Oscar Nominations 2026

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The nominations are out!  And they look...a lot like the Critics' Choice nominations.  This is to be expected.  However!  There was a lot more love for horror movies this year, which is a hugely positive development.  

Best Picture

Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams

F1 is a little surprising for Best Picture but the rest are basically the same as Critics' Choice and Golden Globes.  I'm already two up, so yay, me.

Best Director

Chloe Zhao - Hamnet
Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler - Sinners

Again, no surprises.  This category has historically been dominated by the same names over and over so it's nice to see some relatively new faces.  Not really refuting the #OscarsSoWhite but Zhao is pulling double duty as both the token woman and a POC.

Best Actor

Timothee Chalamet - Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan - Sinners
Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent

In a just world, Jordan walks away with this.  It's a dual performance, meaning he literally did twice the work.

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley - Hamnet
Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You
Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value
Emma Stone - Bugonia

As usual, this is a much more competitive category.  Buckley is the favorite but you can't discount Byrne or Stone.  Hudson is a surprise contender, sneaking the spot from Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo, I suspect.

Best Supporting Actor

Benecio Del Toro - One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo - Sinners
Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard - Sentimental Value

I would love to see Lindo win for this.  He gave a phenomenal performance and he is overdue to be recognized.

Best Supporting Actress

Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan - Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners
Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

Interesting that Fanning got put in Supporting when she was up for Lead in the Critics' Choice and Golden Globes.  Madigan is the big upset inclusion and it would be great (for all horror fans) if she won but I don't think it's super likely.  Likewise, it's great to see Mosaku (who has quietly been putting out great performance after great performance for years) get recognized but that's probably all she's getting.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams

No surprises here.

Best Original Screenplay

Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners

My fear is that Sinners will only win here, like Straight Outta Compton, because the Academy is more interested in looking progressive than actually being progressive. Hope I'm wrong.

Best Animated Feature

Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

This is the exact same lineup as the Critics' Choice.

Best International Feature

The Secret Agent - Brazil
It Was Just an Accident - France
Sentimental Value - Norway
Sirat - Spain
The Voice of Hind Rajab - Tunisia

Lockstep with the other awards.

Best Documentary Feature

The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor

The only two I've heard anything about are Come and See Me, which looks depressing as fuck, and Perfect Neighbor, which is on Netflix.

Best Animated Short

Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters

Best Casting

Nina Gold - Hamnet
Jennifer Venditti - Marty Supreme
Cassandra Kulukundis - One Battle After Another
Gabriel Domingues - The Secret Agent
Francine Maisler - Sinners

This is a new category and interestingly, a career field dominated by women.  I feel like it's going to go however the nominees for Best Picture go, but we'll see.

Best Cinematography

Frankenstein - Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme - Darius Khondji
One Battle After Another - Michael Bauman
Sinners - Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams - Adolpho Veloso

All new names this year.  Exciting.

Best Costume Design

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners

Okay, so I have some quibbles with Avatar being included here.  Nearly the entire movie is CGI, so exactly which costumes are we highlighting here?  Like, I get it, but I am side-eyeing it.

Best Documentary Short

All the Empty Rooms
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: "Were and Are Gone"
The Devil is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness

Best Film Editing

F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Best Live-Action Short

Butcher's Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen's Period Drama
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Frankenstein
Kokuhu
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister

Several surprises here.  More horror!  The Smashing Machine kind of feels like even more of a snub, somehow, by being included here.  And I've never even heard of Kokuhu.  No idea.

Best Original Score

Bugonia - Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein - Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet - Max Richter
One Battle After Another - Jonny Greenwood
Sinners - Ludwig Goransson

Best Original Song

"Dear Me" - Diane Warren: Relentless
"Golden" - KPop Demon Hunters
"I Lied to You" - Sinners
"Sweet Dreams of Joy" - Viva Verdi!
"Train Dreams" - Train Dreams

Couple of odd little inclusions considering the distinct absence of Wicked: For Good.

Best Production Design

Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

All these categories are the same movies.  It just makes for such a boring ceremony.

Best Sound

F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirat

Best Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World: Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners

Rebirth flopped super hard so I am surprised it's included here.  Like the Academy thought it should have been a blockbuster because it's a franchise.

So there you have it.  Ceremony is March 15th so we have a little less than two months to get everything in bold watched.  The good news is that, thanks to all the repeats, we've knocked out a few of the major contenders already.  

2025 Top 10

The last couple of years have been pretty rough.  I had a family emergency over Christmas and overall this has been my worst year for posting.  I'm not a big resolutions person, but I would like to get back into my semi-normal routine, if things calm down enough to let me.  I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful 2026.  Let's look back at some of the movies I enjoyed and then what we're looking forward to in the coming months.

10.  Match - This was a huge surprise.  I wasn't expecting to like it this much, but the more I thought about it, the more it held up.

9.  The Thursday Murder Club - Comfort food.  I had a lot of burnout this year and had to deal with drama from all sides.  Otherwise, this would likely never have made the top ten.

8. Thunderbolts* - I didn't see Fantastic Four but I liked this Marvel entry.  It was messy and sad and dark when I was messy and sad and dark, so I really enjoyed it.

7. Superman - I mostly hate Superman.  He's my least favorite superhero.  But damn if I didn't need a little hope.  Also, Nicholas Hoult is a top-tier hater and I love that for him.

6.  Weapons - Shockingly funny.  Just great.

5. Companion - Best date movie this year.  If Heart Eyes hadn't tripped at the finish line, it could have been here.

4. Mickey 17 - Might be benefitting from how recently I watched it, but I really liked it.

3.  Frankenstein - How was this not going to be near the top?  Loved it.  The aesthetic!  The trauma!  The therapeutic rewriting of the ending!

1. (tie) Sinners

1. (tie) KPop Demon Hunters - Two (2!) supernatural musicals in one year??  With lore?? And pathos?? And incredible soundtracks??  Couldn't choose.  Truly, an embarrassment of riches.  I kept going back and forth between them, but just like my favorite Kindle category, Why Choose?  Have both!

I know 2026 has technically already started but I'm still catching up.  Here's what's coming out this year!

Dead Man's Wire - Bill Skarsgaard in an underdog thriller.  Haven't seen a lot but I love when he plays weird dudes.

Dracula - Luc Besson is doing his take.  I have mixed feelings, but you know, vampires.

Pillion - Alexander Skarsgaard out here letting his freak flag fly high!

Wuthering Heights - For Margot Robbie, I will suffer through another Bronte adaptation.

The Bride! - Very exciting!

Project Hail Mary - My ex listened to a lot of this audiobook while I was in the car so now I'm interested.

Hokum - From the same team that did Oddity.  

The Sheep Detectives - This looks really cute.

The Mandalorian and Grogu - I feel like this is going to be diminishing returns, but what do I know?

Supergirl - Milly Adcock looks like she'll be hilarious as Supergirl.

The Odyssey - I just can't quit Christopher Nolan.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day - There's a new Spider-Man movie?

Clayface - Zero expectations but I am curious.

