{"id":28695,"date":"2022-01-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=28695"},"modified":"2022-12-27T17:08:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T22:08:02","slug":"craigs-2021-best-movies-books-and-posts-lists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=28695","title":{"rendered":"Craig&#8217;s 2021 Best Movies, Books, and Posts Lists!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/stallonezone.com\/zone\/2022\/z010122bestoftheyear.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">End of the Year lists are fun and so I decided to compile a few of my own. I hope you enjoy them. B<\/span>elow is my Best Of list for 2021&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Movies and Limited Series<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2021, I watched 372 movies. Most were streamed. The only film I saw in a theater was <em>Rocky vs Drago<\/em>, Sly Stallone&#8217;s Director&#8217;s Cut of <em>Rocky IV<\/em>. Although the total movies watched was less than last year, it was still nearly double of what I saw prior to retiring.\u00a0 My favorite films and limited series released in 2021 included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Army of the Dead<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Blood Brothers: Malcolm X &amp; Muhammad Ali<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>No Sudden Move<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drago Director&#8217;s Cut<br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Midnight Mass<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Who Killed Malcolm X?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong style=\"font-size: inherit; text-align: justify; color: var(--text-color); font-family: var(--text-font);\">Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2021, I read 39 books (5 more than last year). Prior to retiring I usually read about 20 &#8211; 24 per year so the increase is a good sign that I&#8217;ll some day make it through my book cases of \u201cto be read\u201d books.\u00a0 My favorites from this year included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Revelators<\/span> by Ace Atkins<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Winter<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Counts<\/span> by David Heska Wanbli Weiden<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Two<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">in<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Head<\/span> by Eric Beetner<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">She<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Rides<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Shotgun<\/span> by Jordan Harper<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Paradise<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sky<\/span> by Joe Lansdale<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Blacktop<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Wasteland<\/span> by S.A. Cosby<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Razorblade<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Tears<\/span> by S.A. Cosby<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Heathens<\/span> by Ace Atkins<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Driver<\/span> by Hart Hanson<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">My<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Darkest<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Prayer<\/span> by S.A. Cosby<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>My Most Popular Posts of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I continue to find some surprises in what became my most popular posts each year. Here are the top ten for 2021 and some thoughts for each&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=4368\">Michael Biehn Talks \u201c<em>Tombstone<\/em>\u201d<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; broke into the top ten. I&#8217;m not surprised due to the continuing popularity of <em>Tombstone<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>09. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=21654\">Jack Benny in \u201c<em>Casablanca<\/em>\u201d<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; dropped from the 7th spot to the 9th. I love that Jack Benny is still popular enough to make the top ten for the year since I consider him very under-rated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>08. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=7137\">Gadot &amp; The Rock Strike a Pose<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Two of the most popular movie stars in the world together? Yep and that&#8217;s why they came in at #8.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>07. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=19037\">Top 10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Villains<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 dropped from #5 to #7 for the year. Horror movie posts remain popular but maybe a bit less this year than last year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>06. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=24976\">The Girl Who Didn&#8217;t \u201cFlinch\u201d Trailer is Here!<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; This one surprised me more than any other post. A crime film from a director and cast I didn&#8217;t know and it not only made the top ten most popular posts of the year but also nearly made the top 5.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>05. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=23355\">Rare \u201c<em>Batman<\/em>\u201d Screen Tests: Lyle Waggoner &amp; Peter Deyell and Adam West &amp; Burt Ward<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; I love that this one got a lot of love this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>04. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=21557\">Dracula Through the Ages<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was our 4th most popular post last year. Horror movies always get love and Dracula counts (see what I did there) as horror.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>03. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=9713\">Louis Meyers: Evidence He was the Zodiac Killer<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; came in the #2 spot last year. Real life horror trumps fictional this time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>02. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=12078\">Schwarzenegger in \u201c<em>King Lear<\/em>\u201d &amp; Robin Williams in \u201c<em>Jack and the Beanstalk<\/em>\u201d<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was our most popular post last year and clocks in at #2 this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>01. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=28652\"><em>The TWILIGHT ZONE<\/em> New Year\u2019s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out!<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was the most popular post of the year and surprised me almost as much as <strong>The Girl Who Didn&#8217;t \u201c<em>Flinch<\/em>\u201d Trailer is Here!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>My All-Time Most Popular Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There weren&#8217;t many changes on the All-Time Most Popular Posts list. One post managed to break through while the others mostly stayed in their same spots. Let&#8217;s see how things shook out&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=21557\">Dracula Through the Ages<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; made it into the top ten!<\/p>\n<p><strong>09. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=7137\">Gadot &amp; The Rock Strike a Pose<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was in the 9th spot last year and remained there this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>08. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=8782\">Real Clown or Horror Movie Clown?<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was in the 7th spot last year and dropped to 8.<\/p>\n<p><strong>07. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=7527\">Joel Osteen in Jacksonville<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; dropped one spot from 6th to 7th.<\/p>\n<p><strong>06. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=19037\">TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS!<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; moved up 2 spots from 8 to 6 this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>05. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=10028\">Steve Reeves as Superman<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was the #5 all-time most popular post last year and continues to be this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>04. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=10811\">New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was the #4 all-time most popular post last year and continues to be this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>03. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=5653\">Zodiac Killer Code Cracked?<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was the #3 all-time most popular post last year and continues to be this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>02. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=9713\">Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was the #2 all-time most popular post last year and continues to be this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>01. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=12078\">Schwarzenegger in \u201cKing Lear\u201d &amp; Robin Williams in \u201cJack and the Beanstalk\u201d<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; was #1 last year and continues to be our most popular post of all-time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It&#8217;s always interesting to see which topics resonate with fans and continue to be popular long after their initial post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>End of the Year lists are fun and so I decided to compile a few of my own. I hope<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,52,17,51,72,53,63,54,65,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors","category-books","category-celebs","category-crime","category-history","category-horror","category-humor","category-movies","category-trivia","category-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28695"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31420,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28695\/revisions\/31420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}