I watched two-hundred and forty one movies this year. Here are my top 15 and bottom 7 picks for the year. This is based simply on the movies I watched this year, not on what was released this year.
Check out the previous year-end reviews.
The Top 15 of 2018:
Dunkirk (2017)
Written by: Christopher Nolan
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan,Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army, evacuating during a fierce battle in World War II.
Verdict
It's an incredible work that is more than a movie, it's an experience. Intertwining stories capture the emotions of war. There's a young man desperate to escape, the fighter pilot that is bound by duty above his own safety, and a civilian drafted to service with wavering confidence.
It's an immersive experience and a beautiful movie that is so dense you don't just need to watch again, you want to immediately.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Alicia Silverstone
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
After a cardiac surgeon's family mysteriously begin to fall ill, a teenage boy he has secretly befriended with a connection to the surgeon's past informs him there's only one way to heal them.
Verdict
This is incredibly well made, providing an example of fantastic directing. Every scene is steeped in tension. While the story is strange, it's an exploration of consequences and grief. There's a supernatural element to this, employed to create emotional turmoil. Characters are nuanced and the story unfolds through action, not exposition. It's well written, and the directing really is a marvel.
Short Cuts (1993)
Written by: Robert Altman, Frank Barhydt, Raymond Carver (based on characters by)
Directed by: Robert Altman
Starring: Tim Robbins, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Matthew Modine, Lily Tomlin, Andie MacDowell, Julianne Moore, Jack Lemmon, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A variety of characters, including a baker, a phone-sex provider, and a clown, stale lives intersect and are forever altered through simple twists of fate.
Verdict
It's amazing how quickly you connect with these characters. It's really impressive. They're well written and fully developed with flaws and all. As the movie progresses we begin to see the connections. They are all connected and we begin to see how events in one life affect others.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothy Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the American scholar hired as the student's father's research assistant.
Verdict
It's a wonderful movie centered on a relationship that means two very different things for the people in it. For one of them it's a fling, for the other it's first love. It's a forbidden romance that is short lived, but it provides a connection for the viewer. We've puzzled though admiration, infatuation, and wild teenage emotions. This is a thorough and well plotted examination of those emotions.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Directed by: John Krasinski
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Skirt
Rated: PG-13
Plot
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
Verdict
The sparse dialog is the hook, but it isn't a gimmick. This movie delivers. The pacing is quick with information revealed through facial expressions and sign language. The actors do a great job, and the sound mix really is incredible, taking on a heightened importance. It follows a three act structure, and the last act is intense. This is the type of movie where you forget to breathe as you are so wrapped up into what's happening. It's intense, quick, and incredible.
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Written by: Peter Morgan (screenplay), Peter Morgan (play)
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Verdict
It's a battle of words, and it is fascinating. Both men have something to gain in this interview, but to accomplish it they must defeat the other. This captures the feel of the time and derives a surprising amount of tension out of an interview. While Frost is sure the truth will come out, Nixon's intimidation attempts and mind games cause doubt in Frost's mind.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine, Olivia Colman
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A skilled London police officer is assigned to a small town that 's harboring a dark secret.
Verdict
I love this comedy. It's clever, witty, and just fun. The humor is British, subtle, and multi layered while being endlessly quotable. It's a spoof of action movies that pokes fun at the usual tropes before embracing many of those same tropes. The detail is incredible. Almost all of the jokes have a pay off when they're made and later in the movie. If you haven't seen this, you should. For the greater good.
Remains of the Day (1993)
Written by: Kazuo Ishiguro (novel), Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)
Directed by: James Ivory
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reee, James Fox
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
A butler who sacrificed body and soul in the name of service leading up to World War II realizes too late that loyalty to his employer was misguided.
Verdict
This is an impressive movie with an incredible script superbly acted and a story boasting depth and emotion. The settings are always impeccable, but it's the characters that stick with you. You can read into them just by how they act. This is tragic romance where the two characters never get together. The movie leaves you plenty of room to delve into the minds of the characters and wonder why not while also considering what if. This is an absolutely amazing film that will leave a mark.
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub
Rated: R
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Plot
In this black-and-white film noir set in 1949, a laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.
Verdict
It's a genre from the past, but it's done incredibly well. All of the actors are spot on and the twisting story is what makes this. This feels like a lot of the Coen movies, and that's a good thing. The way this story wraps up is really neat. The main character is definitely punished for his crime, but that is anything but straight forward with his original crime creating a ripple that affects everyone around him.
United 93 (2006)
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zaya, Cheyenne Jackson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists seize control of United Airlines Flight 93 and three other planes. As realization of the imminent horror dawns on passengers, crew, and loved ones on the ground, the courageous acts by those held hostage in the air count down in actual time.
Verdict
I don't know how accurate this is, but it feels incredibly authentic. This switches between what's happening in the sky and on the ground at different air ports. There are no lulls, this is intense all the way through. Knowing what happens doesn't diminish this at all, it's absolutely incredible. The very idea such a thing could happen was absurd at the time. No one knew how to react and this captures the confusion and range of emotions perfectly.
The Shining (1980)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Rated: R
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Plot
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
Verdict
This is an incredible movie that plays with mood. There is a lot of detail to this from colors to sound mix. Is it the hotel, cabin fever, or was Jack deranged from the start? Can we trust anything we see? The images on screen look great, from gliding steadicam shots that were revolutionary at the time to compositions of the hotel and it's decor, The Shining is a movie you have to watch.
Birth (2004)
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston, Anne Heche, Peter Stormare
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A young boy attempts to convince a woman that he is her dead husband reborn.
Verdict
This is a cool concept. The love of your life is reincarnated, which is great... except he's a twelve year old boy. How much can you ignore? Are you willing to violate social norms? It's a great question that makes you think. This is a journey, and the movie is worth it for that alone, but the end is just awesome.
