I Did It! 365 Movies Recap

I’m not going to pretend that making time to watch 365 movies in one year is some glorious, admirable achievement. But it is impressive in a sense and I am proud that I achieved what I set out to do. There are more noble causes but this is still an accomplishment when added to all of the other responsibilities in life. And it was fun (though there were moments of drudgery to be sure when it felt more like an obligation than a lark), so that’s a win. If nothing else, it’s definitely a bigger commitment that I expected. It helped that I had at least two weekends of medical recovery with which to engage in mini-marathons (though would have preferred for that not to be the case). I got to see my favorites, uncovered some new gems, took in some classics that had been on my “I should watch that” list for decades and saw some that can only be politely described as an utter waste of time. So in order to put a period on my year of cinema (and because I love both stats and lists), I have compiled a quick and interesting* recap of that year that was.

* For me at least.

20 Best New Movies

Here is my list of my favorite movies that I had never seen until this year (tried to keep it to 10, but there were too many good ones). More or less in order of favorite of the favorite, some of these could easily shift depending on my mood at the moment (watch position in parentheses):

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (#123)
2. Poor Things (#360)
3. Pearl (#288)
4. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (#324)
5. Totally Killer (#304)
6. Barbie (#227)
7. Spider-man Across the Spiderverse Part 1 (#152)
8. No Hard Feelings (#266)
9. Vengeance (#60)
10. The Menu (#3)
11. Renfield (#306)
12. Werewolves Within (#291)
13. The Mitchells Vs the Machines (#131)
14. Fruitvale Station (#22)
15. The Holdovers (#334)
16. Hustle (#209)
17. Prey (#138)
18. Smile (#79)
19. Oppenheimer (#270)
20. The Rental (#199)

10 Worst Movies

These range from inexplicable to boring to misguided to badly written to painfully derivative to just plain painful to get through.

1. Babylon (#76)
2. White Noise (#162)
3. Creative Control (#124)
4. Joker (#40)
5. Barbarian (#39)
6. Goodnight Mommy (2022) (#64)
7. Bodies Bodies Bodies (#284)
8. Nocturnal Animals (#87)
9. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (#8)
10. The Bad Batch (#252)

10 Most Disappointing

Not quite bad enough to be on the bad list (well, not all) but defiantly movies that had a mile-wide gap between what expectation/excitement I had going in and what I felt once the credits rolled. I’m not angry, but some of these definitely make me sad.

1. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (#52)
2. Dream Scenario (#361)
3. The Mask (#208)
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (#204)
5. Amsterdam (#6)
6. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (#235)
7. A Quiet Place Part II (#302)
8. Reminiscence (#120)
9. The Killer (#332)
10. Mute (#240)

My 15 All-Time Best Movies

1. The Empire Strikes Back (#122)
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (#100)
3. Grosse Point Blank (#156)
4. The Princess Bride (#349)
5. Big Trouble in Little China (#300)
6. Midnight Run (#200)
7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (#38)
8. Memento (#326) / Inception (#182) (yeah, it’s a cheat…)
9. Avengers: Infinity War (#358)
10. Rustler’s Rhapsody (#250)
11. Silver Linings Playbook (#48)
12. Tropic Thunder (#364)
13. A Fish Called Wanda (#133)
14. Three Kings (#333)
15. Knives Out (#1)

By the Numbers:

New movies – 106

By Decade

• 1940s – 2
• 1950s – 1
• 1960s – 1
• 1970s – 15
• 1980s – 93
• 1990s – 74
• 2000s – 37
• 2010s – 66
• 2020s – 76

Most Movies in a Year

• 1982 – 14
• 1986 – 14
• 1993 – 11

By Service

• DVD – 71
• HBO MAX/MAX – 41/42
• VUDU – 40
• Amazon Prime – 40
• Netflix – 26
• Paramount + – 24
• Rental – 18
• HULU – 17
• Disney + – 13
• Theater – 12
• Starz – 11
• Netflix DVD – 3 (R.I.P.)
• AMC +, Apple +, Brown Sugar, FreeVee, MGM +, Peacock, TBS – 1

365 movies in 2023: #365 – Glass Onion

AI image from the prompt “Mona Lisa on fire.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Glass Onion

Seen it before? Yes. Once when it was released last year.

