It’s hard to believe that National/Global Poetry Writing Month is already over. It’s always been a great opportunity for creativity and to catch up on my backlog of films to review, but it’s a relief to finish. It’s been a struggle sometimes fitting in time to write amid work and school obligations. (I actually started a college class this month, so that maybe wasn’t the best timing.) Nevertheless, as with past years, I feel an immense sense of satisfaction, having kept up with a poem and movie review a day.
Thank you to the NaPoWriMo website for the daily prompts and to everyone who read, liked, followed, and commented along the way, which helped encourage me to keep going. For anyone who missed a day, here’s a full recap of April’s NaPoWriMo posts:
I’ll continue posting my poem/reviews, of course, but on a much more relaxed schedule. And NaPoWriMo 2021 is only eleven months away now! Here’s hoping the world will be in a better place the next time it rolls around. Thank you again to all readers; stay safe!
Wow, what a year it has been! I usually post my year-end song list in January, but between the passing of my dad and the coronavirus pandemic, things have been rather hectic. Perhaps it’s just the comparison with this year so far, but 2019 was largely a really good year, for me at least, and the music released was a big part of that. I was finally able to become a web developer and get a desk job, and that allowed me to listen to a whole slew of songs and artists I might never have stumbled upon otherwise. And naturally, I had to compile a Top Twelve list of my favorites.
In past years, there were certain artists I discovered that defined the year and became instant favorites (Florence and the Machine in 2016, Kygo in 2017, Aurora and Chvrches in 2018), but 2019 revealed artist after artist that I was thrilled to discover for the first time: Saint Motel, September, Kensington, Kaiser Chiefs, Sigala, The Naked and Famous, TWRP, Skyhill, Foxes, The Protomen, Sigma, Parade of Lights, and the list goes on. Fans of those artists may wonder what rock I’ve been under, but I’m certainly glad to join their ranks. While not all of these released new albums, there was still so much good music last year, and so little of it is actually on the radio. I can only shake my head over Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” getting the most attention.
As always, my list below is strictly my personal choices based on my personal tastes. There are plenty of other good songs out there for other tastes, so I wanted to recommend Chris’s list at Movies and Songs 365 as an alternate Top 10. I was particularly hard-pressed to pare down my honorable mentions, and in the end, I still ended up with over 60. Forgive me for the length, but it could have been longer, and they all deserve mention. And no doubt, I’ll likely discover some songs in the next year that slipped through the cracks and will make me wish I could include them here. I certainly wish I could have highlighted TWRP’s “Starlight Brigade” or Metric’s “Now or Never Now” on last year’s song list.
Without further ado, let the Top 12 countdown of 2019 songs commence!
“Tokyo” – White Lies
I agonized over what should be #12 for a long time, because there were at least eight songs that might as well have been a tie. In the end, with the assistance of my tie-breaking VC, I decided to go with the instant earworm of “Tokyo.” The chorus is one of those instantly-recognizable tunes that most bands wish they could conjure, and it’s an ethereal delight. Special mention also for their “Hurt My Heart.”
“Something Unreal” – The Script
In addition to discovering artists new to me, I also realized how much I had underrated bands I’d known for years. The Script’s new album made me recognize how good the Scottish band can be, and the melodic, pulsing beat of “Something Unreal” might be my favorite song of theirs. Special mention for “The Hurt Game,” “Same Time”, and “Hot Summer Nights.”
“It Only Gets Better” – WILD
I always like to highlight lesser-known bands with songs that deserve more attention, the kind that never see airplay and can only be found by those tooling around YouTube. WILD doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, but boy, do they deserve one and so much more. “It Only Gets Better” is a joyous, indie, sing-along type of song that never gets old, guaranteed to raise the spirits of those lucky enough to stumble upon it.
“In Case You Don’t Live Forever” – Ben Platt
Not many songs can bring me close to tears, but this one did. Releasing his first solo album after the Tony-winning success of Dear Evan Hansen, Ben Platt delivered a haunting ballad expressing a child’s appreciation for a parent, which all too often is realized too late. With the loss of my dad fresh in my mind, this song strokes the deepest feelings of grief and love and is beautiful to boot. Special mention for “Bad Habit” and “Grow As We Go.”
“Timebomb” – Walk the Moon
And Walk the Moon returns to the year-end song list, last placing #2 back in 2017! Ever since “Shut Up and Dance,” they’ve been among my favorite bands, and this is a fine addition to the quartet’s stellar record of radio bangers. Special mention for “Eat Your Heart Out” and “If I Lose You.”
