* Anna & The Apocalypse
* A Private War
* A Simple Favor
* Bad Times At The El Royale
* Blindspotting
* Bohemian Rhapsody
* Borg vs. McEnroe
* Boy Erased
* Call Me By Your Name
* Cam
* Can You Ever Forgive Me
* Chappaquiddick
* Dumplin'
* First Man
* Green Book
* If Beale Street Could Talk
* Instant Family
* I, Tonya
* Lean On Pete
* Let The Corpses Tan
* Love, Simon
* Mama Mia: Here We Go Again
* Mary Poppins Returns
* Mid 90s
* Mohawk
* Molly's Game
* Roma
* Smallfoot
* The Death Of Stalin
* The Old Man & The Gun
* The Other Side Of The Wind
* To All The Boys I've Loved Before
* Phantom Thread
* The Favourite
* The Hate U Give
* The Post
* The Sisters Brothers
* The Wife
* Unsane
* Vice
* Widows
Now for the supposedly great to good movies that I have seen, but will not make the list or honorable mentions. I'm sure I'll get some anger over the fact that I didn't like these or like these enough so sorry (not sorry).
* 22 July
* Alpha
* American Animals
* Annihilation
* Ant-Man & The Wasp
* Beirut
* Crazy Rich Asians
* Early Man
* Eighth Grade
* Game Night
* Halloween
* I Kill Giants
* Incredibles 2
* Isle of Dogs
* Leave No Trace
* Mary & The Witch's Flower
* Mission Impossible: Fallout
* Mom & Dad
* Overlord
* Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
* Ready Player One
* Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
* The Ballad Of Buster Skruggs
* The Endless
* Thoroughbreds
* You Were Never Really Here
And now we begin with our 5 honorable mentions of movies that just barely missed out on being in the Top 25 (in alphabetical order).
Rampage
Revenge
Searching
Tau
The Night Comes For Us
And now that we are finished with that, here is the Top 25 for me. If you disagree, just remember that this is my list and this is based on personal preferences.
25. Creed II
I'm a bit indifferent on Rocky IV. I won't lie. I also really enjoyed Creed so despite my hangups on continuing the Rocky IV stuff, I was looking forward to it. Then the reviews were not as favorable as the first Creed and that gave me a bit of trepidation. Thankfully, I saw it and I know those concerns were only minor. I really love that they continued the story of Ivan Drago and what happened after he lost to Rocky Balboa to show that his mother Russia basically left him. All the fights were important fights to see, even the fight where Adonis Creed gets his ass kicked by Victor Drago. Everything even the ending made all the sense in the world if you know these characters from previous films. Even the stuff with Creed and his fiancee and new baby were great. The only problem I could see with some people is you really would need to have seen Rocky IV to get the full knowledge of what is going on.
24. A Quiet Place
Horror was really good this year for me if this great movie is this low. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski were great as a married couple with kids, which makes sense as they are husband and wife in real life. The kids were great too and you really felt for these kids (especially their hearing impaired daughter). Just like Jordan Peele last year (who is releasing another film in 2019 which I am interested in called Us), John Krasinski also shows that he can direct a film with such tension that several of these so-called masters of horror like Eli Roth, Joe Lynch, and Adam Green can take freaking notes on. Also the use of sounds and silence to create an unsettling feel that makes you silently say "Oh shit" when any noise is made as remember these creatures are drawn to any sound so even a pin dropping is bad. The only problem with this film is the CGI isn't the best although that is okay since the aliens are rarely shown and covered in a lot of darkness.
23. Flavors of Youth
I know that Anime America did not like this film as they found it rather pretentious. I would normally not mention negative reviews, but their case on the dub is good as it is bad. I was lucky enough to see it subtitled and while that will not fix the total issues the film has, the voice actors do fit the characters unlike when Netflix brought in one of those teens from 12 Reasons Why to voice a character in the third story where he does not match the character at all. Oh yeah, this is an anthology anime film so it is three stories talking about relationships between two people (man & grandmother, two sisters, and man and girl who happens to be a friend) and they really hit me in the feels.
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22. Blockers
An extremely funny movie that deals with three parents (each with different situations) having three kids who are friends and those kids all decide that at prom, they will all lose their virginity. Of course, this gets read on accident by the parents and they all decide for their own reasons to try and stop the kids from doing so. John Cena has surprisingly shown that he definitely has some acting chops if given a good script (remember that for later). All of this works really well with a great resolution. The only problem for me was plenty of the jokes are cringe inducing.
