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:

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 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….

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.

CritCast #27: Horrible Bosses 2, Dr. Cabbie, The Theory of Everything

It's been over a year since the last CritCast appeared. Not sure if anyone cares, but thought I would take another stab at it. This was completely off the cuff, nothing was written or rehearsed beforehand. This is the only take that was done. I think it came out decently.

Coming to Netflix in December...

As Netflix commits a culling of the queue, it does give back with a slew of new offerings during the next month. Here is a list of ten movies coming over the next few weeks that may be worth spending some time with. While I am always sad to lose good stuff from my queue, they always do a pretty good job of bringing some more stuff in that I can waste some hours with. I figured since I am going to do it, perhaps I should share some of these titles with you so that others can do the same. With that said, there are some pretty good movies on the service to check out.

Disappearing from Netflix Come December...

As we all know, Netflix cycles through movies on a regular basis. It seems that the big dumps of titles happen at the beginning of each month. It sucks, but it is a fact of life. I am sure it is not something Netflix wants to do, but it is the nature of the game and the contracts that get signed. I would love if everything was available in one place. Anyway, I thought I would highlight a few expiring titles that you may want to watch before they disappear, that is if you have time this holiday weekend. Yes, there are more than these, so check your queues for expiration dates!

10 New to Netflix for November

A few days ago I shared a list of ten movies that were disappearing from Netflix's offerings. I am back with a list of ten movies just added that would be worth spending some time with. While I am always sad to lose good stuff from my queue, they always do a pretty good job of bringing some more stuff in that I can waste some hours with. I figured since I am going to do it, perhaps I should share some of these titles with you so that others can do the same. With that said, there are some pretty good movies on the service to check out.

Disappearing Netflix Movies!

As we all know, Netflix cycles through movies on a regular basis. It seems that the big dumps of titles happen at the beginning of each month. It sucks, but it is a fact of life. I am sure it is not something Netflix wants to do, but it is the nature of the game and the contracts that get signed. I would love if everything was available in one place, but the pool keeps getting subdivided and it is getting annoying. Well, that is a discussion for another time. Anyway, I thought I would highlight a few expiring titles that you may want to watch before they disappear. Yes, there are more than these, so check your queues for expiration dates!