2017: Favorite First-Timers, Non-New Release

I watched a lot of movies in 2017. For reasons I am not going to go into here, I had a lot of time on my hands to watch movies. I watched more in this calendar year than I ever have before. Of course, I also saw my writing output drop, my percentage of first time watches drop, and probably the overall quality of movie watched drop. So, I had a lot of us and downs. Fortunately, I still managed to make some good choices and many of my first time watches were quite good. Below, I highlight the top five watches from that list. They do not include any 2017 narrative features.

2017: Top 5 New Releases Not Seen Theatrically

For the bulk of the year, I tried to keep track of the 2017 movie releases that I did not see in a theater, or bypassed theaters altogether. This would include DVD and Blu-ray releases of movies that went through theaters, films that went directly to video and those that were Netflix originals and the like. Granted a lot of these turned out to not really be worth the time, but there are always a few that slip past the guards and actually prove to be good movies. Below are my 5 favorite movies from 2017 that I did not see in a theater:

2017: Worst 5 Suffered Theatrically

What would a top ten list be without a corresponding worst list? I think I did a mostly all right job of avoiding the bad movies, but some I cannot avoid and others are just lapses in judgment. Considering how relatively few new releases I saw during the year, I am going to limit this list to a total of five. I think that’s a fair number, right? Who wants to dwell on the crap? Well, I think a lot of us do, but that’s another discussion. Without further ado, here are my bottom five new releases witnessed in a theater:

Top 10 of 2017 - Theatrically Seen

It’s that time of year, when everyone begins posting their best of the year lists. Each of which is sure to spark arguments among even the closest of friends. For what it’s worth, this is likely to be the leas definitive list that I have ever thrown together. For being the year in which I watched more movies than any other, it is also the year that I saw the fewest new releases theatrically, than I have ever seen before. Still, I did manage to see some really good movies and I suspect a lot of them would have made this list regardless of how many I’d seen. So, I am not offering much in the way notes for each each title, just know that I highly recommend each one. Below are the top 10, although I would be happy with the top 20, but I considered that to be a bit much, as I’v only see 45 eligible film.

Top 5 Horror Films..... As of This Writing

(Originally written for Mangled Matters)

Recently, my girlfriend and I got into a little game of “Top 5.” You know, top 5 Wes Craven films or top 5 Full Moon movies. As fate would have it, it was about this time that Justin Hamelin asked me to contribute to a Top 5 project of his own for Mangled Matters. Of course, the topic was top 5 horror movies. Not only that, we have to give a reason why. This is not an easy list to make. I could make a top 5 list using the movies of a single director, quite easily. The thing is, while that may be pretty close to true, it does not tell the full story. It is not an easy thing to do when you love so many horror films, not to mention the variety of horror films that are out there. With a list that can change with mood and time of day, do I pick a representation of the different horror sub genres? Do I pick multiple films from the same director? Ask me another time, I may give you different titles than what you see below.

2016: Favorite Movies of the Year

For 2016, my overall viewing was down, but I was still able to see a lot of really good movies. I would go so far as to say that I saw more excellent movies than I was expecting to. Of course, there are always those that I miss and I have to say that the late year crop of Oscar-type movies have not really excited me. Whether my lack of interest is due to the change in my viewing habits or taste, or that it is a weaker than usual Oscar class, I do not know. In the end, I don’t think it matters. The fact remains, I saw 19 movies that racked four stars or higher over the year. Below are said movies, all of which were seen in a theater.

2016: Worst Movies of the Year

The past year has given us more than a few stinkers. Try as I might to avoid them, I always manage to suffer through a few of them. I did manage to avoid some obvious junk like Nine Lives, Norm of the North, and Dirty Grandpa. Unfortunately, I did find myself sitting through the list below. I do not recommend wasting time with these movies, but far be it for me to dissuade you from seeing anything. Heck, for all I know, you may enjoy some of these. I feel pretty certain that I will not be seeing them again. Note: This list is compiled exclusively from films seen theatrically.

2015: My Favorite Films

Wow. It has been awhile, hasn’t it? Believe me, I know. I am sorry about that. January has been a strange month of projects and issues, like my DVD collection condensing project (which is still ongoing). I am planning on getting back into the groove and providing you faithful followers with a bunch of new reviews. To that end, I figured I should try to get my top 10 for 2015 up at least before February hits. As a bonus, I have decided to give you my top 15 instead. How’s that sound? I am not sure what a list like mine actually means, but I like to share.

2015: My Least Favorite Films

So, we are two weeks into the new year and I have not, until now, posted my best or worst of the year lists. I know on some level these are unnecessary, especially from someone such as myself. Still, here it is, my bottom ten movies of the year list. I will try to make it short and sweet, seriously, how much do you need to know? You probably already had an idea of how bad these are. Still, for some reason, I am always ready to jump in front of that bus for you and take the bullet. That’s right, this is the kind of movie where a guy could jump in front of a bus and die of a bullet. Read on, brave souls….

2015: Best First Time Viewings of Non-New Release Movies

In addition to all the new movies I go to, I watch that many more at home. With so many Blu-rays, DVDs, Netflix, and theatrical screenings of older films, I have a lot of different avenues to go down to see movies. Some of these are great, some are terrible,but they all have one thing in common, me. Below is my list of favorite/best films I have seen for the first time this year that are not new releases. I am happy to say I have knocked a few off of my list of shame, which will likely always be a mile long. Anyway…..

