Barack Obama Reveals His Favorite Movies of 2019

In just a few days 2019 will be over and that means we’re fully in the season of people looking back at the year and making their lists of media that were among their favorites for the year. Included in those enjoying a bit of retrospection when it comes to movies is former President Barack Obama. On Sunday, Obama shared his annual year-end favorite movies list and it included quite a few notable films — including Booksmart and The Irishman.

“Next up are my favorite movies and TV shows of 2019,” Obama wrote. “Of course, there’s also American Factory, a film from our own production company, Higher Ground, that was recently shortlisted for an Oscar.” You can check out his post below.

As you can see, there’s quite a bit of genre diversity in Obama’s list as well as quite a few recent releases, such as Just Mercy and Little Women. Obama also lists Martin Scorsese’s latest, The Irishman, which hit Netflix back in November. The ambitious film and its multiple decade-spanning story about the mob’s intersection with American politics has drawn praise from critics and fans alike. The film initially hit Rotten Tomatoes with a perfect Tomatometer score, though that number has since dropped slightly to 96% with a strong Audience Score of 86%.

Other movies that made Obama’s list? American Factory, Amazing Grace, Apollo 11, Ash Is Purest White, Atlantics, Birds of Passage, Booksmart, Diane, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, Just Mercy, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Women, Marriage Story, Parasite, The Souvenir, and Transit.

In addition to his favorite movies of the year, Obama also included “a quick list of tv shows” he considered to be “as powerful as movies”. That list included Fleabag: Season 2, Unbelievable, and Watchmen. Watchmen, which serves as a sort of “remixed” sequel of the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name – certainly captivated viewers when it debuted in October. Over the course of its nine episodes, the series provided some shocking plot twists, as well as nuanced takes on white supremacy, African-American history, and family legacy. The series aired its Season One finale earlier this month, though it remains unclear if a second season is forthcoming.

What do you think of Obama’s favorite movies of 2019? Let us know in the comments below.