|
 -> -> -> CLICK HERE TO JUMP STRAIGHT TO THE FIRST POST OF THE COUNTDOWN OH BOY! <- <- <- How did this thread come about? a series of posts and replies in the 2023 genchat thread, conveniently pasted for you below: Chadzok posted:why is there not a year-end thread for top 10 movies or whatever like the video games forum does? yes this is a shameless attempt at harvesting movie recommendations, December I play catchup and it would be nice to have everyone make effortposts for me personally to enjoy Gaius Marius posted:Because you haven't made it MacheteZombie posted:
Chadzok posted:I really don't think it matters who starts it, only a tiny fraction of people who would post their lists would even look at/care about usernames. make it and people will post. it'll be great. someone else do it please What's the deal with this thread? What's going on here? Can I get an intro statement? hello fellow movie loving goons! the end of the calendar year is upon us, and like all great media consuming zombies on the internet, i'm sure many of us are thinking about what we enjoyed the most this trip around the sun. even more importantly, how to quantify what we enjoyed most. i was recently thinking about the games forum's goty thread which is loads of fun and something i've participated in multiple years in a row now. i was wondering if anything like that had or would happen in CineD. clearly, i wasn't alone in wondering this and the topic came up in the genchat thread. so... screw it. let's give this a shot Rules - bc otherwise this poo poo will be a big mess
to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time this forum is doing this. who knows if it'll take off or if anyone will give a poo poo. i hope you do  idk what else to put here, but things may be added/removed/etc. enjoy! ShoogaSlim fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Jan 2, 2024 |
#
¿
Dec 17, 2023 09:39
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:24 |
|
|
hot drat distortion park coming in hot with a great list. letterboxd is a lifesaver for tracking stuff like this. and yeah Chadzok i assumed i would keep my list to 2023 as well but honestly i watched last and first men (2020) for the first time this year and was blown away so i might rethink my usual strategy for end of year movie lists
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2023 17:42
|
|
|
I, Butthole posted:2022 Ranked https://boxd.it/jKKIs very interesting to see jackass forever on this list. curious to know what made it stand out for you
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2023 01:00
|
|
|
^ i'm going to attempt to keep a spreadsheet and score the results. could you add numbers to your list so i know whether it's descending/ascending/something else? edit: ty for the edit, i'll update my list for your entries ShoogaSlim fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Dec 18, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2023 02:04
|
|
|
I, Butthole posted:dudes rock i mean i agree just, it's interesting to see it show up in a "best of" list. i suppose it deserves notoriety for bringing back the "event comedy" to theaters. movies like borat come to mind, and ever since marvel's dominance, they're few and far between. i saw it in theaters also with some non-movie buddies and it was nice to have something to invite them to and have them agree to go to.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2023 07:00
|
|
|
jackass rules. i'd rather watch it over and over on repeat for a week than watch even half of The Fabelmans once. that's just me, tho. as for how to go about picking which movies make my list this year, letterboxd has a really helpful set of filters and sorting options that allows me to do the following: - only movies i watched this year (diary date) - sort by rating descending - and i can even limit the list to ratings in a certain range * scratch the "hide rewatched" - unfortunately it winds up omitting all entries from your list, including the first time which isn't labeled in your diary as a rewatch. it's more of a setting for movies you've only watched a single time as opposed to showing you all entries without repeats. bummer. doing the above reminds me that i finally saw Barry Lyndon for the first time this year and was really impressed with it. i had been putting it off for years and years because of its length and i figured it would be too daunting to manage but i was way wrong. i'm actually excited to dive into this a bit more because, for the past few years, my top 10 of only movies released in a given calendar year inevitably wind up getting filled with mid stuff that i'm lukewarm on. i see a decent amount of movies as far as your average joe is concerned, but not to the level of some folks on this forum, i'm sure. so yeah now my list for this thread will include movies i really enjoyed from this year as well as some fantastic stuff i watched for the first time that i missed out on previously. this is going to be a difficult list because i first saw Tar at the beginning of this year and absolutely loved it, so now it's between that, The Holdovers, and Zone of Interest for my top spot.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2023 11:48
|
|
|
