B+ Movie Blog: Year Four
Four years, in the books.
This one has been the biggest, personally, for me. Since it’s been the biggest for me professionally. The blog has mostly taken a back seat to that for the majority of the year. While last year was all Fun with Franchises, and me scrambling to watch all the films of the year in the last four months, this year was me steadily watching movies, and not really writing articles. I think the blog went a whole three months with nothing being posted on it. And then I did that Pictorial History of the Movies, which was fun, but not entirely work intensive. This year was always meant to be more of a down year after all the intense work that was Fun with Franchises. (And one geared to allow me to start the work on the next set of franchises. Which — mission accomplished there.)
My main accomplishments this year (aside from in the real world) were mainly in the realm of movies watched. If you look back at my totals for each year from when I started counting, they’ve gone up each time. Last year, I topped out at 236 movies. This year, I hit 300. And that’s not counting all the other movies I watched, as part of my other project I’ve been doing for a while now, my Director’s List. (Which I’ll hopefully be debuting for real at some point this year.)
Nevertheless, a couple of milestones were hit this year. I got to 3,000 posts. I ended last year at just shy of 2,400. This year, I’m just shy of 3,050. Not bad, all things considered.
The blog also hit 1 million all time views. Which is insane. Absolutely insane. I look at how big the stats are getting and I continue to be amazed that it’s even possible. This year, the blog had 445,000+ views. That is a full 100,000 views more than last year. My follower count has gone from 364 to 630. Which isn’t bad for something that started (and still is, to a large extent) as me writing to and for myself.
Last year, I didn’t have a plan for the future. This year, I know exactly what’s going to happen down to the day. And I’m already making plans for next year. I certainly have no plans to stop. that’s for sure. And with all the things I want to do, you’ll probably be seeing a whole lot of content coming out of this place for the next 18-24 months.
Happy Year Five.
(P.S. This is the first year since I started the blog that I will be at home for New Year’s. So the moment this goes up, I will be drunkenly wandering around New York City. So say hi if you stumble past the ditch I’m laying in.)
Mike’s Top Ten Films of 2014
Every year is different. For instance, 2011 was a top-loaded year, with some great films near the top, but not many below that. 2012 was an incredibly dense year, with great movies all around. Last year ended up pretty solid, though overall it felt like a disappointment. 2014 is shaping up to be a below-the-line kind of year.
2014 has a lot of great movies in those middle tiers, that are really solid and really great, but with few movies that shout “Top Ten.” Though maybe that’s just the end of a long year talking. I probably say that every year.
It’s time, once again, for my Top Ten list. I’ve seen everything I could see before the year ended, and now I’m going to list my favorites. And, as always, I will list a bunch more movies outside the top ten that I also really liked. Those will be an 11-20, also ranked and commented upon, and a second and third tier of twenty movies each. (And, now, for the first time ever, a fourth tier, owing to the amount of movies I watched this year.)
My one caveat, as always, is: I’m trying to make a list that will stand the test of time. The idea being that I’m not picking the movies that seem like obvious top ten choices now (the trendy ones that appear on all the lists), but the ones that are my actual favorite movies. The more films on this list that will be on this list in a year, five years, or ten years, then the better it is. Don’t sacrifice fitting in now if you know it’s not how you’ll feel later.
Here are my top ten films of 2014: (more…)
The Unforgivable Films of 2014
I’m a big fan of symmetry. Tomorrow, I’ll be listing my favorite films of the year. Today is the 2014 Unforgivables list.
The Unforgivables List began in 2010. I saw the movie The Switch (the movie with Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston and the jizz cup), and it made me so irrationally angry that I actually had to pause the movie and write an angry rant about it to my friends, warning them to never watch the movie. It went over well. So I decided to make it a thing.
This will be my fifth Unforgivables list. The previous “winners” (after The Switch), were Just Go With It, Big Miracle and Identity Thief. Which means that every year, the movie that pissed me off the most starred either: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman or Drew Barrymore. Just to give you something to look forward to.
The rules for the Unforgivables list are as follows: 1) Regardless of what I rated the film, it needs to have made me angry upon watching it. At this point, that’s pretty much it. I generally try not to feature something I knew going in would be terrible (like, say, I Frankenstein), but sometimes they’re just so bad I can’t help myself. I also generally try not to include sequels, but in this day and age, it’s hard to maintain that rule. So really the only rule is that the film has to piss me off in some way. And there are always enough of those.
Here are the Unforgivable films of 2014: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “I want my leg.” “Why?” “I want my leg!” “Why? You can’t feel it no how!” “It’s my leg! I want my leg, you understand? Can’t you understand that? All’s I’m sayin’ is that I want to be treated like a human being! I fought for my country! I am a Vietnam veteran! I fought for my country! And I think that I deserve to be treated… decent!”