2015: Worst "Films" of the First Half

Now, you can’t have the good without the bad and I have seen some bad movies inside the theater walls this year. Still, I feel like I have done a pretty good job avoiding some obvious clunkers. Among those I managed to avoid this year are 50 Shades of Grey, The Longest Ride, The Wedding Ringer, The Boy Next Door, Hot Pursuit, Child 44, and The D Train. Of course, maybe I am wrong and those are all amazing movies. Maybe one day I will find out. In any case, here are the current five movies residing at the bottom of my list:

2015: Best Movies of the First Half

The first half of 2015 is over with. Can you believe it? I have to say, it brought some really good films with it, including a number of surprises. One of the surprises is that the new Avengers movie didn’t came near the top ten. I thought for sure that was going to be a great one. On the other hand, I was surprised by some movies rating as highly as they did. Spy, for example, and Age of Adaline. Neither top ten worthy, but both surprisingly good. Anyway, this list is based on my favorite movies that I saw in a theater since January 1, 2015 that were also 2015 releases. So, what made the list? Read on, you may be surprised by what you find..….

2014: Top Ten Movies According to Me

Here it is, the list everyone has been waiting for (well, maybe not everyone). What you are at the edge of seeing is my top ten movies for 2014. Like any list, it is not definitive. It is a list based on those eligible films that I saw theatrically over the course of the year, only movies seen in a theater count. Why? I don't know, it is just one of the limiting factors I put on myself. I am pretty sure none of you care about this preamble, all you really want are the movies. Let's get going then....

2014: Worst 10 (well, 11) Movies of the Year

Drum roll, please. All right, maybe not. Either way, it is time to unveil my top ten least liked movies of 2014 that I witnessed in the theater. I avoided some surefire stinkers, but sometimes I am drawn in to see some things that turn out to be awful and that no sane person should see. If you happent to be insane, or somewhat mentally unbalanced, these might be right up our alley. I will never seriously tell someone not to see a movie, but sometimes.... This list is interesting as it features at least one movie I did not think would come close to it (and is loved by many), it just drove me nuts and I was expecting so much more. You'll see. Read on if you want to see what my least liked were for the year just passed...

2014: Back Ten of the Top Ten Movies (Numbers 20-11)

Welcome to the back 10 of the top 10, also known as numbers 20-11 of the best movies I saw theatrically in 2014. No, I did not see everything, so this is no definitive list, it is merely the best movies I happened to see. Yes, I do see a lot of movies, but not all of them, so please do not take this as the best of the best, it is merely the best of what I saw and maybe you will like them to. Just remember, I have weird tastes, asn so should you. Like what you like, just know why you do. Now, read on!

2014: Worst of the Year (Numbers 20-11)

This is a first. For 2014 I have expanded my bottom films list from 10 to 20. Why? I don't know, it is something of a whim. I cannot say the past year was a particularly bad one, and I think I did an all right job of avoiding some of the surefire stinkers. Still, no matter how much I like a set of movies in a given year, something always has to settle at the bottom. The list is made up of theatrically viewed movies only, and while I do not see everything, I see a good deal. That said, this list is far from definitive, it just represents the films I saw this year that I did not really care for. Read on for numbers 20-11.

Best Horror Films I Saw in a Theater- 2014 Edition

If you were paying attention (it’s all right, I know you weren’t), you will have seen my bottom 8 horror movies witnessed in a theater. It is more than likely, if you saw it you realized how uninspiring those movies were, except maybe for The Quiet Ones, which I feel I need to revisit. On the other side of the coin we have the 8 top horror movies I sat through in a theater. It should be noted that this list is limited to new releases, if I opened it up to all I saw theatrically, you might see the likes of The Burning, Alone in the Dark, Who Could Kill a Child?, Christmas Evil, Shock Waves, Alucarda, The Beyond, and The Witch Who Came from the Sea. Yeah. I saw some cool horror in theaters. This list is limited to new releases, read on and see who made the cut only at HorrorSexy.com.

Worst Horror Films I saw in a Theater - 2014 Edition

Hey! Make sure you head over to HorrorSexy.com to see my list of the worst horror movies I sat through in a theater for 2014. Also, keep an eye out for the best theatrical horror at the same site. Beyond that, I hope to be having my best and worst overall theatrical lists right here in the near future!

Cinema by the Letter: B

Everybody loves lists, right? People make lists for everything. Best of something, worst of something, forgotten somethings, and overlooked somethings. Why should I be any different? I already do best and worst movies, so why not do some other types of lists? This list based column will see me pick a letter and then list ten movies I like that begin with said letter. They may not be my favorite, they may not be the best, but they will always be movies I like starting with that letter. Use it as a jumping off point and add other movies you like with that letter. Keep it positive, this is not a time to judge, just share the love.

Cinema by the Letter: A

Lists, lists, lists. Everybody loves lists. People make lists for everything. Best of something, worst of something, forgotten somethings, and overlooked somethings. Why should I be any different? I already do best and worst movies lists twice a year (halfway point and the end of the year), so why not do some other types of lists? This list based column will see me pick a letter and then list ten movies I like that begin with said letter. They may not be my favorite, they may not be the best, but they will always be movies I like starting with that letter. Use it as a jumping off point and add other movies you like with that letter. Keep it positive, this is not a time to judge, just share the love.