2018 was a very tumultuous year. Not only for the world, but for myself. It seemed like the world came to a standstill while simultaneously going by fast like a bullet. This was the first year where holidays didn't feel like holidays, instead moving by as any other regular day. It seemed very bleak and sad.
But if one thing remained constant, it was the wealth of movies coming to the cinemas every week. While some proved better than others, most of them were good, and some even downright great. Movies proved to the world that no matter what was going on in the world, Movies were here to keep people's heads above water, and that's admirable.
Just like last year, my year in review is the same. First, what I personally thought were the best performances of the year. Next, I give you my overrated and underrated movies of the year. Finally, my extensive list of the best and worst movies of the year. 2018 proved that creativity was prevalent, and hopefully that carries on for years to come.
Best Actor
Mahershala Ali-"Green Book"
Christian Bale-"Vice"
Jason Bateman-"Game Night"
Dave Bautista-"Final Score"
Jeff Bridges-"Bad Times At The El Royale"
Gerard Butler-"Den Of Thieves"
Nicolas Cage-"Mandy"
Steve Carrell-"Welcome To Marwen"
Rafael Casal-"Blindspotting"(TIE)
John Cena-"Blockers"
Timothee Chalamet-"Beautiful Boy"
John Cho-"Searching"
Bradley Cooper-"A Star Is Born"
Tom Cruise-"Mission: Impossible-Fallout"
Daveed Diggs-"Blindspotting"(TIE)
Ben Foster-"Leave No Trace"
Ethan Hawke-"Juliet, Naked"
John Hawkes-"Small Town Crime"
Rami Malek-"Bohemian Rhapsody"
Ewan McGregor-"Christopher Robin"
Jason Momoa-"Aquaman"
Jason Momoa-"Braven"
Viggo Mortenson-"Green Book"
Nick Offerman-"Hearts Beat Loud"
Matti Onnismaa-"Euthanizer"
Keanu Reeves-"Destination Wedding"
Ryan Reynolds-"Deadpool 2"
Nick Robinson-"Love, Simon"
Paul Rudd-"Ant-Man And The Wasp"
Lakeith Stanfield-"Sorry To Bother You"
John David Washington-"BlacKkKlansman"
Bruce Willis-"Death Wish"
Best Actress
Emily Blunt-"A Quiet Place"
Rose Byrne-"Juliet, Naked"
Kiersey Clemons-"Hearts Beat Loud"
Jamie Lee Curtis-"Halloween"
Sarah Davenport-"Little Women"
Cynthia Erivo-"Bad Times At The El Royale"
Elsie Fischer-"Eighth Grade"
Claire Foy-"Unsane"
Mackenzie Foy-"The Nutcracker And The Four Realms"
Lady Gaga-"A Star Is Born"
Jennifer Garner-"Peppermint"
Sally Hawkins-"Paddington 2"
Her Hilmar-"Mortal Engines"
Dakota Johnson-"Suspiria"
Anna Kendrick-"A Simple Favor"
Jennifer Lawrence-"Red Sparrow"
Evangeline Lilly-"Ant-Man And The Wasp"
Blake Lively-"A Simple Favor"
Matilda Lutz-"Revenge"
Rachel McAdams-"Game Night"
Melissa McCarthy-"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Melissa McCarthy-"Life Of The Party"
Melissa McCarthy-"The Happytime Murders"
Thomasin McKenzie-"Leave No Trace"
Kristen Stephenson Pino-"Best F(r)iends"
Natalie Portman-"Annihilation"
Margot Robbie-"Terminal"
Winona Ryder-"Destination Wedding"
Amy Schumer-"I Feel Pretty"
Hailee Stienfeld-"Bumblebee"
Amandla Stenberg-"The Hate U Give"
Tilda Swinton-"Suspiria"
Bella Thorne-"I Still See You"
Bella Thorne-"Midnight Sun"
Alicia Vikander-"Tomb Raider"
Constance Wu-"Crazy Rich Asians"
Odessa Young-"Assassination Nation"
Best Supporting Actor
Jack Black-"The House With A Clock In It's Walls"
Josh Brolin-"Avengers: Infinity War"
Josh Brolin-"Deadpool 2"
Steve Carell-"Beautiful Boy"
Henry Cavill-"Mission: Impossible-Fallout"
Andrew Dice Clay-"A Star Is Born"