Thoughts: It seemed a fitting bookend to finish up with the second Benoit Blanc mystery since I started this year with Knives Out. Though it doesn’t quite hit the same heights for me as that first movie isn’t a knock. Rian Johnson is two-for-two with crafting original mysteries in the Agatha Christy mold that both honor the tight structure and character work of his inspiration while also finding ways to update and subvert the genre. It has a wonderful early scene where Blanc completely destroys the elementary mystery setup that is intended to talk all weekend to solve before it even begins ending withe saddest squib in movie history. And the climactic confrontation, where everything is laid bare, has the great Mona Lisa sliding glass sound constantly ratcheting up the tension with each successive thump. It handles the “let’s see these scenes again from a new perspective and with different knowledge” sequences expertly. His cast is once again stacked. Daniel Craig and Janelle Monáe as his partner in sleuthing make a great pair. And Craig is once again incredibly fun with his exaggerated Foghorn Leghorn drawl (which my daughter pointed out that it seems like it takes him a few scenes to get it back to the same level as Knives Out). It’s great to see Kate Hudson in something since I don’t recall her popping up anywhere else recently. And she may get the best moment/line in the movie with her confused, climactic exclamation “What is reality?!” Edward Norton was a great choice to play a petulant, narcissistic “genius” who is way less than the sum of his not-so-impressive parts once exposed as a fraud (and yes, any similarities to certain other billionaire man-children is absolutely intended and hilariously accurate.) Dave Bautista and Madelyn Cline also have standout moments. If there is any knock on the cast it may be that Leslie Odom Jr. and Kathryn Hahn don’t get enough to do. And of course, a shoutout to Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his critical role as the “hourly dong.” The movie wouldn’t be the same with out you.

365 movies in 2023: #364 – Tropic Thunder

AI image from the prompt “Tropic Thunder.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Tropic Thunder

Seen it before? Yes. In theaters and many more times since getting the digital download.

Thoughts: This may be the funniest movie of the past…okay, I was going to reflexively write “10 years” until I realized this movie is 15 YEARS OLD NOW. That almost breaks my brain. Anyhow, there were a lot of celebrated comedies since 2000, especially in the R-rated category like The Hangover, Napoleon Dynamite, Zoolander, Step Brothers, Suberbad, Bridesmaids, and I enjoyed most of those even if they are in the category of “saw it, but not worthy of repeat viewings” (and nothing ages like milk for me more than a Judd Apatow comedy) . In fact the only ones I would say that get close are Role Models and Game Night. But this one is just about perfection from the opening “trailers” to the closing dance. Just the way it redeemed Tom Cruise, not just from the famously “unrecognizable” (and understandably unpromoted for several reasons) role as studio head Les Grossman. (And shout out to Bill Hader as his omnipresent yes/hype man.) It is one of the best parts in a movie that pretty much only has best parts. And then there is Robert Downey Jr.’s performance. Simply perfect from beginning to end in role that for obvious reasons could have gone wrong in a thousand ways goes hilariously right. (Yes, you could “make this movie today*” and yes, I know that RDJ is not really…Australian, but it’s okay.) The way he spars with Alpa Chino throughout, especially in their famous “you people” moment, let’s them both shine. In an A-list cast that is uniformly (and unsurpisingly) great, Danny McBride nearly steals this movie playing what I can only assume is basically himself with access to explosives.

*The only part that would maybe get changed, and that even Stiller made some acknowledgment of regretting, is the “never go full…” sections. And if they did a minor adjustment to phrasing, that would be fine and wouldn’t affect the movie in any impactful way.

365 movies in 2023: #363 – Aliens

AI image from the prompt “Aliens.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Aliens

Seen it before? Yes. Many, many times on cable and now own the DVD for a semi-regular revisit.

Thoughts: Alien is a great movie. There is no debate there. But Aliens is better. James Cameron-ed the hell out of the original movie’s classic xenomorph threat and amped up the action to 11. Instead of one alien terrorizing a ship and picking off the crew one-by-one, we get an entire colony of aliens shredding a battalion of space marines (hoo rah-ahhhhhhh!) And it is as amazing as that sounds. Cameron thankfully brings his good luck charm Bill Paxton to the show. His Private Hudson steals every scene and he has the best freak out turned hero’s standoff ever. Sigourney Weaver levels Ripley up and goes full mama bear by strapping like four weapons together before descending into the bowels of the alien hive to confront the queen face to face to rescue Newt (“They mostly come out at night. Mostly.” Is a great line of knowing dread.) Later she straps herself into the mecha-skeleton loader and takes on the queen in hand-to-hand (to snapping jaw and sword tail) combat. Paul Reiser leaves behind his comedic persona for corporate sleaze and gives his best performance to date. I appreciate the twist on the android character’s trustworthiness with Bishop – a trope they play with until the last possible minute. Ripley’s final warning the the queen is the stuff of movie history (“Get away from her, you bitch!”), and I still remember the joy of hearing her hiss that the first time. No notes on this one.

365 movies in 2023: #362 – Chicago

AI image from the prompt “Chicago musical.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Chicago

Seen it before? Yes. In theaters and own the DVD for many more viewings since.

