Broadcast, cable and the box office have kept busy this year with a staggering stream of new releases, so there's no shortage of great content to take in over the holiday. You can check out the best TV that's on right now here or the best movies in theaters here, but if you're looking for something new to stream right now, we've got you covered with the best Netflix movies and TV series of 2019 so far.
Netflix didn't become the giant of streaming by taking it easy on content and Netflix's 2019 haul is yet another overwhelming abundance of titles and familiar faces. So help with the endless scrolling that comes with all those options, the Collider staff voted on our picks for the best of the year, and in a testament to Netflix's diversity of content, there's something in just about every genre you could think of.
TV saw returning hits like Black Mirror, the end of the Netflix Marvel-verse, breakout newcomers like Russian Doll and When They See Us, the farewell of one of TV's best horror comedies in Santa Clarita Diet Season 3, the bewildering return of The OA, animated wins (Love, Death and Robots and She-Ra, among them,) laugh-a-minute sketch comedy (I Think You Should Leave,) and pretty much everything in between.
If you're in more of a movie mood, Netflix's newest original films include everything from the A-list thrills of Triple Frontier to festival breakouts like The Perfection, a new Soderbergh film, and more of the streaming service's in-house romantic comedies (including that viral Keanu Reeves moment from Always Be My Maybe) for some lighter fare.
Check out our picks for the best Netflix Originals of 2019 below, and if you don't find what you're looking for, be sure to head over to the Best Movies on Netflix and the Best TV Shows on Netflix.
The Best Netflix TV Shows of the Year
I Think You Should Leave
Point Total: 12
I honestly can't remember the last time a show scored as many genuine laughs-out-loud than I Think You Should Leave, a sketch comedy masterpiece that combines absurdity, surrealism, and a healthy dose of mudpies into art. Springing from the minds of Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, I Think You Should Leave is the type of series I don't even want to elaborate too deeply on, because each episode—all coming in at a tidy 15-ish minutes—is filled with sketches that set themselves up only to take a sharp left turn right off the rails several times. The important things to know going in are 1) TC Tuggers by TC Topps is not clothing you joke about, 2) Bart Harley Jarvis is the most badass motherf*cker in the Best Baby Competition, and 3) If you flinch, you have to marry your mother-in-law. *dabs* -- Vinnie Mancuso
Russian Doll
Point Total: 9
Russian Doll stands as one of the most satisfying and compelling pieces of television we’ve seen all year. The series takes an intriguing premise—a somewhat aimless woman keeps dying, only to wake up on the same night at the same party over and over again—and executes it to perfection. The key to Russian Doll is the way the story is told. The meticulous, cinematic direction; the dynamic performances; the writing that folds back in on itself, revealing new layers of its characters and its story at the perfect moment. Indeed, the title of the series is apt in more ways than one, as Russian Doll contains multitudes. It’s a tremendously intriguing sci-fi show, a hilarious dark comedy, and an emotionally devastating character drama all rolled into one. The whole thing is anchored by Natasha Lyonne, who serves as co-creator, co-writer, and director and still delivers one of the best performances of the year as the lead character. – Adam Chitwood
When They See Us
Point Total: 9
Created, co-written and expertly directed by Ava DuVernay, the four-part Netflix limited series When They See Us chronicles the notorious case of the five teenagers of color from Harlem – Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise – who became labeled the Central Park Five, after being accused of a violent rape in New York in the spring of 1989. After being questioned as teenagers and pressured to confess, they were convicted and sentenced and served between 6 and 13 years in prison before their exoneration in 2002.
Watching their journey will break your heart, turn you into a sobbing mess who’s angry at the injustice of it all, and inspire hope. What these men went through when they were still just boys is unconscionable, and the fact that they are a beacon of light today, now known as The Exonerated 5, is truly a miracle, but they went through it and even though it is, at times, painful to watch, it's also important to witness and understand. They are not the first, last or only individuals wrongly accused and convicted, and their story is still so relevant today.