Bradley Cooper-"The Mule"
Charlie Day-"Hotel Artemis"
Adam Driver-"BlacKkKlansman"
Josh Duhamel-"Love, Simon"
Dan Fogler-"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald"
Donald Glover-"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Henry Golden-"A Simple Favor"
Henry Golden-"Crazy Rich Asians"
Richard E. Grant-"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Jon Hamm-"Bad Times At The El Royale
Armie Hammer-"Sorry To Bother You"
Kevin Heffernan-"Super Troopers 2"
Chris Hemsworth-"Bad Times At The El Royale"
Russell Hornsby-"The Hate U Give"
Michael B. Jordan-"Black Panther"
Stephen Lang-"Braven"
Matthew McConaghuey-"White Boy Rick"
Simon Pegg-"Terminal"
Jay Pharoah-"Unsane"
Rob Riggle-"Midnight Sun"
Fred Savage-"Once Upon A Deadpool"
Sylvester Stallone-"Creed II"
David Tennant-"Bad Samaritan"
Iko Uwais-"Mile 22"
Best Supporting Actress
Akwafina-"Crazy Rich Asians"
Akwafina-"Ocean's 8"
Zazie Beetz-"Deadpool 2"
Lucy Boynton-"Bohemian Rhapsody"
Neve Campbell-"Skyscraper"
Cher-"Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again"
Emilia Clarke-"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Olivia Cooke-"Ready Player One"
Jennifer Garner-"Love, Simon"
Mia Goth-"Suspiria"
Judy Greer-"Halloween"
Anne Hathaway-"Ocean's 8"(This is highlighted red for some unknown reason, great performance, but not who I picked for clarification)
Vanessa Hudgens-"Second Act"(This is highlighted red for some unknown reason, great performance, but not who I picked for clarification)
Helen Hunt-"The Miracle Season"
Lily James-"Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again"
Dakota Johnson-"Bad Times At The El Royale"
Keira Knightley-"The Nutcracker And The Four Realms"
Katherine Langford-"Love, Simon"
Leslie Mann-"Welcome To Marwen"
Kate McKinnon-"The Spy Who Dumped Me"
Debra Messing-"Searching"
Isabella Moner-"Instant Family"
Bel Powley-"White Boy Rick"
Kaya Scodelario-"Maze Runner: The Death Cure"
Elisabeth Shue-"Death Wish"
Juno Temple-"Unsane"
Tessa Thompson-"Creed II"
Tessa Thompson-"Sorry To Bother You"
Michelle Williams-"I Feel Pretty"
Reese Witherspoon-"A Wrinkle In Time"
Best Vocal Performance
Bill Barretta-"The Happytime Murders"
Brad Bird-"Incredibles 2"
Jim Cummings-"Christopher Robin"
Gal Gadot-"Ralph Breaks The Internet"
Holly Hunter-"Incredibles 2"
Shameik Moore-"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse"
Edward Norton-"Isle Of Dogs"
John C. Reilly-"Ralph Breaks The Internet"
Sarah Silverman-"Ralph Breaks The Internet"
Hailee Steinfeld-"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse"
The Most Overrated Movie Of The Year
"Hereditary"- Critically acclaimed, but why? The movie, a psychological horror flick from the usually reliable A24 started showing red flags when audiences gave it low scores on opening weekend. Sure enough, upon seeing the movie, feelings of disappointment ran rampant. Running 127 minutes, the film plays out as a psychological family drama for it's first 90 minutes, holding one's hope that, eventually, this will lead to a great big pay off. Said pay off, which takes up the rest of the film, is unbelievably ridiculous and comes far out of left field in comparison to what has come before it. Toni Collette may give a courageous performance, but she is left stuck in a movie that has no real clue as to what it wants to do. I can't say too much more about it except marvel at the immediate potential that was lost by the end.
