Witney Seibold Presents The Best Horror Films of the Millennium!

Movies are only a century old, but they've shaped our perspective of history by turning the past into a living, breathing reality. And that reality is often terrifying.

In his latest article for Bloody-Disgusting, Witney Seibold presents The Best Horror Films of the Millennium, highlighting the greatest scary movies that take place every century, from A.D. 1,000 to A.D. 2000!

Read: Witney Seibold Presents The Best Horror Films Set Within Each Century at Bloody-Disgusting!

Top Photo: Criterion

William Bibbiani Ranks All the 'Child's Play' Movies!

Chucky the killer doll has been committing heinous acts of murder for over 30 years now, and that means - with the release of the new remake of "Child's Play" - the time has come to look his whole franchise!

Check it out, because William Bibbiani has ranked all of the "Child's Play" movies, from the original to the weirdo sequels to the remake, this week at The Wrap!

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks the "Child's Play" Movies at The Wrap

Top Photos: United Artist

William Bibbiani Ranks All The Theatrically-Released Stephen King Movies!

Stephen King isn't just a prolific horror author, he's a cultural force, defining the nightmares and nostalgia for his readers all over the world. 

His work has been adapted to film and television for decades, and with remakes of King's classic film adaptations now dominating the box office, William Bibbiani is looking back at his many great theatrical releases... and also his many awful ones. He's ranking all 41 of the official Stephen King movies (barring TV adaptations, serialized adaptations, and the many sequels which had nothing to do with his original work), up to and including the latest version of "Pet Sematary!"

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks All the Stephen King Movies at The Wrap!

Top Photos: Paramount / Warner Bros.

William Bibbiani Ranks All the Disney Live-Action Remakes!

Disney's lucrative business plan, of remaking all their animated classics in big-budget live-action (or arguably live-action) productions, has led to an extremely uneven series of films! In his latest article for The Wrap, William Bibbiani is ranking every single live-action Disney remake, from the 1994 version of "The Jungle Book" that nobody talks about, to contemporary smashes like "The Jungle Book," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Dumbo!"

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks All the Disney Live-Action Remakes at The Wrap!

Photos: Disney

William Bibbiani Talks Movie Posters on "All Things Considered"

William Bibbiani guest stars on NPR's "All Things Considered" this week, to talk about the latest posters for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," why they're enduring such harsh criticism, and the role that movie posters play in a marketplace where social media seems to drive the conversation, instead a rectangular piece of art.

Listen: William Bibbiani Talks About the Role Movie Posters Play in the Digital Age on "All Things Considered"

Photo: Sony Pictures

Witney Seibold Picks the Best Films of 2018!

I repeat this mantra every year: Choosing the best films of the year is the best part of a critic's job. Ranking them is the worst. Most interested readers want to know what a given critic's #1 film was, of course, and most critics are willing to do their due diligence in providing one, but ranking beyond that seems largely arbitrary; who cares what your 7th best is in comparison to your 5th?

So, as a favor to myself, I have elected to forgo a stringent ranking system this year, proving readers instead with a more general list of some great films I managed to see this year. Not only does this free me from having to pit unlike films against one another (most films aren't necessarily comparable in any empirical sense), but it also allows readers to explore more freely the enormous gaggle of excellent features released in 2018.

William Bibbiani Picks The Best Movies of 2018!

To say that 2018 was a hard year would be an absurd understatement, but as always, the movies were here to guide us. The best films of the year were often insightful, politically charged, and humane works of art that brought difficult stories to life in soul-nourishing ways. There were also some great horror movies, hilariously silly comedies, and a couple of superhero movies that are bound to go down in history as some of the best examples of the genre.

As always, narrowing the list of the best movies of the year is a pointless exercise, so I arbitrarily cut my list off at twenty, and I compensated listed a ton of runners up. I am nothing if not long-winded.

It's also worth nothing that there are a handful of critically acclaimed motion pictures that I still haven't seen, but that I plan to get to at some point in the future, including "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," "The Rider," "Shoplifters" and "Burning." So if you have a favorite film that is nowhere to be seen below, consider the possibility that I haven't seen it yet, and feel free to leave me a comment or tweet at me (@WilliamBibbiani) to make sure I know about it.

Without any further ado, these are my picks for the best movies of 2018!

William Bibbiani's Top 12 Christmas Horror Movies

'Tis the season for love, kindness, and - if you're a horror fan - subversive murders! The tradition of the Christmas horror movies goes back nearly 50 years, and film critic William Bibbiani has seen an awful lot of them, including some films that have never been released in America, and some that still haven't been released on DVD.

