Year in review: My favorite movies of 2018

Although it sort of seemed like 2018 didn’t have as many “big” movies as years past, I ended up having no trouble putting together a list of my favorite films from last year. The past few years, I’ve done a top 5, but I just couldn’t bring myself to cut the list off or even relegate some of these films to an “honorable mention,” so here’s my top 7!

As a side note, a decent number of my favorite films this year also ended up under-performing at the box office, which makes me a little sad, because I wish more people had seen them. Regardless, they’re still special to me!

7. Annihilation

“Annihilation” is a very weird movie. Parts of it don’t necessarily make sense, and if you’re looking for a happy, neatly wrapped up ending, you won’t find it here. However, I promise you this film is utterly fascinating, and one of the best sci-fi films I’ve seen in a long time. Following a group of researchers who venture inside an anomaly known as “The Shimmer,” “Annihilation” is creepy, mysterious, and thought-provoking.

6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Not many franchises manage to keep raising the bar six movies in, but Tom Cruise and Co. have done it again. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” was the best straight-up action movie I’ve watched in years, and it’s a thrilling ride that deserved to be seen on the big screen. Plus, it was fun to see Henry Cavill deviate from his superhero persona and play the villain.

5. Bumblebee

Michael Bay’s Transformers haven’t really been celebrated by critics (or a lot of geeks). That might be why “Bumblebee” didn’t generate as much buzz as some of the other movies released around the holidays. However, that’s a real shame, because this really is a lovely, character-driven film. The friendship between the robot Bumblebee and grieving teenager Charlie feels special and authentic. I loved everything about this movie.

4. Solo: A Star Wars Story

Many articles have already been written about “Solo’s” box office performance, and I don’t really want to dwell on that here. It is fair to say that “Solo” is probably the weakest of the Disney era Star Wars films (I thought “The Force Awakens,” “Rogue One,” and “The Last Jedi” were all stellar, and all three show up in my top 5 Star Wars films). Still, “Solo” is a very fun, swashbuckling adventure, and it’s a shame more people didn’t give it a chance. Emilia Clarke’s nuanced femme fatale, Qi’ra, is actually now one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters.

3. First Man

“First Man” is a very special film. It gives us an intimate portrait of the first man on the moon — Neil Armstrong. It has all the awe-inspiring scenes you’d expect from a movie about astronauts: rockets blasting off into space, the stark surface of the moon, etc. But I appreciated that this film didn’t shy away from the quieter moments, letting Ryan Gosling’s lovingly crafted performance shine through.

2. Avengers: Infinity War

After 10 years of build-up, “Avengers: Infinity War” finally arrived in theaters in 2018 as an epic cinematic event. It was an awesome experience — and a genuine thrill — to see all my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe characters together in one film. This movie was worth the wait, and definitely lived up to the hype, particularly the arrival of the MCU’s ultimate “big bad,” Thanos.

I only have one small complaint about it (and it’s the reason this film just barely missed landing in the No. 1 slot on my best of the year list). As a cinematic experience, this movie was a 10 out of 10 stars on opening night, but in the months since it has dipped just a little to 8/10.

As I was sitting in the theater on opening night, seeing Thanos snap his fingers — and characters actually disappear — was a shocking gut-punch. Yet after the dust settled (still too soon for that joke?), the ending lost a little of its narrative power. We know that pretty much all the characters who disappeared are going to come back, and I’m afraid the ending of “Infinity War” may eventually feel like a cop-out.

Still, who knows what will happen in “Endgame” this year, and regardless, “Infinity War” was a true joy to watch for this superhero-loving fangirl.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

It’s been a long time since I was surprised by the movie that ended up as No. 1 on my best of the year list. Usually I can kinda predict before the year even starts which movie will be my favorite. However, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” surprised me in a wonderfully magical way, and I just love it so much.

The animation is colorful and unique, and while I was watching this movie I genuinely felt like I was seeing something completely new. I fell in love with the characters, particularly Miles Morales, who I’d been wanting to see on the big screen for a while. This movie had plenty of hilarious moments, but it also had some powerful emotional moments as well.

