2018 Movie Rank

9.5/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #64 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #64 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

Hands down the best film of the year so far. Cuarón is back in top form, crafting another masterpiece on the level of 'Children of Men'. Not only is this easily the best shot film of 2018, not only does it move along with the most impressive and soothing sound design you'll hear all year; this is an instant classic, and the kind of film you'd never expect to see released in 2018, and least of all on Netflix. I'm far from the first person to discuss how clearly this film feels just as much of a Fellini film as it does one of Cuaróns; it's such a treat. I'd love to see this on the big screen, because the cinematography (by Cuarón himself) is so perfect and every frame is so immaculately crafted that it's by far the most impressively shot film of the year. Yalitza Aparicio stars in what I believe to be her first screen role, and she's phenomenal; absolutely perfect for the role. Bringing such a fearless vulnerability to what is one of the strongest, most intelligently-written and subtly-handled characters in 2018 cinema. It's very slow-moving and it's a 135-minute black-and-white film with subtitles; but if you're a patient viewer, this is head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest the most rewarding film of 2018.

9/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #2 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #81 Times Seen: 3

Thoughts:

Best Yorgos Lanthimos film yet! Absolutely everything about this movie rules. Fantastic cinematography, editing and soundtrack, the best set and costume design you’ll find in all of 2018, and three outstanding lead performances (and Nicholas Hoult too!). Olivia Colman gives the most impressive and enjoyable performance of the year. Yorgos continues to channel his inner Kubrick (this time very clearly inspired by (‘Barry Lyndon’), serving up his most gripping narrative yet, and further asserting himself as both a master storyteller and one of the best and most exciting filmmakers working today. Exciting because each of his films is somehow better than the last, and it feels like his best films are yet to come; which is saying a lot considering this film is basically a masterpiece. He didn’t even write the script to this one but it’s somehow the sharpest and funniest of his filmography. He’s such a genius storyteller that he’s able to take an eighteenth-century period piece about the Monarchy, and serve up the most gripping and energetic drama of recent years. Feel like the ending is a tad jarring and abrupt on the first viewing, but once you know that that’s where it ends and you’re not being blessed with anymore of this movie, it reveals itself as the perfect conclusion and really gets you thinking.

8.5/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #2 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #44 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

I loved it and I'm very excited to see it again soon. It's presentation is right up my alley with creative, stylistic camerawork; full of 70s-style crash-zooms and an overall visual aesthetic that felt much more reminiscent of 'Don't Look Now' over the original 'Suspiria'. Ever since that first teaser was released and it flexed it's Sayombhu Mukdeeprom cinematography and Thom York score all over us it was pretty much a guarantee that I'd love it. I'm a sucker for anything set in this time period so of course I also loved the set design and costuming. This was probably the most effective horror film of the year, which is usually a low-bar and doesn't indicate greatness but we also got 'Hereditary' this year. This film is a very uncomfortable, eerie watch and very much like last year's 'mother!', I don't begrudge anyone for not enjoying it. It's just very much my kind of movie.

All of the performances were pretty great; the casting was pretty spot-on and Tilda Swinton continues to be the best. Luca Guadagnino continues to assert himself as one of the most gifted filmmakers working today. He's such an exciting talent in the industry and I want him to keep releasing a new film every year. Definitely prefer it over the original. It was just as much of a visual/audio treat and it left me with a lot more to think about.

8.5/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #1 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #14 Times Seen: 3

Thoughts:

An immensely well-directed and charming new gem from Wes Anderson. This is a super charismatic movie with a delightfully unique style and characters that are easy to love. The animation is even better than in 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', and that's saying a lot. This is one of the most visually-stunning films that's come out in some time, and the effort on display in every frame is incredibly impressive. I was surprised by just how extensive and immersive the world-building was here, and it felt like there were many stories to be told because of just how unique and specific the setting was. The film is funny and surprisingly engaging throughout, keeping a fast pace and a run-time that feels perfectly satisfying. The voice acting is all fun and the casting is spot-on; I thought Bryan Cranston knocked it out of the park. This is a film I imagine I will enjoy re-watching constantly, and I cannot wait to see it again as soon as possible.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #3 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #32 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

A lot of people have said of this movie that it's a great horror film, but it's not particularly scary. Having watched it by myself at home, late at night; I can't say I had this experience at all. This was one of the most engaging films to come out in quite a while, and I think it was such an effective horror film because it found a unique and interesting way to hook me emotionally. I really didn't know what to expect from this film outside of the "creepy" vibe that the trailer marketed wonderfully. I didn't anticipate the emotional experience that I got, and it's extremely rare in the genre today to find a film that gets much of a reaction out of the audience at all. In terms of any detracting elements, the performance by Alex Wolff was a bit hit or miss. I can't say at all that he was doing a bad job, but I was left questioning the quality of his contributions here throughout. Despite this minor issue, the performances in this film are across the board fantastic. The cinematography and even specific visuals are amazing. This is one of the most unique films that'll come out this year, and it's unlikely you'll be able to find a film that offers even a remotely similar experience.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #3 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #49 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