Overrated Runners-up: Beast; Disobedience; First Man; Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word
The Most Underrated Movie Of The Year
"Death Wish"- There was a time, not too long ago, when people could clearly discern between real-life and a movie. However, the original "Death Wish", starring the late Charles Bronson, drew criticism at the time of it's release for it's perceived glorification of vigilantism amidst the real-life heightened violence popping up in New York, the original film's setting, at the time. In retrospect, people have changed their viewpoints to recognize it as what it is: a crime-thriller film of it's time. Times have changed, and mainly for the worse. With a mass shooting happening every time you turn around, "Death Wish" was trashed for what critics claimed "coming out at the wrong time". The film was slated to come out November 3, 2017, but was pushed back due to the horrific Vegas massacre a month before. While the film did come out a few weeks after the Stoneman Douglas school shooting, realistically, the movie can't be pushed back forever. People need to put the real world out of their mind when walking into a Bruce Willis movie. This is not at all to discredit the victims in the shootings, my heart goes out to them, but you understand where I'm coming from, and the people who used their critical reviews of the film to push their viewpoints and agendas on gun control and politics is pathetic. All this being said, for what it is, the film is a throwback to the kind of movies that would come out back in the '80's and '90's and Bruce Willis fills the main role capably. As a movie to view on a lazy day, it's one to seek out.
Underrated Runners-up: Assassination Nation; A Wrinkle In Time; Bad Samaritan; Hotel Artemis; Super Troopers 2; The Happytime Murders; The Miracle Season; The Nutcracker And The Four Realms; Welcome To Marwen
The Worst Films Of 2018
Dishonorable Mentions: Affairs Of State; Aliens Ate My Homework; All I Wish; A.X.L.; Beast; Bent; Boundaries; Damascus Cover; Day Of The Dead: Bloodline; Deep Blue Sea 2; Escape Plan 2: Hades; Forever My Girl; God Bless The Broken Road; God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness; Honor Up; Hunter Killer; I Can Only Imagine; Kin; Mara; Night School; Nobody's Fool; Robin Hood; Scorched Earth; Sherlock Gnomes; Show Dogs; Snake Outta Compton; The Darkest Minds; The First Purge; The Hurricane Heist; The Ninth Passenger; The Nun; The Possession Of Hannah Grace; The Super; The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall; Winchester
10. "Alpha"
Out of all of the movies on this list, "Alpha" seems to be the one most devoid of a purpose. Sitting at an almost baffling 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film seemed doomed from the get go; a movie that bounced around the release schedule unable to pinpoint a proper time to come out. It then settled on the dog days of August, a time during the summer movie season where the potential summer hits, or leftovers, if you will, come out, hoping to die a peaceful death from audiences desperate for something new. I wanted to like "Alpha", I really did, but there is no fathomable reason for this to exist. Directed by the usually reliable Albert Hughes, Kodi Smit-McPhee plays a young Keda, a member of his species' tribe who gets separated after a stampede gone wrong. After being hurled off a cliff by a rogue bison, Keda holes up in a cave where he comes across a wolf. At first, the two are at odds, but of course, as is always the case with these kinds of movies, the two form some sort of unspoken bond between each other. The movie is so boring and so un-engaging that it makes a 90 minute running time seem like an eternity. The acting is monotonous and the writing is completely empty; the whole movie boiling down to a trek, a boy and his wolf just trying to get home. At my screening, I witnessed two people walk out: one woman an hour in, presumably because there's a lot of animal on animal violence and it was during a scene of such carnage, and another man went ten minutes later. I can't say I blame them.
9. "Frat Pack"
The worst kind of comedy is comedy that's not funny. One of the many factors of un-funny comedy is if the film you are watching is consistently growing more and more obnoxious in it's attempts to please you by becoming more over-the-top by the second. "Frat Pack", a direct-to-video attempt at entertainment, is the equivalent of a garbage can at your local McDonald's suddenly coming to life and berating you for 90 minutes until you've decided you've had enough and leave the premises. If there was a story to be found in the films insipid little brain, it was lost as soon as it was over. From what can be gauged, a bunch of college kids get together to go to a party so that they may become drunk and get laid. The acting is atrocious all across the board, with Danny Trejo, appearing in one scene as a tattoo artist, looking as if he's being held hostage; I personally wouldn't be surprised if there was someone holding a gun at his head the whole time he was on set. The poor guy. He's the lucky one; he suffers for only three minutes.
