Tag Archives: best movies

The 10 Best Movies of 2022

January 1, 2023 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

We have made it to the end of another year, which came with another onslaught of new movies. On the whole, it was a really good year for film. Looking over my list of watches, there are at least 100 movies that came out this year that I would recommend. My honorable mentions list won’t be quite that long, but it was difficult to decide on a cutoff point. For the main list, I’ve limited myself to 10 particularly standout films. And, as always, I was not able to see everything (the highly acclaimed Aftersun remains the elusive unicorn, out in the fields for me to catch on some future date).

These are the best movies I saw in 2022. Happy New Year.

Honorable Mentions: All That Breathes, Avatar: The Way of Water, Bad Axe, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Batman, Emergency, The Eternal Daughter, Flux Gourmet, Happening, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Mad God, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Murina, Nanny, No Bears, The Northman, The Outfit, Pearl, Please Baby Please, Resurrection, RRR, Scream, Triangle of Sadness, Turning Red, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

10. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

My list begins with two amazing documentaries (a third, All That Breathes, just barely missed the cut). I don’t think I adore All the Beauty and the Bloodshed to the same extent that other critics do, but it has Continue reading The 10 Best Movies of 2022 →

All Movie Reviews, Lists, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The 20 Best Movies of 2020

December 31, 2020 Alex Brannan 2 Comments

We find ourselves at the end of 2020, and…well, let’s not dwell on it.

I may not have set foot in a movie theater since March, but that didn’t stop quality cinema from finding its way in front of my eyeballs. I can (and will) list at least 20 films from 2020 worth watching. As with any year, there are films I’ve missed based on lack of availability and/or time, so I cannot call this list exhaustive. Still, this should give a good idea of my favorite films of the year. And this includes some honorable mentions: The Wolf House, The Nest, Da 5 Bloods, Wolfwalkers, Ema, Palm Springs, Swallow, Blow the Man Down, Promising Young Woman.

20. Bad Education

Cory Finley’s Bad Education didn’t leave as strong of an impression on me as his debut Thoroughbreds, but it nevertheless stands out as Continue reading The 20 Best Movies of 2020 →

Lists

A Decade of Film in Review (Best Movies of the 2010s?)

December 31, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Earlier this year, I toyed with the idea of writing the semi-obligatory “Best of the Decade” list. What films were the best in this arbitrary chunk of time we call the 2010s? The USA Today did it. The A.V. Club did it. The New Yorker did it. Wired did it. IndieWire did it early. CineFiles should at least attempt to do it, too.

I made a list on Letterboxd. It started at around 400 films. I winnowed it down to roughly 200. I could copy those films into a traditional list. Write a pithy blurb here and there. Attach some pictures. But I hesitated. And hesitated. Tweaked a ranking here or there. Again, hesitation. Ultimately, it just didn’t happen.

The question that kept catching me, preventing me from doing any real work toward a Best of the Decade list, was: “Why bother?” This list represents Continue reading A Decade of Film in Review (Best Movies of the 2010s?) →

Lists

Top 25 Best Movies of 2018

December 26, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The arduous task of movie list-making has never been my forte. I am too prone to adjusting my opinions and tweaking grades up or down a half-letter grade. Most years, I shuffle my list around until a breaking point is reached and I publish impulsively.

This year is no different. With almost 200 films from 2018 in my head, it is difficult to narrow it down to 25. It is harder to take those 25 and rank them in any meaningful way. Each film in my top five could be number one. There are films in my top 50 that could have moved into the top 25 (for now, Avengers: Infinity War is at the 50-spot, and that was an enjoyable film which I saw twice in the theater). It pains me a little to not be able to give a blurb to Sorry to Bother You, which narrowly missed the top 25.

Long story short, 2018 was a very good year in film. I may not have seen a standout, A+ film. But I witnessed many, many A-/B+ films.

The following 25 films are, as of this writing, my favorite of the year. But there are many other noteworthy films out there. You can see my full ranking of 2018 films (subject to continual change) at Letterboxd.

Honorable Mentions: Sorry to Bother You, Shirkers, Roma, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Continue reading Top 25 Best Movies of 2018 →

Lists

Top 50 Movies of 2017

December 27, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

It is exceedingly hard to rank entities that are discrete artistic creations, mainly due to my resistance to comparing such individual achievements. It is much easier to rank things that are the worst. (I’m not the biggest fan of worst lists for other reasons, but when there are over 30 films to choose from for such a list, it is something I have to discuss).

