2018 End-of-Year Ranking — 56 Films

My 2018 was defined by films.  With the prospect of a child on the horizon, I went all in on the interest that drove most of my childhood: movies.  I saw fewer shows and attended fewer concerts to open up time.  I knew this was my last chance to fulfill the Siskel & Ebert fantasy I'd had through most of middle school.  The result?  This list, the 56 movies I saw this year...   

[Note: Animated Shorts [AS] and Live Action Shorts [LAS] are identified by those initials.]

F+: Bus Story [2014 AS].

D: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald.

C-: Ready Player One.  Footprints [AS 2014]. Me and Moulton [2014 AS]. 

C: Parveneh [LAS 2014].  Butter Lamp [LAS 2014].  Deadpool 2.

C+: A Muppet Christmas Carol.

B-: Sorry To Bother You.

B: Mission Impossible: Fallout.  At Eternity's Gate.  First Man.  John Wick.  Ant-Man and the Wasp.

B+: Mid 90s.  Sweet Cocoon [2014 AS].  Boogaloo and Graham [2014 LAS].  The Dam Keeper [2014 LAS]. Widows. Creed II.  Eighth Grade.  Mary Poppins Returns.  Shoplifters.  The Old Man and the Gun.  Bumblebee.  Can You Ever Forgive Me?  The Greatest Showman.  Love Simon.

A-: Duet [2014 AS].  The Bigger Picture [2014 AS]. The Favourite. A Private War. Avengers: Infinity War.  Crazy Rich Asians. Green Book. Black Panther.

A: The Phone Call [2014 LAS]. Burning.  Roma.  A Quiet Place.  BlacKKKlansman.  Won't You Be My Neighbor?  Boy Erased.  Ben is Back.  A Star is Born.  Ralph Breaks The Internet.

A+: Free Solo.  The Hate U Give.  RBG.  The Guilty.  Searching.  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.  Three Identical Strangers. Blindspotting.

2018 Pre-Oscar Ranking -- 70 Films

7 hours before the Oscars, here's a ranking of the 70 films I've seen since the last Oscars.

[Note: Titles of films I've seen since the end-of-2017 ranking are in bold. Animated Shorts [AS] and Live Action Shorts [LAS] are identified by those initials.]

D-: Broadway Melody [1929].

D+: The Eleven O'Clock [LAS]. 

C-: Logan. Henry IV Part 1 [Globe Theater 2012]. Catch 22 [1970]. O Brother Where Art Thou [2000].

C: Dear Basketball [AS]. Thor: The Dark World [2014]. Cimarron [1931]. Thor [2011].  Phantom Thread. 

C+: Wings [1927]. Dunkirk.

B-: Margaret [2011].

B: Henry IV Part 1 [Royal Shakespeare Company 2014]. Grand Hotel [1932]. The Disaster Artist.  Revolting Rhymes [AS]. The Florida Project. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2.

B+: It. Marshall. Beach Rats.  The Silent Child [LAS].  My Nephew Emmett [LAS].  Revolting Rhymes [AS].  Garden Party [AS].  A Fantastic Woman.  Blade Runner 2049. Wonder Woman. It Comes at Night. You Can Count On Me [2000]. Loving Vincent. Maudie. The Color Purple [1985]. Spiderman: Homecoming.  The American President [1995]. Faces Places. Jane. Lady Bird. Battle of the Sexes. Thor Ragnorak. Wonder. Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 12 Cloverfield Lane [2016].

A-: DeKalb Elementary [LAS].  Watu Wote All of Us [LAS]. I, Tonya. Molly's Game. Stronger. American Made. The Shape of Water.  The Post. War of the Planet of the Apes. Henry IV Part 1 [The Hollow Crown 2012]. I, Daniel Blake. Detroit. All Quiet on the Western Front [1930]. Call Me By Your Name.  Black Panther.

A: Only The Brave. Wind River. A Few Good Men [1992]. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. Negative Space [AS].  Lou [AS]. The Big Sick.  Darkest Hour.

A+: B.P.M.. Baby Driver. Coco. Get Out.

2017 End-of-Year Ranking -- 56 Films

2017 was a year of uncertainty. Each plan for the future was met with an asterisk. What got me through it all was Hark — he was steady as ever. The other major source of comfort: each new movie. Being able to dive into a fully-realized world each week was exactly what I needed. I may not have loved every film, or every early-morning showing, but I'm glad they were there. I’m grateful for all the places I was able to go!

F: Broadway Melody [1929].

D+: Logan.

C-: Henry IV Part 1 [Globe Theater 2012]. Catch 22 [1970].

C: Thor: The Dark World [2014]. Cimarron [1931]. Thor [2011].

C+: Dunkirk.

B-: O Brother Where Art Thou [2000]. Wings [1927]. Margaret [2011].

B: Henry IV Part 1 [Royal Shakespeare Company 2014]. Grand Hotel [1932]. The Disaster Artist. The Florida Project. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2.

B+: It. Marshall. Beach Rats. Blade Runner 2049. Wonder Woman. It Comes at Night. You Can Count On Me [2000]. Loving Vincent. Maudie. The Color Purple. Spiderman: Homecoming. Faces Places. Jane. Lady Bird. Battle of the Sexes. Thor Ragnorak. Wonder. Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 12 Cloverfield Lane [2016].

