As the end of the year draws near every organization is putting together their top 10 lists for movies, television and more, and few groups have as many eyes peeled to them as the American Film Institute. They have now released their picks for the best movies and TV shows of the year, both featuring a mix of mainstream hits and indie darlings, with movies like BLACK PANTHER, A QUIET PLACE, FIRST REFORMED and THE FAVOURITE landing on the movies side, and THE AMERICANS, BETTER CALL SAUL and MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL having spots on the TV end. As well, a special award will be given to Alfonso Cuaron’s ROMA, a yearly award given to movies made outside the US.
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Like other top 10 lists from organizations like the National Board of Review and the Producer’s Guild of America, the AFI is a solid list to look towards when examining the Oscar race. Every year movies make the list that may not make it to the Oscars (last year WONDER WOMAN and THE BIG SICK didn’t make it to Best Picture), but overall many of the movies on the list are ones that have a great chance of making it to the big show. Notable absences that have strong BP chances are movies like FIRST MAN, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, VICE, WIDOWS and more. However, this year's list is fleshed out with several blockbusters, including PANTHER, A QUIET PLACE, MARY POPPINS RETURNS and A STAR IS BORN.
Meanwhile, the TV end of things has a notable batch of entries, with recurring AFI list makers THE AMERICANS and SAUL having another place, with new shows MAISEL, SUCCESSION and POSE joining the group. The oddest entry out of both lists is the Chuck Lorre series THE KOMINSKY METHOD, earning a spot over other, more acclaimed Netflix shows like HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and GLOW. It’s…it’s a weird choice.
Here are the full lists.
Movies
Special Award: ROMA
TV
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All in all, this is a strong batch of movies and shows to commemorate a strong year in entertainment. On the movies front, this is another outlet showing love for genuine crowd pleasers that would normally exist outside the Oscar radar, namely PANTHER, PLACE and even POPPINS (though the original was nominated for Best Picture). Does this mean they're guaranteed places for Best Picture? No, but does this mean a comic book movie is shaping up to crack the BP race? It's looking that way.