Introducing The Annual Best Of The Year Tournament

Starting in 2026, we will be beginning a fun new system to determine what the best movie of the year is. On top of the usual deliberation we do every year in January, we are also going to hold a seeded tournament-style contest to see what the best movie of the year is.

Each month, an article will go up ranking the films we cover across the various podcasts. The film that ranks at number one (or highest if a new release is not the number one film in a month) will earn an automatic bid into the seeded tournament. The final four seeds will be the four best movies to not make the top slot each month.

Tomorrow will be the first ranking for the second automatic bid but this idea came after January's ranking would have come out. Rather than do a separate ranking (especially since there were so few options) we are just going to announce the winner of the best movie released in January of movies we covered.

The winner is H is for Hawk.

H is for Hawk is a solid film about processing grief that is carried beyond the ordinary by an incredible performance by Claire Foy. The way she illustrates the ways depression can manifest itself beyond the stereotypical is phenomenal, and the film's commitment to taking this unapologetic look is something truly special. You can check out our full review on Beware of Spoilers.