The Best and Worst Movies of 2018

There are 365 films that I watched for the first time in 2018, and a good chunk of those were released in 2018, so I have opinions on the quality of a few of them, and I thought I'd leave them here.

Before I start, I would like to say that, even though I saw dozens of 2018 films in 2018, I still missed several that have been highly acclaimed (and several more that are on everyone's 'worst' lists), or have not yet had the chance to see some because Australia gets everything last (seriously, If Beale Street Could Talk is one of my most anticipated movies that came out this year and it doesn't get released until next February here). If there's anything on here among the best that you think I missed, tell me, I'm always happy to watch new films and see where they take me.

The Best Movies that are actually 2017 movies but Australia gets everything last.

These are the movies that had wide release in 2017, were made eligible for awards in 2017, and ended up on everyone else's 'Best of 2017' lists, but didn't get to Australia until all of that happened. Each of these movies is fantastic, and absolutely deserving of a watch, but I didn't want to include them on the list of the best of 2018 because most of them could easily fit and I wanted that list to focus on movies that received wide release and recognition in 2018.

Call Me By Your Name
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water

Honourable Mentions

As always, there are movies that didn't quite make the top cut, and this year was especially difficult because of just how many really good movies came out this year; from wacky and provocative original concepts to examinations of careers that have influenced genres, writing, and culture, to some surprisingly excellent conventional work, this year has been chock full of good film, and though I don't feel these are the absolute peak, they are still some of the best movies given wide release in 2018.

Annihilation
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
First Reformed
Leave No Trace
Sorry to Bother You
Upgrade
Won't You Be My Neighbour?

The 5 Best Movies of 2018

What that title doesn't tell you is that this is where my biases for Horror and Animation show themselves once more.

5. Mandy

I've watched this four times and I'm still not tired of it. The definition of style over substance (or, depending on your perspective, substance via style), with the most engrossing visuals, the most haunting soundtrack, and a career-defining performance from Nicolas Cage that show the very best of this incredible horror mood-piece.

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

This movie could have earned a spot on this list for its animation alone, but the film is so much more than that. The sheer creativity of blending both the story and the animation with comic book style, as well as the emotional resonance with which the story expresses itself, puts this film close to the top of its genre, and similarly close to the top of this year's films.

3. Hereditary

Essentially proof that classically-styled horror can still work in this day and age, Hereditary is leaps and bounds ahead of what most of the genre is doing right now, combining the old with the new and really hammering home the concept of what horror is at its best: allegory for something else that's so real it's more uncomfortable than the actual horror.

2. Paddington 2

This is basically perfect, so see it. If you don't, you'll know the discomfort of a judgmental stare from a teddy bear.

1. Roma

I don't throw out the term 'masterpiece' lightly (unless I'm being hyperbolic, which I'm not in this case). It's the sort of thing that cuts to the heart of verisimilitude in the cinematic experience in a way few films do, and it is utterly enthralling because of it.

Dishonourable Mentions

Not every bad movie is the worst, and there's far less here than among the good movies, but these are still movies bad enough it felt worth mentioning them, but not quite so bad that I want them commemorated as part of the worst of the year.

Alien Predator*
Extinction
Lake Placid: Legacy*
Life Itself
Mute
The Titan
Truth or Dare

*These were both cheap B-movies so forgettable I almost forgot to put them on this list, so as bad as they are, I can hardly remember a thing about them, nor did I actually expect anything from them.

The 5 Worst Movies of 2018

I don't often like to be negative about movies, because they're such a magical means for us to tell stories and they've produced some of the most incredible visual experiences of my life; they're captured pieces of our imagination shown to the whole world to give us a chance to feel every emotion, from sheer delight to utter horror to complete fury. That said, some films fail at this spectacularly, and sometimes those terrible experiences are memorable enough to worth mentioning.

5. The Cloverfield Paradox

A cheap excuse to throw a million scary ideas at the wall and see if any of them stick couple with cynical name branding for easy recognition that's only worsened by the weak and pointless attempts to connect the events of the film to Cloverfield.

4. The Predator 

A movie that might one day be good with a director's cut, but until then is one of the most painful examples of horrible editing I've ever seen, made all the worse in my experience by my adoration of the franchise and my hope for its future being dashed against the rocks of studio meddling.

3. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

On the other hand, this is what happens when a studio can't tell its writer to reign things in and that writer believes far too much in their own hype. The Crimes of Grindelwald is two hours of non-story designed to excite the audience for another movie that fails spectacularly because it's too concerned with hiding information from the audience for the sake of a few insanely stupid twists and doesn't seem to care for theme or characterisation.

2. Fifty Shades Freed 

I don't feel like ice cream anymore.

1. Holmes and Watson

This was somehow both lifeless and aggressively unfunny, without single well-executed idea and painfully boring at almost all time; essentially the antithesis of good comedy in every way.

Published December 30th, 2018, Happy Birthday to me.

365 Days of Film: The Full 2018 List

In 2018, I decided to try my goal, for a third year running, to watch one film I'd never seen before for every day of the year. Here's the list of movies I watched in full, along with the ratings I ended up settling on for them by the end of the year.