8. "Insidious: The Last Key"
'Tis a pity to be the first release of a new year. Usually, almost always, the studios choose to release a horror flick the first week of the year. Why this is, I'm not too sure, but this year, that first release was "Insidious: The Last Key", the fourth installment in the "Insidious" franchise and the third one to be total garbage. This kind of story can only be done once, so by the fourth time, it's gotten old. This is not sleight against lead actress, Lin Shaye, who manages to be the only bright spot in the whole movie, but when you're watching the same tired ghost story with nothing new added onto it, it grows dull and it does so really fast. The film's reliance on jump scares is pathetic and the would-be suspense and tension trying to be gained out of the story is laughable and non-existent. The audience I saw it with were really getting into it, and more power to them. For me, this franchise has long passed it's sell-by date and has now become moldy.
7. "How To Talk To Girls At Parties"
In what has to be the most bizarre movie of the year, a group of London gutter punks come across a secret alien colony, hiding out among their country to learn their mannerisms and behaviors. Not hooked yet? I wouldn't be either. "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" is a film so hellbent on trying to win the audience over that, in the process, it has forgotten to tell something even resembling a coherent story. When the characters aren't running around causing havoc, they're yelling and screaming, earning themselves a rightful place as the most unctuous characters of the year. The film is not charming in the least and features the usually radiant Elle Fanning floundering in one of the most terrible scripts of the year. The final twist of the knife: having Nicole Kidman(who can never give a bad performance) turn in the most outrageous performance of the year, donned in a weird-ass hair metal wig and screaming and swearing at people for no discernible reason. The total pits.
6. "Samson"
I commend religious and faith-based films for becoming more main-stream. They usually skirt by in limited releases and more often than not, get sent direct-to-video. The fact that more and more of them are getting nationwide releases is admirable. The sad fact of the matter, however, is that most of them are poorly-written mis-fires that generalizes a certain group of people and paints everyone against those people as wrong, no matter what they are. While "Samson" is not that kind of religious film, it's still terrible for completely different reasons. In telling the story of Samson and Delilah from the Bible itself, the film reeks of amateurishness, one almost feeling bad having to criticize it, but must be done must be done. The acting never reaches more than the level of your local high-school play and the costumes and set designs are straight-up laughable. I want you to take a look at that poster there. That showcases the end of the film, his hair getting cut off and him pushing the pillars of the building apart, bringing it down. Why waste the time, when you can just look at the poster?
5. "Truth Or Dare"
After an astoundingly good track record in 2017, Blumhouse fell hard with "Truth Or Dare", by far and away the worst film they've released in quite a while. Taking a party game that most people play when drunk and turning it into a horror premise sounds like it could be intriguing, but it's botched to an almost insane degree by how poorly it's handled. Lucy Hale, bless her, is trying her best to slog through this mess she's found herself trapped in, but even she can't rise above the mucky-muck when she's forced by the inept script to recite some of the most heinous dialogue in recent memory. A group of college dimwits decide to play the titular game in a haunted, abandoned, Mexican church(did you get all that?) and, thus, unleash a demonic presence that takes the form of a ridiculous snapchat filter when it has taken control of people. Perhaps the most disgusting thing to take away from the whole thing is during a scene where a character, who is gay, is forced to come out to his father, a moment no doubt, laced with trepidation and fear and, if done properly, could've been something to commend. What does the movie do? Cut away from any reaction or discussions of said coming out and briefly mention it in a passing line of dialogue. What might be even worse is the ending, contradictory and ridiculous in the extreme.
4. "Life Itself"
I have not seen a single episode of the fan-favorite TV show "This Is Us", but if the show is anything like this film, it's safe to say that I'm not missing out. Written and directed by the show's creator, Dan Fogleman, the film plays out like a high-schooler's first script. All well and good, but you don't make a movie out of that. Playing out as the most pretentious thing I've possibly ever seen, the movie is one long journey to nowhere, spending 99% of it's running time jumping around to different characters and scenarios without a rhyme or reason. Wanna see Oscar Issac and Olivia Wilde make you hate "Pulp Fiction"? Wanna see those same two people blither on about how great Bob Dylan is? Wanna see Olivia Cooke be a rebellious little teen by playing in a punk band called PB & J? Wanna hear Antonio Banderas rattle on for almost ten minutes about how he acquired his olive farm? No? I DON'T BLAME YOU. You can't have a movie that rambles on and on nonsensically moving from one unconnected scene and character to the next and then, right before the movie ends, go "Oh, by the way, this is how it's all connected." It doesn't work like that. The actors are left totally stranded by a script that doesn't know the first thing about telling a cohesive story. Since they have nothing to work with, the actors visibly give up, with some(Oscar Issac, Annette Benning) going very over the top and others(Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas) looking like they can't be bothered. In all honesty, if it weren't for the radiant Laia Costa, who manages to give the only honest and decent performance in the whole thing(and is still saddled with the most ridiculous monologue in the whole thing), this would be the absolute worst movie of the year; a movie so vile and repugnant, it left me sour for days on end.
