Annual F.O.M.A.C. Movie Awards

January 7th, 2020 by Max Allan Collins

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: , ,

5 Responses to “Annual F.O.M.A.C. Movie Awards”

  1. Jacob Dzik says:

    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.

  2. Sean Kelly says:

    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.

  3. 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.

  4. Sean Kelly says:

    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.

  5. Dominic Paulo says:

    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!!!