It's been a year for movies. With huge films like Avengers: Infinity War coming out to immense box office numbers, and small films like Little Italy finding their place in the hearts of movie goers, there definitely hasn't been a lack of options. Even Netflix has joined the competition this year, putting out original films like Outlaw King in an attempt keep people on their couches, instead of the movie theater. I'll be honest, I didn't watch a lot of these until they hit digital services, but there were quite a few that I regret not seeing in movie theaters. Here is my 2018 movie list. Keep in mind that these are in no particular order.
12 Strong
When one thinks of Chris Hemsworth, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a hammer and some lightning. So, naturally, when that hammer was replaced with a rifle, and Jerry Bruckheimer's name was attached, there was a tendency to get really excited. 12 Strong was one of those films that I could have gone without seeing, but once I saw it, I was glad that I did see it. With a supporting cast made up of Michael Shannon and Michael Pena, 12 Strong is a war movie with heart. It's no Saving Private Ryan, but it's still worth watching.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
With the exception of The Hunger Games, the Maze Runner series is the last film from the the era of young adult novels turned film that actually made it to its final film (Rest in peace Divergent). As this is the closing chapter of the Maze Runner saga, I would definitely recommend watching the others before pressing play on this one, but it's a worthy ending to a film series that wasn't all that great to begin with.
The 15:17 to Paris
I cannot even describe to you how badly I wanted to enjoy this movie. I love Clint Eastwood. I loved the idea of actual military individuals playing themselves in a film. I was even willing to forgive the "Christian film vibe" this film gave off in all of the previews. However, after watching it, I hate to admit that I wasn't exactly a huge fan. Though the acting did get better as the film went on, there was too much about it that felt poorly executed. There was also a lot of build up for an intense moment that lasted less than five minutes. I love where the heart was at for this one, but I didn't exactly love the film.
Black Panther
This is going to make me wildly unpopular, but I wasn't a huge fan of this film. Let me be perfectly clear, I LIKED the movie, but I didn't LOVE it. And Gerald Glassford will argue with me about this, but while it was certainly a good film, it didn't really tread any ground that hadn't already been walked by other Marvel films. I get the whole diversity thing - and the cast was absolutely amazing - but I don't think acting alone makes this film worth all of the hype it got, especially not when it comes to being "Oscar-worthy." I would rate it in my top 10 Marvel films, but nowhere near the best of them.
Annihilation
This is one of those movies that, even months after I saw it, I'm still trying to figure out if I liked it. While I did enjoy Alex Garland's Ex-Machina, this movie was nowhere near as thought-provoking as that was. Or maybe it was. I think the film was unclear about what it wanted to be and how it wanted to end. You should definitely disregard anything I have to say about it and watch it yourself. It was a beautiful film that I didn't understand.
Tomb Raider
Sadly, this was one of those movies that was okay, but wasn't great. It's not hard to rise above the Angelina Jolie popcorn flicks of the early 2000s, but when you have a rich well of source material and simplify it to an extreme for the sake of box office numbers, it's not going to please anybody. The 2006 remake of the Tomb Raider games was absolutely amazing, and while this film borrowed heavily from that material, it didn't cross the divide into the madness that made that story so compelling. Alicia Vikander plays a great Lara Croft. Unfortunately, she wasn't handed a very good script.
Pacific Rim: Uprising
The first Pacific Rim was all of my childhood dreams come true. Giant robots fighting giant monsters. What else could a grown man ask for? Having grown up on Gundam and Robotech series, good or bad, I was willing to give this film a chance. Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues with the cast of the last film and a poorly written script that featured a good guy as a bad guy, this one didn't exactly deliver what I would consider a good film. Come on . . . all you really have to do is have epic fights featuring mech suits and monsters. How hard is that? Nobody was expecting a good story, but in their attempt to deliver something original, they took the bar far below expectations.
Ready Player One
The critics (aka the Internet) had a lot of mixed opinions on this one. Ernest Cline's novel has become a beloved piece of pop culture literature in the years its been around. Whether you grew up in the '70s, '80s, or '90s there was something in it for everyone. The film directed by Steven Spielberg took that one step forward, using Overwatch and Halo characters to connect to kids who grew up in the 2000s and even more recently. The film definitely took some liberties in terms of storytelling, and that's where many of the complaints come from. That being said, you have to remember that a film is usually only two hours or less (unless it's a Marvel film), and the book spanned several months throughout its pages. Cut it some slack in that regard and enjoy the visual spectacle that is Ready Player One.
A Quiet Place
Movies have become a formulaic affair that involves nothing more than a cycle of rinse and repeat with different settings and different actors. However, every once in a while something comes along that can be considered a game-changer. John Krasinski's A Quiet Place was the most original film I've seen in years. Though there was very little dialogue, it was still very well written. And as for the editing, I haven't been this impressed with sound editing since Blade Runner 2049. Do yourself a favor, whether you're a fan of the horror genre or not, check out A Quiet Place.
