Here are this year’s awards for movies. All of these reflect the opinions of both Barb and me, averaged together. Keep in mind that while we see a lot of movies, there are plenty we don’t see (although some of those made this list anyway). With a few of the films we watched awards screeners from the WGA, and a handful of those we “walked out on” (i.e. bailed…we didn’t actually leave the house). This is not every film we saw – only those that made a real impression, for good or ill.
BEST LITTLE-SEEN HORROR SEQUEL
Happy Death Day 2 U
BEST MOVIE NOT ABOUT THE REAL “CAPTAIN MARVEL”
Captain Marvel
BEST MOVIE ABOUT THE REAL “CAPTAIN MARVEL”
Shazam!
MOST ACCLAIMED HORROR FILM WE WALKED OUT ON
Us
REALLY UNPLEASANT COMIC BOOK MOVIE
Hellboy
EVEN MORE UNPLEASANT COMIC BOOK MOVIE
Brightburn
REALLY UNPLEASANT COMIC BOOK MOVIE WE WILL NEVER SEE
Joker
BEST AVENGERS MOVIE EVER
Avengers: Endgame
WORST X-MEN MOVIE EVER
Dark Phoenix
BEST SEQUEL THAT SEEMS LIKE A WARNING TO STOP
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
MEN IN BLACK SEQUEL SO TERRIBLE I’VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN IT
Men in Black International
SHOCKINGLY GOOD SEQUEL (BONUS POINTS FOR RICHARD ROUNDTREE)
Shaft
FIRST BILL MURRAY MOVIE WE EVER WALKED OUT OF
The Dead Don’t Die
BEST COMPUTER-ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 4
Runner-up: The Addams Family
BEST BEATLES MOVIE EVER W/O THE BEATLES OR EDDIE DEEZEN
Yesterday
BEST SURPRISINGLY GOOD WW2 EPIC
Midway
BEST MOVIE THAT ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
SURPRISINGLY GOOD SEQUEL
Jumanji: The Next Level
BEST DARK COMEDY/MYSTERY
Knives Out
Runner-up: Ready or Not
BEST SOUTH KOREAN FILM WE SAW
Parasite
ONLY SOUTH KOREAN FILM WE SAW
Parasite
WORST MOVIE WE DIDN’T SEE
Cats
GOOD BIO-PIC STARRING A HEAVY-SET GUY FROM SUPER TROOPERS 2
Richard Jewell
GREAT BIO-PIC ABOUT CAR CHASES W/O GUNS
Ford v Ferrari
MOVIE THAT WAS BETTER THAN IT HAD ANY RIGHT TO BE
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
AWFUL MOVIE WE WALKED OUT ON LOVED ONLY BY CRITICS
Uncut Gems
BIG DEAL FRANCHISE ENTRY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
BIZARRELY OVERRATED STRIPPER MOVIE THAT WE WALKED OUT ON
Hustlers
BEST BIG SCREEN MOVIE BASED ON BELOVED TV SHOW
Downton Abbey
BEST SMALL SCREEN MOVIE BASED ON BELOVED TV SHOW
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
BEST POORLY REVIEWED FRANCHISE ENTRY
Rambo: Last Blood
BEST EDDIE MURPHY MOVIE IN MUCH TOO LONG
Dolemite Is My Name
HITLER COMEDY THAT WE WALKED OUT ON (LOVED BY CRITICS)
Jojo Rabbit
REALLY GOOD STEPHEN KING MOVIE
Doctor Sleep
ANOTHER REALLY GOOD STEPHEN KING MOVIE
It: Chapter Two
MOVIE WE EXPECTED TO HATE BUT DIDN’T
Little Women
MOVIE BY “PERDITION” DIRECTOR WE EXPECTED TO LIKE BUT DIDN’T
1917
YEAR’S BEST MOVIE PERIOD
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
All results are final. Varying opinions will be barely tolerated.
* * *
Inexplicably, I got profiled by the Des Moines Register – front page, above the fold. The writer did a good job, and the photographer (in addition to shooting a pic of the old guy filling in for me) shot a brief video. You may have to deal with ad-block issues, but the piece is here.
And Tor/Forge announces some upcoming mysteries with a nice Do No Harm write-up included.
M.A.C.
Tags: Do No Harm, Interviews, Nate Heller
Just curious as to why y’all didn’t like Jojo Rabbit, Uncut Gems, and 1917. But please no spoilers for 1917 because I haven’t seen it yet.
I can agree with you on most of these. I liked US better than you, but more for the layers rather than the “twist.” I would love (rather than almost love) Once Upon a Time… if the Bruce Lee scene had been better. It does take away a little of the greatness of the film.
Just seeing the trailers of 1917, it looks like a cross of Gallipoli and Saving Private Ryan.
I’d be interested in your take on Little Women. We just saw it and there were things I loved and some I saw as curious choices.
JOJO RABBIT simply struck me as unfunny and a real Wes Anderson wannabe — precious and twee. UNCUT GEMS is assaultive and unpleasant, aggressively New Yawk in an obnoxious way with a central character who is neither sympathetic nor interesting…here in Flyover Country, I hear nothing but hatred for that movie — people feel tricked by the good reviews. 1917 is a stunt, not a movie — it’s a premise that never becomes a story, and the punchline when (SORT OF A SPOILER) Benedict Cumberbatch insults the brave hero who has just saved many, many lives, dismissing him with a curse that doesn’t feel 1917 at all, is beyond a cheap shot. I can see a viewer enjoying the immersive aspect of 1917, and the degree of difficulty is impressive to say the least.
I had no trouble with the Bruce Lee scene in HOLLYWOOD (which is, after all, a memory and not necessary “real”). I liked but did not love LITTLE WOMEN — the cutting between timelines was unnecessarily distracting (golden past, blue present), but I love the ending, which was (surprisingly) the only place where any modern sensibility intruded, but in a clever, fun way.
Actually taken in that vein, I can appreciate that scene in HOLLYWOOD better now. And just like US, there are many layers to this movie that bear up on rewatching.
My complaint was similar with LITTLE WOMEN. The time jumps were distracting. And I almost wanted the end (SPOILER-ISH) to be that Ronan was playing Alcott for the entire movie.
US was one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time-I still don’t know what it is about months later!!!