2014: The Year in Reviews (Observations & Wrap-Up)
So, as we do every year, I’ve gone over all twelve months of the year, as well as all the films that haven’t come out yet. And now… we analyze it all.
For reference purposes, here are all the articles involved in this:
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2014 Film Release Calendar |
2014: The Year in Reviews |
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Films Without Release Dates (A-L) |
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So now… let’s compare. (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Are you saying that nobody in New York will work with me?” “No, no, that’s too limited… nobody in Hollywood wants to work with you either. I can’t even set you up for a commercial. You played a tomato for 30 seconds, they went a half a day over schedule because you wouldn’t sit down.” “Of course. It was illogical.” “YOU WERE A TOMATO. A tomato doesn’t have logic. A tomato can’t move.” “That’s what I said. So if he can’t move, how’s he gonna sit down, George? I was a stand-up tomato: a juicy, sexy, beefsteak tomato. Nobody does vegetables like me. I did an evening of vegetables off-Broadway. I did the best tomato, the best cucumber… I did an endive salad that knocked the critics on their ass.”
2014: The Year in Reviews (Films That Didn’t Get Released)
So we went over everything that came out (most of which I saw, if you couldn’t tell). Now we’re gonna go over what didn’t.
This list is populated predominantly with indies that weren’t given release dates, many of which will end up on VOD at some point over the next year, films I’ve been tracking for over a year that still haven’t come out, or movies that got pushed into the new year, probably because of quality issues. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in some cases. Because it allows me to reevaluate. I can decide if I want to keep paying attention to it or drop it altogether.
These are all movies that either had dates and got moved, or are ones I talked about back in January that still haven’t come out. I’ll remind you what it’s about, tell you what the status of it is, and decide whether or not I want to continue paying attention to it for next year’s Film Release Calendar.
Here are the films of 2014 that didn’t get released: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “You really like animals don’t you, Ken? What’s the attraction.” “Well, you can t-t-trust them and they don’t sh-sh-sh-sh-” “Shit on you?” “Show off all the t-time.”
2014: The Year in Reviews (December)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping December: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can’t, because you’ll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing.”
2014: The Year in Reviews (November)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping November: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Always remember your promise to me. Never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple.”
2014: The Year in Reviews (October)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping October: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Oooh fuuudge!” “Only I didn’t say ‘fudge.’ I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the ‘F-dash-dash-dash’ word!”
2014: The Year in Reviews (September)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping September: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Who is down there with you, Mary?” “It’s George Bailey, mother.” “George Bailey? What does he want?” “I don’t know! What do you want?” “Me? Nothing! I just came in to get warm.” “He’s making violent love to me, mother!”
2014: The Year in Reviews (August)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping August: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “Thanks for the Christmas card you sent me, Violet.” “I didn’t send you a Christmas card, Charlie Brown.” “Don’t you know sarcasm when you hear it?”
2014: The Year in Reviews (July)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We’ll start with January, and go month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping July: (more…)
2014: The Year in Reviews (June)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We started with January, and are going month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping June: (more…)
Pic of the Day: “My speech! Here’s my Christmas speech. Ahem. Thank you all, and Merry Christmas.” “That was the speech?” “It was dumb!” “It was obvious!” “It was pointless!” “It was… short!” “I loved it!”
2014: The Year in Reviews (May)
Every January, I go over almost the films that are scheduled to come out that year. I use Wikipedia’s year in film article as it exists at the time, and preview all the films. I use it to familiarize myself with what’s coming out, and, most importantly, use it to guess what I’m going to think about all of the movies. I like to guess ratings for all the films because, at this point, I know myself pretty well, and I selfishly like to see how close I can get up to twelve months out. Plus, it allows me to see which films at the end of the year surprised me, for better or worse. But mostly, it’s so I know what’s coming out. Sometimes I just want to know what to be excited for.
Aside from the films scheduled, I also go over films that have been finished (or are shooting), that, in all likelihood, will probably come out over the course of the year. I’ve gotten much more thorough about this since starting the blog. 2011 had 30 such films. 2012 had 90. Last year, I had 209, plus an extra 27 held over from the year before. At this point, there’s not much that I miss.
How these articles work: I recap what I said about the films in January, write up my review of the films based on the initial watch (which have been posted in three separate reviews articles from April, August, and… yesterday), and then I give my final thoughts on the film, after having had time to think about it some more, and finalize my ranking. Typically, the Final Thoughts space is for me to go, “Originally I gave it 3.5 stars, but now, it’s more like 3.”
We started with January, and are going month by month through December. After that, I’ll recap the films I tracked in January that didn’t come out (and ultimately decide which ones I’ll keep tracking next year). And at the end of it all, I’ll analyze all the numbers to see how accurate I was in guessing back in January. Mostly it’s to put all the ratings in one place. And of course, after that, we’ll end the year with the Unforgivables list and my Top Ten list. But that’s all not for another two weeks. Right now, we’re recapping May: (more…)
