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Best and Worst Films from March 2019

Best Films from March 2019:

3. Us

Us is bound to become one of the most thought-provoking films of 2019 and thanks in large part to its ambiguity and sophistication, it gets this third spot for this month. I did find it overly ambitious for its own sake, but at the end of the day its winning concept combined with an intriguing third act led to a different, smarter than usual horror flick which also features a terrific acting performance from Lupita Nyong’o, a very strong humor and excellent family dynamic.

2. Never Look Away

This German drama is both very slow and also incredibly long at three hours. But it ended up being hugely rewarding and very involving despite all of that. It’s because the film is not only very well shot, directed, acted and beautifully scored, but it’s also very moving of an experience and very meditative overall with a third act that benefits from a previously long set-up and gorgeous art pieces to create scenes that make a long-lasting impression.

1. How to Train Your Dragon 3

And undoubtedly the finest movie I saw this month is this five-star material of a flick. How to Train Your Dragon 3 capped off the trilogy in an absolutely terrific manner that I did not expect. It’s thus one of the best trilogies of all time and the movie is going to be one of the finest of the year. The characters all get a moment to shine, the humor has never been better, the animation is simply mesmerizing and the emotional levity is indisputable. The last twenty minutes or so left me incredibly sad and happy at the same time. You can’t get more epic than that.

Worst Films from March 2019:

3. The Wandering Earth

This Chinese SF epic is more action-oriented than scientifically inclined leading to one giant, dumb disaster flick which looks great and has its moments, but is simply too frenetic for its own sake and overly bland in terms of storytelling and characterization.

2. Halloween II

I did respect what Rob Zombie was trying to do with this sequel, but at the end of the day the movie was more pretentious and silly than deep and admirable. It has its fine scenes, but overall it’s too different and crazy.

1. Vice

Vice is of course the worst movie I’ve seen during March and for many good reasons. This shameless Oscar nominee is well acted, but awfully one-note and unsophisticated in the portrayals of its real-life figures and never at all funny which it thinks it is. I really hate this overrated director.