Taking On 2025 - Top Films

Time once more to look back on the year that was in film, a year that marks the halfway point of the decade and, fittingly, delivered some of the best films of the decade thus far. But can't get on to figuring out that list until we get through the year officially, and so I pulled from everything I saw in (and around) 2025 to settle on the ten best. This year's list was particularly exciting because of how many great releases ended up coming out, highlighted by established filmmakers and upcoming voices, though it was once asked how long can one spend on an intro? And honestly no sense delaying this shit anymore because I'm already kind of overdue on my loose self imposed deadline, so might as well get to the main course.

Taking On 2021 - Top Films

Quite the year, this past one, 2021, what with the release dates of things causing enough overlap that I ended up skipping my normal half year recap because I simply had not seen enough. Thankfully, I did manage to see a respectable number by the year's end, which I've still been keeping a running list of on Letterboxd. And now they've been narrowed down in a truly grueling process to filter out only the best of the best, a top ten that is truly one for the ages. It did turn out to actually be a pretty damn good year, even with titles still getting shifted around and some getting pushed back indefinitely. So fuck all that, might as well get to it. 

 10. The Green Knight One of the films that seemed to kind of get placed in to a release purgatory was the latest from David Lowery, an adaptation of the Sir Gawain Arthurian story. Having been nearly a decade since I've last read it, going in the details I recalled were more of the broad strokes, but even without a familiarity with the text I think the visuals here would be enough to carry it fairly far; however, the touches in the adaptation that make it play better in a modern context elevate it beyond just a beautifully shot film. The way the story is distilled down to the core themes and then expanded upon along Gawain's journey makes this a tremendous adaptation of a true classic. 

 9. West Side Story Continuing along with the idea of strong adaptations, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner's remake of the classic musical is probably one of my favorite straight adaptations of 2021. I've had, to put it generously, a rocky road with Spielberg's filmography, but even looking beyond the choreography there's plenty to fall in love with when it comes to the visuals. The set design creates this world between film and theater, a transfixing tension that completely drew me in. Also of note is the way it blends English and Spanish fluidly in the non-musical sections, forgoing subtitles and just letting us as the audience exist as we would in the real world. Going in I was pretty hesitant, but at every turn this film surprised me, right up to my narrowing down process when it made its way on to this list. 

 8. Benedetta The latest from Paul Verhoeven isn't quite as controversial as some of the pictures of 'protests' leading up to its wider release led me to believe, but that's not a requirement for it to succeed as an examination of religious institutions. Despite taking place in the seventeenth century, it doesn't have the traditional feel of a period piece; instead, the final product prods at the ideas of truth and lies in religion, the manipulation of power structures especially in a society where upward mobility was limited, and the line between self delusion and conviction in one's self. Oh, and, Jesus totally fucks shit up with a sword. 

 7. Licorice Pizza Not nearly as many swords in this one, unfortunately. But more waterbeds, which isn't the worst tradeoff. Paul Thomas Anderson guides the film with his typical mastery, and the central performances by Haim and Hoffman create an emotional anchor that grounds the feature even as it focuses on a time and place distant from my own experience. What also struck me was how much happens on the periphery, especially for a film that is so resitant to a complex, traditional plot. There's not just the implications about the central characters's lives, but between the fuel crisis, political campaign, and the look at classic Hollywood there's plenty to look at without ever really losing sight of that emotional core. And having these ideas mostly exist on the fringes, it wraps the viewer up in the power of this connection, even if it's not forever, even if there are flaws, for just a few hours it can feel permanent. 

 6. The Power Of The Dog Despite the title there are not all that many dogs in this one, actually thinking back I'm not sure if there even was a single one in any prominent scene, but thankfully it's somehow able to overcome that massive ovesight. A lot of that has to do with Jane Campion's work with the camera, of course, and how it works to frame the bubbling conflict at the center of the film. It's just how thematically sound everything is that elevates it for me though, seeing how each charcter confronts expectations and grapples with their inability to meet them. It's in that performativity that you discover the rage, tragedy, and conflict that, even when it get a little too direct or on the nose, one of the year's most rewarding watches.  

5. Drive My Car Another of the year's more dense dramas, the latest (or co-latest, though I think this one technically released stateside after Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy) from Ryusuke Hamaguichi is a nice blend of an emotional core with meta-textual layering. Having there be a play taking place in the film, and using that as a centerpiece to explore and flesh out character dynamics is a narrative choice that opens up the film thematically as well. It would be easy to focus on the length, which is daunting, but throughout the nearly three hour runtime it never actually felt close to that long, with the story paced incredibly well. And it does get a ton of mileage out of the differet types of fiction. Even if we aren't ever completely watching a play within the film, just the notion of story and fiction functions completely drew me in. Hamaguichi balances theme and narrative so well here, all without ever sacrificing the emotional weight of the different characters.

 4.  Red Rocket

3. Vortex

2. The Worst Person In The World

1. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn

Draft I published because didn’t want to lose it

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.

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.