While I don’t buy as many DVDs as I used to, this movie is definitely one I want to own so I can watch it again and again and again.

Box office breakdown: Summer 2018 in review

It’s hard to believe it, but another summer movie season has already come and gone at the box office. Although this probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise, the biggest winner of the summer was “Avengers: Infinity War,” wrapping up a decade of buildup and letting the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ultimate villain, Thanos, take center stage.

“Infinity War” made a boatload of money — over $2 billion worldwide, to be precise. Domestically, though, it couldn’t *quite* touch “Black Panther’s” insanely impressive $700 million. “Black Panther’s” exciting reign at the box office is a topic worthy of an article all on its own, and the film clearly resonated with audiences.

“Infinity War” is my personal favorite movie of the year so far, simply because it was such a joy to see all these characters we’ve fallen in love with in one big movie together. I figure most people have heard about the ending already, but just in case, spoiler alert! I loved that they actually let Thanos snap with the gauntlet, even if I’m 100 percent sure that those characters who disappeared are coming back. In fact, that’s my one little gripe about the film; the deaths are well-acted, particularly the scene with Spider-Man and Tony. But I know these deaths aren’t going to stick, which guts their impact just a little. However, I’m waiting to pass judgement on that until I see part 2 next year, because I have a feeling some of the original Avengers will be called to make some devastating sacrifices in order to bring back the characters who crumbled into dust.

While “Infinity War” was the biggest film of the summer, there were quite a few nice, smaller surprises along the way. I actually enjoyed “Deadpool 2” a lot more than the original; I liked the story more, I laughed at the jokes more, and Josh Brolin was awesome as time-traveling soldier Cable (Brolin wins the award for this summer’s biggest overachiever, as he also did an awesome job playing Thanos). And speaking of awesome, “Mission Impossible – Fallout” was fantastic, and is one of the best action flicks I’ve seen in a long time. I always forget about that franchise, and then it always comes back and amazes me. It was definitely a must-see this summer.

I was sad to see “Solo: A Star Wars Story” under-perform, because it really was a fun movie, despite all the drama behind the scenes. Sure, it didn’t carry the same narrative weight or emotion as “The Last Jedi,” but it’s an entertaining heist flick, and it deserved to make more money than it did. Overall, I’ve been very pleased with what Disney has done with the Star Wars franchise, and now it seems like an insanely long wait until Episode IX. I still think Disney should have held “Solo” until late fall this year, but we’ll never know how that might have played out differently at the box office.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” didn’t receive glowing reviews from critics, but I had a lot of fun watching that movie. Dinosaurs on the big screen always make me smile.

Although I didn’t see any films this summer that I disliked, I was a bit disappointed in a couple of films I was really looking forward to: “Incredibles 2” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Granted, I still had fun watching these movies, and I was glad I saw them in the theater. But at least for me, neither one of them *quite* lived up to their predecessors. I know others who really loved them, though, and I’d still recommend them.

The last film I saw this summer was “Christopher Robin,” and I thought it was a perfect note to end on. Disney’s live-action Winnie the Pooh adaptation was a lovely little tale about rediscovering joy in life, and it felt like an incredibly relevant and timely message. The importance of kindness, friendship, and compassion is a lesson that needs to be shared as often as possible.

And…that’s it! There are a couple other films that were released this summer that I’d like to catch on DVD but I probably won’t be back at the theater until late fall. I hope everyone had a great time at the movies this summer, and I’d love to hear your favorites and least favorites! Here’s my quick list — what’s yours?

• Favorite movie: Avengers: Infinity War
• Least favorite movie: Incredibles 2 (I’m really sorry, Pixar! I promise, I didn’t hate this movie!)
• Best scene: Thor arriving on the battlefield in Wakanda
• Best soundtrack: Solo: A Star Wars Story
• Best laughs: Deadpool 2
• Best special effects: Infinity War
• Best character: Thanos
• Least favorite character: The villain in Incredibles 2
• Most suspenseful: Mission Impossible – Fallout
• Best surprise: Christopher Robin

 

Summer 2018 movie preview

I can’t believe it’s already time to start getting ready for summer movie season. My 2018 has been rather hectic so far, and I was surprised when I looked at my calendar and realized “Infinity War” is THIS WEEK.