The project all started when one of the real-life men, Raymond Santana, reached out to filmmaker Ava DuVernay via Twitter and suggested that she be the one to tell their story. And what she put together is a beautiful piece that does the men and their story justice, in a way that can continue to educate people about where they came from, so that they can look to the future. -- Christina Radish
The Chef Show
Point Total: 9
The most delightful surprise of the year so far, The Chef Show is a heaping serving of pure joy, culinary creativity, and an endless stream of enthusiastic curiosity from Jon Favreau. The actor and Iron Man director co-hosts alongside celebrated chef Roy Choi (of Kogi fame), who worked with the filmmaker on his 2014 gem Chef. The Chef Show keeps that lovely, passionate spirit (and hearty love of good food) alive as Favreau and Choi tour some killer kitchens, including BBQ legend Franklin's in Austin, Texas, and then attempt to make the recipes together on their own. There are some super star-studded appearances including multiple Avengers (this would be the series where Gwenyth Paltrow made her viral realization that she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming) and director Robert Rodriguez, but the series highlights are the exchanges between Favreau and Choi in the kitchen. The Chef Show is just pure good energy, two folks who love food sharing their love of food, Favreau bringing his easy charisma to the table and Choi bringing his wealth of expertise, which he passes down with a perfect balance of efficiency and geniality. In short, it's one of the best, easy-going finds of the year. -- Haleigh Foutch
Stranger Things
Point Total: 7
Netflix's spooky sensation Stranger Things returned for its third season, leaving behind the All Hallow's energy of Season 2 in favor of a fun-in-the-sun summer edition. With the door to the Upside Down closed, the residents of Hawkins are having a peak-80s Americana summer. equipped with a new mega-mall, until the Russians set up shop in town determined to re-open the portal into another dimension. Spookiness, nostalgia, and aw-shucks, heartwarming tales of family and friendship ensue. The core Stranger ensemble is as delightful as ever, and The Duffer Brothers have fun splitting their crew into new combinations once again -- though favorite duos like Joyce and Hopper, Mike and Eleven, and Dustin and Steve -- still get plenty of moments. And the newcomers are (mostly) a home run too, especially the delightful Dr. Alexei (Alec Utgoff) and Scoops Troop queen, Robin (Maya Hawke). There's no denying the series is growing up along with its cast, and while it doesn't always capture the heights of Amblinesque awe like it used to, Stranger Things is still a delightful mix-tape of nostalgia, genre storytelling, and cinephile love letters, anchored by a loveable cast of character you're always happy to see again. -- Haleigh Foutch
Black Mirror
Point Total: 7
Though it’s not untrue to categorize Black Mirror as something of a mixed bag, that’s part of what makes it so fun. Episodes of the anthology series always range wildly in tone, concept, and even visual aesthetic, so your mileage may vary. The three new episodes of Season 5, however, are quite solid if not on the level of something like “San Junipero.” The unique love story “Striking Vipers” is particularly interesting and takes the idea of interactive gaming to a whole other level, and while “Smithereens” is worth watching for the simple fact that it’s a great acting showcase for Andrew Scott (aka “The Hot Priest” from Fleabag).– Adam Chitwood
Love, Death and Robots
Point Total: 6
If you’re looking for an R-rated animated anthology series with a hard sci-fi slant, you won’t find much better than Love, Death and Robots. Hailing from Tim Miller (Deadpool) and executive producer David Fincher, this collection of 18 animated shorts represents some of the best animation, voice acting, and storytelling around. The variety of tales, adapted from authors like John Scalzi, Joe Lansdale, Ken Liu, Claudine Griggs, and Alastair Reynolds, range from an all-out alien assault on a far-out farm to a deeply introspective story about what it means to be a creative soul. There’s something for everyone here, even if everything isn’t necessarily for you. But the first season was such a hit that Netflix ordered a second helping. This time, Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2) will oversee all episodes, which should shake up the boys’ club aesthetic a bit. If you haven’t seen this stellar series yet, now’s the time to remedy that. – Dave Trumbore
The OA
Point Total: 6