esco, nice list! i've heard of at least one of those movies before lol. i'm excited to see what winds up on your actual '23 list chadzon, also nice list! i don't agree with a few of your picks, but one of your inclusions did influence me to revisit my own (in progress) and change it up a little. also, i rewatched phantom thread this year for the first time in a few years and bumped it up from a 4 to a 5 on letterboxd. it's pretty flawless through and through. funny, endearing, romantic, sly, twisted, beautiful. wonderfully shot and acted, and the score is incredible. nice inclusion. i'll take a page out of esco's book and post a preliminary list of pre-'23 movies i watched for the first time this year that wow'd me. i watched a handful of classic movies and a few more modern gems that took me by surprise. i won't number these for my own sanity but it's a 10-1 list for anyone curious.  Carnage (2011) directed by Roman Polanski i started borrowing dvd's from the library near my job this year, which has been a joy. along with the tangible disc and not having to deal with artifacting or packet loss or whatever, there's also the debatable benefit of on-disc trailers. i saw a trailer for carnage before something else i watched and was surprised i'd never heard of it. turns out it was on hulu and i'm pretty sure i turned off whatever dvd i was about to watch to pop on this quick little comedy. i love a flick where the actors are working with restrictions like a single setting and having to carry a movie entirely on their evolving performances. all four characters here are firing on all cylinders and it's a really fun ride.  The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos this was the very first disc i got from the library this year, and i had been intrigued to check it out for a while. the dark and oddball humor plus heavy subject matter is dialed up to the max here. i love catching up on colin farrell's better roles and seeing barry keoghan's range. it was also nice to see nicole kidman in another foreboding marriage.  The Favourite (2018) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos yorgos on a roll. after seeing poor things i figured i would fill another gap in my lanthimos blind spot. part of me was aware that this movie was a "thing" a few years ago, but something prevented me from being curious enough to catch it. i think i didn't think it had any/enough of a comedic angle to it, and it's possible i wasn't over the first time i saw the lobster and didn't have confidence in my ability to "get" lanthimos' style. but watching this was great fun and i loved seeing the back and forth tenacity of emma stone and rachel weisz. the closing shot is masterful.  Berserk (1997) directed by Naohito Takahashi (and others) ok this isn't a movie but it's listed on letterboxd so i'm counting it. i'd heard about berserk over and over throughout the years and it had come up even more when i got into dark souls games as a huge inspiration. my interest was piqued but i never really had the motivation to watch. finally, a good friend of mine strongly suggested it and claimed it was far and away much better than any other anime show out there. i finally pulled the trigger and was pretty much hooked from episode 1. anybody who's seen this knows how batshit the ending is, and i'm so glad i have context for all the memes that show up online. the story is super interesting with it's themes of power, destiny, fate, etc. the action in this is cool but really it's the music and the themes that elevate it.  A Serious Man (2009) directed by Joel & Ethan Cohen i think i tried watching this a few years back and the opening confused me and i gave up on it. i gave it another try this year and during my first watch, i wasn't completely sure it was grabbing me. there were funny parts, there were weird parts, there were parts that felt like they didn't belong, but i kept with it. by the time the credits started rolling, i knew it was a great movie. this is another movie i grabbed from the library, and i liked it so much i borrowed it again a few weeks later for a repeat viewing. i dove into some of the special features and learned some additional yiddish phrases i wasn't already familiar with, and found myself really enjoying cracking into some of the overarching themes.  Last and First Men (2020) directed by Jóhann Jóhannsson this movie played at a small indie theater near me in los angeles, and i almost snagged a ticket but wound up not. fast forward to october of this year and i signed up for a free trial of shudder to watch some spooky movies for halloween month. turns out i hate most straight up horror movies and was feeling like there was no salvation anywhere to be found on the channel. after scrolling around a bit, i see this movie in the list and remember almost seeing it in theaters and being intrigued by the trailer. i popped it on and was enthralled the entire time. some might argue this isn't really a movie and is more... something else? but for me, the 100/10 visuals and the narration are two perfect ingredients for a really special audiovisual experience. i had no idea prior that johann johannsson was the composer for a handful of other movies i really enjoy, and i wound up diving into his body of work after seeing this. really sad we'll never get to hear another composition of his or see another film directed by him.  Aftersun (2022) directed by Charlotte Wells saw this at the very beginning of this year after hearing all the buzz around it from last year. this movie is a gut punch. i cried at the end in the theater. i'm kinda scared to watch it again, but i know i will sometime very soon.  Harakiri (1962) directed by Masaki Kobayashi in an attempt to tackle some of the movies at the top of the letterboxd top 250 narrative entries, i wound up grabbing this from the library since it's currently at the #2 spot. there's a lot of baggage that comes along with being that high on a list of every rated narrative entry on a movie rating site, but this absolutely delivers. the setting, the characters, the simple but complex and unfolding story, the ending. it all just works so well. smarter, more scholarly film enthusiasts can probably say a lot more about this better than i can, but it's just an awesome movie.  Barry Lyndon (1975) directed by Stanley Kubrick depending on what day it is or what company i'm around, i might say stanley kubrick is my "favorite" director (sometimes fincher, sometimes paul thomas anderson, etc). but this movie has always been a blind spot for me in kubric's filmography. i was daunted by its length and subject matter and figured it was just something i would go without seeing and that was that. again, wound up grabbing it from the library and giving it a fair shake. i'm having a hard time remembering what other movie i watched where there was either commentary or a behind-the-scenes thing that referenced lighting a scene entirely via candlelight like barry lyndon. that was part of the motivation to finally give it a go. turns out, it's a friggin masterpiece. there's a theme this year between this, the favourite, and even berserk, that has me really appreciating the aristocracy as a setting for storytelling. especially when there's black humor involved.  