It is summer and that usually means a good time for blockbusters! So lets see if we can find 5 good blockbusters for July. I am not making hard definitions for what a blockbuster movie is, but I might have some questions if you pick a movie that got only $100,000 at the box office.

Rules

• Be considered a blockbuster movie
• Not one we have done before
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate
• Upvote the post(s) with a nomination you would like to be picked for discussion next month
• Please state the title of the movie clearly on the first line, and add any additional general comments in the next paragraph to keep voting simple

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Voting closed

Let us try some simpler nomination categories, which I hope can bring more immediate responses. Just plain and simple horror movies. I assume you can define that within reason and not need hard genre defining rules. We need to pick 4 movies.

Rules

• Be considered a horror movie
• Not one we have done before
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate
• Upvote the post(s) with a nomination you would like to be picked for discussion next month
• Please state the title of the movie clearly on the first line, and add any additional general comments in the next paragraph to keep voting simple

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Voting closed

The Cannes Film Festival is in May and I thought we should find four movies related to Cannes to watch in May. Maybe a bit of a risk since it isn't exactly full of well known mainstream movies, but I promise there is more to choose from than French arthouse movies. The criteria is simple, the movie must have been presented at the Cannes Film Festival at some point.

On the official website you can browse through all movies that has been in competition over the years. To narrow it down there is a list of all the Palme d’Or winners or more broadly every movie that have won any award at Cannes. This list all movies that have been in competition per year in alphabetical order

Rules

• Have been in the official program on the Cannes Film Festival in any year
• Not one we have done before
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate
• Upvote the post(s) with a nomination you would like to be picked for discussion next month
• Please state the title of the movie clearly on the first line, and add any additional general comments in the next paragraph to keep voting simple

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Voting closed

I do think our list of movies is turning out to be a pretty good list of solid movies, it it a bit male heavy. I hope we can find 5 movies for April that has a female substantial leading role.

Rules

• Have a woman in a leading role
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate
• Upvote the post(s) with a nomination you would like to be picked for discussion next month
• Please state the title of the movie clearly on the first line, and add any additional general comments in the next paragraph to keep voting simple

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Voting closed

Sorry for the title gore, but since it is the Oscars next month, lets find a Oscar relevant selection of 4 movies, with narrowing it down to Best Picture nominees that didn't win. So if you have a favorite movie where another movie took the award that year, now is a good time to bring that up.

Rules

• Must have been nominated in the Best Picture category for the Oscars
• Must not be the winner of Best Picture
• Not from this years award, since we don't know who will win yet
• Not one we have already done
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate
• Upvote the post(s) with a nomination you would like to be picked for discussion next month

Wikipedia has a list of all the nominees through the years. Or this list on Letterboxd.

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Edit: Voting closed

Lets try something a bit different for February, with one of the favorite discussion topics among cinephiles - with setting up superheroes against Martin Scorsese. We will need 4 movies for February and we will need 2 from each category. Directed by Martin Scorsese or a superhero movie (interpret that however you seem reasonable). Based on top number of votes the schedule will be:

• 5th: Superhero movie
• 12th: Scorsese movie
• 19th: Superhero movie
• 26th: Scorsese movie

Not a hard rule per se, but I would recommend to at least consider that especially the superhero movies should be reasonably standalone and not require having seen several other entries in a series.

Rules

• Must be directed by Martin Scorsese or be considered a superhero movie
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Nominations are coming out on Tuesday. Here's my final predictions on what gets in:

Picture

1. Oppenheimer
2. The Holdovers
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Poor Things
5. Barbie
6. Maestro
7. Anatomy of a Fall
8. Past Lives
9. The Zone of Interest
10. American Fiction

Director

1. Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer
2. Martin Scorsese - Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Yorgos Lanthimos - Poor Things
4. Justine Triet - Anatomy of a Fall
5. Jonathan Glazer - The Zone of Interest

Original Screenplay

1. The Holdovers
2. Past Lives
3. Anatomy of a Fall
4. Maestro
5. May December

Adapted Screenplay

1. Poor Things
2. Barbie
3. Oppenheimer
4. American Fiction
5. Killers of the Flower Moon

Lead Actor

1. Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
2. Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers
3. Bradley Cooper - Maestro
4. Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
5. Leonardo DiCaprio - Killers of the Flower Moon

Lead Actress

1. Emma Stone - Poor Things
2. Lilly Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall
4. Carey Mulligan - Maestro
5. Margot Robbie - Barbie

Supporting Actor

1. Robert Downey Jr. - Oppenheimer
2. Ryan Gosling - Barbie
3. Robert DeNiro - Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Mark Ruffalo - Poor Things
5. Dominic Sessa - The Holdovers

Supporting Actress

1. D'avine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers
2. Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer
3. Sandra Huller - The Zone of Interest
4. Penelope Cruz - Ferrari
5. Florence Pugh - Oppenheimer

