Taking On 2024 - Top Films

Another long pause between posts, and one I had intended to do earlier but was derailed by having to wait for I'm Still Here (2024) to play locally before I could realistically finalize a list. Such is life, the fragility of permanence. But a list thankfully was finalized, and this year I broke with a Top Ten to include a bonus film, or perhaps it's the New Normal(tm) since it's the second year running where the list has expanded. Kind of in line with the year though, as it had a number of notable strong titles, some of the best would have contended for last year's list had they played the local festival in October. One can only speculate on the battles that were never fought.

This battle, however, is one that will be conquered. We have, as usual, a list of every film I considered eligible for the year, if you want to see what missed the cut in no real order. Nothing else really to plug, and perhaps one day I will return more regularly to blogging. There's always something fun about getting back to sit with and think through the year that was in film. But, as they say, fuck all that, let's get to it.

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.

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. 

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.

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?

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?

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.