TÁR (2022) directed by Todd Field keeping with the kubrick theme, finding out that the director of this played the piano player in eyes wide shut just helped to further solidify this as my favorite movie from last year. cate blanchett is a powerhouse in this, and i love the power dynamics that are going on all around her character's existence both internally and externally. it's shot beautifully, it's got grand scale and depth and is a long movie but just the right length to tell this story in all its complexity. i listened to mahler for a good amount of weeks after this came out and dove into a bunch of critical analysis on youtube and podcasts. there's a lot to uncover beyond the surface but it also works perfectly well on the surface, too. the ending is also really bonkers in such a great way. ---- ok that was a lot of writing and copying and pasting. i can't wait to do it again for my actual top ten from the current year! 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 22, 2023 09:02
|
|
|
Shneak posted:I love reading and writing these lists in Games and TVIV - glad to see an edition here. When's the deadline? glad you're glad to have it here! i'm glad, too i figure the deadline would be the same as the games deadline. if anyone objects or really wants more time, i can't see a reason to object unless anyone else wants to chime in. we could use more participation in this for any tallied score to be meaningful, although that's only a small portion of the fun. the real fun is gushing about your movies and having a place to put those thoughts and read what others have to say about theirs. speaking of participation, does anyone here have proficiency with spreadsheets? i'm kind of a god drat idiot when it comes to this stuff, but i'd like to get better and am giving it a whirl. chatgpt is surprisingly helpful at understanding contextual questions about what you want to do with data in a spreadsheet and giving you bulleted lists to follow and precise formulas.  right now, i have two questions i can't get past 1. trying to sort the list of movies with their calculated total score is baffling. any time i try to sort asc or desc it just bugs out and adds more rows. i'm sure it's because i'm trying to sort a column with a formula as opposed to just a standard value, but i can't get around it. the only thing i can do right now is copy/paste the plaintext version of what's already there into a separate sheet and sort that way. 2. how do we deal with tie scores? i'm sure there's plenty of data in the games thread where hundreds(?) of people are voting. but in a small poll like in this thread, there are a handful of movies with the same score. is that normal? would that just be considered a "tie" for the slot? it would result in a very wonky outcome and i'm wondering if there's an elegant way around that? i suppose you'd have to introduce some additional variable to wiggle the score around somehow. idk...
|
|
#
¿
Dec 24, 2023 01:28
|
|
|
yeah but unfortunately for such a small sample size, it falls apart a bit. if 5 lists all have a different number 1 pick. they're all equally scored at 10 each and only 1 list per. but yeah ties aren't so bad
|
|
#
¿
Dec 24, 2023 02:48
|
|
|
Escobarbarian posted:BONUS: I went to an Asteroid City exhibition when the film came out over here with a ton of original costumes, props, etc. It was so sick and I got a cool shirt I’m wearing right now! Pictures here! i went to one of these, too, in los angeles a few days before the actual theatrical opening. it was really fun! and i also got a junior stargazer shirt. you're making me rethink this movie's place in my list. i saw it so early in the year and enjoyed it, but it's since faded from memory a bit. need to revisit. great list all around! Escobarbarian posted:Easier list for Shoog: i did all the copy/pasting before seeing this lol but thank you 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 24, 2023 21:16
|
|
|
surf rock posted:Thank you for doing this thread! I want to suggest that the deadline for this should be the end of January 2024. Unlike with the games thread, so many films don't get wide release until the very end of the year or the start of the next year. Of the six 2023 films I still want to see, only two have been released where I live (one of which was a couple of days ago), and I live in a relatively large U.S. city. my pleasure! i really enjoy the games thread, but i watch way more movies and care way more about 90+% of movies released in a given year as opposed to only being familiar with and/or caring about, like, less than 5% of games brought up in the games thread. so i'm happy to see that there was enough interest for this and i'm bored enough to bother lol. as for the rules, i think it boils down to a philosophical stance on whether this thread should be for one of two things: 1. the best movies that released in 2023 only -OR- 2. the best movies any particular goon has watched in the calendar year of 2023 if the first, and it seems like most people's lists are catering toward that, then i can see doing two things: 1. expanding the deadline to jan 2024 to allow for movies with an official release date of 2023 to open/debut in more cities 2. limit the voting to only movies with an official release date of 2023, even if they debut elsewhere in 2024 (i would be open to using whatever source is reputable and consistent. imdb? themoviedb? you tell me) as for making adjustments to your list, i think it would be less messy overall for others to read and most helpful for me for you to edit your original post and just post in the thread that you've updated your list. i'll go find it and make any edits needed. might also be interesting for others to see what you edited out/in if they're reading it after the fact. so i'm open for discussion on what people wanna do in terms of the options above!
