Ten Movies I’m Not Looking Forward to Runner-Up: “Halloween Kills”…Although the 2018 “Halloween” was fine, there was something implied that it would be the end of the saga and that was most of the reason it worked…as an ending. Now there are at least two more “Halloweens” coming, and it’s beginning to feel like poor… Read More »
One show I’m not looking forward to: “American Crime Story: Impeachment” …I have no idea why Ryan Murphy decided to stop work on a Hurricane Katrina-themed season (which would’ve been excellent) to rehash a “scandal” that was already ridiculously overblown. The first two “Crime” stories centered around murders…this is about the world’s costliest blowjob, still… Read More »
2019 was an interesting year…the last of a decade no one will likely have great fondness for (movie-wise or otherwise), the year’s movies trended towards overlong opuses from master directors and largely forgettable blockbusters we haven’t seen in this volume since the mid-90s. With Disney snapping up Fox (which made my pick for the year’s… Read More »
Best Supporting Actress Who Should Be Nominated 5. Mindy Kaling in “Late Night” …People always talk about how comedy is routinely snubbed, and yet never do anything about it. Why not change that by honoring Mindy’s best performance to date? [Especially in the less competitive supporting category.] 4. Lee Jung-eun in “Parasite” …Opinions vary wildly… Read More »
Tier 4…These are the “Star Wars” movies I think are flat-out bad, and have no redeeming qualities. The Worst: “The Force Awakens”…I know most people seemed to like this movie a lot more than I did, but its commercial and especially critical success is still mystifying to me. Everything that is wrong with the newest… Read More »
10. “Imagination” by Jim Davies …”How does your imagination actually work?” This is a question I have never asked, and Jim Davies fascinating book is not only the best science book of the year, but surprisingly accessible even if Science isn’t your strongest subject. 9. “In the Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado …There were… Read More »
Embarrassing note on number 10: I would’ve loved to have included Pierce Brown’s “Dark Age” and Erin Morgenstern’s “The Starless Sea” in this countdown, but I wasn’t able to finish them in time. However, since I’m fairly confident at least one would’ve been included, it didn’t feel right to exclude them completely. 9. [tie] “My… Read More »
Runner-Ups: I didn’t want to count TV movies, although HBO had a trio of great ones in “Brexit,” “OG,” and especially the return of “Deadwood.” Also, “Crashing,” “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” and especially “Veep”‘s final season were all worth watching. 10. “The Righteous Gemstones” …Given the outrageously over-the-top nature of televangelists, it… Read More »
Runner-Up: I wasn’t a fan of “True Detective”‘s third season overall, but the final episode (resolving the mystery…without the main detective knowing it) was excellent. Mahershala Ali’s dementia-suffering detective having a flashback to where he disappeared into the Vietnamese jungle is one of my favorite shots of the year. 10. Walton Goggins and Edi Patterson… Read More »
Best Group: “The Good Place”…This series may be a victim of its own success, as there was simply no way I could pick just one or two characters to list here. Conscientious Chidi (William Jackson Harper) grew smoother and more relaxed in the final season, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) found new layers of management skills and… Read More »