Practical Magic 2 - Argh, I'm so afraid this is going to suck.  I love the original so much.

Street Fighter - Sure.  Why not?

Avengers: Doomsday - Will this be the final nail in the MCU coffin?  We'll see!

Dune: Part 3 - More space drama!

Werwulf - All right, Eggers.  You are tentatively off my shit-list.  Don't fuck this up.

Top 10 of 2024

 I saw around 200 movies this year and 45 of them were brand-new, not just new to me.  Obviously, a lot were horror movies given that was one of the parameters for my yearly 31 Days of Horror feature, and that is reflected quite heavily in the list.  Once again, this is not a critical list, this is a personal favorite list, so some movies on here might be crap but I love them.  Others I watched were very good for Discourse but I'd personally never watch them again.  They are ranked by the highly scientific method of Did I Enjoy This More Than That?  

10.  Hell Hole - A huge surprise and I ended up liking it so much more than I thought I would.  Even now, when I think about it, I laugh.  Not for everyone but it beat out so many "better" movies when I sat down and compared them.

9.  The Devil's Bath - This is the one that I talked about, I think, more than any other.  For a lot of people, this would be where The Substance would be but enough has been said about that one.  Devil's Bath is still underrated.

8.  Dune: Part 2 - This almost got lost in the shuffle because it came out way back in May but I still think about some of the cinematography and sheer visual splendor of it.  

7.  Late Night with the Devil - This was just so good.  Unparalleled use of setting and tone and Dastmalchian is completely fearless.  

6.  Wicked: Part One - Love musicals, love Wicked.  Big, over-the-top, the definition of Too Much.

5.  Cuckoo - The better Dan Stevens horror from 2024.  Great, original monster design and surprisingly heartfelt.  

4.  Deadpool and Wolverine - Ended the trilogy on a high point, something I wasn't sure was possible given it had been almost a decade since the second one.

3.  Oddity - I loved this so much.  It was like it was specifically made for me.  Other people can call it slight, but I thought it was great.  

2.  The Fall Guy - Gosling is the superior Canadian Ryan.  This is not up for debate.  

1.  Exhuma - This movie blew me away.  I will never stop recommending it to people.  So richly layered, such incredible mythology, and great performances.

So there you go.  Highly subjective, as always.  Let's take a look at what's supposed to come out in 2025!  Most of these are going to be new to me because I have not been paying attention to movie news and announcements since June.  

The Wolf Man - We're trying this shit again!

Companion - I saw the trailer for this and it looks good, very Ex Machina meets Tinder.

Captain America: Brave New World - More Marvel!

Mickey-17 - New Bong Joon-Ho!  This trailer looks bonkers and I am very conflicted about Pattinson, but bless him for never settling.

Novocaine - This looks like another John Wick clone but it's got Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, and Jacob Batalon so it might be worth it.

Sinners - New Ryan Coogler!  Teaming up again with Michael B. Jordan.  No further information.

Thunderbolts - B-Team Marvel!  All the also-rans from various films and TV shows.  

Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 2 - I was highly annoyed by Part 1 but I supposed I'll finish it out.

Ballerina - This feels like it was supposed to have been released ages ago and kept getting pushed back but I'm too lazy to look it up and see if that's true.  It's the Ana de Armas John Wick spin-off.

Elio - New Pixar!

28 Years Later - I guess I finally have to watch the second one.

M3GAN 2.0 - Haha!  Yes!

The Bride! - A Bride of Frankenstein remake directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Could be worth it.

Michael - Antoine Fuqua is doing a Michael Jackson biopic.

Bugonia - New Lanthimos!

Predator: Badlands - From the guy who directed Prey, so could be good.  Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Wicked: Part 2 - Yes.

Dirty Dancing 2 - WTF.  I know Havana Nights wasn't great, but we're just erasing it now?  Jennifer Grey is back as Baby and I have a lot of fear.  Like, how do you even have this story without Patrick Swayze?   

End of Year 2023 Top Ten

I managed slightly better than last year with 13 entries.  I kind of miss when the Oscars were held in January because it forced me to watch an assload of films from the current year in December.  Now that nominations don't come out until February, a lot of would-be favorites end up not being counted.  Like The Menu and M3GAN would definitely have been on my top 10 for last year if I had watched them in time.  And before you ask, I thought about making it just whatever I saw in a year, but with roughly 180 entries, that feels scattershot.  Anyway, the most obvious solution is for me to just get off my ass and watch more movies.

10.  Matilda: The Musical - I didn't like this when I watched it.  The nicest thing I can say about it is that I forgot pretty much everything.  That's what puts it on the list over Quantumania, which I initially liked but has soured the more I think about how much of a missed opportunity it was.

9.  Totally Killer - The only new horror I watched this year.  Were there better ones?  Almost certainly.  But this was cute.  Mild enough that Tyler watched it and he hates horror movies.

8.  Asteroid City - Quirky Wes Anderson.  Again, fine.  Like soaking your brain in chamomile tea.

7.  Sisu - This will probably get better on subsequent watches but I really expected more.  Still, always a good time to kill Nazis.

6.  Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse - This lost some points because it does feel like half a story but it is a masterpiece nonetheless.  I expect the third installment to be way higher next year.

5.  Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - This series went out on a high note, which just gave it the edge over entry #6.

4.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - A goddamned delight. Even if you had no interest in the game it's based on, it was a fun watch.

3.  John Wick Chapter Four - Is there a law of diminishing returns?  Sure.  But I will hang on until they stop making them or it falls out of the top ten.

2.  Polite Society - A total surprise and a welcome breath of fresh air.  In fact, this would have been #1 if not for the complete juggernaut that is...

1. Barbie - You can't fight it.  Everyone I know who saw it, loved it.  Tyler wanted an "I Am Kenough" shirt for Christmas.  Amazing.

Next year is not looking great for upcoming releases.  Lot of sequels and remakes.  I'm hoping a lot more titles get released as the year begins.

Night Swim - a haunted swimming pool.  This is in the great tradition of inanimate objects that somehow manage to kill people.  It's coming out in January so you already know it's going to be crap.  But entertaining crap?  Remains to be seen.

 The Book of Clarence - a religious comedy with LaKeith Stanfield as a forgotten disciple.  Could be the American answer to Life of Brian.

Mean Girls - Ah, the classic movie-adaptation-of-a-musical-adaptation-of-a-movie.  I have the Broadway soundtrack and it's really good.  Not sure how much of an audience it's going to find but maybe.

Argylle - a spy comedy centered on a cat.  Sounds dumb but it's got Sam Rockwell and I love him.

Lisa Frankenstein - written by Diablo Cody and Zelda Williams.  Looks cute.

Madame Web - Sony's next attempt at a Spider-Man movie without Spider-Man.  

Dune: Part Two - the spice must floooooooow.

Kung Fu Panda 4 - I mean, the trilogy ended pretty much perfectly so I don't know why you'd risk that, but I'm not in charge.

Imaginary - Blumhouse horror about what if your imaginary friend was evil.  I feel like that's just demonic possession with extra steps but sure.

Road House - a remake of the legendary Patrick Swayze film.  No reason for it to exist at all.

