before now and this film still made it to the second spot on my list. Before I say too much, I'll preface that a lot of the reason it's up this high is the mystery around it, because I've refused to look too much into it now I know I'm interested. Getting into what I am excited about though, the first is that Burning is based on a story by Haruki Murakami, one of my favourite authors. I haven't read that particular short story but in a way, that's even more exciting because it's something new to discover from a favourite author. Another thing is the sheer buzz around this film from the festival circuit, where it has been doing amazingly. I even had a few friends who went to see it at the London Film Festival and their reviews were glowing. Finally though, just look at that poster. This is the kind of visual splendour I want in films and I'll take it where I can get it. With 2018, I fell in love with slow burn foreign films like Roma and Shoplifters and in 2019, I'm hoping to carry that on.

1. I'm Thinking of Ending Things

And so we reach number one and a film that I hadn't heard of about a month ago. It lands on the top of the list though for one simple reason: writer and director Charlie Kaufman. For those who are unaware, Kaufman wrote startlingly original films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation early in his career, before moving into writing and directing with Synecdoche, New York (which I confess I am yet to see) and Anomalisa. Most importantly though, he is the writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of my favourite films ever. A filmography like that will give anyone a free pass but it goes further than that. Brie Larson is involved and as everyone has finally realised, she's an incredible actress. Also, the synopsis sounds like pure Kaufman, in a story (based on an existing novel) which seems to basically just be about a couple who are slowly falling apart due to but separate from each other. I'm deliberately steering clear of any other plot stuff (just like with Burning) because I already know I'll see it. Finally, and this could be good or bad, but it's going to be a Netflix film. On the one hand, there's accomplishments like Roma and Outlaw King that make me think giving auteurs free reign will be fine but then equally there's something like Mute, in which Duncan Jones finally got to make his passion project and fluffed it. I trust Kaufman more than Jones because he's already proved how well he can work without restrictions but we'll see. Of everything on my list though, this will probably be the most fascinating if it's bad. Which I don't think it will be. I think it will be amazing.