“Almost (Sweet Music)” – Hozier
It took a while, but I’ve come to appreciate Hozier’s distinct vocals and lyrical ingenuity. “Almost” or “Sweet Music” has such a lilting joy and a smooth mellifluence that it feels like a song that will be enjoyed for years to come. Special mention for “Dinner and Diatribes,” “Movement,” and “Would That I.”
“What Lies Ahead” – Kensington
The Dutch band Kensington was one of the best discoveries I made last year, and I was delighted when they then released new music for their brand new fan. Perhaps not as good as “Do I Ever” or “Slicer,” but “What Lies Ahead” is a great example of their special brand of catchy semi-hard rock that I’ve come to love. Special mention for “Bats” and “Uncharted.”
“Save Me” – Saint Motel
Of all the bands I was lucky enough to discover last year, I think Saint Motel is my favorite. Nearly every single song of theirs is consistently lovely, inventive, memorable, invigorating, haunting, or some combination of all five. To my mind, they’re like a modern-day version of The Beatles. And “Save Me” is a smooth, let-your-eyes-roll-back-in-your-head kind of song, with a strangely nostalgic aura. How did I not hear of them sooner?! Special mention for “Diane Mozart,” “Van Horn,” and “Old Soul.”
“Fireman and Dancer” – Royal Republic
Walk the Moon doesn’t corner the market on bangers; Royal Republic may be their steepest competition. This infectiously dance-worthy jam is a should-be hit with an unabashedly ‘80s aesthetic. How is this not all over the radio? Special mention for “Boomerang” and “Anna-Leigh.”
“Wild Roses” – Of Monsters and Men
Of Monsters and Men is another band that has only grown in my estimation the more I hear of them. The Icelandic group’s latest album is a bit more pop-ish than their usual folk style, but that’s hardly a bad thing when it produces songs like this. “Wild Roses” is an immersive earworm, at once soothing and energizing. Put simply, it makes my ears very happy. Special mention for “Wars” and “Alligator.”
“The Upside” – Lindsey Stirling
In addition to Walk the Moon, Lindsey Stirling has also graced a past list, snagging #4 back in 2016. Not to be confused with the Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart movie of the same name last year, “The Upside” is Lindsey’s best song in years. With its exuberant lilting energy, it shows how rip-roaring a violin can be in the hands of the right person. Although she teamed with Elle King for vocals, I prefer the pure instrumental track for sheer audio euphoria. Special mention for “Darkside,” “Sleepwalking,” “Between Twilight,” and the whole Artemis album.
“Never Be the Same” – Tritonal, feat. Rosie Darling
When I heard “The Upside,” I was convinced it would be my #1 by the end of the year, but no, there can only be one. And this is the one! “Never Be the Same” isn’t your typical progressive house song. No, this is the culmination of progressive house at its best. With possibly the finest drop I’ve ever heard, this song fills me with a primal, head-banging rhapsody that makes me worry about dain bramage afterward. It is my favorite song of 2019. Special mention for “Little by Little,” “Bloom,” and “Shivohum.”
And those are my Top Twelve Songs of 2019! What did you think? Solid picks or totally off-base? Even with all the music I’ve found in the last year, I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s out there. Let me know your favorites in a comment and maybe I’ll find a new favorite too!
As promised above, I’ll now list my many, many runners-up, continuing the ranking in descending order (#13, #14, etc.), and if any of these are unfamiliar, I’d love for you to give them a listen. Songs and artists are only obscure until they get enough fans, and these deserve fans. 😊
“Don’t Throw Out My Legos” and “Karma” – AJR
“It’s Mine,” “Without You,” “Stronger,” and “Dying for You” – Mystery Skulls
“Chances”, “Sober”, and “Lies” – Ashton Love
“Back in My Body,” “Love You for a Long Time”, and “Fallingwater” – Maggie Rogers
“Nostalgic,” “Find Someone,” “Where You Are,” and “Problems” – Arizona
“Slide Away” – Miley Cyrus
“I Say No” – new song from Heathers musical
“Die Young” – Sheppard
“The River”, “The Seed”, and “Dance on the Moon” – Aurora
“Safe Place” – Pelago, feat. Maximus
“Golden Oldies,” “Lucky Shirt,” “Northern Holiday,” “Wait,” and the whole Duck album – Kaiser Chiefs
“Think About You” (feat. Valerie Broussard) and “Carry On” (feat. Rita Ora) – Kygo