Mickey 17 - Bong Joon-ho's new film which makes it a must-watch.

Civil War - Get ready for this to make all your right-wing relatives froth at the mouth.

The Fall Guy - Ryan Gosling plays a stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter.  Probably going to be hilarious.

IF - a comedy about what if your imaginary friend had a union.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - a prequel to an incredible movie

The Garfield Movie - who keeps asking for these?  Do children today even know who Garfield is?  

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - another fourth entry to a perfect trilogy.  Did no one learn anything from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?

Ballerina - spin-off of John Wick 3 starring Ana de Armas.

Inside Out 2 - et tu, Pixar?

Despicable Me 4 - do I even need to say it?

Deadpool 3 - we'll see if it retains it's foul-mouthed charm under Disney's yoke.

Borderlands - another day, another attempt at a video game movie.

Alien: Romulus - Fede Alvarez is trying his hand at a sequel.

Kraven the Hunter - Another attempt at a Spider-Man villain standalone.

Beetlejuice 2 - milking the nostalgia machine until it's dry

Joker: Folié a Deux - I didn't like Joker but the sequel is a musical with Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.  That should be hilarious.

Gladiator 2 - /sigh

Wicked: Part One - another Broadway adaptation.  Not entirely sure why it needed to be split into two films.  The book isn't that large and the musical is like 90 minutes.

Nosferatu - Robert Eggers is going the remake route but I love vampires so I will check it out.

Top Ten of 2022

 This was not my best year for posting movies but I did get more than in 2020, 2018, and 2010.  Out of 165 total, I saw 11 from 2022, which is convenient because that's one more than you need for a top ten list!  So let's review my picks.

10.  Top Gun: Maverick - Did we strictly need a sequel?  No.  (I snuck this in literally on the 30th so the full review is forthcoming.)  It is definitely a Top Gun movie, though, and worth a watch, just for the nostalgia factor.

9.  Bullet Train - This was fun but Brad Pitt needs to let go of being an action hero.  Man is 60 years old.

8.  Uncharted - A surprise, but a welcome one.  I liked the buddy aspect between Holland and Wahlberg.

7.  Black Adam - Oh, DC.  You keep trying!

6.  Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - This ended up being lower than I thought it was going to be because it made me sad every time I thought of it.

5.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Zombies!  Bruce Campbell!  Sam Raimi sneaking in horror!

4.  Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - This is kind of a cheat, but I did see it over Christmas.  Full review is coming (probably on Monday) but here's a teaser:  it's excellent and you should definitely watch it.  

3.  Weird:  The Al Yankovic Story - I love Al Yankovic and this was a hysterical "true" story that perfectly encapsulated why I love Weird Al.

2.  Prey - Just a great Predator movie.  Solid in every sense.  

1.  The Gray Man - This is particular to me because I am a sucker for assassin movies and I loved the interplay between Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling.  I would watch this a billion times.  

As always, this is completely subjective.  These are just the movies I loved (or at least, saw) this year.  Next year has some gems coming up as well.

M3GAN - killer dolls are always a good time

Shotgun Wedding - This is probably going to be stupid but it may be fun stupid.  Like a cross between the first half hour of The Punisher and Monster-in-Law.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey - Let's get real, this is going to be horrible.  It's a horror take on Winnie the Pooh because the character went into the public domain.  Like next year is going to be wall-to-wall Sherlock Holmes stories because it is also going to go into public domain.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - I'm going to watch it.  Marvel has been very low-key in Phase 4 and I can't tell yet if it's just diminishing returns or if they're respecting the ebb and flow of story hype.

Cocaine Bear - Again, probably going to be stupid but high chance of it being funny stupid.

Creed 3 - Michael B. Jordan is going to direct and star.  Could be good, could be mid-tier.

Shazam!: Fury of the Gods - I am definitely going to have to watch Shazam again to remember what the hell happened but I'll probably watch the sequel.

John Wick: Chapter 4 - yeah.  Already has my money.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Chris Pine singing?  Dungeons & Dragons?  Yes.

Renfield - I haven't heard a lot about this but it's Nicholas Hoult and Nicolas Cage so I'm down.

Evil Dead Rise - Even if this is just a blasphemous reimagining, that's still pretty on brand.

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 - Again, I am on the Marvel ship until the inevitable iceberg.

The Little Mermaid - On the fence.  On the one hand, I am anti-Disney making ham-handed live-action remakes to retain copyright, but on the other, I love racist tears, so bring it on.

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse - YES.

Elemental  - Eh.  It's the new Pixar but the concept just isn't wowing me.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Maybe this will be good.  I do not have high hopes.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One - Tom Cruise (also 60) is just going to keep making these until a stunt kills him.  

Oppenheimer - the next Christopher Nolan.  

Barbie - I wasn't going to see it, but the 2001 parody trailer kind of sold me on it.

The Marvels - More Kamala Khan!

The Last Voyage of the Demeter - Holy shit, this has been in development almost as long as I have been blogging.

Blue Beetle - new superheroes!

The Equalizer 3 - It's hypocritical but I don't mind Denzel Washington as aging action hero.  

The Nun 2 - The Nun was not great but neither was Annabelle and its sequel was amazing.  Maybe the same magic here.

The Expendables 4 -  Geriatric action heroes strike again!

Kraven the Hunter - Aaron Taylor-Johnson is going to re-invent himself in the Marvel universe from Quicksilver to Kraven.

Dune Part 2 - Space drugs!  Imperialism!  Worms!

The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes -  Nobody asked for a Hunger Games prequel and yet here we are.

Trolls 3 - I fucking love the Trolls movie.  I still haven't seen the sequel but I am already committed.

The Color Purple -  This is a movie version of the musical of the original stage play, which was already a movie.

Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom - this was supposed to come out this year but got pushed.  Maybe they'll fix some of the CGI issues.

So that's next year's upcoming slate.  There will probably be new additions as things get titles and release dates so it's by no means exhaustive.  Happy 2023.

As We Limp Into 2022

 I reviewed 205 movies/TV shows this year but only 17 of them were actually released in 2021.  The second year of the pandemic put a glacial chill on my desire to be among other human beings in general, but especially in a dark windowless room.  Fortunately, this was a bumper year for streaming as the line between cinematic and made-for-TV got blurred.  If it hadn't been, I don't know that I would have seen anything this year.

10.  Kate - There were several Girls Kick Ass movies that came out this year but Mary Elizabeth Winstead held it down like very few others.

9. Luca - It was not a good year for animated movies for me personally.  I think I only saw like two of them but Luca was a great, family-friendly movie.

8. Gunpowder Milkshake - I love badass assassins with a heart of gold and this bumped over Kate by also having Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett on tap.

7. Venom: Let There Be Carnage - My favorite rom-com of the year.

6. Dune - I really didn't know until I was putting my list together if Dune was going to hold up to the end of the year.  It really is a masterful sci-fi epic, though.

5. The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It - I had to get in my favorite horror franchise.  It's not as good as the original but I love the dynamic between Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson so much.

