LISTS OF FURY

 Ryan Garasich 2/13/22 2021 was a terrific bounce-back year for film after an understandably weaker-than-normal yield in the pandemic ravaged 2020. From the return of adrenaline fueled blockbusters, to prestige, major studio  spectacles, to adoring small indies, to lavish and spectacular international films, this list became increasingly difficult to whittle down to 10 choices. This is a great problem to have for the audience' sake. As is always the case, there were some films I would have loved to see but was unable to, so if your favorite movie is absent from the list, just pretend that's why. Also know that this is specifically feature films and I do not include documentaries or miniseries. And now, my 13th (wow I'm getting old) annual list of the Best Movies of the Year #10 BELFAST When I first saw the Oscar buzz for Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical passion project my eyes rolled so hard they nearly detached from my brain. This is not the type of movie I typica...

Ryan Garasich 4/23/21 It feels strange to be talking about the Oscars in April, but does anything really feel normal anymore? This Sunday 8:00 Eastern on ABC, the Academy Awards will kick off its 93rd ceremony, with a full audience, for better or worse. The Super Bowl of the film industry is usually primed for a few surprises, and this year is a particularly muddy field. This is welcome, as it makes for better theater. So lets put my reputation on the line and make my formal and final predictions on who is getting the gold.  BEST PICTURE:  The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank  Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal Trial of the Chicago 7 WILL WIN: Nomadland MIGHT STEAL: Trial of the Chicago 7 SHOULD WIN: Minari SNUBBED: I was a bit surprised to see Ma Rainey's Black Bottom left off. That and Never Rarely Sometimes Always or One Night in Miami could have rounded out the 10 noms. ANALYSIS: While many other categories this year are much more fraught wit...

Ryan Garasich. 3/27/2021 2020, for the most part, was a complete wash of a calendar year. The world came to a screeching halt in the wake of the worst global threat we have seen in centuries, and the film industry was not immune to Covid's devastation. Still, in this strangest of all years, there was a solid crop of remarkable and deeply moving films. Most major studios pushed their larger titles to 2021 in an attempt to gross more at the box office, which opened the door for smaller films to share a larger portion of the spotlight. Black stories especially, saw a wellspring in 2020 unlike any we may have ever seen, and there are several of them dotted throughout this list in addition to the ones that were near misses.  About the list itself... This is the latest this list has ever posted for obvious reasons. I set a couple of arbitrary deadlines in order for me to make this list with as much integrity as possible. Only films I saw before March 1st were eligible, which left out som...