THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

 Like any other year, 2022 has delivered some really great and memorable films that have moved me, made me laugh, cry, contemplate, and even question my own perspectives. Great art will do that, and this year did not have a shortage of fantastic cinematic art to behold. In yearly tradition, I've compiled my top 10 favorite films of this past year and as always, it was a tough endeavor. In what has been a weird year for me, personally - in that I've gone almost the entire year without posting any reviews (unheard of, for sure) - I'll try to give more than just a quick blurb for each entry. As with most years, trying to rank them from 1-10 proved to be extremely hard; it would be easier to simply list them out in no particular order, but people love lists and so I shall deliver! But just know that I loved all of these picks for a variety of reasons, and the ranking has many variables included. Okay, enough with the rambling, which has gone on long enough. Without further ado,

  2021 has delivered some really unique and interesting films. Some have moved me to tears, like the amazing CODA , and others have left me dumfounded, inspired, and shaken. So, after much deliberation and many, many viewings, here are my predictions for this year's winners! Like always, I play to win. But, it's also hard not voting with my heart. For instance, the main front-runner for Best Picture is The Power of the Dog , but CODA has gained some serious traction, and with a sure-fire win for directing, The Power of the Dog may lose out to CODA , which is what I'm hoping. So, the choices below are mostly the ones I THINK will win, not necessarily what I WANT to win. The only one I've really voted with my heart is Best Picture. I'll note the one's I'd like to see win if you're curious. So, let's see how many I can get right this year! Check back Monday for the results! *UPDATE - The Oscars have aired, and boy were they a doozy! I managed to guess

  Let me just freaking cut to the chase - no opening fluff, no preamble ramble, none of that crap... The Batman is pure cinematic awesomeness, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have witnessed it. Director Matt Reeves has crafted a psychological thriller that takes the comic book genre and reinvents it in a stunningly beautiful and haunting way. It's so incredibly grounded in reality that it makes The Dark Knight trilogy - arguably the most "grounded" take on Batman up to this point - seem glossier and more "comic booky." Trust me when I say that's not a dig at The Dark Knight trilogy - there's enough hatred and vitriol in fandoms today that there really is no need to compare and put down other works. This comparison was simply to illustrate the point that The Batman is so immersed in reality that it feels like it could really take place. The added noir tone to the piece elevates this, for me, above being a comic book movie and simply a fantastically