3. "Slender Man"
A horror movie no one, and I mean no one asked for, "Slender Man" resurrects the long forgotten about internet legend from 2011, and turns it into a pathetic attempt at a teen horror flick for twelve and thirteen year-old kids(the primary audience members at my screening; I was the oldest one at my screening and I'm only 20. I wish I was joking). The acting, primarily from the usually radiant Joey King, is unbelievably bad. The dialogue is preposterous, the type of dialogue that is only heard from b-level movie characters and not actual human beings. The effects are crude and as thin as the air I'm breathing and the primary thing needed for a horror movie, you know, the horror, is non-existent. I can't really say a whole lot of the movie itself because it gave me nothing, absolutely nothing, to grab and hold onto. Normally, audiences are asked to shut their brains off at the door when going into certain movies. Movies are not supposed to turn their brains off with them.
2. "Holmes & Watson"
"Holmes & Watson" is one of two films this year to make me consider walking out of the theater before the movie is over. A comedy holding a total of zero laughs, the film makes a desecration out of Arthur Conan Doyle's name and characters. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly portray the title characters like total morons as they try to solve a case. What case, you my ask? That's a good question. From what could be gathered, there's a plot to kill the queen. That's it. Doesn't sound riveting? The movie doesn't seem to think so either as the story isn't the movie's main focus. Want unfunny joke after unfunny joke that hit the ground with resounding thuds each and every time? Then, my goodness, is this the movie for you. Why you would want to do that to yourself, I have no idea; you must be running out of options for date night. The performances from the titular duo are loud and obnoxious, spending every scene flailing their arms and screaming, hoping desperately that it's making the audience laugh(at my screening, you could hear a pin drop), while other prestigious actors, like Rebecca Hall, Ralph Fiennes, Steve Coogan and Kelly McDonald are fundamentally wasted, given nothing to do except stand there and fall victim to the total idiocy happening around them. Taking place in the early 1900's but featuring references to "Hannah Montana", "Ghost" and the movie "Titanic"(Billy Zane pops up in a cameo where he literally smiles at the camera), while jokes about Donald Trump are anger inducing; I come to the movies to escape the real world, not be reminded of it. A total wasteland of humor, avoid "Holmes & Watson" at all costs.
1. "Death Of A Nation"
The second film this year to basically ask me to walk out during it, "Death Of A Nation" is a film masquerading as a documentary, when in actuality, it's the two-hour equivalent of taking a clipboard into a padded cell and listening to a mental patient's incessant ramblings. Dinesh D'Souza is inept in the extreme; he does not make movies or documentaries, he makes extreme, far-right propaganda purporting itself to be the absolute truth. D'Souza claims he wasn't on Trump's side in the election, but was glad he won because he fully believes his 2016 movie, "Hillary's America", another pile of absolute garbage, was a "big help" in helping him win. He spends the entire movie comparing the entire Democratic party as fascists and socialists that all, repeat all, have ties to Hitler and the Nazi party. Not enough for you? How about the fact that all of his interviews are with extreme conspiracy theorists, much like himself? All of his interviews feature D'Souza badgering his subject with "So what you're saying is this?" to which the subject always responds "No." "But really it is." "No it's not." The film also features musical performances, I wish I was kidding, in which the singers are poorly and glaringly dubbed over. His justification for people despising Trump, even though he has proven himself to be a poor representation of what the Presidency entails? "Well, come on, we knew we weren't electing a choir boy." Are you serious? After the film ended, a guy to my right actually applauded the movie and considered it to be the "best movie ever." I was not only concerned for the future of the world I call home, but also convinced that this might have been the only movie this guy saw. "Death Of A Nation is the absolute worst film of 2018; a disgrace to the art form in and of itself.
