Last Cinema Standing's Year in Review

There are not many tidy ways to sum up a year of cinema. I would not know where to begin looking for a connecting thread between irreverent comedies about bad neighbors and sex tapes and Turkish dramas about stagnating lives and crumbling families. Most movies share little in common except that they played in theaters this year, but at the end of the day, that is what Last Cinema Standing is all about: sitting there in that dark room with a group of like-minded individuals, waiting for the lights to go out, and giving yourself over to a world created by someone else.

I started this site about six years ago with the intent of fostering a love of movie-going and an appreciation for the art of cinema. My contributions to its upkeep have been sporadic at best and non-existent at worst for much of its history, but I always knew I wanted to come back to it. This year, I made the leap and have dedicated a probably unhealthy amount of my time to sharing my thoughts and insights on movies and the people who make them. I hope to continue dedicating unhealthy amounts of time to the site moving forward.

What makes it worth it is you, the readers, those of you who check in frequently and read every post, as well as those of you who have stopped in just once or twice. Thank you for making my shouting into the void feel a little less empty. Month-over-month readership has grown every month since June, an amazing trend by which I am humbled and a trend I hope to continue in 2015. If you know anyone interested in films even casually, send them my way, and I will do my best to engage, inform, and entertain.

The most read story of the year was my coverage of the IFC Center’s tribute to the late cinematographer Gordon Willis, which included a question-and-answer session with some of Willis’ collaborators after a screening of Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo. I have to thank the IFC Center for linking to my coverage on its website, promotion which undoubtedly drew more eyes to the story than I could have on my own.

Also proving popular were the 31 Days of Horror, in which I made recommendations for horror films each day in October leading up to Halloween. I hope to have more daily or weekly features like that this year and plan to continue the debate and discussion on more classic films, in addition to regular coverage of what is playing at your local theaters. As we look forward to the future of film, it is always important to know where we came from and appreciate what we might find in the past.

Tomorrow, we will kick off a week-long celebration of the best 2014 had to offer with a new feature up each day, culminating Friday in the reveal of Last Cinema Standing’s Top 10 Films of the Year. Before that, we will have up lists of the best film quotes of the year, the best performances, and a piece on the best and worst events to happen in the movie world in 2014. I hope you will join us each day to carry on the discussion, and I hope you keep coming back in 2015. Until the last movie plays and the last theater closes, Last Cinema Standing will be here to carry the torch for film lovers everywhere.