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21. Bumblebee
Finally, we have a good Transformers movie. Now to any worry that you need to see the other ones to see this, don't worry....this is a prequel so you don't have to know anything that happened in those other films. In fact, those are the best prequels where you don't need the other films for context to this happening. Instead of a lead that gets a bad director to ruin them, we get a great lead with a great directing in Hailee Steinfeld as the lead and great directing from Travis Knight, who also directed Kubo & The Two Strings (a great film). Once again, John Cena is great as a serious actor (which shows you that he doesnt need to be in comedies to work (looking at you, Channing Tatum)) if you give him a great script. No stupid sex jokes for Michael Bay's enjoyment. And the biggest thing about this film, you can tell the Transformers apart which was a huge problem with the Transformers in the Michael Bay films.
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20. Ralph Breaks The Internet
Honestly, I felt the first Wreck It Ralph movie was merely okay. However, I really enjoyed the sequel as both Ralph and Vanellope do get equal time to shine with the whole point being about their friendship and how important they are in each other's lives. This is The Emoji Movie done with care for the internet and not a shell film to sell you products (heck, most of the main focus is on games or products that are just made up). Also, I found plenty of the jokes about the internet to be extremely funny including jokes about pop-ups and viral videos. Ultimately, it is a funny look at the internet and proof that while Disney did make some stinkers this year, they made plenty of good movies as well.
19. Deadpool 2
Before anyone asks, no...I did not see Once Upon A Deadpool during its limited run. But instead, I saw Deadpool 2 in its original run. While I did not like Deadpool 2 as much as the first Deadpool movie, the jokes landed greatly and all the characters were very useful in their parts. Those extra characters were killed quickly and disposed of (like the random cameo of a famous actor). Josh Brolin does a fantastic as Cable (although I still kind would have rather seen Stephen Lang in the role) and Domino is good as well. Also returning characters Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus were also good and the former's relationship partner was the source of some rather simple jokes that could not be offensive in any way (seriously, its just "hi" gags used several times for just strange reasons). But the best jokes were saved for the end (I mean mid-credit stuff) as Deadpool fixes various wrongs perpetrated.
18. BlacKKKlansman
This movie was definitely funny and needed considering the times we live in. Topher Grace is really made hatable as that racist asshole David Duke. John David Washington and Adam Driver are great as the two detectives who both play a part in the fake white supremacist who infiltrated the Klu Klux Klan to expose some criminal dealings they were involved in. While there is plenty of this movie that is drastically changed from the actual real life story as you would expect with Spike Lee films, although thankfully he is back to being a good director this time instead of that time he wanted to remake Oldboy. Now problems include some small propaganda bits and the including of Harry Belafonte at his current age being in a film that was supposed to be in the early 70s seemed to make the film rather false since Harry Belafonte didnt look like the way he does today in the early 70s.
17. Cargo
While this remake of a short film by the same director was made in 2017 and released in Australia in 2017, it was released in the rest of the world in 2018 so it counts. Martin Freeman is excellent as a man who is turning into a zombie via a bite trying to find a suitable person to leave his daughter with and along the way, he meets one good kid looking to find a way to fix his father from the zombie infection, but he also meets an asshole who is using the zombie apocalypse to make a better life for himself. The hopelessness of our main character's situation (as there is no cure) added to the fact that he really wants to keep his daughter alive and able to survive with humans that will also have her best interest at heart crescendos into a bittersweet end that makes the journey worth it.
16. Apostle
Netflix had a pretty good year as well with several of their films making this list and this period horror film written and directed by a very promising director in Gareth Evans (director of The Raid 1 & 2) with this being his first film with an English cast as his movies before this were Indonesian films. He continues to bring the subdued brutality that his films bring with them, but this time, he adds a lot of horror with the film being about a former priest who has lost faith being hired by his family to make sure his sister is still alive after she was kidnapped by a cult for ransom so of course, he must infiltrate the cult. With haunting performances by Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen along with others, this movie gives you loads of dread with lots of torture that will satisfy the gorehound in you while not going to far to be something like Hostel or The Human Centipede.
15. Errementari: The Blacksmith & The Devil
A movie from Spain that I have never heard any of these critics talk about and it is too bad as this film is freaking great. Again, this movie was released in 2017 in Spain, but it was released here in 2018 via Netflix. The devil suit in this is one of the best I have ever seen in the fact that they were able to capture what the devil looks like in many literary books. This takes the old myth about The Smith and The Devil and continues on with that story, while giving small prices for the Smith winning originally, but ultimately, his life of isolation comes back to bite him as the town (who has stories of their own about him) comes to in their mind save a little girl from his clutches. But as always, it is a complete misunderstanding and of course, chaos ensues.
14. The Night Eats The World
Much like 28 Days Later, this film deals with the isolation caused by a sudden zombie apocalypse that our main character fell asleep through. However, this is more confined to our main character being stuck to a single building as going outside on the roads is pretty much a death trap as shown from a separate group trying to escape early in the film. Of course, there is also our main character losing small bits of sanity because as you know, complete isolation and hopelessness for your situation can do that. It also always helps that our main character is a good guy who is acted astonishingly by Anders Danielsen Lie, who was the real life terrorist Anders Behring Breivik in another film 22 July. In fact, he even has a kind of friend he talks to (who of course never answers back as he is a zombie). Great film all around.
