STAR WARS CRASHES THE PARTY ON THREE NEW LISTS

Not content with owning the box office for the past two weeks, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is starting to get some mentions on year-end best-of lists. It has been mentioned several times over the past few days, even getting the top spot in one critic's list.
A few of these lists were published this week, but one that won't be counted here is the Seattle Times'. They've got two critics, but they couldn't be bothered to come up with a composite list, instead choosing to put out two separate lists which included one in alphabetical order. What the shit? Get it together people. I know this sounds somewhat hypocritical seeing as I counted each New York Times' critic's lists individually. Well, that's because the Times is a big fucking deal and each of its' critics are very well known and somewhat influential. I never heard of these two over in Seattle. On the other hand, we did get a look at lists from the Great White North, a good movie blog, and a bunch of computer nerds. Let's check them out, shall we?

First up is Peter Howell of the Toronto Star. He's got the titles you're expecting, but is also the first I've seen to give top honors to The Force Awakens. Howell also names a movie on no other lists to this date (which I now want to see). Here it is:
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (10)
2. Carol (9)
3. Son of Saul (8)
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (7)
5. Spotlight (6)
6. The Martian (5)
7. Sleeping Giant (4)
8. Inside Out (3)
9. Amy (2)
10. Tangerine (1)

Twitchfilm has also given us their list. This is how you do it, Seattle! These guys were able to compile a top-10 using votes from 29 writers. 29! That's 27 more than your publication, Seattle Times! Geez. That said, if you don't already read Twitch, I suggest you do. Here are their picks:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10)
2. Sicario (9)
3. Victoria (8)
The Martian (8)
5. Ex-Machina (6)
6. Carol (5)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (5)
Spotlight (5)
9. The Assassin (2)
It Follows (2)

Wired has taken time from testing new gadgets and software to let the world know that they saw a bunch of movies this year, as well. The only real surprise on their list is the inclusion of Creed, which seems to have lost all the critical steam it had going for it at one point. It's all good, though, as it's been making some money along the way. Can't say the same for Steve Jobs, though. It has fallen out of favor with the critics and won't make enough money to buy the latest iPhone. Check out how Wired ranked their favorites:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10)
2. Ex-Machina (9)
3. Creed (8)
4. The Revenant (7)
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (6)
6. Sicario (5)
7. The Martian (4)
8. Spotlight (3)
9. It Follows (2)
10. Steve Jobs (1)

Stay tuned to this blog! Totals for the end of the week will be up shortly. I think Star Wars has blasted its' way into the upper echelons of critical favor!!

ROLLING STONE ROLLS OUT THEIR TOP 10

No surprises from Peter Travers over at Rolling Stone! His list pretty much adheres to the standard set by most every other critic turning in a list of their favorites for 2015. Travers includes Steve Jobs, though, which has been acclaimed but isn't really riding high in the year-end polls. Jobs was good enough for the #2 spot on this list. I missed it when it played here in Austin very briefly.
Here's the Rolling Stone list:
1. Spotlight
2. Steve Jobs
3. Carol
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Brooklyn
6. Straight Outta Compton
7. Tangerine
8. The Martian
9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
10. Inside Out
Anomalisa

While it played well at home, Straight Outta Compton didn't seem to translate well. I've noticed that only American critics have shown any love toward the NWA bio. Oh, well, more "Dopeman" for me.

VARIETY POST THEIR LIST AND MIXES UP THE WEEK ENDING 12/20

One more list before we close out the week here at #1BMotY. Variety posted their picks for the top 10 movies of 2015 and it didn't have any big surprises, but it did allow for one movie to jump back in the race. Every other title seems to have settled into their usual positions, but we'll see if the last two weeks of the year manage to shake anything up. As I'm writing this up I noticed that I skipped over Rolling Stone's list, but it will be included in next week's count for sure.
Here's the Variety list:
1. Carol (10 pts)
2. The Assassin (9)
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (8)
4. Spotlight (7)
5. Phoenix (6)
6. The Look of Silence (5)
7. Inside Out (4)
8. Brooklyn (3)
9. 45 Years (2)
10. Son of Saul (1)

So, with that list, the race to be the NUMBER ONE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR closes out for another week. The top 3 candidates are way ahead of the rest of the field, but I'm betting the upcoming week will provide a few lists that may shake one or two titles loose. I'm also hoping that Sicario gets some more love and makes it to the top 5.
Here's how it shakes out for this week:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (135 pts)
2. Carol (119)
3. Spotlight (91)
4. The Assassin (51)
5. Inside Out (45)
6. Brooklyn (36)
Son of Saul (36)
8. 45 Years (35)
9. Anomalisa (32)
10. Sicario (29)

What will next week hold? Can the excellent The Force Awakens follow up its box office domination with some critical love, as well. I loved it, but we'll have to wait and see if the wags like it enough to rank it. We're getting closer to crowning the #1BMotY!!