A pretty regular response to me recommending The OA to every person I know is, "I don't believe that show really exists," and reader, I've seen every episode and I'm still not sure myself. The dreamy, dimension-hopping drama from Britt Marling—who also stars—and Zal Batmanglij established itself as one of the weirdest Netflix originals in its first season, but its return for season 2 is several further layers of WTF-ery in the most beautiful way possible. The show zips between timelines as Marling's Prairie Johnson butts heads across multiple worlds with Jason Isaacs' deliciously villainous Dr. Hunter Aloysius 'Hap' Percy. Go in knowing as little as possible, be open-minded to strangeness, and look out for the horny psychic octopus along the way. Trust me when I say this thing builds to a finale so audacious, ambitious, and ridiculous it needs to be experienced to be believed. -- Vinnie Mancuso
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Point Total: 6
There really isn’t a bad time of year to watch CAOS, though I’d understand if you wanted to wait until the Halloween holiday to get caught up. But if you find yourself looking to spookify your summer season a bit, then Sabrina & Co. are for you. This live-action take on the “Archie” comic book series spin-off follows the mystical, magical, and rather dark tales of the title character, a teenage witch growing up in a non-traditional household with all kinds of occult oddities. You’ve got plenty of adventures to enjoy at the moment since CAOS boasts 20 episodes and a Christmas holiday special with more to come. With lots of romantic entanglements, family drama, and complicated relationships between friends, foes, and fiends, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is not to be missed, whatever time of year it is. – Dave Trumbore
Black Summer
Point Total: 5
The Netflix series Black Summer is a terrifying look at life for the survivors of a cataclysmic event that forces ordinary people to fight for their lives as they face off with the infected. When Rose (Jaime King) is torn from her daughter, she vows that they will be reunited, but as civilization collapses due to an outbreak that brings the dead back to life in their most feral form, that becomes a journey far more harrowing than she initially expected, forcing Rose to figure out just how far she’s willing to go.
Its 30-minute runtime makes it a quick watch, but it also ratchets up the tension and intensity, which works to the benefit of the storytelling, and never using the word "zombies" makes the story being told that much more real and frightening. One rule that always seems to be true, in any zombie story, is that zombies are like gremlins -- they multiply and, no matter how many you kill, there seems to be an endless supply and they are always focused on feeding. And so often, the humans that one comes across and the lengths that they're willing to go to for their own survival are far worse than the monsters. -- Christina Radish
The Punisher
Point Total: 5
When we met Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle in Daredevil Season 2, he was a raw mess of a man, fresh off his horrifying tragedy and sputtering in grief, agony and anger as he tore a bloody path of vengeance through Hell's Kitchen. The Punisher Season 1 doubled down on the introspection, rooting the action in overlapping narratives of PTSD that mirrored Frank's own and bringing back Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page as the counterbalance of the life Frank could have if he walked away from his warpath. In The Punisher's second and final season, fans finally got to see the titular anti-hero fully formed in his comic book image, doling out his vicious form of justice while he wanders the American countryside.
Season 2 doubles down on the action, trading psychological drama for outright shoot 'em up thrills. As a result, it's not as strong or compelling as Frank Castle's other two appearances, but it's still a damn fine piece of "superhero" entertainment, with some of the best action set-pieces on TV this year. The Punisher Season 2 is a shotgun blast of zero-fucks-given badassery and classic Punisher beats that feels like it could be pulled straight from the pages of the character's MAX run. It doesn't tread as deep of waters as the first season, but it's still a hell of a ride, and easily one of the best second seasons in the Netflix/Marvel run (RIP). -- Haleigh Foutch
Jessica Jones
Executive produced by showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb, the third and final season of Marvel's Jessica Jones sees Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) cross paths with a highly intelligent and very deadly killer. At the same time, Jessica has cut the newly powered Trish (Rachael Taylor) out of her life, as she struggles to live up to her mother’s expectations for being a hero, but in order to survive the madman who wants to put an end to the superpowered, the two must find a way to repair their fractured friendship and work together.