4. Black Widow - Gave us Yelena Belova and we really couldn't have asked for more.

3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - This was on track to be my favorite Marvel film until NWH came out.  I still love it and it's an instant classic that I will revisit again and again.

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home - But I had to give it up for a fucking pitch perfect Spider-Man movie.

1. The Suicide Squad - And three Spideys still wasn't enough to unseat James Gunn's comic book masterpiece.  He made me care about Polka Dot Man and a girl who controls rats.  That is witchcraft of the highest magnitude.

So, as usual, these are my choices for favorite films.  Not "Best" films, but the ones that made me smile the most.  2021 didn't give a lot of us many chances to smile but we took the ones we got and ran with them.

Here's what I'm looking forward to in the coming year:

The 355 - This was pushed from 2021 to 2022 because of the pandemic and is probably going to go straight to Netflix on January 7.  I am okay with this.

Morbius - Another Spider-Man antihero gets a shot at fame.  Can it tap into the Venom magic?  Who knows.  January 28.

Death on the Nile - Pushed from 2021, this big budget remake crams a ton of stars onto a boat and gives Kenneth Branagh another chance to wax his mustache as Poirot February 11.

Uncharted - Tyler is super mad about this because he still wants Nathan Fillion to be the star.  I don't think casting is going to save it from the video game adaptation curse but what do I know?  Feb 18.

The Batman - Here we go again.  March 4

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - It'll be nice to see Wanda fucking stuff up again.  May 6.

Thor: Love and Thunder - This is going to be insane and I'm here for it.  July 8.

Black Adam - Honestly, it's been so long since Shazam that I kinda don't care about this anymore but I might again by July 29.

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse Part One - Super excited for this.  October 7.

The Flash - At this point, I'm convinced this movie is just a collective delusion.  It's not real, it's not happening, and Nov 4 is just an arbitrary date.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - I just really want them to have better costumes this time.  Dec 16.

Not a lot, really, when you think about it but I'm sure more will get announced as the year progresses.  There will be surprises, hits and misses, and I'll be here to catalog and review them as always, so you don't have to.  Happy New Year, internet.

2020 is Finally Over! (Here's Another Top 10 List)

 I think it's fair to say that this year has sucked all around.  I watched the same number of movies as 2017, a year that was one of the worst of my life.  I haven't been to a movie theater in ten months, not that anything really released this year anyway.  I made a pretty decent dent in my To Be Watched list from home at the beginning of the lockdown but kind of fell apart by the end of summer.  

Normally, I would put together a top ten of the films I saw that released in the current calendar year.  I think I saw a grand total of six films from 2020, one of which was a televised theater production (Hamilton) and another was a stand-up special, so we're going to do things a little differently this year.  I went back and looked at all the films I saw for the first time this year regardless of when they were released and ended up with about 130.  I have narrowed those down to the ten I most enjoyed.  Not necessarily the "best" films but the ones that made me want to die a little less.

10.  Wonder Woman 1984 - This film had it's share of problems and I'm not sure how it will stand up to a second watch but it was bright and colorful and campy with low stakes.  Any other year, none of that would be a compliment but it's December and I'm barely hanging on here.

9. In the Mood for Love - This is widely regarded as a classic and justifiably so.  Pretty sure it lowered my blood pressure by 10% easy.

8. 1917 - Hey, remember January when all we had to worry about was out of control brushfires and the looming threat of nuclear war?  Good times.  I still had the mental energy to process this incredible war film back then.

7. Spring - Monster fucking!  Yay!

6. The Color Purple - We all need a little more Miss Celie in our lives, especially this year.  If that bitch didn't give up, you can't either.

5. Klaus - A stunning film and instantly part of the new Christmas canon.

4. Knives Out - If only for the memes.

3. Only Lovers Left Alive - I craved new vampire content and this was delicious.

2. Anna and the Apocalypse - Zombies beat vampires?  What?  That's just the topsy-turvy world we're living in, folks.

1. Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn - I mean, duh.  Even before the pandemic hit, this movie brought me unrivaled joy and a bitchin' soundtrack.

I don't even know if I can say that I'm looking forward to movies in 2021.  I mean, sure, I am but who the hell knows when stuff is actually going to come out?  Hope springs eternal, I guess?

355 - Was supposed to come out this year.  Didn't.  Band of lady assassins starring Jessica Chastain, so it has my money regardless.

Coming 2 America - No idea if this is going to be good.  

Raya and the Last Dragon - Yes.

The King's Man - prequel to the Kingsman movies so no Taron Egerton but it should still have a lot of stuff blowing up.

No Time to Die - Daniel Craig's last (we'll see) outing as James Bond.

Last Night in Soho - horror film from Edgar Wright, which probably means horror comedy, which I am here for.

Black Widow - Are we ever gonna see this damn thing?  It's holding up the release of like five other Marvel films.

Free Guy - Ryan Reynolds as a video game NPC who gains self-awareness.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It - Obviously.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Five Rings - Marvel breaking some new people off the bench.

Suicide Squad - the Redux.  We'll see if this one can nail the tone correctly.

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - I am loving these increasingly ridiculous titles.  I hope there's like five in this series so they end up with The Bodyguard's Cousin's Roommate from College's Half-Brother's Hitman.

Candyman - I was really hoping this would come out this year but no, we can't have nice things.

Death on the Nile - Costumes!

Dune - Sand Worms!

Uncharted - Okay, I just started playing these games and they're really fun so I hope this won't suck.

Eternals - More Marvel deep cuts!

Mission: Impossible 7 - Let's see if this is one that finally kills Tom Cruise.

The Matrix 4 - I mean, what is this even going to look like?

The French Dispatch - Wes Anderson whimsy!

10 Years, 2050 Movies, And Still Going

I've been seeing a lot of "Best of the Decade" posts rolling out.  I think that's dumb because the decade isn't over until the end of 2020.  I don't know what kind of math those people are using but I have never started counting at zero.  However, it has been exactly ten years since I started this blog so instead of my usual End of the Year review, I thought I'd look back at my top 25 favorite films of the last ten years.  I had to winnow down from 807 posts so I really hope you fuckers appreciate the time and effort this took.

25.  Easy A -- This is easily a new high school rom-com classic.  

24.  Captain America:  The First Avenger  -- I was surprised when I was putting this list together how well the Captain America segments of the MCU held up.  

23.  The Conjuring  -- This spawned an entire franchise universe that has been (mostly) successful on every entry.  

22.  Captain America:  The Winter Soldier  -- Honestly, this would still be a good movie even if the rest of the MCU went away.  It would make no sense but it would still be good.

21.  13 Assassins  -- This is way higher on the the list than it would have been if I had not just recently watched it again.  I'm glad I did, though, because it really is intensely beautiful and sad and timely.

20.  Cabin in the Woods  -- Horror comedy classic and the only horror comedy to make the list.

19.  Get Out -- This wasn't just a movie.  This was a cultural phenomenon.  Jordan Peele transcended genre to bring a masterpiece of social commentary to the forefront.

18.  Inside Out  -- Of all the Pixar movies, this was the one I identified with the most.

17.  Deadpool 2  -- This could have been a total cash grab and instead it managed to have a really sweet message about found family.