For whatever reason, I’m not feeling quite as hyped about this summer’s lineup as I sometimes am (although there’s a certain little superhero team-up film that I’m really excited for). 😉 Of all the films on my “must watch” list, the two Marvel movies are the ones I have the best feeling about and seem like the safest bets. However, that opens the door for some of these other movies to break out and surprise me.

Anyway, here’s the movies I’m most looking forward to this summer — what movies are you most excited about?

Avengers: Infinity War (April 27)

Not only is this my most anticipated movie of the summer, it’s my most anticipated movie of the year. I’ve tried to stay away from major hints and spoilers, and I’m pretty excited to walk into the theater not really knowing what’s going to happen. However, I am pretty sure that it’s going to be an absolute blast to see characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Rocket, and Groot all teaming up to save the galaxy from Thanos. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been an amazing ride this past decade, and I think this is going to be an epic conclusion to what we’ve seen so far.

Deadpool 2 (May 18)

I actually liked the first Deadpool movie but didn’t LOVE it. I got a big kick out of watching Ryan Reynolds’ antics as Deadpool (a character he was born to play). Still, I felt like the story itself wasn’t as groundbreaking as it could have been. I also felt like some of the jokes and gags were things I had seen in R-rated comedies before, and overall the film wasn’t quite as edgy as it thought it was (at least in my opinion). That’s why I’m looking forward to the sequel, actually; now that the origin story is out of the way, I want them to really cut loose with the character and use some really wacky humor that we’ve never seen before.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)

There’s a lot of skepticism about this one, and I still have my concerns about “Solo.” While I’ve loved all three of the Disney Star Wars movies so far, this one is probably the riskiest. Still, I’ve (mostly) got a good feeling about it, and I’m looking forward to seeing another Star Wars adventure. As long as this movie has some fun banter and cool spaceships and characters, I think I’ll leave the theater feeling happy. Plus, I can’t wait to see Donald Glover as Lando!

Incredibles 2 (June 15)

The first Incredibles movie premiered in 2004, and normally, I’d say that 14 years is a little too long to wait for a sequel. However, here’s why I’m still looking forward to this. Back in 2004, when the movie came out, the superhero genre was still developing. We hadn’t yet seen the start of the MCU, or even Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The superhero genre has really grown and evolved since then, and I think it will be interesting to see the Incredibles sequel (hopefully!) address this.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 22)

I thought 2015’s “Jurassic World” was a really fun film. Although the narrative wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, I enjoyed seeing a return to the classic feel of the franchise — and, of course, Chris Pratt with a gang of raptors! For whatever reason, I’m not as confident about this sequel. Still, I never complain about seeing dinosaurs on the big screen, and hopefully this will be another fun ride. Although by now, you’d think that after all these disasters, the people in these films would stop trying to market a theme park filled with dinosaurs. 😉

Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6)

I feel like the original “Ant-Man” is one of the more underrated films in the MCU. It didn’t make as big a splash at the box office, but I really, really liked it (it’s actually one of my favorite Marvel films). I’m hoping the sequel is just as fun as the first one, and I’m super excited that Wasp gets to join the action as a superhero this time around.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (July 27)

Mission: Impossible is one of those franchises that I really enjoy but kinda forget about sometimes. It’s also one of those rare franchises that actually keeps getting better and better as it goes. Although the fourth one — “Ghost Protocol” — is my favorite (that scene with Tom Cruise climbing up the outside of the Burj Khalifa is still a heart-stopper), I enjoyed the immediate follow-up, “Rogue Nation,” and “Fallout” looks cool too.

My top five most anticipated movies of 2018

With 2017 behind us, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2018! There will be plenty of movies to look forward to in theaters this year, including a certain little Marvel movie that will wrap up a decade of build-up. It might make a little money at the box office. 😉

Although it’s always hard to narrow my list down, here are the top five movies I’m most excited about this year!

