Wicked

Adapting the first act of the much loved and acclaimed stage musical of the same name, Wicked tells the story of how Elphaba and Galinda would end up becoming The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are not only perfectly cast as Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, but also provide the movie's biggest strength through their chemistry. Their performances, as wells the rest of the cast, are phenomenal and give well choreographed and fun numbers. The movie is well put together thanks to director Jon M. Chu and how he stays true to the musical's story, best helped by the fact that Winnie Holzman, the co-creator of the original production, wrote the film's script with Dana Fox. All three provide such an incredible and detailed exploration of the Land of Oz while making their inhabitants larger than life and relatable. Its writing manages to handle whimsical magic, colorful settings, prejudice, government corruption, and secret surveillance really well. Stephen Schwartz, the other co-creator of the musical, and John Powell work together to transfer the songs to better fit their film adaptations as well as a beautiful and vibrant score that uses riffs from the songs themselves. The cinematography from Alice Brooks can often be criticized due to feeling overly lit and a bit pasty, but once the movie gets to Emerald City and the reveal of magic disappearing it does make sense why it had that look. Since Oz was loosing its magic it was represented by making the land look plain and normal, but once at Emerald City it was more colorful to represent how it was trying to present itself as magical despite not actually being. Even after over a century of various adaptations, Wicked proves that the Land of Oz will always have a special place in people's hearts. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Wicked

3. The Wild Robot

4. Saturday Night

5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

6. Deadpool & Wolverine

7. Transformers One

8. A Quiet Place: Day One

9. Inside Out 2

10. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

11. The Fall Guy

12. MaXXXine

13. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

14. Abigail

15. Monkey Man

16. Late Night with the Devil

17. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

18. Alien: Romulus

19. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

20. The Book of Clarence

21. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

22. Drive-Away Dolls

23. Joker: Folie à Deux

24. Kung Fu Panda 4

25. Lisa Frankenstein

26. Argylle

27. Venom: The Last Dance

28. Mean Girls 2024

Top New Shows of the 2010s

2010                                                                          2011

1. Sym-Bionic Titan                                                  1. American Horror Story

2. Boardwalk Empire                                                2. Green Lantern: The Animated Series

3. Young Justice                                                        3. The Looney Tunes Show

4. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated                     4. New Girl

5. The Walking Dead                                                5. Falling Skies

6. Conan                                                                   6. Portlandia

7. The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes              7. Once Upon a Time

8. Ben 10: Ultimate Alien                                         8. The Kennedys

9. Victorious                                                             9. Terra Nova

10. MAD                                                                   10. The Amazing World of Gumball

Honorable Mentions:                                               Honorable Mentions

Tower Prep                                                               Austin & Ally

Hawaii Five-0 2010                                                 Jessie

Pretty Little Liars                                                     Grimm

Blue Bloods                                                              Hell on Wheels

Nikita                                                                        Revenge

2012                                                2013

1. Hatfields and McCoys                 1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

2. The Legend of Korra                   2. Under the Dome

3. Gravity Falls                               3. Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited

4. Arrow                                           4. Rick and Morty

5. Ben 10: Omniverse                      5. Bates Motel

6. DreamWorks Dragons                 6. Sleepy Hollow

7. Revolution                                    7. Hostages

8. Awake                                           8. Mom

9. Elementary                                   9. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

10. Tron: Uprising                           10. The Following

Honorable Mentions:                       Honorable Mentions:

Alcatraz                                            Liv and Maddie

Common Law                                   Beware the Batman

Nashville                                          The Americans

The River                                          The Fosters

The Mindy Project                            The Blacklist

2014                                                                  2015

1. The Flash                                                      1. Daredevil

2. Gotham                                                         2. The Man in the High Castle

3. 24: Live Another Day                                   3. Ash vs Evil Dead

4. Fargo                                                            4. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

5. Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond      5. Better Call Saul

6. How to Get Away with Murder                     6. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

7. From Dusk till Dawn: The Series                 7. Documentary Now

8. Madam Secretary                                          8. Agent Carter

9. Star Wars Rebels                                           9. The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore

10. The Spoils of Babylon                                 10. Jessica Jones

Honorable Mentions:                                        Honorable Mentions:

Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero                              Fear the Walking Dead

The Last Ship                                                    Supergirl

The Librarians                                                 Sense8

The 100                                                             The Last Man on Earth