|
|
#
¿
Dec 25, 2023 20:11
|
|
|
one other important note for anyone else yet to post their list: i will do my best to normalize titles, but it would be super helpful for me if you grab the official spelling via copy/paste from letterboxd or imdb or something the way the spreadsheet works, it will throw a wrench in things if you spell it "spider-man: across the spiderverse" vs "spiderman - across the spider verse" vs "spider man across the spiderverse" etc etc the official title is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (i didn't even realize there was a hyphen in spider-verse) anyway! happy listing!
|
|
#
¿
Dec 25, 2023 20:40
|
|
|
DMCrimson posted:I'll get my full reviews in shortly but here's my 2023 list: there's a 1943 version and a 2005/6(?) version. which one do you mean?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 25, 2023 20:43
|
|
|
i know i give you poo poo in other threads for liking michael mann movies but drat this is a HELL of a post! replying now before reading it but i'm excited to dive into all the words you wrote.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 26, 2023 10:59
|
|
|
MacheteZombie posted:alright been meaning to post my list but busy with the holidays this post made me double check how many 2023 movies i watched and i've only seen 25. less than a quarter of all the movies i watched this year. also, i'm assuming your first list of movies from all years is your official list for the thread, right?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 27, 2023 02:47
|
|
|
I, Butthole posted:All That Jazz is just perfection DMCrimson posted:The second: best movies you watched in 2023 please let me know if i can update the OP to be more clear. i'm very open to feedback bc i just slapped it together on a whim and i'm sure it can be improved. quote:
|
|
#
¿
Dec 27, 2023 23:00
|
|
|
surf rock posted:As requested, head's up to OP that I've updated my post appreciate the heads up - i updated your list! ShoogaSlim fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Dec 28, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Dec 28, 2023 05:19
|
|
|
attn as of now there's been no strong opinions on changing the deadline of this sunday to submit your list. if you plan on submitting, please wrap your votes up and get that list going (i need to do mine this weekend, too, it's basically ready i just have to stop being lazy). if you have strong opinions/desires for the submission date to be moved, please let it be known here before the end of tomorrow. otherwise, i will tally the votes submitted as of end of day (pst) sunday at midnight.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 29, 2023 20:39
|
|
|
i've heard so much buzz about it from people who both loved it and hated it. i don't typically dig horror movies but i'm too curious not to check it out sometime soon. i'm also curious about skinamarink but i don't really feel like that's gonna do it for me.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 29, 2023 22:32
|
|
|
Honorable Mentions
The Top Ten 10. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves  i grew up in new york and have a movie buddy i'd go see basically everything with. then, i moved to LA about seven years ago and have since made a movie buddy out here that i go see most everything with. my new york friend came out to visit and the three of us, having seen 50+ movies together between the three of them wound up seeing this together. for a popcorn movie about parties on an adventure, it was poetic in a silly way that i saw this movie with those two friends. it's also a really nice response to the whole marvel-ification of fantasy action blockbusters where we had enough of that formula to feel entertaining and visually interesting, but with a bit more heart and more interesting characters. after playing a little bit of baldurs gate 3 this year, i went back and watched it again at home and the experience was heightened having a bit more familiarity with some of the themes and tropes of dnd. now the rest of what i write in this list would work so much better if jarnathan were here! 9. American Fiction  from the very first time i saw the trailer for this, i was captivated and knew i had to see it. getting to see jeffrey wright in a starring role after admiring his performance in a solid handful of supporting roles was something i was eager to experience, and i was also really curious to see how this subject matter would be handled, especially living in a city like LA. contrast this with a movie like killers of the flower moon that people claim is "important" and "urgent," this movie goes out on a limb to force you to reconsider how you're examining movies that focus on non-white characters and stories. not only in an overt way (the intro is extremely on the nose) but even by way of its more subtle underlying story. tons of laughs during this in the theater, a sweet narrative holding it all together, and while i felt the whole multiple endings part at the end maybe wasn't the strongest way to wrap things up, i really really enjoy the very last shot that kind of ties everything together with a simple exchange between two characters. 8. The Killer  like any good pseudo intellectual film bro, se7en is one of my all time favorites. i was really delighted to hear that fincher and andrew kevin walker were reuniting for another film and was expecting this to completely obliterate everything else this year. while i have a lot of love for what this turned out to be, i can't help but feel like i was let down a bit. there are really great aspects of this movie, but there are also some pretty glaring misses for me that keep it low on my list. i wanted it to be more brooding, i wanted it to be more intriguing, i wanted it to be "deep." i think i probably wanted it to be more like drive than it is. maybe it's better off for not being that, tho! and as i type this, it's interesting to think that this movie's unnamed protag is the antithesis of ryan gosling's driver. the quick cuts to reveal the passage of time as the killer waits for his mark, the digital cinematography, the fight scene in florida, a lot of this is fantastic. the fact that it's short and to the point makes it likely that i'll revisit this one sooner than other movies on my list, and it might wind up changing my mind after a rewatch to consider it even better. as it stands, it's really good but i wanted it to be incredible. 