SXSW 2019 Movie Scorecard
Alex Vo
At this year’s edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival, we had the requisite horror breakout (Us, the opening salvo in what is shaping to be a big year for Jordan Peele) and teen raunch (Good Boys), some actors making their directorial debuts (Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, Logan Marshall-Green’s Adopt a Highway), and, you betcha, plenty o’ politics (Knock Down the House, Running With Beto). And the aforementioned Us aside, if you thought our current horror renaissance was running out of steam (and victims), look no further than Little Monsters and Pet Sematary. And if you’re wondering why some movies got way more reviews than others, it’s because they previously premiered elsewhere.
Though SXSW doesn’t have nearly the amount of movies other festivals have, like Sundance or Toronto, it’s still a challenge to make sense of who’s saying what with the most buzz. With that in mind, we present the SXSW 2019 movie scorecard, ranking everything by Tomatometer!
#56
Adjusted Score: 112.079%
Critics Consensus: Fast-paced, funny, and fresh, Booksmart does the seemingly impossible by adding a smart new spin to the coming-of-age comedy.
#55
Adjusted Score: 102.475%
Critics Consensus: Enthralling viewing even for audiences with little to no knowledge of or interest in sailing, Maiden pays powerful tribute to a true pioneer.
#54
Adjusted Score: 102.82%
Critics Consensus: A galvanizing glimpse behind the scenes of a pivotal election, Knock Down the House should prove engrossing for viewers of all political persuasions.
#53
Adjusted Score: 100.102%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Starring:
#52
Adjusted Score: 28.076%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#51
Adjusted Score: 91.076%
Critics Consensus: Candid and compelling, Running with Beto is an illuminating exploration of an up-and-coming politician and the changing political landscape around him.
#50
Adjusted Score: 65.51%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Directed By:
#49
Adjusted Score: 88.901%
Critics Consensus: Patiently constructed and beautifully filmed, Aquarela views man’s relationship with water through a sobering — and awe-inducing — lens.
Starring:
#48
Adjusted Score: 98.264%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#47
Adjusted Score: 70.149%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#46
Adjusted Score: 96.714%
Critics Consensus: As sharp, funny, and scathingly irreverent as its subject, Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins pays entertaining tribute to a brilliant writer.
Starring:
#45
Adjusted Score: 56.151%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#44
Adjusted Score: 90.61%
Critics Consensus: The rare comedy thriller that’s funny as well as thrilling, Get Duked! marks writer-director Ninian Doff as a filmmaker with a bright future.
#43
Adjusted Score: 95.706%
Critics Consensus: Come As You Are approaches sensitive subjects with heart and humor, taking audiences on a thoroughly entertaining road trip to a crowd-pleasing destination.
#42
Adjusted Score: 84.697%
Critics Consensus: Daniel Isn’t Real, but the smart, stylish fun waiting for genre lovers in this well-acted suspense thriller is completely genuine.
#41
Adjusted Score: 101.459%
Critics Consensus: A horror/rom-com hybrid that somehow manages to blend its ingredients without losing their flavor, Extra Ordinary more than lives up to its title.
#40
Adjusted Score: 83.229%
Critics Consensus: Greener Grass is far from the first comedy to skewer suburbia — but it might be among the most bizarre and surreally distinctive.
#39
Adjusted Score: 79.126%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#38
Adjusted Score: 101.106%
Critics Consensus: Brought to life by a breakout performance by Camila Morrone, Mickey and the Bear finds affecting drama at the crossroads of a young woman’s coming-of-age journey.
#37
Adjusted Score: 60.83%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#36
Adjusted Score: 74.868%
Critics Consensus: Snatchers’ practical effects and strong writing come together to create a sci-fi comedy that’s fun, frenetic, and at times, freakin’ crazy (in the best way).
#35
Adjusted Score: 100.123%
Critics Consensus: South Mountain sifts through the wreckage of a broken marriage, finding quietly impactful resolutions through Talia Balsam’s nuanced performance.
#34
Adjusted Score: 103.92%
Critics Consensus: A feelgood adventure brought to life by outstanding performances, The Peanut Butter Falcon finds rich modern resonance in classic American fiction.
#33
Adjusted Score: 98.712%
Critics Consensus: Natalia Dyer’s charming performance — and writer-director Karen Maine’s sensitive work — will leave audiences saying Yes, God, Yes to this coming-of-age dramedy.
#32
Adjusted Score: 106.563%
Critics Consensus: Edifying and inspiring in equal measure, Apollo 11 uses artfully repurposed archival footage to send audiences soaring back to a pivotal time in American history.
#31
Adjusted Score: 117.221%
Critics Consensus: With Jordan Peele’s second inventive, ambitious horror film, we have seen how to beat the sophomore jinx, and it is Us.
#30
Adjusted Score: 105.346%
Critics Consensus: Brilliantly capturing a remarkable performer near the peak of her prodigious power, Amazing Grace is a thrilling must-watch documentary for Aretha Franklin fans.
Directed By:
#29
Adjusted Score: 87.088%
Critics Consensus: Led by a quartet of strong performances, Villains offers genre fans a delightfully dark thriller with a sharp comic streak.