In his latest article for IGN, William Bibbiani presents his picks for the 12 must-see Christmas horror movies. You can probably guess that "Gremlins" and "Black Christmas" made the cut, but can you guess which amazing cult films also made the cut?

Read: William Bibbiani's Top 12 Christmas Horror Movies at IGN

Top Photo: Amicus

William Bibbiani Ranks All Eight Adam McKay Movies

Adam McKay has had one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood, rising through the ranks of "Saturday Night Live," directing some of the funniest movies of the century with films like "Anchorman" and "The Other Guys," and then segueing into the realm of pointed political commentary with the Oscar-winning "The Big Short" and the new Dick Cheney biopic "Vice."

In his latest list for The Wrap, William Bibbiani looks over Adam McKay's entire feature directorial career and ranks all eight of his movies, including the straight-to-video re-edit of "Anchorman" that was exclusively available at Best Buy.

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks All Eight Adam McKay Movies at The Wrap

Top Photo: Paramount Pictures

Witney Seibold Asks: Did the Events of 'Infinity War' Hurt 'Black Panther's' Oscar Chances?

"Black Panther" is, domestically, the highest-grossing film of 2018, and when it was released back in February there was immediate talk about its potential Oscar chances. As the year progressed - and this happens often - the "buzz" surrounding the film seems to have died down a skosh, even though the affection for the film hasn't seemed to abate one whit. 

At IGN, Witney Seibold looks at the strange ebbing of "Black Panther's" Oscar buzz, addressing the way fantastical superhero films tend to leave the Academy cold, and comparing "Black Panther's" narrative directly to the tale of "Wonder Woman" from just last year. Two superhero films, both revolutionary in their own ways, both surrounded by affection and buzz, and yet both ultimately undone - perhaps - by the events of their direct sequels ("Avengers: Infinity War" and "Justice League" respectively). 

Read: Did the Events of 'Infinity War' Hurt 'Black Panther's' Oscar Chances?

Top Image: Marvel/Disney

Witney Seibold Talks About 'Batman Returns'

Since 2015, Witney Seibold has worked as a projectionist for the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, CA. The New Beverly is a theater devoted to the preservation and pristine presentation of 35mm and 16mm film, celebrating century-old film technology as well as old-fashioned grindhouse theater experience with something approaching a religious reverence. 

The New Beverly 'blog has attracted several high-profile writers and deep-cut film enthusiasts to contribute to its pages, and Witney has managed to work his way into its pages from time to time, writing about films that will play at the New Beverly. 

This month, the New Beverly will be showing "Batman Returns," Tim Burton's dark, twisted, kinky revisitation of his 1989 mega-hit. In his essay for the NewBev, Witney talks about the film's weird designs, its celebration of outsider-hood, and the notion of putting a superhero in a noir universe, a place where heroes typically don't exist. 

Read: Witney Seibold Discusses "Batman Returns" on The New Beverly 'Blog

Top Image: Warner Bros.

William Bibbiani Presents The Worst Product Placements in Movie History

Lots of movies take advantage of "product placement," the practice of highlighting specific products in movies to make money, but some films do it better than others. And some films do it very, very, VERY badly.

In his latest list at IGN, William Bibbiani presents his picks for the worst product placements in movie history, featuring Superman, Supergirl, Rambo, lots of superheroes and a whole bunch of Adam Sandler movies!

Read: William Bibbiani Presents The Worst Product Placements in Movie History at IGN

Photo: Columbia Pictures

William Bibbiani Looks at the History of World War II Horror Movies

Julius Avery's "Overlord" might very well be the ultimate World War II horror movie... but it's hardly the first. In his latest article at IGN, film critic William Bibbiani guides you through the history of horror movies set in and around the events of World War II, with ghosts and killer puppets and lots and lots and lots of Nazi zombies!

Read: William Bibbiani Writes "The Road to Overlord: When Horror Mixes With World War II Movies" at IGN

Top Photo: Blue Underground

William Bibbiani Presents 14 Remakes That Are Better Than The Original

Every week, Hollywood announces a big remake of a classic (or not so classic) motion picture. And every week, people complain that Hollywood has run out of ideas, and that they're ruining classic films. And every week, people seem to forget that there are a lot of movie remakes that aren't just good but actually surpass the originals.

William Bibbiani provides 14 examples of remakes that are better than the originals, in his latest article at IGN!

Read: William Bibbiani Presents "14 Remakes That Are Better Than The Originals" at IGN

Top Photo: Columbia Pictures

Happy Halloween: It’s William Bibbiani’s Favorite Spooky Music Videos!