7. Barbie  i marathoned greta gerwig and noah baumbach movies before heading to the theater to see this. reminded me of how much i enjoy those quirky indie dramedies after not having seen some of them in many years. i was really excited to see how these understated filmmakers would tackle a property like barbie. i wound up getting tickets to an early screening of this where the theater was decked out in barbie backdrops and photo ops. i dressed up in a ridiculous pink outfit and took photos, i watched as people around LA opening weekend were out in groups of ridiculously pink outfits and knew exactly where they were headed. it was a phenomenon like i haven't seen since, like, star wars the phantom menace? maybe ever? i was basically scream laughing at a lot of moments in the theater during this. ryan gosling is a comedic delivery mastermind. the way the movie equally portrays the plight of women both historically and currently, it actually does an interesting thing where it touches on how weird it is to be a man in modern society. secretly winking at each other that we all pretend to let women have more power meanwhile we retain it overall, but also how we struggle to find identity and purpose with all the expectations and promises that come along with being a man. ken's expectations for the real world are soured by the zeitgeist he's made aware of, and it's an interesting reflection of online discourse in places like reddit and twitter that color our expectations of offline living that, obviously, don't always align. barbieworld, as a real thing that mattel has sold for generations, just so happens to also be an interesting parallel for the online world we've created over the last ~15 years. funny and insightful. maybe a little bit of scary "writing on the walls" for mattel wanting to turn more properties into movies and maybe/probably/almost definitely not reaching the same heights. this movie basically just shouldn't exist and shouldn't be as good as it is. 6. Past Lives  didn't really know much about this going in except that it was an unconventional romance story, i found myself captivated by its narrative all the way from start to finish. the way it shifts its delivery and style through each act is refreshing in that it doesn't make it too obvious what's going to unfold with the characters. all the way to the very end, there's tension you can cut with a knife wondering what decision is going to be made by anyone on screen. love is complicated and messy and there are no rules about it. we don't always act in ways that align with how we expect ourselves to, and not always in ways that we'd feel proud of when all is said and done. past lives feels like a really honest, no-punches-pulled examination of what it's like to make decisions, have regret, have doubt, gain or lose closure, and how to move forward regardless of what happens. that's life. 5. Oppenheimer  this was the first movie i saw the famous chinese theater in hollywood after living in LA for a handful of years and seeing plenty of movies elsewhere. all the imax screenings were completely sold out for weeks in every theater in the city, and i was convinced i wouldn't see it for a while, but someone on reddit had tickets for sale and i wound up snagging them to see it pretty early on during its run. i wasn't sure what to expect of this, and i was both confused and relieved at what events took place at certain points of the movie. there was room for certain plot lines to breathe, which added to the epic scope of the whole thing. i think it might have been john waters who commended this for being a blockbuster that makes people in rooms talking feel like an action movie or something. it's true. this whole thing is just conversation after conversation, plus a big explosion that almost gave me a panic attack in the theater lol. the choice to exclude any japanese perspective has been heavily criticized but i applaud it for not going there, bc i think you just open up a whole different can of worms in what you might/probably get wrong by doing that and instead focusing on the titular character. i think it was correct to not show the depictions of the aftermath and instead focus on oppy's reaction to what he was seeing. we've all seen those images, we don't need to be beaten over the head with them in the movie. we know why he's disturbed looking at them. if you don't know why, that's on you, not the movie. it won't go down as my favorite nolan movie, but it might be his objective "best"? at the very least it's nice that he followed up a stinker like tenet with something this huge that works this well. it got me curious enough to scrounge around on the internet for more information about nuclear bombs. it's always a positive when a movie can stir up enough interest in me to look into its subject matter after the fact and keep it in mind long after the credits roll. 4. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar  one single theater in all of LA played this, and it was like an hour drive from my place, which i normally wouldn't bother making if it were most other movies/filmmakers. at the time, i wasn't subscribed to netflix, and i've since canceled the subscription i did wind up with bc i don't really care for a lot of their original stuff. so partial motivation to see this in a theater was because i didn't really have another way, and also because i wanted to experience the novelty of a short film in a theater anyway. i was practically grinning the entire time. everything about how this short flick puts all its cards on the table and unfolds like a stage play where actors are changing makeup on screen or running off camera for a second to change their outfit. how the actor will look in a different direction to face a different camera and the lighting changes in real time to adjust for the new angle. it's just a delightfully whimsical experience to watch it all play out in a way that feels childlike and innocent. the way kids would put on a performance with blankets as capes or something. 3. Poor Things  in my other list of movies in this thread, i mentioned watching the killing of a sacred deer for the first time and rewatching the lobster for the first time since seeing it in theaters. those two experiences prepped me for going into poor things with a little more excitement as i warmed up to lanthimos' style of storytelling. and even though i felt prepared, this felt like a drastic change of pace from the two other movies i watched (which are pretty similar) in such a refreshing way. the set design, the costumes, the characters, the bizarre nature of everything that unfolds while having its hooks in the real absurdity of a developing life. it's all really well represented in a way that isn't heavy handed about what it's telling you, but has a clear message, but also has more than enough fantastical elements to keep things interesting and make you forget you're watching a parable of sorts. mark ruffalo is delightfully despicable in this as he writhes and slithers around being manipulative and pathetic. constantly being thrown off guard by bella as she defies to be pinned down by him and flourish in her exploration of the world around her. emma stone does a bang up job embodying bella's idiosyncratic ways and evolution throughout the film. willem dafoe is perfect as the frankenstein-esque twisted genius type. everything fits together so well. it's maybe a touch longer than i would have wanted it to be, but at no point did i really want it to end, either. 2. The Holdovers  sideways is my favorite movie. it's such an incredibly "normal" movie about two dudes going through pretty ordinary life poo poo that unfolds in a beautifully simple way. highlighting common struggles of purpose, motivation, ambition, self-loathing, regret, etc. it's a masterpiece. so, another collaborating i had high expectations for this year was alexander payne and paul giamatti. i was almost afraid of this movie going into it bc i figured there was no way it could stand up to what i was hoping it would be, but i still needed to see it anyway, of course. turns out, it's really fantastic. i probably used that word in all of these paragraphs too frequently, but this movie is so heartwarming and charming and funny and touching, there's no other word i can think of to describe it. paul giamatti is an absolute powerhouse here. the way he holds himself up as this extremely academic genius while smothering his guilt and regret is so refreshing and nuanced. every time he calls the kids in the school "fetid layabouts" and other creative ways to call them all lazy, stupid pricks is just hilarious. i get giddy every time. i loving howled at the reveal of the christmas presents, which i won't spoil here, and i cried at the ending. realizing that you've met someone who kinda sorta gets you in life when you otherwise feel like most people don't, or you don't really have the motivation/courage/desire to let people in, and then to have that relationship severed, it's a gut punch. but you keep on truckin' this movie captures the feeling of uncommon connections with people in a way that closely relates to my own experience moving away from my home city and away from all the friends and family i had. trying to make my own way and meet people and develop relationships in unconventional ways/settings and with people you never thought you'd click with. it's a brilliant achievement of filmmaking that is centered directly on characters and setting without the need for flashy anything. just good storytelling. 1. The Zone of Interest  recency bias may be a factor here, and it was a toss up between this and the holdovers at the number one spot. but for sheer out-of-left-field-ness, this movie takes the cake as what i would consider the best of the year. holdovers will probably go down as my favorite and the one i rewatch the most, but the zone of interest is what i will always think back on in terms of a small movie that feels way more gigantic than it seems to be on the surface. i had no idea really what to expect of this going into it, and the trailer certainly doesn't really set you up for what it actually is. i saw all the letterboxd reviews calling it important and shocking and all the other buzzwords, and i thought to myself "there's no loving way." but after seeing it just steps away from my apartment at a 100 year old theater that i've been waiting for three years to reopen so i could finally visit, i was convinced. it's not "shocking" in a way that i think some reviews sell it, it's extremely understated, and at times, you kind of forget entirely what kind of movie you're even watching. that's all to the strength of the movie and the message i think it's trying to drive home. i felt so wrapped up and invested in the narrative, and then there are moments where the audio or other subtle/not-so-subtle clues remind you of what's really going on, and its' an interesting slap in the face in the best way. the way the movie plays out pretty straightforward, but a few times plays with how it uses audio and video is intriguing, interesting, and overall fascinating. it's using the medium of film to tell a story within a story in a way that can only work in a movie. the fact that there's an overture in the beginning just set the stage for me to be thoroughly impressed the entire way through. there's a tonal shift around the middle mark that is jarring and more impactful than even the explosion in oppenheimer, it's foreboding and ominous. the ending really impressed me. the way it plays with the narrative. the way the characters react (or not) to what's happening in each sequence and what's going on on screen. i don't want to say anything that will spoil anything, but it's just all so drat impressive. i was really pleased with how it wrapped up in a way that is obvious but again understated. it's saying something clear but allowing enough to be left up to interpretation. it lets you sit with your thoughts and feelings about what unfolded and what will unfold even as the credits roll. it's a masterpiece. AND it's only like an hour and forty five minutes. you can make a really strong impactful movie and it doesn't need to be hours and hours long. ----- as i wrote in the games thread, apologies to anyone who actually reads any of that thought vomit above. i'm just gushing without really going back and editing anything.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2023 06:57