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - 8/10
2. Collateral (2004) - 7/10
3. Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) - 5/10
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001) - 5/10
5. The Guard (2011) - 7.5/10
6. Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016) - 4/10
7. An American in Paris (1951) - 8/10
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) - 5/10
9. District 13: Ultimatum (2009) - 6.5/10
10. Sense and Sensibility (1995) - 8/10
11. The Handmaiden (2016) - 8.5/10
12. Them! (1954) - 7.5/10
13. Call Me By Your Name (2017) - 8/10
14. The Shape of Water (2017) - 8.5/10
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - 8/10
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - 8/10
17. The Post (2017) - 8/10
18. Chicago (2002) - 8.5/10
19. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017) - 4/10
20. Ferdinand (2017) - 6/10
21. Jigsaw (2017) - 4/10
22. Vampires (1998) - 5/10
23. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - 6/10
24. The Greatest Showman (2017) - 5.5/10
25. Last Flag Flying (2017) - 7/10
26. Carrie (1976) - 8/10
27. Lights Out (2016) - 6/10
28. Sabrina (1954) - 8/10
29. I, Tonya (2017) - 7.5/10
30. Species II (1998) - 2/10
31. Jack Frost (1997) - 4/10
32. Darkest Hour (2017) - 7/10
33. Chef (2014) - 7/10
34. Superman III (1983) - 3.5/10
35. Beyond Skyline (2017) - 5/10
36. The King of Comedy (1982) - 8.5/10
37. Phantom Thread (2017) - 9/10
38. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) - 3.5/10
39. Daddy's Home (2017) - 4/10
40. 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012) - 1/10
41. 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) - 2.5/10
42. Lady Bird (2017) - 10/10
43. Bad Words (2013) - 6/10
44. On the Beach (1959) - 7/10
45. Superman IV (1987) - 2/10
46. Black Panther (2018) - 8/10
47. Mudbound (2017) - 9/10
48. Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965) - 5/10
49. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) - 6/10
50. Coco (2017) - 8/10
51. Run the Tide (2016) - 3.5/10
52. Finding Your Feet (2017) - 5.5/10
53. Falling Down (1993) - 6.5/10
54. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - 1/10
55. Game Night (2018) - 7/10
56. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - 4/10
57. Mute (2018) - 3.5/10
58. Battle Royale (2000) - 8/10
59. Superman Returns (2006) - 6/10
60. The End of Evangelion (1997) - 8/10
61. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - 6/10
62. Raising Arizona (1987) - 7.5/10
63. Son of Godzilla (1967) - 4/10
64. Macbeth (2015) - 7.5/10
65. Red Sparrow (2018) - 6/10
66. A Silent Voice (2016) - 7.5/10
67. The Illusionist (2006) - 7/10
68. Destroy All Monsters (1968) - 5.5/10
69. Brick Mansions (2014) - 5/10
70. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - 7.5/10
71. Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) - 3/10
72. Annihilation (2018) - 8/10
73. Tomb Raider (2018) - 5/10
74. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974) - 5/10
75. The Wind Rises (2013) - 8/10
76. Notorious (1946) - 9/10
77. Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) - 5/10
78. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) - 6/10
79. Rushmore (1998) - 8/10
80. Brick (2005) - 9/10
81. Ready Player One (2018) - 5/10
82. The Terminal (2004) - 6/10
83. Sahara (2005) - 5/10
84. Funny Games (1997) - 7/10
85. Funny Games (2007) - 5/10
86. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - 4/10
87. The Wild Bunch (1969) - 9/10
88. A Quiet Place (2018) - 7.5/10
89. Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) - 5/10
90. Phantom of the Opera (2004) - 5/10
91. The Director and the Jedi (2018) - 7/10
92. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - 6.5/10
93. Almost Famous (2000) - 8.5/10
94. Godzilla's Revenge (All Monsters Attack) (1969) - 2/10
95. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - 5/10
96. Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) - 5/10
97. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) - 4/10
98. Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) - 5.5/10
99. Good Time (2017) - 7/10
100. Mission: Impossible III (2006) - 7/10
101. Isle of Dogs (2018) - 8/10
102. Rampage (2018) - 6/10
103. I'm Still Here (2010) - 5.5/10
104. You Were Never Really Here (2017) - 8.5/10
105. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) - 6.5/10
106. The Crazies (2010) - 6/10
107. Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) - 2/10
108. Final Destination (2000) - 5/10
109. Love, Simon (2018) - 7.5/10
110. Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) - 6/10
111. Why We're Here: 15 Years of Rooster Teeth (2018) - 6.5/10
112. I Saw the Devil (2010) - 7/10
113. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - 7/10
114. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 7.5/10
115. Russian Ark (2002) - 8.5/10
116. Brazil (1985) - 8.5/10
117. Save the Tiger (1973) - 7.5/10
118. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 9.5/10
119. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - 7/10
120. Jailhouse Rock (1957) - 7/10
121. Paddington 2 (2017) - 10/10
122. Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) - 5/10
123. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) - 2.5/10
124. The Lady Eve (1941) - 8.5/10
125. Alligator (1980) - 5.5/10
126. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018) - 6.5/10
127. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) - 5.5/10
128. Final Destination 2 (2003) - 5/10
129. Not Another Teen Movie (2001) - 4/10
130. The Sting (1973) - 8/10
131. 12 Angry Men (1997) - 7.5/10
132. Final Destination 3 (2006) - 5/10
133. Lake Placid 3 (2010) - 1/10
134. The Final Destination (2009) - 3.5/10
135. Final Destination 5 (2011) - 5/10
136. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - 7/10
137. Deadpool 2 (2018) - 7/10
138. Soldier (1998) - 4/10 
139. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) - 8/10
140. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) - 6.5/10
141. The Condemned (2007) - 3.5/10
142. Fallen (1998) - 6/10
143. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - 6.5/10
144. Fifty Shades Freed (2018) - 2/10
145. Early Man (2018) - 6.5/10
146. The Brothers Grimm (2005) - 6/10
147. Ong Bak (2003) - 7/10
148. Leatherface (2017) - 4/10
149. Constantine (2005) - 6/10
150. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) - 4.5/10
151. Videodrome (1983) - 7/10
152. Hereditary (2018) - 9/10
153. Blue Jasmine (2013) - 8/10
154. UHF (1989) - 5/10
155. A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - 5/10
156. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) - 3/10
157. Midnight in Paris (2011) - 7.5/10
158. Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - 8/10
159. Incredibles 2 (2018) - 8/10
160. Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) - 6/10
161. Upgrade (2018) - 7.5/10
162. F the Prom (2017) - 1/10
163. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) - 5.5/10
164. Rio Bravo (1959) - 8.5/10
165. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) - 6.5/10
166. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) - 6/10
167. Modern Times (1936) - 10/10
168. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 3.5/10
169. Macbeth (1948) - 7/10
170. The Crow: City of Angels (1996) - 3/10
171. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 6/10
172. The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011) - 1/10
173. Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) - 6/10
174. Smiley (2012) - 1/10
175. Ninja Assassin (2009) - 4/10
176. In the Fade (2017) - 7/10
177. Iron Sky (2012) - 6/10
178. Terminal (2018) - 4/10
179. Sweet Country (2017) - 8/10
180. Deep Cover (1992) - 7.5/10
181. Flash Gordon (1980) - 7.5/10
182. The Brothers Bloom (2008) - 7/10
183. The Defiant Ones (1958) - 7/10
184. The Road (2009) - 7.5/10
185. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - 7.5/10
186. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - 6.5/10
187. The Visit (2015) - 5.5/10
188. Truth or Dare (2018) - 3/10
189. Island of Lost Souls (1932) - 7.5/10
190. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - 8.5/10
191. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - 8/10
192. Insidious (2010) - 5/10
193. Skyscraper (2018) - 5/10
194. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - 9/10
195. The Stepford Wives (1972) - 5.5/10
196. The Stepford Wives (2004) - 4/10
197. The Great Dictator (1940) - 9/10
198. Holiday Inn (1942) - 7.5/10
199. Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) - 4/10
200. Iron Monkey (1993) - 8/10
201. Platoon (1986) - 9/10
202. Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) - 8/10
203. Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) - 5/10
204. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004) - 1/10
205. Blockers (2018) - 6.5/10
206. Rambo (2009) - 5/10
207. The Tunnel (2011) - 7/10
208. In the Name of the Father (1993) - 8/10
209. Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) - 4/10
210. Extinction (2018) - 3.5/10
211. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014) - 6/10
212. Geostorm (2017) - 2/10
213. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 7/10
214. Badlands (1973) - 9/10
215. Edge of Darkness (2010) - 6/10
216. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 9/10
217. Detroit (2017) - 7.5/10
218. Hostel (2005) - 5/10
219. Take Shelter (2011) - 8/10
220. To Have and Have Not (1944) - 8/10
221. The Trial (1962) - 8.5/10
222. Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965) - 4/10
223. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - 8.5/10
224. People Places Things (2015) - 7/10
225. Street Fighter (1994) - 4/10
226. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (2009) - 1.5/10
227. Slither (2006) - 6.5/10
228. BlacKkKlansman (2018) - 8.5/10
229. Nazis at the Centre of the Earth (2012) - 2.5/10
230. The Meg (2018) - 5.5/10
231. Carrie Pilby (2016) - 5.5/10
232. Southland Tales (2006) - 5.5/10
233. The Game of Death (1978) - 5/10
234. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - 8/10
235. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) - 8.5/10
236. Boar (2017) - 3/10
237. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) - 5/10
238. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) - 2/10
239. Universal Soldier (1992) - 4/10
240. The Hurt Locker (2009) - 8.5/10
241. Solaris (2002) - 7/10
242. Bowfinger (1999) - 7/10
243. Without a Clue (1988) - 5.5/10
244. 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30) (2004) - 6/10
245. Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - 5/10
246. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) - 8/10
247. Blood Fest (2018) - 5/10
248. Non-Stop (2014) - 6/10
249. The Titan (2018) - 3.5/10
250. Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) - 1.5/10
251. Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) - 2/10
252. Ocean's Eight (2018) - 6/10
253. The Predator (2018) - 3.5/10
254. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - 5/10
255. The Producers (1967) - 8/10
256. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) - 4/10
257. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) - 3.5/10
258. Mandy (2018) - 8.5/10
259. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) - 2/10
260. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) - 5.5/10
261. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) - 1/10
262. The Green Inferno (2013) - 3.5/10
263. Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) - 5/10
264. Salvador (1986) - 7.5/10
265. Chimes at Midnight (1965) - 8.5/10
266. Session 9 (2001) - 6/10
267. Alien Predator (2018) - 2/10
268. Red State (2011) - 5.5/10
269. Once Upon a Time in China (1991) - 7/10
270. He Got Game (1998) - 7/10
271. The Mechanic (1972) - 5.5/10
272. The Mechanic (2011) - 5.5/10
273. A Star is Born (1937) - 7.5/10
274. A Star is Born (1954) - 8.5/10
275. A Star is Born (1976) - 5/10
276. Venom (2018) - 5/10
277. Top Gun (1986) - 7/10
278. Primeval (2007) - 3.5/10
279. Paper Man (2009) - 5/10
280. 48 Hrs. (1982) - 7/10
281. The Spirit (2008) - 4/10
282. The Wicker Man (1973) - 8/10
283. Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - 5/10
284. Miller's Crossing (1990) - 8/10
285. The Garden of Words (2013) - 8.5/10
286. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - 8.5/10
287. Enemy (2013) - 7.5/10
288. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - 8.5/10
289. A Star is Born (2018) - 8/10
290. The First Purge (2018) - 5/10
291. A Night at the Opera (1935) - 8/10
292. Elf (2003) - 6.5/10
293. Tequila Sunrise (1988) - 6/10
294. Road to Perdition (2002) - 7/10
295. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) - 6.5/10
296. The Great Train Robbery (1903) - 8/10
297. The Other Side of the Wind (2018) - 8/10
298. Never Hike Alone (2017) - 6/10
299. The Boxtrolls (2014) - 7/10
300. The Phantom (1996) - 6/10
301. Suspiria (2018) - 6.5/10
302. Coraline (2009) - 8/10
303. The Darjeeling (2007) - 7/10
304. Elvis (1979) - 7/10
305. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - 6/10
306. The Station Agent (2003) - 8/10
307. First Man (2018) - 8/10
308. Halloween (2018) - 7.5/10
309. Hotel Artemis (2018) - 6/10
310. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) - 3/10
311. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 8/10
312. Jack and Jill (2011) - 1.5/10
313. The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) - 6/10
314. First Reformed (2017) - 8.5/10
315. Waterworld (1995) - 6/10
316. The Intouchables (2011) - 6.5/10
317. Total Recall (2012) - 5/10
318. Wonder Wheel (2017) - 5/10
319. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 7.5/10
320. The Proposition (2005) - 8/10
321. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) - 7/10
322. Sorry to Bother You (2018) - 8/10
323. The Lost World (1925) - 8/10
324. Paprika (2006) - 8/10
325. Creed II (2018) - 7.5/10
326. Apostle (2018) - 6.5/10
327. 5 Centimetres per Second (2007) - 7.5/10
328. Possum (2018) - 7/10
329. A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 7/10
330. The Ice Storm (1997) - 8/10
331. Scream 3 (2000) - 5/10
332. The Crow: Salvation (2000) - 4/10
333. Wild Wild West (1999) - 3/10
334. The Lone Ranger (2013) - 4/10
335. Scream 4 (2011) - 5.5/10
336. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) - 7/10
337. Overlord (2018) - 6.5/10
338. Infernal Affairs (2002) - 8/10
339. The Transporter (2002) - 5.5/10
340. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - 9/10
341. Transporter 2 (2005) - 6.5/10
342. Transporter 3 (2008) - 5.5/10
343. Eighth Grade (2018) - 8/10
344. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) - 6/10
345. A Simple Favour (2018) - 7/10
346. Bodied (2017) - 8/10
347. Candyman (1992) - 6.5/10
348. 8 Mile (2002) - 8/10
349. Life Itself (2018) - 3.5/10
350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - 6/10
351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - 4/10
352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - 6.5/10
353. Roma (2018) - 10/10
354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - 6/10
355. Widows (2018) - 8/10 
356. Showgirls (1995) - 5/10
357. Mr. Church (2016) - 4.5/10
358. Won't You Be My Neighbour? (2018) - 8.5/10
359. Holmes and Watson (2018) - 1.5/10
360. Leave No Trace (2018) - 8.5/10
361. The Collector (2009) - 5/10
362. The Dictator (2012) - 6/10
363. Aquaman (2018) - 6/10
364. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - 3/10
365. Bird Box (2018) - 6/10

