10. Tolkien

The life and legacy of one of literature’s greatest ever storytellers, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, was brought to the screen in a tale of beauty and magic in Tolkien and the partnership of director Dome Karukoski and stars Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins made for something very special. Shot with an enchanting eye for the lavish, Tolkien brought together gorgeous imagery with a powerful story of passion, friendship and love and explored how these themes and experiences shape our lives and make us into who we are as individuals. It was a tribute to the power of creativity and after watching this film you couldn’t help but be inspired to create something by it.

9. Aladdin

When it comes to live-action adaptations of classic Disney films, Guy Ritchie’s loud and action-packed rendition of Aladdin certainly takes poll position as being the best adaptation so far. Will Smith brought all of his considerable blockbuster star appeal to this cinematic work and absolutely shined in his performance as The Genie with plenty of light and energy. Newcomers Mena Moussad and Naomi Scott had undeniable chemistry as star-crossed lovers Aladdin and Jasmine, and their charming performance and magical vocals put the sparkle into this tale. Packed together with Ritchie’s trademark rock n’ roll flair and bursting with colour, Aladdin sprinkled plenty of magic for audiences and it was an absolute wish come true.

8. Ad Astra

Director James Gray journeyed to the very edge of our solar system and into the soul of one man in this introspective and breathtaking science fiction film that demanded to be seen on the biggest screen possible. A slow-burn tale of man’s quest for knowledge and his truest self, Ad Astra enchanted its viewers with the phenomenal cinematography of Hoyte van Hoytema, and Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt has never been better with a character that tested every part of himself as a performer. Ad Astra was a film in the grandest scheme of things and was bound together with innovative and thought-provoking ideas related to man’s search for meaning and a desire to explore the cosmos. It has been some time since I can remember seeing a science fiction film of such power, and Ad Astra certainly achieved its mission of delivering the extraordinary.

7. Ford v Ferrari

The adrenaline kicked in at over 7000 RPM here in Ford v Ferrari and all-star director James Mangold captured the passion, competitiveness and brotherhood of the track in a perfect tribute to the golden age of racing. Stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale were perfectly paired together as racing legends Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles, and their joint pursuit of glory on the track absolutely amped up audiences. The film’s racing scenes were wild and uncontrollable and literally put audiences in the driver’s seat and captured the essence of what it means to go fast.

6. Booksmart

When it came to cinematic originality this year it doesn’t get more impressive than actress turned director Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart. Packed full of original ideas and some of the best comedy delivered all year, it was a riot of a watch from beginning to end and you were sure to rock out in your seat here. Starring the genius combination of Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as over-achieving know it all’s Molly and Amy who realise that they’ve done high school all wrong and decide to go crazy for one night only, Booksmart delivered all the goods and then some, re-writing the teen comedy genre in the process. Every single frame of this incredible film was packed full of entertaining goodness and you most definitely found your groove with this one.

5. Hustlers

The hustle was on in this flashy, loud and outrageous true story of a group of women who decided to use their very unique talents to make their own version of the American Dream come true. Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu were super-fly in this one and whether they were strutting about the stage, or staging their own unique enrichment schemes you couldn’t look away. Fun, smart, clever, scandalous and incredibly sexy, Hustlers was a film that absolutely took its audience by surprise and made for one of this year’s most memorable film experiences. 

4. Avengers: Endgame

When it comes to blockbuster films that will define this last decade then it is easily Avengers: Endgame that will reign as the gold standard of what a blockbuster movie experience is. As the culminating event of just over a decade and 22 feature presentations from Marvel Studios films, Avengers: Endgame was the defining moment of one of modern cinema’s greatest ever sagas. Epic moment after epic moment was brought together in this incredible piece of cinema and when our heroes finally assembled, in one of the great moments of cinema history, we knew we had witnessed the extraordinary. They don’t get much bolder or grander than this and this was a film that tugged at all of your emotions and pulled every string of your heart. It was utterly marvellous in every sense of the word.

3. Long Shot

They say opposites attract and they certainly don’t get more different than Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen and these two phenomenal performers were an absolute hoot to watch in 2019’s standout romantic comedy Long Shot. Packed together with incredible laughs and plenty of flirtatious moments, Long Shot was a love story that had plenty to say about both attraction and what we should look for in the ones we love…along with that classic comedy that we’ve come to love from Rogen and director Jonathan Levine. Packed full of light and warmth, this one had me in a fit of uncontrollable laughter and I absolutely loved the journey that Charlotte and Fred underwent to find their own special kind of love. Long Shot was a hilarious and impactful watch from beginning to end and it was sure to leave a smile on your face.

2. Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi is a director of incredible spirit and warmth and his work on the sensational Jojo Rabbit proves that he is a filmmaker who rapidly deserves to take over Hollywood thanks to his incredible talents. While on the surface Jojo Rabbit presented itself as a light-hearted comedy, there was much more driving this cinematic feat and at its core was a film of amazing depth and power with a strong focus on themes of love, tolerance, acceptance and freedom. It presented a powerful and sincere message in our very turbulent era and is one of the most powerful statements to come from any working artist in Hollywood today. In my opinion, it was far and away the most important film of the year and its impactful story was sure to strike a chord with all who watched it.

1. Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood

But now, the moment that everyone has been waiting for, when it comes to the best film of 2019 there is only one answer…and that answer is of-course Quentin Tarantino’s ninth feature film, Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood. This tribute to the end of Hollywood’s Golden Age tracked the fortune of two fading stars in an age of rapid change and was packed full of swinging style and bound together by one incredible narrative. It was a piece of cinema that demanded to be seen on the biggest screen possible. In all, I saw this film four separate times at the cinema and it was a thrilling experience each and every time. Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood is a revelatory piece of cinema and Tarantino was working at the top of his game with this one. It’s as if every part of his career was pointing him in the direction of this masterwork and the revered filmmaker, along with his dynamic duo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt absolutely delivered with this incredible feat of filmmaking. They just don’t get much better than this.

Images: Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Roadshow Films

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As a teenager, J. R. R. Tolkien befriends a group of fellow artists and writers at his school, with whom he finds inspiration and courage. Their bond of fellowship grows with the years, as they experience life together. Meanwhile, Tolkien meets Edith Bratt, with whom he falls in love. But when World War I breaks out, Tolkien’s relationships with his friends are tested, an act which threatens to tear their “fellowship” apart.

When we think of the famed Tolkien images of a refined older wizard of Oxford enters our minds, complete with a pipe in hand and a fire blazing in the corner of his own private office. But what of the young Tolkien, and the journey that he took to become the storyteller that the world has come to cherish. This is where director Dome Karukoski takes us in Tolkien, and it is a fantastical journey worthy of one of the author’s own stories.

Chronicling Tolkien’s youth from that of a young orphan to his first love, years of study at Oxford and the horrors that he witnessed during the First World War, Karukoski offers up a fully rounded portrait of a young man trying to find his place in the world. Karukoski’s Tolkien is an extremely intimate and introverted film, and he really makes an effort to take you inside Tolkien’s mind and works to get to the heart of how his imagination was formed, and the events which formed it. Karukoski’s passion for Tolkien’s work and life really shows through, and he does a fine job with his tribute to the great writer’s life.

Taking on the mythic part of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is young star Nicholas Hoult, and the English actor really commits to getting to the heart of who this man was. Hoult’s power as an actor really shows through with Tolkien as he replaces his usual jovial self with the interior, slightly closed off John Ronald and his performance truly speaks to the trials and tribulations that all young men must go through.

Responsibility is placed on him at a young age and you see him battling with this in relation to his desire for the love of his childhood sweetheart Edith Bratt, and the sacrifices that his responsibilities cause him to make. Hoult really brings about the Victorian era sensibilities of Tolkien’s life, and his earnestness and gentlemanly passions are kept in line very much with the era in which the story is set. Believable and sincere in the part, Hoult takes audiences on a fascinating journey as Tolkien and as an audience member, it’s amazing to watch him grow on screen as the character.

Standing next to Hoult is Lily Collins, and this beautiful English rose does a tremendous job in her performance to bring to life the role of Edith Bratt, Tolkien’s one true love and the source for many of his most inspired creations. An orphan like Tolkien, Edith desperately longs to escape the world in which she is trapped and through Tolkien’s growing infatuation with both herself and the narratives he is dreaming, she is able to find such an escape.

Collins is extremely natural in the part and she has this creative spark and light which absolutely holds the attention of the screen and that helps to illuminate the creativity that Edith inspired in Tolkien. As a pair, Hoult and Collins have wonderful chemistry together and you absolutely buy into their shared love as John Ronald and Edith, and the fantastical worlds and characters that this love gave birth to.

A classic trope of mythological fiction is the guise of the enlightened master or wizard, and here in Tolkien the young author finds two such men in the form of Colm Meaney’s Father Francis Morgan, a Catholic priest who serves as a guardian and father figure to the young John Ronald, along with noted thespian Sir Derek Jacobi as Professor Joseph Wright, an Oxford philologist who helps to inspire and cultivate Tolkien as a man of language and words.

Both actors bring incredible significance to the film, with Meaney’s Father Morgan emphasizing Tolkien’s dedication to his duty and responsibility, while Jacobi’s Professor Wright helps to guide the young man in his life journey and provides a context for his Oxford life. Jacobi’s appearance in the film is particularly enjoyable to watch and in a shared scene between himself and Hoult, we see the elder wizard emphasizing the importance of language and why words matter.