|
|
|
he really does nail the gentle giant type figure so well. his role in knock at the cabin and blade runner both make me want to see him in lots more dramatic roles.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 30, 2023 07:41
|
|
|
love seeing tar close to the top of a list. and i remember seeing locke at a small theater in new york when it first released and being really drawn into the drama of it. i haven't seen it since, but i should definitely change that. also i did see donnie darko as a teenager (like most goons here) and it certainly did blow my mind thinking it was the deepest craziest poo poo ever lol. whole adolescent personalities have been built around that movie.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 05:22
|
|
|
BeanpolePeckerwood posted:come out and face me cine-d cowards. you have 2 hours to post your lists more lists more lists!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 07:41
|
|
|
Erin M. Fiasco posted:
i watched this for the first time this year not really sure what to expect and just knowing that it's supposed to be nuts. idk if any other movie ever made me feel so many different conflicting and evolving thoughts as this movie ever has. for a while i was convinced that i hated it. then i was confused and intrigued. then just confused. and only until after it was over did i spend time thinking about it and realizing that i actually enjoyed it. i'll def need to sit down with it again at some point to re-absorb it all. BeanpolePeckerwood posted:75 mins left part of me feels foolish to make the deadline the same as the video games thread, but i really just didn't know what other cutoff would be appropriate. i'm also now realizing that if i want to count down results tomorrow i'm competing with what i can only imagine is one of, if not the, most trafficked thread on the forums? 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 07:53
|
|
|
BeanpolePeckerwood posted:GOTY countdown aint happening tomorrow oh poo poo for some reason i thought it happened the day after submissions close, but using more than half a brain cell now makes me realize that would be an insane turnaround time from tallying everything and super unrealistic
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 09:30
|
|
|
alright i put out a last minute feeler for late submissions in the letterboxd thread and got no bites. henry rollins wrote something about not being upset about playing a show that not many people turned up for and instead playing your guts out to the people that bothered to show up at all. i'm gonna go get some coffee and then start posting results in about an hour or so.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 20:00
|
|
|
alright, friends. i will post the top 15 movies with some images and quotes from goons who voted for them. but first, some probably-not-that-interesting stats! 26 Participants/lists 146 Total unique movies Some stats about years code:
ShoogaSlim fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Jan 2, 2024 |
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 21:55
|
|
|
ShoogaSlim posted:it lets you sit with your thoughts and feelings about what unfolded and what will unfold even as the credits roll. it's a masterpiece. Escobarbarian posted:this managed to have the most intense and stirring ending of the year, and one nobody who watches it will soon forget. A masterpiece.  15. The Zone of Interest (2023) dir. Jonathan Glazer 3 lists - 20 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:02
|
|
|
raven77 posted:amazing car chases and gun fights Heavy Metal posted:What an action epic, so awesome. Escobarbarian posted:Did y’all not see this poo poo?? checkplease posted:just phenomenal action set piece one after another  14. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) dir. Chad Stahelski 4 lists - 23 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:11
|
|
|
Kangra posted:Perhaps the best-constructed film I saw this year saladscooper posted:there's so much more to it than its premise Heavy_D posted:The great accomplishment of the film through its script and performances is to never tip its hand to what that truth is.  13. Anatomy of a Fall (2023) dir. Justine Triet 4 lists - 27 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:16
|
|
|
DMCrimson posted:Triple-A action movies costing hundreds of millions of dollars can't approach the level of tension and stakes within this low-budget movie. checkplease posted:Really well done how it creates tension and makes you feel the act of self defense. Nightmare Cinema posted:A tense, radical work that scratches the ski mask and shotgun itch. Heavy_D posted:Incredibly tense film of climate activism in the template of a heist. josh04 posted:Anyone with any kind of knowledge of activist groups can imagine from there the sorts of things that go wrong, but the true radical optimism of the film is in what it imagines could go right.  12. How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023) dir. Daniel Goldhaber 6 lists - 28 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:24
|
|
|