As a piece of trivia that I thought was fun, here's the total number of individual ratings I gave to movies this year:

1/10:     8
1.5/10:  4
2/10:    10
2.5/10:  3
3/10:     8
3.5/10: 14
4/10:    25
4.5/10:  2
5/10:    45
5.5/10: 21
6/10:    40
6.5/10: 22
7/10:    41
7.5/10: 28
8/10:    52
8.5/10: 25
9/10:    12
9.5/10:  1
10/10:   4

Published December 30th, 2018

2018 Film Review: Aquaman (2018)

Directed by: James Wan
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall, Geoff Johns, James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson
IMDb Link

Aquaman has a little bit of everything I love: a kaiju, laser sharks, a hidden world at the centre of the Earth filled with dinosaurs, Dolph Lungdren, etc., and despite the fact that these are largely used for a few fleeting moments of spectacle, the ambition of said moments and the skill that executes them is enough for me to appreciate this movie despite the film's other shortcomings.

Arthur Curry, the Aquaman (Momoa), now in the habit of saving people after the events of Justice League, fights against the destiny thrust upon him. Princess Mera (Heard) and Vizier Vulko (Willem Dafoe) come to him in dire urgency, pressing upon him the chance to lead the Atlantean people and prevent a war between the land and sea lead by his half-brother King Orm (Wilson), but Arthur doesn't believe he will be accepted by a people who killed his mother and only see him as a half-breed mongrel. It's a fairly standard hero's journey that packs in the scant details of the convoluted history of the Atlantean people and the increasingly violent political machinations of Orm between the steps Arthur takes to being the person the world needs him to be.

Each beat of the story is punctuated with incredible set-pieces filled with a child-like glee for the ridiculous. Groups of Atlanteans on giant, armored sea horses fight other groups of Atlateans riding sharks equipped with guns that turn water in to lasers (yes, that's the literal in-movie explanation), who also fight crab people that use giant crabs as catapults, all directed with surprising clarity and momentum that keeps it exciting. A chase through a Sicilian village involving big laser eyes is stylised with long takes that slide smoothly between two escapes that feature two different yet equally tense paces. Another chase where Arthur and Mera must run from mutant fish monsters is reminiscent of director Wan's early work in horror. Each moment of action is not only insanely fun as a concept, it's also expressed with considerable talent.

That said, as good as it looks, none of the action feels weight because of the unexceptional story behind it. The convoluted mass of reasons for everything that happens that gets layered on top of the simple conflicts between Arthur and Orm and within Arthur himself are given far too much uninteresting exposition to be the main thrust of getting invested in the action scenes, so even though the skilled hand that moves them makes the action exciting, it is often in spite of the way the film contextualises it, rather than because of it. There's not a lot to really care about in the broader strokes of the Atlantean conflict, and Orm isn't given much in the way of characterisation in these scenes, so he comes across as little more than a cartoon villain with mother issues. Arthur himself is given what he needs to have a functional character arc, but he too often fluctuates between trying to make us laugh and trying to make us feel, and while Momoa approaches both with equal aplomb, it's never more than enough for things to things to work.

The Short Version: While the story and characters are mostly forgettable, the pure scale, skill, and imagination on display in the set-pieces still make it worth watching. Aquaman is a big, dumb, cheesy superhero movie of epic proportions and ambition, and I had a good time watching it.

Rating: 6/10

Published December 29th, 2018

2018 Film Review: Holmes and Watson (2018)

Directed by: Etan Cohen
Written by: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Rebecca Hall
IMDb Link

I'm almost glad this movie exists, because now it's easy to pick the worst movie of the year.

With Ferrell as Holmes and Reilly as Watson, this movie tries and fails to be a send-up of Sherlock Holmes. The movie lifts visual style from the Downey Jr. movies, and generally tries to make fun of the sometimes convoluted nature of mystery stories, but does so with all the finesse, commitment, focus and energy of a depressed sloth. Ideas for jokes and story threads are introduced and dropped without much thought; the comedic juxtaposition of Lestrade as the competent Police Officer whom no-one listens to, while Sherlock prattles away to the only people dumber than he, is essentially forgotten about after the first act, along with Sherlock's considerable sexual attraction to Lestrade (yes, that's a thing they decided to include and then forget about; why they did either of those things is a mystery). Anything that does manage to carry all the way through the mind-numbing story is inconsistent and painfully boring, with Sherlock's intellect always as outlandishly high or low as it needs to be for the plot, Watson's nothing of a self-esteem issue obscured by a deluge of cheap jokes about medicine in that era, and the testing of the relationship between the two so artificial and poorly exerted it's a wonder they even bothered. On top of that, between the sensual autopsy (you read that right), the out-of-place musical number, and the constant anachronistic pop culture references, including a finale involving the Titanic and a cameo from Billy Zane (not a character, just the actor Billy Zane), this movie has all the makings of the likes of Epic Movie or Meet the Spartans. Why this film exists as it does, I have no idea.

The Short Version: This is a career-low for everyone involved.

Rating: 1.5/10

Published December 28th, 2018

2018: A Week of Movies - December 17th to December 23rd

Only eight films to go, and I will have done this for a third year in a row. What have I learned in that time? I guess I'll have to think with all the free time I'll have next year when I'm not spending every other moment watching movies.

350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - December 18th

I can't recall the last time I watched a movie so skillfully made and yet barely worth experiencing. The visual style is incredibly well-realised and heavily reminiscent of noir films, with occasional blatant references to films like Rear Window. Meanwhile, the story is a self-serious mess of half-baked conspiracy theories and masochistic self-righteousness wrapped in convoluted plot twist after convoluted plot twist barely held together by a committed performance from Andrew Garfield. It's almost interesting that the story starts because of a lack of agency in the main character's life, that he throws himself in to every step of this insane conspiracy because he finds himself with nothing better to do, but the film buying in to everything the character discovers for the sake of a few senseless twists about rich people transcending life with a fantasy harem as an attempt at societal critique is as ambitious as it is mind-numbing. I'm impressed with the film's visual strengths, and that the filmmakers would even attempt to tell this story, but not with the story itself, or any other attempt by the film to be engaging. - 5.5/10

351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - December 18th

This a sadly flaccid attempt to continue the continue to somewhat shaky Johnny English saga, containing none of the minor moments of wit that made the first two palatable despite their fairly obvious lampoonery. Rowan Atkinson plays the role as impressively as ever, the lifeblood of what makes the first two consistently watchable, but the overt attempts at satire of the proliferation of technology and the modern incompatibility of classic spy stories are somehow even more bland than they were in the previous film. It's a shame, too, because the introduction of English in this movie, as a school teacher secretly giving his students lessons in spy work was so joyful I wouldn't have minded if it was the whole point of the movie, but everything else is so bland and inoffensive that it can't make an impression even when it's competent. - 4/10