#28
Adjusted Score: 99.937%
Critics Consensus: There’s no shortage of star-is-born stories, but Wild Rose proves they can still be thoroughly entertaining — and marks its own transcendent moment for lead Jessie Buckley.
#27
Adjusted Score: 69.915%
Critics Consensus: Pet Sematary takes its source material in a few different directions, but this remake feels like an exhuming almost as often as it does a revival.
#26
Adjusted Score: 90.674%
Critics Consensus: The Art of Self-Defense grapples compellingly with modern American masculinity — and serves as an outstanding calling card for writer-director Riley Stearns.
#25
Adjusted Score: 85.036%
Critics Consensus: Led by typically outstanding work from Lupita Nyong’o, Little Monsters is a horror/rom-com hybrid that proves the zombie genre still has fresh brains to savor.
#24
Adjusted Score: 86.029%
Critics Consensus: Led by a potentially star-making performance from Sasheer Zamata, The Weekend takes a well-acted, smartly written approach to familiar character dynamics.
#23
Adjusted Score: 93.897%
Critics Consensus: A sharp and deceptively layered comedy that’s further fueled by the odd couple chemistry of its leads, this Long Shot largely hits its marks.
#22
Adjusted Score: 97.778%
Critics Consensus: Whether you’re a guitar lover, a student of New York City history, or simply interested in celebrating a deep commitment to craft, Carmine Street Guitars strikes a chord.
#21
Adjusted Score: 96.211%
Critics Consensus: Expertly drawn characters and a strong senes of humanity make Sword of Trust an enjoyable — if at times meandering — journey.
#20
Adjusted Score: 81.353%
Critics Consensus: Uneven but entertaining, Go Back to China puts a refreshing cross-cultural spin on the traditional coming-of-age story arc.
#19
Adjusted Score: 89.27%
Critics Consensus: Held together by a gripping lead performance from Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell is challenging and admittedly uneven, but ultimately worth the effort.
#18
Adjusted Score: 71.355%
Critics Consensus: Even if it’s mainly distinguished by its unique setting, Olympic Dreams remains a romcom with a heartfelt story and likable leads.
#17
Adjusted Score: 67.258%
Critics Consensus: Absurd yet anchored in knotty real-world themes, The Day Shall Come adds another bleakly funny satire to director/co-writer Christopher Morris’ filmography.
#16
Adjusted Score: 79.808%
Critics Consensus: Alex Gibey’s The Inventor declines to outright condemn the actions by Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, but instead provides a comprehensive overview of the scandal that allows viewers to mull over its implications towards the broader Silicon Valley.
Starring:
#15
Adjusted Score: 67.965%
Critics Consensus: Body at Brighton Rock leaves some of its thrilling potential untapped, but the end result remains a solidly crafted outing that should entertain horror fans.
#14
Adjusted Score: 69.497%
Critics Consensus: Adopt a Highway might have done more to fill in its sparsely sketched story, but Ethan Hawke’s performance is often enough to fill in the blanks.
#13
Adjusted Score: 90.371%
Critics Consensus: Good Boys is undermined by an eagerness to repeatedly indulge in profane humor, but its appealing cast and ultimately thoughtful message often shine through.
#12
Adjusted Score: 76.036%
Critics Consensus: Teen Spirit tells a story we know by heart, but writer-director Max Minghella’s connection to the material and Elle Fanning’s remarkable performance add an effective hook.
#11
Adjusted Score: 47.12%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#10
Adjusted Score: 62.352%
Critics Consensus: Them That Follow never quite captures the spiritual fervor of its setting, but the cast’s committed performances make for an intermittently satisfying character study.
#9
Adjusted Score: 85.217%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#8
Adjusted Score: 78.918%
Critics Consensus: I See You gets tripped up on its own narrative contortions, but a solid cast and an effective blend of scares and suspense make this slow-building mystery worth watching.
#7
Adjusted Score: 82.405%
Critics Consensus: Porno mines sexual repression to produce a laughably lurid — and genuinely scary — outing that should delight genre fans in search of a good time.
#6
Adjusted Score: 60.709%
Critics Consensus: The role of a lifetime for Matthew McConaughey, The Beach Bum is set apart by Harmony Korine’s distinctive style, but that isn’t always enough to offset the unfocused story.
#5
Adjusted Score: 65.714%
Critics Consensus: The Mountain finds its provocative director further honing his craft — but formal flair and an engrossing Jeff Goldblum performance may not be enough to sway the unconverted.
#4
Adjusted Score: 36.657%
Critics Consensus: Content to coast on jump scares rather than tap into its story’s creepy potential, The Curse of La Llorona arrives in theaters already broken.
#3
Adjusted Score: 63.504%
Critics Consensus: The Highwaymen depicts law enforcement’s side of the Bonnie and Clyde manhunt — a story that’s unfortunately not quite as entertaining despite its marquee leads.
#2
Adjusted Score: 70.404%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#1
Adjusted Score: 44.497%
Critics Consensus: A messy horror-comedy hybrid that makes poor use of a talented cast, Tone-Deaf aims for social commentary, but tumbles down the generation gap.
Directed By: