Category Archives: Top List
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2020
Again, sorry for the delay on this post. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (oldfilmsflicker on both), then you’ve likely already seen this list, but along with the list I’ve written at length about each of my favorite films from 2020, what resonated with me, and why I loved them so. You can see the whole list of how all 2020 releases ranked here.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2019
I honestly cannot believe this is the end of a decade. The 2010s have been a very transformative decade for me in almost every way possible. The one thing that has stayed with me is my love of cinema. I always have ups and downs with contemporary cinema, but this year I found several films that really spoke to me. So, as always, you can find my favorite fifteen films of the year after the cut. You can also see my whole list here.
52 Films By Women To Stream On Netflix and Amazon Prime
To help people with their 52 Films By Women challenge this year I thought I’d put together a list of some of my favorite films directed by women that are easily accessible on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Keep in mind that this is in no way all of the films directed by women available on these services, but rather a selection of films I have seen and enjoy. There are also many more films available to rent on Amazon Video as well. Think of this as a jumping off point! Also if you have not taken the 52 Films By Women pledge yet you can do so here.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2018
In 2017 I saw 72 new releases, which I believe was a record number for me. This year I saw 117! I attribute this to several of this year’s new releases being Netflix films (so convenient, if not ideal) and MoviePass. Yes, MoviePass. I saw a few things I may have skipped in previous years because of MoviePass. For awhile I could watch one film a day via MoviePass and then see a second one that I paid for. This led to a lot more double features at the Midtown Art Cinema than in pervious years. Also last year I saw 32 new releases that were directed by women. This year I saw 59 new release films directed by women (170 in total, but I’ll write more about that in tomorrow’s end of the year post), which is half of the new release films I saw this year. I plan to at least keep up that ratio next year, if not do better. You can see all the new release (and festival) films I watched in 2018 and how I ranked them here. After the cut you’ll find my Favorite Fifteen Films, and as always I remind you that this is subjective and in no way should be considered a “best” list.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2017
In 2017 I watched 72 new releases, mostly in movie theaters (I am a junkie) and while there were a few films I really hated, mostly I saw a lot of films I really enjoyed. I discovered a love for documentary cinema (I saw fourteen documentaries this year!). I watched 32 new release films directed by women (with my total new-to-me directed by women clocking in at 79 this year; more on that when I do my year-end review tomorrow). For the second year in a row my favorite film of the year was not directed by a woman, but as per tradition it was also a queer romance. I am pretty easy to please. As a final reminder, I am not a fan of the term best. Film is an art that allows the viewer to bring themselves in conversation with it, and therefore what each person sees in a film will be different from what anyone else sees. This is a list of favorites and why these films resonated so with me. There are some spoilers, so beware.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2016
After last year’s A Year With Women I was apprehensive dipping my toes back into to the world of cinema directed by men. Luckily, one thing 2015 taught me was that I could skip movies that I knew I wouldn’t enjoy instead of seeing everything just to be part of the conversation (although I did see a few things this year that I thought I would hate for that very reason and then I hated them anyways; not happening in 2017, I swear!). Overall, there were lots of films released in 2016 that I truly loved. There are a few late released 2016 films that haven’t come to Atlanta yet that probably would have made this list, but I doubt any of them would dethrone my #1 favorite of the year. For the first time since 2012, my favorite film of the year was actually directed by a man. I am as shocked as you are! As always, you’ll find my favorite films of the year after the cut, as well as some brief thoughts.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2015
As you probably remember, I spent 2015 only watching films directed by women (save for Noirvember, where I watched films that were written by women), and although I still have one new-to-me film I’m going to watch this afternoon, it’s time to post my favorite 2015 releases. Last year I watched 67 “new” releases; this year I watched 66 (and I missed/skipped a few films). People talk a lot about the small number of female directors working today, but the key thing is that they are working and we can support them. I live in Los Angeles, so I was able to see a lot of films that I know don’t make it to other markets, but I also watched a lot of these new releases on VOD – and that’s something you can do anywhere in the USA. I urge everyone to take up Women In Film – Los Angeles’ #52FilmsByWomen challenge in 2016 and put their money where their mouth is! That said, you can see all 66 new films I watched here and tomorrow I will be posting both an end-of-the-month wrap up for December and an end of the year post, so look out for those! And now, without further ado, here are my Favorite Fifteen Films of 2015!
A Year With Women: 103 Essential Films By Female Filmmakers
Find out more about A Year With Women here.
Lately I’ve become more and more frustrated with the various “best ever” lists that have been released because they rarely feature films by women, or if they do it’s usually one or two films. I think this is more a reflection of those who are polled for these kinds of lists, as well as a compounding of history on itself. For so long films by men have made up the bulk of the film canon and I think people are afraid to add new films to these revered lists. I also think many people haven’t seen very many films by women, or if they have it’s always the same handful of films. In an attempt to create a better, more inclusive list of great films by women, I polled over 500 critics, filmmakers, bloggers, historians, professors and casual film viewers, asking them to tell me what films directed (or co-directed) by women are essential viewing. Some people only responded with as little as five votes, others submitted hundreds of films. In the end, I received over 7,000 votes for 1,100+ different films. After tallying up this data, with ties factored in, I then had a list of 103 essential films directed by women.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2014
Last year there were films I enjoyed, but mostly I was just really underwhelmed. This year, however, it was really hard to narrow it down to fifteen films. I think part of this was living in Los Angeles and being able to see those little films that only play for a week in some small theater. I’m so grateful to be able to do that! If you are interested in all of the 2014 releases I saw this year, you can check out the full list here.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2013
I don’t know if I saw the wrong movies this year or if cinema just really let me down this year or maybe I’m just getting burned out, but I didn’t fall in love with movies as much this year as previous years. Last year was the same. I think the last year I saw a lot of movies that I truly loved was 2011 (and 2009. Boy, I loved 2009). That said, you can see all the 2013 releases I watched here and after the cut you can see the fifteen that rose to the top of my favor this year.
the diary of a film history fanatic 