Alongside his lived experience, Tolkien also explores the formation of the author’s fantastical creative mind, and it is here where things truly get magical. Karukoski and his team bring about the magic of the author’s work into the film with subtle influences as you see the young Tolkien’s mind at play through waking visions and dreams that he has. These are particularly present as Tolkien suffers through the muck and blood of the Battle of the Somme and in a heightened state of Trench Fever the forces of good and evil begin to shape around him. It’s a brilliantly creative way to get inside the mind of a burgeoning creative soul and the images that appear before the audience are truly enchanting.

It’s easy to fall in love with Tolkien, and part of this comes down to its dramatic setting and the beautiful way in which it has been captured by cinematographer Lasse Frank. Dreamlike and ethereal, and poised of the otherworldly elegance of the Victorian era, Tolkien is a beautiful sight to behold. Franck captures the film is such a way that you, the audience member, feel like wanting to run after the TCBS and join them for their usual cup of tea and discussion of mythic stories and creative passions. With its mixed palettes of vibrant greens and rich browns, Karukoski and Frank also draw the audience’s connection back to Tolkien’s love for nature and the natural world and the inspiration that it gave him.

Thematically Tolkien draws its power from two sources: love and friendship. For love, this comes to the young Tolkien from Edith, and the power and significance she gives to him by believing in his talents and wanting him to tell his stories and explore the very route of language. The passion that they share for each other is also of vital importance to the film, and Tolkien explores the presence of love as the most important force that shapes us into who we are as people.

Alongside the tenant of love are themes of friendship and brotherhood and how these ideas shaped Tolkien into the man that we know him as. This journey of boyhood friendships and encouragement is explored deeply throughout the film, and is paired alongside the horrors that Tolkien and his friends witnessed on the Western Front. These thematic touch points are of special importance to the film and as an audience member, they certainly touch your heart.

Tolkien is a love letter to ideas of creativity, friendship and love, and the power that these things give to our lives. It is an exceptional portrait of the 20th Century’s greatest ever myth maker and audiences will come away from it filled with a desire to kindle their own passions just as the great John Ronald Reuel Tolkien did. This one is not to be missed.

Image: 20th Century Fox

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Set during Tolkien’s formative years, the new film chronicles the moments that would define his life and which would lead him to craft the phenomenal works of fiction in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that the world now knows him for.

A brand new featurette takes audiences behind-the-scenes of the film and chronicles how this incredibly beautiful piece of cinema was brought to life:

Focusing in on stars Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins who star as Tolkien and his life-long love Edith Bratt, and how his relationship with Edith in addition to his boyhood and schooling and the effects of the First World War would make him the storyteller the world now remembers.

Of the film’s appeal star Lilly Collin said “it brought it back to a very modern place, audiences may just assume that it’s a period piece, where as in fact these experiences are timeless.”

Along withe his growing relationship with Edith and how their love together informs his writing life, Tolkien also takes steps to show how the author’s imagination was born and the film is filled with beautiful imagery that is both fantastical and surreal.

For those longing for a great love story and who interested in how the notion of creativity is born, Tolkien will make for a perfect watch and it will arrive in cinemas on June 6.

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Now the great writers life will be put under the microscope in forthcoming bio picture Tolkien, which will examine just how the young Tolkien’s formative years shaped his desire to tell stories.

Watch the all new trailer below:

Here’s the full synopsis:

Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school.

Following on from the first teaser, this new look trailer for Tolkien really opens up the worldview of our story as we focus in on the life of the young Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) and his growing romantic attachment to Edith Bratt (Lily Collins) before all of this comes undone with the arrival of the First World War and Tolkien’s brutal experiences of the Battle of the Somme.

It’s only through the power of creativity that this war shaken Tolkien can make sense of the world around him and remembering the fellowship of his friends and embracing the great love of Edith, the young writer goes on to craft something of utter brilliance.

Prepare to experience the truly fantastical when Tolkien arrives in cinemas on June 6.

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Watch the brand new teaser below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Directed by Dome Karukoski, Tolkien stars Nicolas Hoult as J. R. R. Tolkien and Lily Collins as his beloved wife and love Edith Bratt, who would come to inspire many of the characters feature in the authors books.

Shot with breathtaking imagination, Tolkien appears to be focusing in on the author’s formative years at college with his fiends of the Tea Club and Barrovian Society, along with his service in WWI which culminated in the horrific Battle of the Somme. Played out amongst all of this is the young author’s buddying mind and how he slowly begins to construct the elaborate world of the Middle Earth from his life and its influences.

While the footage might only offer a quick look into the new series it certainly sparks the imagination and with the presence of Hoult and Collins in the lead roles you can be sure that Tolkien will be a fascinating film to watch unfold.

Tolkien will arrive in cinemas later this year.

Image: 20th Century Fox

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