Taking On 2018 - Top Films Of The Year So Far

Here we are once again, halfway through 2018, what is undeniably the worst year in existence, marked with nothing but pain, sadness, hopelessness, and a few okay films. Some would say it has #BeenAWhile since I last wrote anything on this blog proper, and it has, especially as I use Letterboxd to get out quick thoughts and then just process and have conversations elsewhere, but I imagine there's still a good amount of value is writing down more extensive thoughts on things that have stood out to me throughout the year. So I'll do that. This time in a list form while I try to figure out which things I liked more than other things. The actual process of putting this together ended up being more difficult than I imagined, mostly figuring out what would compete for the last few slots. So with that, it looks like this is how things shook out at the halfway point.

Taking On 2016 - Top Films

Okay, it is finally that time. The year has, almost two months in, officially come to an end. At least in regards to cinema. Not counting, of course, a ton of foreign films that will have to be 2017 films for my list making purposes because distribution of them is kind of shitty or whatever, but at least I saw a lot of things. There's an entire list on Letterboxd of all the things I watched from 2016 (triple digits!), and of course I recently ran through my top performances. But now with the Oscars coming up in just a couple of days, well, it seems the best time to look back and get to thinking of what truly was the best of the best in the year that was.

Taking On 2016 - Performances

So, obviously I haven't been writing as much as I should have, but here we are with another year in cinema in the books. And I think, finally, I am close to as caught up as I am going to get with the year, even if I have a few things here and there I still need to add to the list before I fully put a bow on it, as the case was. No music this year, because I listened to a lot of things over and over again, but not enough of a selection to feel comfortable making a list. But I did watch a lot of films, and those films had actors. Normally I'd break things up, but how about one big list before The Big List(tm)?

Taking On 2016 - Top Films (Q2 Quaterly Review)

Ah, here we are again. Late to the party, but not too late. Though later than it should have been since my last post. In that time though I have watched a lot (but listened to a lot less, which would explain the halfway point of the year missing a music countdown), and this has been quite the year. After a few spotty years, finding a list that felt good to me was incredibly challenging. Regardless of genre 2016 has been simply superb for all types of films. And, as usual, there are plenty of busts as well. If you are interested, you can take a look at everything from 2016 I have watched over on Letterboxd. Either way, no reason to further delay, how about we get to it?

Taking On 2015 - Top Films

Well, here we are, right after the Oscars and the official end to the year that was in cinema. Though there is still plenty of catching up that I wish I was able to do, but when is life not full of regrets, right? After a kind of lost year at the blog (where I should do a 2015 blowout post, but not sure that I'll get around to it), I feel compelled to continue at least the yearly tradition of writing up some things about films outside of short reviews on Letterboxd. You can also find a list there of all the films I have seen there. It helps to solidify my thoughts on how things have changed since the last time this happened. And changed they have. Also, it would not be a year end Top 10 if I didn't cheat. So let's start with that initial slip up.

Taking On 2015 - Top Albums (Q2 Quarterly Review)

Hey, here we are again. Some of the stats options tell me that people are still reading these things, so I guess I'll keep going even if I didn't have a personal obligation to myself. Which means now that we are through with the best songs of the year so far, it's time to take a look at the albums. Look, I'm not here to mince words, I haven't been keeping track of albums as rigidly as I have in the past, and honestly I haven't listened to nearly as much in 2015, so this list is going to be a little lean. But there's still a Top 10 in here, all of which are really great because, well, there's been some high quality shit this year. So why delay it any longer?

Taking On 2015 - Top Tracks (Q2 Quarterly Review)

Alright, so once again we have returned with our Quarterly Review series, spotlighting (as usual to start) the top songs of the year so far. Or that's what I guess I would write had I not neglected to do a Q1 Quarterly Review back at the end of March, but alas the time for that has passed while I was just listening to a lot of Drake and being lazy. We aren't here to read about the goings-on in my life though (presumably there is only a minimal 'we' anyway, but let's ignore that for the time being as these words continue to be typed in to the void), it's music time. As usual here is a Spotify list of all the songs that are on Spotify which I considered for this list, and you can also click on the song titles for corresponding Youtube/SoundCloud links where applicable.

Taking On 2014 - Top Films

So, after a(nother) long break, we have once again found our way back here to fully wrap up the year that was 2014 hot on the heels of the Academy Awards. I sort of got bogged down trying to play catch up, especially with films like American Sniper and Selma, things I couldn't qualify as 2015 films because of their place in the Oscar race, releasing about halfway through January. But it's time to stop chasing and start moving on to the year ahead. But first, one last look back at the year that was, the movies that have changed, and the films that will continue to be.

Taking On 2014 - Top Albums

So look, there's a reason I have been pushing these lists off. I got through songs well enough, but when it comes to BIG THINGS like albums and games (not really films though in this case) I lost a lot of the overall rankings lists that I put up. So, really, while I could go based on the previous lists, I have listened to a lot more. What I am going to do, instead, is just write quickly about a few of my favorite albums, and maybe games at some point in the future. Apologies to all musical artists who are left out, you truly deserve better.

Taking On 2014 - Top Tracks

Alright, I know I missed the last round of these, and it's getting pretty late to still be caught in the last year, but who the fuck would want to escape the Year Of Young Thug anyway? Not me. So let us revel in a list of great songs that somehow isn't dominated by Thugger. As usual, here is a Spotify list I made of songs I liked from 2014, the complete playlist of songs that you see here, and the most recent entry in this series. As usual, click the songs for Youtube links to them or Soundcloud ones or where ever I can find them. Right, I also have some songs on Soundcloud that I like, so maybe look at that too? Sure, why not.