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Where's McClung with the lists?? All right, I'll start:
Best ten in no order:
- Blindspotting - Let the Corpses Tan - Mandy ("There were bikers, and gnarly psychos, and...CRAZY. EVIL.") - The Unity of Heroes - Incident in a Ghostland - Mom and Dad - Support the Girls ("I'm twice the man you are and twice the woman you'll ever screw.") - You Were Never Really Here - The Breaker Upperers - The Sisters Brothers
Honourable mentions: The Endless, for being such a successful micro-budget flick; Destination Wedding, for being fun and for fully committing, but especially for that sex scene; First Reformed, for being a sincere and thoughtful American film about religion
Special mention: Louis CK's unreleased feature, I Love You, Daddy, for being a good movie and a fascinating watch
Worst ten in no order:
- Mile 22 ("If you don't find the cesium before it's too late, you will be held responsible for the single largest intelligence fumble since a flight instruction school in Florida failed to grasp the significance of a 19-year old Al Qaeda terrorist saying he didn't need to learn how to land.") - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Deadpool 2 and whatever that idiotic Christmas version of Deadpool 2 is, and also while I'm at it, every other Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, and Star Wars movie that came out this year, whatever they were - The Cloverfield Paradox - God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness - Overboard - Life of the Party - Skyscraper ("I haven't touched a gun in ten years, after what happened that night. I just put my sword down, you know.") - I Feel Pretty - Love, Simon
Dishonourable mentions: Tully, for squandering everything good about itself by trying to be clever; Mamma Mia 2, for not making the whole movie about Cher; Assassination Nation, for being boring, the ONE thing it shouldn't have been
Special mention: Robin Hood, a fascinating movie for being a blockbuster with a relatively clear and coherent political position, but also a movie that just sucked soooo hard
Not a great year for big releases, but a great year for film in general.
My husband and I watched (tried at least) to watch Skyscraper and I feel Pretty during our vacation. This was a big screen under the stars where people brought us popcorn and drinks while we lounged under blankets. We still couldn't do it. They were both unbearable. We got up and left. That says something about those films...
I'd actually considered posting a thread myself, but in the end I was actually pretty unimpressed with the majority of films I saw this year and actually watched a fair amount less than most years. A few years ago, I would've responded to such sentiment with something along the lines of: "That's on you." Perhaps I ought to concede to my past self as I was admittedly not on my game in 2018. I also tend to build lists over time so as to provide proper consideration to each film and list them in something resembling an order, which I did not do this year for the reasons above.
Nevertheless, I'll bite (rough order):
1. First Reformed 2. The House That Jack Built 3. You Were Never Really Here 4. The Favourite 5. Incident in a Ghostland 6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 7. Calibre 8. Annihilation 9. Mandy 10. Hereditary
My personal favorites of the movies I actually saw in 2018:
1. EIghth Grade 2. Mission Impossible: Fallout 3. A QUiet Place 4. Crazy Rich Asians 5. WOn't you be my neighbor? (I guess this is a documentary, but I'm throwing it in here) 6. Three Identical Strangers (another documentary) 7. Love Gilda (damn, another doc -- I do love docs) 8. Paddington 2 (saw this on HBO not in the theaters, but I still count it) 9. Incredibles 2 I don't have 10.... And yeah, it looks like I like popular movies, but what I like are movies that tell a good story, are engaging and compelling. I don't care that they're popular or made a lot of money. I just judge on whether I had a great time watching. I'm not drawn to slow, boring, drawn out, artsy films. Sorry!
Some of my scripts:
Bounty (TV Pilot) -- Top 1% of discoverable screenplays on Coverfly I'll Be Seeing You (short) - OWC winner The Gambler (short) - OWC winner Skip (short) - filmed Country Road 12 (short) - filmed The Family Man (short) - filmed The Journeyers (feature) - optioned
I watched 45 movies from 2018, that I logged and rated on the website Letterboxd. There is still around 20 more movies I have yet to see that I really want to see from last year. Ten Best (In order of how much I enjoyed each one with #1 being my favourite): 1. You Were Never Really Here 2. Sorry to Bother You 3. Annihilation 4. Isle of Dogs 5. First Reformed 6. Upgrade 7. Mom and Dad 8. Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich 9. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters 10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Ten Worst (In order of how much I didn't enjoy each one with #1 being my least favourite): 1. Game Over, Man! 2. Winchester 3. Cargo 4. Ibiza 5. Avengers: Infinity War 6. Rampage 7. Death Wish 8. Tomb Raider 9. The Commuter 10. Mute
Black Kkklansman Quiet Place Sicario: Day of the Soldado Searching Leave No Trace Overlord Mary Queen of Scots Avengers Infinity War Won't You Be My Neighbor? Mission Impossible Fallout
Honorable mentions/middle of the road for me: Ant Man & Wasp, Black Panther, Hereditary, Tomb Raider, Upgrade, Aquaman, Ralph Breaks The Internet , Star Is Born, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, First Man and The Mule.
Lemon lList with the highlighted blue titles May They Burn In Hell: Truth Or Dare Halloween Hurricane Heist Mile 22 Death Wish Pacific Rim Uprising Sorry to Bother You The Predator Peppermint The First Purge(yet, the TV show wasn't half bad---go figure) Happytime Murders
Coming close: Ready Player One, Solo, The Commuter, The Nun and Red Sparrow.
I skipped Robin Hood, The Possession of Hannah Grace and Holmes & Watson, so I can't say they were the worst films I seen last year.
Someone explain to me the love over Annihilation? WTF was the 3rd act? Nonsensical Artsy Fartsy crap. ...
Agree with you there. Natalie Portman, probably...
I don't think it was a great year for film. A Quiet Place was my most enjoyable cinema outing.
