2019 has been a great year for cinema and has produced some of the decades finest films, and in those films, have come some brilliant and instantly iconic moments. Here I will break down a few of my very favourite scenes from films in 2019.
Some honourable mentions that I didn’t manage to fit in my top 5 are the massacre at the end of Parasite, the final song/performance in Last Christmas, and the ‘women’ monologue in Little Women.
5. ‘First Kiss’ – Portrait of a Lady on Fire
I could have chosen a wide variety of moments from this beautiful film, but the one I have gone for this the moment of the first kiss between our protagonist. It has multiple levels to it, but on a simply surface level it was the pay off of so much build up and it was a stunning moment.
4. ‘Criminal’ – Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez’s character making her appearance during a visually spectacular sequence where she performs a pole dance in front of an adoring crowd, set perfectly to Fiona Apple’s ‘Criminal’. Lopez looks absolutely incredible, is completely convincing as a seasoned stripper, and sets the whole tone for this very entertaining film. One of the greatest characters introductions of all time.
3. ‘Spahn Ranch’ – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Everything about this sequence felt like old school filmmaking come to life, and Tarantino fully embraces that. The tension of knowing the truth of the Manson family mixed with a character that we don’t know will survive, made this unbearably tense.
I have to just quickly note that DiCaprio’s like delivery at the end of the movie when talking to Sharon Tate of “the fucking hippies aren’t” is arguably my favourite line delivery of the year.
2. ‘Chat Show’ – Joker
Joker had multiple iconic moments that have gone viral for different reasons, many including the Joker dancing. However, the moment that stands out for me is near the culmination of the film, and the very scene that I felt the ‘Joker’ was born. When he tells Murray Franklin that “you get what you fucking deserve” he is yelling that to society in general and it is terrifying, and a moment Joaquin Phoenix got one hand on that Oscar trophy.
1. ‘Avengers Assemble’ – Avengers: Endgame
This scene was the culmination of 11 years of building and the pay off was unlike anything I have ever seen. Seeing an entire universe of characters come together to fight the final battle was something that really stuck with me. The specific line of “Avengers Assemble” was so perfect at that moment and the sequence that followed was a spectacular culmination.
Howe's World of Film and TV 