By Dwight Brown NNPA Newswire Film Critic

Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent—in front of and behind the camera.

These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.

Enjoy.

Best Films

Booksmart (***1/2) – Two coeds (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever), high-school outcasts, find refuge in their close friendship. Animated performances.  Funny and thoughtful dialogue. Astute comic direction by first-time filmmaker and noted actress Olivia Wilde. Who knew nerdy teen angst could be hilarious?

Dolemite Is My Name (****) – King of comedy Eddie Murphy rises like a phoenix in this oh-so-hysterical ode to comedian and pioneering indie filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore. Dream team cast includes: Keegan-Michael Key, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps and scene stealer Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

The Farewell (***1/2) – An Asian family handles the last-chapter of life process with charm to spare. Writer/director Lulu Wang digs into her own experiences in a premise and script filled with colorful kin folk. Star turns by Awkwafina, Shuzhen Zhao and Tzi Ma make the characters lifelike.

Harriet (***) – Depicting the legendary life of the courageous abolitionist Harriet Tubman is a task few are worthy of. Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) is the chosen one. Her epic bio tale catalogs the inhumanity and humanity of the 1800s. Cynthia Erivo (Widows) infuses Tubman’s spirit in every frame. Terence Blanchard’s emotionally charged musical score is haunting.

The Irishman (****) — Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino team up for an impressive crime/drama/thriller about a man who purportedly murdered Jimmy Hoffa. Brilliant performances. Strong direction, writing and editing. Ingenious use of CGI. The crowning achievement of Scorsese’s career.

Williem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in director Robert Eggers THE LIGHTHOUSE. Credit : A24 Pictures

The Lighthouse (****) – Two workers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) and a bunch of seagulls are engaged in a melodramatic relationship at a desolate New England lighthouse, circa 1890s. Brutal allegory. Totally engaging. Director/writer Robert Eggers and co-writer Max Eggers make riveting cinema on a black and white canvas (cinematographer Jarin Blaschke).

Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen and Florence Pugh in Columbia Pictures’ LITTLE WOMEN.

Little Women (****) — Actress turned director Greta Gerwig gives the classic Louisa May Alcott Civil War novel her own feminist spin with relatable three-dimensional characters. Fiery relationships among sisters, parents and friends. Feels like you’re on a long buggy ride with lots of bumps in the road. Superb performances by Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Laura Dern.

Marriage Story Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver

Marriage Story (****) — Writer/director Noah Baumbach captures the angst of thirtysomethings (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson) going through what should have been a friendly D-I-V-O-R-C-E that turns into a war of threats, betrayals and raw emotions. As primal in ways as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Full of life at its worst and people struggling to take their next steps.

(from left) Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) and Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) in “Queen & Slim,” directed by Melina Matsoukas.

Queen & Slim (****) – Easily the most talked about black movie of the year. Director Melina Matsoukas (HBO’s Insecure) and  screenwriter Lena Waithe (TV’s Master of None) weave a very modern crime tale and a poignant love story together. Hints of social relevance are threaded in. Lovers on the run are played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. So thoughtful. So cool. So romantic.

Adam Sandler in UncutGems

Uncut Gems (****) — A gregarious, Jewish NYC jeweler (Adam Sandler) is deep in debt to thugs. His schemes dig him into a deeper hole. Gritty, sewer-level urban drama written and directed by the very talented brothers Benny and Josh Safdie. Sandler deserves an Oscar nom. Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Julia Fox and LaKeith Stanfield round out a powerhouse cast.

Best Directors

• Noah Baumbach = Marriage Story
• Robert Eggers =The Lighthouse
• Greta Gerwig = Little Women
• Melina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim
• Martin Scorsese = The Irishman

Best First Films

• Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre = The Mustang
• Mati Diop = Atlantics
• Melina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim
• Olivia Wilde = Booksmart
• Phillip Youmans = Burning Cane

Best Foreign Language Films

• Ash Is Purest White
• Atlantics
• Corpus Christi
• Les Misérables
• Transit

Best Documentaries

• After Parkland
• Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool
• David Crosby: Remember My Name
• Pavarotti
• Tony Morrison: The Pieces I Am

Best Actors

• Robert DeNiro = The Irishman
• Daniel Kaluuya = Queen & Slim
• Eddie Murphy = Dolemite Is My Name
• Robert Pattinson = The Lighthouse
• Adam Sandler = Uncut Gems

Best Actresses

• Awkwafina = The Farewell
• Cynthia Erivo = Harriet
• Lupita Nyong’o = Us
• Alfre Woodard = Clemency
• Renee Zellweger = Judy

Best Supporting Actors

• Jamie Foxx = Just Mercy
• Aldis Hodge = Clemency
• Joe Pesci = The Irishman
• Brad Pitt = Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Bokeem Woodbine = Queen & Slim

Best Supporting Actresses

• Indya Moore = Queen & Slim
• Florence Pugh = Little Women
• Da’Vine Joy Randolph = Dolemite Is My Name
• Jennifer Lopez = Hustlers
• Shuzhen Zhao = The Farewell

Best Screenplays

• Ad Astra = James Gray, Ethan Gross
• The Farewell = Lulu Wang
• The Lighthouse = Max Eggers, Robert Eggers
• Little Women = Greta Gerwig
• Queen & Slim = Lena Waithe

Best Cinematography

• 1917 = Roger Deakins
• Atlantics = Claire Mathon
• The Irishman = Rodrigo Prieto
• The Lighthouse = Jarin Blaschke
• Queen + Slim = Pete Beaudreau

Best Animation/CGI

• Frozen II
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• I Lost My Body
• Toy Story 4

Other Great Films

1917, Ad Astra, Avengers: Endgame, The Beach Bum, Giant Little Ones, Good Boys, A Hidden Life, Hotel Mumbai, Hustlers, The Mustang, Never Grow Old, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Report, Rocketman, Sauvage, Skin, Us, The Two Popes, Woman at War.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

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