Furtive Little Feelings

The collected thoughts of Jake de Oude

What I Watched: 2019

Originally published in 2019.
Last updated on 21 April 2020.

After I stopped writing my yearly “Best Of” articles in 2014, I still wanted to update my friends on what I watched and give some comments and recommendations. First I did so on Google Plus, but those posts are unfortunately lost to the void. Since 2017 I’ve been giving quarterly updates on Facebook. This article is the third in a series gathering those posts by year. I didn’t change the language, nor did I adjust the recommendations with insights I gained after the fact. The only modifications I’ve made are corrections of grammar mistakes, and the additions of some markup and images.

Looking back at the lists, I can’t shake the feeling that in 2019, there were very few movies or series that amazed me. Was it really a bad year for cinema, did I not see the right material, or was it just me?

As always, you can find the entire list of all the movies, series and documentaries I’ve seen here.

2019 Q1

Rewatched:



I also rewatched the first season of The Newsroom and am rewatching Roadies because I need(ed) some feel-good, easy series with likeable characters. The Newsroom especially delivers that in spades. Yes, it’s preachy and the characters engage in too-smart banter, but I easily forgive its faults because its heart is big and warm and idealistic.

2019 Q2


2036: Nexus Dawn, 2048: Nowhere to Run and Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 are all prequels to Blade Runner 2049 and very short vignettes. Black Out 2022 was most to my liking, probably because it’s an anime and brings something new to the franchise. The other two could be deleted scenes in both style and subject matter.

poster for “Avengers: Endgame”
Avengers: Endgame (2019) on IMDb logo

Avengers: Endgame feels like a (deserved) victory lap which celebrates the 22 movies that came before it, ties up the main story lines and lets us once again spend time with the many characters we’ve come to love over the last 10 years. A worthy finale or an overindulgent send-off, depending on whether you like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Baywatch: mostly harmless and bland popcorn entertainment.

Captain Marvel: a love letter to the ’90s. Its protagonist is a bit boring but Brie Larson sells her. She has great chemistry with the digitally de-aged Samuel Jackson, too.

Game of Thrones, Season 8: Yeah no. So much wasted potential. If you are hoping for the series’ return to excellence after the downturn in quality in Season 5, you will be disappointed.

Turbo Charged Prelude to 2 Fast 2 Furious (jeez, what’s up with these titles) and Los Bandoleros are prequels to the 2nd and 4th The Fast & The Furious movies. As with the Blade Runner short films, they could be scenes for an extended edition and are largely redundant.

Please Learn the Setlist in 48 Hours is a very one-sided documentary about Nightwish and their 2012-2013 period, a time in which they dumped their second vocalist (Anette Olzon) and replaced her with Floor Jansen.

Rocketman is a biopic about Elton John’s meteoric rise to superstardom and his struggle with that. Taron Egerton is amazing as John and the songs are great. Unfortunately the story is one you’ve heard and seen before and there’s precious little tension in it.

Rounding out the trio of music-themed movies is Yesterday, which I can heartily recommend as a nice, light-weight rom-com with great music by the writer of such classics as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually. Just don’t mistake it for a movie about The Beatles or their music: the first are never discussed and the latter plays second fiddle to the rom-com elements.

Rewatch-Watch

I’ve rewatched the entire The Fast & The Furious franchise and I had a great time. It was fun to see its evolution from a Point Break rip-off with cars to a solid action-movie-with-cars franchise, to its current status as an over-the-top version of that. And yes, I’m going to see the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. For what it’s worth, my favourite instalment is probably Fast Five.

2019 Q3


Rewatch-Watch

I’ve started re-watching Season 1 of The West Wing. Everything I said in 2008 (when I first watched it, see my review) still holds. Unfortunately, the contrast between the series’ idealism and humanism and the current political state of affairs in the USA has only grown starker.

2019 Q4


Rewatch-Watch

I’ve finished re-watching Season 1 till 3 of The West Wing. The drawback with watching so many episodes in such a short time is that you start seeing the mannerisms and patterns, but on the other hand it’s easier to see character arcs develop. The West Wing is still awesome.

I’ve also started re-watching Code Geass, which is fun but not as mind-blowing as I remembered. Maybe because the protagonist is such a dick?