Super Troopers 2
The original Super Troopers was nothing short of magical. It had everything a teenage child and child-adult could ever want from a movie about highway patrol officers. While Broken Lizard has been out of the game for a while, when Super Troopers 2 was announced, there was quite a lot of excitement. The film took some years and no shortage of crowd-funding to put together, but it eventually made its way to theaters last February. Here's the thing about this movie. It's funny, it's stupid, it just is. I can't say that it's good (at least not with a straight face) but it exists, and if you like the first film, it's worth watching. It's aware of itself, and that's the important thing when it comes to a film like this.
Avengers: Infinity War
This might have been the biggest movie event ever. The names, the properties, the studio, if you didn't see this one in theaters, you missed an experience of a lifetime. The Russo Brothers, along with Kevin Feige and all of the other great people over at Marvel and Disney, brought together the last ten years of Marvel films for an event that won't soon be forgotten. Even with such a huge cast, each hero (except for Winter Soldier) was given their due time to develop over the course of the film. And then there was the ending, which actually made people cry. I'll be honest, it was pretty sad. This year, it all comes to an end with Avengers: End Game. Will audiences be satisfied, or will their opinion of Marvel turn to dust?
Deadpool 2
What can I say about Deadpool 2? It was a fun movie, a good popcorn flick, but it wasn't a great movie or a great popcorn flick. While it managed to keep all of the things that make Deadpool so great (kudos to Ryan Reynolds) and the action scenes were definitely on another scale, it didn't manage to do anything that wasn't done with the first film. It was more of the same. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this, but there were definitely a few things it could have done without.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
This is one movie that definitely made a lot of headlines . . . and not in a good way. This is also the one movie on this list that a lot of people are probably going to disagree with me over. While the general consensus was that it wasn't good (I'm underexagerating that statement), I thought it was amazing. I was genuinely invested from start to finish. It was a movie in the Star Wars universe that was allowed to just exist. With the exception of its place on the timeline, there wasn't any crowded and ancient mythology that it had to be held accountable to. There were no Jedi (just a Sith), and no confusing philosophies to follow. There was just Han Solo and the his group of outcasts trying to do their thing. And let's give Alden Ehrenreich a break. Maybe he doesn't look like Harrison Ford, but he played Han Solo well, and he had some big shoes to fill.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
This was probably the most disappointing movie of the year for me. It felt less like a Jurassic Park film and more like a hybrid between a disaster flick and an Alien movie. So many dots didn't connect in this one, and they used cheap tactics to elicit an emotional response from audiences. Oh, and surprise, we made another hybrid dinosaur that's killing everybody. Didn't see that happening. There's also the fact that there are five islands and for some reason they completely removed the other four from the mythology. All for what? Where is this going? Who knows?
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Marvel has definitely had their hands full this year, with the releases of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. I'm glad they had time to go back to the smaller (no pun intended) world of Ant-Man (and the Wasp). I'll be honest, I was a huge fan of the first film, though it didn't hit as hard in the box office as other Marvel films. This movie felt more contained and standalone, which doesn't hurt when trying to appeal to audiences who might not have time to watch twenty other films. Then there was that post credits scene . . . dang. I am excited to see Avengers: End Game.
The Meg
Yeah, so this happened. The funny thing about The Meg is that if it would have been put on Netflix instead of movie theaters, it probably would have gotten just as many people watching it, if not more. We live in a weird time when people love B grade films. When you throw Jason Statham and Rainn Wilson into a film with giant allegedly extinct sharks, you're going to get a spectacle beyond reason. I would go into the plot holes and inconsistencies in the film, but it's called The Meg . . . so you're probably already aware of what you're getting into.
Extinction
Now, this is a movie worth watching. For the price of a monthly subscription to Netflix (or a free trial) you can watch one of the best science-fiction films that has been released in the past few years. Yes, it did have some political elements to it, but it wasn't obnoxious (like Arrival), and it has an ending that will leave you scooping your jaw off the floor. It's been a good year for Michael Pena, and if he keeps this up, next year is going to be even better.
Little Italy
When I tell people I saw Little Italy, they usually respond by making some comment about my masculinity and call it a girl movie. Yes, it had no shortage of romantic elements to it, but it was a genuinely fun movie. Also, I sort of have a huge crush on Emma Roberts and will watch anything she's in. That fact aside, the story revolves around two families who run competing Italian Restaurants that happen to be right next door to each other. Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen are both from those competing restaurants, which sort of complicates their romance. It's a funny movie. It's a predictable movie. It's comfortable. And I stand by my opinion that Hayden Christensen is not a bad actor. He was just handed a bad script by George Lucas.
Outlaw King
Despite not actually saying much of anything in this film, Chris Pine showed a few emotions I'd never seen from him. Another Netflix film, Outlaw King is sort of an unofficial sequel to Braveheart, as it covers the war campaign of Robert the Bruce, who tried to pick up the pieces of Scotland's rebellion after the demise of William Wallace. I'm not sure how historically accurate this film is, but it was fun to watch. The sword and sandal genre of film doesn't get the love it deserves these days. So it's nice to see Netflix investing in some historical dramas.