NCIS: New Orleans                                         Killjoys

2016                                                        2017

1. Stranger Things                                  1. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

2. The Good Place                                  2. A Series of Unfortunate Events

3. 11.22.63                                              3. Ozark

4. American Crime Story                        4. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

5. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee        5. Mindhunter

6. Luke Cage                                           6. Legion

7. Preacher                                             7. 13 Reasons Why

8. Voltron: Legendary Defender             8. Feud

9. Designated Survivor                           9. DuckTales 2017

10. Class                                                 10. Santa Clarita Diet

Honorable Mentions:                             Honorable Mentions:

The Great                                               The Sinner

Milo Murphy's Law                                Brockmire

This Is Us                                               Castlevania

Lucifer                                                    The Punisher

Shades of Blue                                        Future Man

2018                                                                                               2019

1. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman  1. Chernobyl

2. The Terror                                                                                  2. The Mandalorian

3. Waco                                                                                           3. Infinity Train

4. The Haunting                                                                             4. Fosse/Verdon

5. Barry                                                                                          5. Watchmen

6. Manifest                                                                                     6. I Am the Night

7. The Rookie                                                                                 7. Swamp Thing

8. Black Lightning                                                                          8. The Act

9. Disenchantment                                                                         9. Creepshow

10. The Alienist                                                                              10. Catch-22

Honorable Mentions:                                                                     Honorable Mentions:

9-1-1                                                                                               Helluva Boss

The Last O.G.                                                                                 Hazbin Hotel

Trust                                                                                               What We Do in the Shadows

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina                                                      The Righteous Gemstones

2010s

1. Chernobyl

2. Stranger Things

3. The Mandalorian

4. Infinity Train

5. Daredevil

6. The Man in the High Castle

7. The Good Place

8. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

9. 11.22.63

10. The Flash

11. Fosse/Verdon

12. Watchmen

13. American Horror Story

14. Sym-Bionic Titan

15. I Am the Night

16. Ash vs Evil Dead

17. Gotham

18. Boardwalk Empire

19. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman

20. American Crime Story

21. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

22. Young Justice

23. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated

24. The Walking Dead

25. Conan

26. 24: Live Another Day

27. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

28. Hatfields and McCoys

29. The Legend of Korra

30. Gravity Falls

31. Fargo

32. The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

33. The Terror

34. Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

35. Swamp Thing

36. Under the Dome

37. Waco

38. Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited

39. Rick and Morty

40. The Haunting

41. Barry

42. A Series of Unfortunate Events

43. Ozark

44. Luke Cage

45. Arrow

46. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

47. Preacher

48. The Act

49. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

50. Better Call Saul

Honorable Mentions:

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Mindhunter

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Manifest

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Documentary Now

How to Get Away with Murder

Designated Survivor

Creepshow

Class

Agent Carter

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore

Jessica Jones

Legion

Bates Motel

Feud

DuckTales 2017

The Rookie

Black Lightning

Ben 10: Omniverse

The Looney Tunes Show

Mom

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Star Wars Rebels

Venom: The Last Dance

Sony's third entry in its Venom focused series with Tom Hardy, Venom: The Last Dance, sees Eddie Brock and his unhinged symbiote travel to New York to prove his innocence after being framed for what happened in the last movie. It won't be easy as they're hunted down by creatures sent by Knull, the creator of the symbiotes trapped by them in a prison that can only be opened by the duo, and the American military who wants to experiment and use the alien entity. By this point, taking any of these films seriously is not the best way to watch, and especially with this third entry with its rather thin plot compared to the last two but Kelly Marcel's writing and direction knowing it works best by being over the top, silly, and rather stupid. The action scenes are well done while also being incredibly energetic and unhinged at times, especially with some unique symbiotic abilities that give the film really great visual effects. Even when the films get stupider, Tom Hardy still gives a fun and engaging performance, equal parts portmanteau farce and near emotional breakdown. Newer cast members like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple also provide strong performances, but in a more serious way that makes Hardy really stand out. For a final entry in a trilogy, it does feel like not having Michelle Williams and Reid Scott return feel a bit empty. And by adding a big character like Knull with a post credit scene and played by Andy Serkis feels redundant for a final entry. Venom: The Last Dance may be a very stupid movie, but it's a very stupid movie that knows how to have fun. Over all: 75%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Saturday Night