Film Editing

1. Oppenheimer
2. Poor Things
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Barbie
5. The Holdovers

Sound

1. Oppenheimer
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Maestro
4. The Zone of Interest
5. Ferrari

Cinematography

1. Oppenheimer
2. Poor Things
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Maestro
5. The Zone of Interest

Costume Design

1. Barbie
2. Poor Things
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Oppenheimer
5. Napoleon

Production Design

1. Barbie
2. Poor Things
3. Oppenheimer
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Napoleon

Make-up and Hairstyling

1. Oppenheimer
2. Maestro
3. Poor Things
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Golda

Original Score

1. Oppenheimer
2. Poor Things
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. The Zone of Interest
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Original Song

1. I'm Just Ken from Barbie
2. What Was I Made For? from Barbie
3. Dance the Night from Barbie
4. Road to Freedom from Rustin
5. Quiet Eyes from Past Lives

VFX

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
2. The Creator
3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
5. Poor Things

Animated Feature

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2. The Boy and the Heron
3. Elemental
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
5. Nimona

Documentary

1. American Symphony
2. 20 Days in Mariupol
3. Four Daughters
4. Beyond Utopia
5. The Eternal Memory

International Film

1. The Zone of Interest
2. Society of Snow
3. Fallen Leaves
4. The Taste of Things
5. Perfect Days

Voting closed

So I am making the poll a bit earlier. The holidays are coming up and it might also be better to have the schedule about a week before rather than having it the day before the first movie of the month. This time we are going for shorter running times - so anything at 100 minutes (1 hour and 40 minutes) or less. "Movies are too damn long nowadays" is a common complaint, so lets see what we can come up with of good movies that don't require a long evening to watch.

We will need five movies for January.

Rules

• Must have a running time of 100 minutes / 1h40m or less based on official running time on IMDb
• Not one we have already done
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

Golden Globe noms will be coming out next week. They recently changed a rule that each category now has six nominees instead of five (boo!). These are the only categories listed on Goldderby so that's all I'm gonna be predicting (Original Score and Original Song are the two categories not listed). Here's where I think the nominations will land:

Motion Picture - Drama

1. Oppenheimer
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Maestro
4. All of Us Strangers
5. Anatomy of a Fall
6. Past Lives

Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

1. Barbie
2. The Holdovers
3. Poor Things
4. American Fiction
5. The Color Purple
6. May December

Director

1. Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer
2. Martin Scorsese - Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Yorgos Lanthimos - Poor Things
4. Greta Gerwig - Barbie
5. Alexander Payne - The Holdovers
6. Bradley Cooper - Maestro

Screenplay

1. Barbie
2. The Holdovers
3. Oppenheimer
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Poor Things
6. American Fiction

Lead Actor - Drama

1. Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
2. Bradley Cooper - Maestro
3. Leonardo DiCaprio - Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Andrew Scott - All of Us Strangers
5. Adam Driver - Ferrari
6. Teo Yoo - Past Lives

Lead Actress - Drama

1. Lilly Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
2. Cailee Spaeny - Priscilla
3. Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall
4. Carey Mulligan - Maestro
5. Annette Bening - Nyad
6. Greta Lee - Past Lives

Lead Actor - Musical or Comedy

1. Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers
2. Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
3. Timothee Chalamet - Wonka
4. Nicolas Cage - Dream Scenario
5. Matt Damon - Air
6. Peter Dinklage - She Came To Me

Lead Actress - Musical or Comedy

1. Margot Robbie - Barbie
2. Emma Stone - Poor Things
3. Fantasia Barrino - The Color Purple
4. Natalie Portman - May December
5. Julia Louis Dreyfus - You Hurt My Feelings
6. Jennifer Lawrence - No Hard Feelings

Supporting Actor - Any Motion Picture:

1. Robert Downey Jr. - Oppenheimer
2. Ryan Gosling - Barbie
3. Mark Ruffalo - Poor Things
4. Robert DeNiro - Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Charles Melton - May December
6. Dominic Sessa - The Holdovers

Supporting Actress:

1. D'avine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers
2. Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer
3. Julianne Moore - May December
4. Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple
5. Penelope Cruz - Ferrari
6. America Ferrera - Barbie

Edit: Voting closed

Thanks to everyone who have so far participated in the five movies we did in November. We need to pick four movies for December and it is going to be any movies from the 1990s.

Rules

• Must have a release date between 1990 and 1999. If in doubt, whatever it says on IMDb
• Not one we have already done
• Only one nomination per user
• Please only nominate if you intent to participate

In case of ties in the number of votes, random.org will decide. Voting closes Sunday.

This overview on Letterboxd can be of some inspiration.

In addition, I think it will be too much to do a vote on voting categories, but I am curious to get some feedback and ideas. Should we go narrower like genres (westerns, horror, science fiction) or perhaps niche genres (road movie, murder mystery, historic)? How about directors - like I had an idea of doing a Kubrick versus Spielberg for example. Actors, countries, film festivals? Or is it okay to have the category be very broad?

For me, as much as I didn’t care for the film, This is a Life from EEAAO getting into original song would make me incredibly happy. It’s such a good song and indie songs like it rarely get nominated.

