I’m Baaaaaack….and Here’s My Top 50 of the Decade

Hello all! It’s been nigh on four years since I last dropped some knowledge on you here at Reel News Daily. I went off and got a Master’s degree, new job and all that, but have still been rocking films from all over the world. I’m happy to be back in the fold here at Reel News Daily and look forward to contributing more this year. Don’t you feel lucky?

So, I figured my phoenix rising from the ashes post should be something that might start a little conversation – my Top 50 films of the last decade. There were so many great films to choose from, which made this list very difficult. After two days of whittling it down and moving films around, I feel confident with what I decided on. I’m sure I missed a few of your favorites, but this is my list so you’ll just have to deal with it.

Here we go:

50) Shoplifters (2018) dir. by Hirokazu Koreeda
49) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) dir. by Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman
48) Gone Girl (2014) dir. by David Fincher
47) A Hidden Life (2019) dir. by Terrence Malick
46) Annihilation (2018) dir. by Alex Garland
45) Under the Skin (2013) dir. by Jonathan Glazer
44) Her (2013) dir. by Spike Jonze
43) The Favourite (2018) dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos
42) Take Shelter (2011) dir. by Jeff Nichols
41) Leviathan (2012) dir. by Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel
40) Upstream Color (2013) dir. by Shane Carruth
39) Death of Stalin (2017) dir. by Armando Iannucci
38) Columbus (2017) dir. Kogonada
37) Holy Motors (2012) dir. by Leos Carax
36) Shame (2011) dir. by Steve McQueen
35) Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (2010) dir. by Edgar Wright
34) Midnight in Paris (2011) dir. by Woody Allen
33) Stories We Tell (2012) dir. by Sarah Polley
32) Cold War (2018) dir. by Pawel Pawlikowski
31) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) dir. by George Miller
30) Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) dir. by Ethan & Joel Coen
29) The Look of Silence (2015) dir. by Joshua Oppenheimer
28) We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. by Lynne Ramsay
27) BlacKkKlansman (2018) dir. by Spike Lee
26) First Reformed (2017) dir. by Paul Schrader
25) Carol (2015) dir. by Todd Haynes
24) Winter’s Bone (2010) dir. by Debra Granik
23) Citizenfour (2014) dir. by Laura Poitras
22) Animal Kingdom (2010) dir. by David Michôd
21) A Separation (2011) dir. by Asgar Farhadi
20) Meek’s Cutoff (2010) dir. by Kelly Reichardt
19) La La Land (2016) dir. by Damien Chazelle
18) Phantom Thread (2018) dir. by Paul Thomas Anderson
17) The Lobster (2015) dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos
16) Calvary (2014) dir. by John Michael McDonagh
15) Best of Enemies: Buckley Vs. Vidal (2015) dir. by Robert Morgan & Morgan Neville
14) Looper (2012) dir. by Rian Johnson
13) Frances Ha (2013) dir. by Noah Baumbach
12) Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) dir. by Benh Zeitlin
11) Lady Bird (2018) dir. by Greta Gerwig
10) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) dir. by Ana Lily Amirpour
9) Moonlight (2016) dir. by Barry Jenkins
8) Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) dir. by Jim Jarmusch
7) Zero Dark Thirty (2012) dir. by Kathryn Bigelow
6) The Tree of Life (2014) dir. by Terrence Malick
5) You Were Never Really Here (2017) dir. by Lynne Ramsay
4) Ex Machina (2014) dir. by Alex Garland
3) Melancholia (2011) dir. by Lars Von Trier
2) The Act of Killing (2012) dir. by Joshua Oppenheimer

1) The Master (2012) dir. by Paul Thomas Anderson

So there you have it. It was a tough job, but I was happy to do it. Here are a few that nearly made the list: Everybody Wants Some!! (underrated Richard Linklater that more people should watch), Tomas Alfredson’s slow burn spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Paul Thomas Anderson’s hippie noir adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. Admittedly, it was hard to weave many of the films from 2019 into the list as they’ll need to sit me a longer. I will say that Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story nearly edged their way on.

Here’s to hoping that the next ten years brings as many great films as the last ten have.

Saturn Awards Nominations Have Been Announced!

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The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the nominations for this year’s 41st Annual Saturn Awards and we have your list of nominees below!

On the movie side, Captain America: The Winter Soldier leads the nominations this year with a total of 11, including Best Comic Book-to-Film Release with  Interstellar close behind with 10 nominations. Guardians of the Galaxy chimes in with 9 nominations.

On the television, The Walking Dead leads with 7 nominations with Agent Carter and The Flash both receiving three each.

New this year is Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series, a special category to consider television series which are derived from comic book super heroes! An award sure to spark great debate amongst the legions of fans of these shows.

