2019 Primetime Emmy Ballot

In preparation for Tuesday's impending Emmy nominations, it's time for my yearly ballot of the best TV from the past year. Something that has remained true for a few years now: there are more exceptional comedies than dramas, and the comedy categories are impossible to narrow down while the drama categories have to be seriously stretched. This was also a great year for miniseries and those categories are definitely not afterthoughts as they have been in years past.

Below are my nominee picks in all three genres with each winner in bold. Enjoy!

2018 Dream Oscar Ballot.

And now to wrap up the year and my endless list-making with my 2018 Oscar ballot. The actual Oscar nominations come out next week, and despite what a fantastic year this has been, the chances of their list being truly terrible seem high!

I always have my differences with the Academy, but this year could be worse than ever before as they embrace some real duds and ignore most of the greatest films of the year. But we always hold out hope until the last minute that some of my choices below can make it through. Below are my picks in the major Oscar categories and some extra ones of my own choosing. Enjoy!

The Best Films of 2018.

2018 was an exceptional year for movies. Possibly the best since I started keeping track on this blog. Narrowing this list down to my usual 25 was impossible; some of the movies that just missed could've made it on in another year, and some of the movies just outside the top ten could've moved higher with weaker competition.

Truly, this is a great problem to have. There were so many movies this year I could champion to anyone who would listen. There were so many hidden gems that deserved to be seen by wider audiences who would love them as much as I do. Here, then, is my attempt to round all of that love up into one simple list. Every movie on this list has something special to offer. Enjoy:

The Best TV of 2018.

The Best Music of 2018

2018 Primetime Emmy Ballot

Tomorrow are the 2018 Emmy nominations so I've once again drafted up my favorites in each category for my own personal ballot. Nobody is asking me, but if they would I'd go with the below picks in all the comedy, drama and movie/miniseries categories. Enjoy!

2017 Dream Oscar Ballot.

And now it's time to finish my year-end movie retrospective with my 2017 Oscar ballot! Tomorrow, the Academy will announce its nominations and my guess is there will be some significant overlap with the titles below.  This year presented bountiful options of great and diverse films, and thankfully just a few of the typical baity prestige pictures that clog the way. (Although the SAG Awards last night do not give me too much hope that our winners will overlap in many - if any - categories.)

Below are my picks in the majority of Oscar categories (and as always, a few of my own) from all of the movies I watched in the last year. Enjoy!

The Best Films of 2017.

2017 may have been a shitshow, but the year in film seemed to have a little something for everyone. My best film list has every genre from romantic drama to horror to dark comedy to films dealing with social issues, fantasy, coming of age, and a casual tale of Mother Nature herself (or something).

Overall, the top three films stand out in my mind as the clear masterworks of the year, but it was a solid year all around and I'll think fondly of all of the films below when I look back. Below are the 25 I chose to single out. Enjoy!

2017 Primetime Emmy Ballot

Once again, it's time for my yearly primetime Emmy ballot in anticipation of tomorrow's Emmy nominations. This was another great year for comedy series and not for drama despite the fact that a ton of new dramas premiered. It was also a strong year for miniseries and other event series. This year's nominations could either be a pleasant surprise or a mess depending on which of the new shows the Emmys like and how many they are even watching.

Below are my nominee picks in all three genres (comedy, drama, movie/miniseries) in all the major categories with winners in bold. Enjoy.

2016 Dream Oscar Ballot.

Today we culminate my year of film with my yearly Oscar wishlist for 2016. This year's Academy nominations come out on Tuesday, so in preparation, here is my ballot in the majority of the Oscar categories and a couple of additional ones.

This year's Oscars will hopefully share some major titles with mine, with Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea likely to scoop up a large number of nominations. But at the Patties™ there are plenty of other films that Oscar voters likely won't even consider so here they can finally have their day in the sun! As always, I've extended each category to six contenders, with winners bolded and runners-up italicized. Enjoy!

The Best Films of 2016.

Another year has finished and it's time to list my favorite movies of the year. 2016 was, in many ways, a god awful year. But as far as the year in film, it was mostly pretty good; a little less impressive than last year, but better than the year before that. As per usual, below you'll find the 25 movies I loved the most this year, plus some extra ones and the ones I didn't enjoy so much. 

2016 Primetime Emmy Ballot

Emmy nominations are tomorrow and yet again I am posting my preference ballot in each of the major categories across all three genres for your (but mostly my own) enjoyment. Last year's actual Emmy nominations were pretty decent, so here's hoping that this year's will live up as well. Although, with the sheer amount of television, it seems impossible most of these shows will find away into the elusive club.

Once again, it was a much stronger year for comedy than drama. Overall, it was much harder to narrow down the comedy (and even miniseries) categories, but some of the drama categories required some stretching. But of the many programs I watched that were eligible this year, most of the ones below are ones I would recommend, and even the ones I wouldn't have at least one worthwhile facet that earned them a spot on this ballot.

Below are my personal nominees in most of the major categories in comedy, drama and miniseries/movie. Enjoy!

2015 Dream Oscar Ballot.

For the last piece of the puzzle in completing this year's Best Of lists, I've written up my dream Oscar ballot for 2015. The Academy announces its nominees this Thursday and, while they always get plenty wrong, this year threatens to be particularly egregious. Two of the most beloved and clear masterpieces of the year, Mad Max and Carol, could be honored or mostly left in the dust in favor of some of the year's most generic prestige fare. But not at the Patty's (patent pending) where they and a number of other movies are justly celebrated! Oh, what a lovely day!

As usual, I've extended each category to six rather than five contenders (I'm sure I watch more films than the Academy does) and added a few of my own personal superlatives at the end of the list. The winners are bolded and runners-up italicized. Read below and agree or disagree as desired. Enjoy!

The Best Films of 2015.

The time has come! 2015 has come to an end, and a few days into the new year, after having caught up on the last few titles I was missing, I've decided on my favorite films of the year. This year I managed to catch 110 movies and the year offered more pleasures than I expected. As it stands, instead of doing my usual top 20, I've elected to go to 25 this year to reflect just how great I think the year was. I've ranked them all this year so you know exactly where everything falls into place, but given the quality of the year's films, I can confidently look at all the films listed here and give them a passionate recommendation. So take a look below and enjoy my favorite films of 2015!

2015 Primetime Emmy Ballot

The Emmy nominations are being announced this week and with it comes my yearly attempt to pick my favorites in each category only to watch them be passed over in favor of Downton Abbey in a week. This year, a lot of great shows from last year came to an end, while others simply fell in quality, so much of who showed up below were new picks.

Overall, this was a pretty good year for television, but decidedly uneven in how quality was spread across categories. When comparing the two, it tended to be a stronger year for comedy than drama, although the distinction between the two at these awards has never been more confusing. And it must be said: female performers this year brought it much harder than the men did. Any number of these female categories could have expanded to nine or ten nominees, while coming up with six was difficult for any number of the men's. Meanwhile, this was not by any means a good year for miniseries and tv movies and certainly not enough to justify those categories being as large as they are.

Below are my picks in the Emmy categories I feel I viewed enough in to have an opinion. They stick mostly to Emmy eligibility and category placement, but otherwise are fever dreams compared to what will actually be nominated. Enjoy!