Park Hae-il and Tang Wei in Decision to Leave (2022)

---- RANKING SYSTEM ----

1-5: Gold Circle 6-10: Silver Circle 10-15: Bronze Circle

---------------- OVERVIEW ----------------

Like all my lists this is a living, breathing thing, it's not a snapshot in time. I'll update it regularly as I watch more movies and my feelings about the movies on it change.

All in all I've watched 80 new releases from this year (my most ever, cheers global pandemic). I usually go by Irish release date not American or when it debuts at festivals (i.e. why The Lighthouse and POALOF are 2020.) unless I managed to catch it earlier on VOD somehow.

Note: The position for Lover's Rock is a placeholder for the entire Small Axe series by Steve McQueen. Yes, technically it's 5 films but I didn't want them taking up a load of spots. Plus it's my list lol

---------------- HONOURABLE MENTIONS ----------------

Quite a good few this year, really any of these could have taken that 14th and 15th spot but for now they're here. They are:

Vast of Night, 1917, Soul, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, The Kid Detective

 ---------------- FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES ----------------

Actor      - Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse) Actress   - Julia Garner (The Assistant)

 ---------------- FAVOURITE BAD MOVIE ----------------

This category is to celebrate the movie that failed in the best way possible, bringing me immense joy in the process. Essentially the so-bad-it's-good category.


* Money Plane (dir. who the fuck cares)


 ---------------- BEST MOVIE TO WATCH AS A BEDTIME STORY ----------------

Have Tilda Swinton spin you a tale about the downfall of humanity set to some relaxing music. It's very slow, repetitious, and has soft ambient sounds, which makes it the perfect movie for putting you to sleep - but in a good way.


* Last and First Men (dir.  Jóhann Jóhannsson)


 ---------------- TBC ----------------

I have still yet to see a good few films, including some I've been anticipating for a long time but aren't easy to find or haven't found distributors yet (they might go to 2021), namely:


* family romance LLC (dir. Werner Herzog) 
* to the ends of the earth (dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) 
* the cordillera of dreams (dir. Patricio Guzmán)
* dwelling in the fuchun mountains (dir. Xiaogang Gu)


Others notable films I haven't managed to catch yet: 

The Truth, Waves, Ema, Fire Will Come, Weathering with You, Queen and Slim, Stage Mother, Saint Frances, Time

 ---------------- BEST TV ----------------

Best TV: The Last Dance, Tiger King, The Mandalorian

Another year where I didn't really watch too much TV so pretty basic bitch picks here tbh. But shout-outs to The Last Dance for being one of the better doc series I've ever seen, and to Tigerking for being a clusterfuck of redneck shenanigans that I couldn't take my eyes off. Also The Mandalorian for being incredibly consistent if not a bit formulaic at times, but in a good 'you-know-what-you're-getting' kind of way. Like a warm hug from an old friend.

Adèle Haenel in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

1-5: Gold Circle  6-10: Silver Circle  10-15: Bronze Circle

Hon. Mentions: (So many, it was a great year) ------------------------- Ladybird, Legion, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ingrid Goes West, Dunkirk, The Last Jedi, Raw, The Blackcoat's Daughter

Yet to see: Coco, Lucky, Mudbound, Faces Places, Free Fire, Life, Molly's Game. It Comes At Night, Wind River, Killing of the Sacred Deer

1-5: Gold Circle 6-10: Silver Circle 10-15: Bronze Circle

Hon. Mentions:  ---------------------- Ford v Ferrari, Greener Grass, Little Women, Peanut Butter Falcon

Yet to see: High Life, The Irishman, Under the Silver Lake, Honey Boy, Diamantino, Birds of Passage, One Cut of the Dead, Pain & Glory, Toy Story 4

Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, and Azhy Robertson in Marriage Story (2019)

1-5:      Gold Circle 6-10:    Silver Circle  10-15:  Bronze Circle

Hon. Mentions: Train To Busan

Yet to see: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Silence, Hacksaw Ridge, The Red Turtle, Fences, A Monster Calls

Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

1-5: Gold Circle  6-10: Silver Circle  10-15: Bronze Circle

Hon. Mentions:  --------------------- A Quiet Place, Sicario 2, You Were Never Really Here, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Avengers: Infinity War

Still to see: Roma, Burning, Suspiria, Shoplifters, The Night Is Short Walk on Girl, Paddington 2, Cold War, The Tale, Wildlife, At Eternity's Gate, Minding the Gap, Free Solo, The House that Jack Built, Hard Times, Don't Worry He Won't Catch Her On Foot, Under The Silver Lake, Lean on Pete, Sister Brothers, Happy As Lazaro, Ash is the Purest White, Skate Kitchen, Searching, The Guilty, Dogman

Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuva Novotny, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson in Annihilation (2018)

Forest Whitaker, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner in Arrival (2016)

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