March 25, 2018

The 4th Annual CineMunchies: The Films & Scenes of the Year

March 25, 2018/ CineMunch

And now for the final envelope!

We dished about our favorite films of 2017 in our Top Ten podcast, and then we awarded the first batch of our 4th Annual CineMunchies to the performances of the year, so now it's time to throw the last bit of earth on the cinematic grave of 2017 with the CineMunchies honoring the best scenes of last year at the movies.

To determine our collective top ten films of 2017, we attributed points based on our personal rankings, and those with the most points became our honorees. For other categories, we used a combination of secret ballot, tea leaves, and martini-fueled caucusing.

Cheers to another year of cinematic superlatives!

March 17, 2018

The 4th Annual CineMunchies: The Performances of the Year

March 17, 2018/ CineMunch

With the 90th Annual Oscars in the rear-view mirror, it's high time we put a cherry on top of the sh*t sundae that was 2017 with our 4th Annual CineMunchies! Honoring our favorite films and performances from the previous year, below you'll find the first half of our awards, crowning the best (and worst) performances the cinematic year had to offer. Our individual Top Ten lists were revealed in the latest CineDrunk podcast, so read on and listen in to find out which lucky actors netted a coveted CineMunchie this year.

For our acting awards, we attributed points based on our personal rankings, and those with the most points became our honorees. For other categories, we used a combination of secret ballot, tea leaves, and martini-fueled caucusing.

Cheers to another year of cinematic superlatives!

March 04, 2018

Final 2017 Oscar Predictions

March 04, 2018/ CineMunch

At long last, the time has come! The 90th Annual Academy Awards will be held this evening, marking the conclusion of this lengthy movie awards season (made slightly longer this year by the Winter Olympics)! [...Except for the all-important 4th Annual CineMunchies which we will bestow next week.] Here at CineMunch we've ranked our favorite films of 2017 and we know who we're rooting for tonight, so it's time to double down on some final predictions.

We've seen some intense battles of late in Oscar's biggest category, Best Picture, but this year truly is the craziest I've ever seen. We thought Gravity vs. 12 Years a Slave (2013) was close; we can presume Birdman vs. Boyhood (2014) came down to the wire; Spotlight overtaking The Big Short and The Revenant (2015) was a welcome surprise; and then there was last year's shocker. At this time a year ago, I wrote about how the suspense of that Oscar night was not to be found inside the final envelope (boy was I wrong) as La La Land seemed to be an unstoppable behemoth...and I think we can recall how that played out -- congrats again, Moonlight! So while Best Director and all four acting awards look set in stone, the night's biggest prize is still so up in the air that there are realistically FIVE Best Picture nominees that stand a good chance of being named 2017's MVP.

So settle in, mix yourself a cocktail (we'll be starting with Kaluuya's Kahlúa in honor of Get Out from our Oscar Menu), and follow along with our predictions below! For more (snarky) commentary and up-to-the-minute analysis (provided our television cooperates this year), be sure to follow us on Twitter @CineMunch.

February 18, 2018

CineDrunk: Best of 2017 - Top Ten Lists

February 18, 2018/ CineMunch

While we're happy to have 2017 behind us, we did find some comfort and joy in movie theaters throughout the year. We managed to take in more than 100 films from 2017, so it's high time to rank and debate the best of them. Have a listen to the latest CineDrunk below to find out which movies made our personal top ten lists, and mix yourself up an accompanying cocktail!

The Bittersweet Ruin

2 oz gin
1 oz pear nectar
0.75 oz Amaro Montenegro

Combine gin, Amaro, and pear nectar in cocktail shaker and stir. Serve in rocks glass with ice.

Also listen and subscribe to CineDrunk on Apple Podcasts.

January 23, 2018

2017 Oscar Nominations Reactions

January 23, 2018/ Matt

The nominations for the 90th Annual Academy Awards have arrived, and The Shape of Water swam away with the most nominations at thirteen. Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk was semi-close behind with eight mentions, followed by Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri with seven. There were relatively few shocks on hand, though not many saw the (much deserved, though unexpected) embrace of Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread coming.

Have a listen to our initial thoughts on this morning's announcement below (fair morning: we spend the last ten minutes discussing/debating our dislike of a certain film featuring billboards), and don't forget to subscribe to our CineDrunk podcast on iTunes. Read on for a list of the nominations and predictions results.

January 22, 2018

Final 2017 Oscar Nominations Predictions

January 22, 2018/ Matt

Hallelujah! Christmas morning* has finally arrived!

*Christmas morning = Oscar nominations morning, obviously, as we anxiously await to see who Santa (AKA the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) gifted with a shot at a shiny trophy and who gets coal in their stocking.

The 90th Annual Academy Awards nominations will be announced Tuesday morning in two segments, one at 8:22am ET and the other at the precise time of 8:38:30am ET (you can view a live stream of the announcement via the Oscars website).

2017 was a real roller coaster (in all regards), but what started as a truly dreadful year in film ended on a positive note with a lot of quality films released in the last few months of the year. Here at CineMunch we will be rooting hard for Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, and Lady Bird, and very much NOT rooting for Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (though expect to hear all of those films called out multiple times). I didn't take too many risks with my predictions, though this definitely feels like a year in which Oscar could throw us some major curveballs. And I, for one, am excited to find out!

Read on for my final nominations predictions.

October 08, 2017

2017 Fall Movie Preview: Most Anticipated Films

October 08, 2017/ CineMunch

The days of pumpkin spice and cinema for grown-ups are upon us! The year in film so far has been incredibly disappointing, but we've found some cautious optimism when looking ahead to the remainder of 2017. Below you'll find the twenty movies we're most eager to see - for better (Call Me By Your Name) or worse (Happy Death Day). Titles link to the film's trailer where available. To see what we were looking forward to in past years (as a basis for our judgment), click here, here, or here. The three most recent Best Picture winners were all featured on those lists, so perhaps one of the twenty below will join that esteemed group (looking at you, Geostorm!).

Now on with the lists, and happy movie-going!