“Lion” – Hearts & Colors
“Longshot” – Catfish and the Bottlemen
“Bismarck” and “Fields of Verdun” – Sabaton
“555” – Jimmy Eat World
“Orphans” and “Arabesque” – Coldplay
“Black Gold” – Editors
“Inferno” and “Nexus” – Hiroyuki Sawano (from the film Promare)
“Fences,” “Feels Like,” and “Home” – Vicetone
“Into the Unknown,” “Some Things Never Change,” and “Show Yourself” – Frozen II
“Wish You Well” – Sigala, Becky Hill
“I Get No Joy” – Jade Bird
“Free to Go” – Seeb, feat. Highasakite
“The Bones” – Maren Morris, with Hozier
“So Am I”, “Torn”, and “Freaking Me Out” – Ava Max
“Talk” – Two-Door Cinema Club
“So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth,” “4ÆM,” and “Violence” – Grimes
“Love Me” – Felix Cartal & Lights
“In Degrees” – Foals
“The Best” and “California Halo Blue” – AWOLNATION
“Nomad” – Jeremy Renner
“Heavenly” – Cigarettes After Sex
“Heart upon My Sleeve” (feat. Imagine Dragons) and “Never Leave Me” (feat. Joe Janiak) – Avicii
“Paper Rings” and “Cornelia Street” – Taylor Swift
“Hidden Potential” – TWRP
“The Way I Feel” and “Love Too Much” – Keane
“You Mean the World to Me” and “Castles” – Freya Ridings
“Hurt People” – Gryffin, with Aloe Blacc
“Sad Forever” – Lauv
“Missed Connection” – The Head and the Heart
“Fight,” “Touch Your Body,” and “Mermaids” – Deamn
“LPs” – Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage
“Walk Me Home” – P!nk
“One Day” – Sam Feldt and Yves V
“Mama” – Clean Bandit, feat. Ellie Goulding
“Dear Future Self (Hands Up)” – Fall Out Boy, feat. Wyclef Jean
“Globetrotter” – Ludvigsson
“Start Stoppin’” and “I Got You” – The O’Jays
“Stand Up” – Cynthia Erivo (from the film Harriet)
“Death Stranding” – Chvrches
“mother tongue” – Bring Me the Horizon
“Coming Home” – Adon, Nicolas Haelg, Sam Halabi
“Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
“Your Light” – The Big Moon
“Juice” – Lizzo
“Gloryhammer” – Gloryhammer
“Never Really Over” – Katy Perry
“Forgotten Kids” – Callum Pitt
“I Dare You” – The Regrettes
“Living in the Future”, “Forgot Your Name,” and “Tears in Her Eyes” – Mini Mansions
“Midas” – Skott
“Seventeen” – Sharon Van Etten
“Alive” – Dabin, feat. RUNN
“Dylan Thomas” by Better Oblivion Community Center
Despite everything going on with COVID-19, let’s hope 2020 will offer another year of great music!
And to end this musical extravaganza, like in past years, I wanted to provide a small tribute to all the musical artists lost in the last year, including Michel Legrand, Peter Tork of The Monkees, Andy Anderson of The Cure, Doug Sandom of The Who, Nipsey Hussle, Doris Day, Ian Gibbons of The Kinks, Jeff Fenholt, Eddie Money, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Naylor of The Crickets, Marie Fredriksson of Roxette, Kelly Fraser, Jack Sheldon, and so many others. Thank you for the music, and may you all rest in peace.
I know it’s over a month late, but now that I’ve finally finished reviewing last year’s Best Picture nominations, I figured that a good old-fashioned ranking was in order. While much of 2019 cinema didn’t stand out very much, it offered a surprisingly strong group of nominees, the best since 2016 I’d say. Even if some of them were not for me, several I loved, so I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store (whenever this whole virus situation allows the movie industry to return).
Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to classic Hollywood was too rambling for its own good, with an over-the-top bloody conclusion that left a bad taste in my mouth.
This real-life tale of two men and the expectation-challenging car they created hits most of the right feel-good notes; considering I’m not into racing films, it did its genre proud.
I love tracking shots, so I was destined to love this film. Boasting both a compelling story and bravura direction, it’s a genuinely awesome feat of film-making.
What did you think of the Oscar nominees? Anyone else wish Avengers: Endgame had snagged a nomination? Feel free to comment with your thoughts!
Another year, another Blindspot series! Once again, I tried to find a balance between movies that I’ve been meaning to see and a mixture of years, genres, and critical acclaim. Comedies are the most represented genre, but there’s also a musical, a film noir, an anime, a foreign zombie film, and a heavy sci-fi. I can’t wait to see what I think of these films as I watch and review one a month, but here’s hoping 2020’s Blindspots will be the best group yet!