ShoogaSlim posted:a brilliant achievement of filmmaking that is centered directly on characters and setting without the need for flashy anything Shneak posted:I love a movie where two assholes become slightly less rear end in a top hat-ish and respect each other’s game surf rock posted:Instant addition to the Christmas movie canon Nightmare Cinema posted:A Christmas classic that feels like it's been around for 50 years.  11. The Holdovers (2023) dir. Alexander Payne 4 lists - 29 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:30
|
|
|
TOP TENsaladscooper posted:it features potentially my favorite joke of the year Escobarbarian posted:It’s such a devastating look at generational trauma, loss of innocence, arrested development, and repression surf rock posted:An uncomfortable film with some world-class performances. Gaius Marius posted:An incredible work that uses the camp and comedy to back door in themes and messages that are still incredibly difficult to talk about in modern society. MacheteZombie posted:It has some great comedic beats helped by the overly dramatic music, but it all plays into how gross the abusive relationship dynamics are. Shneak posted:I’m thrilled that we’re living in an era where actors fresh out of their Riverdale contract can out-act legends like Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.  10. May December (2023) dir. Todd Haynes 6 lists - 34 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:35
|
|
|
letterboxd has been a godsend for a movie enthusiast and stats nerd like me. it has a csv import feature that was magic for my already existing spreadsheet of movies i was logging over the last like decade+ of movies
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:39
|
|
|
surf rock posted:the beginning was literally perfect DMCrimson posted:No movie this year generated more conversation Maxwell Lord posted:Consistently inventive, imaginative, and funny ShoogaSlim posted:this movie basically just shouldn't exist and shouldn't be as good as it is Kangra posted:an unexpectedly creative movie about a popular toy raven77 posted:Ken's discovery of the patriarchy was hilarious  9. Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig 6 lists - 36 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:41
|
|
|
Heavy_D posted:the colour, sets and framing are delightful saladscooper posted:this is a confluence of a lot of conflicting ideas about faith, science, and art checkplease posted:I like how wild it gets with all its choices and just goes for it with the over the top design Maxwell Lord posted:This is a film that actively tells you it won't all fit together, and there's something there about how life never quite fits together and things happen we'll never fully understand josh04 posted:breezy, unassuming, utterly crushing, smart, unashamedly intellectual, silly, funny, lurid. If I watch it again I will cry. Escobarbarian posted:the framing and camera movements are always perfect, the production design is sumptuous, the ensemble cast is impeccable  8. Asteroid City (2023) dir. Wes Anderson 6 lists - 37 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:49
|
|
|
Gripweed posted:it's like the prototypical crowd pleasing blockbuster. But it does that without sacrificing checkplease posted:a human story with relatable and emotional characters again Kazzah posted:Unusually human-focused, and I mean that as a compliment Shneak posted:Imagine being Christopher Nolan watching this and realizing your biopic about the atom bomb inventor only has the 2nd best nuclear explosion of the year Maxwell Lord posted:Captures the brutal fear and anxiety of the character's origin raven77 posted:I admit I got teary-eyed more than once, and that's never happened to me when watching a monster movie!  7. Godzilla Minus One (2023) dir. Takashi Yamazaki 6 lists - 43 points ShoogaSlim fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jan 1, 2024 |
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 22:55
|
|
|
Nightmare Cinema posted:Animation is cinema. Kangra posted:I really loved the character design. DMCrimson posted:a meaningful endcap to how we build a new world for ourselves instead of supporting a past world out of inertia. What an absolute triumph. checkplease posted:beautifully animated and weird contemplative film about how to live and keep going in the face of tragedy Chadzok posted:What a gift, what a wondrous childlike attitude he's held throughout his career. I wish I could give him a huge hug. surf rock posted:Miyazaki never misses  6. The Boy and the Heron (2023) dir. Hayao Miyazaki 6 lists - 46 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 23:01
|
|
|
checkplease posted:This is fun stuff. Hopefully other goons see they are missing out so it gets bigger next year. BeanpolePeckerwood posted:I'd say this thread is a success already. Next year will be even bigger! Erin M. Fiasco posted:This was a really cool idea that I hope to see come back next year! i'm happy that it has as much traction as it does have with such short notice. this was a great exercise in sharpening some spreadsheet skills and dicking around in photoshop. i'm happy to do it again and i'd like to think more people will participate if i start the thread earlier and do more thread-marketing for it
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 23:03
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:24 |
|
|
saladscooper posted:hysterical and audacious and, at times, offensive Maxwell Lord posted:if movies like this can keep getting made I think this whole cinema thing might survive Escobarbarian posted:Idiosyncratic, bizarre, and audacious, with absolutely beautiful cinematography, a consistently hilarious script, and one of the wildest and bravest lead performances I’ve seen in some time checkplease posted:I love how weird this was and it’s probably the funniest movie I saw this year I, Butthole posted:Summarising the wildly creative and insane worldbuilding and presentation in words can't do it justice Nightmare Cinema posted:Yorgos has mastered the art of making the absurd accessible. Or the accessible absurd. Idfk.  5. Poor Things (2023) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos 8 lists - 57 points
|
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2024 23:05
|
|