Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
Blockers
The First Purge
Mission-Impossible: Fallout
Tag
Vice
10.Upgrade:
No disrespect to the excellent blockbuster Mission-Impossible: Fallout, but this low budget cyberpunk passion project from veteran horror scribe Leigh Whannell was my favorite action movie of the year. With its inventive fight scenes, liberal amount of gore and justified paranoia about the seemingly limitless capabilities of AI, Upgrade successfully brings the grimy yet socially conscious mentality of the grindhouse era into the modern day.
9.The Night Comes for Us:
The Raid series established Indonesia as a brutal powerhouse in the world of martial arts. Using a cast that features many of that franchise's key players (Joe Taslim, Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle, Zack Lee), The Night Comes for Us further bolsters their esteemed reputation. Over the course of two unrelenting hours, writer/director Timo Tjahjanto is able to showcase the inhuman athleticism, intricate fight chorography and use of improvised weapons alongside traditional hand-to-hand combat that makes Silat so exhilarating to watch.
8.Mandy:
Does Mandy serve as an excellent excuse to have overacting legend Nicolas Cage repeatedly lose his shit? Absolutely. However, Cage's trademark freakouts aren't even close to the best thing about this wild revenge flick. Between its stunning psychedelic cinematography, doom metal score and truly insane collection of characters, Mandy brings an impressive level of nutso creativity to something that could've easily just been a straightforward vigilante story. Major props to Panos Cosmatos and whatever hallucinogenic substances helped bring this deranged B-movie masterpiece to life.
7.Overlord:
Genre mashups are always a risky proposition, but when they're made by someone who understands the conventions of each individual part of the equation and how they can cohesively mesh together, they're immensely satisfying. War/horror hybrid Overlord is one of the biggest triumphs to come out of this ambitious movie blender in recent memory. Combining the real life horrors of World War II with the supernatural ones of zombies made this a distinctly harrowing experience that never lets up on tension or entertainment value.
6.Mid90s:
Coming-of-age movies often resonate with people because they see themselves or someone they know in the characters. Despite seeing more of these type of movies than I can count, this isn't a phenomenon that I've ever felt. That changed with Mid90s. Watching this group of LA kids talk good-natured shit to one another, make inexplicably reckless decisions and have serious heart-to-hearts made me feel like I was reliving my own teenage years. That personal connection I had with the characters combined with the accurate way it portrays the sophomoric vulgarity, camaraderie and acceptance of people from different backgrounds that makes skateboard culture such a cool niche movement made this a really effective, heartfelt slice of nostalgia.
5.Avengers: Infinity War:
Those assholes at Marvel really pulled it off. Infinity War was an engrossing, high stakes saga that somehow lived up to the epic billing Kevin Feige had placed upon it years before its release without ever coming across as overstuffed or incoherent. As optimistic as I am about Endgame, the slow-building sense of impending doom that served as the backbone of this film is going to make it very hard to top.
4.Creed II:
Ryan Coogler's absence didn't end up harming Creed II in the slightest. New director Steven Caple Jr.'s confidence behind the camera, terrific performances from its returning leads (Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone), and the palpable, deep-rooted emotion that drives every component of the story made this just as much of a knockout as its predecessor.
3.Game Night:
Several consecutive years of underwhelming box office receipts is causing less and less comedies to go into production. Thankfully, something as inspired as Game Night was among the lucky handful of major studio-backed productions to make into theaters in 2018. A perfectly-assembled ensemble cast (Rachel McAdams, Jesse Plemons and Billy Magnussen are the MVP's among this murder's row of comedic talents), clever script that's full of surprises and an abundance of laugh-out-loud moments made this the best pure comedy I've seen since Popstar.
2.Black Panther:
Marvel's decision to task a young director (Ryan Coogler) and relatively unheralded ensemble cast (Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Ny'ongo, Danai Guerra, Daniel Kaluuya, Letita Wright, Winston Duke) with bringing Black Panther to the big screen proved to be a stroke of genius. Crafting an elaborate espionage saga with political undertones while also delivering the likable heroes, compelling villains and pure popcorn spectacle you want out of a superhero movie is the type of ambitious feat that only an immensely talented group of creative people like this could pull off so effortlessly.
1.A Star is Born:
If you were to write out the events of A Star is Born, I'd likely assume that it was just a run-of-the-mill Hollywood melodrama. 1.Popular artist meets a talented unknown singer by chance. 2.They fall in love. 3.Popular artist use their platform to jumpstart their partner's career. 4. Unknown artist quickly turns into a sensation. 5.Personal demons and jealously of their partner's newfound success leads popular artist into a downward spiral. 6. Inevitable weepy ending. The tremendous execution of Bradley Cooper's take on this iconic entertainment biz rise-and-fall love story is an important reminder of why a rough overview ultimately doesn't mean shit. Through nuanced direction, powerful performances and an electric chemistry between Cooper and Lady Gaga, this familiar narrative turns into an engaging, grounded and truly devastating drama that has haunted me since I left the theater.
(Side Note: The original songs are also fantastic.)
No comments:
Post a Comment