And, in alphabetical order, the movies are:
Annie Hall (1977)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Fargo (1996)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2013)
Heathers (1988)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Pom Poko (1994)
Primer (2004)
Short Cuts (1993)
What a Way to Go (1964)
What do you think of this selection? Is anyone else tackling their own Blindspot series? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
One aspect of this whole blog experience that I’ve enjoyed is the Blindspot series, which I’ve done for the last three years. Everyone has those films that critics and fans laud, yet you’ve never quite gotten around to seeing them. Picking twelve such films at the beginning of the year and watching one a month is a great way to catch up on movies I keep putting off.
Despite falling behind throughout the year, I finished before the new year began, which is more than I can say for 2018’s picks. It was a nice mix of genres, and since I’m a nut for lists, here is my ranking of my 2019 Blindspots. While none of 2018’s picks dented my Top 365 list, three films from last year’s selection made the cut. The rest were uniformly good, though my bottom two felt lacking, considering their “classic” status. I’ll be posting my Blindspots for 2020 tomorrow but thought I should give a quick retrospective to bring last year’s Blindspot series to a close.
Happy New Year! It took a little longer than I anticipated, but here at last is the update for my Top 365 Movie List, the one that started it all back in 2014 as I counted down one a day. As I said in my 6th Blogiversary post, only 20 films I saw in 2019 made the cut, and you can see the additions in bold below.
However, through the magic of cheating on my part, only ten films actually got painfully booted off the list. This is thanks to the sheer number of sequels, such as Toy Story 4, Avengers: Endgame, and The Rise of Skywalker, as well as my tendency to group similar films together, such as pairing The Longest Day with Saving Private Ryan and The Magnificent Seven (both versions) with its originator Seven Samurai. Aside from the three series sequels I mentioned, nothing was able to crack the Top 100, though Mr. Church came close at #101, and most of the other additions were relegated to the latter half of the List. The main tweak to the Top 100 was an eight-place rise for The Avengers and its equals, which was bolstered by the satisfying conclusion that was Endgame.
Only the hawk-sighted would notice, but there were some rises and falls among the films already on the List. Spider-Man: Homecoming was the biggest gainer thanks to its pairing with Far from Home, jumping from #288 to #210, whereas The Nativity Story was the biggest loser, dropping from #165 to #310, likely suffering from lower rewatchability, as did United 93 (falling from #158 to #206).
All this is strictly personal preference, list mania, and total favoritism on my part, which obviously changes over the years, so you’re welcome to disagree or, better yet, suggest a film I may not have seen that you think deserves placement here. This is a living List that is meant to change over time, and I can’t wait to see what films 2020 will offer up to potentially join their celebrated brethren here on my humble blog (even if it sadly means taking some off to make room).
What a year 2019 has been! It’s hard to believe it was 6 years ago today that I published my first blog post, an introduction before I started counting down my top 365 movies back in 2014. I’ve come a long way since then, and 2019 has been quite the catalyst year, for good and ill. This was the year I finally managed to change careers, transitioning from food service to an IT job at a major company, a dream I’ve long awaited.
Yet it’s also been a year of endings. Besides ending the decade, 2019 marked an end/turning point for multiple fandoms, only some of which I belong to: the conclusions of the MCU’s Infinity Saga and the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, as well as the series finales for Game of Thrones, Gotham, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, The Big Bang Theory, Orange Is the New Black, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Steven Universe, Mr. Robot, and many others.
Worst of all, it’s the year I had to say goodbye to both my cat and my father in the same month, which has struck my family hard recently.
Yet through the highs and lows of the past year, there have always been movies to raise or crush our spirits as needed. And as with every year, it’s time to tally up the best I’ve seen over the last 365 days and rank the heck out of them! I’ve seen quite a lot of good movies over that time, but not as many great ones as in years past, so this list of 20 seems smaller than in the past. I don’t know if I’m becoming more discerning in my film tastes or just not seeing as many good ones, but at least I had the movies listed below to get me excited about cinema.
Please keep in mind that this is not a ranking of strictly 2019 movies, as I’ve never been one to see every movie as it comes out, but you can expect such a ranking later in 2020 once I’ve had time to catch up. Instead, this list is for all my favorite movies I’ve watched in 2019, whether in the theater or at home, and of course it is strictly my personal opinion and ranking. A special mention also for those List Runner-Ups that barely missed the cut this time, including Beautiful Boy, Game Night, Alita: Battle Angel, Odd Thomas, Detective Pikachu, Amadeus, I Am Mother, Anna and the Apocalypse, Baby Driver, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and A Few Good Men (which was meant to be List-Worthy but was knocked down by the competition).