352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - December 19th

The legacy isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's still quite good, following the same sort of action fare but with a style lacking the shaky camera work that defined the trilogy, and Renner is a serviceable if not particularly memorable lead, which can also be said for much of the movie's plot. The story fares a little better, almost adding enough to Renner's performance for me to care about him once the action is over, but it's buried underneath the convoluted swath of espionage and intrigue the plot throws on top. - 6/10

353. Roma (2018) - December 19th

Watching so many films often leads to a stream of them passing right through me, barely a thought put to them afterwards as they become just another number I add to my list. However, some films are indelible. Usually there are aspects of films that I've become accustomed to that tell me by film's end I'll never forget them, and as I find more films that evoke the same ideas These films become unforgettable by proxy. A couple of years ago I slowly went through Roger Ebert's final "Sight and Sound" list, describing what he thought to be the ten greatest films of all time, one of which was Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, a film that applied distinct techniques to tell a very personal story with a climax so quiet and unassuming I'd scarcely notice it if it weren't for the fact that I had unwittingly become enthralled by the film. Tokyo Story is deservedly considered the best film of all time by many, and two years on from my single experience with the film and I still can't stop thinking about it. So while it's been but a few days and therefore normally far too early for me to tell if a movie's impact upon me will be something that I'll think about in the future, much of Roma feels reminiscent of Tokyo Story to me, for reasons I haven't wholly been able to grasp yet (aside from the familial focus of both films), but still distinctly its own thing that allows Alfonso Cuaron's particular style and technique tell a story in a way only he could. I don't know if it's more effective now to say that Roma is a masterpiece in every regard, or to say that it reminded me of Tokyo Story in a way no other film has. My full review can be found here. - 10/10

354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - December 21st

Or: Mad Max as a harem anime. Where most post-apocalyptic movies deal with scarcity of necessities like water, or toy with things people treat as necessities like fuel, this film deals with another scarcity altogether: sperm. The movie is literally about the fact that radiation has rendered most of the world infertile, and a drifter apparently so unaffected by it and so prodigious that he's tracked by a trail of pregnancies he leaves in his wake. It's like the plot to a porno, but without any actual sex and a surprisingly decent effects budget. Still, the film knows exactly how silly it is, making enough fun of its premise that it feels like some of what Kung Fury was trying to emulate. When Sam Hell, played with just the right attitude by Roddy Piper, responds to a proposition from an enamored frog woman by holding up a burlap sack for her to wear, when a frog majordomo wears a white suit and a red fez, when the lead woman characters have names like "Spangle", and "Centinella", it's hard not to enjoy a film that so vehemently refuses to take itself seriously. - 6/10

355. Widows (2018) - December 21st

A beautiful, sprawling and messy film, carried by a myriad of strong performances and an ever-twisting plot. My full review can be found here. - 7.5/10

356. Showgirls (1995) - December 22nd

As bad as this is, it's so cynical, so obviously trying to be satire, and so often made me laugh with its merciless jabs at the "star is born" formula, that I just can't hate it. At the best of times I actually really enjoy it, such as when the film turns a formulaic scene where the "star" is approached by people who knew who her when she wasn't, but the dialogue is all twisted and disgusting; the beats of the scene are all the same, even down to the dramatic pauses for emotional effect, but instead of having something sweet to say, the best (by which I mean, most revolting) a character can offer is "Must be weird not having anybody cum on you." The film seeks to offend and bring to light the nauseating realisations of the cutthroat world of show-business that only seeks to sexualise and expend, as a counter to all the work that glamourises it, and when it manages to get a point across it's actually fairly effective criticism, not even flinching when it turns from sexual to brutal and tries to hammer home that every single person in the world is garbage, but so much of the film seems to lack a real focus, like the filmmakers were mad at the celebration of an industry that chews people up and spits them out as the height of humanity, but didn't know exactly how to turn that anger in to coherency, instead lashing out at everyone and everything and being distasteful as possible the whole time to get attention. - 5/10

It's weird looking at this movie in 2018 and hearing about all of the critical re-evaluations this film has had in the 23 years since its release while comparing it to the panning the film received at that time. Much of what the film actually says was summarily ignored in favour of lambasting the film (not undeservedly so) for how it says it, but since 1995 much of that conversation has petered out, and what's left has turned to the themes and satire abundant in the film, attempting to get beyond the unpleasantness that is the experience of the film itself so that people can examine what the film means to be about. I kind of commend anyone who can disregard or even incorporate hilariously awkward conversations about "nice tits," or sex scenes where a character spins about like a propeller, in order to discuss the actual criticisms at the heart of the film, and I understand the need to do so: this a Paul Verhoeven film, after all, who has never played it straight and always attempted to criticise with his work. That said, I don't entirely buy this myself, like I said this isn't co-ordinated enough to be as effective a satire as it means to be. Still, there is enough to the film that the conversation about the text beneath the texture is worth having, if you can stomach watching it. 

357. Mr. Church (2016) - December 23rd

Eddie Murphy deserves a better movie. His performance is really solid, understated and natural compared to the rest of what the film offers, like snippets of reality in a film that's otherwise confused about how to achieve it. The rest of the film is bland melodrama; if it weren't so shallow, I might have felt something, but between choosing to take the perspective of someone other than the man the film is titled after and every other scene feeling like an after school special, I couldn't invest myself in a lot of what was going on in the film. The story is sad, but tries to force emotion through the sentiment and the tragedy of the situation, as opposed to showing real depth and development to make the characters feel like the real people they're based upon. Even the eponymous Church, as well performed as he is, has any depth of character hidden from the audience as a function of the story, so for much of the movie it's simply Murphy's considerable dramatic strengths that kept me going through this movie. - 4.5/10

Re-watches

69. Spy (2015) - December 17th

This was the movie that made me believe in both Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham. Aside from Allison Janney, who is always the best thing about whatever she's in, McCarthy and Statham are the funniest aspects of the film, both separately and together. McCarthy shows considerable range for a comedic role, able to evoke awkward, self-deprecating humour off as easily as the angry, abusive stuff that made her the show-stealer of Bridesmaids, while still being the film's emotional core; she doesn't land every line or action perfectly, but she's relatively consistent in how well she plays off of everyone around her. Meanwhile, Statham goes in the complete opposite direction, taking the role of  self-parody to delirious new heights; just about every line he utters is as ridiculous as it is hilarious, his self-awareness and willingness to laugh at himself on full display, each moment funnier than the last. These two are enough to make Spy one of the funnier films of the last few years; while the rest of the film is merely serviceable, the fact that the comedy lands so consistently is enough for this to be worth the time. - 7/10

Published December 24th, 2018

2018 Film Review: Widows (2018)

Directed by: Steve McQueen
Written by: Steve McQueen, Gillian Flynn
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki
IMDb Link

I wasn't surprised to learn that this film was based on a book; it's so packed with plot and character details and is told from so many different perspectives that it's sprawling and a little bloated. However, the main story thread is incredibly thrilling, filled with twists and turns that are made that much stronger by a series of excellent performances from the entire cast.


The film follows four women brought together by tragedy, three of them widows of thieves who had been brutally shot by the police during a heist gone wrong. These women are pressured by a local crime boss campaigning for alderman to find replacement for money that had burned up in the heist, and turn to the next and last job planned by one of the widow's husbands. Meanwhile, the crime boss goes head to head in his campaign against a political dynasty, and attempts to recover and tie up loose ends with excessive force, while the next-in-line for this dynasty grapples with the drudgery of the political game. If that sounds like a lot, it is; the film only barely manages to squeeze in enough time to give careful enough consideration to each story and character thread to be successful. That said, all of it is ultimately worth it despite the constant shifting around, as even scenes that don't seem particularly relevant to the plot are still interesting and thematically appropriate revelations of character that further provide depth to much of the cast.

As for the cast itself, this film is a powerhouse of an ensemble, with everyone offering a strong impression. Davis is an obvious highlight, her cold, dispassionate exterior as well realised as the pain, sadness and anger she hides with her persona, her public and private expressions both informing and supporting the effect of one another. Rodriguez and Debicki are also excellent, each appearing initially as obvious choices for their roles before revealing the depth of their respective characters, and ultimately pulling off strong against-type work that each make good counters to Davis. Most notable among the smaller roles, however, is Daniel Kaluuya as the brother and enforcer of the crime boss. The man immerses himself in such a small and simple role, becoming for a few brief moments one of the creepiest and most memorable psychopathic villains of the year, his abhorrent detachment from reality enough to make him as creepy simply standing around as he is stabbing the legs of a paralysed man for fun. He has no more than a handful of scenes, but manages to enthrall with every bit of material he's given.

Of course, a director like McQueen knows what material to give. While moving from scene to scene can be a little disorienting for how often the film changes story threads, each scene is as compelling visually as it is due to its performances. There's some really neat experimentation with long takes here, from slight twists on more conventional (but still very skillful) takes winding around characters, flowing and fluxing to emphasis changes in the intensity of the scene, to more intriguingly shot scenes such as a conversation on politics that we only hear, played against the goings-on of the neighbourhood as the characters involved ride in a car. Whether it's the visuals or the performances, each scene manages to be interesting on its own, even if the connections between them are not always immediately apparent. 