So, yeah, this list is ranked, but it is merely based on my personal feelings of these films right now. More importantly, this list exists as a living document on Letterboxd. This is simply because my area has yet to release certain high profile 2017 films such as The Post, and I have not had time during the busy holiday season to get around to seeing films such as The Shape of Water and Call Me by Your Name, etc. etc. Check there for updates.

50. Trainspotting 2

Some things get richer with age: whisky, wine…mostly alcohol. The original Trainspotting remains an electric, darkly comic ride through heroin addiction. T2: Trainspotting is Continue reading Top 50 Movies of 2017 →

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Lists

Top 9 Best & Worst Movies of Summer 2017

September 5, 2017 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

With a whimper, we leave Summer 2017 behind. After a dismal August at the box office, we are prepared to move into the Fall movie season.

This said, let’s dwell on the recent past for a bit longer and take a look at the best and worst films of the Summer, ordered chronologically by release date.

The Worst:

Baywatch

The tongue-in-cheek TV series adaptation Baywatch just doesn’t feel Continue reading Top 9 Best & Worst Movies of Summer 2017 →

Lists

10 Best Movies of 2017 (So Far)

June 25, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

2017 is about halfway over, and there have been many movies that have already made their way in and out of theaters. Some good (see below). Some not so good (Transformers: The Last Knight, most recently).

Let us ignore the bad and focus on what has made the cinema a worthwhile experience in 2017 thus far (in chronological order by release date).

Split

The stigma on the shoulders of M. Night Shyamalan has only grown over the years. The general downward trajectory of his films has caused many detractors, and by and large those detractors Continue reading 10 Best Movies of 2017 (So Far) →

Lists

Top 15 Best Movies of 2016

December 26, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

With 2016 winding down—half of America wanting to forget the entire election cycle, most lamenting the year as the most trying in recent memory, everyone hoping no one influential dies in 2017—it is time to look at some things that were actually good during the last calendar year.

2016 felt like a typical, unsurprising year at the movies. The box office didn’t blow up with mega-hits like last year’s The Force Awakens or Jurassic Park. There were your standard issue blockbusters and flops. Some movies were great. Some movies were God awful. And most of them were woefully in-between in that grotesque nether-region that is mediocrity.

Here, I have outlined my top 15 movies of 2016. Keep in mind that this list does not include some key late-year releases that I have yet to see and review, including but not limited to Fences, Silence, and Jackie. It also does not include documentaries, even though the likes of Weiner, Tickled, O.J.: Made in America, and 13th would all be strong contenders.

If you wish, click on the green titles to read the full review.

Honorable Mentions

The Neon Demon

Nicolas Winding Refn continues his divisive oeuvre with this Summer’s soft release The Neon Demon. While it might not feel it, the film is more Continue reading Top 15 Best Movies of 2016 →

Lists

Top Ten Best Movies of Summer 2016

August 28, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

As Summer 2016 draws to a close, it is time once again to look back at the best the season had to offer at the cinemas. So let us forget about the bad movies of the last few months (*cough* Nine Lives *cough*) and dive into what was worth seeing in the calendar year’s biggest box office period, ordered by release date.

Honorable Mentions:

Finding Dory

Nostalgia value is still alive and well. Thanks again, Pixar. Finding Dory is by no means an animated masterpiece. Thankfully, however, it does not retread over its predecessor. Instead, it expands on characters and gives the character of Dory an effective story. It is not my favorite animated film of the summer, but it is a film that shows that Pixar is continuing with its same pedigree, even when venturing into sequels.

Continue reading Top Ten Best Movies of Summer 2016 →

Lists

Top Ten Movies of 2015

January 1, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Lists are always difficult. I find it nearly impossible to whittle down a large body of films into a list of ten. An honorable mention addendum would be longer than the top ten itself.

Additionally, I haven’t seen all the films I want/need to see from 2015. For example, as it stands now, The Revenant is in limited release, and won’t be widely available until after the New Year. It very likely could wind up being one of my top ten favorites of the year, but it can’t show up on this list.

Here are my top ten movies of 2015.