Dear Movie Lover and MPW Listener,

Our favorite time of year has arrived! It’s time to compile the Top 10 Best Movies of 2018! We have been doing this sacred episode for years now: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

For those who are new to our podcast, each of our hosts compiles a Top 10 Movies of the Year (along with some other lists), and we ask our listeners to join the fun by submitting their lists, as well. We gather all the listener submissions and compile their data to create one collective Top 10 list from our listenership! It’s a blast!

We hope you will participate because this year we will randomly select the name of one person who submitted a Top 10 list and send that lucky winner a $50 Amazon gift card! So, please read the instructions below and send your list, and you might win!

Every year we receive more and more submissions. Last year compiling the lists was nearly the death of me (Jason), so I have devised a very slick and simple system (simple for me) for quickly and easily compiling your lists. But it will only work if you will submit your list in a specific format.

I say this lovingly: You must follow the instructions, or your list WILL NOT be added to the collective, and you will NOT be eligible to win the $50 Amazon gift card. (Sorry.) Please follow the instructions below with exactness (because my new tabulating system won’t work unless everyone does it exactly the same way).

SNEAK PREVIEW:
Before you start reading the instructions below (and then give up and stop reading), your final list submission should look something like this block of text below. (The following instructions explain everything, so please read all of them.)

12 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
10 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
9 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
8 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
7 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
6 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
5 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
4 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
3 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
GP – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
LF – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

Here are the instructions:

0. Please send your lists in the body of the email. I don’t like to open attachments.

1. Year of Release – In the past, we have fought ad nauseam about how to determine a film’s official year of release. We have realized that our community will never reach a consensus, so follow your heart and your conscience. We will honor ALL submissions that adhere to the formatting rules below. (FYI: Most of the hosts of this podcast use IMDb’s first U.S. WIDESPREAD release as the film’s official year of release. Here’s an example:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6269368/releaseinfo – In this example, Nov. 16, 2018 would be the official release date for “The Clovehitch Killer.”

P.S. You should definitely include this film among your considerations…)

In short, we will not waste any time bickering about Year of Release.

2. Email your list to MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com.

3. Your email subject line must read, “Top 10 Movies of 2018.”

4. The DEADLINE for submitting your list is Wednesday, December 26, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. (Later submissions will not be counted.)

5. Here are the list categories and a brief description of what they mean:

Top 10 Movies of 2018 – Your “top” films can mean whatever you want it to mean: Your personal favorite? Best? Most important? Most memorable? Doesn’t matter. Just pick the 10 foremost films that stand-out to you for 2018.

Five Honorable Mentions of 2018 – These are basically your 11 through 15. The ones that just barely missed your Top 10 list.

Single Best “Guilty Pleasure” Movie of 2018 – This should be a film that you’re a little sheepish to admit that you dug it. A pleasant surprise. You know it’s not necessarily “a good movie,” but you still enjoyed it. These movies might be frowned upon or dismissed by critics, but you found it entertaining and liked it, anyway.

Three Biggest Disappointments / Heartbreaks of 2018 – These are the top three movies that you had the highest hopes or expectations for and it dashed those hopes and let you down. These aren’t necessarily bad movies. They just “weren’t as good as they should have been.”

Three Most Overrated Movies of 2018 – These are the top three movies that everybody else seemed to love and praise, but you just didn’t get all the hype or the love.

“Sour Milk Movie” or Your Personal Least Favorite Movie of 2018 – This is replacing “The Worst Damn Movie of the Year.” Our opinions are subjective, anyway, so there’s no need to be vicious about somebody’s life work. People dedicate years of their lives and take serious financial risks, even when the end product turns out to be terrible. However, I see nothing wrong with simply stating that a movie wasn’t your cup of tea. Wasn’t for you. You didn’t enjoy the experience.

Most Anticipated Movies of 2019 – List all the movies slated for 2019 release that you’re most excited to see.

How It Works:

For our Top 10 lists, obviously our No. 1 pick is our best / favorite movie of the year, and accordingly, No. 10 is our 10th favorite. We give the rankings value by weighting them with a point system, like so:

12 points = 1.) Best Movie of the Year
10 points = 2.) Second best, etc.
9 points = 3.)
8 points = 4.)
7 points = 5.)
6 points = 6.)
5 points = 7.)
4 points = 8.)
3 points = 9.)
2 points = 10.)

— — — — Honorable Mentions — — — —

1 point = 11.
1 point = 12.
1 point = 13.
1 point = 14.
1 point = 15.

Yes, the No. 1 pick gets an extra point for being No. 1.

I am going to use an alphabetizer to help me organize and tabulate the listener “votes,” so here is the format you need to use for your list.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: You will send ALL submissions in one block (as you see below). One movie per line. No spaces between lines. I’ve just broken the sections up here to explain it more clearly. See the bottom of this blog post for an example of the final formatting.)

FORMAT FOR TOP 10 AND HONORABLE MENTIONS:

12 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
10 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
9 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
8 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
7 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
6 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
5 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
4 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
3 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

Please note the point value number first. Then a space. Then a hyphen. Then a space.

Movie’s IMDb Title – We all need to write the title of the film the same way, so please use the main film title exactly as it appears on IMDb.

Examples)
The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story
Eighth Grade

For your name, you can use any variation of these options. Just keep it consistent throughout:
Jason Pyles
Jason P.
Jay of the Dead
J-Flexx
Jason in Utah
Jason from Salt Lake City
Etc.

You don’t have to write out your last name or identify your city. You can use an online alias.

So, here’s an example of what my MPW list from 2013 would look like with this format:

12 – Out of the Furnace – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
10 – Gravity – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
9 – Captain Phillips – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
8 – The Imposter – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
7 – Zero Dark Thirty – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
6 – The Place Beyond the Pines – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
5 – The Impossible – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
4 – Oblivion – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
3 – You’re Next – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
2 – Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
1 – 42 – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
1 – Disconnect – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
1 – Elysium – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
1 – Hours – Jason P. in Salt Lake City
1 – Insidious: Chapter 2 – Jason P. in Salt Lake City

FORMAT FOR GUILTY PLEASURE MOVIE:
GP – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

FORMAT FOR THREE DISAPPOINTMENTS / HEARTBREAKS:
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

FORMAT FOR THREE MOST OVERRATED:
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

FORMAT FOR LEAST FAVORITE:
LF – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

FORMAT FOR 2019 MOST ANTICIPATED: (Submit 10 or fewer)
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

**OPTIONAL**
The following is totally optional, but we would love to be able to share some of our listeners’ thoughts about *YOUR TOP 15 MOVIES ONLY.*

You are welcome to submit a separate section where you share some brief thoughts (50 words or fewer). Please follow the format below:

Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name – This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is exactly what 50 words look like.

Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name – This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is exactly what 50 words look like.

Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name – This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is what 50 words look like. This is exactly what 50 words look like.

**Obviously, this should go without saying, but unless you’re MPW’s “A Guy Named Andy,” then you should ONLY submit films that you have actually seen…

Conclusion:
When you send your email, it should look something like this:

Subject Line: Top 10 Movies of 2018

12 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
10 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
9 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
8 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
7 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
6 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
5 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
4 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
3 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
1 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
GP – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
DH – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
MO – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
LF – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name
2019 – Movie’s IMDb Title – Your Name

Note: You’re also welcome to submit your Top 10 Horror Movies of 2018 list to our sister show, Horror Movie Podcast. The Horror categories / instructions are here.

We’ll look forward to your picks!
Movie Podcast Weekly