The Short Version: A sprawling and messy but exhilarating and sometimes captivating thriller that has the cast and the style to make up for its mild shortcomings. The work from Davis and Kaluuya is alone more than enough for me to recommend this.

Rating: 7.5/10

Published December 23rd, 2018

2018 Film Review: Roma (2018)

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Written by: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey
IMDb Link

Roma is much like the main character it portrays: quiet and observant, the true impact of their existence not realised until you consider them wholly.

At first it seems so simple, a year in the life of a maid, Cleo, played with incredible subtlety by Aparicio, as she serves a middle-class family in Mexico City in 1970. The film lulls you in to a sense of monotony and security, silently watching the actions of the characters in their daily lives, almost as a sort of unfeeling, impartial observer, content to relax and take things as they come, no matter how slowly or seemingly uneventful. However, once time has passed and we find ourselves in the same position we started, the little details this observer took in begin to topple over one another like dominoes, straining the lives of Cleo and her family again and again, the occasionally sharp word or long glance instantly far more meaningful than it seemed to be before, as the chaos of life continues to thrash all around them, the world continuing to move forward even though Cleo needs the world to stop for a moment just so that she can properly take in everything that's happening to her and get a handle on it. The shift from calm monotony to chaotic, painfully realistic drama is a slow and unyielding one, starting so softly you might miss it, but never stopping once it does.

What's particularly fascinating and incredible about this film is how Director Cuaron chose to present it. His work here strives to achieve a state of realism above all else, to make the characters here feel like real people, and the world they live in a snap-shot of a real time and place, and Cuaron's techniques work beautifully to that end. His camera rarely moves, slowly when it does, and always with purpose: everything is set up around deliberate frames that convey specific ideas, such as the distance between characters because of class or troubles, and the barriers that disappear when they open up to each other and come together. Even then, the camera never rushes, always moving exactly where and as fast as it means to, and always with the goal of taking things in without forcing intimacy for the sake of emotion, letting the events speak for themselves through the characters, and the background holding it all in place, distinct images appearing like clear memories, creating an intriguing juxtaposition between the reality of the events put on display, the meticulous touch with which they are presented, and the emotions that they draw out because of it. This extends to things the film makes notable as well, such as the sound design in the film. Every sound in the film is diagetic, from the music the plays over the radios to dogs barking in the street, there's considerable detail in the sounds of the world around the characters, giving it this very natural, lived-in feeling that captures the essence of the idea of life moving forward all around us. It's a sublime expression of real life as memory, offering a window in to an experience that is both real and someone's perspective, and the effect of Cuaron's visual techniques and the film's sound design upon this idea is palpable.

Of course, the film is made that much better by its performances. As I've stated, Aparicio is very subtle as Cleo, much of her impact in the film felt in waves as the weight of her minor expressions all build upon one another, and break her down as she finally lets herself process the events of her life. Supporting such natural work is a cast that includes a fiercely energetic and easy to hate performance from Jorge Antonio Guerrero as Fermin, who, put succinctly, is a dick, and a performance that flies effortlessly between the stoic and explosive from Marina de Tavira, in her role as matriarch of the family Cleo serves. Everyone offers an extension to the quiet or the gut-punch to the emotional, hammering home or offering the humanity within each scene, their very real performances the final aspect that assembles this film in to a masterpiece.

The Short Version: In Roma, Cuaron applies his distinct technique and style to a deeply intimate story with a strangely impartial touch, as if he's observing memories from a time and place long gone and looking for meaning within them. This is nothing short of a masterpiece; an unusual, quiet, thoughtful, strangely aloof and yet honest and heartfelt masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10

Published December 22nd, 2018

2018: A Week of Movies - December 10th to December 16th

341. Transporter 2 (2005) - December 10th

At least this time the movie goes all-in on the insane action. No longer any semblance of trying to be serious, the movie is free to pursue whatever silly destructive action it may choose, and as such it's an improvement over its predecessor. This is perfectly decent and disposable action fare, not concerned with believability or trying to be cool and instead letting the sheer bombast of every scene be enough. Statham needs a quick way of removing a bomb from the bottom of his car? Of course he's going to to drive up a ramp and flip his car mid-air to knock the bomb off using a crane hook, only to let the bomb's explosion flip the car back over and land safely. What I love as a final touch to hammer home the campy nature of this sequel, is the use of the previous film's pseudo-antagonist detective as Statham's new best friend and comedy sidekick. It's just one irreverent reference more to make this whole movie feel comfortably fun. Jason Statham's accent is still unfortunately not his own, but i guess we can't have everything. - 6.5/10

342. Transporter 3 (2008) - December 10th

The zany tone of the predecessor is somewhat maintained, but the action here is no longer as inventive or energetic, so we're left with something that doesn't try as hard as either of its predecssors, keeping sliver of my respect by not attempting to take itself seriously, but also losing my interest by not being as exciting. Of course, I still managed to get a kick out of it now and then, and the bad accent was nearly entirely dropped, so I don't mind this overall. - 5.5/10

343. Eighth Grade (2018) - December 11th

This movie is painfully real. It captures youthful anxiety and naivete in a truly unique way, treating the emotions associated with social awkwardness and self-loathing similarly to a horror movie, the reflections upon and growth beyond the terrors of this transitional time in life providing such an honest grasp upon what life is at that age. From the simple attention-seeking actions of teenagers as they socialise being treated as horrifying to look upon, to the sheer lack of understanding and slow disgust that comes with growing up as an example of the length to which people will go when seeking attention and validation, and a criticism of the way society handles the very things that teenagers will seek out themselves if refused. There is nothing in this movie (and indeed almost any movie about this subject) more poignant than Kayla's interactions with an older boy, first in her rejection of his advances when she can't handle them and then in her apology for her lack of readiness, and finally in his response to her rejection. It's a recognition of the dual problem within the experience of growing up, both being expected to understand and not being equipped to do so, and laid in front of such a personally humiliating experiences. It's such a heart-breaking scene, and I'm so thankful that writer-director Bo Burnham had the perspective to remind the audience that life goes beyond moments like these and that we can grow despite how crippling they may seem. This is incredible. - 9/10

344. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) - December 12th

It's a shame this came out so soon after the previous Jungle Book movie, because this darker interpretation of events will understandbly draw comparisons to Favreau's own positive yet pointed style, and this has its own issues with pacing and tone, which only add to that discussion. Some stuff in this interpretation of the story is cleaner in theory but more convoluted in practice, such as having the monkeys simply work for Shere Khan instead of an unnecessary additional antagonist like King Louie, but any expression of why that is would run counter to the nature of the monkeys as a force in the narrative, their own existence originally another point of Mowgli's own personal battle with responsibility. Other stuff fits a little better: adding Tabaqui back in to the narrative makes Shere Khan's presence felt when he cannot be around, and it also ends up allowing for the best line in the entire movie ("Sometime I dream I'm a tiger, but I always wake up a hyena"), and making Kaa a protagonist makes her wider, mesmerising perspective more directly related to the film's overall conflict. At the same time, all of this is expressed quickly and messily, so that it can add some of the lesser known story from The Jungle Book and take a much darker turn than expected, something that does manage to hit a little, but is cast aside too quickly, like so much else in this movie. At least here the effects are what you'd expect from a movie directed by Andy Serkis, offering an incredibly realistic and slightly uncanny presentation of the iconic animals, which when combined with the good performances of the voice cast, was enough for this movie to be at least worth the time. - 6/10

345. A Simple Favour (2018) - December 13th

This was fun, sexy, pulpy melodrama, with some silly twists and action moments that don't always get the elements of bitchy suburban life and taut murder thriller to mix properly, but always manages to be entertaining in its attempts to do so. Lively and Kendrick both offer talented character performances, playing to their strengths and keeping the movie's pace brisk in the moment, while Director Feig never lets the movie overstay its welcome moving from scene to scene. It's silly in its complexity and never drags as it gets a little crazy with it, making the experience certainly a worthwhile one. - 7/10

346. Bodied (2017) - December 13th

This movie was outrageous, irreverent, and surprisingly nuanced. The movie's satire is often biting, and sometimes muddied by the difficult balance of keeping you invested in the main character while pointing out his unlikable attributes as often as possible, wanting you to recognise his lack of self-awareness and why his actions create the reactions that they do and still show the aspects of hypocrisy built in to the reactions of people with an outside perspective. The film manages to allow different ideas about racism surface while also pointing out, through allowing these differences to share the same space, that taking such sweeping attitudes, especially when you exist outside the experience to which you are expressing those attitudes, is inherently ineffective in addressing the breadth of the issue, as so many sweeping statements shown alongside each other also highlights how limited they are. What's more, the film manages to show a diverse set of perspectives both inside and outside the culture that it satirises, seeking to respect or mock with equal tenacity: the moment two minorities within the culture use their platform to express self-deprecation as a means of highlighting how old hat the particular brand of insult thrown their way is and show just how much better they are by way of being so much more aware of their own place in said culture is one of the most effective expressions of theme within the scope of a movie's style I've seen this year. On top of all this, the film spits so much fire in its rap battles that I'm fairly certain I died a few times just by proximity to the brutality of the verbal murders that happened on-screen. The has impeccable dialogue, brimming with wit and style, and it's further supported by the visualisation of those sorts of moments, the cute little twists and obnoxious camera shakes, that aren't necessary, but make the experience that much cheekier. The film is a raw and hilarious experience. - 8/10