16.  Logan  -- The best possible way the X-Men movies could have ended.  Too bad they just kept going...

15.  It:  Chapter One  -- I had to add the colon because now there are two of them.  

14.  Black Swan  -- Still my favorite Natalie Portman performance of all time.  

13.  Deadpool  -- This exists solely because of Ryan Reynolds and it is perfect.

12.  Avengers:  Endgame  -- I mean, it had to be on the list.  It's such a fucking downer, though.

11.  Little Women  -- Again, this probably would not be on here if it weren't so fresh in my mind but it is a really good adaptation of one of my absolute favorite books.

10.  Green Room  -- If Anton Yelchin hadn't died, this probably wouldn't be here.

9.  The Man from Nowhere  -- John Wick before there was John Wick.

8.  Toy Story 4  -- The sequel literally no one asked for, yet it turned out to somehow be the exact story I needed to hear.

7.  A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night  -- This was such a nice surprise.  Nothing else is like it.  Really a gem.

6.  Toy Story 3  -- The most perfect Pixar movie ever made.  I still remember an entire theater of people sobbing during the ending.  

5.  Hereditary  -- God, I love this movie.

4.  Blancanieves  -- I really didn't expect this to wind up this high on the list but I couldn't stop thinking about it ever since I watched it.

3.  Mad Max:  Fury Road  -- Monumental, wild, explosive, amazing.  Words don't do Charlize Theron justice.

2.  Avengers:  Infinity War  -- I don't think this is a "better" movie than Mad Max but no other film dominated discourse like this one.  Endgame was never going to live up to the standards of suspense left by Infinity War.

1.  John Wick  -- No one saw this coming.  This movie launched Keanu Reeves back into the spotlight, kickstarted the directorial careers of David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, and sent action fans into paroxysms of joy.  Never has carnage looked so good.

So those are my favorites of the last ten years.  Feel free to disagree.  Thank all of you for reading and I look forward to spending another ten years screaming my opinions into the void.

End of Year 2018

Okay, so it's the last day of 2018 and while it was better for me than 2017, it still wasn't a great year.  It dragged on so long that I totally forgot what movies came out in the first half.  I didn't go to the theater as often as I wanted but I still saw most of the films I had marked out.  So here are the top ten that I liked for the year.

10.  Annihilation - Visually, this was one of the most beautiful films I saw all year.  I hope it gets some recognition from the Academy but I'm not holding my breath.  I think it came out too early to really be a contender this year.

9.  Solo:  A Star Wars Story - People were really down on this but that has more to do with the toxicity of the fan base than any demerits of the movie.  I don't think it was strictly necessary as a story but Ron Howard delivered a truly fun Star Wars experience.  Fuck you guys, it's canon now.

8.  Ralph Breaks the Internet - I loved this continuation of the Wreck-It Ralph universe.  It showed some real character development, even if it did suffer a little from sequel-itis.  Those Disney princesses, though.

7.  Ant-Man and the Wasp - After the total downer of Infinity War, this sequel was exactly the uplifting superhero movie I needed to see.

6.  Venom - Speaking of surprise gems.  I went into Venom with no expectations and came out totally shipping a reporter and an alien lifeform.

5.  Spider-Man:  Into the Spider-Verse - This one just made it in under the wire as far as deadlines but I'm so glad it did.  One of the best superhero movies and maybe my favorite Spider-Man movie ever.

4.  Hereditary - I loved this movie so much.  I watched it again over Christmas break with my cousin and it was still great.

3.  Black Panther - Did you even remember this came out this year?  It feels like it's been part of the universe forever.  I don't think another comic book movie has impacted society as much as Black Panther has and that's amazing.  Ryan Coogler is an incredible director and a really hope he gets as much work as he wants forever.

2.  The Avengers:  Infinity War - The snap heard round the world.

1.  Deadpool 2 - This movie was so good, they had to recut it and put it back in theaters as a PG-13 version so they could get twice the money for it.  That takes some serious balls.  And it worked because as fucked up as it is, this is a movie about family that manages to be insanely specific and also incredibly relatable.  That's why it's number one.

Obviously, this list is geared only to my taste.  I'm sure you have favorites that I overlooked, fairly or not.  Feel free to discuss them in the comments.

End of Year 2017

Today is the last day of 2017, thank God.  This has been an absolute shitshow of a year and I will be happy to put it in my rearview.

Thanks to various commitments, I was only able to watch 19 new movies this year.  Overall, I saw less than 150 films, which is the second fewest annual number since I started this blog.  I'd like to think that I only spent my precious free time on movies worth seeing, however, and it was surprisingly difficult to rank this year's favorites.  Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.

10.  The LEGO Batman Movie - My one animated film for this year.

9.  Star Wars Episode VIII:  The Last Jedi - This was a great addition to the franchise.  I don't care how many petitions people sign.

8.  Annabelle:  Creation - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this.  It was so much better than it had any right to be.

7.  Spider-Man:  Homecoming - I really didn't think we needed another Spider-Man movie but this won me over.

6.  Wonder Woman - This would have been much higher on the list if it hadn't been so reminiscent of Captain America.

5.  Atomic Blonde - This movie was so badass.

4.  Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - Now that some time has passed, the Ego storyline just leaves me kind of bleh.

3.  John Wick 2 - I strongly debated with myself over whether or not this deserved the first or second spot but I just couldn't displace the ones I already decided.

2.  Thor:  Ragnarok - For sheer fun, this was the greatest experience I had at the movies this year.

1.  Logan - Honestly, could it have been anything else?  This movie ripped my heart out and left me to die in the woods.

I don't rank TV shows but if you haven't seen American Gods or Legion, you're depriving yourself.

Now we can safely put 2017  behind us and look ahead to movies coming out in 2018.  All dates are subject to change.

Proud Mary - January 12 - January is traditionally a dumping ground for movies studios have little to no faith in, but this one stars Taraji P. Hensen as an assassin so I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

Mary and the Witch's Flower - January 18 - This is made by the spiritual successor to Studio Ghibli so I'm interested.

Black Panther - February 16 - Aw yiss.  Just in time for Valentine's Day.

Annihilation - February 23 - This looks really cool and it's by the same guy that wrote Ex Machina so it'll probably be terrifying.

Red Sparrow - March 2 - Jennifer Lawrence stars as a ballerina-turned-spy for Russia in what could have easily been the Black Widow origin story.

A Wrinkle in Time - March 9 - This is getting a lot of marketing already.  It's been so long since I read the book, though, I don't know if I want to see it.

Tomb Raider - March 16 - I'm torn.  Video game adaptations almost always suck but Alicia Vikander is awesome.

Pacific Rim Uprising - March 23 - Apparently, people really hated the original Pacific Rim.  I thought it was fun and I'm hoping the sequel is also fun.

Isle of Dogs - March 23 - This is another stop-motion animation from Wes Anderson, like The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Some of his shit is a little too quirky but I have high hopes for this one.

