Movies Where It's Shitty Out

This has been on my mind for a few years now, mostly because of my upbringing in Western New York, but I really dig movies where it's shitty out. I had trouble Googling this or finding good examples because most people tend to think of Se7en (1995) or Kamino or something. No, I really mean movies where it's like, November or March and it's soaked in brown and leafless trees and hopefully, goes completely unnoticed or unacknowledged by the film.

For some reason this was a big mid-90s comedy thing, maybe just because there was a slew set in the Midwest and Northeast and if the budget is low enough, who cares about nice filming locations. To me, the holy trinity is the first bit of Dumb and Dumber (1995) set in miserable Rhode Island, but mostly Tommy Boy (1995) and Canadian Bacon (1995). Maybe it's just that all these creators suddenly came from crappy areas like the Farrelly Brothers from Rhode Island, Chris Farley from Wisconsin, and Jim Carrey and John Candy from Canada?

Tommy Boy really does it for me, though. Hanging around Sandusky, Ohio and neighboring Great Lakes States is incredible, one of the more authentic movies for that region. You just never see how it looks like for seven months of the year shown so accurately.

There are other movies like Prisoners (2013) and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) that are both Thanksgiving movies and use their setting to artfully advance the plot, but hardly any that are as matter-of-fact shitty like Tommy Boy. Winter's Bone (2009) is the same kind of deal. Honestly I struggled to find another movie that is set in the Midwest or Northeast that features the kind of desolate winter that we're so used to. And again, I don't mean the winter wonderland, I mean the barren, brown hellscape of fresh melted snow or a bitter November.

I don't know if modern films could even pull this off anymore. Knives Out (2019) comes close, but the whole thing is too glossy and pampered to really feel cold and bitter. That may of course be more due to the affluence of the subject material, but I want a movie where it really feels like the bleak wind is beating through your coat and your toes are numb.

The only other movie I'll add is The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) which largely takes place in Western Pennsylvania and up to Buffalo, NY. What can I say? 90s Road Trip movies all had this coldness to them. I don't know what that means but I miss it and I think it's cool. What's the whole point? No movie has the setting or look of Tommy Boy, and that is an amazing distinction.

Top 25 Movies of the Top 25 Years

 Or just the last 25 years.

25: Take Shelter (2011)

24: Beau is Afraid (2023)

23: The Departed (2006)

22: The Northman (2022) 

21: The Prestige (2006)

20: City of God (2002)

19:  The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

18:  American Honey (2016)

17 :A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

16:  The Green Knight (2021)

15: A Serious Man (2009)

14: The Lighthouse (2019)

13: The Brutalist (2024)

12: One Battle After Another (2025)

11: No Country for Old Men (2007)

10: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

9: Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

8: Return of the King (2003) - all Lord of the Rings can just go here

7: Under the Skin (2014)

6: Django Unchained (2012)

5: The Master (2012)

4: Blade Runner: 2049 (2017)

3: There Will Be Blood (2007)

2: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

1: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

It was a ton of fun putting this together. It was like all my greatest hits since starting this blog all in one place! This is assuredly full of my jams and it was rewarding to actually have enough space for everyone. Now, will this change next week? Certainly! But right now this is where I'm at.

I am clearly a Paul Thomas Anderson fan, with three of his films in my Top 11, but who isn't? A lot of Scorsese and Coen Bros as well, but maybe not as much Tarantino or Nolan as I would have guessed. Obviously we aren't highlighting a ton of franchise movies, but my top two are big tentpole, franchise efforts, so that's that!

By year:

2000: 

2001:

2002: 1

2003: 1

2004:

2005:

2006: 2

2007: 3

2008: 

2009: 1

2010:

2011: 2

2012: 2

2013: 1

2014: 2

2015: 1

2016: 1

2017: 1

2018: 1

2019: 1

2020:

2021: 1

2022: 1

2023: 1

2024: 1

2025: 1

We're definitely concentrated around 2006-2012. I'm not sure if that is the right kind of nostalgia mixed with the heydays of this blog so I was really paying attention or what. Or it's just that when doing lists like this individual bits can really shine.

I did not have a ton from the early 2000s, not sure exactly why. I did have a lot from that era that I barely left off, which we'll get to soon. I do think some of the films of the past five years need to marinate a bit.

Can we try to rationalize why this is? Well, the early 2000s were really this era of non-stop franchises. We had the Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. It was after the 90s indie boom when all the corporations had latched on to that ethos for profit, and was pretty successful, if not ultimately soulless. It was at least emulating genuine efforts.

