THE #1 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR IS...

When I started this blog, it was to cast light on the disparity of critics everywhere. Not that disagreement is bad, quite the opposite: it means there's stuff out there worth arguing about. Most years there's a favorite, but it would be hard to say which was the absolute best movie of any given year. That's why I decided that maybe a points system would help to shed some sort of competitive light on all the movies released over the course of one year. Think of each publication's list as a race unto itself. Like, the Village Voice top 10 is akin to the Coca-Cola 600.
So, after going over 35 races in which 79 films were lucky enough to be mentioned, three came out way ahead. Of these three, one leaped into the lead early and never looked back, leaving every other film eating dust and spray paint.
THE NUMBER ONE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR IS:

1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (199 total points, 13 #1 votes)
2. CAROL (163, 4)
3. SPOTLIGHT (140, 7)
4. INSIDE OUT (63)
5. THE ASSASSIN (54, 2)
6. SON OF SAUL (53, 1)
7. ANOMALISA (46)
8. BROOKLYN (44, 1)
EX-MACHINA (44)
10. TANGERINE (38)

As you can see, there was no way Mad Max was not going to be the #1BMotY. Thirteen first place finishes! That's how much motherfuckers loved this movie. Spotlight was next in #1 finishes, but too many absences from other lists is what did it in. Carol took advantage of that and got second or third in just about every list it was mentioned (which was just about all of them). Inside Out rode a late wave of love that put it just ahead of early frontrunner The Assassin. A big plus for me was for seeing Tangerine with a top ten finish. Such a fun and heartfelt movie and that Mya Taylor should be a star.
If you haven't already, you should avail yourself of the chances to see these great movies! Many of the top 10 finishers are playing now and others are readily available for viewing at home. I'm unsure about The Assassin, as it hasn't really played in many places as of yet, but I'm sure someone knows a work-around for Netflix Asia! Many of the 69 other titles mentioned are already available for streaming on all sorts of movie sites. When a movie is mentioned for the first time on this blog, it's linked to a trailer. Click on that one and then check out canistream.it to see if you can watch if from the comfort of your own La-Z-Boy.
I hope you can find something awesome to watch!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!