The Best Films Of 2018
Honorable Mentions: American Animals; Ant-Man And The Wasp; Assassination Nation; Aquaman; Avengers: Infinity War; Bad Samaritan; Beautiful Boy; Best F(r)iends; Black Panther; Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Christopher Robin; Crazy Rich Asians; Creed II; Deadpool 2; Den Of Thieves; Destination Wedding; Early Man; Eighth Grade; Euthanizer; Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald; Fifty Shades Freed; Filmworker; Final Score; Game Night; Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween; Green Book; Gringo; Halloween; Hearts Beat Loud; Hotel Artemis; Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation; I Feel Pretty; Isle Of Dogs; Juliet, Naked; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; Leave No Trace; Life Of The Party; Love, Simon; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; Mary Poppins Returns; Maze Runner: The Death Cure; Ocean's 8; Once Upon A Deadpool; Pacific Rim: Uprising; Paddington 2; Ralph Breaks The Internet; Ready Player One; Revenge; Searching; Small Town Crime; Solo: A Star Wars Story; Sorry To Bother You; Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse; Super Troopers 2; Suspiria; Tag; The Death Of Stalin; The Qualizer 2; The Grinch; The Happytime Murders; The House With A Clock In It's Walls; The Incredibles 2; The Miracle Season; The Mule; The Predator; Three Identical Strangers; Tully; Unsane; Upgrade; Venom; Vice; Welcome To Marwen; White Boy Rick; Whitney; Widows; Won't You Be My Neighbor?
10. "The Hate U Give"
"The Hate U Give" not only features one of the best performances of the year in Amandla Stenberg(redeeming herself 1000% after this year's terrible "The Darkest Minds"), it also features one of the most important stories of the year. Stenberg plays Starr Carter, a girl in a prestigious high school who lives with her loving family while also under constant fear of police harassment due to her skin color. When her childhood friend is un-justly shot and killed at the hands of a police officer, she fights with herself as to whether she should keep quiet for fear of public scrutiny or stand up and make her voice heard. Stenberg is front and center for every scene of the film and she commands the screen for every second she's on. While the PG-13 rating might be off-putting,considering the book is R-rated in spirit, it doesn't hamper on the subject matter at all(for the record, this is one of those cool PG-13 movies that gets to say "fuck" twice), still managing to tell it's story that, frankly, teens need to see. The supporting turns from Russell Hornsby and Regina Hall are sterling as well, portraying Starr's parents with apathy and heart, just like the book. This is one of those rare screen adaptations of the source material that justifies it's existence and is as great as the book, if not better. It's 133 minutes, but it never once feels that long. Job well done.
9. "Bumblebee"
Yes, folks, you're reading this right. After "Transformers: The Last Knight" earned the top spot as the worst film of 2017, along comes "Bumblebee", a movie I mentioned when discussing the aforementioned film's future installments. I wasn't excited for this at all, but man, am I ever so happy it exists, and on my best list, too! Taking place in 1987, a prequel to the first film, the film follows Charlie(the always luminous Hailee Steinfeld) as she eventually finds a yellow beetle in a scrap yard. Once she takes it home, the car reveals itself to be Bumblebee, a robot in disguise sent to Earth by Optimus Prime to protect the planet from evil. While that is the crux of the plot, the main focus of the movie is the relationship between Bumblebee and Charlie; the film plays out exactly like an '80's adventure film in which an alien life-form forms a bond with a human. Steinfeld is wonderful, the writing is splendid and bouncy and the direction, this time by Travis Knight, is solid and steady; I can, for the first time, actually decipher what's happening in the action sequences. Featuring an eclectic soundtrack of '80's music, the film is a wondeful time for moviegoers young and old. John Cena lends aimable support, as he always does, but was part of a great theater moment: The second he was introduced on-screen, nearly all of the kids in my audience gasped loudly and went "It's John Cena!" in an awe-struck tone, the same way they might have exclaimed if they saw Santa. It was undeniably cute.