347. Candyman (1992) - December 14th

It's weird to see a slasher horror with such an effective psychological element, but here we are. The strange mixture of gaslighting from the Candyman himself and way the film addresses folklore makes this an intriguing and dizzying if sometimes convoluted gore-fest. Tony Todd's performance as the titular character is near iconic, a monster who can intimidate or chill to the bone with a word as much as his sheer presence, so while this movie drags on occasion as it tries to toy with the mind of the audience in increasingly messy ways, the film still manages to wow through the power of its most important role. - 6.5/10

348. 8 Mile (2002) - December 14th

This earns a few extra points for its music and the surprisingly raw performance from Eminem, and is otherwise a decent version of a well known story structure with enough verbal fire spit that I could re-watch this movie for the last twenty minutes alone. - 8/10

349. Life Itself (2018) - December 15th

It's a shame this movie turned out the way it did, because it's so saccharin and overtly positive in a way that doesn't feel completely disingenuous, but the delivery is a tonal nightmare that doesn't develop anything well enough to really feel what's happening on-screen, and without that emotional investment the events of the film are too crazy and coincidental to be taken seriously. I get what the film was going for in the first segment, the tonal dissonance of a death first being used for shock comedy that then reveals itself as a means of coping with something life-shattering, and Oscar Isaac's performance almost sells me on it, but every segment that follows is shorter than the last, and with less time to get to know the characters there's less time to care about what happens to them. This might have worked, but the stories are character-driven, and when there's no reason to care for them beyond the tragedy with which they are defined, and when the actions of the characters feel increasingly alien from normal human behaviour, the film goes from potentially moving to unintentionally hilarious. It's the film's ongoing and fundamental flaw, the disconnect between how the film wants us to feel and how it goes about making us feel things. - 3.5/10

Re-watches

68. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - December 16th

This is one of the best movies of last year, with a detailed and sprawling tragic story, incredibly restrained performances and haunting music, but the thing that will always stand out to me in this film is the "digital threesome", which manages to perfectly encapsulate the pain and loneliness of the characters, and hammering home the themes of life and identity, while also being one of the most incredible visual phenomena of the past decade. The fact that it then leads to more pain and loss before ending on one of the most soul-crushing notes of a character arc in the revelation of the unreality of K and Joi's relationship, something that's been stated from the start but also challenged through the chemistry and gripping performances of both Gosling and de Armas. I love this film for what it manages to do with the themes and ideas of the original, building upon them while provoking change, making it a better movie and being made better by it in the process. This is a shining neon example of what a sequel should be. - 8.5/10

Published December 17th, 2018

2018: A Week of Movies - December 3rd to December 9th

It's nearly the end of the year, and I've seen nearly 365 films that I've never seen before (if you count re-watches, it's over 400, which makes me that much more mad that I didn't record re-watches in previous years). It feels kind of weird to finally be calling it (mostly) quits on this venture after completing it two and now nearly three years, but I'm looking forward to changing things up with all the extra free time I'll have next year, writing something with more substance, trying to say something meaningful and not forcing myself to consider films that evoke no real feeling from me. As it happens, there's at least one film this week that I appreciated, not because it was good (it's really bad) but because it was so strange that I actually felt something. So if you have the time, I'd like it if you read what I have to say about Wild Wild West. As always, check the links in the titles to get an idea of what each movie is about, I'm here to talk about my experience with them.

333. Wild Wild West (1999) - December 3rd

A little over thirty minutes in to this film there is a joke, wherein Will Smith's James West, after having previously seen Kevin Kline's Artemus Gordon dress up in drag as a disguise, goes over to a person in the same outfit, under a mask, and quips knowingly to the man, not realising that the man is in fact Artemus in disguise, and that the woman he just insulted was, in fact, a woman. If that sounds like a dull way to explain the joke, then I guess I feel inspired right now.

The reason why the joke, and in fact most of the jokes in this "action-adventure comedy steampunk western" flat out don't work is because the film decides before the reveal that there needs to be an obnoxious, spoken explanation of the joke. The punch line literally comes after the reason the joke is funny was inexplicably explained to the audience. It's the sort of thing that reminds you that no matter how much of this bombastic mess sounds entertaining on paper, the execution drags everything to a screeching halt just to make sure you go the joke. Oh, West is shaken by the fact that Gordon is using a severed head in his investigation and seems completely unconcerned? Better make sure he says "that's a man's head" four times at increasingly slower speeds just to make sure the audience gets the joke. Oh, there's an awkward and unfunny scene where the two argue about Gordon's false breasts? Better make sure that a person in the vicinity hears the words "touch my breasts" out of context more than once. It's a painful grind of dead air trying desperately to be funny.

Even when the jokes aren't as awkward as me when I'm confronted with a social situation, it's mostly made up of lame puns that even James Bond would frown out. Of course, at their worst (or best) these sorts of jokes happen quickly enough that they don't interrupt what little narrative flow the movie has and you can roll your eyes at them before throwing them in to the "so bad it's good" category. West kicks a man with knifes for hands out a window and says "That's it, no more Mr. Knife Guy," for example.

Of course, it all becomes that much better (or worse) when you stack Kenneth Branagh's Dr. Loveless, a man with no legs, a penchant for spiders, and a terribly excessive southern drawl that just reminds you how British he is. I imagine Branagh had a lot of fun with this role, because the movie is silly enough that he can chew the scenery and not feel out of place, but every line he utters combined with the accent he uses to utter them makes his entire presence in the film something unbearable. It reaches a sort of zenith of pain and entertainment when he calls a cross-dressing Will Smith "Ebonia", with emphasis on the "bone". It's not something that breaks the movie, since he actually injects some life back in to the movie after the first third managed to suck it all out, but it's like resuscitating a man with a knife in his gut; sure, he's alive, but now he's in constant pain. It's a shame that nothing about the movie's writing works (aside from basic structural tools like set-up and payoff, which it can't even do with subtlety), because the film actually has some impressive effects work for its day. Sure, it's a little hokey at times, but it's the sort of thing that feels like a throwback to the series the movie is based on, and it's often so far out that I can it for what the film is trying to make of it. - 3/10

334. The Lone Ranger (2013) - December 4th

This movie often lacks any real sense of tension, while also trying way too hard to be as bombastic as possible, and it's punctuated by an overlong script, complete tonal deafness and an unevenly stated performance from Depp. Hammer is effective in the leading role, and the story beats are functional somewhere amidst the bloat, but this film tries so hard to be high-flying adventure that it's often at the detriment to any other possible development. Any time the film gets a little sad, it has to try and awkwardly force some humour; not more than one second after Tonto reveals a tragic backstory, the scene is hit with a horse joke. I understand that bathos is a good tool take the edge off, but there could not have been less time for the backstory to breathe, and the moment is completely jarring as a result. The film does this quite a bit, and it feels more like a remedy to mistaken tension than a contrast to intentional tension, like the writer or director was worried something would feel too much and they decided to insert a distraction. If there had been moments to ponder the sad or serious nature of these sorts of moments, and let the jokes flows between story beats, then I could see what they were going for working, this simple adventure yarn with enough heart to punch when it needs to; as it is, the timing ruins the weight of any tragedy, and we're left with the film's climax feeling particularly bland. - 4/10

335. Scream 4 (2011) - December 5th

To be honest, if this movie had just followed the format of the first few minutes, in an ever-spiraling downward attempt to one-up jaded and genre-savvy audiences for cheap kicks, I probably would've enjoyed it more. That said, I quite enjoyed some aspects of the re-make lampoon, even if I didn't care for some other aspects. The call-out of every single horror franchise that's ever been re-made all done in one word vomit was actually pretty funny and is itself the best attempt by the film to highlight how ridiculous and creatively bankrupt the horror genre can be sometimes, and as obnoxiously self-aware of its own existence in this regard as ever. It's better than its predecessor, if not by much, but it's that much that makes the constant meta-commentary a little funnier this time, at least in how the film abhors its own existence as much as any horror franchise by the fourth entry that's also a re-make. - 5.5/10

336. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) - December 6th

It feels fitting that (I'm fairly certain) the home in this movie is the same one from The Edge of Seventeen, because this movie is in a similar situation, not really doing anything new but being a really solid example of its own genre. Like all good examples, it has enough of its own thing going on that you can accept the tropes in stride and appreciate the new stuff that it has to offer through a familiar lens. - 7/10