After spending much of two seasons focused on the past and how that has shaped her into who she is in the present, Jessica is faced with the question of what she wants for her future and how to balance that with saving the day, when that never seems to come without a cost. While not wrapping things up with a nice and neat bow, the final season does have pay-offs for the relationship dynamics, for Jessica, Trish, Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Malcolm (Eka Darville). -- Christina Radish
Point Total: 4
The Society
Point Total: 4
To quote a modern-day scholar, "Teenagers scare the living shit out of me", which is the basic premise that holds the drama behind Netflix's The Society together. Created by Christopher Keyser, the series follows a group of The Teens who are forced to return home from a school trip, only to find that every adult in town is gone and they've been surrounded by miles of barren woods. Anyone who has ever read Lord of the Flies and/or asked a 17-year-old to do literally anything knows that the duct-taped-together society of The Society quickly breaks down into anarchy and competing factions, with unsure Allie (Kathryn Newton) trying to keep the peace. What makes the show so unstoppably bingeable is that it combines the melodrama of your typical CW soap with big-idea dystopian sci-fi, where hookups and love triangles rub up against Lost-ian mystery vibes. Add in a pretty stellar young cast—primarily an astonishingly subtle performance from Jack Mulhern in his first ever role—and you've got your newest obsession.
The Umbrella Academy
Based on the popular and award-winning Dark Horse Comics graphic novels created and written by Gerard Way (the frontman of the band My Chemical Romance) and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy follows the “children” of Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), a billionaire industrialist who adopts seven of the 43 infants inexplicably born on the same day in 1989 to random women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. While they’ve been prepared to save the world, things are never that easy, and now that the impending apocalypse is very real, Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Vanya (Ellen Page) and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) must get over their own family drama, if they have any chance of stopping global destruction.
And overcoming family drama is easier said than done. At times wacky and wild, twisted and gruesome, funny and romantic, and always unpredictable, the series has some excellent dance numbers, a chimpanzee butler with a British accent named Pogo, an adoptive robot mother, a fascinating pair of assassins, and plenty of time travel. It also has a huge cliffhanger ending that will make any viewer grateful that it's already been picked up for a second season.-- Christina Radish
Santa Clarita Diet
Point Total: 3
Horror comedies don’t get better than Santa Clarita Diet, one of the most fearlessly weird and wild family comedies ever made. Netflix recently canceled this gem after its third season, so soak in the whacky brilliance while you can (and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be rewatching it anyway.) The series stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as a suburban couple in Santa Clarita whose life is thrown into chaos when a bad batch of clams turns Barrymore’s character into a vivacious zombie. By the time they get to Season 3, Santa Clarita Diet dips into delightfully zany mythology while continuing to be lowkey the best show about marriage on TV. Packed with standout supporting characters, goofy gags, and a surprising amount of bloody gore, Santa Clarita Diet officially joins the ranks of the “Gone Too Soon” Hall of Fame and is well worth checking out if you haven’t already. — Haleigh Foutch
Lucifer
Point Total: 3
In Season 4 of the drama series Lucifer, brought back to unexpected life after being canceled by Fox, Chloe Decker (Lauren German) is finally facing the fact that Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) has been telling her the truth about who he is, all along. What that means for their budding relationship still remains to be seen, as pretty much everyone in Lucifer’s life is left to wonder exactly what path they want to be on.
Although Chloe is trying to convince both Lucifer and herself that she's fine with him being the actual devil, not even he's convinced, but after briefly considering working with the Catholic Church to send him back to Hell, she decides to only judge him on the way that he's treated her. With new partners, a pregnancy, lots of therapy, and even a bit of singing (Lucifer at the piano doing a rendition of Radiohead's "Creep," over and over again), it's a good thing that we're going to get another season (even though it will be the show's last) of hijinks with these characters, before all is said and done. -- Christina Radish
She-Ra and the Princess of Power
Point Total: 3
I honestly can’t think of many cartoons that give an equal share of screen time to both the heroes and the villains, but She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does this admirably well. This approach not only keeps the title team’s camaraderie and variety of adventures feeling fresh, it keeps the villains from being reduced to “evil for evil’s sake.” In fact, fans of the show might find they prefer the time spent with Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta to that of Adora, Glimmer, and Bow. And that’s perfectly fine! It’s a testament to the strength of the writing, the attention to Character over Plot, and powerful performances from the cast that viewers can be equally invested in both sides of the divide.