Ready Player One - March 30 - I'm not totally on board with this but I feel like it might be too big to miss out on.  It's a Spielberg.

The New Mutants - April 13 - Oh hell yes.  Give me some mutant horror.

Overboard - April 20 - It actually hurt my soul to hear they were remaking this movie but I'm hoping it will be different enough to not ruin my memories.

Avengers:  Infinity War - May 4 - I feel sorry for any other movie trying to compete on the same weekend.

Slender Man - May 18 - Is this a thing?!  Really?  And in blockbuster season, not the dead days of winter?  Huh.

Solo:  A Star Wars Story - May 25 - Honestly, I don't know how this could possibly be good.

Deadpool 2 - June 1 - Just take my money, already.

Ocean's 8 - June 8 - Maybe this will be good?  I'm not holding my breath.

Incredibles 2 - June 15 - I have waited so long for this movie.  Damn.

Jurassic World:  Fallen Kingdom - June 22 - Okay.  Sure.  I'm down for this.

Ant-Man and the Wasp - July 6 - Marvel's back at it again.  This is the third entry this year, though, and I'm worried that by now people will be superheroed out.

The Nun - July 13 - This is another entry into the Conjuring-verse.  Now I just don't know what to think, after I was so pleasantly surprised by Annabelle 2.

Mission:  Impossible: 6 - July 27 - Yeah, I'm going to see it.  I kind of hate myself a little, though.

The Happytime Murders - August 17 - This looks fucked up and hilarious.

Robin Hood - September 21 - Do we really need another origin story?  Seriously?

Venom - October 5 - It's a Spider-Man villain without Spider-Man but with Tom Hardy.  I'm on the fence.

X-Men:  Dark Phoenix - November 2 - Dark Phoenix was my favorite storyline.  I really hope they don't fuck it up.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms - November 2 - I don't even know why this movie exists.  Who needed a backstory on The Nutcracker?  It better be fucking gorgeous.

Mary, Queen of Scots - November 2 - This looks like a prestige film but it's got such a good cast that I'm interested.

The Grinch - November 9 - Are you shitting me?!

Fantastic Beasts:  The Crimes of Grindlewald - November 16 - I'm not big on Harry Potter but I quite enjoyed Fantastic Beasts.

Wreck-It Ralph 2:  Ralph Breaks the Internet - November 21 - I hope this doesn't suck.

Mortal Engines - December 14 - This looks kind of gonzo but it's written by and produced by Peter Jackson.  Could be a hot mess, could be brilliant.

Aquaman - December 21 - DC's only entry for the year.  Here's hoping it's a Wonder Woman, not a Justice League.

Bohemian Rhapsody - December 25 - Biopic of Freddie Mercury.  Yes.

Mary Poppins Returns - December 25 - I'm a little terrified, a little curious, and a little infuriated.

End of Year 2016

Happy first day of 2017!  Here's hoping that it's better than 2016.

It's time now for my annual top ten movies of the year.  Last year's list (2015) was harder to rank the top half.  This year's top three were absolute no-brainers.  The second half was much harder.  I also didn't see as many new releases as I would have liked, only 20 for the whole calendar year.  I know I'm missing a bunch of kick-ass films but I just didn't get to them in time.  So here are the top ten of the ones I did see.

10.  Finding Dory -- For a sequel, this is not a bad movie.  But if I had seen more this year, it probably wouldn't have made the cut.

9.  Doctor Strange -- Magic in the Marvel universe.  This was a little more of a low-key film by itself but I have to respect the amount of influence it brings to the overall multiverse.  Plus, it gave me more Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, and Chiwetel Ejiofor and you can't put a price on that.

8.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story -- I thought this was really well done.  And not just for the technological achievements, which blew my freaking mind.  It was well-handled as a standalone, delivering all the character and feel of a Star Wars movie without being mired in repetition.

7.  The Nice Guys -- This movie was hilarious.  I love Shane Black.

6.  Star Trek Beyond -- And Star Trek is back on top for me.  After the wretched disappointment of the second entry, it took a herculean effort to get back into my good graces.  I love this cast so much and they all work so well together.  Losing Anton Yelchin was a horrible blow (damn you, 2016!) but I still believe they can pull off another entry.  I wouldn't have said that in 2015.

5.  The Accountant -- This was the biggest surprise on the list for me.  I really liked this movie.  I even got over Ben Affleck being in it.

4.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -- I finally understand why people get all gaga for Harry Potter thanks to this movie.  I felt transported by it to a place where magic abounded if you only knew how to see.  Totally on board for this franchise.

3.  Captain America:  Civil War -- Like I said, no brainer.  There was so much awesomeness in this movie.  Black Panther, Bucky and Falcon, Giant Man, Spider-Man, so many fight scenes, Vision and Scarlet Witch.  Ugh.  Love love love.

2.  Moana -- This might have only edged out Civil War because I saw it most recently but I loved the fuck out of this movie.  It was amazing.

1.  Deadpool -- Duh.  Best movie of the year.  I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Okay, now that we've rehashed the old, let's take a look ahead to see what we have to look forward to in the coming year.

Split --Jan 20-- It's an M. Night Shyamalan which should be enough to send anyone running for the hills but the previews actually look kind of good.  Ehhhhhhh.

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage --Jan 20-- Shut up.  I can't believe this is actually getting made.

John Wick: Chapter Two --Feb 10-- Fuck. Yes.  I am totally down.

The Lego Batman Movie --Feb 10--  OMG, yes.  All the yes in the world.

The Great Wall --Feb 17-- I love Zhang Yimou but I do not have very high expectations for this.

Logan --Mar 3-- Be still my heart.

T2:  Trainspotting --Mar 3-- I have no idea if this is going to be any good.  The original Trainspotting is legendary and they got all the original cast back, but it's been 20 years.

Kong: Skull Island --Mar 10-- You had me at Hiddleston.

Beauty and the Beast --Mar 17-- Disney is going full throttle with live-action adaptations.  So far, I'm not mad at it.

Power Rangers --Mar 24-- I can't tell if this is going to be hilarious or horrendous.

Ghost in the Shell --Mar 31-- I really loved this anime.  I feel very conflicted about this.

The Fate of the Furious --Apr 14-- This is a really stupid title.  I still haven't seen Furious 7, though.

Guardians of the Galaxy, vol 2 --May 5-- Already has my money.

King Arthur:  Legend of the Sword --May 12-- /heavy sigh  We're doing another King Arthur movie? Really?  Have we learned nothing?  At least it's got Charlie Hunnam so it'll be pretty to look at.

Alien:  Covenant --May 19-- Okay, Ridley Scott.  Blow me away.

Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Men Tell No Tales --May 26-- Jack Sparrow is about the only role I can stand Johnny Depp in anymore.

Baywatch --May 26-- I physically shudder at the thought of this film.  I know it has The Rock and Zac Efron and it's supposed to be very tongue-in-cheek but I'm leery of that description since I balls-out hated 21 Jump Street.

Wonder Woman --Jun 2-- Come on, DC.  This is honestly your best chance to salvage any goodwill.

