Each and every year a whole lot of bloggers create a list of their favorite movies they saw this year. I am no exception as I have been doing it since I started this blog. It made wonder about the process of creating it. The way I do it is to keep track is to keep a list on which I put the movies I think that should be in my top 10. This is something I do throughout the year and I only add a movie if I think it is strong enough to possibly make it. Usually at the end of the year I end up with slightly more than ten movies on that list and I will go through them deciding which ones I deem “worthy”, followed by ranking them. Picking the top 3 usually is the easiest, the rest of them takes a little more time.
What is the way you create your top 10 movies list?
The dilemma posed by limited means to watch as much films keep me from writing an annual “Top 10” list, but I’m a completist in my genre of horror, and most worthwhile gems do have wide releases (on VOD, anyway). I assume the process, if ever, will be somewhat similar: I look back at the year, list good contenders, cut the excess meat, until it’s a lean ten. It’s a difficult process, particularly this year, because a lot of good films are released both inside the genre of horror and out.
Great question, Nostra.
How many movies do you think you watch on average each year? So your process is a bit more complicated than mine and some years it is easier than others…
I aimed at 500 this year, but got around at least around 300, covering my native Filipino, Hollywood and foreign films.
With 300 you still felt you could not make a good list? Wow, I am surprised.
I keep a list of all the films I see on my phone. At the end of the year, I then go through and cull them, keeping only the films I liked a lot.
Then, with that list which is usually 20-odd films long, I start to place them into some kind of order so that I have a final ten. It’s usually about deciding if I enjoyed film A more than film B.
Any that got culled end up in my honourable mentions list.
No online services then like Letterboxd, IMDB or something else? I guess I do that last bit as well, deciding which movie I liked more than the others. At the end of the day though it could be that I’d change the order if I would make the list again. It always is just a snapshot of how you thought about it at that moment.
Didn’t do a list last year. Didn’t think I saw enough cinema releases that made me go “wow” to warrant a top 10 list. Which is usually how I would categorise my top 10 – how much I enjoyed the film. After all, it would be “my” list, right? Film is about enjoyment for me. I could be watching the trashiest of films, but if I’m loving every second of it, that’s all that matters.
Of course it has to be your list, so understandable you skipped it. As for film being about enjoyment, I think I am completely the same in that regard…enjoyment is my number one thing and the most important factor for determining my scores.
I revisit my reviews and see which I rated the highest, and which stayed with me. If I remember a “B” movie very well, but find myself thinking, “oh yeah, I gave that one an ‘A'”, then I would place that “B” above that “A” on my list.
So you might rethink your opinion about it later. I occasionally have those moments when I read an older review and think I have rated something too high or low, but in the end it is about the feeling I had immediately after seeing it. That feeling is what the score captures for me.
Hi Nostra! Great question here as I’m still working on my Top 10. I actually did something different in that I posted my top 10 fave from the first half of the year halfway through 2013, and then see how many of those films would stick to the FINAL Top 10. So far only ONE of them carries over.
You’re right that picking the top 3 usually is easier, in fact I pretty much got it locked for about a month, but picking the rest was quite a challenge.
Hey Ruth! 🙂 When is that list coming…the suspense is killing me 😉 Only one carrying over? That isn’t much! There were awesome movies in the second half of the year so I can understand.
Ahah, well I’m gonna work on it tonight and post it tomorrow night ahead of Oscar noms). I actually changed my mind about the documentary thing, you’ll see 😉
I will keep my eyes glued on my inbox 😉
Nice question. I usually first write up a list of twenty or so of my favorite movies of the year, then begin cutting it down to ten. This year is pretty difficult because there’s been a lot of good stuff in the last few months. I’m stuck between Her and Inside Llewyn Davis as my favorite of the year.
My list wasn’t that long this year, but I did have more than 10. Have not seen Inside Llewyn Davis yet, but Her is an awesome film.
I use Letterboxd to make every list, except for the Anticipated Films list because some of the films aren’t in the database during that time. Sometimes, I release the list publicly if I’m reading to release or keep it private if it’s not finished and I really wanted to do more work on it.
I started using it a bit this year, just to see if I have changed my mind about it. It is a slick site.
I’m not a fan of “best of” lists at the end of each year, because they are so arbitrary and usually I haven’t seen enough of that year’s films to make an adequate (and worthwhile) list.
I don’t mind reading them, though.
I agree they are, but still they can point out movies other might not have seen or even heard of. Always like looking at them.
Great question. I factor in a variety of things in making my list. I do look at things like cinematography, screenplay, performances, etc. But I also look at things such as fun factor and experience. These two things play a big role. I want to be entertained and have a great experience. For example, “Gravity” was my #1 movie of the year. While I do think it has a good script it’s certainly not as meaty as something like “The Hunt” or “Nebraska”. But I had such an incredible experience both times I saw in on the big screen. It was phenomenal and that is what sold me.
Anyway, that’s a muddled up attempt to share my thought process!
Hey Keith, so you have a much more complex process than I do. It makes sense. Reminded me I still got to see Nebraska!