But it wouldn’t be She-Ra and the Princesses of Power without She-Ra herself. Though her main struggle throughout the series is to come to grips with her incredible powers and the responsibilities they’ve placed upon her, the recent second season sees her grappling with concern over the safety of her allies. She-Ra can fight for herself without fear, but it’s the thought of losing one of her friends and fellow warriors that often cripples her into indecision. (There’s a D&D-like episode that illuminates this inner struggle wonderfully well.) And while Adora’s story takes a bit of a backseat to some powerful moments between Catra, Shadow Weaver, and others, the final moment of the final episode of the season suggest that there’s much more to her tale than meets the eye.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is back in a big way in Season 2, with plenty of action, humor, vibrant animation, and a colorful array of characters of all sorts. Its only shortcoming is in Netflix’s decision to cut the season down to a too-short 7 episodes. – Dave Trumbore
Sex Education
Point Total: 2
By now, ya probably the tropes of the high school sex comedy: Doin' it is kind've super awkward! What are you supposed to do with your hands! Boners are weird! But no one ever got mad at a master musician for playing a familiar melody, and Netflix's Sex Education has such a refreshing handle on the tropes that even they start to feel new. A seamless blend of 80s, John Hughes-ish drama with 90s American Pie raunchiness, the series follows Otis Milburn (a wonderfully jittery Asa Butterfield), a virgin who becomes his school's top sex advisor. There's a charming, dreamy quality to the whole thing that brings to mind that warm haziness that comes with being young and confused. Throw in actual treasure Gillian Anderson as Otis' sex therapist mother, and you've got a modern-day coming-of-age curriculum worth signing up for. -- Vinnie Mancuso
Dead to Me
Point Total: 2
Dead to Me is a funky show. The plot twists and melodrama are reminiscent of the most irresistible kind of network television, but the serialized storytelling—from both a plot and character perspective—feel very “Netflix.” Christina Applegate plays a real estate agent who’s currently grieving over the death of her husband, who was killed in a hit-and-run. She meets a woman named Judy (Linda Cardellini) at a grief support group, and the two subsequently become friends, bonding over their shared grief. There’s a twist at the end of the first episode that I won’t spoil here, but suffice it to say things are much more complicated than they seem. The show is a bit of a tonal tight rope walking, treating the grief with the respect it deserves while also making time for some gallows humor, but it’s the performances and chemistry of Applegate and Cardellini that elevate this show to one of the best of 2019 so far. – Adam Chitwood
Ultraman
Point Total: 2
The legend of Ultraman returns in this Netflix Original animated series. Debuting all the way back in 1966, the epic and mega-successful franchise that is Ultraman gets a new look in this modern take, created as a 3DCG anime co-produced by Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts. If you’re unfamiliar with the original series or its conceit, Ultraman sees human heroes merged with alien beings known as Ultramen in order to battle against alien threats and protect planets like Earth. This iteration is an adaptation of the manga written by Eiichi Shimizu and drawn by Tomohiro Shimoguchi and it makes the Ultraman narrative into more of a family affair, bridging generations and welcoming a new superhero team of sorts into the story. It’s a great next step for the franchise and, with a second season on the way, looks to continue the mythology in interesting ways more than 50 years after it began. – Dave Trumbore
Trinkets
Point Total: 2
Based on the young adult novel for Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith (the screenwriter of 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde and The House Bunny, with her co-writer Karen McCullah), the Netflix/Awesomeness TV series Trinkets follows three teenage girls – Elodie (Brianna Hildebrand), Moe (Kiana Madeira) and Tabitha (Quintessa Swindell) – from the same high school who cross paths in the same mandated Shoplifter’s Anonymous meeting. On the surface, these young women couldn’t be more different, but as they get to know each other, their family issues and life drama brings them together and helps them to find strength in an unlikely friendship.
