My Top 5 TV Shows of 2019

Crikey, would you look at the date? 2019 is almost over and that can only mean one thing - it's time to recap the best that TV and streaming had to offer throughout the year.

My Top 10 Films of 2019

With 2019 drawing to a close, it's time to look back at the year that was and reflect on some of my favourite films from the past 12 months.

My 2019 Movie Soundtrack Playlist

Every December I take a look back at the year that was and cherry pick some musical highlights, whether they be soaring orchestral scores or licensed tracks that have been inserted into films to great effect.

Four TV shows found their way into the playlist this year, with the first season of Watchmen, The Mandalorian and Succession, as well as the final season of Game of Thrones, all featuring some brilliant pieces of music from the likes of Ramin Djawadi, Nicholas Britell and Ludwig Goransson. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for Watchmen is the pick of the bunch.

Meanwhile, Alan Silvestri's score for Avengers: Endgame was a suitably sweeping and bombastic affair, with tracks like 'Portals' and 'Main on End' capturing the scope and spectacle of Marvel's huge finale.

John Williams graced The Rise of Skywalker with his presence, and pieces of music like 'The Force Is With You' and 'A New Home' beautifully mixed existing themes, such as 'Rey's Theme', with the new.

I've also included a handful of my favourite 'needle drops' of the year, such as Hustlers' use of Britney Spears, Nirvana popping up in Captain Marvel and Booksmart's eclectic soundtrack, which featured Run the Jewels and Lizzo. And who can forget Quentin Tarantino's authentic mix of rock n' roll music and radio ads to soundtrack his homage to the Swinging Sixties, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

By no means a comprehensive list, feel free to let me know some of your favourite film soundtracks from 2019 and I can add them to the playlist in Spotify.

Film Review: The Report

A procedural drama that recounts the US Senate's investigation of Iraq War era misdeeds conducted by the CIA, Scott Z Burns' film The Report is a stern and rigorous piece that lacks swagger or emotion.

Film Review: Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker

The Skywalker saga lurches to a disappointing and disjointed conclusion in JJ Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Film Review: Jumanji – The Next Level

The gang is back and the game has changed in Jumanji: The Next Level.

Film Review: 6 Underground

Strap in for utter Bayhem in Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds' globe-trotting action thriller, 6 Underground.

Film Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

Director Marielle Heller's A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood is a tender yarn about the importance of empathy and understanding amidst familial turmoil and tragedy.

Film Review: Marriage Story

Netflix pulls out the big guns for a big awards season release, with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and Merritt Weaver starring in Noah Baumbach's terrific Marriage Story.

Film Review: 1917

British filmmaker Sam Mendes serves as both writer and director on 1917, an audacious war film that is a technical marvel with a hefty emotional wallop for good measure.

Film Review: Frozen II

Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven venture into the unknown in Disney's long-awaited sequel, Frozen II.

Film Review: Knives Out

With an A-list cast featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans and Jaime Lee Curtis, the game is afoot in Rian Johnson's riotous murder mystery, Knives Out.

Film Review: The Dead Don't Die

A humble town in Middle America is overrun by ghoulish zombies in Jim Jarmusch’s fiercely political comedy, The Dead Don’t Die.

Film Review: Jojo Rabbit

A kooky comedy that pokes fun at the Third Reich, Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit mixes silliness with sincerity to great effect. 

Film Review: Ford v Ferrari

James Mangold is firing on all cylinders alongside Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari.

Film Review: Last Christmas

Paul Feig teams Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding for a festive lark through London in Last Christmas.

Film Review: The Irishman

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Martin Scorsese reunites with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for The Irishman, a sprawling mobster epic that spans the 20th century.

Film Review: Doctor Sleep

A sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal horror The Shining, Doctor Sleep sees director Mike Flanagan prove himself a studious and competent caretaker of The Overlook Hotel.

Film Review: Dolemite Is My Name

Dolemite is his name, and fuckin' up motherfuckers is his game. Eddie Murphy makes a long overdue comeback in Craig Brewer's biopic of comedian, musician and blaxploitation star Rudy Ray Moore.

Film Review: Official Secrets

Keira Knightley shines in Gavin Hood's taut Iraq War conspiracy thriller, Offical Secrets. 