The Mummy -- Jun 9-- I've seen the trailer.  I'm not terribly impressed but it might be worth it.  Too soon to tell.

Cars 3 --Jun 16-- The trailer for this looks hella dark.  I was not a fan of the Cars series but this might be worth watching.

Despicable Me 3 --Jun 30-- Could be cute.  Hopefully better than Minions.

Spider-Man:  Homecoming --Jul 7-- Already has my money, despite Spider-Man being one of my least favorite superheroes.  I need to see what Marvel is going to do with it.

War for the Planet of the Apes --Jul 14-- Aww yisssss.

Dunkirk --Jul 21-- Ugh, this is going to be so painful and depressing to watch but it's Christopher Nolan so I'm going to anyway.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets --Jul 21-- This looks really interesting.  It's been a couple of years since Luc Besson did a movie and this looks like he has gone all out.

The Dark Tower --Jul 28-- I really hated this source novel.  I couldn't get through it to save my life.  But I love Idris Elba.  Do you see my dilemma?

Annabelle 2 --Aug 11-- WTF?  Why does this movie exist?  And it got a prime blockbuster spot, too! What the hell?!

It --Sep 8-- Okay, I was totally on board with this when it was Cary Fukunaga and Will Poulter but now both those people are gone and replaced with people I've never heard of so my enthusiasm, suffice to say, has waned.

Flatliners --Sep 29-- Hey, look!  Another remake.

Blade Runner 2049 --Oct 6-- This has the potential to be just godawful if handled incorrectly.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle --Oct 6-- I am so excited about this.

Thor:  Ragnarok --Nov 3-- Absolutely.

Justice League --Nov 17-- This could totally suck but I'm hoping for a nice surprise.  Like, that DC fires Zack Snyder and hires someone who isn't so desperate to prove he's an artiste.

Murder on the Orient Express --Nov 22-- It will be interesting to see how this does, considering how dated the source material is.  Then again, it's reintroducing Poirot, which I can't be mad about.

Star Wars:  Episode VIII --Dec 15-- People are probably already standing in line for this.

Jumanji --Dec 22-- I'm trying really hard not to be mad about this.  Trying, and failing.

Pitch Perfect 3 --Dec 22-- Yes!

The Greatest Showman --Dec 25-- This is a biopic of P.T. Barnum, so I understand if a lot of you are going "what?" right now.  I've always been interested in the man, though, so I'm totally on board.

Well, that's a lot coming up for the year.  I don't know how many I'll get to, but as usual, I will spend my year watching everything I can and blurting out my opinions in blog posts for your amusement.

1500 Blogs Ranked!

Okay, well not all 1500.  That would be weird.  But here are a selected number, about every fifty, based on your views from least to most popular.  Maybe you'll see something new and click on it.  Maybe you'll just marvel at how one woman has this much time on her hands.  I know I did!

1500 - Paris 36 -- An Oscar nominee from my very first attempt to see them all.  Published 04 Feb 2010.

1450 - Killshot -- I didn't remember anything about this movie, to be honest.  Published 21 May 2011.

1400 - Death at a Funeral -- This is the original British film, not the American remake with Chris Rock.  Published 22 Aug 2011.

1350 - Ocean's Twelve -- Published 06 Sep 2011.

1300 - Le Samourai -- Published 20 Jul 2010.

1250 - For Your Eyes Only -- A little Roger Moore as James Bond.  Not one of the better films, however.  Published 02 Jan 2013.

1200 - Micmacs -- 24 Oct 2015.

1150 - Reign of Fire -- 23 Oct 2013.

1100 - Catwoman -- Still one of the worst movies ever made.  Published 13 Apr 2014.

1050 - Galapagos -- 14 Jul 2015.

1000 - Jaws -- 07 Sep 2010.

950 - The Five-Year Engagement -- 15 Dec 2013.

900 - Drumline -- 31 Jan 2015.

850 - Ex Machina -- This is the only movie from this year to make the list and I'm happy to see it already this high in the ranks.  Published 25 Jan 2016.

800 - Beginners -- 26 Mar 2012.

750 - Bernie -- 02 Aug 2014.

700 - The Great Mouse Detective -- 21 Nov 2015.

650 - Bunraku -- 20 Oct 2012.

600 - The Act of Killing -- 15 Feb 2014.

550 - Little Shop of Horrors -- 02 Oct 2010.

500 - Bottom 11 for 25,000 -- Well, that's kind of meta.  A list on a list.  Published 11 Aug 2013.

450 - Angel of Death -- I didn't remember this one either.  Published 17 Oct 2011

400 - Happy Accidents -- 01 Dec 2013.

350 - Raging Bull -- 29 Apr 2013.

300 - Moonraker -- Another Roger Moore Bond.  You guys must have loved this one.  Published 23 Dec 2012.

250 - Beetlejuice -- 28 Jul 2013.

200 - True Grit -- This is the Coen Brothers remake.  Not the original.  Published 27 Dec 2010.

150 - City of Angels -- 29 Jun 2014.

100 - Red Dawn -- This is the original, not the remake which is much further down the list.  Published 20 Aug 20112.

50 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice -- 08 Jan 2011.

10 - Golden Globes Nominations 2010 -- Published 15 Dec 2010.

And, finally, the most popular post after all this time is...

1 - 2012 Golden Globes Nominations -- Published 19 Dec 2011.

End of Year 2015

Well, another year has come and gone.  It was not a great year for me and the movies.  I only saw 15 new releases this whole year.  15 out of 221.  Then again, 221 movies in a year isn't terrible.  It's not my record, which is 287 in a year (2013) but I was unemployed for part of that and had nothing else to do.  But you probably don't care about any of that anyway.  Let's get to some movies!

10.  Mockingjay, Part 2 -- I was just really disappointed in this film.  I think it was a bad idea to split it into two parts.  Fully half of the movie is denouement and it just drags.  Not a good way to end a series.  If I had seen more movies, this might not have even made my top 10.

9.  Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation -- I'm a little surprised this wasn't higher on the list but this year had too many good action movies.  I had to be really nit-picky.

8.  Kingsman:  The Secret Service -- This movie was a blast from start to finish and a welcome entry from the early part of the year.

7.  Pitch Perfect 2 -- Don't get me wrong, I love my Bellas.  Everything from here up was painful to rank.

6.  Ant-Man --  I didn't have high expectations for this movie and that may have been what made it so enjoyable.

5.  Inside Out -- Pixar's entry this year showed surprising depth and subtlety.

4.  Spectre -- It kills me this is so low.  I loved this movie.

3.  The Avengers:  Age of Ultron -- I thought for sure this was going to be my number one but when I was looking at them, I just couldn't do it.  I'm sorry, Quicksilver.

2.  Jurassic World -- I really loved this movie.  I had such a good time watching it and I feel like it's a worthy successor to the franchise.

1.  Mad Max:  Fury Road -- I had dreams about this movie.  It was amazing and weird and disgusting and balls out crazy with just enough of the sublime to render it as art.

So there you have it.  Comments and arguments are welcome.

And now, let's look ahead to what's coming in 2016.