Elodie, Moe and Tabitha are easily relatable, as they navigate the difficulties of family, loss, sexual identity, unhealthy relationships, and just figuring out what they want in life. They end up at the Shoplifter's Anonymous meetings for very different reasons, but they keep coming back for each other, both as a support system and as a break from the drama they experience when they each go their separate ways. -- Christina Radish
The Best Netflix Movies of the Year
Always Be My Maybe
Point Total: 8
Netflix brought the romcom back in a big way with 2018’s Set It Up, and the streaming service’s 2019 effort Always Be My Maybe is similarly charming and delightful. Co-written by and starring Randall Park and Ali Wong, the film follows a pair of teenaged best friends who have since drifted apart and are pushed together once more in adulthood, even though their lives have followed very different paths. Park and Wong are dynamite together, and the film takes time to breathe with some well-paced dramatic sequences. It’s also not lacking in scene-stealers, as Michelle Buteau is a hoot and Keanu Reeves once again proves his talent knows no bounds. – Adam Chitwood
Velvet Buzzsaw
Point Total: 8
The new oddball collaboration between Nightcrawler crew Jake Gyllenhaal, Renee Russo and writer/director Dan Gilroy wasn't quite the critical darling their first team-up turned out to be, but it is a wild and breezy slasher satire. Gyllenhaal gives a deliciously high-camp performance as Morph Vandewalt (you're gonna need to get on board with that name, because it's that kind of movie,) a diva art critic in crisis who sashays into a B-movie nightmare when paintings from a recently deceased artist start killing people in outrageous fashion. Toni Collette, John Malkovich, Zawe Ashton, Natalia Dyer, Daveed Diggs, and Billy Magnussen round out the stellar ensemble, leaning into the film's baked-in bonkers energy. For a horror comedy, Velvet Buzzsaw is not especially scary or laugh-out-loud funny, but there's enough zaniness and outright goofball-ery to power it through the familiar genre beats. -- Haleigh Foutch
High Flying Bird
What do you get when you combine Oscar-winning Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney with genius filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and an A-list cast? A must-see movie. High Flying Bird is a thrilling, delightful drama set in the world of sports that takes place over the course of one 48-hour period as a sports agent (Holland) attempts to find a way to end a basketball lockout that has himself (and many players) hurting for cash. Soderbergh—whose talents range from the glitz and glam of Ocean’s Eleven to the challenging drug trafficking ensemble Traffic—shot the entire movie on an iPhone, which adds another layer of urgency and intimacy to the proceedings. It’s mostly scenes of people talking in rooms, but the writing and performances are so good you’ll be glued to your screen for the entire runtime—which is a brisk 90 minutes. – Adam Chitwood
Point Total: 5
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Point Total: 4
People have long been fascinated by serial killers. What could make one human being capable of enacting such evil towards his fellow man? But Ted Bundy remains one of the most intriguing monsters in history simply because of how strongly people wanted to not believe he could be capable of the horrors he inflicted on women throughout his life. He was famously charismatic and charming, to the point that he had a gaggle of young female supporters all throughout his murder trial.
This dichotomy between Bundy’s seemingly charismatic nature and the nausea-inducing crimes he committed is the crux of the new film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, in which a perfectly cast Zac Efron puts on the charm offensive as Bundy. The story of Bundy’s crimes is told though the eyes of his longtime girlfriend Elizabeth (Lily Collins), and while it doesn’t quite click fully into the gear it’s aiming for, it touches upon some fascinating notions of human nature and boasts a truly impressive performance from Efron. -- Adam Chitwood
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Point Total: 3
It’s kind of crazy that Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) made his feature writing and directorial debut with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and very few people made any noise about it. That’s part of the peril that comes with releasing a movie on Netflix. It’s also a shame, because not only is this difficult but ultimately optimistic story wonderfully acted and beautifully directed, it’s one of today’s rarely told stories about the power of human ingenuity and scientific achievement overcoming the harsh realities of the natural world. And it’s all based on a true story.
Inspired by William Kamkwamba’s book, who wrote it from his own experience as a Malawi boy who saved his village and his family, it follows young William’s struggles against natural perils like drought, flood, and hunger, as well as societal ones like poverty, oppression, and even the simple sin of pride. Young William is clearly gifted and has a sharp, creative mind, a fact that’s brought to light by the performance of Maxwell Simba, but he’s stymied by his teachers, his friends, his regional leaders, and even his own family members despite the fact that he has a solution to the problems that plague all of them.
