There are only six of those titles left that I feel I am certain to see, which are Moonage Daydream, Till, Aftersun, God's Creatures, Is That Black Enough For You? and Babylon. On the list but unavailable by then is Women Talking, the latest from Sarah Polley. Also on that list, but movies I talked about possibly watching with my wife (and others in our family), are My Father's Dragon and Black Adam, neither of which may get watched in time. I only want to force my wife to watch one movie in the next ten days and that's Moonage Daydream, since she's a big Bowie fan.
Then there are two movies on the list that are only available as a $19.99 rental, and when it comes down to it, that's going to be a reason for me not to watch them, given how many choices I have.
The first, as you have guessed, is Spoiler Alert, which I only just learned about for the first time in the past few weeks. This has been a good year for gay characters at the movies between Bros and Fire Island and The Whale, but the movie isn't available in Australian cinemas, so my only choice is the premium rental fee. Sorry, Spoiler Alert.
The second is Bones and All, from a director who made one of the most beloved movies about gay characters in recent years, that being Call Me By Your Name. I point that out only as a coincidence, since I don't believe there are any gay themes in this film (though there is Timothee Chalamet). In this case I did have access to see this, and I could probably still find it in Australian cinemas -- so it's possible this will get watched, if I have time to get out to see it. But not by $19.99 rental.
Then you have some others in the larger list that I could watch at an inflated rental price, like The Inspection, which I only just learned existed with the Golden Globe nominations. Sorry, Inspection.
Seriously Red is actually not available for rental via U.S. iTunes at any price, but I could rent it through Amazon Prime in Australia -- for $24.99 AUD. Considering that I didn't prioritize this either when it was in theaters, that's a big no.
The thing that could challenge this approach to finishing my list is that I actually don't know what the rental prices will be for Aftersun and Till. iTunes advises me that both are becoming available for rental on January 17th, as both are currently only available for $19.99 purchase. Becoming available for rental after a period where only purchase was possible often means a semi-premium rental price, like $6.99, though it could be the full $19.99. I don't know if I will rent Till at the full $19.99 price, if that's what it is, but I will have to do it with Aftersun, since there's a consensus that this is one of the best films of the year.
I had hoped not to be concerned about rental price as I reached my deadline, but my house in California is still not fully sold. There has been a delay in our latest attempt to sell it (the first sale fell through) that could push the closing past my ranking deadline. With that kind of uncertainty hanging over our heads, it's best if I make smart choices and not toss away $20 US on movies I will watch one time.
But one of the other reasons I can use rental price to guide my remaining choices is that I still have so many of them from my larger watchlist. I am steadily whittling it down, but it still has a formidable 85 titles, including those already mentioned as well as at least ten that are not coming out until 2023.
For anywhere from free on one of my streamers to no more than a $6.99 rental, I can still watch the following:
Athena
Margrete: Queen of the North
Warriors of the Future
Emily
Call Jane
Meet Cute
Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter
Bad Axe
Dead for a Dollar
Speak No Evil
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
Mr. Harrigan's Phone
Breaking
Slumberland
Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul.
I Came By
Goodnight Mommy
Sharp Stick
Inu-Oh
Mad God
Paris, 13th District
Benediction
Something in the Dirt
The Pez Outlaw
Incredible But True
Vengeance
Playground
Mothering Sunday
A Chiara
The Forgiven
Both Sides of the Blade
The Deer King
Belle
The 355
So yeah, I have plenty to choose from. (And if you want to put in a vote for any of these over any of the others, would love it if you would leave a comment.)
It'll get me well over 170, and will be a new record. It's finally sort of almost time to reveal the list.
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