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What I've Watched (Alphabetical)
What I've Watched (By Series)
What I've Watched (Significant Shorts)
Posted by blakemp
Favorite of the Year: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Once again, it's a new year, and that means it's time to take a look back at the releases of the previous year. I managed to clock in a a lot of movies in 2016, although as always there are still several I haven't seen yet (Arrival, Shin Godzilla, Moana, and many more). So as always, consider this list incomplete. It's every 2016 movie I've seen so far, including TV movies and direct-to-DVD fare, ranked from my favorite to least favorite, with commentary where I find it necessary.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — Two years in a row, a Star Wars movie has claimed my top spot. Under its new Disney home, Lucasfilm is on fire.
Doctor Strange — Amazingly, for a character I've never fully connected with in the comics, Benedict Cumberbatch has turned in one of my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe performances to date.
Captain America: Civil War — Although they may as well have called this Avengers 3, the third Captain America movie was a blast. I especially liked the fact that this time around the stakes were much more personal, rather than a save-the-world scenario. It was a nice change of pace.
Zootopia — This was a huge surprise to me. Not that it was good (John Lasseter taking over Disney animation is the best thing to happen to Disney animation since Walt Disney himself), but how good it was. Funny, sweet, and surprisingly poignant.
For the Love of Spock — Adam Nimoy directs this touching documentary about his father, Leonard.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice — I don't care what the critics say, I had a great thrill seeing DC's trinity on screen for the first time, and I can't wait to see Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — I felt the same way about this as Rogue One. The studios have learned that if you can make the universe itself the star instead of a particular character, you can make a franchise last much longer. This was a fun addition to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World.
Star Trek Beyond — It's rare that the third film in a franchise is the best, but this was the most exciting, most "Star Trek"-like film in the Kelvin Timeline to date.
Finding Dory — Lovely follow-up to Finding Nemo, with a heartfelt message.
The Nice Guys — Like so many people, I loved this movie, and wish that it had found a larger audience in theaters.
Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan-Film Ever Made — You may have heard the story of a couple of kids who spent years working on an amateur shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is that story.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Hush — Tense little thriller about a home invasion in the home of a deaf woman.
10 Cloverfield Lane — One of the year's best surprises.
Suicide Squad — Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was fantastic. The rest of the movie was pretty good.
DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year — Cute direct-to-DVD movie starring DC's latest franchise. I love the fact that this series exists, and so does my 6-year-old niece.
X-Men: Apocalypse — Weakest of the "First Class" trilogy, but that still places it ahead of the likes of X-Men: The Last Stand or the first two Wolverine movies.
Keanu
Ghostheads
Holidays — Fun, if uneven, horror anthology.
Pee-Wee's Big Holiday
Batman: Bad Blood
LEGO DC Super Heroes: Justice League-Cosmic Clash
LEGO DC Super Heroes: Justice League-Gotham City Breakout
The Jungle Book — I know a lot of people were blown away by this, but it just didn't do it for me. Admittedly, it may just be because I've never been able to get into talking animal movies. It's a weird hang-up of mine, I admit.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders — Animated film featuring Adam West and Burt Ward, and damn, do they show their age. When Batman and Robin sound like they're in their 70s, maybe nostalgia isn't enough.
Dwarvenaut
Dead 7 — Weak-ass SyFy movie starring a bunch of washed-up boy band members in a zombie western.
The Neon Demon — Probably the most controversial opinion I'll have here. The latest from writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn of Drive and Only God Forgives, and like those other films, I found this unbearably dull and overblown.
Ghostbusters — A weak script and a weak director tanked this remake.
Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again
Posted in Geek Punditry, Lists
Tags: 2016, Avengers, Batman, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America, Cloverfield, DC Super Hero Girls, Deadpool, Disney, Doctor Strange, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jungle Book, Justice League, LEGO, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, Star Trek, Star Wars, Suicide Squad, Superman, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, X-Men, Zootopia
What I've Watched In… December 2016
Favorite of the Month: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I'd present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I've written or talked about, most of them I haven't. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I've seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
I Am Santa Claus (2014), A
A Christmas Carol (2009), B-
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983), B+
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), D; RiffTrax Live Riff, B
The Night Before (2015), B-
Santa Claus (1959), F; Rifftrax Live Riff, B
A Muppet Family Christmas (1987), A
Snow (2004), B
Snow 2: Brain Freeze (2008), B
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978), A
Christmas With Rifftrax: Santa's Village of Madness, B
The Shop Around the Corner (1940), A
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve (1999), B+
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998), D
Christmas Eve (2015), A-
Scrooge (1970), B+
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), A-
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), A-
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979), B-
Trading Places (1983), B
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), A
A Very Murray Christmas (2015), A-
Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight (2015), B
The Ref (1994), B+
An American Christmas Carol (1979), B+
Popeye's Voyage: The Quest For Pappy (2004), C
Ebbie (1995), D
Scrooge and Marley (2001), C-
Die Hard (1988), A
Home Alone (1990), A
Santa's Christmas Circus (1966), D; RiffTrax Riff, B
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), A+
Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), A
Miracle on 34th Street (1947), A
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), A+
A Christmas Story (1983), A
In the Good Old Summertime (1949), B
Captain Phillips (2013), B+
Hail, Caesar! (2016), B+
Life of Pi (2012), A-
12 Years a Slave (2013), A
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016), C
Night Shadows (1984), D-; RiffTrax Riff, B
No Country For Old Men (2007), A-
Keanu (2016), B
12 Angry Men (1957), A+
Wild Things (1998), B
The Sting (1973), A-
Singin' in the Rain (1952), A+
The Jungle Book (2016), C+
For the Love of Spock (2016), A
Ghostbusters (1984), A
Ghostbusters II (1989), B
Tags: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Batman, Christmas, Die Hard, Disney, Frosty the Snowman, Ghostbusters, Home Alone, It's a Wonderful Life, Jungle Book, Marvel Comics, Miracle on 34th Street, Muppets, Nightmare Before Christmas, Popeye, RiffTrax, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus, Sesame Street, Singin' in the Rain, Star Trek, Star Wars, Trans-Siberian Orchestra
What makes a Christmas movie?
What I Watched In… May 2018
What I Watched In… April 2018
What I Watched In… March 2018
What I Watched In… February 2018
Crappy Movie Roulette
Geek Punditry
Gut Reactions
Movies to Watch
1-Mutants Monsters and Madmen
2-Lunatics and Laughter
3-The Christmas Special
4-Icons
5-Freaky Firsts
6-Festive Firsts
7-Summer Series
Non Reel-to-Reel Projects
1978 1981 1984 1985 2006 2009 2012 2013 Abbott and Costello A Christmas Carol Alfred Hitchcock Alien A Nightmare on Elm Street Animation Arthur Rankin Jr. Avengers Batman Captain America CGI Charles Dickens Christmas Disney Doctor Who Dracula Ebenezer Scrooge Evil Dead Frankenstein Frank Oz Friday the 13th Ghost Ghostbusters Godzilla Guardians of the Galaxy Halloween Iron Man James Bond Jim Henson Jules Bass Justice League L. Frank Baum LEGO Man of Steel Marvel Cinematic Universe Mel Brooks Monster Mummy Muppets Mystery Science Theater 3000 Peanuts Pixar Rankin and Bass RiffTrax Robin Hood Santa Claus Sesame Street Sherlock Holmes Slasher Spider-Man Star Trek Star Wars Stephen King Stop Motion Superhero Superman Thor Universal Monsters vampires Werewolf Wes Craven Wizard of Oz Wolfman Wolverine Wonder Woman X-Men zombies
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