337. Overlord (2018) - December 6th

I'm just going to keep saying Super Soldier Nazi Zombies, because if that isn't enough to convince you to see the movie, then I don't think it's your kind of movie. My full review can be found here. - 6.5/10

338. Infernal Affairs (2002) - December 7th

I guess I should have expected the movie that inspired The Departed to have an excellent story. Even though I enjoy Scorsese's directorial style considerably more than what I see here, this is still a really good police melodrama, wrapped up in some of the most fun and devastating twists and turns, fueled by some excellent set-up and pay-off across the whole film. - 8/10

339. The Transporter (2002) - December 8th 

Why did people in the early 2000s try to make Jason Statham use an American (ish) accent? Half of his appeal is in how easily he can espouse lines for both action and comedy, and deadening this under a half-hearted accent that not only prevents him from really expressing himself feels like a bad idea. That said, I have the perspective of a couple dozen Jason Statham lead or supported films where his accent was key to his appeal, so, you know, benefit of hindsight and all that. If you don't think his accent is key to his appeal, I recommend you go watch Spy right now, then follow it up with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and one of the Fast and Furious movies he's in (probably the 8th, it's not as good as the 7th but he gets more screen time), and then follow it up with The One and this. The accent is off-putting not only because it weakens his already limited range, but also because it's so fake sounding, and jarring after hearing his best work with his normal accent.

Anyway, this movie is fairly decent as a straight action movie; I could have done without the twists and turns that felt both half-baked and half-hearted, but what we're looking at is decent enough for me to care as little about what we're hearing as the director. If they'd had more focus, I could see them working, but as they are the twists just felt like an excuse to stretch out the scenes between the action scenes, getting especially ridiculous when they reveal two layers of the lead actress' deception on after the other. Still, stuff like Statham's rules and the way they play in to the action such as the first scene is neat enough for this to be a decent time. - 5.5/10

340. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - December 8th

See this. My full review can be found here. - 9/10

Re-watches

67. Shrek 2 (2004) - December 8th

This still isn't the best Shrek movie, even if it has the best sequence in any Shrek movie. Seriously, the rest of the movie is fine, but the Holding Out For a Hero sequence is damn-near perfect. - 7.5/10

2018 Film Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Written by: Phil Lord,  Rodney Rothman
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
IMDb Link

Every time I think I feel the effects of "superhero fatigue" there comes along a film that's great enough to make me forget about it and fall in love with the idea all over again.

In a continuity all to its own that evokes similarities to the Peter Parker story of the Raimi Spider-Man films, Into the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales (Moore), a high school kid with that all too familiar backstory involving being bitten by a radioactive spider. Morales is a kid who has grown up admiring Spider-Man and what he does; Miles' whole idea of what it means to be a hero is shaped by Spider-Man, and his world comes crashing down when Spider-Man, our Peter Parker (Chris Pine), is killed in front of him. Then the film starts to get a little weird with it when it introduces Peter B. Parker (Johnson), a Spider-Man from another universe, and Spider-Gwen (Steinfeld), a Gwen Stacy from another universe, and Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), a Peter Parker from yet another universe where he's set in the 1930s, and SP//dr (Kimiko Glenn), a girl named Peni Parker who pilots a mech powered by the radioactive spider, and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), a pig from a universe filled with talking animals named Peter Porker. They've all been thrown in to Miles' world, and they need to get home before they disintegrate from being out of their universe for too long. It's weird, and silly, and funny, and, with development, a little heart-breaking, and it all works despite such obvious tonal differences between each of these characters. None of the Spiders match each other's art style or background; Ham is as Looney as it gets, Spider-Noir is excessively self-serious, and Peni feels like something out of a fever dream. All of these things feel like they should clash, but instead, the writers and animators have managed to craft something that blends these stark differences in a way that makes them all charming enough to be worth their own movies and still not get in the way of the Miles at the centre of it all.

Despite wild differences between them, the writers found perfect common ground for each of the characters in the comedy each can bring to the table; the film is self-aware enough to make something like Noir's serious nature a joke unto itself, playing with the fact that his whole world is black and white, so he doesn't understand a Rubik's Cube, or making his onomatopoeias more "gritty" for a quick laugh. It's light, and charming, and seemingly effortless, with the film timing every laugh perfectly and never stepping on the important moments to do so. More to the point, it's self aware without being obnoxious, acknowledging the insane nature of the plot but also not dwelling on it, even having Miles guess Peter B.'s origin to point out that multiverse stuff is fairly old hat in comic book stories, and softly jabbing at Ham when he makes a direct Looney Tunes reference. It's the most bizarre, yet near-perfectly executed balancing act of tone, style, comedy, heart, and weaving these things together without them working against each other.

That said, as good as the writing is, it's made that much better, and in turn makes that much better, by the animation. This film looks spectacular, with key frames as if they were lifted directly from comics, incredibly fluid movement punctuated by fast gags, and the best visual representation of the Spidey sense ever put to screen. It builds perfectly off of the foundation of the writing, weaving the differing styles of the characters in ways that you don't clash when you would expect them to. More than just mixing together, the action scenes are especially good at showing off how the dynamics of the different animation styles play off each other, with Ham bouncing all of the place and Peni getting anime-inspired transition, Noir moving like water and punctuating his fights with edgy flares of black ink, and the three 'normal' Spiders moving through it all with a look that can only be described as "the most comic book-y". It's a visual marvel that has to be seen to be believed, to be experienced on the big screen, so I highly recommend you do if you get the chance, this film is masterful in its animation.

The Short Version: Into the Spider-Verse has a truly incredible visual dynamic that's unmatched in both its comic book style and its commitment to weaving clashing styles together in a way that's insanely eye-popping. All this supports a story that is equal parts insane, hilarious and heart-warming. This is one of the best movies of the year.

Rating: 9/10

Published December 10th, 2018

2018 Film Review: Overlord (2018)

Directed by: Julius Avery
Written by: Billy Ray. Mark L. Smith
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier
IMDb Link

For the first thirty minutes of the movie, Overlord depicts the shock and loss and monstrosity of man in war competently enough that the easy cliches could be forgiven and it could have continued as a decent straight war movie. Of course, then the Nazi super soldier zombies get involved; it's not a change I mind too much, especially since the film somehow manages to preserve the same gritty tone without feeling completely at odds with what it becomes, but the film essentially trades one set of competently executed tropes for another.


The set-up is simple enough: American soldiers on the night before D-Day must take down a radio tower behind enemy lines. On the way to the tower, we get just about every WW2 Movie archetype and cliche, from the hard and loud sergeant who seems born for the war, to the plucky soldier who gets a sudden and meaningless death to cement the uncaring nature of war, to the civilians living under the Nazi thumb who are often just used to illustrate a point about how monstrous the Nazis are. None of these are revolutionary in design or the best examples of their kind, but the use of each of them in the story is supported by strong film techniques. The sudden death of the plucky young soldier and the atrocities committed upon civilians are presented with visceral shock and sombre silence, and they spur a handful of small character arcs in the process. Again, there's nothing that hasn't been done before, but this film manages to do them well enough.

When the film takes a right turn in to Nazi super soldier zombie territory there's a few tonal shifts without a complete overhaul, as thriller turns to horror and the shock of real violence is replaced with the general schlock and abandon that comes with blowing up Nazis, especially Nazi super soldier zombies. This isn't new, either, but the tropes continue to competently support the arcs of the remaining characters and provide a constant sense of tense horror that builds excellently upon the film's initial thrills. That's part of why the transition works so well: regardless of whether the film wants a gritty scene of soldiers treading through a minefield, or a chase ripped right out of a monster movie, the film maintains an air of tension consistent enough to override the inherent differences in emotion evoked from either scene. Regardless of why you feel tense, the movie succeeds in making you feel tense.

Credit where credit is due, the film makes the most out of what it has once it steps in to horror territory as well. The body horror has visceral, disgusting detail so striking that it fills the mind, even if it's hard to look at. It's this effects work that help keep the tone of the film semi-serious despite the content it delves in to by this point of the movie: everything from the bones shuffling themselves inside the body to a face slowly healing after being blown apart looks just real enough to be horrifying rather than hilarious. The effects team are the real heroes of this movie.

The Short Version: Overlord handles the jumps between taught "horrors of war" thriller and "Nazi super soldier zombies" schlock fairly well, mostly because of a good cast and because the film focuses on the tension of both scenarios.

Rating: 6.5/10

Published December 8th, 2018

A Week of Movies - November 26th to December 2nd

 I still have a bit of catching up to do, but for the first time since my uni workload made me consider eating my meals with a side of cyanide, I'm less than a week behind on movies. As always, check the links in the titles for a plot description; I'm here to talk about the experience.

323. The Lost World (1925) - November 26th

People always talk of this film as the progenitor of many great dinosaur movies, so it's no surprise that no-one really talks about the blackface. I'm not going to dwell on it, because of the time period in which the film was made and because it's not the focal point of the film in the same way as, say The Birth of a Nation, but I was not prepared and it made me uncomfortable, and I imagine anyone watching this film now will feel the same, especially if they're as unprepared as I was.