I’d love to hear your opinion, though, as well as any recommendations, perhaps of the best movies you saw in the past year as well. Anyway, on to the list!
Based on its reviews, this is a movie that probably doesn’t deserve to be on a top movie list, yet I couldn’t help but love this Rain Man-inflected drama of an autistic girl (Dakota Fanning) making a quest to enter a Star Trek fan writing contest. Fanning offers a sensitive, human performance, and the Trek references kept this fan happy while leading to an encouraging and honest conclusion. Some movies appeal to certain people more than others, and this one appealed to me.
It’s hard to say I loved Dancer in the Dark, just as it’s hard to say I loved Grave of the Fireflies. Can you really love something that destroys you emotionally? Lars von Trier’s hope-crushing tone and naturalistic camerawork are also far from my usual cup of tea, yet there’s something about the earnestness of Bjork’s character in this strange musical melodrama that drew me in and broke my heart as few films have.
From its gloomy lows, DC has made somewhat of a comeback in recent years, but I still was surprised at how much I enjoyed Shazam! While it’s basically a superhero version of Big, the filmmakers found a good blend of action and humor to make this film stand on its own, and while its tone veers too dark at times, contrasting the warmth of the main character’s adopted family, it’s still among the DCEU’s best offerings.
The best film of 2018? Debatable but still deserving, in my opinion. Green Book is one of those unlikely friendship movies that I’m just naturally inclined to like, and Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali play off each other wonderfully, the former a New York bouncer-turned-chauffeur and the latter an acclaimed pianist going on tour through the South in 1962. Critics can complain all they want, but Green Book was an entertaining delight about two flawed individuals finding friendship.
I can’t quite decide if I enjoyed Ralph Breaks the Internet more than its predecessor, but that’s a good sign in my book. Ralph and Vanellope’s journey into the World Wide Web offers both exuberant animation and comedy gold, particularly surrounding the plethora of properties Disney now owns. Its central conflict, devoid of villains, is also unique in how it addresses the real-life pain of friends separating. Disney’s first official sequel was luckily a slam dunk.
Blinded by the Light (2019)
I’ve never been the biggest Bruce Springsteen fan, but in the words of La La Land, “people love what other people are passionate about.” This true story of a teenage Pakistani Brit in the ‘80s discovering the Boss for the first time spoke to me as a poet and music lover and proved to be one of the best feel-good films of the year.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Some might recall that The Last Jedi was my favorite film of 2017, so the placement of Rise of Skywalker should indicate my more mixed but still largely positive opinion of it. Its plot holes are legion, yet I still enjoyed this final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, as I’ve enjoyed every Star Wars episode so far. The world, the action, and the characters make all (or at least most) of its flaws forgivable and don’t detract from the entertainment value of that galaxy far, far away.
Homecoming was neither the best nor the worst Spider-Man outing, and in the wake of Endgame, I wasn’t expecting much from Far from Home. Yet this turned out to be a lovably fun palate cleanser after the high stakes of Endgame. It was not only a funny European road trip but also a way for Peter Parker and the audience to move beyond the loss of Tony Stark. (Oh, uh, spoiler alert?) With twists both predictable and surprising, it was an entertaining way to end the MCU’s Phase 3.
I don’t know why it took so long for me to see this Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic, but luckily my Blindspot series gave me the opportunity I needed. Powered by a tour de force performance by David Oyelowo (who was robbed for an Oscar nomination), it focused exclusively on one key chapter of King’s life. Even for those who already knew the story of the Selma march, this near-perfect biopic manages to raise the tension as events play out, and it praises King while also showing him at his lowest moments.
Taika Waititi’s humor is an acquired taste that I hadn’t fully acquired until this hilarious but heartfelt Nazi satire. Young Roman Griffin Davis shines as a Nazi Youth wannabe with an imaginary Hitler for a best friend (Waititi himself), and it has a lot to say about prejudice while delivering some of the funniest lines of the year.
Another film I’ve put off watching for far too long, it didn’t take long while watching Mr. Church for me to realize that I loved it. The based-on-truth story of an in-home cook growing into a genuine member of the family he cares for was just too sweet to resist and gave Eddie Murphy his best role in years. Despite the mixed reviews surrounding it, I loved this film dearly.
Nothing could top the grand finale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga. After the gut-punch of Infinity War, everything hinged on Endgame, and the Russos delivered the biggest, coolest, most satisfying entry of the franchise to date. It’s a rare case of sky-high expectations being handily met. Plot holes be darned; this was a great way to end a decade of superhero awesomeness.
So ends the top twelve, but the films below also earned the rank of List-Worthy this year and will be added to my Top 365 list along with the ones above.
