The year’s already at the halfway point. To mark the occasion, we checked in with members of the Seattle Film Critics Society for their favorite films of the year (so far) as well as their most anticipated titles yet to come.
If we were assembling a Best Picture ballot for the first half of the year, Celine Song’s SIFF-opener Past Lives and the dazzling animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson) would be at the top of the list. Other big favorites include John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chad Stahelski), Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt), R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu), Asteroid City (Wes Anderson), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (James Gunn), Walk Up (Hong Sang-soo), Sanctuary (Zachary Wigon), and One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Lรธve).
In terms of the rest of the year, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has the most local buzz, with 16 of 19 critics eager to see the Cannes premiere arrive on our shores. Close behind in the anticipation index were Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two (11 mentions) and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (10 mentions). Other films on the lists of at least three respondents were Napoleon (Ridley Scott), Barbie (Greta Gerwig), Challengers (Luca Guadagnino), The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer), and Leave the World Behind (Sam Esmail), and Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos).
Below, find each critic’s responses to our poll. See you at the movies!
Aaron White (Feelin’ Film)
Favorites
- The Eight Mountains
- Past Lives
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- You Hurt My Feelings
- Sanctuary
Coming Attractions
- Oppenheimer
- Barbie
- Dune: Part Two
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Challengers
Favorites
- Past Lives
- Skinamarink
- Showing Up
- How to Blow Up a Pipeline
- R.M.N.
Coming Attractions
- All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt
- The Zone of Interest
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Dune: Part Two
- Leave the World Behind
Erik Samdahl (FilmJabber)
Favorites
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Evil Dead Rise
- Missing
- Air
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Dune: Part Two
- Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- Oppenheimer
Joe Hammerschmidt (Warm 106.9)
Favorites
- Past Lives
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Air
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- Dune: Part Two
- Next Goal Wins
- How Do You Live?
Josh Bis (The SunBreak)
Favorites
- Past Lives
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Asteroid City
- You Hurt My Feelings
- The Eight Mountains
Coming Attractions
- Barbie
- Challengers
- Dune: Part Two
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning
Kathy Fennessy (Seattle Film Blog)
Favorites
- Showing Up
- The Five Devils
- Past Lives
- One Fine Morning
- The Eight Mountains
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- The Killer
- Poor Things
- Eileen
Matt Lynch
Favorites
- The Plains
- Asteroid City
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning
- Extraction 2
Coming Attractions
- Dune: Part Two
- Oppenheimer
- The Killer
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Napoleon
Matt Oakes (Silver Screen Riot)
Favorites
- Past Lives
- Sanctuary
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Evil Dead Rise
- Beau is Afraid
Coming Attractions
- Dune: Part Two
- Poor Things
- Oppenheimer
- Talk to Me
- Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael Clawson (Drink in the Movies)
Favorites
- Return to Seoul
- Showing Up
- One Fine Morning
- The Plains
- R.M.N.
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Afire
- Trenque Lauquen
- May December
- Anatomy of a Fall
Morgen Schuler (The SunBreak)
Favorites
- Joy Ride
- The Worst Ones
- Return to Seoul
- Asteroid City
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Coming Attractions
- Dune: Part Two
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
- Wonka
- The Color Purple
- The Marvels
Rene Sanchez (Cine Sin Fronteras)
Favorites
- Huesera: The Bone Woman
- Of An Age
- Past Lives
- Showing Up
- A Thousand and One
Coming Attractions
- The Creator
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Last Voyage of the Demeter
- Napoleon
- Priscilla
Ryan Bordow (Sitting in the Cinema)
Favorites
- R.M.N.
- Walk Up
- Showing Up
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Sonne
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Zone of Interest
- Leave the World Behind
- Barbie
- How Do You Live?
Ryan Oliver (The Good the Bad and the What)
Favorites
- How to Blow Up a Pipeline
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Infinity Pool
- Beau is Afraid
Coming Attractions
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Dune: Part Two
- Poor Things
- Oppenheimer
- Challengers
Sara Michelle Fetters (MovieFreak)
Favorites
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Huesera: The Bone Woman
- Monica
- The Park
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Coming Attractions
- The Creator
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Last Voyage of the Demeter
- Napoleon
- Priscilla
Steve Reeder
Favorites
- Subtraction
- When It Melts
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- A Thousand and One
- Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Coming Attractions
- Oppenheimer
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Maestro
- Dune: Part Two
- Napoleon
Taylor Baker (Drink in the Movies)
Favorites
- Beau is Afraid
- R.M.N.
- Magic Mike’s Last Dance
- Asteroid City
- The Beasts
Coming Attractions
- Oppenheimer
- Ferrari
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Napoleon
- Maestro
Sean Gilman (the Chinese Cinema)
Favorites
- Walk Up
- Hidden Blade
- Full River Red
- Fist of the Condor
- John Wick: Chapter 4
Coming Attractions
- White Storm 3
- In Water
- In Our Day
Thomas Stoneham-Judge (For Reel)
Favorites
- Past Lives
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Sanctuary
- The Flash
- Linoleum
Coming Attractions
- The Zone of Interest
- Leave the World Behind
- The Way of the Wind
- Breathe
- The Critic
Warren Cantrell (Scene-Stealers)
Favorites
- Living
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- One Fine Morning
- Sick of Myself
- Extraction 2
Coming Attractions
- Barbie
- Oppenheimer
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Dune: Part Two
- Napoleon