Every year, I have a ton of Top 10s that fly across my desk. Many of our writers love to share their opinions on the greatest films of the past year. And yes, we publish quite a few, even if many of them share the same basic choices. We even share some lists from other publications that we feel are well-thought-out and interesting. But coming in right in the nick of time, former leader of the free world, Barack Obama, has turned in his list of the best TV and Movies of 2019 and shockingly, his might be the most well-rounded of them all.
READ MORE: Barack Obama’s Best Of 2018 Proves He’s Got A Finger On The Pulse Of Film Twitter
While he doesn’t do the typical ranking, Obama provided a list of 18 films and 3 TV series that he feels stood out amongst the glut of content released in 2019. And while it’s always a bit dubious as to whether this is a curated list from a bunch of people in the Obama camp or really just the man himself coming up with his Best Of lists, either way, this is a quality group of movies and shows that everyone should probably check out.
Obviously, since this is a Best Of list in 2019, movies like “Parasite,” “Marriage Story,” “The Irishman,” “The Farewell,” and “Booksmart” make appearances. And on the TV side, he’s absolutely right to add “Watchmen,” though there’s something amazing about the former President of the United States watching a series based on a comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons with a superpowered god-like being that refuses to wear pants. But Obama has some surprises up his sleeve with some of his other picks.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019
Films like “Atlantics,” “Birds of Passage,” “Amazing Grace,” “Transit,” “Ash is Purest White,” and “Diane” are all films that have been discussed throughout the year as some of the best that the industry has to offer, but they are all pretty far under the radar to most filmgoers. That being said, each is well worth the time and each of these could easily make anyone’s Top 10, if they were more readily available. (That being said, “Atlantics” can be streamed on Netflix now and deserves to be near the top of your queue.)
You can take a look at his entire Best of 2019 selections below:
Next up are my favorite movies and TV shows of 2019. Of course, there’s also American Factory, a film from our own production company, Higher Ground, that was recently shortlisted for an Oscar. Here’s the full list: pic.twitter.com/PEcgwotcxm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2019