Super Movie Reevaluation 2017-18

 That's right! You thought we had forgotten these years, eh? No - these are the critical years! Just as we have done over the last few weeks with every year since this blog was conceived in 2009 we are going back and reevaluating which films were TRULY great, which have stood the test of time, and which ones I still care about today. These years are a little more recent in the memory, but here is where we are right now:

2017:

COCO
A Ghost Story
I, Tonya
Colossal
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Ingrid Goes West
mother!
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Good Time
Blade Runner 2049

It was hard dropping a few favourites, especially The Bad Batch. But the said truth is that 2017 is a SUPER over-hyped year. Dunkirk, Get Out, and Baby Driver were all super popular at the time and have great moments but when I sat here distilling the whole, I didn't find any of them to be Top Ten worthy. Yeah, I picked like, Colossal over them. There is a lot of high concept weirdness going on here, but films like A Ghost Story and mother! brilliantly use the media they inhibit to tell their stories, and I have thought about them long LONG after the fact. Blade Runner 2049 is and will likely always be my #1 for this year. Suprisingly, only three from my original list remain, but seven from my 2018 reevaluation. I suppose my tastes haven't changed dramatically since then.

2018:

A Star is Born
Widows
Annihilation
American Animals
The Sisters Brothers
Assassination Nation
Vice
BlacKkKlansman
Sorry to Bother You
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse


Black Panther was pretty close. I know, I know, I try to avoid "Honorable Mentions" because that's such a cop out. I still knock it down points for the ending and villain - don't get me wrong, Michael B. Jordan is amazing, but I hate when superhero films just make the villain the same as the hero and have a big fight where their powers are the same. Loss of points! Infinity War is a tough call - I really don't even think it's a movie, though. I JUST watched A Star is Born, so that is super recent for me, and I think it lived up to a lot of the hype. I converted. Eight films from my 2019 reevaluation - I'm surprised my love for Assassination Nation and American Animals was so high, even then. but only six from my original ranking. Why do I even bother ranking the year things come out? I suppose it is valuable to see what I'm passionate about in the moment, and that surely counts for something. Buster Scruggs fell off because when it hits it hits so well, but when it misses, that's a rough miss. I also disliked Death of Stalin quite a bit on a rewatch, so that sadly dropped. I don't see Spider-Verse going anywhere any time soon.

That's it, folks! It's a tough call with these, I don't have too much reevaluation going on. I still think it's a worthy effort every couple of years. Stay tuned for more self-doubt!

Super Movie Reevaluation 2013 - 2016

 We are all about ranking things around here - we are a competitive movie blogging website, after all. What other purpose of life is there? But if there's anything more important than ranking, it is surely re-ranking as the slow march of time ebbs on through the mountains of yesteryear. We did this quite a while ago with a few earlier movies, namely every year since we came into existence - 2009. Back in 2017, here is where we ranked 2012 - 2014. And here is where we put 2009 - 2012 four days ago.

Back in 2017, 2016 had JUST happened, so this is pretty new territory, people. Remember when we thought 2016 was a horrible year? Anyway. It's got nothing on 1873! But since that moment each year when we rank all the best films of the year, we ALSO re-rank last year's ranking. This is common practice at this point. A year is a good time to catch up with films we missed, let things digest, and see what film really took hold and we still think about.

I hate to say that so often my far-out rankings reflect that - which films have stuck with me, which do I remember, and which hold up. This is, I think, distinct from the experience of first watching something. Sometimes what might feel fresh in the moment grows stale over time. Or maybe what seemed incredibly interesting fades over time. I loved District 9 (2009) so much when it came out, but I can't say it's something I enjoy returning to. I thought The Muppets (2011) was so new and fun, but now it seems so dated. Sitting in the theater I loved Moon (2009), The Lobster (2016), and Death of Stalin (2018), but none of these were particularly enjoyable re-watches. So, that is something I have to take account of - if I have a recent bad taste in my mouth, it's ranking is falling. I might note that I re-watched Haywire (2012) and Sorry to Bother You (2018) this year and those were just as enjoyable as the first time around.

Without further ado, let's get into this:

2013:

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Stoker
Spring Breakers
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Place Beyond the Pines
The World's End
Pacific Rim
Pain & Gain
This is the End
The Wolf of Wall Street

It truly, truly broke my heart to leave off Frozen and The Lone Ranger for the first time ever. But I also wanted to half-highlight out legit great Anchorman 2 is and also troll a little bit. Other than that, one thing we've noticed is that there is definitely a core of immutable films that never change, and 2013 is especially egregious with this. I was so high on Stoker in 2017, it's a great film, but definitely faded a bit in the last few years. What is with 2013 and crazy films about the excess of hubris like Wolf, Pain, Spring Breakers, and even Pacific Rim?

2014:

Interstellar
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
The Interview
Birdman
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Under the Skin

Something struck me with this list - This is based so damn much on the male perspective. The Skeleton Twins and Obvious Child were 12th and 13th, and I hate to say I want to stick with that with where I'm at right now. Maybe it's quite simply because I am in fact a straight white male that straight white male stories stick with me, but it also doesn't help that the vast majority of stories told are straight white male stories, which perpetuates itself on lists like this. It all makes me a little uncomfortable. But I also think Noah is super underrated as a bizarre cinematic experience (who am I kidding, it's an hour too long). It was definitely 11th. There are a lot of mainstays here that haven't changed. For my money, Under the Skin is also one of the greatest films of all time, so there's that for the female perspective. Sort of.