SOMEONE FINALLY MENTIONS COMPTON

Two more lists have been published. Yesterday, the American Film Institute gave us their list and today, website The A/V Club named their choices. Both lists have the titles you'd expect to see, but the AFI list (alphabetical, so lazy) mentions two real crowd pleasers, one of which is Straight Outta Compton. Compton is definitely one of my favorites of the year and while I know it's not the #1BMotY, I'm surprised I hadn't seen it mentioned yet. It was snubbed by the Golden Globes, too. Well, at least it made a shit-ton of money. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is also on the AFI list, which is weird because it only started screening for critics last week. Maybe it's great, I don't know. I'm seeing it tonight, so I'm sure I'll have something to say about it in the next post. So let's check out these lists and the pointage they bestow.

Here's the AFI list (alphabetical, so everybody gets 3 points):
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Room
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Straight Outta Compton

The A/V Club and their critics have named their choices for the best 20 movies of the year. Here are the top 10 from that list:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10 pts)
2. Phoenix (9)
3. It Follows (8)
4. The Duke of Burgundy (7)
5. The Look of Silence (6)
6. Sicario (5)
7. The Assassin (4)
8. Carol (3)
9. Brooklyn (2)
10. Anomalisa (1)

It's good to see It Follows and Sicario getting some love. They are sure to be on my list. I've still got time and a few movies I need to see before I start to think about getting a list together. I'ma do one, though!

TWO MOVIES PASS 100 POINTS AFTER FOUR NEW LISTS DROP

The Hateful Eight

The internet is rife with Best Of lists this time of year and this week is off to a grand start with a grip of lists being released Monday. All the points that come with these polls have lifted two movies past the century mark: Mad Max: Fury Road and Carol. It's only Tuesday, though, and Spotlight might be lurking on some critic's pick sheet that hasn't been published yet. As for these polls, men's magazine Details proves to be the most esoteric of the bunch (wow) and Film Comment seems to agree with 90% of the lists that have come before it. That's usually the other way around! LA Weekly picked American Ultra as one of the year's best and it was universally panned. Odd. So what's up with these charts? Let's take a look...

First up, Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly gives us:
1. Chi-Raq (10 pts)
2. Anomalisa (9)
3. The Hateful Eight (8)
4. American Ultra (7)
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (6)
6. Room (5)
7. Victoria (4)
8. Spy (3)
9. The Second Mother (2)
10. Tangerine (1)

Film Comment polled their staff and the results are:
1. Carol (10)
2. The Assassin (9)
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (8)
4. Clouds of Sils Maria (7)
5. Arabian Nights (6)
6. Timbuktu (5)
7. Spotlight (4)
8. Phoenix (3)
9. Inside Out (2)
10. The Look of Silence (1)

Mr. Calum Marsh of Details picked his ten favorites:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10)
2. Mistress America (9)
3. Hard to Be a God (8)
4. Carol (7)
5. The Forbidden Room (6)
6. Arabian Nights (5)
7. Jauja (4)
8. Queen of Earth (3)
9. Listen to Me, Marlon (2)
10. Unfriended (1)

Website The Wrap's critics voted up these titles:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10)
2. Carol (9)
3. Anomalisa (8)
4. Grandma (7)
5. The Tribe (6)
6. Son of Saul (5)
7. Ex-Machina (4)
8. Clouds of Sils Maria (3)
9. Spotlight (2)
10. Brooklyn (1)

Probably the biggest surprise of all on the lists is the inclusion of Unfriended, from MTV Films. It's a teen thriller that takes place entirely on the internet (social media, skype,and the like). Surprising because it's got a 59 on Metacritic and a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's a long week, so maybe we were all wrong and it's going to jump to the top of the rankings. We'll see!

WILL MAD MAX FINISH THE YEAR AT #1??

I stole this image from Variety

This week has seen many polls be revealed, many agreed and some introduced some new titles into the mix. Notably, only five of last week's #1BMotY Top 10 are still around this week. Two of those titles didn't finish in the top five, either. So we can see that some new favorites have emerged, but the winners here are still the titles to beat. The top three are all within five points of each other, but that scene can change with one being left off of someone's list in the coming week. Inside Out is in a very distant fourth place, but it's getting more and more mentions. Honestly, I can totally see the Max love dropping off in favor of more sobering fare but we'll see what happens. Results are below!

