Wednesday, December 31, 2014

End of Year Five

This closes out my fifth year blogging movies. On the one hand, that feels like a really long time. On the other hand, it feels like I’ve just gotten started. I put up something like 300 reviews this year and averaged a touch over a movie/day for the year (367 movies watched total).

There are a few changes planned for 2015. The major change is the addition of a new category of Oscar films. Best Original Screenplay felt lonely, so I’ve added Best Adapted Screenplay, a category that puts an addition five-and-a-half dozen or so films onto my list, which translates to about three months’ worth of reviews. As a bonus, though, I’ve already completed about 10 full years of this category, so there’s that.

I enjoyed doing a series of films from Nick Jobe this year, so I’ve decided to expand on that. Instead of just having Nick select films for me in 2015, I’ve brought in the entire team at Your Face. Nick, Nolahn, and Jason have each chosen four movies for me, and I’ll rotate their reviews month by month. Your Face Picks Movies will appear on the third Monday of every month.

I’ve also got a set of films from Chip Lary at Tips from Chip. Having seen me review Nick’s choices from last year, he wanted to do the same. I’ve given him a set of 12 and he’s given me 13—one month will be a double-feature. Picks from Chip will show up on the second Monday of every month.

The Oscar Got It Wrong! posts will continue on Fridays. I’m having too much fun with them to stop.

Here’s to 2015!

21 comments:

  1. Happy New Year from Seoul. All the best, and thanks for the consistently interesting and educational reviews.

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    1. And a Happy New Year to you as well, sir. May your students continue to fill your life with interesting language mistakes.

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  2. Do "Oscar Got It Wrong" for 1939!

    I'm dying to see an entry in that great series for a year where there were 10 entries!

    (It boggles my mind that they did 12 entries for a few years. I've only got two more to go - Alice Adams and Broadway Melody of 1936 - and I'll have seen all 12 for 1935. Can you believe they couldn't find room for Bride of Frankensetin?

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    1. Actually, I'm dedicating January to 1939. I've completed all five relevant categories, so I'll be doing all five in January, but you'll have to wait until the end for Best Picture.

      I'm never surprised at what Oscar doesn't have room for. It's more or less why I do those posts.

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    2. That sounds great! I've seen all the Best Picture nominees for 1939. I'll have to check the other categories and see if there's anything I need to see that I can get hold of without too much trouble.

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    3. The only relevant film I haven't seen is Babes in Arms.

      Actually, I think I'm OK with that. I thought Strike Up the Band had its moments, and I do like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.

      But I really doubt that Babes in Arms is going to show me a Mickey Rooney I've never seen before, who deserved to win the Oscar in 1939.

      If I change my mind, it's on YouTube for $3.

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    4. My opinion is you're not missing much. If you've seen one Rooney/Garland "let's put on a show!" movie, you've pretty much seen them all.

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    5. I agree with Steve - you're not missing much not havaing seen Babes in Arms,,,and I tend to like musicals.

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    6. It might be more cost effective to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame if you have not seen it and try to imagine a universe in which any performance by Mickey Rooney could possibly top that of Charles Laughton in Hunchback.

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    7. I've seen The Hunchback of Notre Dame and I think it's one of Oscar's greatest sins that they had room for 10 nominees for Best Picture and Hunchback wasn't one of them. (And I frequently think it should have won the whole thing!)

      Yes, subbing in Laughton for Rooney would have been the right thing to do.

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  3. Wow, five years! Keep up the great work.

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    1. I still find it difficult to conceive that I've been doing this that long.

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  4. 5 years! Happy New Year from Florida. :)

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  5. Great job this year, Steve! Your blog is one of the first that I check out when new posts appear, and it sounds like you have a lot of great stuff in store for 2015. Cheers!

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  6. Congratulations and Happy New Year! I'm really looking forward to your posts in 2015. 1939 January will be awesome I know.

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  7. Happy New Year and 5 year anniversary!
    "Oscar Got It Wrong" is the best post every weekend. Expanding on that can only be a good thing. 39 should be a lot of fun so cheers from here.

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    1. Thanks, all. I think there's a lot to look forward to in 2015.

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  8. I'll add my congratulations to the others. I'm at my four year anniversary, but you've continued to post far more often than I have after the first few years.

    So January 12th is the day for the first dual posts. I'll have to decide which one I want to watch first. I've deliberately not watched any of them so my experience will be fresher when I write the review. I can't guarantee I'll be able to resist watching all 12 before the year is up, though.

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    1. I got lucky with your set of films. One of them was listed on NetFlix as a Very Long Wait film so I put it at the top of the queue...and it's showing up this week. Beyond that first one, I think I'll be watching as the mood strikes me.

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  9. Congratulations! On a good day I can barely manage to post a four sentence rant. You, sir, are a workhorse.

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