This film has been hugely influential upon dinosaur and monster filmmaking, both in terms of effects and storytelling. The narrative is essentially King Kong version 1.0, with the same process of going to a land that time forgot, with the only difference being that capturing Kong was incidental, as opposed to here where capturing proof of the land's existence is the whole point. It's fascinating to see all of the prototypical effects work that would go on to influence so much, the stop-motion miniatures and forced perspective used so basically, yet revolutionary for their day. Plus, the film has dinosaurs. - 8/10

324. Paprika (2006) - November 28th

Man, this was such a trip. This film's use of space and movement to convey travel through different dream-scapes is really slick, and then the film twists it further with questions of self-identity and perspective within the loss of barrier between dreams and reality. The way that this is then layered with the perspective of a character obsessed with film, and toys with the very techniques he talks about and plays with the audience's perception to further reinforce that questioning, all within a film that has animation that is both expressive and subtly altered depending on the genres the film manages to hop through, adds up to a unique memorable experience. - 8/10

325. Creed II (2018) - November 29th

Rarely unexpected, skilled in contrasting melodrama and tender humanity for strong effect, Creed II is a worthy sequel. My full review can be found here. - 7.5/10

326. Apostle (2018) - November 30th

Gareth Evan's mish-mash of horror subgenres is both a homage to smaller, influential horror pieces (most notably the original Wicker Man), and an attempt to experiment with the formulas of horror story structure and horror scares by employing different kinds in different ways. Some moments of the film feel like it's trying to be a moody, psychological piece. Others come across as more reminiscent of supernatural fare. Still others incorporate the high-octane violence and gore Evans is known for in ways that evoke the torture subgenre. Even considering the variation in subgenre, the film can change from moment to moment; a scene can build upon moment after moment of slow, edge-of-panic tension, but when it tries to exploit that tension for a big and loud jump scare, the switch feels forced rather than organic, subtlety thrown out for a few seconds to no greater effect. I appreciate the film's attempt to experiment, the stronger moments of homage, and the best moments of genuine horror that he film offers, as well as a great leading performance from Dan Stevens; however, I also found myself disengaging from the emotion of several moments within the film because the attempts to incorporate different styles or moods didn't always work. - 6.5/10

327. 5 Centimetres per Second (2007) - November 30th

Even in his earlier work, Makoto Shinkai's artistry is so baffling for how gorgeous everything looks. There's a soft, dream-like state to everything that we see, with painstaking detail in the foreground played against jaw-dropping vistas and a colour palette so warm if feels like you're sitting by a fire even as the world gets colder and more detached. It also supports the film's tone, expressing a desire to go back, a romantic nostalgia that is in turn carried by the themes within the film's text. The two build each other up and allow for a very soft and easy story about love and loss that's also painful on a deeper level to those who aren't dead inside like me. That said, even if you don't engage with the story, I would like to direct your attention back to the artistry in the animation. - 7.5/10

328. Possum (2018) - December 1st

One of the creepiest and most wretched of psychological horrors I've seen in a while, this was an intense experience that I imagine I'll have stronger feelings about the longer I'm left to think about it. This is a captivating examination of arrested development and the burden caused by abuse through an absurdist lens. While the ongoing plot is nothing too engaging beyond some thematic ties to the main character Philip, the internal goings-on of Philip, expressed through a performance by Sean Harris that chills to the bone and aches with vulnerability, and the constant creeping of the puppet Possum, a horrifying nightmare amalgam of human and spider. This is certainly another unique horror experience this year, one that reminded me of just how good this year has been for the genre. - 7/10

329. A Most Wanted Man (2014) - December 1st

I miss Philip Seymour Hoffman. Seriously, this movie does a good job of establishing and then examining the paranoia around espionage in a post-9/11 world, but the real draw for this movie for me is Hoffman, whose work is always incredibly natural, and transformative when considered against his other roles. He's a transcendent character actor, but roles like this and his lead in Capote show off more range than his other parts are often allowed to exude. Being in a leading role, he's given much more time to develop as a character and feel like a real human being rather than a particularly attention-grabbing part of the background. Gunther Bachmann is an intriguing and commanding character despite his generally disheveled appearance and quiet posture; he also exudes a certain energy that suggests complexity that is somewhat supported by the text, with an unnamed but brutal failure from his past juxtaposed against his general ruthless manipulation, which creates an effect of both competence and incompetence. All of this is uplifted by Hoffman, who gives every emotional cue needed for what the text suggests about his character to be compelling, even doing so through an accent that he makes his own. Everything else in this movie is good or at least competent, if occasionally cliche, but damn... I miss Philip Seymour Hoffman. - 7/10

330. The Ice Storm (1997) - December 2nd

Ang Lee provides me with another reason for why he's one of my favourite directors. A lot of self-reflection allows an era purported to be filled with hedonistic glee to be presented as the facade to hide and hide from the minutia that slowly breaks us all. The sexual exploration implied in the film is seen as just one more attempt to escape from a cold, lifeless and unforgiving world, and the fact that the film uses this to build towards the idea that the only things that we can rely on to offer a real reprieve are the things we've always been able to rely on is both poignant and probably the best way to describe the conservative, reflective view of the 70s that arose in the late 90s. It's a simple enough message, but the context gives it subtle complexities that Lee handles with excellent recognition of tone; everything about the way this movie unfolds feels deliberate without being forced, a sort of nudge towards a conclusion that people had already come to with hindsight that could not be more appropriate given the subject matter and the fact that Mikey dies when the lure of sexual desire is overcome by the awe-inspiring power of nature, specifically that same cold world that has been the movie's message at work in the background this entire time. The fact that this tragedy is then what helps two disintegrating families realise what actually matters and expresses the varying levels of this realisation through the states of all the characters by film's end shows the power of perspective. As a bonus, this movie is filled with people who are name actors and who would go on to be name actors, so the power of hindsight continues to affect this film, even superficially. - 8/10

331. Scream 3 (2000) - December 2nd

This series has gone from charmingly self-aware to obnoxiously self-aware. The film is filled with lines that aren't as clever as the writer thinks they are; for example, a scene of characters discussing the film's events within the context of the "film within the film"'s plot structure get interrupted by police who brusquely reply "this is the scene where you come with us". The film does lean a bit more in to the comedy as well, which works sometimes, such as a fun play on expectations where a thrown knife hits its target with the hilt instead of the blade for some quick slapstick, or when a man, stabbed and bleeding, falls face first in front of the characters and Gale asks "is he dead?"; basically, any time the humour is quick and cleverly stupid, it works. Other times the comedy tries to come from more meta behaviour or intermingling it with the scares; these moments don't work nearly as well or as often. Then there's the writing; writer Ehren Krueger, who took over from series veteran Kevin Williamson, employed plot devices so lazy that the other Scream movies are laughing at it, and showed a certain lack of care, especially when within one of those plot devices it goes on to say that horror trilogies are a rare thing, even though three of the main slasher series have them couched within their many films (Friday the 13th has Part 2, Part III, and The Final Chapter; A Nightmare on Elm Street has Dream Warriors, The Dream Master, and The Dream Child; and Halloween has The Return, The Revenge, and The Curse of Michael Myers). It's just a lot of mediocrity with the occasional joke, which could be worse, but based on the previous entries, could also be demonstrably better. - 5/10

332. The Crow: Salvation (2000) - December 2nd

This might be poorly edited, somewhat over-stylised trash with weak acting, but it's also a considerable improvement over City of Angels. While some moments are so poorly edited that lines are literally cut off mid-sentence between scenes, and no-one offers a convincing performance, there are redeeming factors, all of which are borrowed from the first. The soundtrack is the same moody, metal, and the dialogue is cheesy enough that it might have been good had anyone come close to offering the sort of performance Brandon Lee did. The movie's also edgy enough for the style to work some of the time, usually when it confuses dark with cool and manages to make an odd mixture of the two that's kind of hilarious, which may not be intentional, but it worked for me, so I'll give it credit. Let me re-iterate, though, the editing in this movie is atrocious; the film will occasionally cut between scenes that have loose or even no continuity, without even some sort of dialogue establishing the change. - 4/10

Re-watches

65. Mandy (2018) - November 28th

Yes, this is my fourth time watching it. Yes, this is probably my favourite movie of the year, unless you count Paddington 2, but that technically came out in 2017 (and it's those sorts of technicalities that have been the bane of my attempts to make top 10 lists every year). No, this probably won't be the last time I re-watch it. I love the complete sense of style over substance, the unbelievably raw performance from Nicolas Cage, the fact that this movie is the most molten metal thing since DOOM (2016), the colour palette and the soundtrack, and the cameos. This might not be the best thing I've seen all year, but I can't think of much I liked more. - 8.5/10

Published December 3rd, 2018