The late 2000s shifted to more like Transformers, monster superhero efforts like Iron Man (2008) and The Dark Knight (2008), as well as the ghosts of those earlier franchises like Harry Potter finishing up. Culturally we were facing the Great Recession and not really in any kind of mood for non-sense. The Writer's strike combined with the rise of streaming to create an endless need for content but required it to be cheap and not written, hence reality TV nightmares and terrible movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009).

I think we got this spurt of great films right before the recession where studios had some money from the early 2000s franchise success to be a little more bold and all those filmmakers like Tarantino and the Coens who earned their sea legs during the 90s indie boom were able to both exhibit a finely honed craft but also had the budgets to do so.

This melts in the early 2010s as the recession hits in and we begin this era of migration to the south and to the west. We get the YA adaptation boom and then The Avengers (2012) is both the culmination of the past ten years but also sets the standard that everyone else in Hollywood is going to chase, even up to today and the 3D craze sets in after AVABAR (2009). I dig a ton of films from this era, you have some great new films as digital technology starts looking really good and combines with both film and digital formats, but I am more focused on smaller films in this era. We get this sort of Second Indie Boom, not from cultural interest but from proliferation of access to filmmaking which gives access to a ton of new voices like Ana Lily Amirpour. We get all these failed American Dream movies like Pain & Gain (2013), The Big Short (2015), American Honey (2016), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

In the late 2010s we get a bit one - The Force Awakens (2015), which when combined with the same year's earlier Jurassic World really show that our culture as come full circle. Hell, I just watched the new Spinal Tap movie for some reason. These are never good EXCEPT for Mad Max: Fury Road which I named the best film of the past 25 years, but that's also because it stands completely on its own with no connection to earlier works. I argue that this whole thing started with Sylvester Stallone making Rocky Balboa (2006) and intra-franchise crossovers started with Fast & Furious (2009) but you can think what you like. So we're just totally bereft of new ideas. I have often thought of Pacific Rim (2013) as the last great franchise that started as an original film idea.

I notably don't have a ton from this era on my Top 25 list. Looking back at some of these years, maybe it's tough to have staying power? I wonder if that's because thanks to streaming, I really am just not really watching them all on repeat TV viewings, which makes for a greater cultural impact? I do think that some commercials stick in my head more than the actual movie sometimes. Still, some of these I do have ranked very high. This has really become a brutal era and I enjoy directors like Ari Astor, Robert Eggers, Yorgos Lanthimos, Denis Villeneuve, and Alex Garland out of this era. We see the indie directors being elevated to mainstream blockbusters, which are all just superhero movies, which obviously peak with Avengers: Endgame (2019) and on the other side, we have A24 which is a studio so good at creating good movies that it becomes its own style and creates this elevated horror.

Then we get to the early 2020s. Uhhhh....what the hell is going on here. The industry is rocked after COVID, we have another writer's strike, the rise of AI, the end of every movie star not named Glen Powell, the whole thing's a mess. I still threw about one good movie a year on here but it also just feels like a dying industry. I can't picture a mainstream film cracking this, there has been so many developments in special effects to the point that they become generic and muddy because it's easier to light and do post work. The whole craft slips because we can correct everything in post and not worry about the script, or frankly, even coverage. And so my most recent tentpole is an animated Spider-Man movie from 2018 and most recent live action is Blade Runner 2049, which did not do well in theaters at all. So my most recently tentpole that did well is....uh...not on this list.

There were a lot of others that I considered, so here is the rest of the Hit List, our runners up in no particular order but nearly enough to make another Top 25 List:

Oppenheimer (2023)

Gladiator (2000)

Memento (2000)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Stoker (2013)

The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

mother! (2017)

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Pacific Rim (2013)

The World's End (2013)

Pain & Gain (2013)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2018)

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

MacGruber (2010)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Uncut Gems (2019)

Midsommar (2019)

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Gran Torino (2008)

Wall-E (2008)

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Red Rocket (2021)

2025 Wrapped up in it - Film MOMENTS, actors, you know the rest

There is so much more to the year than just the top films but I will admit my ever encroaching cynicism in that I straight up did not see aot of the big movies of the year like Minecraft or Superman. I'm just over it. I did see (and enjoy) Thunderbolts* but highlighting a moment felt too much like praising a token superhero film (and I'm not sure how many life-changing moments there were.)

However, there is one obvious winner and it is the Music Through the Ages Dance Jam from Sinners. I famously did not think Sinners was great at all, but I did really vibe with the first half and this scene obviously earns my respect. Even Sinners haters need to admit this scene rules.