1. Avengers: Infinity War (May 4), Black Panther (Feb. 16), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6)

I’m already cheating on my supposed “five movie limit” by combining these three into one entry, but otherwise I’d only have two slots left in my list. 😉 I’m super excited about all three of these. I’m also glad we only have to wait another month for “Black Panther.” Although I had a lot of fun watching “Thor: Ragnarok” last year, it will be nice to see a little more serious superhero movie like “Black Panther.” I loved his character in “Captain America: Civil War” and can’t wait to find out more about that world. I also think the original “Ant-Man” is sometimes a little underappreciated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’s actually one of my favorites. I’m looking forward to seeing an expanded role for the Wasp. Still, if I had to pick only one most anticipated movie of the year, it would have to be “Infinity War.” It’s hard to believe that this all started back in 2008 with “Iron Man” and has now grown into this expansive cinematic universe. I have a feeling the MCU is going to look a lot different after the fourth Avengers movie wraps up, but it’s been a great ride so far. Hopefully it will be the epic finale to this phase of the MCU that the characters deserve.

2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)

I’m a huge Star Wars fan; pretty much everybody knows that. So despite my misgivings about a spinoff Han Solo film, I’m definitely willing to give it a chance. I would have much rather Disney given us an Obi-Wan or Boba Fett spinoff movie, but since this is what we’re getting, I’m hoping it will turn out well. I’ve loved all the Disney Star Wars flicks so far, and in an odd way, the director shakeup behind the scenes on the “Solo” set boosted my confidence a little. If Disney had doubts about the direction the film was taking, I’m glad they were willing to brave the negative PR and make a change. Harrison Ford as Han Solo is such an iconic performance and getting audiences to invest in a new actor playing the character is probably the biggest obstacle the film is facing. However, I’m super excited to see Donald Glover as Lando, and it will also be fun to see Woody Harrelson in a Star Wars movie. On another note, I wish they had pushed back the deadline and released this movie in December, rather than summertime so close to “Infinity War.” But it is kinda cool it’s being released on the 41st anniversary of “A New Hope.”

3. Annihilation (Feb. 23)

“Annihilation” is my pick for best potential breakout movie. I don’t know a lot about the film, other than what I’ve seen in the mysterious, eerie trailers, and I’d like to keep it that way. I’m not even sure how to describe it, really, other than that Natalie Portman’s character is apparently going to investigate some sort of really weird scientific anomaly that is most definitely not benign (based on the title “Annihilation”). Although sometimes an early winter release date doesn’t speak of a lot of confidence from a film studio, sometimes it’s nice to get these movies outside the increasingly crowded summer season. “Black Panther” is going to do very well the weekend before, so I’m hoping this has a shot at being a surprise hit. Hopefully it will offer better sci-fi scares than last summer’s “Alien: Covenant.”

4. Pacific Rim: Uprising (March 23)

The original “Pacific Rim” does not have a particularly deep plot, characters, or dialogue, but I absolutely love that movie. Where else can you see a giant robot pick up a cargo ship and use it to smash a giant monster? One could argue that the film doesn’t really need a sequel, especially since director Guillermo del Toro isn’t returning. However, I’m actually really excited to see John Boyega heading up a new sci-fi blockbuster. I really loved him as ex-stormtrooper Finn in the new Star Wars trilogy and I think he’s a good fit to play the son of the coolest character in the original movie, Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost. The film’s March release date also might be a good thing, giving it a chance to stand out before the onslaught of summer blockbusters.

5. Ready Player One (March 30)

The novel “Ready Player One” has been on my “to be read” list for a long time so at this point I’ll probably end up watching the movie first. The story takes place in the dystopian future, where people find solace in a virtual reality world known as OASIS. Teenager Wade Watts enjoys the escape the OASIS provides…until dangerous real-world problems start bleeding into the virtual one. One of the things I’m most excited about in this movie is all the pop culture references that will supposedly be in the film, including “The Iron Giant,” “Back to the Future,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and more. The first Lego movie is the only other film I can think of with this many cool characters mashed together. Plus, this movie was directed by one of my all-time favorite directors — Steven Spielberg — so that’s always a plus!

So, what’s on your “must-see” list for 2018? What will be the biggest hit, or the biggest flop?