The Boy Downstairs
Probably one of the more awkward films I watched this year, The Boy Downstairs a romance flick that dives into just how complicated relationships and emotions can be. This is something the protagonist learns after moving into an apartment right above the apartment of a boyfriend she broke up with two years before, but still has lingering feelings for. The characters in this film are all very well developed, the writing is good, I'm not a huge fan of romantic comedies (because they're all very formulaic) but this is a film I'm glad I watched.
Rampage
Most people like to argue that The Rock is in a lot of bad movies. While I certainly won't disagree with that, I have a different stance. I think that The Rock is the perfect actor for bad movies because not only does he increase the likelihood of somebody sitting through a bad movie such as Baywatch or Skyscraper, but he's also loved by so many people and can have an almost limitless amount of box office flops, and people will still go to see his movies. I think this is because the big franchises he's in such as the Fast and the Furious, make a ton of money. What do all of these movies have in common? The Rock plays the Rock, just as he does in Rampage. This movie certainly butchered a beloved video game property of my childhood, but the source material wasn't that believable to begin with. It entertains, that's all I'll say about this one.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Thus far, the Fantastic Beasts films have not quite lived up the intensity and emotion of the original Harry Potter films. I was one of many who had high hopes that The Crimes of Grindelwald might recapture the magic I remembered feeling when I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a child, but alas it fell flat. The story felt disconnected, the editing was all over the place, and there was little to no character development to speak of. And so many of the things that happened in this film didn't need to happen. Then there's the sort of obnoxious way in which they tried to convey Dumbledore's feelings for Grindelwald, "We were more than brothers." Come on, either say they were in love or don't. But hey, everything seemed to have been forgiven by the twist at the end of the film. Where is it going? I guess we'll have to wait another two years to find out.
The Nun
The Nun is sort of a weird name for a movie. It gives the impression that it's either a movie starring Whoopi Goldberg or it's an adult film. I defintely wouldn't have named this movie The Nun. That being said, I really enjoyed it. It was not just a horror movie, it had elements of a mystery/detective film, as well. Go figure it was all started by some idiot who thought he could open a doorway to hell. Michael Chrichton would have a field day with this. The Nun is a good movie from start to finish. It has a great story and plenty of scares. My only complaint is the way they kind of set it up for a sequel. There's enough going on in the film without the confusion of a tie-in.
Venom
I did not expect to like this movie as much as I did. In fact, I even avoided seeing it in theaters because the trailers made it look atrocious. It wasn't just the idea of a film that uses a famous Spider-Man anti-hero but isn't connected to Spider-Man, it just looked bad. Then I watched it, and I was ready to eat my shoe. It was actually quite an impressive movie. I realize the biggest complaint is Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, but he grows on you - sort of like the symbiote grows on him. The dynamic between him and Venom is always entertaining, and there's enough Marvel Easter Eggs in there to keep the hardcore fans satisfied. Also, stay tuned for the after credit scene, you'll like what you see.
The Predator
The Predator was not a good movie, but it was a satisfying movie, and in this case, that's even better. Keep in mind that I grew up on the early Alien and Predator films of the '90s. We won't talk about the Alien vs. Predator films of the the early 2000s, but there was a certain charm to this franchise that the last entry didn't exactly have. In The Predator, all of the things that made the original one so great are back. You have the guy who tells dirty jokes, the hardcore soldier, the secret research lab, and a government that wants to cover the whole thing up. This one even features global warming as one of the antagonists (how original). This movie is cheesy, full of action, and very well paced. That's a winning combo in my book.
Constantine: City of Demons
When it comes to animated films, DC and Warner Bros have their act together. It seems like every animated film they put out these days is pretty solid. It's unfortunate that the same thing can't be said about their cinematic universe. Constantine: City of Demons once again features the vocal talents of Matt Ryan, who played Constantine in the show that was quickly cancelled. Whether or not his run in the animated films, his series, and the Legends of Tomorrow are all connected is unclear, but Constantine has always been one of the most interesting characters in the DC universe (at least to me). This film, while a cartoon, is gory, violent, and has no shortage of adult oriented content. I'm not officially recommending it because it is kind of deranged, but if you're a fan of the character, it's a welcome addition to the mythology.
The House With the Clock in it's Walls
I keep asking myself why Jack Black keeps making obscure films instead of making a sequel to School of Rock, but I never figure it out. The House with a Clock in it's Walls is based on a book of the same name, and is clearly trying to cash in on the young wizard/warlock themes of the Harry Potter franchise. Even the main character in this film has just been orphaned. While it has it's moments where it's funny, I really couldn't take it seriously. It feels like some of the film had a big budget, and the rest of it was made by an amateur with a library of After Effects tutorials.
Aquaman
Jason Momoa's Aquaman might be the one of the few things about the Justice League film that I enjoyed. He brought a level of comic relief to it that meshed well in such a dark (attempting to be lighter) toned film. That performance is back and even better in Aquaman. This film is fun, it's entertaining, and doesn't concern itself with being tied to the great DCEU (though they do make a reference to Steppenwolf). Not only is this film a visual feast, it offers a glimmer of hope the DCEU going forward.
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