Another one would be Glass Onion getting into Supporting Actress and Costumes.

https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees

Best Picture - Drama

Avatar: The Way of Water

Elvis

The Fabelmans

TÁR

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Picture - Musical/Comedy

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Triangle of Sadness

Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama

Cate Blanchett - TÁR

Olivia Colman - Empire of Light

Viola Davis - The Woman King

Ana De Armas - Blonde

Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans

Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama

Austin Butler - Elvis

Brendan Fraser - The Whale

Hugh Jackman - The Son

Bill Nighy - Living

Jeremy Pope - The Inspection

Best Actress - Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy

Lesley Manville - Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris

Margot Robbie - Babylon

Anya Taylor-Joy - The Menu

Emma Thompson - Good Luck To You, Leo Grande

Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Actor - Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Diego Calva - Babylon

Daniel Craig - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Adam Driver - White Noise

Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin

Ralph Finnes - The Menu

Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture

Angela Basset - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Kerry Condon - The Banshees of Inisherin

Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Dolly De Leon - Triangle of Sadness

Carey Mulligan - She Said

Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture

Brendan Gleeson - The Banshees of Inisherin

Barry Keoghan - The Banshees of Inisherin

Brad Pitt - Babylon

Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Eddie Redmayne - The Good Nurse

Best Director - Motion Picture

James Cameron - Avatar: The Way of Water

Daniels - Everyhting Everywhere All At Once

Baz Luhrmann - Elvis

Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin

Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

TÁR

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Banshees of Inisherin

Women Talking

The Fabelmans

Best Picture - Animated

Guillermo Del Torro’s Pinocchio

Inu-Oh

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Turning Red

Best Picture - Non-English Language

All Quiet on the Western Front

Argentina, 1985

Close

Decision to Leave

RRR

Best Score - Motion Picture

The Banshees of Inisherin

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Women Talking

Babylon

The Fabelmans

Best Song - Motion Picture

Carolina from Where The Crawdads Sing

Ciao Papa from Pinocchio

Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick

Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Naatu Naatu from RRR

These are the real nominations, not my predictions. Here’s the article about it:
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/2023-independent-spirit-award-nominations-1234784758/

Best Feature

Bones and All

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Our Father, the Devil

TÁR

Women Talking

Best Director

Todd Field, TÁR

Kogonda, After Yang

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Halina Reijn, Bodies Bodies Bodies

Best First Feature

Aftersun

Emily the Criminal

The Inspection

Murina

Palm Trees and Power Lines

Best Lead Performance

Cate Blanchett - TÁR

Dale Dickey - A Love Song

Mia Goth - Pearl

Regina Hall - Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul

Paul Mescal - Aftersun

Aubrey Plaza - Emily the Criminal

Jeremy Pope - The Inspection

Taylor Russell - Bones and All

Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie

Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Performance

Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Brian Tyree Henry - Causeway

Nina Hoss - TÁR

Brian d’Arcy James - The Cathedral

Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Trevante Rhodes - Bruiser

Theo Rossi - Emily the Criminal

Mark Rylance - Bones and All

Jonathan Tucker - Palm Trees and Power Lines

Gabrielle Union - The Inspection

Breakthrough Performance

Frankie Corio - Aftersun

Gracija Filipovic - Murina

Stephanie Hsu - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Lily McInerny - Palm Trees and Power Lines

Daniel Zolghardi - Funny Pages

Best Screenplay

After Yang

Catherine Called Birdy

Everything Everywhere All At Once

TÁR

Women Talking

Best First Screenplay

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Emergency

Emily the Criminal

Fire Island

Palm Trees and Power Lines

Best Cinematography

Aftersun

Murina

Neptune Frost

Peal

TÁR

Best Editing

Aftersun

The Cathedral

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

TÁR

Robert Altman Award

Women Talking

Best Documentary

A House Made of Splinters

All That Breathes

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Midwives

Riotsville USA

Best International Film

Corsage

Joyland

Leonor Will Never Die

Return to Seol

Saint Omer

The various guilds released their nominations today (in what’s been called D-Day for Awards followers since it’s usually not lined up like this). These are reflective of what the industry likes (and gives us really big clues as to what will end up nominated at the Oscars).

Producers Guild of America:

BEING THE RICARDOS

BELFAST

CODA

DON’T LOOK UP

DUNE

KING RICHARD

LICORICE PIZZA

THE POWER OF THE DOG

TICK TICK BOOM

WEST SIDE STORY

Directors Guild of America:

Feature Film:

Paul Thomas Anderson - Licorice Pizza

Kenneth Branagh - Belfast

Jane Campion - The Power of the Dog

Steven Spielberg - West Side Story

Denis Villeneuve - Dune

First Time Feature:

Maggie Gyllenhaal - The Lost Daughter

Rebecca Hall - Passing

Tatiana Huezo - Prayers for the Stolen

Lin-Manuel Miranda - tick, tick...BOOM!

Michael Sarnoski - Pig

Emma Seligman - Shiva Baby

Writer’s Guild of America:

Original Screenplay:

Being the Ricardos

Don’t Look Up

The French Dispatch

King Richard

Licorice Pizza

Adapted Screenplay:

CODA

Dune

Nightmare Alley

tick, tick... BOOM!

West Side Story