Category: Best Of…

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2017: THE BEST SO FAR

Michael J. Casey

Taken as a whole, 2017 at the movies has left me somewhat dismayed. This is at least partly due, I think, to the overlong award season. With each passing year, this toxic notion of competition clouds the waters and does little to foster the appreciation and discussion of cinema. This rang particularly true in the silly and absurd horse race between La La Land and Moonlight — which ended up being an overwrought debate between authenticity in emotion — and culminated in one spectacular and public bungle at this year’s Oscar ceremony. And while award season is both exhausting and disheartening, it was the lackluster rollout of … Continue reading 2017: THE BEST SO FAR

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2015 at the movies

Michael J. Casey

For the last three years, I have started every one of these year-end posts with, “[Year] was an excellent year at the movies.” Or something to that effect. This idea remains true in 2015, but the casualness makes me pause. Were all these years truly excellent years at the movies? Am I being too easy on them? Am I too taken with their wonder? Yes. Maybe. Always. For the past 52 weeks I have sat and watched in theaters and at home scores of moving images, all of which managed to illuminate something for me. Be it the transcendent beauty of this world, the delicate but … Continue reading 2015 at the movies

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2014: A Year of Moviegoing

Michael J. Casey

2014, like any year prior to it, was a magnificent year for moviegoing. Granted, there were the duds, the sequels, the franchises and once again, a Michael Bay Transformers movie took the number one spot at the box office, but they pale in comparison to the slew of inventive, creative and original movies that found their way on to screens big and small. Depending on who you read, there were somewhere between 600 and 900 movies released in 2014. Certainly no shortage of options for adventurous moviegoers. Of those 600 to 900 new releases, I clocked in with 200 (an arbitrary goal I set for myself last January, … Continue reading 2014: A Year of Moviegoing

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Oscars 2014

Michael J. Casey

Formed in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was designed to deal with improving the industries image. At that time, movies were not seen on the same sophisticated level as literature, music and painting, so the Academy decided to congratulate its own in hopes of lending credence to their medium. It worked, and 86 years later, the Oscar ceremony is the largest, most watched and possibly most discussed award ceremony of the major four (Grammy, Emmy and Tony being the other three). 2013 proved to be one of the best and most diverse years for movie going in recent … Continue reading Oscars 2014

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2013: Another Year of Moviegoing

Michael J. Casey

2013 was an excellent year at the movies, but I said the exact same thing about 2012. Film critic for The New Yorker, Richard Brody, chose to open his year-end summary with this quote, “The year 2013 has been an amazing one for movies, though maybe every year is an amazing year for movies if one is ready to be amazed by movies.” I am always ready to be amazed by movies, and 2013 did not disappoint. I was consistently surprised how many movies continue to develop and unfold in my mind days, weeks, and months after I saw them. They refused to leave and I … Continue reading 2013: Another Year of Moviegoing

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2012: A Year At The Movies

Michael J. Casey

2012 was a magnificent year for the movies. They are more diverse, more personal, and more magical than ever. Yes, there was the onslaught of the usual blockbuster fare, sequels left and right, and the mighty flops that were John Carter and Battleship, but there was so much more to discover in theaters this year. It is quite possible that 2012 was one of the best years for the cinema, maybe not on par with 1939 or 1960, but time will tell which of these stories permeate the collective consciousness and hang around and continue to inform our experiences. 2012 also saw a great amount of cinema history as … Continue reading 2012: A Year At The Movies