Thoughts, gameplans, goals as we approach the 2018 community vote

[blu blood]

I spaced on the vote for 2013 and 2015, in 2014 and 2016 I barely made it to the minimum number of movies to vote.

For 2017 I managed 44 movies before the vote, as of last night(Hearts Beat Loud) I'm at 37 2018 releases and today I just added another 30 some odd movies to my Prime Watchlist including Venom and Predators, but mostly indies: Skate Kitchen, Love After Love, Nancy, The Endless etc.

What are your goals before ballots are due in about two months? What have been your biggest surprises? Biggest disappointments? What movies are out there to stream for free or cheap that people might not know and need to see?

Not asking for anyone's provisional ballot, just some thoughts, count me among those who look forward to the vote every year and I hope this year has more voters than ever before!

[Foggy]

As far as I’m concerned, get the major awards contenders out of the way and just stuff I’ve wanted to see. I tend to keep up with everything I want to see over the year anyway, so it’s not such a problem for me but I do understand why people who like to avoid theatres have problem with the end of year poll.

It might be a good idea to use this thread to try and collect together a list of what 2018 films are available on streaming for people who may be struggling to hit their 20 this year.

[Jasonic]

I currently have 93 movies watched from the year, and yet I still feel like I am behind. Probably because a lot of the ones I've yet to see are award contenders. Just haven't been able to get out and see many of them. Between not having the time, having been sick for a couple key weeks, and currently not having my own car. Also don't like going to the theatre I work at to see movies, and it's the only theatre in the chain that has certain limited release movies. Hopefully I'll get to all the ones I want to see by the end of voting.

[Cremildo]

I only managed to see the film that I considered the best of 2017 months after the community voting had closed.

[The Debts]

Something I hope not to happen (but will anyway) is for a movie to wind up on a particular ranking and for certain people to throw a hissy fit about it. I expect films like Hereditary and Black Panther to be the biggest victims in this regard.

[Hucksta G]

I have a list of over 90 films seen and have a list of over 70 films still to see haha

[LegacyCosts]

I saw like nothing the whole year, this might be the first year I don't get to vote since I joined. Bummer. Hope I can see a few more to at least throw votes in for Mandy and Annihilation.

[CelluloidPal]

I have some Blu-rays of stuff I've either missed or intentionally waited for said Blu-ray. I still have Ocean's 8 on my desk right now.
Next, since the next few weeks will be close to nothingness in theaters, I can play catch up there as well.
Found a few surprises in Free Solo, Alpha, The Grinch, Hotel Transylvania 3, Bad Samaritan and Superfly while major disappointments came in The Front Runner, The First Purge and Gringo.
I took a few chances with a few movies I wouldn't have seen otherwise, thanks to A-List and Sinemia (MoviePass, to some extent). Thanks to those programs, I saw Red Sparrow, Truth or Dare, Equalizer II, Peppermint and Happytime Murders...and got burned by all of them.
Hopefully, it'll be enough before the voting kicks in.

[jacobsever]

I've seen more films this year than I did in 2017. I'm currently at 148 films. Realistically, there's probably 5-10 movies I want to see before locking in my list. Some are out, some aren't.

The Rider
Lean on Pete
If Beale Street Could Talk
Roma
Shoplifters
Cold War
Happy as Lazzaro
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Madeline's Madeline

Those are probably the only movies I haven't seen, that have a solid chance at entering my Top 25. I have no worries about catching up to all of them by mid-February.