8. "BlacKkKlansman"
Spike Lee's previous film, 2015's "Chi-raq", was innocent, but woefully misguided. Lee changes all of that for the better with "BlacKkKlansman", a film based on the memoir by police officer Ron Stallworth. In the story, and film, Stallworth(John David Washington, Denzel's son) is a new recruit into the Chicago Police Department who decides to go undercover into investigating the Ku Klux Klan. Using his "white voice" over the phone and his partner(Adam Driver) in person as the fake Stallworth, the investigation uncovers wild twists and turns, which have to be seen to be believed. Lee excels in bringing this absurd story to life, knowing full well that he can and needs to bring humor into the situation; even though it's a true story, it's a very humorous one in the long run. A black man investigating the KKK? Who had ever heard such a thing? Washington is terrific, picking up his father's charisma and talent as if it was natural and he gives Stallworth the dimensions, layers and respect he deserves. Topher Grace is wonderful playing against type as the "grand wizard" of the KKK, David Duke. All humor in the film aside, the movie's message of racism being hateful and unnecessary is important and still relevant today. Lee knows this, so much so that the final scene of the movie, showing actual footage from the awful Untie The Right rally that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, but this is done not in a tasteless way to connect the past to the present, but done in a respectful and intelligent way to show how awful humanity can become when faced with it. The dedication to Heather Heyer, who was killed during the rally, while the film ends with Prince's live rendition of "Mary, Don't You Weep" is an ending louder and more haunting than words can speak; a must-see for sure.
7. "A Simple Favor"
Another terrific adaptation from another gripping book, "A Simple Favor" casts it's spell and works it's magic unto the viewer immediately. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, two acting queens, portray Stephanie and Emily respectively. Both mothers who meet at their children's school and kinda-sorta hit it off. Stephanie is a shy introvert, who's like a typical helicopter mom, while Emily is the more rebellious wild child, one who isn't shy about expressing herself. When Emily goes missing, Stephanie launches a nationwide campaign to find her, but is Emily really missing or simply running away for awhile? The performances from Kendrick and Lively are terrific, with the two adeptly transforming and becoming their roles without a problem. The story plays out wonderfully, keeping the viewer guessing, even when, if you've read the book, you have a clear idea of where things are going. Holding the viewer in a vice-like grip and refusing to let go, "A Simple Favor" is anything but; layered and complex, the film is wonderful, and has a great soundtrack of French music, to boot.
6. "Instant Family"
In movie number 75 of 2018 that made me cry, "Instant Family" has an amazingly huge heart in it's chest, a movie that knows it's a family comedy, but also has something more on it's mind. Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne play Pete and Ellie and, while their relationship isn't in a rut, it could use a bit of spice. When they decide, on a whim, to adopt a child, feelings of trepidation slowly turn to love and warmth. Their three adoptee's(Isabella Moner, a triumph, Gustavo Quiroz and Julianna Gamiz) prove to be trying at first, but of course, eventually warm up to their potential parents. The performances, particularly from Moner, are wonderful, perfectly encapsulating the emotions and chaotic-ness a family would typically go through. The writing might be a tad predictable, but when you're enjoying a movie as much as this, smaller things like that can be forgiven. Side-note: even though the movie is PG-13, the film features the most, and I mean THE MOST satisfying f-bomb drop on a PG-13 I've ever heard. That might be a weird thing to point out, but it must be said.
5. "Mission: Impossible - Fallout"
Wow. All I can say is just "wow". The previous five "Mission: Impossible" films were all great, but "Fallout" is the first film in the franchise to manage to work it's way onto my best list. Tom Cruise is an unbelievably great actor and stuntman and he proves this in spades as Ethan Hunt, returning with the rest of his team to stop the villain they captured in "Rogue Nation" from setting off Nuclear weapons. Assigned to the team is August Walker(Henry Cavill), who may or may not be on the up and up and may or may not have reloading arms(his little fist cock he does in a bathroom scene suggest otherwise). Much like other action films, such as "Furious 7", the action in this installment is as big and as bombastic as it can be, with wonderful and awe-inspiring action scene after scene, managing to leave the viewer hooked for all of it's 147 minutes. The helicopter chase scene that is featured in the climax is wonderful and is the perfect armrest clencher to end the film on. It's an action movie for the ages and one definitely worth seeing, even if you haven't seen the other movies.