This ends and I'm puzzled for an answer that I feel the movie gave me that I must have missed. What it tells me, I don't buy. The pieces are there and I skimmed through this again to put the pieces together.
First Man (2018)
Written by: Josh Singer (screenplay by), James R. Hansen (based on the book by)
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Pablo Shreiber, Shea Whigham, Lukas Haas, Ethan Embry
Rated: PG-13
Plot
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Verdict
It's an absolutely incredible film. I like movies that are unique and a bit condescending. This is both in the sense that it's very introspective and unlike a typical movie. Armstrong is played as quiet, and it's not quiet except for his one liner quips. With that he does an amazing acting job. I felt what this movie wanted me to feel. The visuals are great and this has some intense sequences. This is one man's journey from the earth to the moon. It's a difficult journey and portrayed as very solemn. It's not necessarily fun, but it is very good.
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Directed by: Boots Riley
Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Lily James, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.
Verdict
Wildly inventive and original. This keeps getting crazier, but it's also commenting on society, continuously exaggerating it's point so much that you could miss it. You can read incredibly deep into every detail of this movie. It's a crazy ride that gets even crazier when you realize every scene and detail might indeed be commentary on society. This is a snapshot of current culture, but it's also expounding on universal and timeless conflicts.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Shreiber, Chris Pine
Rated: PG
Plot
Teen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his reality, crossing paths with five counterparts from another dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
Verdict
This is the best Spider-man movie. The art style and direction are amazing. At times it looks like a comic. The story is bold and engrossing, and at times it's quite funny. This embraces comic books, from the look to how wild the stories can be. It's an absolutely spectacular movie that takes risks while being cohesive and not leaving us hanging for a sequel.
The Bottom 7 of 2018:
The Open House (2018)
Directed by: Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote
Starring: Dylan Minnette, Piercey Dalton, Patricia Bethune
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A teenager and his mother find themselves besieged by threatening forces when they move into a new house.
Verdict
This is a complete waste of time. The movie stops without a conclusion. We get no answers and that's after having watched the characters make incredibly dumb decisions continuously. It's a movie that will make you mad at just how bad it is. You're likely to double check to make sure there really isn't a final scene, but do yourself a favor and don't even start this.
The Snowman (2017)
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, JK Simmons, Val Kilmer, Toby Jones, James D'arcy, Chloë Sevigny
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter. Fearing an elusive serial killer may be active again, decades-old cold cases may be the key to stopping the killer.
Verdict
This leaves it open for a sequel, but this was a muddled mess, cliche ridden and nearly incomprehensible. Things happen but you never even have a remote impulse to care. It's surprisingly bad based on talent involved alone.
Game Over, Man! (2018)
Plot
This action comedy inspired by Die Hard features three friends on the verge of getting their video game financed when their benefactor is taken hostage by terrorists.
Verdict
It's just gross and crude, shock humor lacking any real humor. The concept is a great idea, but it can't stop being crude. It's too much, and not even funny. Showing a dick is not a solid joke.When you begin to wonder if you should turn this off, do It. it could save you up to an hour and a half.
How It Ends(2018)
Plot
A mysterious apocalyptic event centers on a young father who will stop at nothing to get home to his pregnant wife on the other side of the country.
Verdict
A very by the numbers start. Parents don't like their daughters boyfriend, but a cataclysmic event happens throwing the boyfriend and girls father together. This is a lesser version of The Road. So much of the plot is just too easy. They get out of everything. They run into bad dudes, then run away. Not much else happens. When they get to the destination I wondered what this had even become. This ending is pure garbage. I didn't like the movie, but the ending makes me outright hate it.
The Week Of (2018)
Written by: Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel
Directed by: Robert Smigel
Starring: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Dratch, Allison Strong
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
When two very different fathers come together for their children’s wedding, everything that could go wrong, does. Hilarious hi-jinks ensure as the two try to keep everything afloat, while dealing with their families...and each other.
Verdict
This looked like a odd couple crazy wedding movie, and it is to a degree but there's no story. The soon to be married couple are just set pieces as the movie focuses on attempted comedy which makes the heart to heart conversations thrown in at the end jarring. Adam Sandler stammers for two hours, and sometimes the screen is filled with people because this movie is a void. Frequently an attempt at a joke happens. I don't think anyone wanted to be in this movie. After the one hour mark, which I thought and hoped was near the end, my disdain for this movie grew with every second.
LOL (2012)
Directed by: Lisa Azuelos
Starring: Miley Cyrus, Douglas Booth, Ashley Greene, Nora Dunn, Jay Hernandez, Thomas Jane, Demi Moore
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Lola's heart is broken by her boyfriend, but soon she's surprised by her best friend, promising musician Kyle, who reveals his feelings for her.
Verdict
I don't even know what this is. It uses all the usual teen movie cliches while simultaneously sexualizing teens and criticizing them for being sexual. It relates to teens worse than Steve Buscemi undercover at a high school. The dialog is garbage. the story is so shallow it's gibberish. There is no single redeemable quality of this movie. It is an utter waste of time.
Batman & Robin (1997)
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Elle Macpherson
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together and try to stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.
Verdict
It's amazing just how bad this is. There's a lack of story, plot, development, acting, directing, writing, and more. This is aggressively bad, so much so it seems that had to be the goal. The dialog is little more than puns and quips. There is no reason to care about a single character and perhaps worst of all, this is just too long. I knew I was in trouble when we got consecutive shots of both Batman and Robin's rubber clad rears, an image that filled the entire screen just thirty seconds into the movie. The last quarter of the movie was so boring I was hoping for a disc error just to stop the suffering.
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