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This doubles for musical moment of the year.

Runner up was "Frank Drebin" "Hey, me too!" from The Naked Gun. I busted up on that. Or the snowman scene.

Actor of the Year:

Is it possible to say Jack Black? Dude has had multiple big releases and maybe the line or song of the year with "Chicken jockey!" and "Lava Chicken." Pedro Pascal was in Fantastic Four, Eddington, The Last of Us, and Materialists, but it does feel like 2024 was more his year. Josh Brolin was in a ton of movies, too.

But I want to say Josh O'Connor. He was lauded in a mainstream gig, Wake Up Dead Man, had his indy credentials in The Mastermind, and is set to be in a Spielberg movie next year. Coming off great work in Challengers, it feels like he is a rising star and we're going to get him while he's hot!

Actress of the Year:

When you look at top movies, not a ton for the women this year. Superman, Minecraft, Captain America are all kind of male-focused. You have your Wicked, Lio & Stitch, Scarjo in Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Florence Pugh in Thunderbolts*, which does all give a nice balance, but none of these featured acresses that really dominated the year.

Except for Julia Garner! A very impressive run of Fantastic Four, Wolf Man, and Weapons make this clearly her year and deservedly so! These were all radically different roles, genres, and box office, and it's the kind of range we're looking for. 2025 was Julia Garner's more than anyone else!

What else?

Yeah, I was totally out of the loop on mainstream movies this year. I actually only saw one out of the Top Ten movies of the year (Sinners) and four out of the Top 20. I'm just largely over a lot of current blcokbuster filmmaking, things like Jurassic World aren't grabbing me like they used to. That's a fun slow decline. I watched all the original trilogy in theaters, came back for the 2015 movie (TEN YEARS AGO?) and at least caught the other two on streaming. Now I just have no desire at all for this nonsense. Disney and animated sequels are generally out for me, although I did hear that Zootopia 2 and Elio were good. But playing on my phone is better!

I probably shouldn't be running a film site anymore, right? I literally don't like movies. But hey, I really dug The Naked Gun (2015).

Wrapped Up in It: Music

This is going to be quick, because I hardly listen to music, or at least not in the snobby, obsessive way such an article would necessitate but here it goes!

Album of the Year: Free by Kid Cudi

According to Spotify I was in the Top 48,000 of Kid Cudi listeners, which was the top 0.04 percentile, so I may be biased. But after some duds Cudi dropped a remarkably uplifting and energetic album full of listenable bangers. This dropped two weeks after he got married, and you can tell after settling in to sobriety and healthy relationships he's in a better place, and amazingly, that has actually translated into evolution of his music as an artist. Finding positivity and hope didn't make his music shitty! It's surprising. I feel a lot of kinship in finding ways to finally be happy and I really dug this, especially when listening to his earlier depression and drug-fueled earlier works 

Song of the Year: "Archbishop Harold Holmes" by Jack White

I just like it. It's got such a pulsing rhythm and feels like the only good rock song we've gotten in the past ten years. I sincerely dog the video and John C. Reilly's commitment as well.

Video of the Year: "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter

We already named her the Summer Jam Queen but this video takes the cake as well! I am going to acknowledge however, that this is basically just A$AP Rocky's "Taylor Swif" which we named the top video of last year. I do like Sabrina's insane charisma and the purely unironic Americana on display here. There is a sense of throwing caution and pretension to the wind which is really refreshing.

2025 Wrapped Up - 2024 Top 10 update!

We just ran through 2015 and so it's time to also update 2024! Last year seems odd, I only came up with nine movies like I even liked, and to be honest they're all pretty solid. I found myself really enjoying all these but it also really does feel like we're out of gas as a civilization. There is still a good mix

#9: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The first maybe 30 minutes are such solid world-building and ideal screenwriting. It gets a bit meandering and the plot takes a bit to engage but it's still a good time.

#8: Blink Twice

The middle twist still gets me and while there are a lot of films with this sort if theme (hell, Barbie [2023] for one), this is the most artful and satisfying.

#7: The Bikeriders

We don't get a ton of these anymore. Well-acted mid-size dramas with a mix of established and rising stars. It captured my attention throughout and was a solid ride.

#6: Furiosa

It doesn't match Fury Road (2015) but gets a lot of marks for coming close and is a whole different kind if movie, more an epic saga than a prolonged hyper-specific chase.

#5: Dune II

I still think about how much I liked this more than the first Dune. It just has so much more narrative momentum. It feels like what a modern good blockbuster could be.