Film Review: Terminator – Dark Fate

Just like he promised, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the T-800 in the sixth Terminator film, Dark Fate – but rather than providing a shot in the arm, Tim Miller’s (Deadpool) attempt to revive this ailing franchise sees it further tangled in a time loop of its own creation.

Classic Film: Terminator 2 – Judgement Day

Hasta la vista, baby. Ahead of Terminator: Dark Fate, I take a look back at Terminator 2: Judgement Day – a rare breed of sequel that can be considered career-best work for both director James Cameron and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Film Review: Ready or Not

Grace (Samara Weaving) gets an unusual introduction to her new in-laws when they insist she take part in an eccentric – and deadly – game of hide and seek. 

Film Review: Maleficent – Mistress of Evil

The beast is back as Angelina Jolie dons the spiky horns of Maleficent for a second time in Disney's Mistress of Evil.

Film Review: Fisherman's Friends

Yo ho, the Mini British Film Festival is on the horizon once again. I previewed Fisherman's Friends, one of the films featured in this year's festival. 

Film Review: Judy

Renne Zellweger delivers a tour de force performance as screen symbol Judy Garland in Rupert Goold's biopic, Judy.

Film Review: Hustlers

You've got to respect the hustle as Jennifer Lopez springs into the Oscar race in Lorene Scafaria's gleefully entertaining Hustlers. 

Film Review: Joker

Send in the clowns – it's time to review Todd Phillips' Joker.

Film Review: Rambo – Last Blood

Sylvester Stallone saddles up for one last clash as John Rambo in Rambo: Last Blood. 

Film Review: Ad Astra

Brad Pitt journeys into the stars in search of his absent father in James Gray's sombre and moody spacefaring film, Ad Astra.

Film Review: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

A quintet of teens are terrorised by things that go bump in the night in Andre Øvredal's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Content Is King: Why Streaming Will Snuff Itself Out

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Stan, Foxtel Go – they say you can never have too much of a good thing, but as more and more streaming services enter the market, I can't help but feel that saturation will only lead to suffocation. 

Netflix Review: Hyperdrive

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines – Netflix's drift competition Hyperdrive is a wild ride that aims to entertain.

Film Review: Good Boys

Seth Rogen serves as producer on this comedy about good boys gone bad.

Film Review: The Farewell

Director Lulu Wang grapples with the complexities of family in her new film, The Farewell.

Film Review: It Chapter Two

Pennywise is back – and he ain’t clownin’ around. It: Chapter Two is bigger, scarier and funnier than the first.

Film Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie star in Quentin Tarantino's sprawling throwback to the Swinging Sixties, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Film Review: Angel Has Fallen

Gerard Butler kicks a lot of ass and spills a lot of blood in explosive action threequel Angel Has Fallen. 

Film Review: Midsommar

Whatever you do, never drink the Kool-Aid. Here’s our review of Ari Aster’s shockingly gruesome sophomore feature, Midsommar.

Film Review: Late Night

Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling shine, but Late Night doesn’t quite earn the title of must-see viewing.

Film Review: Crawl

Director Alexandre Aja unleashes an army of alligators on a dysfunctional Florida family during a hurricane in horror/thriller, Crawl.

Film Review: Fast and Furious – Hobbs and Shaw

Not even a Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham team-up is strong enough to save Hobbs and Shaw from crumbling under the weight of its own stupidity.

 

Film Review: The Lion King

Return to the savannah for a retelling of The Lion King, featuring voices from the likes of Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Seth Rogen.

Film Review: Booksmart

Olivia Wilde's Booksmart is a breath of fresh air that proves even a genre as well-trodden as the high school comedy can feel new again with the right vision and voice behind it. 

Film Review: Spider-man – Far From Home

Peter Parker hops across the pond for a school trip, but duty calls when Nick Fury and a new ally called Mysterio enters the frame.

Film Review: Toy Story 4

The toys are back in town – Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang are back for one last adventure in Toy Story 4. 

Film Review: Annabelle Comes Home

The third Conjuring film to focus on possessed doll Annabelle, director Gary Dauberman's Annabelle Comes Home proves to be a surprisingly effective haunted house ride.

Film Review: Yesterday

Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis join forces to pay tribute to The Beatles in Yesterday.

Film Review: Child's Play

Wanna play? Killer doll Chucky meets Black Mirror technophobia in this schlocky Child’s Play reboot full of murder and mirth.

Film Review: Men in Black – International

Here come the Men in Black for a film they won’t let you remember.