#1 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR TOP 10
week ending 12/13

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (80 points)
2. Carol (77)
3. Spotlight (75)
4. Inside Out (36)
5. Brooklyn (30)
Son of Saul (30)
7. Tangerine (26)
8. The Big Short (25)
9. 45 Years (24)
10. Diary of a Teenage Girl (23)

Is your favorite making the cut? Maybe you haven't seen some? Mad Max, Inside Out, and Diary are all available for home viewing. Tangerine is on Netflix! Carol and Saul will begin screening on Xmas day, The Big Short opens wide on the 23rd, and the rest are playing now.

THREE NEW LISTS! THE REVENANT MAKES ITS FIRST SHOWING!

Leo looking fierce in fur from The Revenant

Big news for the last day of the week! An important newspaper, an industry rag, and a popular website all let us in on their choices for the best films of 2015. Among the selections are two new arrivals to the race for #1BMotY: The Tribe (Deaf Ukranian teens torture each other in sign language) and The Revenant (Two beards with guns fight each other in the snow and then a bear joins them for a threeway). I'm a little worried about The Revenant. It's not getting the rapturous reception I was expecting and hoping for. The trailer is fantastic and I can't wait to see it, but the lack of hot take reviews makes me wonder if it's going to be anything to write home about. But, what about the lists? Two titles get mentioned in each list. Guess which ones?

Over at the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan named one movie Best Picture (10 points!) and the rest were listed alphabetically (3 pts each!), like a cat lady saying she loves all her cats equally:
1. Brooklyn (10 pts)
- Amy
- The Big Short
- Bridge of Spies
- Carol
- 45 Years
- Inside Out
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Martian
- Room

The Hollywood Reporter has published their top 10 picks, as well. Critic Todd McCarthy ranked his choices 1-10, as they should.
1. The Tribe (10)
2. Brooklyn (9)
3. Son of Saul (8)
4. The Revenant (7)
5. Diary of a Teenage Girl (6)
6. Anomalisa (5)
7. Mad Max: Fury Road (4)
8. Seymour: An Introduction (3)
9. 45 Years (2)
10. Carol (1)

Slate, and their critic Dana Stevens, picked a top ten list, but found that ranking them would be "cruel". So here they are alphabet-style and they will each recieve three points.

- 45 Years
- Amy
- Carol
- Diary of a Teenage Girl
- Inside Out
- The Look of Silence
- The Second Mother
- Spotlight
- Spy
- Tangerine

Come back tomorrow to see who comes out on top this week! One title's lack of action today could make for some interesting results!

THESE ALPHABETICAL TOP 10 MOTHERFACKERS: Awarding points update

Elmo

So a few critics and publications have released Top 10 lists that I have not taken into account for this poll. Why? It's because these lists were not in any ranked order, only alphabetically. I feel like these lists should definitely be considered, as some are from major publications and critics. So we'll be going back and putting up some polls that we hadn't listed yet, and each film mentioned in an alphabetical top 10 list will be awarded 2 points. Since going alphabetical style is basically like awarding everyone on your soccer team a "participant" trophy, every one gets the same thing just for making the list.

PLAYLIST DROPS THEIR BEST OF!

The Duke of Burgundy

My favorite movie blog, The Playlist, has shared their comprehensive list of the 20 best movies of the year. No huge surprises aside from the positions some of the titles fell into. Maybe the biggest surprise is Sicario getting the second place slot. The top three are still elbowing their way to the front of the line and assuring a place at the top.

Here's the list:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10 pts)
2. Sicario (9)
3. The Duke of Burgundy (8)
4. Carol (7)
5. 45 Years (6)
6. Inside Out (5)
7. Room (4)
8. Spotlight (3)
9. Brooklyn (2)
10. Son of Saul (1)

Actually, I think The Duke of Burgundy is the big winner here. On most of the lists it has appeared on, Burgundy usually sits in the #10-20 range, so to see it make the top five of my preferred website makes me take a new interest in this movie about two women and their dom/sub relationship.
End of the week is almost here and there have been some major moves made this week. Tune in this weekend to see who King Shit of Movie Mountain is this time!

WASHINGTON POST AND THREE NY TIMES TOP 10s!!

The Assassin

Yesterday, two of the biggest newspapers in the country shared their choices for the year's best movies. The Washington Post offered no big surprises, while the New York Times went three different ways, as we'll see. The Big Three continue to rack up the points with Carol gaining ground, getting mentioned in all four lists here. The Big Short is building momentum as its opening weekend looms. I'll bet it will be big.