A-: I, Tonya. Molly's Game. Stronger. American Made. The Shape of Water. War of the Planet of the Apes. Henry IV Part 1 [The Hollow Crown 2012]. I, Daniel Blake. Detroit. All Quiet on the Western Front [1930]. Call Me By Your Name.

A: Only The Brave. Wind River. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. The Big Sick.

A+: Darkest Hour. B.P.M.. Baby Driver. Coco. Get Out.

2017 Pre-Oscar Ranking -- 55 Films

5 hours before Oscars, here's a ranking of the 55 films I've seen since the Oscars last year...

[Note: Titles of films I've seen since the end-of-2016 ranking are in bold.  Animated Shorts [AS] and Live Action Shorts [LAS] in the overall count. It was my first year seeing the shorts. [Thanks, Jim!] If you haven't checked shorts out before, I recommend it next year. They pack a lot in a little time!]

D+: Pear Cider and Cigarettes [AS]

C-: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Florence Foster Jenkins

C: Captain America: First Avenger

C+: Silent Nights [LAS], Blind Vaysha [AS], A Hard Day's Night

B-: Star Trek Beyond

B: Reversal of Fortune, Iron Man 3, Iron Man 2, Timecode [LAS], Borrowed Time [AS], Jackie, Rogue One, Silence, Finding Dory

B+: Sing [LAS], Fantastic Beasts, Doctor Strange, Piper [AS], Moana, Loving, Nocturnal Animals, Fences, Deadpool, Beatles Anthology, The Jungle Book, Iron Man, The Goonies, Lawrence of Arabia

A-: Captain America: Winter Soldier, Finding Nemo, Hacksaw Ridge, Moonlight, Arrival, 13th

A: The Head Vanishes [AS], Pearl [AS], Sing Street, Queen of Katwe, Hell or High Water, Sully, Patriots Day,The Woman and The TGV [LAS], Enemies Within [LAS], Once Upon A Line [AS], 20th Century Women, The Edge of Seventeen, The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Manchester By The Sea, Stand by Me.

A+: A Monster Calls, Lion, La La Land, Hidden Figures, Zootopia

2016 End-of-Year Ranking -- 39 Films

C-: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Florence Foster Jenkins

C: Captain America: First Avenger

C+: A Hard Day's Night

B-: Star Trek Beyond

B: Reversal of Fortune, Iron Man 3, Iron Man 2, Jackie, Rogue One, Finding Dory

B+: Fantastic Beasts, Doctor Strange, Moana, Loving, Nocturnal Animals, Deadpool, Beatles Anthology, The Jungle Book, Iron Man, The Goonies, Lawrence of Arabia

A-: Captain America: Winter Soldier, Moonlight, Sing Street, Arrival, Finding Nemo

A: Queen of Katwe, Sully, Hell or High Water, The Edge of Seventeen, The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Manchester By The Sea, Stand by Me

A+: Lion, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Zootopia

2015 End-of-Year Ranking -- 33 Films

D: The Phantom Menace 

D+: Attack of the Clones.

C-: Spy

C: Amy

B: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jurassic World, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

B+: Mockingjay Part 2, Sicario, Brooklyn, Return of the Jedi, The Hateful Eight, Bridge of Spies, The End of the Tour, Revenge of the Sith, Me Earl and the Dying Girl 

A-: Trainwreck, Carol, The Danish Girl, The Revenant, Mad Max, Star Wars, Inside Out, Steve Jobs

A: Creed, Ant-Man, The Martian, The Empire Strikes Back

A+: Spotlight, The Force Awakens, Room, The Big Short

2014 End-of-Year Ranking -- 22 Films

C-: A Most Wanted Man

C: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

C+: Mockingjay Part 1

B-: Interstellar

B: Wild, Into The Woods, Foxcatcher.

B+: Birdman, Grand Budapest Hotel, The Theory of Everything, X-Men Days of Future Past, Top Five.

A-: Nightcrawler, Big Hero 6, The Edge of Tomorrow, The Fault in Our Stars, Whiplash.

A: The Lego Movie, Boyhood.

A+: The Imitation Game, Selma, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 

2013 End-of-Year Ranking -- 20 Films

F+: Wolf of Wall Street, All is Lost

B-: Blue Jasmine

B: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

B+: The Spectacular Now, In A World..., American Hustle, Catching Fire

A-: The Butler, The Way Way Back, Saving Mr. Banks, Gravity.

A: Inside Llewyn Davis, Captain Phillips, Philomena, Frozen, 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club

2012 End-of-Year Ranking -- 12 Films

D: Amour

C+: The Master

B+: Django Unchained, Les Mis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A-: Skyfall, Life of Pi

A: Argo, Lincoln, Wreck-It Ralph, Silver Linings Playbook 

A+: The Sessions

2011 End-of-Year Ranking -- 11 Films

C+: Young Adult

B: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse

B+: The Artist, My Week with Marilyn

A-:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball

A: The Help, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Descendants.

A+: Hugo