This year’s winners will be announced at the 41st Annual Saturn Awards, which takes place on June 25.

MOVIES

Best Comic Book-to-Film Release:

  • The Amazing Spider-Man 2
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Science Fiction Film Release:

  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Edge of Tomorrow
  • Godzilla
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
  • Interstellar
  • The Zero Theorem

Best Fantasy Film Release:

  • Birdman
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Into the Woods
  • Maleficent
  • Paddington

Best Horror Film Release:

  • Annabelle
  • The Babadook
  • Dracula Untold
  • Horns
  • Only Lovers Left Alive
  • The Purge: Anarchy

Best Thriller Film Release:

  • American Sniper
  • The Equalizer
  • Gone Girl
  • The Guest
  • The Imitation Game
  • Nightcrawler

Best Action / Adventure Film Release:

  • Exodus: Gods and Kings
  • Inherent Vice
  • Lucy
  • Noah
  • Snowpiercer
  • Unbroken

Best Actor in a Film:

  • Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow
  • Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
  • Michael Keaton – Birdman
  • Matthew McConaughey – Interstellar
  • Chris Pratt  – Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Dan Stevens – The Guest

Best Actress in a Film:

  • Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
  • Essie Davis – The Babadook
  • Anne Hathaway – Interstellar
  • Angelina Jolie – Maleficent
  • Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
  • Rosemund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Supporting Actor in a Film:

  • Richard Armitage  – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice
  • Samuel L. Jackson – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Anthony Mackie – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress in a Film:

  • Jessica Chastain – Interstellar
  • Scarlett Johansson – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Evangeline Lily – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Rene Russo – Nightcrawler
  • Emma Stone – Birdman
  • Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Film:

  • Elle Fanning – Maleficent
  • MacKenzie Foy – Interstellar
  • Chloe Grace Moretz – The Equalizer
  • Tony Revolori – The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Noah Wiseman – The Babadook

Best Film Director:

  • Alejandro G. Innarritu – Birdman
  • James Gunn – Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Doug Liman – Edge of Tomorrow
  • Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
  • Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Joe Russo, Anthony Russo – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Bryan Singer – X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Film Writing:

  • Captain America: Winter Soldier – Stephen McFeely, Christopher Markus
  • Edge of Tomorrow – Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
  • Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

Best Film Editing:

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
  • Edge of Tomorrow – James Herbert, Laura Jennings
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne, Craig Wood
  • Interstellar – Lee Smith
  • Unbroken – William Goldenberg, Tim Squyres
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past – John Ottman

Best Film Production Design:

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Peter Wenham
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – James Chinlund
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Charles Wood
  • Interstellar – Nathan Crowley
  • Into the Woods – Dennis Gassner

Best Film Music:

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Henry Jackman
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Michael Giacchino
  • Godzilla – Alexandre Desplat
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Howard Shore
  • How to Train Your Dragon 2 – John Powell
  • Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Best Film Costume:

  • Dracula Untold – Ngila Dickson
  • Exodus: Gods and Kings – Janty Yates
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Alexandra Byrne
  • Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood
  • Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past – Louise Mingenbach

Best Film Make-Up:

  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Bill Terezakis, Lisa Love
  • Dracula Untold  – Mark Coulier, Daniel Phillips
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – David White, Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter King, Rick Findlater, Gino Acevedo
  • Into the Woods – Peter King, Matthew Smith
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past – Adrien Morot, Norma Hill-Patton

Best Film Special/Visual Effects:

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Dan Daleeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, Dan Sudick
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Erik Winquist
  • Edge of Tomorrow – Gary Brozenich, Nick Davis, Jonathan Fawkner, Matthew Rouleau
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Stephane Ceretti, Nicholas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
  • Interstellar – Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher

Best Independent Film Release:

  • Grand Piano
  • I, Origins
  • A Most Violent Year
  • The One I Love
  • The Two Faces of January
  • Whiplash

Best International Film Release:

  • Bird People
  • Calvary
  • Force Majeur
  • Mood Indigo
  • The Railway Man
  • The Theory of Everything

Best Animated Film Release:

  • Big Hero 6
  • The Boxtrolls
  • How to Train Your Dragon 2
  • The Lego Movie
  • The Wind Rises

TELEVISION

Best Network Television Series:

  • The Blacklist
  • The Following
  • Grimm
  • Hannibal
  • Person of Interest
  • Sleepy Hollow

Best Syndicated / Cable Television Series:

  • 12 Monkeys
  • American Horror Story: Freak Show
  • Continuum
  • Falling Skies
  • Salem
  • The Strain
  • The Walking Dead

Best Limited Run Television Series:

  • Bates Motel
  • From Dusk Till Dawn
  • Game of Thrones
  • The Last Ship
  • The Librarians
  • Outlander

Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series:

  • Agent Carter
  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  • Arrow
  • Constantine
  • The Flash
  • Gotham

Best Youth-Oriented Television Series:

  • The 100
  • Doctor Who
  • Pretty Little Liars
  • Supernatural
  • Teen Wolf
  • The Vampire Diaries

Best Actor in a Television Series:

  • Hugh Dancy – Hannibal
  • Grant Gustin – The Flash
  • Andrew Lincoln – The Walking Dead
  • Tobias Menzies – Outlander
  • Mads Mikkelsen – Hannibal
  • Noah Wyle – Falling Skies

Best Actress in a Television Series:

  • Hayley Atwell – Agent Carter
  • Caitronia Balfe – Outlander
  • Vera Farmiga – Bates Motel
  • Jessica Lange – American Horror Story: Freak Show
  • Rachel Nichols – Continuum
  • Rebecca Romjin – The Librarians

Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series:

  • David Bradley – The Strain
  • Laurence Fishburne – Hannibal
  • Sam Heughan – Outlander
  • Erik Knudsen – Continuum
  • Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead
  • Richard Samuel – The Strain

Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series:

  • Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones
  • Jenna Coleman – Doctor Who
  • Caroline Dhavernas – Hannibal
  • Lexa Doig – Continuum
  • Emily Kinney – The Walking Dead
  • Melissa McBride – The Walking Dead

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series:

  • Camren Bicondova – Gotham
  • Maxim Knight – Falling Skies
  • Tyler Posey – Teen Wolf
  • Chandler Riggs – The Walking Dead
  • Holly Taylor – The Americans
  • Maisie Williams – Game of Thrones

Best Guest Performance in a Television Series:

  • Dominic Cooper – Agent Carter
  • Neil Patrick Harris – American Horror Story: Freak Show
  • John Larroquette – The Librarians
  • Wentworth Miller – The Flash
  • Michael Pitt – Hannibal
  • Andrew J. West – The Walking Dead

HOME ENTERTAINMENT:

Best DVD/BD Release:

  • Beneath (IFC Film Release)
  • Blue Ruin
  • Odd Thomas
  • Ragnarok
  • White Bird in a Blizzard
  • Wolf Creek 2

Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release:

  • Alexander: The Ultimate Cut
  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition
  • Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut
  • Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director’s Cut
  • Sorcerer
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Best DVD/BD Television Release:

  • Batman: The Complete Television Series
  • Hannibal: Season 2
  • Merlin: The Complete Series
  • Spartacus: The Complete Series
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 7
  • Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery
  • Wizards and Warriors: The Complete Series

Best DVD/BD Collection Release:

  • The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology
  • Halloween: The Complete Collection
  • Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection
  • Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection
  • Toho Godzilla Collection
  • Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30 Film Collection

LIVE STAGE PRODUCTION:

Best Local Live Stage Production:

  • Damn Yankees (3-D Theatricals)
  • Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (Saban Theatre)
  • The Last Confession (Ahmanson Theatre)
  • Pippin (Segerstrom Center for the Arts)
  • Ragtime (3-D Theatricals)
  • Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton (Pasadenia Playhouse)
  • The Wizard of Oz (Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

If I Chose the Academy Award Winners and Nominees – 2015 edition

I’ve now seen most of the films that had a release in 2014. This makes me more qualified to vote for the Oscars than 97.548% of the Academy’s membership. With the Oscar ceremony occurring tonight, I’ve picked, as I have the previous two years, who I think the nominees and winners should be in the bulk of the major categories. Once again, the foreign film category will be left off because I simply haven’t had access to enough foreign films to make a comment on them. Those that have made it to my neck of the woods, I will say, have been very good for the most part. Read More →

Reel News Daily’s Top Movies of 2014 on The Reel Big Show!

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It’s a full house on The Reel Big Show! Michael leads the group in discussion of their favorite movies of 2014, the night before the Oscar nominations. Below are their lists – with bold for which were nominated. See the list of nominations at Oscar.org.

Check out the fun IMDb quiz based on the 36 movies in all the lists!
Read More →

Girls On Film Podcast: Brendan Gleeson, John Michael McDonagh & Kelly Reilly Chat About ‘Calvary’

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Kelly Reilly as “Fiona” and Brendan Gleeson as “Father James Lavelle” in CALVARY.

CALVARY’s Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is a good priest who is faced with troubling circumstances brought about by a mysterious member of his parish. Although he continues to comfort his own fragile daughter (Kelly Reilly) and to help members of his church with their various problems, he feels a foreboding sinister force closing in, and begins to wonder if he will have the courage to face his own personal Calvary.

In this episode of Girls on Film, Liz and Melissa talk about Calvary. Read More →