2015:

Joy
Creed
Dope
Inside Out
The Hateful Eight
The Duke of Burgundy
Ex Machina
Bone Tomahawk
Straight Outta Compton
Mad Max: Fury Road

Anyone remember Unfinished Business? This is really just a means of me to highlight underrated comedies of the past decade. That movie's great! It didn't make this list. It's so weird that the Best Picture winner was Spotlight. It is good, but is it that good? Also, I'm squeezing in honorable mentions, which I typically try to avoid. I actually think about Straight Outta Compton all the time, But Mad Max: Fury Road is still a movie that you can put in anytime, for anyone, at any moment and they will enjoy it. Mark my words! There is a good mix of big blockbuster and small indies no one's ever heard of here. AS IT SHOULD BE.

2016:

Captain America: CIVIL WAR
Arrival
Moana
The Founder
The Neon Demon
The Love Witch
Silence
Swiss Army Man
The VVitch
American Honey

I really thought about this one. I don't want to completely discount super hero films and blockbusters. I think what CIVIL WAR does is really underrated across legitimate great movies. There's still six movies here from my original list, but it feels so different. Maybe that's because only four have been on every list. This year had a lot of films that are in that "haven't held up" zone like The Lobster, Green Room, and Train to Busan. I have watched others like Zootopia and Deadpool recently, and they certainly hold up, but not quite enough to warrant inclusion here. Maybe instead of arrival. I really wanted to add Popstar because it's by far the funniest and one that has grown in time, but it's also still a pretty shit movie that works better as an outlet to make a soundtrack than an actual satisfying plot.

So we still have 2017 and 2018 to think about. 2019 is a little too close to us, but it's worth it to aggressively reexamine these pretty recent but not that recent years. Stay tuned for more hard-hitting entertainment journalism, folks!

Super Movie Reevaluation 2009-2012

Every few years we think it's worth it to fully re-evaluate the Top Films for every year we've been doing this site, which means starting in 2009. We first did this in 2014, then 2017. Coming around the bend to 2021 I thought it was worth it to really dive into each year and see which films have stayed with me and which have fallen by the wayside.

I found, to my surprise, that these early lists haven't changed all that much. The Top Films I liked four years ago are still pretty much the top films I like today. We've gotten to the point of canonization where there are a handful of immutable entries that I come back to over and over again. So, this unfortunately may be the last time we do this, at least with 2009 - 2012. At any rate, here we go!

2009:

Trick 'r Treat
Zombieland
Up
Where the Wild Things Are
The Road
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man

The Feel-good movie of the decade!

Back in 2017 I still had Moon and Observe and Report listed high - I've re-watched those in the last few years and neither was as punchy or thrilling as they were on my first viewings. I've debated Funny People (2009) a lot, too, and while I like what it's about, it really isn't constructed well enough to earn a spot here. Over the years The Road, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs have stood the test of time and been here over and over again. I can watch A Serious Man any day of the week and still pick out little nuances, to me it's one of the Coen Bros' most underrated films.

2010:

TRON: Legacy
The Other Guys
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Inception
The Fighter
Get Him to the Greek
Black Swan
Hot Tub Time Machine
MacGruber
The Social Network

American Icon

I can't deny The Social Network, especially in the past ten years its relevancy has increased rather than decreased. Having said that, 2010 is always comedy-heavy, and lacking any other real drama to soak up spots, some of my all-time favourite modern comedies take the cake. I didn't even include Due Date and Dinner for Schmucks that came out this year. My only debate is whether MacGruber should be higher. There are a lot of big studio efforts this year that shine through, and it's one of the last years to have these films genuinely entire my headspace. There isn't a change since 2017 besides Let Me In and Harry Brown being snubbed for TRON: Legacy and The Other Guys. I love those movies, but it's time to shift. I was legit so close to putting The A-Team (2010) on this list, folks.

2011:

Attack the Block
Super
The Tree of Life
Inside Out
Bridesmaids
Contagion
Take Shelter
Moneyball
Melancholia
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2020: The Movie!

2011 has morphed a little bit. I originally had The Sitter and Fright Night on here, I may be the only one who loves those films, but they're great. I just watched Super again, it holds up, but is maybe tenuous here. My number one movie has also shifted dramatically, from Rango to Take Shelter to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which has consistently been one of my favourites of all time. I think it deserves it place here. The Tree of Life, Melancholia, and Moneyball have been other consistent presences.

2012:

Celeste and Jesse Forever
Haywire
Brave
Cabin in the woods
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
21 Jump Street
Django Unchained
The Master

I should watch this again

I love a world where I put 21 Jump Street ahead of Lincoln. I have begun to firmly believe in putting the best comedy of the year alongside any other great film, and that movie's re-watchability along with it being at this point one of the last great mainstream comedies, earns it that right. Argo is a big drop, along with The Five-Year Engagement, The Campaign, and The Grey. I was so into The Grey, maybe I've just matured beyond it at this point. Still, Zero Dark, Cabin, Django, and The Master are mainstays. I just rewatched Haywire, which is such a perfectly constructed movie that deserves more recognition. Along with Five-Year Engagement, 2012 was a year for weird comedy-dramas, and my fond memories of Celeste and Jesse Forever win out.

Stay tuned, folks, we will re-evaluate 2013 - 2016 in the next few weeks. More recent than that may need some more time to settle. We'll see.