Ballot to nowhere
I haven't been keeping up with LiveJournal but for a place to post some year-end stats and such, this will do until I get a real website up and running (is sportsalcohol.com still available??). I've voted in a few different best-movie polls and the lists below more or less reflect those votes, in various permutations, but now that the year is pretty much actually over, I thought I'd publish my final-until-I-catch-up-with-even-more-movies ballot with links to reviews from throughout the year and my many runners-up, because this really was an excellent year for film.
The Top Ten
1. Inside Llewyn Davis
Because this isn't the opera, jackass, it's a fucking basket house.
2. Frances Ha (review)
Because I'm not really doing it.
3. Gravity
Because "in space" is one of my favorite movie add-ons and this movie is pretty much all "in space."
4. The We and the I (review)
Because they buttered the floor.
5. Her (review)
Because we love our computers.
6. Stoker (review)
Because personally speaking I can't wait to watch life tear you apart.
7. The Great Gatsby (review)
Because Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.
8. The Bling Ring
Because I wanna rob.
9. Nebraska (review)
Because they really didn’t deserve you boys doing that to them.
10. Prince Avalanche (review)
Because I'm adhering to the equal-time boombox agreement.
The Next Ten
In many other years, these movies could've easily made my top ten list. 11-15 in particular could easily be shuffled into my ten depending on my mood or how recently I've seen them.
11. American Hustle
12. The Wolf of Wall Street
13. 12 Years a Slave (review)
14. Frozen (review)
15. Gimme the Loot
16. Drinking Buddies
17. The World's End
18. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
19. Short Term 12 (review)
20. Before Midnight
And Eleven More, Why Not?
I liked these eleven a lot, too. Not quite top-tier but strongly recommended:
Labor Day
Side Effects
The Place Beyond the Pines
This is the End (review)
Prisoners (review)
The Spectacular Now
Trance
Enough Said (review)
In a World
Star Trek Into Darkness
Iron Man 3
That's thirty-one movies I think you should watch! And if pressed I could probably name another ten or fifteen worth checking out (including some from both of the lists that follow).
Overpraised
Upstream Color (review)
Spring Breakers (review)
The Way Way Back (review)
World War Z (seriously, a lot of people gave this a pass for being not terrible; what the hell?)
Captain Phillips (review)
Blue is the Warmest Color
Undervalued
The Lone Ranger (review)
Afternoon Delight (review)
To the Wonder (review)
The To-Do List (review)
Somehow Both Overpaised and Undervalued, Depending On Who You Talk To
The Counselor
Nicest Surprise
The Wolverine being kind of awesome.
Biggest Bummer
A Good Day to Die Hard being kind of awful.
The Worst
I've heard eloquent arguments against doing worst-of lists, but look: I see a lot of movies which means I see a lot of bad movies, and there's something perversely enjoyable about cataloging those experiences, because there is something educational about them. Having a terrible time at these movies (well, OK, maybe I had some laughs with Paranoia) informed the great times I had at better movies.
1. Stuck in Love (review)
2. At Any Price (review)
3. Olympus Has Fallen (review)
4. Generation Um... (review)
5. Aftershock (review)
6. A Case of You (review)
7. Getaway
8. Paranoia (review)
9. Thanks for Sharing (review)
10. Girl Most Likely (review)
The Asterisk
Some movies I at least vaguely intended to see, but have not yet (I'll try not to lie too much about my intentions to see documentaries, which I generally do not see):
ACOD; August: Osage County; Black Nativity; Black Rock; Blackfish; The Brass Teapot; The Canyons; Dead Man Down; 42; A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III; The Grandmaster; Grudge Match; Hell Baby; The Kings of Summer; Like Someone in Love; The Lords of Salem; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; Museum Hours; Philomena; The Purge; Room 237; The Sapphires; Salinger; Some Velvet Morning; Stories We Tell; Texas Chainsaw 3D; 21 and Over; V/H/S 2; Walking with Dinosaurs; The Wind Rises; Zero Charisma
That's it! At very least, March and April 2014 are lookin' FINE.
The Top Ten
1. Inside Llewyn Davis
Because this isn't the opera, jackass, it's a fucking basket house.
2. Frances Ha (review)
Because I'm not really doing it.
3. Gravity
Because "in space" is one of my favorite movie add-ons and this movie is pretty much all "in space."
4. The We and the I (review)
Because they buttered the floor.
5. Her (review)
Because we love our computers.
6. Stoker (review)
Because personally speaking I can't wait to watch life tear you apart.
7. The Great Gatsby (review)
Because Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.
8. The Bling Ring
Because I wanna rob.
9. Nebraska (review)
Because they really didn’t deserve you boys doing that to them.
10. Prince Avalanche (review)
Because I'm adhering to the equal-time boombox agreement.
The Next Ten
In many other years, these movies could've easily made my top ten list. 11-15 in particular could easily be shuffled into my ten depending on my mood or how recently I've seen them.
11. American Hustle
12. The Wolf of Wall Street
13. 12 Years a Slave (review)
14. Frozen (review)
15. Gimme the Loot
16. Drinking Buddies
17. The World's End
18. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
19. Short Term 12 (review)
20. Before Midnight
And Eleven More, Why Not?
I liked these eleven a lot, too. Not quite top-tier but strongly recommended:
Labor Day
Side Effects
The Place Beyond the Pines
This is the End (review)
Prisoners (review)
The Spectacular Now
Trance
Enough Said (review)
In a World
Star Trek Into Darkness
Iron Man 3
That's thirty-one movies I think you should watch! And if pressed I could probably name another ten or fifteen worth checking out (including some from both of the lists that follow).
Overpraised
Upstream Color (review)
Spring Breakers (review)
The Way Way Back (review)
World War Z (seriously, a lot of people gave this a pass for being not terrible; what the hell?)
Captain Phillips (review)
Blue is the Warmest Color
Undervalued
The Lone Ranger (review)
Afternoon Delight (review)
To the Wonder (review)
The To-Do List (review)
Somehow Both Overpaised and Undervalued, Depending On Who You Talk To
The Counselor
Nicest Surprise
The Wolverine being kind of awesome.
Biggest Bummer
A Good Day to Die Hard being kind of awful.
The Worst
I've heard eloquent arguments against doing worst-of lists, but look: I see a lot of movies which means I see a lot of bad movies, and there's something perversely enjoyable about cataloging those experiences, because there is something educational about them. Having a terrible time at these movies (well, OK, maybe I had some laughs with Paranoia) informed the great times I had at better movies.
1. Stuck in Love (review)
2. At Any Price (review)
3. Olympus Has Fallen (review)
4. Generation Um... (review)
5. Aftershock (review)
6. A Case of You (review)
7. Getaway
8. Paranoia (review)
9. Thanks for Sharing (review)
10. Girl Most Likely (review)
The Asterisk
Some movies I at least vaguely intended to see, but have not yet (I'll try not to lie too much about my intentions to see documentaries, which I generally do not see):
ACOD; August: Osage County; Black Nativity; Black Rock; Blackfish; The Brass Teapot; The Canyons; Dead Man Down; 42; A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III; The Grandmaster; Grudge Match; Hell Baby; The Kings of Summer; Like Someone in Love; The Lords of Salem; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; Museum Hours; Philomena; The Purge; Room 237; The Sapphires; Salinger; Some Velvet Morning; Stories We Tell; Texas Chainsaw 3D; 21 and Over; V/H/S 2; Walking with Dinosaurs; The Wind Rises; Zero Charisma
That's it! At very least, March and April 2014 are lookin' FINE.