Thoughts: I took my wife to see this in theaters on Valentine’s Day and she fell asleep about 2/3 of the way in. That isn’t a knock on the movie. The earliest showing was 10 p.m. and even good movies can sometimes make her sleepy. It’s ironic because I didn’t have much interest in this aside from knowing that Catherine Zeta-Jones was starring. Who is amazing. I didn’t realize she had such vocal talent and was a great dancer – she truly does it all. I love the little head movement to the spotlight operator in the opening number. I knew of this one from my high school theater days but would often confuse it with Cabaret (probably because both have lots of lingerie-heavy wardrobe) but didn’t know the story line and had little interest going in. However, this might be my favorite musical next to Little Shop of Horrors. It was also one of the first musicals my daughter got into when we watched it a few years back (and now she has a long list of favorites but still has this one pretty high up.)Not every song is a winner but some of the best (the incredible Cell Block Tango along with We Both Reached for the Gun and Mister Cellophane) are as good as any other musical can boast with very few skippable ones (All I Care About, Roxie). The supporting cast holds court against the leads. Queen Latifa impresses (love how her career has evolved from rap pioneer to now.) John C. Reilly is great as hapless, halfwit, Amos (those sad-clown jazz hands and slow side shuffle in Mister Cellophane).  Christine Baranski making an impression in a small role. Richard Gere utilizing his deep well of smarm (he has an oddly appealing nasally delivery when he sings.) Not sure how much of what is on screen is direct from the broadway version, but the staging is so good as it cuts between the fantasy sequence and the real world counterparts. The clockwork precision of the movements and music is so well done. It’s definitely a musical that benefits from the visuals especially for songs that don’t stand as well on their own. Like “I Can’t Do It Alone” is one of my favorite screen moments but not a song that I ever listen to like the three noted above. If there is one knock, it’s that I don’t like Roxie ending up on stage like she dreamed. She didn’t deserve that happy ending. (Velma did though.)

365 movies in 2023: #361 – Dream Scenario

AI image from the prompt “Dream Scenario.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Dream Scenario

Seen it before? No.

Thoughts: I was really looking forward to watching this one after seeing the trailer a few weeks ago and hearing some of the early praise. As I watched, I started to worry that this was a really cool premise that was going to be hard to bring to a satisfying conclusion and it’s just that. It starts strong but runs out of ideas in the third act. Nicolas Cage is fantastic throughout in dorky, schlub mode. He nails the awkward interactions and half-formed sentences of someone who, great aspirations aside, is not good in social situations where he is the focus. As he starts to inexplicably appear in people’s dreams all over the world, he never really knows who to live up to this literal fantasy version of himself that he has no control over. The movie cycles through the stages of viral fame from slow build to massive attention to the inevitable backlash (once his dream avatar suddenly turns incredibly violent) to being abandoned. I’m okay that the movie outright admits that “we have no idea how or why this happened, why it changed and why it stopped” and I’m okay with that. The problem isn’t that they didn’t have an explanation in-movie for why, but didn’t really know what to do with the premise. Also the weird half-explored sub plot with Cage’s wife and her coworker never quite takes shape believably (the Halloween visit and accompanying her to the play is at odds with what we see of them breifly interacting on screen). It kind of winds down quietly (and at times contradictorily) after a climactic moment. Since there are so many dream sequences, I did like that it kept you off balance at times not knowing whether you were watching dream or reality. Hey there Michael Cera! Nice to see him popping up in som many things this year.

365 movies in 2023: #360 – Poor Things

AI image from the prompt “Poor Things.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Poor Things

Seen it before? No.

Thoughts: Yorgos Lanthimos is definitely an interesting filmmaker. I thought The Killing of a Sacred Deer was a ponderous, pretentious, oddly-acted, unintentionally funny, bore that proceeds to a ludicrous conclusion. And then came The Favourite, which I thought should have been the Best Picture winner that year easily. Because of that latter film, I was excited when I saw his name on the trailer for Poor Things and with Emma Stone working with him again. I thought he might make something even more accessible than The Favourite but no, this one definitely lets the freak flag fly higher. It’s funny, raunchy, insightful, original and twisted, and takes place in sort of a heightened steampunk fractured fairytale version of the real world. And it is deserving off all the praise it has gotten so far. A sort of Frankenstein redux with a twist. Stone gives a great, fearless performance as basically a newborn in an adult’s body who slowly comes into her own. She is all curiosity and id, not understanding or choosing to adhere to social constructs (“I must go punch that baby.”) Willem Dafoe’s disfigured father/God figure who was raised in constant torment as an experiment to a similar scientifically-curious yet far-less-compassionate father. Mark Ruffalo is in fine form as a preening, narcissistic, twit. It’s a great piece of commentary that he is far more childish (prone to pouting and bursts of ineffective rage) than the literal child of a woman he is infatuated with. There is a very late fake out that leads to a great sight gag. It’s one of this year’s best.