4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

5. Deadpool & Wolverine

6. Transformers One

7. A Quiet Place: Day One

8. Inside Out 2

9. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

10. The Fall Guy

11. MaXXXine

12. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

13. Abigail

14. Monkey Man

15. Late Night with the Devil

16. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

17. Alien: Romulus

18. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

19. The Book of Clarence

20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

21. Drive-Away Dolls

22. Joker: Folie à Deux

23. Kung Fu Panda 4

24. Lisa Frankenstein

25. Argylle

26. Venom: The Last Dance

27. Mean Girls 2024

Saturday Night

Depicting, though with some liberties in terms of the show's history and production for story purposes, the 90 minutes before Saturday Night Live's debut, Saturday Night takes a look at the absolute chaos that occurred just before the show's live premiere. Jason Reitman's love letter to the long running sketch show, released a year before its 50th anniversary, focuses on Lorne Michaels as he goes through rehearsals, Chevy Chase's ego, NBC's meddling, and disgruntled crew members before the show went live on the night of October 11, 1975. Between Reitman's numerous uses of long unbroken shots with scenes of characters walking as they talk and his and Gil Kenan's quick back and forth dialogue, the film definitely has a touch of Aaron Sorkin. Seeing all the troubles the show went through really makes you appreciate how it all could have gone wrong, between the higher executives having no faith and John Belushi nearly quitting with just a few minutes left. The writing's biggest strength is how it managed to pull off a solution to these problems, many of them thanks to Lorne's quick thinking. Gabriel LaBelle's leads an impressive cast all playing the original cast and crew who all play them to perfection. While a decade younger than when Lorne actually created the show, LaBelle is astounding and captures a combination of the creator's anxiety and belief in what he's creating. Cory Michael Smith captures Chevy's ego to perfection, Matt Wood is perfect as John Belushi, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster is wonderful, and Finn Wolfhard has a fun time as a page trying to get people to see the show. The production design does an amazing job at capturing the look and design of how the show's original stage felt. Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid's editing definitely helps in giving the movie a very Aaron Sorkin-vibe to it. Serving as both the composer and a supporting role playing Billy Preston, the show's first musical guest, Jon Batiste gives the movie a two way in both a great score befitting the era while performing Preston's classic Nothing from Nothing while everyone prepares in the last few minutes before airing. Everyone involved with Saturday Night did a magnificent job in not only making a great movie, but a wonderful love letter to a beloved staple of American television. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Saturday Night

4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

5. Deadpool & Wolverine

6. Transformers One

7. A Quiet Place: Day One

8. Inside Out 2

9. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

10. The Fall Guy

11. MaXXXine

12. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

13. Abigail

14. Monkey Man

15. Late Night with the Devil

16. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

17. Alien: Romulus

18. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

19. The Book of Clarence

20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

21. Drive-Away Dolls

22. Joker: Folie à Deux

23. Kung Fu Panda 4

24. Lisa Frankenstein

25. Argylle

26. Mean Girls 2024

Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips's sequel to his 2019 hit, Joker: Folie à Deux follows Arthur Fleck's time in Arkham and his eventual trial after the events of the first film. This time around Fleck meets his match with the arrival of Lee Quinzel, a fellow inmate whose infatuation with each other turns this entry into a musical at times. One can't deny the uniqueness to this movie, both as a sequel and a comic book adaptation, whether or not it helps or hurts it. Whereas the original was a psychological crime thriller, this followup acts more like a prison drama with bits of a courtroom drama alongside big musical numbers akin to Broadway shows. Instead of focusing on Fleck committing crimes and finding ways to get away with them, we're instead given a look into his infamy and psychological state, and whether or not he's truly the legendary lunatic he made the people of Gotham believe he was. The writing from Phillips and Scott Silver is both fascinating and often frustrating at times due to a combination of factors like not just going in and redoing what came before, their method of not always giving straight answers can often feel alienating, all the while their way of telling the fans of the first movie why they were wrong to connect with Fleck at all does often try too hard to get its message across, and how it handles the returning characters alongside new ones is definitely strong though with rough flaws. Returning as Arthur, Joaquin Phoenix still gives a strong performance and manages to add a touch of vulnerability even when Arthur tries to go back to his Joker persona to seem tough. Lady Gaga's take on Harley Quinn is really good, making her manipulations seem so believable while having pretty good chemistry with Phoenix. What helps this entry be memorable is its musical moments namely for the combination of popular songs that fit what's happening onscreen alongside Hildur Guõnadóttir's score, the choreography by the cast, the atmospheric cinematography from Lawrence Sher, and the patient editing by Jeff Groth. Yes, Joker: Folie à Deux is a very unique movie, but often that uniqueness is often what hurts it in its favor. Over all: 89%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

