So it’s that time of year again, the time that we take a look back at some of the movies from the year that have made the obligatory list of the Top Movies of 2018.
It’s been a tough one to a pick just ten movies for 2018, so I’ve decided to do something a little different this year, I’ve listed my top 10 movies that I ranked 4.5 – 5 out of 5, but I’m also going to add the addition of several movies that I also enjoyed so much that they deserve to be listed, these are the movies that I ranked 4 out of 5. Ranking is sorted via my account over on LetterBoxd.
Top 20 Movies of 2018
Avengers: Infinity Way
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artefacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
This certainly was the movie that shocked cinema goers with not only the opening but also that famous click of fingers from Thanos that changed the future of the Avengers and the Marvel Universe.
Mission Impossible: Fallout
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to
So far Mission Impossible: Fallout has been my favourite in the MI franchise, it also had a great way to end the franchise, but time will tell if we are going to be granted with another action packed movie.
A Star is Born
A Star is Born blew me away when I got chance to see the preview of the movie, not only is the movie amazing and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have such wonderful on-screen chemistry, but the soundtrack for A Star is Born is stunning.
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers—and falls in love with—struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer—until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
They Shall Not Grow Old
I’d heard so much about They Shall Not Grow Old and as soon as I got the chance to see the film it was amazing, Peter Jackson and his team have brought the old footage to life and in such a wonderful way.
They Shall Not Grow Old starts with the old footage from the 1910’s in a small screen format that slowly gets bigger on the screen, the footage is raw, untouched, and shows a time that has long since passed. What makes this documentary so distinctive is that the commentary, throughout the film, is from the veterans from World War I, taken from the many archives to give us an emotional connection to those that survived the horrors of the war.
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
Come
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Continuing on from the very popular Ant-Man, this new movie brought Ant-Man and the Wasp together on the big screen and in 3D.
Just when his time under house arrest is about to end, Scott Lang puts again his freedom at risk to help Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym dive into the quantum realm and try to accomplish, against time and any chance of success, a very dangerous rescue mission.
Black Panther
King T’Challa returns home from America to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without
Hereditary
I went see Hereditary not knowing much about the movie, I’d purposely not watched the trailers or anything about the movie, all I knew that it was getting great reviews and it was a mind-bending and amazing movie to see on the big screen.
Hereditary still gave me the chills watching it on Blu-ray, the sound mix and the superb soundtrack in the cinema was something that has come home, watching the film on DD5.1 surround system has those low-frequency sounds drifting through the speakers with a spine-tingling force of something unnatural, which all adds to the atmosphere of watching the movie in your own home.
Love, Simon
Everyone deserves a great love story. But for
Love, Simon has some wonderful comical moments throughout as well, Mr Worth (Tony Hale), the headteacher of the school, had me in stitches with his moments of being down with the kids and in this day and age of technology I loved how he was taking the phones of the students and he spoke to them, brilliant.
It was lovely to see how Simon’s parents played by Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel were portrayed when he has to open up to them and tell them he’s gay, nicely done.
A Quiet Place
Very much like Hereditary, I went to see A Quiet Place not knowing much about it and I’m so glad I did, the film was a pleasant surprise and something a little different.
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
The Other Side of the Wind
The Orson Wells film that was 40 years in the making and is a film that if you are a film fan
Surrounded by fans and skeptics, grizzled director J.J. “Jake” Hannaford returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his innovative comeback film.
Aquaman
Aquaman is certainly a film that has divided cinema-goers and it may have become a bit of a Marmite movie, but for me I thoroughly the crazy roller coaster ride in 3D IMAX.
Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
I love the Warner Bros. Animations and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is another of the movies that I was dying to
In an alternative Victorian Age Gotham City, Batman begins his war on crime while he investigates a new series of murders by Jack the Ripper.
The Christmas Chronicles
The Christmas Chronicles is the story of sister and brother, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis), whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.
Probably one of the best modern-day Christmas films for a long time, Kurt Russell certainly rocks at Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles.
Crazy Rich Asians
The romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her long-time boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life.
It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can complicate things.
Deadpool 2
Sadly not a patch on the first Deadpool movie, but this second outing for the wisecracking mercenary, sees Deadpool battling the evil and powerful Cable and other bad guys to save a boy’s life.
Packed with gags and comedy, Deadpool 2 s certainly one to see and the extended cut of the movie certainly makes up for the theatrical release.
The Death of Superman
Another of the DC animated movies, The Death of Superman ultimately finds Superman in a fight to the finish when the Man of Steel becomes the only hero who can stand in the way of the monstrous creature Doomsday and his unstoppable rampage of destruction.
The Death of Superman is only Part 1 of the story, a second release is due in 2019 that will complete the story, so now it’s a waiting game for that release to come out.
Game Night
Game Night is certainly a laugh out loud movie and for me, it was a pleasant surprise to see such a well written and performed comedy.
Max and Annie’s weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party — complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it’s all supposed to be part of the game. As the competitors set out to solve the case, they start to learn that neither the game nor Brooks are what they seem to be. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic night.
The House with the Clock in its Walls
Lewis Barnavelt, a shy but indomitable ten-year-old orphan, goes to live with his uncle Jonathan, a former entertaining magician, who hides too many creepy secrets, in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart which Jonathan is obsessed to find with the assistance of his enigmatic next-door
I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed with the film, it’s a film that is really aimed at the kids, no matter how big they are, the special effects in the film look brilliant and work well with the story, there are some moments that may scare the very young children such as a character coming back from the grave and the pumpkins that have a taste for flesh and spew out their sticky insides to trap their victims.
What really surprised me about The House with the Clock in its Walls is that the move was directed by Eli Roth, yes the same director that brought us Cabin Fever and the gruesome Hostel, but while watching the movie, you can see where is macabre humour comes into play for the film that is based on the novel by John Bellairs.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
The story of the film may lose its way from time to time and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom does start to feel like an all-out action movie with those overtones of “save the planet” and “don’t the animals of the world become extinct“, but for my sins, I damn well enjoyed the Fallen Kingdom, it was fun, silly and like the theme park it was a good ride, OK it’s not going to please everyone, but it’s a film, don;t take it too seriously, just go see it, enjoy it and have fun.
Watching the movie in RealD 3D certainly put a nice touch to the film, the 3D doesn’t have those “jump out of the screen” moments, but it certainly has some nice touches of depth that helps you feel that you are in the middle of the action, the scenes with Owen and Claire running with the dinosaurs (a scene which reminded me so much of Jurassic Park’s “They’re flocking this way” scene) looks great as you get the sense of the urgency of escaping from the destruction behind them.
Worthy Mentions of Movies in 2018
As I mentioned earlier, there were some great movies that I thoroughly enjoyed during 2018 that just didn’t make the top 20 and were just on the edge. So now it’s time to give some of those movies a mention.
The Snarling
The Snarling is a new horror-comedy from writer-director Pablo Raybould, which despite the story revolving around a series of gruesome murders, succeeds primarily by focusing on the comedy. Pablo utilises the remote landscape to create some tense moments and exploits the characters to continuously toy with the audience regarding the identity of the killer, but it is the comical delivery where the film really succeeds.
Stan & Ollie
I was lucky enough to get to see the preview Stan & Ollie, directed by Jon S. Baird (Filth) Stan and Ollie brings us a fresh look at the Laurel and Hardy, the world’s most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song – a gruelling theatre tour of post-war Britain.
Stan & Ollie is a beautifully produced movie and one that many fans of the comedy duo will enjoy watching as Coogan and Reilly play the lead roles with such passion that during the movie you feel as almost as if you are watching the actually Laurel & Hardy.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
