The Difference Between "Favorite" and "Best" in Regards to Film

Hello all!
Little late on the post today, but either way, here it is! So unlike all my other posts, we aren't going to be talking about specific films, but more of film in general. Around this blog, you will see me use the words "best" and "favorite" a lot, usually bolded, and especially in my top (number) count-downs. Just to clarify what I mean when I make favorite vs best lists, here are the differences.



When I talk about best, which is less common than when I talk about favorite, I mean the overall better film. The mechanics, the style, the general stuff about the process of film making, is superior. Or maybe there was something in specific that stood out, such as an actor's performance that threw it over the edge. For example, my favorite movie of 2014 was "Guardians of the Galaxy", but I do not think that it is the best film. There are some discernible flaws that you can nitpick, and therefore it is not best. The best movie of 2014, in my opinion, was "Whiplash". Think of best as what critics talk about. Critics are not reviewing films in regards to "favorite". It may sound "snobby" at times, but it's their job. These films typically are the things that will get nominated for the Academy Awards and stuff. So to summarize, the "best" film is the film that excelled in all of the specific parts of creating a movie, while not necessarily putting a large emphasis on entertainment value.

You will hear me write about favorite films a lot. I've already done it twice, most recently with my Harry Potter film countdown. Almost always, favorite films are still good movies, but they may not be absolutely perfect ones. These movies have rewatchability value, and are generally more entertaining. Most of these films are never nominated for any big awards, due to them attempting to not make a masterpiece, but just trying to entertain people for two hours. 

However, these two are not polar opposites. They can interlock easily. For example, the best Lord of the Rings film is also my favorite Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King. There is nothing wrong with liking movies that seem to be for "snobby" people. That's the awesome thing about movies. There's no definitive "best" movie out there, it's all opinion. 

This was just a very tiny post to clarify exactly what the difference is between my "Best" and "Favorite" count-downs. I will usually bold the word so you can clearly see what it is. Thanks for reading!