I was recently asked to write a review of “Elvira’s MTV Halloween Special” and I was delighted to discover that it concluded with Elvira hosting her favorite spooky music videos. It reminded me that there was a time when MTV vj’s were considered the coolest people on television, and many was the time I fantasized about being gainfully employed as a hip trendsetter whose whole job was to say what music video was about to be played next.

Years went by and I grew up, and discovered that I just wasn’t cool. Also, MTV fell into a stinky quagmire of pointless, non-musical programming. But the fantasy remained and it’s been reawakened. So, inspired by Elvira, I’ve decided to share with you my own favorite (not necessarily the best) spooky music videos to watch and enjoy on Halloween. 

William Bibbiani Decides: Is 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' a Christmas Movie or a Halloween Movie?

There was a time when "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was considered too odd to categorize. The stop-motion animated film sprang from the mind of Tim Burton but came to the big screen courtesy of Henry Selick, and tells the story of a skeleton named Jack, who lives in Halloweentown, but who gets burnt out on the spooky holiday and decides to take over Christmas instead. The songs were bizarre, the imagery was ghoulish, and although it had obvious kid appeal it was considered too freaky to be family-friendly when it first came out 25 years ago.

Nowadays, long after people finally got used to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and embraced its harmlessly eerie oddness, the only issue we seem to have is whether it's technically a Christmas movie or technically a Halloween movie. Debates rage every year whether it's more of one or more of another, and in his latest article for IGN, William Bibbiani examines both sides of the argument and comes to a decisive conclusion.

Yes, obviously it's both, but if you really think "The Nightmare Before Christmas" has to be more focused on one holiday than the other, Bibbs has the answer.

Read: William Bibbiani Decides If 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is a Christmas Movie or a Halloween Movie

Top Photo: Disney

Witney Seibold Declares 'The Death of FilmStruck is a Terrible Thing'

The unexpected demise of FilmStruck, a digital streaming service offering high quality art house, classic and cult films from The Criterion Collection and Warner Archive, has left the motion picture industry and its fans reeling. Touted as the streaming service for real connoisseurs, which could act as a proper archive for important motion pictures, FilmStruck seemed likely to become a valuable, permanent institution.

But... no more. In his latest editorial at IGN, Witney Seibold bemoans the loss of FilmStruck and considers just how difficult it's going to be for film fans to access these films in the future.

Read: Witney Seibold Declares 'The Death of FilmStruck is a Terrible Thing'

Top Photo: FilmStruck

Five Films William Bibbiani Likes That Other Critics Hated

[The following article was sponsored and assigned by our Patreon subscriber Richard Franzwa. To learn how to sponsor and assign articles to William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold for publication at Critically Acclaimed, visit our Patreon page.]

“And it is here,” as Witney Seibold recently wrote, “That I lose you.”

One of the (many) problems with the modern age of film criticism is that websites like Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic have created the illusion of a consensus. The idea that is that if a large percentage of critics like a movie, it must be great, and if a large percentage of critics dislike it, it must be bad. And that’s just not how subjective opinions work.

The point of criticism isn’t to create an objective reality out of subjective opinion. The point is to share our subjective opinions as eloquently and informatively and entertainingly as possible. If everyone had the same opinion, we wouldn’t need everyone to chime in. We need outliers to challenge our collective understanding of the art form, and to stir up new conversations about film. 

William Bibbiani Ranks All The 'Halloween' Movies

The "Halloween" series has been going strong for decades now, despite odd missteps, bizarre plot twists, total retcons and even a completely unrelated installment involving haunted masks. 

In his latest article at The Wrap, William Bibbiani walks you through all twelve of these "Halloween" movies, including the reboots, the weird spin-off and the massively different Producer's Cut of "Halloween 6." 

How does the new "Halloween" retcon stack up against the originals, and those bizarre other entries? Let's find out!

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks All the "Halloween" Movies at The Wrap

Top Photo: Universal Pictures

William Bibbiani Presents The Most Consistent Horror Movie Franchises Ever

It's hard to make one great horror movie, but it's extremely hard to make a whole bunch of relatively decent ones in a row. Some of the best horror movies ever made were followed up by some truly terrible sequels, after all. If you love a franchise you want it to stay good, at least relatively, for as long as possible. And the list of horror movie franchises that pulled off that feat is pretty danged short.

So here that list is!

In his latest article for IGN, William Bibbiani presents his picks for film franchises that never took a major dip in quality, including "Final Destination," "Tremors" and only one of the long-lasting slasher series. Some of these sequels or prequels may be better than others, but they're all pretty darned entertaining, so you don't have to be ashamed of liking the whole series!

Read: William Bibbiani Presents "Horror Movie Franchises That Never Stopped Being Entertaining"

Top Photo: New Line Cinema