4. "Blindspotting"
Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, my how wonderful these two guys are. It helps that these two guys have been friends since childhood because their camaraderie shows off wonderfully on screen. In a screenplay written by the two men, the film follows Collin(Diggs) and Miles(Casal) are best friends who work together for a moving/renovating company. Collin is on the last leg of his probation and is doing everything in his power to remain good. When Collin witnesses a police shooting, it changes his viewpoint on a lot of things, including Miles and how Miles doesn't know how good he has it; as a white male, he has the privileges and lee-ways that Collin, a black man, doesn't have. The movie isn't totally serious and actually has a lot of funny moments and moments of levity. The dramatic moments hit hard as well; a scene involving a misplaced gun is enough to stop anyone's heart and make their body quiver with fear. Diggs and Casal are an amazing pair and work incredibly well with each other(so much so, I couldn't pick just one of them for best actor this year), and I would loving nothing more than to see more projects from the two of them in the future. Hollywood needs more orignal innovators like these two, and "Blindspotting" more than cements that.
3. "Bad Times At The El Royale"
Speaking of innovators, let's speak about Drew Goddard. Bursting onto the scene with the biting horror satire "The Cabin In The Woods" back in 2012, he returns with "Bad Times At The El Royale", a Tarantino homage in spirit, while also undeniably it's own being. Several strangers, each one harboring their own secrets, arrive for a stay at the mainstay El Royale hotel, a resort on the border of Nevada and California. You can have a room in either state, which is undoubtedly the last thing on any of these guests minds. It's a safe bet they all won't make it through the night. The ensemble cast is sterling and not one of them give an awful performance. Jeff Bridges is his usual commanding self as a priest(or is he?). Cynthia Erivo is lovely, and has a lovely voice to boot, as Darlene Sweet, a struggling, aspiring musician. Dakota Johnson is a spit-fire as Emily, a woman with a score to settle, while Jon Hamm is his usual handsome, charming self as Seymour, a traveling salesman and Chris Hemsworth, in, quite possibly, the best performance of the year, as Billy Lee, a hypnotic presence who happens to be the leader of a cult, who comes to the El Royale looking to set things straight. Hemsworth's dance to Deep Purple's "Hush", is possibly the best moment in film this year. The soundtrack, featuring covers by Erivo, is amazing, with Erivo's cover of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" is goosebump-inducing. "Bad Times At The El Royale" is a cinematic treasure; one for the ages.
2. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all-time, and Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest vocalists to hit the scene. "Bohemian Rhapsody", fittingly taking it's name from one of the greatest songs of all time, is a great biopic on Mercury himself. Rami Malek is a triumph as the legend himself, bringing the icon back to life as he struts across the screen, walking the walk and talking the talk. While the film runs 134 minutes, but again never feels that length. The music sequences are wonderful, how could they not be? Queen's music is legendary and timeless, and will continue to live on well past this year. The supporting cast fill out their roles comfortably, with Lucy Boynton playing Mary Austin, Mercury's first love, with comfort and grace. The climax, which is a recreattion of the legendary Live Aid performance in 1985 and it is nothing short of wonderful in how magical it is. This is a great portrait of Mercury, one that I'm sure a lot of people can appreciate.
1. "A Star Is Born"
This is the third year in a row where a musical film has been my personal pick for best of the year. Following "La La Land" in 2016 and "The Greatest Showman" in 2017, "A Star Is Born", the fourth film version of this story, is a much darker story than the other two features, but is still show-stopping all the way. Written and directed by Bradley Cooper, Cooper stars as Jackson Maine, a big country star who one night meets Ally(Lady Gaga), an aspiring musician moonlighting in drag bars and any venue where she can show her stuff. The two meet and hit it off, unable to keep off of each other. When Jackson decides to help Ally propel her career and she hits it big, he's happy for her, but emotionally confused and maybe even a little jealous at her stardom, as his seems to start falling. Cooper and Gaga are amazing, with Gaga a natural revolution in her star-making turn. Supporting work from Sam Elliott and especially Andrew Dice Clay is stunning. The music, however, the central point of the film, is terrific, with Cooper and Gaga using their God-given vocal talents to their fullest. The ending of the film hits home on a personal level for me, but for all others, "A Star Is Born" is a cinematic achievement; not only the best film of the year, but one of the absolute best films of this decade. Job well done, Mr. Cooper. Bravo.
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