Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Taking On 2023: Top Films

Back for my annual tradition of writing about the films that most resonated with me from the previous year as we either turn the page to the new year and/or lead up to the Oscars. In this case it's more the latter, though given the way some releases have gone part of the reason this list is being posted so late has more to do with the way distributors have opted to trickle out some heavy hitters. It would, of course, be a fool's errand to try and make a definitive list, and, despite seeing a good number of films in 2023 (easily tracked on my Letterboxd list for those who like to play along), 2023 proved unique in a number of ways.

While I certainly lament my inability to see/Mubi's holding hostage of Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World, a film I am sure would at least reasonably have had the ability to compete for a top spot given the pedigree, I was fortunate enough to see a number of releases that are still considered in some strange limbo state. In the past I have also been resistant to including television on this list, and will continue to not this year, though those limits were pushed with Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, a marvelous work of adaptation that illuminates and repurposes the source material in such a surprising and rich way that it feels like it could stand alongside the best features, and was one of the few TV shows I logged on my Letterboxd. But there will be a slight change this year, as I write about a Top 12 for the first time, though for those who do care or are more sticklers than I am at present I have ordered things so you can opt to still have a definitive Top 10 without having to disqualify certain films that almost certainly should be thought of as 2024 releases based on when they'll actually be more accessible theatrically.

All that to say that things have changed, but not drastically. And it's time to count down.

Friday, March 10, 2023

Taking on 2022 - Top Films

Longer than I would have liked since my last entry, but, despite falling off schedule last year, I have returned to once again pound at the keyboard and hammer out a top ten of this past film year. The year cinemas died and/or thrived depending on which narrative you want to push and/or follow. And ultimately one that had me at the theatre often, often seeing at least a decent film. There were even some great ones, films that I occasionally was able to see on a big screen, and some that I simply could not. But the process has been run, the numbers plugged in to the opinion machine, and out came a list. So now it is time to write a little on that list. If you are interested in seeing which films were in consideration, I've got them all tracked on my Letterboxd. If not, well, take a gander below for the ten (or eleven, who knows) best ones from the previous year in the world of cinema. 

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Taking On 2020 - Top Films

Back once again, mother fucker yeah, it's me. Got to this later than I anticipated, but, as with the Academy Awards, now seemed like the best time to put a bow on the previous year in cinema. Also because some things didn't push out to the public at large until even later than normal and seemed like things that I needed to include in my final count. Of course, I am currently accepting all 2021 screeners. Oh yeah, some 2020 things for the Academy are 2021 for my list because of how and when they played or released. For further reference on that, I do have a public list of all releases I'm counting as 2020 eligible. Things have changed since I did my Best Of The First Half, almost a year ago now, so might as well just go get in to the list proper.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Taking On 2020 - Top Films So Far

Hard to believe that we have reached the halfway point of the year, though I guess anything is believable these days, am I right? Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Please, try the beef. And while you're at it, let me tell you about some of the best films I watched this year. While my Raw Numbers are not where I would like them to be, I was surprised when making this list that there were a number of tougher cuts to get down to ten. As usual, I track all the eligible entries (ones I did not see at a festival last year) on a running Letterboxd list if you want to see all the things in consideration or get an idea of what I've missed. The Virtual Theater experience has been super helpful in catching up with things that got pushed theatrically, and streaming services have also pumped out a lot of quality features this year. Of course, the biggest miss thus far is First Cow, which was set to open locally the week everything shut down. Anyway, how about the list?

Friday, February 7, 2020

Taking On 2019: Top Films

Hey! We're here, the Oscars are about to happen and we can finally put a bow on the year that was, and as such that means I'm ready to write down this list with pictures and words that list, definitively, the best films of last year. At the halfway mark I'd already seen some pretty good films, but there are so many heavy hitters to come that things really did change. But you know what they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That is to say that you can check out all the things I watched on Letterboxd, but how about we get down to the Top Ten?

Monday, July 1, 2019

Taking On 2019: Top Films Of The Year So Far

Another year halfway in the books, and another books halfway in the year, am I right? That means that we're at a point where it should be good to really take a deep dive in on roughly the ten best films that I've seen this year. The world of cinema has been, at the very least, pretty solid this year, even with a number of films that were kind of hard to cut down when making this list, even if, overall, I'd think it's more of an underwhelming year for movies thus far. I've been doing, as per usual, some capsule reviews on Letterboxd as I watch things, and also keep a running list of the things that I have watched. But we're here now, the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the list that doesn't include "Anima" because it's still too new and I'm more interested in diving back in than blurting out some thoughts this early, the list that also doesn't have Too Old To Die Young because I'm both still watching it and don't really put TV shows on here even if NWR is on another level with the first five episodes. Oh yeah, list time, baby.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Taking On 2018 - Top Films

Look at that, another year in the books. And that means that films came out, a lot of them, actually, and even though there were plenty I still wanted to check out, I did have a chance to get out to plenty of them. A lot of has changed since the last time I checked in on the world of cinema to name my best of the year so far. Not sure that I'd label it an amazing year for film, but also when I was whittling down this thing to the Top Ten it was pretty difficult, so in the end I guess it was pretty solid. As always, I logged everything that I counted as a 2018 film on Letterboxd in a list that isn't ranked, and some even have words if that's your thing. Just like the ones below the cut, or below these words if you've already clicked in to the post proper. There will be some pictures here too though, just the posters or something. Some numbers as well, ones that aren't even spelled out, so in that sense you ought to call this Mr. Toad because it's about to be closed and never to be heard from again a wild ride.