Ultimately, William gets to carry out his plan, but the pacing of the movie feels a little off. It’s bleak as hell right up until there’s less than 20 minutes left in the telling, but the payoff is worth it. It really is a rare film that highlights scientific understanding and clever engineering against a backdrop that covers many and varied topics like the 9/11 attacks and their effects on world markets, and traditional African farming and culture versus the modern way of the world. There’s a lot packed in here, but it’s well worth a watch. – Dave Trumbore
The Perfection
Point Total: 3
The Matador filmmaker and regular Girls director Richard Shepard delivers a twisted and twisty thriller with The Perfection, the story of two cello prodigies who discover a shocking, sensual, and life-changing bond when they meet for the second time in their life. Allison Williams and Logan Browning give a pair of knockout performances as the duo in question, and their subtleties will have you wondering if these women are friends, lovers, rivals, or something else every step of the way. Taking a cue from filmmakers like Park Chan-wook, Shepard unfolds an unpredictable, provocative nightmare mystery, weaving through genres with each new reveal, embracing vibrant imagery and flourishes of extremity. The Perfection's brand of thrills won't be for everyone, but if you have a strong stomach and like slightly demented mysteries with operatic emotional payoff, The Perfection might strike a special chord for you. -- Haleigh Foutch
Triple Frontier
Point Total: 3
For the better part of a decade, Triple Frontier toiled in development hell with a steady stream of new talent attached. Kathryn Bigelow was originally attached to direct from a script by Mark Boal, with Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp in talks to star before J.C. Chandor took over the project at Paramount in 2017 with Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy. Then the project fell apart and came back together again at Netflix with Ben Affleck attached. He exited, came back on board, and the heist-survival thriller finally got made. Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pascal, and Garrett Hedlund star as five former special ops agents who reunite to steal dirty money from a drug lord in South America and wind up in a brutal fight for their lives.
Chandor's take on the material isn't quite the action fest you might be expecting from the promotions, but an emotional and anxious journey for a tight-knit group of soldiers who put the "bro" in brothers in arms. Interspersed with stomach-knotting set-pieces, Triple Frontier focuses on the bonds between the men, and the cracks between, as their dangerous mission goes to hell in a hurry and only gets worse from there. Triple Frontier is a slow burn, but it's got a strong balance of emotion and thrills, not to mention an downright dashing cast with some of the strongest jawlines in the biz. -- Haleigh Foutch
Someone Great
Point Total: 2
After the almighty algorithm revealed that viewers were consistently turning to old rom-coms -- a genre the theatrical filmmaking industry largely turned it's back on in recent years -- the streaming giant went all in. Last year's so-called "Summer of Love" started strong with breakout hits like Set It Up and To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and while the 2019 lineup hasn't been as strong, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's Someone Great is a worthy addition to their growing roster.
Gina Rodriguez stars as Jenny, an ambitious young woman bound for a cross-country move who's sent reeling when her boyfriend of seven years (LaKeith Standfield at deadly charm levels) breaks up with her on the eve of her journey. Devastated, Jenny sets up one last epic girls night out in NYC with her best friends (Brittany Snow and DeWanda Wise) and Someone Great unleashes a steady mix of romance and One Crazy Night antics. The film flashes back through the highs and lows of Jenny's broken love while the real-time story spins a slight but entertaining night on the town. Ultimately, it plays a bit like a rom-com in reverse and while there's plenty of fun to be had (including a Peak-2019 Lizzo dance break,) the chemistry between Rodriguez and Stanfield is the real selling point. -- Haleigh Foutch
Knock Down the House
Point Total: 1
While the focus on liberal darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may make some think that this is a left-right documentary, Rachel Lears’ movie is really about top-down politics. The fights she chooses to focus on are on ordinary people who have chosen to stand up to people in their own party and fight back against entrenched Washington interests. What Knock Down the House does so well is show how our government belongs to all of us, not just lazy congresspeople who have been backed by a party machine and then spend their days listening to lobbyists rather than constituents. No matter what side of the aisle you fall on, Knock Down the House is an inspiring look at getting engaged in the political process. – Matt Goldberg