Favorite Films of 2022

I haven't made a year end list in a while but this year I managed to see some great films and wanted to share them with everyone.  

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once - Any movie that can make me laugh, cry, and think WTF at the time is doing something right. Who knew two rocks talking could be that emotional. It took 6 years for The Daniels to follow up Swiss Army Man but it was worth the wait. It’s pretty bizarre so might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I loved it.

2. Wakanda Forever -  Marvel Phase 4 has been pretty uneven but Wakanda Forever hit all the right notes for me. Going in I was wondering how they would deal with the death of Chadwick Boseman.  By making a movie about people grieving it felt like the characters were grieving the same death we were. Obviously there is a vacuum created by losing such talent and presence and you feel that in the movie occasionally. It also falls back on some familiar Marvel Tropes (at least no sky beam) but it had great action sequences and a fantastic score. 

3. Nope - Wasn’t sure what to expect from Jordan Peele’s third movie but it hooked me in and never let go. Loved the sci-fi elements and had some good scares. Who knew there could be more done in the alien invasion genre.  

4. Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - It doesn’t get any better than Nicholas Cage playing Nic Cage. The movie is ridiculously over the top and a whole lot of fun. 

5. The Wonder- Wanted to include this on my list because so few people are talking about it. While Don’t Worry Darling was getting all the publicity this Florence Pugh project came out of nowhere and quietly dropped on Netflix. It has great writing and of course Pugh brings her A game. It’s a mystery that unravels slowly but it's never boring.

6. The Menu - I got invited to an early screening of this movie and couldn’t make it. But finally caught up with it when it dropped on HBOMAX and absolutely loved it.  It's a psychological thriller that keeps you waiting for things to go nuts. When it does it’s just a whole lot of fun. Not sure I will ever think of S’mores the same way.  

7. Tie: X and Pearl- watched these pretty much back to back  (one on New Year’s Eve and one on New Year's Day) so they are kind of one film for me. Ti West made two great horror movies in one year.  They are very different from each other but compliment each other nicely. Mia Goth is amazing in both. Can’t wait to see where the series leads.

9. Elvis - I came to this one late. I already had my Top 10 made and almost ready to share but then I watched this to get ready for Oscar nominations. I totally did not expect to like this movie as much as I did. I typically don't like Baz Luhrman's over the top productions but Elvis is a larger than life man and fit perfectly into Luhrman's style. I don't know how much of this movie is true but it's compelling and the acting is pretty incredible.

10. After Yang - While this movie technically had its world premiere in 2021 it did screen at Sundance in  2022.  It is a small sci-fi film about a family dealing loss. Besides for themes about death and loss, it's a pretty G rated film.  Colin Farrell anchors the film with a great performance and while it's a bit slow I still found it a great watch.

Honorable Mentions

RRR - If I saw this in theaters I probably would have loved this movie. Watching it at home with lots of distractions and having to stop and pause it a bunch of time didn’t let me get the fullest enjoyment out of it. I also had the English dub on for part of it and that was a mistake much better in its original language.  I am looking forward to watching it again with fewer distractions. 

Bones and All - Sometimes when you go into a movie expecting one thing but get another it can take you out of it a bit. That was my experience with Bones and All. I went in expecting a gory horror movie about cannibals but got a cannibal love story instead. Another one I’m looking forward to seeing again now that I know what I’m getting into. But some great performances. 

White Noise - This movie is bizarre and think will get better with future watches. Or maybe it will get worse I don't know. But the acting is great and dialog is snappy. It makes it feel like the film is trying to say something but pretty sure it's only trying to say no how matter how smart you think you are people are stupid. Lot's of things don't make sense but neither does life. This is a movie that begs you to overthink it.

Thor: Love and Thunder - While not as good as Thor: Ragnarok, it’s one of the few movies my kid wanted to see in the theaters with me, so it made the movie extra special.  He loved it and I loved watching him love it.  

Crimes of the Future - Some movies are just so weird that you will never forget it.  Crimes of the Future is that movie.  I wish the ending was a little better.  I felt like I fell asleep and woke up in a different movie.  This is a movie I am going to recommend to everyone who wants to see a weird movie.  Also has one of my favorite lines of the year “Surgery is the new Sex”.  

90 Greatest Movies of the 90's

As everyone knows by now I love lists, so when Paste Magazine made a list of the best movies from the 90’s that really got my attention. 

Number 1 was an easy pick and not a big surprise.  There are lots of surprises though.  The biggest surprise for me was that I have only seen about 2/3 of the movies on the list.  Feel like I am slacking.

The list does confirm what I have always said and that was 1999 was a great year for movies with 19 movies from ‘99 on the list, and 1994 was another great year for movies with 14 movies on the list.

I have listed all the movies but if you want the reason certain movies were selected you can go to the website   http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/07/the-90-best-movies-of-the-1990s.html

Without further ado here is the list with Best Picture winners highlighted in red.

More thoughts at the bottom.