The Ritual Calibre & Revenge (2017), despite the over the top buckets of blood.
- were the most enjoyable on Netflix and DVD
Cargo (a big disappointment).
And add to that: Hereditary - a nasty little film in my book (nowhere near deserving of comparison to Rosemary's Baby',) but Toni Collette deserves an Oscar for her (audible only) reaction to that pivotal scene - we all know which one - and all due credit to the director for making that choice too - incredibly viseral and upsetting.
I found the lighthouse sequence in 'Annihilation' to be one of the coolest, strangest, and most disturbing sci-fi moments in recent memory. It reminded me of '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Also, the music sounded awesome. The only other movie ending I thought was even better in 2018 was the ending to 'Sorry to Bother You' (before the after credits scene). That scene gave me chills both times I watched it, and it probably will no matter how many times I watch it.
The climax along with the unexpected scares and gore (the talking bear attack and jaw removal scene being my favourite) is what I enjoyed most about 'Annihilation'.
Also, I believe 'You Were Never Really Here' is exactly the type of film the world needs right now, and there should be more like it. Movies that blatantly expose the criminal injustices perpetrated by people in power. It's basically a true story, except there is no superhero vigilante dispensing justice in real life. Truly a satisfying and at the same time frustrating movie. Plus, for me it features the best score of 2018. Listening to the song 'Nina Through Glass' has brought me to tears more than once.
2017 and '18 are some of my worst moviegoing years since I became a regular moviegoer, but not for lack of trying. It's always time, opportunity, and money. The past two years were both super busy for my family, and the first part of 2019 definitely will be, too.
The Best of what I managed to see: Halloween A Quiet Place The First Purge (DVD) Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom The Meg Rampage (Video On Demand) Blockers Skyscraper Slender Man (DVD) The Predator
Middle of the road: Traffik (Video On Demand)
Haven't seen (* = I know I want to see): Suspiria* Proud Mary Crazy Rich Asians Black Panther* Hereditary* A Star is Born* Bohemian Rhapsody* Vice* Won't You Be My Neighbor* DC/Marvel* Star Wars/Solo* Game Night Annihilation Life of the Party I Feel Pretty Love, Simon Red Sparrow Robin Hood* Mandy Eighth Grade That Paul Dano movie, Wildlife The Favorite Can You Ever Forgive Me First Man* Truth or Dare* The House That Jack Built Any Mission: Impossible after the first one Paddington 1 & 2 Incredibles 1 & 2* Sorry to Bother You Puppet Master* Godzilla Upgrade* Isle of Dogs Gilda* Winchester (forgot this existed) Death Wish Superfly Tomb Raider The Commuter Green Book* RGB* On the Basis of Sex* Stan and Ollie* Black KKKlansman* Sicaro 1 & 2 Overlord* (but any film that uses AC/DC can't be that bad, right?) Mary Queen of Scots Wreck It Ralph/Ralph Breaks the Internet* The Mule (forgot this existed) Hurricane Heist (forgot this existed) Pacific Rim* (I LOVED the first one, want to see the second) Peppermint (forgot this existed) Happytime Murders* Ready Player One* The Nun* Hannah Grace* Holmes & Watson (Seems like it'd be a good laugh) Christopher Robin* Mary Poppins Returns* A Wrinkle in Time The Strangers 1 & 2* Josie Chappaquiddick (Hopefully it's not some RWNJ/anti-Kennedy/anti-Democrat crap) Beautiful Boy Mid 90s* Teen Titans Go to the Movies A Simple Favor Fahrenheit 11/9* Smallfoot Hell Fest* Old Man & The Gun* Venom The Hate U Give* El Royale* Goosebumps 2* The Nutcracker Boy Erased* The Front Runner* Creed I & II* Anna & The Apocalypse Beale Street*
No desire: Mama Mia 2 (And I like ABBA) Samson God's Not Dead Ocean's 8 I Can Only Imagine Sherlock Gnomes
Never even heard of: Nextflix/Amazon/whoever original/exclusive movies Blindspotting Let the Corpses Tan The Unity of Heroes Incident in a Ghostland Mom and Dad (unless the rest of the title is "Save the World") Support the Girls The Breaker Upperers The Endless Destination Wedding First Reformed I Love You, Daddy I don't think I've heard of Overboard Tully (They gave The Addams Family villain a spinoff movie?) I'm not sure if I've heard of Assassination Nation (Is that like Suicide Squad?) Roma Shoplifters Teen Spirit Ibiza (All I know are sad songs, sad songs) Little Italy In A Relationship Buster Scruggs (Flatt and Scruggs?) Calibre All of the non-Mr. Rogers documentaries mentioned Game Over, Man (A documentary about Hudson from Aliens? Cargo Mute Searching I'm not sure I've heard of Leave No Trace The Ritual Revenge
I agree with you that it was scarier when the monster wasn't shown.
A Quiet Place, Cloverfield, Jeepers Creepers, War Of The World's, all the monsters are revealed pretty early on. Iconic monsters like King Kong, Godzilla, The Thing, Alien, are shown from the get go too. Perhaps it's in the timing.
I don't think people were completely satisfied that the 'monster' in The Bird Box just rustled some tree branches and leaves.
Despite that I still think The Ritual was pretty darned good - the novel is good too btw.
I'm finding it no easy task to watch something decent on Netflix lately (that I haven't seen before) so jump on things that are at this level.
"I don't think people were completely satisfied that the 'monster' in The Bird Box just rustled some tree branches and leaves."
"For me, I need to see the monster at some point, or I'll feel cheated."
I think the sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle. What they can put on screen is never going to be scarier than what the mind can conjure up. show the outline with bits here and there, use the power of suggestion, let us hear it...
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