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, Denis Villeneuve’s epic sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two, George Miller’s Fury Road prequel Furiosa, and Jane Schoenbrun’s festival favorite I Saw the TV Glow would be at the top of the list as they appeared on a dozen of 19 informal ballots. Among all mentioned films, Challengers (Luca Guadagnino), Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass), The Beast (Bertrand Bonello), Janet Planet (Annie Baker), Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), and Hit Man (Richard Linklater), and Red Rooms (Pascal Plante) rounded out the top ten.
In terms of the next half of the year, Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu has the most local buzz, with 12 of 19 critics on the edge of our seats for the latest take on the vampire. Close behind it in the anticipation index was Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora and Osgood Perkins’s horror thriller Longlegs. The rest of the top ten most eagerly-awaited films include festival premieres and upcoming thrillers like Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola), Alien: Romulus (Fede Alvarez), Nightbitch (Marielle Heller), MaXXXine (Ti West), and The Substance (Coralie Fargeat), and Deadpool and Wolverine (Shawn Levy), and Trap (M. Night Shyaalan).
Below, find each critic’s responses to our poll. See you at the movies!
Blake Peterson (425)
Favorites
- I Saw the TV Glow
- The Beast
- Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
- Red Rooms
- Challengers
Coming Attractions
- Anora
- MaXXXine
- The Shrouds
- Good One
- Megalopolis
Brent McKnight (The Last Thing I See)
Favorites
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Kill
- She is Conann
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Red Rooms
Coming Attractions
- Havoc
- Longlegs
- The Substance
- Take Cover
- Nosferatu
Calvin Kemph (The Twin Geeks)
Favorites
- I Saw the TV Glow
- The People’s Joker
- Evil Does Not Exist
- Janet Planet
- Love Lies Bleeding
Coming Attractions
- Nosferatu
- Alien: Romulus
- Longlegs
- The Wild Robot
- Trap
Favorites
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Good One
- Janet Planet
- Fancy Dance
- A Real Pain
Coming Attractions
- Longlegs
- Nosferatu
- Nightbitch
- Trap
- Alien: Romulus
Collier Jennings (Collider)
Favorites
- Dune: Part Two
- I Saw The TV Glow
- Ultraman Rising
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Coming Attractions
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Twisters, Transformers One
- Nosferatu
- Wolfs
Joe Hammerschmidt
Favorites
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Challengers
- Dune: Part Two
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Ghostlight
Coming Attractions
- The Wild Robot
- Nosferatu
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Megalopolis
- Alien: Romulus
Josh Bis (The SunBreak)
Favorites
- Challengers
- La Chimera
- Dune: Part Two
- Thelma
- A Quiet Place Day One
Coming Attractions
- Anora
- Nightbitch
- Nosferatu
- Parthenope
- Queer
Justin Moore (Justin Watches Movies)
Favorites
- Dune: Part Two
- Abigail
- The Bikeriders
- The Fall Guy
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Coming Attractions
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Alien Romulus
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Joker: Folie à Deux
- Nosferatu
Kathy Fennessy (Seattle Film Blog)
Favorites
- Janet Planet
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Evil Does Not Exist
- The Beast
- Red Rooms
Coming Attractions
- The Substance
- Anora
- Emilia Perez
- Maxxxine
- Longlegs
Marc Morin (TheTwoOhSix)
Favorites
- Immaculate
- Inside Out 2
- A Quiet Place: Day One
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Sing Sing
Coming Attractions
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Alien: Romulus
- Red One
- Moana 2
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Matt Oakes (Silver Screen Riot)
Favorites
- Dune: Part Two
- Challengers
- It’s What’s Inside
- Bob Trevino Likes It
- The Coffee Table
Coming Attractions
- Anora
- MaXXXine
- Nosferatu
- The Substance
- Longlegs
Morgen Schuler (The SunBreak)
Favorites
- Dune: Part Two
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Thelma
- Ultraman
- Sebastian
Coming Attractions
- Twisters
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
- Moana 2,
- Nosferatu
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
René Sánchez (Cine Sin Fronteras)
Favorites
- Anora
- Challengers
- Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
- I Saw the TV Glow
- The Substance
Coming Attractions
- Crossing
- Nosferatu
- Pedro Paramo
- The Room Next Door
- Wicked
Sara Michelle Fetters (MovieFreak)
Favorites
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Ghostlight
- Hit Man
Coming Attractions
- The Fire Inside
- Longlegs
- Megalopolis
- Nightbitch
- Nosferatu
Sean Gilman (The Chinese Cinema)
Favorites
- Baby Assassins: 2 Babies
- Evil Does Not Exist
- In Our Day
- Hit Man
- I Saw the TV Glow
Coming Attractions
- Baby Assassins: Nice Days
- Caught by the Tides
- Megalopolis
- A Traveler’s Needs
- Eephus
Taylor Baker (Drink in the Movies)
Favorites
- The Beast
- Coup de chance
- Good One
- Civil War
- Hit Man
Coming Attractions
- Presence
- Megalopolis
- Untitled the Weeknd & Trey Edward Shults Project
- Anora
- Oh, Canada
Thomas Stoneham-Judge (For Reel)
Favorites
- Dune Part Two
- Hit Man
- It’s What’s Inside
- A Real Pain
- A Quiet Place Day One
Coming Attractions
- Nightbitch
- Longlegs
- Cuckoo
- Anora
- Trap
Vaughn Swearingen (Step Printed)
Favorites
- The Beast
- Evil Does Not Exist
- Challengers
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Chime
Coming Attractions
- Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
- Alien: Romulus
- The Substance
- Anora
- The Shrouds
Warren Cantrell
Favorites
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Dune: Part Two
- Tuesday
- Janet Planet
- Sting
Coming Attractions
- Nosferatu
- Nightbitch
- Kill
- Megalopolis
- MaXXXine