Ninth Annual Movie Ratings Recap

This is the most exciting time of year for the movie industry and its legion of fans, from LA to London, Sundance to Cannes, and Toronto to Tribeca.  There are six huge events within a six week period, and we are right smack dab in the middle of it.   In early January the Golden Globe Awards, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press, kicked off the hoopla, succeeded a few weeks later by the Screen Actors Guild awards ceremony, more commonly known as the SAG Awards.  The SAG Awards were quickly followed by the Directors Guild Of America presentations, which took place last Saturday, and this coming Sunday the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts, aka BAFTA, will honor its winners.  Of course the Big Kahuna, the most anticipated and tradition-soaked ceremonies, are the Academy Awards, as chosen by the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences.  The Academy will bestow this year's Oscars on February 26.

The astute readers among you might wonder, "Wait a minute, Old Boy.  We thought you wrote that there are 'six huge events,' but you only mentioned five."  Oh, my, you are right!  How could I have forgotten the eagerly anticipated Ninth Annual Movie Ratings Recap?  How convenient that the Recap, which is the missing sixth piece, comprises the heart of this post!
 

This will be the sixth annual Recap I have posted on this blog.  The first three were sent, pre-blog, to my kids via unsolicited -- and perhaps unread -- e-mails.  As the name "Recap" implies, this post is simply a summary of the rankings for the movies I saw and reviewed here during the twelve month period which ended last week on January 31.  I am sorry to report that I only managed to take in nineteen films at the theater during that time, compared to twenty-five during each of the two immediately preceding years.  Would you be interested in hearing my excuses?  No, I didn't think so.
 

As always, the movies within each ranking are listed in my order of preference within that group (e.g., within the B+ group, my favorite was Sing Street), and the month of my review is indicated after each title.
 

My movie wishes for you this new year are that you are able to escape to the cinema more often, and that all the popcorn chompers, pop slurpers, texters and talkers be sitting far away on the other side of the theater.

A:

Cafe Society (August '16)

La La Land (January '17)

A Man Called Ove (November '16)

A-:

Patriots Day (January '17)

B+:

Sing Street (May '16)

Fences (January '17)

The Invitation (May '16)

Hidden Figures (January '17)

B:

They Will Have To Kill Us First (April '16)

Manchester By The Sea (December '16)

Free State Of Jones (July '16)

Money Monster (June '16)

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (March '16)

Gypsy: Rock & Roll Nomads (April '16)

B-:

Sully (December '16)

Indignation (August '16)

C+:

Arrival (November '16)

Love & Friendship (June '16)

The Girl On The Train (October '16)