Thus, another year of movie-watching comes to a close. If you’re still reading this, here are a few awards I dole out to the List-Worthy films every year.
Best opening scene: Marriage Story
Best final scene: Avengers: Endgame
Coolest scene: Avengers: Endgame
Biggest emotional impact: Dancer in the Dark
Oldest film: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Most recent film: Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Longest film: Avengers: Endgame (181 minutes)
Shortest film: Please Stand By (93 minutes)
Best soundtrack: Blinded by the Light
Best score: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Best special effects: Avengers: Endgame
Most mind-bending: Spider-Man: Far from Home
Most family-friendly: Toy Story 4
Most mature: Marriage Story
Scariest: N/A
Funniest: Jojo Rabbit
Best VC Pick: A Few Good Men
Best male performance: Adam Driver in Marriage Story
Best female performance: Bjork in Dancer in the Dark
I’ll be posting my updated Top 365 list with these additions in the days ahead, but I want to thank everyone who has read, liked, followed, and commented over the past year. I use this blog as simply a creative outlet for my writing and love of film, but the fact that others find it worth reading is a constant encouragement for me. Thank you all, and I wish everyone the best 2020 possible!
To finish things off, here’s a little look-back at the movies 2019 had to offer, for a little short-term nostalgia.
During the early 2000s, I loved the 100 Years… series of movie lists released by the American Film Institute, counting down film’s top Laughs, Thrills, Passions, and such. They served as a great introduction to the cinematic highs of various genres, some of which I knew and others I got to experience vicariously for the first time. It’s really a shame that they stopped after 2008; I would have at least liked another ten-year update of the Top 100 Movies list.
Yet one list seemed like it could particularly use an update. In 2003, the AFI counted down the top 50 heroes and top 50 villains, and I couldn’t help but notice that the only villain from the 21st century was Denzel Washington’s crooked cop in Training Day at #50. Over the last 19 years, though, there have been plenty of other villainous characters that I think could have earned placement on that villain list. Therefore, I thought I’d do my own updated villain countdown for the current century, leaving heroes for another time.
I’m not necessarily in favor of celebrating evil, but a memorable villain can make a good movie great and a bad movie watchable. One villain I do think should be on the list is Mr. Smith from The Matrix series, but he’s technically ineligible since the first film was released in 1999. And sidenote: I’m ignoring TV, as much as I’d like to include Ben from Lost, Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls, or Kyubey from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Thus, with consideration for how iconic each has become, here are my own picks for the top villains of the 21st century:
Unbreakable was an unconventional superhero movie, and true to M. Night Shyamalan form, its villain proved to be a surprise. Samuel L. Jackson’s brittle-boned antagonist seemed so harmless at first, yet his role as a mastermind and the unhealthiness of his comic book fascination became clear by the end. I laughed during a recent rewatch of Parks and Recreation where they ask what Mr. Glass is up to and “Why no sequel?” Of course, we did get one this past year, with mixed results, but the “strength” of the character remains.
A mere vaguely threatening presence in the first Hunger Games film, President Snow proved just how ruthless and dastardly he was in the next three. From blackmailing Katniss to ordering the deaths of countless citizens, he became an increasingly dangerous mastermind, and Donald Sutherland played him with an icy pragmatism right up to the very end.
I think it’s telling that of the original Spider-Man trilogy villains, only Doc Ock hasn’t had some kind of “reboot” in the Spider-Man films since. (Well, at least in live-action; Into the Spider-Verse went a little different with its version.) I think that’s because of how perfectly Alfred Molina became the character, brought to life with an awesome mix of CGI and puppetry. Uniquely sympathetic due to his Jekyll-and-Hyde complex with his robotic arms, he remains one of the franchise’s best villains.
Few horror films have genuinely scared me like The Babadook, thanks largely to its titular creature. This Australian scarefest features a picture book that described the top-hatted terror in detail, letting people’s fear and suspicion make it real and inescapable. As movie monsters go, it’s definitely up there with the most chilling, even more so due to what it represents psychologically.
Voldemort from the Harry Potter series
Granted, I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter films, but the reputation of Ralph Fiennes’ Voldemort precedes him. The very name of He Who Must Not Be Named has become synonymous with villainy, so even if I only know him by cultural presence, the significance of that presence deserves placement on any list of cinematic villains.
I had considered putting Bill Nighy’s Davy Jones on the list, but in the end, Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa won out. With his smarmy dealing and sneering delivery, he’s just the perfect pirate antagonist, whether as a skeleton or less-than-trustworthy ally, and Rush always looks like he’s having a blast. Plus, he’s got one of the best surprise entrances in movie history.
Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds
Another film I haven’t actually seen all of, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds nonetheless delivered a villain for the ages in Christoph Waltz’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Hans Landa, the wicked Nazi “Jew Hunter.” Able to shift easily from casual courtesy to racist murder, he’s a true psychopath, and his opening scene alone was enough to convince me of his placement here.
As far as which version of the character, take your pick. Whether played by Ian McKellen or Michael Fassbender, Magneto is the ideal archrival to Charles Xavier, bitter enough about his traumatic past to hate all non-mutants. He’s suffered so much that you can’t help but sympathize with him, even as he uses his power over metal to cause havoc. Plus, he’s not too different from Charles in his end goals; he’s just far more ruthless in his means of achieving them.
Pennywise from It and It Chapter Two
I still haven’t gotten around to watching the latest version of Stephen King’s It, but I must give props to Bill Skarsgård for helping this incarnation of Pennywise the Dancing Clown rival the great Tim Curry’s. His frightening painted face has become an instant icon of scary clowns (just look at the Halloween costumes), so that makes him the most recent entry on the list.
“Why so serious?” Speaking of clowns, we mustn’t forget the other Oscar-winning villain role on this list. You’re welcome to include Joaquin Phoenix’s most recent version of the Joker here, but I have Heath Ledger in mind. I can’t help but wonder if the darkness required to personify the Joker contributed to his death, but he certainly made the role his own and, in effect, his legacy. Edgy and grimy to match the underworld of Gotham, his Joker is a compulsive liar and a true criminal mastermind, a man whose goal is simply, in the words of Michael Caine’s Alfred, “to watch the world burn.”
Few villainous images are as iconic as the Eye of Sauron. Watching from atop the tower of Barad-dûr, it’s an all-watching representation of evil, especially the evil of the One Ring, the source and reason for Frodo’s quest across Middle-earth. I could easily have sided with Saruman, the Ringwraiths, or Gollum as well, but Sauron is the big bad to end all fantasy big bads.
Yet when it comes to big bads, who can question Thanos, the final boss of 20+ films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? No other villain has achieved his goals as successfully as did Thanos in Infinity War, and it has to be a new height in villainy to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Marvel has often been criticized for its weak villains, but Thanos blew them all away (literally) and may well be the best villain of the new millennium.
And here are some other contenders that could deserve placement on a list of 21st-century villains, a list of nefarious runners-up, so to speak:
Loki – Thor, The Avengers, etc.
Red Skull – Captain America: The First Avenger
Ultron – Avengers: Age of Ultron
Killmonger – Black Panther
Severus Snape – Harry Potter series
Syndrome – The Incredibles
Davy Jones – The Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3
The White Witch – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
No-Face – Spirited Away
The Green Goblin – Spider-Man
Other Mother – Coraline
Eris – Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Kylo Ren – Star Wars: Episodes VII-IX
The Armitage Family – Get Out
Daniel Plainview – There Will Be Blood
Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) – Star Trek into Darkness
Raoul Silva – Skyfall
Owen Davian – Mission: Impossible III
Solomon Lane – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Fallout
Bane – The Dark Knight Rises
Smaug – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Immortan Joe – Mad Max: Fury Road
Annabelle / The Nun – The Conjuring franchise
David – Prometheus and Alien: Covenant
Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men
Patrick Bateman – American Psycho
Jigsaw – Saw franchise
Kevin Wendell Crumb – Split and Glass
Wilson Fisk/Kingpin – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
So do you agree? What cinematic villains would you suggest are worthy of such a list? I’d love to know what you think!
It may seem past the usual time for such lists, but it’s about time I posted this Top Twelve list of my favorite films from last year. Better late than never, right? After all, it’s never too late for a list. The year 2018 yielded a plethora of sequels, adaptations, and the occasional original story that made it a strong year at the cinema.
You might notice that my choices diverge from the Oscar fodder you’d expect on this kind of list, and that’s because I’ve either not seen it yet (BlacKkKlansman, Roma) or didn’t like it much (First Man, Annihilation). Nevertheless, if you see a movie you liked that isn’t here, feel free to recommend. I’m always on the lookout for hidden gems. Without further ado, let’s start the countdown, first with the runners-up and working our way up to the Top Twelve:
Portraying the modern Internet experience in a movie would be hard enough, but doing so while gradually unfolding a mystery and a compelling father-daughter relationship is masterful. Starring John Cho as a dad who searches for clues online to find his missing daughter, Searching makes the most of its creative choice to show everything through a computer screen. It’s hard to imagine this concept being done better.
