President Barack Obama released his annual list of favorite films, listing The Irishman and Little Women among his top picks of 2019. The two films premiered this year to critical acclaim. Year end top movie lists are commonplace as a new year approaches, but Obama’s picks always garner immediate attention.
The former President is no stranger to releasing his top picks for books, movies, and TV shows. Last year Obama included box office smash hit Black Panther amongst his favorite films. While the movies included are the former president’s favorites, they are not stacked by ranking but rather listed in alphabetical order. The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, premiered on Netflix and gathered widespread critical praise and multiple awards including being named the best film of 2019 by the National Board of Review. The movie was popular with Netflix users as well, and was watched by over 17 million US viewers in the first five days of its release. Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern and Timothee Chalamet, opened on Christmas. The film also received warm reviews and praise.
Obama released his top movie list on Twitter, also including three television shows he considered to be as powerful as the films on his list. Once again the former president presented a diverse list of films from the big name box office hit Ford V. Ferrari, the documentary Apollo 11, the Sundance Award-winning film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, as well as American Factory, a movie from Obama’s own production company Higher Ground. Obama also included other films and television shows directed by and starring women, including the well received film Booksmart and the Emmy Award-winning television series Fleabag. Check out the former president’s full list of favorites below.
Obama has never been shy about listing his favorite books, music, TV shows and movies for the public to see and inevitably debate. While President, Obama once cut an end of year press briefing short in order to catch a screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Although now enjoying life in presidential retirement, Obama’s opinions on all things pop culture do hold weight in the entertainment sphere.
The former president’s choice to include The Irishman and Little Women in his list of 2019 favorites points to his tendency to include cinematic feats that showcase excellent storytelling by American artists as well as the importance of diversity. Not only did Little Women feature an impressive cast of incredibly dynamic women, but the classic book the film was inspired by was written by American author Louisa May Alcott. The Irishman starred a cast of American icons and was a favorite on numerous year end top movie lists, including being ranked fifth on Rotten Tomatoes’ top 10 movies of 2019. (Obama’s other picks Parasite, Booksmart and The Farewell were ranked on the same list.) Top lists of movies, TV shows and books are a great summary of the year coming to a close, and a good quantifier for the potential quality of what’s set to premiere for eager fans across all genres in 2020.
Next: The Winners And Losers Of The 2019 Box Office
Source: Barack Obama/Twitter