1.      Pulp Fiction (1994)

2.      Schindler’s List (1993)

3.      Magnolia (1999)

4.      Three Colors Trilogy (1993,94,94)

5.      The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

6.      Fargo (1996)

7.      Goodfellas (1990)

8.      Hoop Dreams (1994)

9.      Rushmore (1998)

10.  The Apostle  (1997)

11.  Fight Club (1999)

12.  The Big Lebowski (1998)

13.  Dead Man Walking (1995)

14.  The Usual Suspects (1995)

15.  Toy Story 2 (1999)

16.  Sling Blade (1996)

17.  Being John Malkovich (1999)

18.  Crumb (1994)

19.  Jackie Brown (1997)

20.  Boogie Nights (1997)

21.  Bottle Rocket (1996)

22.  Chungking Express (1994)

23.  Unforgiven (1992)

24.  Reservoir Dogs (1992)

25.  Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)

26.  Before Sunrise (1995)

27.  Saving Private Ryan (1998)

28.  The Thin Red Line (1998)

29.  The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

30.  Toy Story (1995)

31.  The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

32.  Trainspotting (1996)

33.  Malcolm X  (1992)

34.  Out of Sight (1998)

35.  Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

36.  The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

37.  Boyz N Da Hood (1991)

38.  Office Space (1999)

39.  The Matrix (1999)

40.  Short Cuts (1993)

41.  L.A. Confidential (1997)

42.  Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

43.  The Player  (1992)

44.  Se7en (1997)

45.  The Ice Storm (1997)

46.  Three Kings (1999)

47.  Heat (1995)

48.  Metropolitan (1990)

49.  Miller’s Crossing (1990)

50.  Casino (1995)

51.  The Lion King (1994)

52.  The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

53.  The Remains of the Day (1993)

54.  Exotica (1994)

55.  Groundhog Day (1995)

56.  Heavenly Creatures (1994)

57.  Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

58.  JFK (1991)

59.  Good Will Hunting (1997)

60.  The Professional (1994)

61.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

62.  Beauty and the Beast (1991)

63.  Election (1999)

64.  Clueless (1995)

65.  The Iron Giant (1999)

66.  After Life (1998)

67.  American History X (1998)

68.  Princess Mononoke (1997)

69.  The Game (1997)

70.  The Sixth Sense (1999)

71.  Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

72.  A Taste of Cherry (1997)

73.  Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

74.  As Good as it Gets (1997)

75.  Thelma and Louise (1991)

76.  Apollo 13 (1995)

77.  The Wrong Trousers (1993)

78.  Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

79.  The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1996)

80.  Bound (1996)

81.  Braveheart (1995)

82.  Quiz Show (1994)

83.  Burnt By the Sun (1994)

84.  A Bronx Tale (1993)

85.  Waking Ned Devine (1998)

86.  The Truman Show (1998)

87.  Barton Fink (1991)

88.  Forrest Gump (1994)

89.  American Beauty (1999)

90.  True Romance (1993)

A few thoughts on the list. 

First thing that stands out is Eyes Wide Shut and Bringing out the Dead.  Two movies that do not deserve to be on the list.  Eyes Wide Shut was an awful movie and Bringing Out the Dead was so-so at best.

Saving Private Ryan should be higher on the list then 27. 

There is no way Jackie Brown should be higher than Reservoir Dogs and probably shouldn’t even be on the list

1997 is well represented on the list also with 13 movies. Interestingly enough the Best Picture Winner of that year and the highest grossing movie of the decade Titanic is not on the list.

Speaking of Best Picture winners 6 out of the 10 winners of the decade made the list. (Dances With Wolves-1990, The English Patient-1996, Titanic-1997, and Shakespeare in Love-1998 did not make it)

The Coen Brothers are the most represented directors with 4 movies on the list (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Miller’s Crossing, and Barton Fink) Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and David Fincher each have 3 movies on the list. 

There are three documentaries on the list (Hoop Dreams, Fast Cheap and Out of Control, and The Battle Over Citizen Kane).

There is one short The Wrong Trousers

There are 7 animated films (Toy Story 2, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Iron Giant, Princess Mononoke, and The Wrong Trousers).

Oddly Austin Powers 2 made the list but not the first one.

They admit in the article that there was probably more foreign movies that should have made the list. The one that stands out to me is Life is Beautiful (1997)

Missing from the list in my opinion

10 Things I Hate about You (1999)

A Few Good Men (1992)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Pleasantville (1998)

There’s Something about Mary (the funniest movie of the decade)

And what about big budget Michael Bay action movies

Armageddon (1998)

The Rock  (1996)

Let me know what your thoughts are on this.

First Post and Best of 2009

Welcome to my new blog. I have never done this before but figured would give it a try. My goal is to watch all the movies that have won best picture from the first to the latest. I have seen most of them before but it will be fun to see the ones I haven't seen in a long time. Trying to do this while working is a challenge and my wife isn't sure this is a great idea but I will try to make updates every other week. I will also review other movies I see and share whatever other thoughts that rattle around my head.
To start off I thought I would let you know what kind of movies I like by sharing what I thought were the best movies of 2009.

1. Precious-One of those movies that make you saw WOW after watching it. Such a powerful story. Really takes you into the mind of a troubled teen and her dysfunctional family.

2. The Hangover -The funniest movie of the year.

3. District 9-a movie that felled completely fresh even though alien invasion movies have been around for a long time. Made a social statement while keeping you entertained.

4. (500) Days of Summer-Very original romantic comedy. Wish it would have got some love from the Academy Awards

5. Paranormal Activity-Definitely the scariest movie of the year. Very suspenseful and creepy.

6. The Hurtlocker-Intense look at life of soldiers on a bomb squad in Iraq. Movie about a war without making a political statement. Very tough to do.

7. Taking Chance-was never released in theatres but saw it at Sundance was a great movie. Did get picked up and and shown by HBO. Great movie if anyone gets a chance to see it.

8. The Lovely Bones-Was really surprised how good it was. Did get the best reviews but I really liked it. Very good movie.

9. Inglourious Basterds-Quentin Tarantino at his best. Action, violence, suspense. What more do you need.

10. The Fantastic Mr. Fox-Another movie that I wasn't expecting to like. But it was a fun little
movie.