A monster movie that makes sound itself the enemy, A Quiet Place is proof of the talents of writer/director John Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt, both playing parents who do everything they can to keep their kids safe during this soundless apocalypse. Even if its plot is a bit too similar to the criminally underrated Hidden, the tension it draws from every scene is palpably effective.
I wrote in my review that most seemed to agree that Solo was “not bad,” but I stand by my belief that it deserves “good” status. It may not be the strongest Star Wars movie, but it was better than I expected, especially since it was tasked with recasting two iconic roles. These incarnations of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are different, but the actors deliver enough swagger to make them close enough interpretations. The worst part is that the film’s underperformance probably means we’ll never get the sequel it sets up.
It was only last year that I caught up with the Mission: Impossible series, and Fallout continued the upward trend for the series that started with Mission: Impossible III. There seems to be no stopping Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, and the action set pieces never disappoint. I was a tad disappointed with how it resolved the relationship begun in the third film, but Fallout knocked everything else out of the park.
This beautiful anime tearjerker deserved so much more than it got. It may have gotten a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it seems that anyone in charge of awards never heard of it. It couldn’t even get a nomination from the Crunchyroll Awards! This tale of a near-immortal teenage girl who adopts a human baby merges tender maternal themes and a larger fantasy plot, delivering a gut-punch of emotion that left me a sobbing puddle by the end.
I loved the first Wreck-It Ralph. My VC did not, but we both agreed that Ralph Breaks the Internet is a great sequel. Between the gloriously shameless product placement of everything Disney owns and the affecting bond between Ralph and Vanellope, this movie’s foray into the highs and lows of Internet culture is both colorfully metaphorical and hugely entertaining.
Speaking of hugely entertaining, Ant-Man and the Wasp brought a much smaller (pun intended) adventure to follow up the universe-shaking clash of Infinity War. It often feels more like a family comedy than a superhero actioner, but they blend so well with these characters that I left the theater happy. They don’t all have to be world-ending face-offs.
I still don’t get why Green Book was such a controversial pick for Best Picture, and I’m personally glad that it grabbed the top Academy prize. Race is obviously a sticky subject at this time, but Green Book breathes a good deal of humanity into its depiction of the friendship between New York bouncer Tony “Lip” Vallelonga and black classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley. Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali give outstanding performances that ring true all the way to the satisfying end.
The Incredibles seemed to be the Pixar movie that most cried out for a sequel, and it only took them fourteen years. This follow-up doesn’t quite match the original, but it’s still a winning mix of familial lessons and superhero action and a welcome revisiting of everyone’s favorite super-family.
With so many cinematic versions of Spider-Man, it’s a small miracle that an animated version turned out to be one of the most original movies in recent memory. Into the Spider-Verse not only turned the Spider-Man mythology on its head by using the many versions of the character to its story’s advantage, but it represented those varied incarnations with an eye-popping blend of cutting-edge animation styles.
Nostalgia sells these days, especially for the ‘80s, and every aspect of Ready Player One is built on nerdy nostalgia. I loved the book, and while Spielberg’s adaptation takes some liberties with the plot, it’s faithful to its spirit, loaded with Easter eggs that will appeal to geeks everywhere on different levels. The effects and action scenes are outstanding, and it’s easily one of the most entertaining movies of late.
Any longtime reader should not be surprised by my #1. As a Marvel geek, I was right there on opening weekend to watch the beginning of the culmination of the whole MCU, and, like everyone else, I was left reeling by the gut-punch cliffhanger with which Infinity War ended. Yet that didn’t take away from the fact that it was also the biggest, most bombastic spectacle Marvel had yet delivered, and while I said then my continued appreciation would hinge on how well Endgame stuck the landing, I was thrilled and satisfied that it did. It seems so many are getting sick of superhero movies, but I’m still “marveling” at the awesomeness that Marvel has wrought.
So ends my Top Twelve Films of 2018, and thanks to anyone who bothered to read my absurdly late ranking. Now over halfway through 2019, I already have some ideas for this year’s Top Twelve, but it’s too early now. I ought to wait till at least next July. 😉
Well, April is over, and National Poetry Writing Month is done with it. It was once again a fun challenge writing a poem and review every day of the month, and NaPoWriMo went by way faster than I thought it would. I was prepared to possibly miss a day, and now I’m looking back and wondering how I kept up!
A big thank you to everyone who read, liked, commented, and encouraged me along the way! You all made it that much more enjoyable! Below is a recap of all the films reviewed throughout last month, in case anyone missed a day. Back now to business as usual, until next May rolls around!
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10802763/psycho.png)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58985297/image3.1520777936.jpg)