First up is Ann Hornaday's picks for the Post:
1. Spotlight (10 pts.)
2. Love & Mercy (9)
3. Brooklyn (8)
4. Carol (7)
5. Ex Machina (6)
6. Chi-Raq (5)
7. Son of Saul (4)
8. Creed (3)
9. Inside Out (2)
10. The Martian (1)

The NYTimes decided to publish top ten lists for each of their film critics instead of having just one decided by all three. #1BMotY has decided to take each list individually for points. There are a few caveats: I have dismissed a few entries as they were either one-time screenings or programs of films, but since the lists these appear in have ties, the spots are filled in nicely. Another reason to consider all three is that each critic is pretty influential on their own.

Manhola Dargis:
1. The Assassin (10)
Mad Max: Fury Road (10)
3. Bridge of Spies (9)
4. Carol (8)
5. In Jackson Heights (7)
6. The Martian (6)
7. The Kindergarten Teacher (5)
8. Diary of a Teenage Girl (4)
9. The Big Short (3)
10. Sixty Six (1)

AO Scott:
1. Timbuktu (10)
2. Inside Out (9)
3. Spotlight (8)
The Big Short (8)
4. Heart of a Dog (7)
5. Carol (6)
Anomalisa (6)
6. Taxi (5)
7. Out 1 (4)
8. Mad Max: Fury Road (3)
9. Creed (2)
10. Results (1)
Welcome to Me (1)

Stephen Holden:
1. Carol (10)
2. The Big Short (9)
3. Spotlight (8)
4. The Fool (7)
5. Diary of a Teenage Girl (6)
6. The Look of Silence (5)
7. Truth (4)
8. 45 Years (3)
9. Tangerine (2)
10.Brooklyn (1)

POINTS FOR EVERYONE!!!

VANITY FAIR AND EW PICK THEIR TOP TENS!

The Look of Silence

It's been a busy day for awards prognosticators and film journalists alike, thanks to the cavalcade of honors being bestowed today. Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly both have lists out and both have the frontrunners listed next to some titles that had not been mentioned yet. Room gets its first mention and The End of the Tour getting a shout-out. Spotlight continues the juggernaut path it's on today, pulling down 33 points! Carol is slow and steady, tacking on another ten points to that total.

Here's the Vanity Fair list:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10 pts.)
2. Clouds of Sils Maria (9)
3. Spotlight (8)
4. Carol (7)
5. Ex-Machina (6)
6. Tangerine (5)
7. The End of the Tour (4)
8. Eden (3)
9. Steve Jobs (2)
10. The Martian (1)

You know, I gotta say, I would expect the Entertainment Weekly list to be more blockbuster/crowd-favorite heavy, but its even got a documentary and a feature film that are both about genocide. Here's the list:

1. Spotlight (10 pts.)
2. Sicario (9)
3. Room (8)
4. The Look of Silence (7)
5. Inside Out (6)
6. Creed (5)
7. Son of Saul (4)
8. Carol (3)
9. The Big Short (2)
10. It Follows (1)


How many points will Spotlight rack up tomorrow? At this rate, I'm not expecting anything less than 20!

SPOTLIGHT GETS ITS SHINE ON

The accolades are piling up for Spotlight this week! The New York Film Critics Online, L.A. Film Critics' Association, and the Boston Society of Film Critics have all held their ceremonies and each one chose Spotlight as their pick for Best Picture. That's an extra 15 points for the drama and it moves into second in the #1BMotY race for now. Mad Max: Fury Road is still 15 points ahead, but at this rate Spotlight will be right behind it in no time.

NEW POLL CLOSES OUT THE FIRST WEEK OF DECEMBER, WHO'S ON TOP??

Last week came to a close on Saturday with the release of IndieWire's list of favorites. A couple of surprises, but the usual suspects each make a showing. Here's the list:

1. Son of Saul (10 pts)
2. Tangerine (9)
3. Heaven Knows What (8)
4. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (7)
5. Buzzard (6)
6. Mad Max: Fury Road (5)
7. Anomalisa (4)
8. Taxi (3)
9. Heart of a Dog (2)
10. Carol (1)

Saturday also brought us to our first week-ending chart. You know who is on top. And by a considerable margin. Mad Max has an 18 point lead heading into next week. As for the five films tied for sixth place, those will begin to fall into place as more polls are released, with Spotlight looking to rise up for sure. So here's the #1BMotY chart for the week ending 12/6:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (40)
2. Carol (22)
3. Tangerine (16)
4. Cemetery of Splendour (15)
5. Son of Saul (13)
6. Arabian Nights (10)
The Assassin (10)
Helmut Berger, Actor (10)
Mia Madre (10)
Spotlight (10)

TWO MORE MAGS LET US IN ON THEIR TOP 1O LISTS; ONE PICKS "MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E."!!