13. Hereditary
A horror film centered around a family where some bad luck definitely happens and there may be devil worship involved. You will never look at a certain sound tic the same way again. Again, slow dread wins the day over quick, easy scares that many horror movies suffer from. Every character has flaws and are still likable, which makes their tragic fates all the more bittersweet when they occur. It may be slow to some people and I understand those who do not like that slow pace. I've looked a bit at Ari Astor's next film (which he is in pre-production of) and if this film is any indication, I might enjoy that film as well. Also, this was definately better than A24's last horror film, The Witch...which I did not like.
12. Black Panther
I'm prepared for the anger by this one being so low, but again...it is a personal preference, but let's get to its positives. This film is rich with color and rich with African ideas (not African-American, actual African ideas). Michael B. Jordan is great as the villain and the other cast members are not bad as well. I am of two minds on the final battle. While I think the battle between Black Panther and Killmonger has many flaws, the battle all around it between other supporting characters is superb with CGI and weaponry used to their upmost advantage in giving us a smorgasbord of action. Wakanda forever.
11. Aquaman
The best of the DCEU movies thus far. Like Black Panther, this movie was full of color. Yes, there was a bit of bro-ness from Aquaman that might piss off some people, but it was alright for me. Amber Heard is drop dead gorgeous as the lovely Mera and we have some good villains in Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta. And the ending for the villains will be a rare thing. The fight scenes are great and for most of it, you can tell our main characters from everyone else fighting thanks to really good editing. Hell, even the water battles are good which video games can tell you is hard to accomplish. I'm hoping this good luck for the DCEU continues with Shazam and considering the trailers, it just might.
10. Before I Wake
Yes, I know this film was made in 2016 and was made before the film on last year's list Gerald's Game, however...this movie by Mike Flanagan was released this year thanks to Netflix. This movie is about grieving parents who lost their first kid now have adopted a new kid, but this kid has abilities to make his dreams come to life. First there is good use of this gift, then there is exploiting that gift, and finally there is the dark part of that gift in The Canker Man. Dread and fear lead in the end to grief and sadness as to the revelation of what The Canker Man really is. Always love someone who you care for no matter what the positive or negative comes with them. This is probably one of Mike Flanagan's best films and I would definitely recommend checking this one out.
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9. Psychokinesis
The last film on this list that I got thanks to Netflix debuting it into this country is a film from Yeon Sang-ho, the director of the great Train To Busan. He brings to us another great film about a superhero this time instead of zombies. This film is about a lazy man who somehow gets abilities thanks to a meteorite and a new willingness to make up for his past mistakes to now protect his estranged daughter and her friends from a real estate development firm (who has help from the government and the law) who want the daughters land and were definately responsible for the death of the slob's estranged ex-wife. A huge part of this film as well is the sleazy nature of real estate development and how they may want something and fight so hard to get it, but after they finally have it...they may just do nothing with it over the smallest of slights. Sadly, in a place where I live, we have had to deal many times with greedy land developers who promise the world and then when the going gets tough, they leave.
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8. Mandy
Nicholas Cage gives us a performance we have been waiting for in what seems like ages. While I was not a fan of the director's first film, Mandy more than makes up for it with his passion for the 80s and a passion for the weird worlds and characters that can be created from just having a vivid imagination. The story is about a man's love for his wife and what he will do to get revenge when she is killed right in front of him by a cult led by a psycho who had the hots for the man's wife. Lots of drugs and dark imagery make for some nightmarish imagery. Oh and once again for you gore fans, you will enjoy that this has a lot of blood to and creative ways to kill people.
7. Upgrade
I heard this film called the film that is what would happen if Venom was good (despite this being released months before Venom) and yes, it is as good as those reviews have made you believe. This film is about a man in a futuristic world who gets a secret implant and uses it in hopes of getting revenge against the people responsible for his paralyzed state and the death of his wife all the while realizing not everything is as it is seems. All the action scenes are great and our lead actor (who looks a lot like Tom Hardy (thus the Venom comparisons)) does better than what Tom Hardy would do in Venom. It is also directed by one of the two creators of what would become a franchise that came out every Halloween in Saw writer Leigh Whannell. It also satirizes how dependent we are at mobile devices (which as someone who does this blog, I really am okay with laughing at myself).
6. Peter Rabbit
Based on the trailers, I was expecting a film that would be a complete lazy ass bastardization in Beatrix Potter's classic character. However, it is a film that I have watched twice and definitely, made the Beatrix Potter character (as well as other Potter characters) extremely lovable (I won't even mention my favorite joke from a character who is played by the editor/co-producer). The cast (both voice actors and live actors) are all great at their roles. It's a film my mom and I can both watch and find it very charming. If you avoided it because of that horrible first trailer, let me tell you that it is thankfully not that film the trailer made us afraid of.
