It’s a new year and I’m still playing catch up on all the cool things released in 2019! Here are some of my pop culture favorites from the year we just left behind!
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Movies: Crazy families and sequels
My favorite movie from 2019 might surprise you. There were so many that I loved from Captain Marvel, Avengers Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Toy Story 4, Maleficent 2, Zombieland Double Tap, and Frozen 2, not to mention Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
My favorite spot goes to The Farewell. This drama about a family in China dealing with their matriarch’s cancer is surprisingly funny and sweet. Akwafina is so great as the American granddaughter trying to keep the cancer secret from her grandmother, which is a custom in China. The family antics are really hilarious and the grandmother is a hoot. She’s got so much spirit that you just want to grow up to be like her.*
My other favorite non-sequel movie of the year was Knives Out. The Rian Johnson movie is just so full of quirky characters, secrets and crazy twists. I was just fascinated by all the weird pieces in the family home and possibly disturbed by Daniel Craig’s accent. The casting is brilliant. Chris Evans and his sweaters have been much buzzed about. His performance is so not Captain America. I loved Jamie Lee Curtis and Toni Collette, too. It’s another really great family – dysfunctional as it gets – story.
Television: So much to watch
This was the year I finally watched Veronica Mars along with the new season on Hulu. How did I miss this? Kristen Bell is so great as a snarky teenage detective.
David Tenant and Michael Sheen made up my favorite bromance in Good Omens. Amazon did an awesome job adapting Neil Gaiman’s book. *
I’m a big Mindy Kailing fan and I loved her retelling of Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu. It’s cute and quirky, and updates the story with lots of diversity and funny side characters. It was also nice to see Nathalie Emmanuel alive after her Game of Thrones exit.
And then there was His Dark Materials. I loved the Phillip Pullman trilogy, but not so much the movie. HBO made it so much better, giving the story time to unfold. It’s such a weird story with lots of talking animals, witches, blimps, and lots of dust. I loved everything about this series.
Some of my favorite binges included Mrs. Maisel, Schitt’s Creek, She-Ra, and Making It.
Disney+ also scored with The Mandalorian and Encore, which reunites high school drama clubs to restage their musicals, and I don’t know what I’m going to do until the next seasons!
Music: Stuck in my head
I mostly listen to Kids Bop or whatever else my nieces want to hear in the car, but luckily the Frozen 2 soundtrack was in high demand during our rides! I might even love these songs more than the first batch. Show Yourself, the Next Right Thing, and All is Found are my faves. I also love Panic! At the Disco’s Into the Unknown and Weezer’s version of Lost in the Woods. The video is epic.*
My favorite artist of the year was definitely Lizzo. Truth Hurts and Good as Hell are my daily anthems.*
Books: Always be reading
I read lots of books this year – 78 in all – but I don’t think any of them were new releases. My favorite bios were Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and Michelle Obama’s Becoming. I caught up on some Westorsi history with George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. *
Some other great reads were Less, The Last Black Unicorn, the Renegades series, and the Throne of Glass books.
My pop culture favorites for 2020?
I’m waiting to stream the Downton Abbey movie and to watch the second half of the CW’s super crossover Crises on Infinite Earths. I’m looking forward to Onward, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Mulan from Disney. My to-read list includes Tomi Adeymi’s Children of Virtue and Vengance, and Erin Morgenstern’s Starless Sea. How are you going to fill up your year with pop culture? Comment below and let me know what you’re looking forward to and share your pop culture favorites from 2019!
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Robin Cabana loves to nerd out about Star Wars, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Disney and so much more. She has a pug named Penny and lives in New Jersey. 