Spotlight

Time magazine (still?) has published their choices for the Top 10 films of 2015. It's very different from any of the lists we've seen up to this point. Only one film, Tangerine, has been mentioned before. Spotlight, the number one pick here, seems to be gaining momentum as word of mouth spreads. My buddy Johio said it was awesome. The list follows:

1. Spotlight (10 pts)
2. Phoenix (9)
3. I'll See You in My Dreams (8)
4. Clouds of Sils Maria (7)
5. Iris (6)
6. Mustang (5)
7. Tangerine (4)
8. Creed (3)
9. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2)
10. Ex-Machina (1)

Also weighing in this week was Empire magazine out of the UK. This one is a little tricky, as it contains a few US titles that were released domestically last year. Since that is the case and they are clearly out of contention for #1BMY, they get no points. Other than that, a couple of crowd favorites make showings and Mad Max: Fury Road sits on top of the pile here again. Two of my favorites for 2015, Sicario and It Follows, finally get mentioned, as well. Here's the Empire list:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (10 pts)
2. Whiplash
3. Inside Out (8)
4. Ex-Machina (7)
5. Sicario (6)
6. Steve Jobs (5)
7. The Martian (4)
8. It Follows (3)
9. Carol (2)
10. A Most Violent Year

I think we all see the lock Mad Max has for this week. Once we add up the scores tomorrow, we'll be able to tell if anyone is going to have a chance at catching up!

NYFCC AND NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW REVEAL TOP HONORS

Carol

The New York Film Critics' Circle and the National Board of Review have named the winners of their respective end-of-year ceremonies. No big surprises here. Carol won the NYFCC Best Picture nod (5 pts), and it won a few other awards there, as well, holding down the prizes for director, screenplay, and cinematography.
The National Board of Review went the other way and selected much-loved actioner Mad Max: Fury Road (5 pts). Apparently, the NBR didn't think Mad Max's individual parts were worth honoring. Dicks.
More points for the favorites! We'll add 'em up Saturday.

SCORING POINTS WITH AWARDS

When I was putting together the scoring system for #1BMOTY, I was only thinking of Top 10 lists and using them as a scoring template. In doing that, I totally overlooked all the awards that are given out at this time of year, too. They're coming out now and I've decided that a Best Picture win is worth some points on this poll. So, from today on, a movie that wins a Best Picture award from a major critics' association or publication will be given 5 #1BMOTY points. Just the winner gets points, no nominees, as they aren't usually announced unless you are at the ceremony.
So, more points available for all!

JOHN WATERS TELLS US HIS FAVORITES OF THE YEAR

photo credit Greg Gorman


December begins and so does the official Year-end Top 10 season. Every mag and website will be unleashing Top 10 lists for everything, from books to buttplugs. A definite highlight of these lists is John Waters' list of his favorite films. Surprisingly, his picks this year don't seem as willfully obscure as they have in the past. I'm always stoked when Uncle John agrees with me on films that I've seen, like Tangerine and Mad Max: Fury Road. Not surprised he liked Love, a YA love story with unsimulated sex in 3D. Who wouldn't? Really though, has anyone else seen Helmut Berger, Actor? And who knew there was a movie about the Barefoot Bandit??

Here's his picks for 2015 (with points awarded)

1. Helmut Berger, Actor (Andreas Horvath) (10 pts)
2. Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh) (9 pts)
3. The Forbidden Room (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson) (8 pts)
4. Tom at the Farm (Xavier Dolan) (7 pts)
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (6 pts)
6. Carol (5 pts)
7. Diary of a Teenage Girl (Marielle Heller) (4 pts)
8. Tangerine (Sean Baker) (3 pts)
9. Fly Colt Fly: Legend of the Barefoot Bandit (Adam Grey, Andrew Grey) (2 pts)
10. Love (Gaspar Noe) (1 pt)


Throw some more points on the fire for Mad Max and Carol. They are definitely the ones to beat early in this race, but we'll see how it all adds up for the week on Saturday. I'm sure we'll see a few more polls come out this week. Although one big question mark remains: The Revenant. It was screened last week for critics and industry people, but the review embargo lasts until Friday. Unless it really sucks (it won't), I'm sure the #1 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR race will look much different come next Saturday.