Kung Fu Panda 3 got a release date!  Here's hoping that it continues the spirit of excellence it had in the second film.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a real thing.  But it's coming out in February, which means it'll probably suck.

Deadpool already has my money.  Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role.

The live-action Jungle Book is coming out in March.  I don't know how I feel about that.

I've avoided trailers for Captain America:  Civil War.  I already know I'm going to see it and I want every frame to be as fresh as possible.

Alice Through the Looking Glass could be good.  I enjoyed Alice in Wonderland more than I thought I would.

Of course I'm going to see X-Men:  Apocalypse.

I didn't even know there was going to be a sequel to The Conjuring.  But apparently, The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist is a thing.

I'll probably see Finding Dory but I don't have high expectations.

Ugh.  I don't know how I feel about Star Trek Beyond.

Suicide Squad.  Yes, yes, yes.

They remade Pete's Dragon.  Right in the childhood.

They also remade The Magnificent Seven and I have no idea why.

Doctor Strange is coming in November.

Moana looks really cool.  It'll be nice to see Disney do something Polynesian.

Assassin's Creed is a video game adaptation and those typically do not do well.  This one has Michael Fassbender in it, however, and that's a huge endorsement.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is coming out on Christmas Day.  I haven't read the books but they come highly recommended.

End of Year Top Ten for 2014

I think this might have been the year I watched the fewest new movies.  Well, I mean most of the 238 I watched were new to me, but only fourteen were actually released this year.  That's kind of awful.  I know in the next month that I'll watch a crapload of 2014 films because the Oscar nominations will come out but that doesn't really help me now.

With the exception of The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay, which I haven't seen yet, I pretty much saw everything I wanted.  There were some decent animated films, some obvious Lucy-bait blockbusters, and a couple of surprises.  I'm not one to intentionally watch a lot of heavy dramas so I didn't see Fury or Rosewater.  I don't like stupid frat boy comedies like 22 Jump Street or Let's Be Cops so I'm not going to put myself through that.  I did, however, break one of my cardinal rules and watch a horror movie in the theater.  I usually wait to watch at home because I hate dealing with annoying people who can't stand the scares so they talk or yell at the screen like they're auditioning for Rifftrax.  Oculus did not make the top ten, because I thought the ending was lame but it's not a bad horror film.  I did see Into the Woods on Christmas Day and it also did not make the cut, just because there were other films that I liked more.  A review is forthcoming for that one.

So, here we are, in descending order:

#10)  The Hobbit:  the Battle of the Five Armies - This is at the bottom of the top ten because it really shouldn't have been made but I enjoyed it anyway.  There was really no reason a book that small had to be broken up into three films, but I love most of the people in it so I'm giving it a pass.

#9) John Wick - This should not have been as good as it was.  I haven't liked a Keanu Reeves movie since 1999 and that was despite him, not because of.  I seriously fucking enjoyed this film and even now, months later, I think back to certain scenes and want to watch it again.  That's almost as mind-blowing as suddenly learning kung fu.

#8) Maleficent -  Sure, this movie had some problems and it didn't really resonate with people, but I thought it was a decent re-imagining and Angelina Jolie killed it as my favorite Disney villain.

#7) Big Hero 6 - I thought this concept was really cool and it made me want my very own Baymax.  I also like how Disney was not afraid to really ramp up the complexity of the themes presented.

#6) Lucy - Another surprise.  I went in expecting a very middling effort but got a much cooler experience.

#5) The X-Men:  Days of Future Past - This is lower on the list than I was initially expecting, but in retrospect there were several places where the pacing got a little bogged down for me.  Can't beat that "Time in a Bottle" piece, though.

#4) The Boxtrolls - This was my second favorite animated film of the year.  I just loved everything about it.

#3) Captain America:  The Winter Soldier - These top three were so close, they might as well be tied.  Not only was this a fantastic movie, I feel like it was an important one.  Like people are going to be talking about it for years.  Also, fictionally, it changed the face of the entire Marvel universe.  This film caused ripples that will be felt throughout Phase II and Phase III.  This movie was so good, it may have single-handedly saved Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

#2) The Lego Movie - Awesome.  This movie lured me in with a cute premise, an adorable cast, and some insanity and then sucker punched me in the feels with a third-act twist that elevated it past popcorn flick into Instant Classic.  Also, that song is catchy as hell.

#1) Guardians of the Galaxy - I agonized over the placement of this and The Lego Movie.  Honestly, what cinched it was that I had the whole Guardians soundtrack and only the Lego single.  This was fun, exciting, and it expanded the Marvel universe into the farthest reaches of the galaxy.  James Gunn took a minor set of characters and turned them into people we cared about.  He made a character who only spoke three words of dialogue and turned him into the emotional center of the film.  That is amazing.

There is some great shit coming out in 2015, you guys, and I am really looking forward to another year filled with movies.  I hope you are too.  Happy New Year!

Golden Globe awards (2014)

The Golden Globes were on last night!  Did anybody watch them?  I did.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosted the event for the second time.  I still prefer Ricky Gervais, but the two ladies did a good job keeping the festivities moving along.  It seemed like there were a lot of people who were absolutely shocked at winning.  Some handled it well (Amy Poehler) and some did not (Jacqueline Bisset).  Everybody looked good, no trainwrecks that I saw, although some people's hair was a little haystack-ish (Alex Ebert, the composer for All is Lost).  The only bit that really flopped for me was the presentation by Melissa McCarthy and Jimmy Fallon where she was pretending to be Matt Damon.  That made no sense and wasn't funny.

On to the winners!

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Musical Film:  Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle

Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made for TV Movie:  Jacqueline Bisset for Dancing on the Edge

Best Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie:  Behind the Candelabra

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie:  Elizabeth Moss for Top of the Lake

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama:  Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad (I didn't realize that he had never won before.  He has been nominated every year he has played Walter White and never won a statuette.)

Best TV Series, Drama:  Breaking Bad

Best Original Score:  All is Lost

Best Original Song:  "Ordinary Love" by U2 from Mandela:  Long Walk to Freedom

Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series, Mini-series, or Made for TV Movie:  Jon Voight for Ray Donovan  (this still hasn't come out on Netflix.  It's very annoying.)

Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Film:  Amy Adams for American Hustle

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama:  Robin Wright for House of Cards

Best Supporting Actor in a Film:  Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Original Screenplay:  Spike Jonze for Her

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy:  Andy Samberg for Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Best Foreign Film:  The Great Beauty

Best Actor in a TV Series, Mini-series, or Made for TV Movie:  Michael Douglas in Behind the Candelabra

Best Animated Feature:  Frozen

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy:  Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation

Cecil B. DeMille Award:  Woody Allen, but accepted by Diane Keaton (who gave the most rambling, disjointed speech.  I swear, that has to be a pre-requisite for accepting that award.  It would explain Jodie Foster's speech from last year.)

Best Director:  Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity

Best TV Series, Comedy:  Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film:  Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Comedy or Musical Film:  American Hustle

Best Actress in a Drama Film:  Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Best Actor in a Drama Film:  Matthew McConaghey for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Drama Film:  12 Years a Slave