365 movies in 2023: #359 – Avengers: Endgame

AI image from the prompt “Avengers Endgame.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Avengers: Endgame

Seen it before? Yes. Twice in theaters and couple more times since.

Thoughts: Time to finish off the Marvel selections for the year with the grand ending to the Infinity Stones Saga. By the time we get here, both the MCU and the Russos can pretty much do no wrong. After Infinity War’s sort of cliffhanger ending (of course we all new that they were going to bring back all of the snapped characters), massive box office was more or less guaranteed. So kudos to them for going slow burn and almost anticlimactic at the start. With therapy sessions, emaciated Iron Man, characters scattered about and sulking, and a quickly dismissed Thanos, the first third is deliberate table setting quite at odds with Infinity War’s hit-the-ground-running pace. But then the time travel (sorry, time heist) kicks in and we get old scenes from new perspectives in a walking tour through the MCU’s greatest hits (and Thor: The Dark World) and it roars right through to the epic battle finale. Speaking of new perspectives, I love the little scene with Rhodey and Nebula watching Quill loudly sing and prance on Morag punctuated with Rhodey’s “So he’s an idiot?” And Nebula’s resigned “Yeah.” (Nebula continuing her role as any MCU movie’s stealth MVP. Really, the character development of both Rocket and Nebula over the course of the Infinity Saga to become the heart and soul of the entire MCU is impressive (and Bradley Cooper does not get enough credit for his vocal work.) I like that the Thanos in this one is less nuanced since he has not accomplished as much and grown (through loss) as the “older” one we saw in Infinity War. He is a pure brute force here. Sure, the movie is not without its flaws (mostly in the final act), but at heart it’s a crowd-pleasing spectacle and the chill-inducing moments for anyone who has made the journey to this point. The Avengers finally assemble and it was both a fitting finale and new beginning.

365 movies in 2023: #358 – Avengers: Infinity War

AI image from the prompt “Avengers Infinity War.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: Avengers: Infinity War

Seen it before? Yes. A couple of times in theaters and many more since buying the digital download.

Thoughts: My hands-down favorite MCU movie. From a technical standpoint, that highwire act that Marvel pulled off just to get to the point of making this movie almost justifies it’s existence in the top spot. But on top of that, it’s really good. I’ve heard the complaints. It’s bloated and frenetic, some characters get lost, too much action, not enough character arcs (Thanos, Gamora and Thor would like a word), etc. In reality they juggled dozens of “main” characters from 7(!) film franchises while still giving everyone moments to shine. In the end, it’s incredibly satisfying to see so many threads from so many other movies pay off and to watch the various character pairings and personality clashes (give me more Stark, Spider-man and Strange; more Thor, Rocket and Groot). And, speaking of those three, if you don’t get legitimate chills in the moment Thor, Rocket and Groot land in the middle of the Wakanda battle, then the problem is you. It was also a great decision to give Thanos a character arc. He grows over the course of the movie into a three-dimensional character. The scene where he sacrifices Gamora to get the soul stone to fulfill his quest generates actual emotion. I’ve wven softened on Star-Lord over the years. Yeah, he kind of blows it but he also went through the emotional ringer in this one, so it’s hard to fault his for losing it in the moment. If anything, it’s kind of Nebula’s fault for spelling it out to him. It’s also a propulsive movie that movies from one great bit of action or interaction to the next. I never get tired of watching this one.

365 movies in 2023: #357 – A Christmas Story

AI image from the prompt “A Christmas Story.”

I plan to watch 365 movies this year because it’s good to have pointless goals. And even better than them simply being pointless, are goals with stipulations. At least two movies a week should be something I’ve never seen before and it doesn’t have to be “one movie per day” as long as I hit 365.

THE MOVIE: A Christmas Story

Seen it before? Yes. Every year in part or whole since the mid-80s.

Thoughts: Yes, I put this on every year courtesy of TBS’ seemingly never ending dedication to running their annual “24 Hours of A Christmas Story.” It has become a tradition for my kids as well now. We don’t really sit down and watch it so much as have it looping constantly where we catch our favorite moments. The structure of it being a series of vignettes with the loose Red Ryder thread running through it makes it ideal to drop in and out. It’s weird that a movie built on very specific nostalgia for an age that most viewers did not personally experience has resonated to such a degree that it has become a modern classic (and considering it is 40 years old at this point, maybe the word “modern” does not apply.) The are so many great moments and lines that have become touch points for three or four generations now – “you’ll shoot your eye out,” “fuuuuuu…dge,” “I double-dog dare ya,” and “fra-gee-lay.” And my absolute favorite line, “I’m a…I’m a thinkin’.” Fun fact that we discovered on a brief visit to Cleveland a couple years ago. The original house (nestled in the middle of a suburban neighborhood) has been preserved and turned into a museum along with a couple of the surrounding properties. You can even stay at the Bumpus’ house.