5. Avengers: Infinity War
Yes...I enjoyed this film more than Black Panther. Every MCU film up to this point has led all the way to this and Thanos is well worth the wait with him just being around for several films. Josh Brolin shines as the villain who hates how fast the population of the universe is growing and how wasteful we are with our resources so the only way he feels he can fix things is to complete this Infinity Gauntlet and erase half of the universe from existence. And in a huge shock to I'm sure many who didn't read the comics.........he does so and wins. Sorry for spoiling something that has been memed to death around here. But I'm not a complete unreasonable dick because I'm not going to tell you who is going to die because in this film, death is a very important factor here. Let's just say that if you take your young impressionable kid to this movie, you're probably going to have to have the talk about one of their favorite superheroes dying. Yeah, the cast works great and I can't wait to see how this all ends with Avengers: Endgame
4. Mirai
My favorite animated film of 2018 and when everyone says Spider-man: Into The Spider-verse is the best animated movie, I do wonder if they have seen this gem. As someone who was an older sibling and who had to deal with the issues of feeling your parents may be paying more attention to my younger sibling, this movie spoke to me in many ways. The magic and infusion of different animation styles works well in this film and does not interfere with other animations unlike other well received animated films. Now there was one scene that might have been a bit out of sorts compared to the rest of the film, I enjoyed the overall experience and if it wasnt for three other films that were released before this, I would put this as #1.
3. A Star Is Born
Let me first off say that I have not seen any of the two A Star Is Born movies that this was a remake of. Second, I am not a Lady Gaga fan as far as her music goes. With all of that out of the way, I freaking love this movie. I am really upset that Lady Gaga did not get best actress at the Golden Globes as she absolutely was great as an actress in this film. Bradley Cooper was also great as an actor and director of this film. I didn't even have to like all of the music to enjoy this film as you could see the heart was there from everyone. This is a film that was worthy of all the hype it got and I will be very intrigued to see how the Academy views this film. Big ups to Sam Elliot and Andrew Dice Clay for their roles in the film as well.
2. Paddington 2
Yes, the bear is back and surprisingly, this film was better than the first one, which was also great. Paddington just has this attitude that all kids should look up to in being kind and shows that for plenty of people, if you show a positive attitude, it rubs off on their interaction with you . Everything that made the first film enjoyable is back, but you now have some awesome side characters too, including a better villain (who is played by Hugh Grant) and a "not to be messed with" prison chef (played by Brendan Gleeson). You also had call backs to past one off characters like that one guy who kinda finds men dressed as women attractive. By the way, all what happens in this film is based on just a simple pop-up book. A third Paddington film is in the works, but a big worry for that is the director is going to be someone different as Paul King (director of the first two films) will not be directing this one (although he will still be in a creative capacity).
And before we get to #1. There is a special 1A because while I make it known that I don't include documentaries on my "End of The Year" lists. There needs to be a special exemption for this.
1A. Won't You Be My Neighbor
Words really cannot describe how much Mr. Rogers meant to me and my mom growing up as my mom has been a day care caretaker for years now. I am truly sad that there will not be another Mr. Rogers for kids of today because he believed all of us are special in our own little ways (by the way, fuck you to those who say Mr. Rogers lied in that not everyone is special because they missed the point). He enriched so many lives for so many years with his neighborhood. Hell, one of the two times I thought e-feds was a cool idea for me to do, my first character in that second run was a Mr. Rogers like character with puppets being one of my best promos. Let's just remember that Mr. Rogers was what made me enjoy puppets before I ever saw Sesame Street. I left this movie in tears because yes, they did Mr. Rogers right.
Now for #1 of this list.
1. Sorry To Bother You
This movie is not only funny, but it is a perfect satire of how messed up capitalism can be if exploited unchecked. My friend told me this movie was great and I needed to see it, and that I did. The only sad thing is I was the only person in that theater at that showing. Everyone is great in this film and the satire doesn't end with capitalism unchecked, it also makes fun of our meme culture, our own biases towards the world based on comforts, our bosses trying to pretend to be friends when they really are not, and tv shows that are completely exploitative of people that are on it. Lekeith Stanfield will definitely be an actor to look out for. There is a certain part that is definitely uncomfortable, but I will not spoil that for you. It will also be interesting to see if Boots Riley does another film again because as is well known, this is his first feature film. What is well known is I will recommend this to anyone to see and this would be my vote for best film of 2018.
Now that we are done with this. I guess we need to go down the gutters and find out the worst of 2018. Let's just say there is a reason the good films in 2018 stood out and that is because their was way more crap than there was good so this worst of the year list was harder to do. See you then....
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