4. Deadpool & Wolverine

5. Transformers One

6. A Quiet Place: Day One

7. Inside Out 2

8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

9. The Fall Guy

10. MaXXXine

11. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

12. Abigail

13. Monkey Man

14. Late Night with the Devil

15. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

16. Alien: Romulus

17. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

18. The Book of Clarence

19. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

20. Drive-Away Dolls

21. Joker: Folie à Deux

22. Kung Fu Panda 4

23. Lisa Frankenstein

24. Argylle

25. Mean Girls 2024

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot is an adaptation of a 2016 novel about a service robot named Roz who gets stranded in an island and in an attempt to fulfill its duty by befriending the animals, ends up taking care of a gosling that Roz accidentally orphaned. This DreamWorks feature is an absolutely beautiful work of art all thanks to everyone involved in its production. While DreamWorks announced this will be their last animated film made in-house, they at least gave it their all with CGI that captures a very traditional and watercolor style similarly to classic Disney and Hayao Miyazaki. Chris Sanders as director and writer manages to take story elements that have been told numerous times before in such a way that neither feels cliche nor forced. Both the story and characters are well fleshed out, are given time to establish themselves, and tell great themes regarding families and individuality. The cinematography from Chris Stover does an incredible job at showing off the incredible animation regardless of how much light or darkness there is. While the editing done by Mary Blee doesn't do the usual thing of most animated films and go from one scene to another, as instead it lets you take in scenes by not cutting from one angle to another until it's necessary. Kris Bowers's score is an absolute delight, being able to seamlessly change from comical to tough drama when needed. And of course the cast, led by Lupita Nyong'o alongside Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Hsu, all give such powerful vocal performances. With the book The Wild Robot is adapted from also having sequels, they're gonna have to pull off a miracle considering how incredible this movie is. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

4. Deadpool & Wolverine

5. Transformers One

6. A Quiet Place: Day One

7. Inside Out 2

8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

9. The Fall Guy

10. MaXXXine

11. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

12. Abigail

13. Monkey Man

14. Late Night with the Devil

15. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

16. Alien: Romulus

17. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

18. The Book of Clarence

19. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

20. Drive-Away Dolls

21. Kung Fu Panda 4

22. Lisa Frankenstein

23. Argylle

24. Mean Girls 2024

Transformers One

The first theatrical film in the franchise since the first one in 1986, Transformers One is separate from the live action films since 2007 and tells an original story of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became who they are. While Michael Bay still serves a producer, the feel and tone are absolutely different from the previous entries that came before. The animation from Industrial Light & Magic is incredible, especially with its mix of modern and Generation 1 era character design from when the franchise first started. Director Josh Cooley puts together a well crafted and thoroughly enjoyable love letter to the origins of these characters. The script is put together thanks to Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari who manage to take an overdone franchise and give writing that makes the now 40 year old characters seem fresh, an often untold aspect of the franchise's mythology an epic take, and manages to know when drama and comedy should be well placed. But the biggest praise to their writing definitely goes to Megatron as so much of his fall to evil is so complex and very mature in ways no one would have expected from an animated family film. It wasn't just the writing though, as without Brian Tyree Henry's performance then it wouldn't have worked as well. He makes the role his own, while adding certain inflections from Frank Welker's original as the movie goes. The same goes for Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, who manages to grab that special charm that Peter Cullen is best known for. While the rest of the cast, including Jon Hamm, Scarlett Johansson, and Keegan-Michael Key all give great supporting performances. While the live action films can often be fun, Transformers One easily outshines all of them and needs to be seen as a step in the right direction for the franchise. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

4. Transformers One

5. A Quiet Place: Day One

6. Inside Out 2

7. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

8. The Fall Guy

9. MaXXXine

10. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

11. Abigail

12. Monkey Man

13. Late Night with the Devil

14. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

15. Alien: Romulus

16. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

17. The Book of Clarence

18. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

19. Drive-Away Dolls

20. Kung Fu Panda 4

21. Lisa Frankenstein

22. Argylle

23. Mean Girls 2024