#4: Nosferatu

The greatest post-nut clarity of all time. Also maybe one of the best-looking films of the past ten years.

#3: Rebel Ridge

I am still blown away by this

#2: Challengers

Yes, Challengers was dethroned! Still a tight second. This is just the sexiest movie of all time.

#1: The Brutalist

Folks seemed to rag on this for its length and Adrian Brody being an absolute putz, both of which are true, but this is an epic like you'd see in the mid-2000s or 90s, a classic immigrant story except the immigrant is a huge heroin-addicted asshole! Amd not even the biggest asshole in the film!

I find myself really enjoying the Top Four here and can see myself coming back in 2034 without much change. It's a weird year, like super concentrated, be ause these goir are so rock solid to me but I could honestly take or leave everything else.

I have even less movies I like in 2025, and that could very well be more me getting older and being pulled in other directions and my interests getting more niche, but I like to think movies are just getting worse.

2015 Movies Ten Years Gone

Just in time, we're here to review the top films of 2015!

I find more and more it seems trite to make year end lists, even if it's the backbone of our industry. For one, I struggle to see every film that comes out, and also there is a big shift in staying power that I think is fair to asses after a decade. There is assuredly merit in films that are of their moment and give great first impressions, though as well. Hence why we do still keep listing movies the same year they come out for time capsule purposes but the ten year list is the real deal.

I also really like the ten year list because I am less worried about throwing on movies that would be utterly laughable to really call the best of the year. So here we go:

#10: Ex Machina

I had rated this pretty high back in 2015 and I think it's still enjoyable, remarkably more for thematic prescience over craft. It holds up but is no longer mind-blowing.

#9: The Night Before

Yeah, I couldn't rank this at the moment. I just re-watched this because I was drunk, but I think it remains one of the last true "Seth Rogen" movies, which doubles for movies starring that Freaks and Geeks Apatow crowd. I might even call it the last funny movie ever made. It is remarkably solid, has some tight themes of growing up and moving on, but earns them, and is consistently funny.

#8: Bone Tomahawk

Let's go the other way. This is such a brutal grim movie that I mostly remember for Kurt Russell having the exact same hair as he did for The Hateful Eight. But this holds up as an unsparing smaller film that exists out of time and an unheralded S. Craig Zahler effort.

#7: Krampus

I recognize I'm putting two really off-beat Christmas movies on this list, so be it. I keep returning to Krampus, though! It has remarkable energy, a game cast, a really established atmosphere, and the perfect mix of holiday cynicism with a tiny glimmer of hope.

#6: Joy

I feel like I am the only one who liked Joy, but there just doesn't exist any other movie that quite shows female ambition like this. There is an insane amount of films from the male perspective. For whatever reason this persists for me.

#5: The Big Short

I don't totally love how this movie tends to blow past the minutiae with Margot Robbie in the tub and stuff but I get why, but it still seems to not dig into why all this stuff happened. It's still an amazing collection of scenes and a monumental kinetic narrative effort.

#4: Straight Outta Compton

There have been a ton of biopics over the years, including a lot more of rappers but not many as honest as this. I still think about it, especially has many have somehow gotten worse.

#3: Creed

As I'm going through this list, a lot seems to be movies that are just different enough within their genres to stand out. This may be one of the few, if not only legacy movies to truly stand on its own with fully fleshed out characters that are able to go on their own journeys, a feat not even its sequels achieved.

#2: The Hateful Eight

I still don't think this quite nails the ending but it feels like a bottle film that Tarantino challenged himself to do, but because he's Tarantino he nailed it. The cinematography is astounding, moreso because of the ultra wide aspect ratio for a movie that largely takes place in a single room lodge. It had grown on me for sure.

#1: Mad Max: Fury Road

What can I say, this movie is perfect. There you go.

There were a handful more on my shortlist and I can't believe I found myself giving them the boot, especially Inside Out. I think I have retroactive Pixar fatigue setting in, but I also struggle getting excited about Inside Out ten years out where I don't have that for everything else on this list.

The Duke of Burgundy

The Martian

Spotlight

Carol

Dope

Inside Out

2015 has a nice mix of great big and small movies, franchise efforts, indy efforts, and mid-size efforts. Hyper-masculine and hyper-feminine films. Looking back it does feel like it is far as we got as a culture before turning around and heading straight to hell. There is great, compelling energy to all these films, all clear visuals, and crisp film language. Again, probably the last stop on the trolley before cinema became all haves and have nots and digital mud replaced everything.