But once you're a few days before Christmas, all it takes is a late-running Christmas party one night and a Survivor season finale the next night to throw you into a bit of a panic.
That's two straight nights without watching a movie, and when all the year-end lists and Golden Globe nominations are coming in, that turns the slow play into a fast sprint.
It's just over a month until the Oscar nominations are announced, and that's when I close off my list -- with oh so much still to watch. I haven't even seen Killers of the Flower Moon yet!
I considered not watching the Survivor finale last night, after we got home too late Wednesday night for me to do anything but watch a 39-minute episode of The Crown, during which I still fell asleep. But in my Survivor pool I still had two of the final five contestants, meaning there was (hypothetically) a 40% chance I would win $200 on my $20 investment. Spoiler alert: I did not win. (Spoiler alert retracted: you have no idea which contestants I had.)
Whether I watched the movie in this poster last night or end up watching it tonight, it looks like some drastic action is called for.
The Holdovers is a movie I would usually wait on. It releases in Australia on January 11th, well before my deadline.
The reasons I will probably watch it tonight, meaning I will need to spend $19.99 on a rental from iTunes, are twofold:
1) I have a feeling it will come up on the super-sized episode of Filmspotting in which the two hosts and two friends of the show will all reveal their top ten of the year. That episode drops in the next few days and I usually try to listen to it between Christmas and New Year's. I have never seen all the prestige films I hope to watch by the time I listen to this episode, but I do also like their choices to act as confirmation of my own rough draft of my list. The more movies I haven't seen that they like, the less there is of that -- and the more chance I have to be biased by what they've said, even if they don't delve into each movie with deep discussions.
2) If The Holdovers is going to contend for my top spot, I'll want to sit with it for a few weeks before enshrining it thus.
Because that's the other thing about 2023: Right now, my #1 is totally up for grabs. The movie I have slotted in there is a movie I love, of course -- you can't have seen 130+ movies in a given year and not love at least one of them -- but it is certainly not the movie I expected to be in this spot at this time of the year. If it finishes there, it will have earned it, but it needs to face off against some tough competition in the coming weeks. Such as:
Poor Things.
Priscilla.
Dream Scenario.
Anatomy of a Fall.
And yes, Killers of the Flower Moon, which I will eventually carve out the four hours and 78 minutes to watch.
The Holdovers is a logical thing to keep an eye on. Alexander Payne has made my top ten three times as a director, most recently with About Schmidt, and people say it's one of his best.
It grinds my gears to have to pay $19.99 for a rental, in part because we were trying to be a bit modest on Christmas spending this year (didn't happen) and in part because I just think that's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a rental. Then again, the other option is not being available for home viewing at all, meaning I'd have to wait those additional 20 days until it hits Australian cinemas.
But I'm chucking $19.99 out the window on a regular basis during December, buying stocking stuffers with no idea whose stocking they'll be stuffed in, a "collect it all now and sort it out later" mentality that overtakes many of us this time of year. At least spending 20 bucks on The Holdovers accomplishes a tangible goal for me, even if I don't end up loving it. Knowing you don't love something is valuable information to have as well.
Besides, the fewer theatrical commitments I have in January, the better. My wife is pretty good about letting me get out to movies I need to see, even in periods of increased activity, but the permission isn't granted without a small roll of the eyes, which I'd always rather avoid.
So probably The Holdovers tonight, before I potentially shift into Christmas-themed viewings over the next couple days. (Oh yeah, and then there was the fact that I learned, only just yesterday, that The Holdovers is actually set during the holiday season, giving me all the more reason to bump it up my list.)
It's a panicky time of year anyway, all this not being sure you got enough or the right gifts for everyone, and that you have all the food ingredients you need for Christmas lunch. You just gotta jam it all in.
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