Category: “Top Tens”, and others

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"Top Tens", and others Movies

2023 Halftime Report

Admittedly, I was not planning on doing a report of the first half of 2023, but obligation did kick in, so here we are.

It has always been no secret that the first half of a calendar year is not as strong as the second half, but that is not the fault of the films that are actually good.

With that in mind, here is a brief look back at what we have gotten so far this year…

Proof the Rom Com is still alive:

Streaming on Hulu, Rye Lane is a brisk 82 minute flick full of 21st century heart and laughs. I truly would not mind if this film lasted a little longer.

Proof that coming-of-age dramadies are still alive:

I never read the book, but I can only imagine this was a breath of fresh air to those who grew up adoring Judy Blume’s classic Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. Abby Ryder Fortson is a true gem, and this is honestly the best I have seen Rachel McAdams in years.

Best based on a true story about a product:

A tie between Air and Blackberry, both equally enthralling films in their own right.

How to properly end a franchise (potentially):

Despite its run time and refusal to give us time to breath, John Wick: Chapter 4 did bring a fitting end to an action saga in the likes of which we have not seen before.

How to not end a franchise (potentially):

While not a horrible film, you don’t end this franchise with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. You end it the way it always should have ended: with Indy and company riding off into the sunset after the last crusade.

Best Villain of the year so far:

As memorable as Jack Black was as Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, no villain has made a better lasting impact than that of Jonathan Majors’ Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Here is hoping all works out for him in his personal life that he can stay on the MCU roster.

Best Comic Book/Animated/Sequel/Action/Multiverse Film of the year so far:

Duh.

I mean, no offense to the other films that fit this description, but come on: ain’t no way it would not be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Worst Comic Book/Animated/Sequel/Action/Multiverse Film of the year so far:

I know what you are thinking: “Mark, The Flash was not animated!”

True, but it may as well have been, because that is how horrendous the CGI was.

Between this and Nefarious, I am struggling over which is the worst of the year so far.

Best of the Year so far:

While other films like How to Blow Up a Pipeline were spine tingling in its own way, nothing stole my breath like Past Lives. Believe the hype you have been hearing about the film: It is that good.

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My predictions for the 95th Academy Awards

Welp, here we go again. I am coming in at the 11th hour, but my predictions are ready. Sadly, I did not get to seeing all I wanted to in time, but such is life.

True, last year I lucked out in going 21/23 (my best to date), but perhaps I am being too modest in saying you should take that with a grain of salt. The only true prediction I know for sure is that Will Smith won’t be there.

Note: As always, I know nothing about the idea of betting odds or anything, so don’t come yelling at me if you lose money.

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Top Ten Films of 2022

Like my 2021 list, I rounded out the number of films I saw in 2022 at about 70 films. Unlike 2021 (or the last few years, for that matter), this year is not a top 20.

I’ve always been vocal in saying there are no bad movie years, but 2022 was a tad dull when compared to the likes of 2021 (and certainly to the juggernaut that was the 2019 movie year). 

This also could factor into something that hasn’t happened to me in sometime: I did not get to rewatch any movies on my list (save one). That is more on me than the movies themselves (I did watch some more TV this past year than previously, and while not a movie, I can’t stop praising the amazing Andor.)

As always, I had my share of blindspots, so movies you won’t see on here include:

  • All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
  • Babylon
  • Barbarian
  • The Black Phone
  • Close
  • Devotion
  • EO
  • Living
  • A Man Called Otto
  • No Bears
  • Pearl
  • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
  • X

Finally, the honorable mentions

Now for the top ten, which begins on the frontlines.

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Top 10 Worst films of 2022

Two weeks ago, I was experiencing back pain that I was more than likely sure were kidney stones. While the pain was not as severe as it had been in the past, it lasted enough days for me to double check with the doctor. Well, turns out it wasn’t a kidney stone…it was two.

My friend Peter said it best: “You are one stone away from an Infinity Gauntlet”.

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2022 Halftime Report

As of this writing, I have seen a little over twenty five movies, both in theaters and on streaming.

This time around for my looking back at the first half of the year, I will do so in a way that would make Michael Scott of The Office proud: a 2022 cinematic “Dundees” for the first half of 2022.

In no particular order…

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The 94th Academy Awards: My take on the Good, the Bad, and…well, you know what moment.

In the words of Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly!”.

The 94th Academy Awards had more than its fair share of failures (one we will get to), but it is important to remember that it had some good moments as well. Great moments, in fact, that are worth remembering.

In no particular order…

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The 94th Academy Awards: Who will win, who should win, and why you should not underestimate the Power of the (under) dog

This may be a bad analogy, but making my predictions this year has been akin to playing Candy Land, possibly the worst kids board game of all time. If the goal is to simply make the predictions at a reasonable time, I am still feeling stuck on that black dot space, or I keep drawing that stupid muffin guy or whatever that brings me back to the start.

Either way, after hours of personal research (including looking at multiple anonymous Oscar voter revelations) here are my predictions, as well as what I think should win. I was also on a podcast with an old High School friend as we discussed the nominations (thanks again Mike!). That was split into two episodes.

NOTE: Not all the predictions I made on the podcast are the same here. What I have typed out are my final predictions.

And, of course, I feel all the categories are important, and should be on TV. So we will start with the lesser known categories…

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The Top 20 of 2021

From The Little Things to The Tragedy of Macbeth (Denzel bookends), I rounded out my amount of movies seen at seventy.

Even with that amount of movies, there was a fair amount of films I did not get to in time (especially, sadly, Foreign Language films). These include The Last Duel, The Green Knight, The Card Counter, Drive my Car, The Worst Person in the World, Stillwater, and The Tender Bar.

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The Cream of the Crap: Top 10 Worst movies of 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is approaching two long agonizing years of existence. I am fortunate to say that, while some in my family have caught the disease, none has passed away. I am aware others have not been so fortunate.

That said, a last minute COVID diagnosis has cancelled my family holiday plans for the second year in a row, so I am rather upset. Therefore, I am transferring my anger in a healthy way to my current separate anger at the worst movies of 2021.

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My Predictions for the 93rd Academy Awards (expect some history to go down)

When Parasite won the Oscar for Best Picture last year, it was truly one of the only great moments of 2020 (the lockdown was only a couple weeks away). Now, nearly 14 months later, the next Academy Awards is occurring (and, more importantly, the hopeful end of this horrible pandemic).

I will try my best in my predictions to answer all the questions that are on the table before Hollywood’s big night: As always, you need to guess in every one of the 23 categories (they meshed sound mixing and sound editing) if you have a pool you are participating in, so here are my predictions.

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