Absolutely excellent. An immaculately presented film with another fantastic script by Gillian Flynn. This film probably has the best cast of the year and the performances are all outstanding. I obviously can't mention every great performance but Daniel Kaluuya should probably be in every movie and Elizabeth Debicki is equally excellent; she's also very tall. The more I think on this one, the more I love it. Steve McQueen is such a talent and he continues with this film in his exciting dedication to creative filmmaking. The film was slow and I would actually say it felt every minute of its runtime. This may be a detriment to some, but for the kind of film that it is and the unique style it displays, I loved the way it was paced and I could've easily watched another two hours of it. Also Steve McQueen accurately presenting the passage of time through 'Ice Age' was just as perfect as that shot of the car.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #4 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #40 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

An emotional and thoughtful documentary about a man I had never heard of before but have complete respect for now. This is the feel-good film of the year and I'd recommend that everyone see it. It's very accessible and I think everyone can get a lot out of it.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #8 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #82 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

A fascinating and emotionally exhausting portrait of WW1 from the perspective and accounts of veterans. Just talking technical elements; this is a very well-edited documentary and the restoration and colorization of the footage is an insanely impressive feat. Obviously authentic but also incredibly immersive. Outside of its technical achievements, this is a uniquely-presented and gripping documentary narrative. The work done on the old war footage goes beyond being a gimmick. I often feel it’s easy to experience a disconnect of sorts when viewing old war footage, due to the format being so removed from how history and information is captured today. For me, the colorization brought the footage closer to everyone’s daily understanding of the world, making for both a much more emotionally effective experience, as well as a timeless display of the tragedy of war.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #6 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #57 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

One of the best superhero movies ever, no seriously. Not only is it the most visually-interesting 3D-animated movie of the year (by far), not only is it funny, charming, intelligently-scripted and immensely engaging from start to finish, but it's also a deconstruction of the current superhero movie craze. It explores why these stories continue to connect with folks all over the world, and shines a light on the value of them when they work. 'Into the Spider-Verse' really, really works. There isn't a single superhero character currently in circulation who's as charismatic and lovable as Miles Morales in this film. He captures the same sense of inspiration that Christopher Reeve caught with Superman. Every character here is enjoyable to watch and everything about this film oozes fun and originality. My only real complaint is that Kingpin as a villain is a little under-cooked and his plan is brushed over in terms of its impracticality.

The superhero genre often feels very stale and like manufactured fun as of late, but 'Spider-Man' is here to blow all of that out of the water (pun intended because boy did 'Aquaman' look terrible next to this). This is without a doubt the most purely enjoyable blockbuster film of the year, and an unbelievably perfect tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It's also from the studio that brought you 'Venom'!

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #3 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #31 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

A thought-provoking and beautifully shot exploration of depression and personal-crisis. It's an intricate character study in the vein of writer/director's 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull', and a powerful, confronting exploration of religion. Ethan Hawke is more than deserving of an Oscar nomination due to his absolute powerhouse work here in what is easily one of the best performances of the year.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #9 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #61 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

The new film from Drew Goddard is loads of fun. The whole aesthetic of this movie from setting to lighting to production and costume design seems perfectly designed to appeal to my tastes. So I've been pretty excited to see it for the last few months; having missed it in cinemas (like everyone else. I feel terrible that this movie was such a colossal bomb). This is a fantastic script, brought to life by spot-on casting, performances and Goddard's ability to create such an enticing setting through impressive presentation choices. Seriously this is right up there for this year if you're looking for an aesthetic treat. This movie alone has convinced me that Hemsworth is a movie star. He gives a charismatic performance with such an insane level of screen presence that Goddard is really able to play around with the character when he decides to bring him in and out of the story. Everyone else is also really great. Cynthia Erivo will be in so many movies soon and Jeff Bridges is just as great as always. Jon Hamm and Dakota Johnson also can't go without a mention.

This is a very slow-moving movie and I think that's a big part of why it was so divisive with critics and subsequently why it struggled to find a wide audience in cinemas. For a movie that's almost 2.5 hours long and moves at a snail's pace, it kind of flew by. I totally understand, because I too felt that some scenes went on for a really, really long time. But I saw it as mostly intentional and I'm a patient viewer so I didn't mind. Another big complaint I've noticed from critics of the film is that the characters were lacking. Sure I'm always up for more complex characters but I found them all to be dynamic if not-necessarily three dimensional. For what the story is doing I felt that they all needed to be entertaining to watch; and I found them to exceed in that area. I also can't undersell the absolutely gorgeous cinematography by Seamus McGarvey, who plays around with a stunning colour palette on 35mm film and the result is one of the best looking movies of the year. Soundtrack is also phenomenal. Really disappointed I didn't seek it out in theaters because this would've been an exceptionally fun time at the movies. I keep thinking about this movie and it gets better the more I do. Can't wait to see it again.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #9 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #67 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

An engaging and unique western film with great performances from a stellar cast. This is a pretty slow-moving film with some really great character work and director Jacques Audiard recreates the time period with a cool authenticity; paired with some impressive cinematography. I can understand why some viewers would think that this movie is just "okay", but it's really stuck with me since I saw it and I imagine it'll be even better on my second watch.

8/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #1 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #10 Times Seen: 8

Thoughts:

'Infinity War' is a strong contender for my favourite film in the Marvel Universe, and probably my favourite superhero film to come out in the last decade. I'm happy and extremely surprised to say that I pretty much loved this movie. When it comes to films in this genre, I have a sort of checklist that I apply to each film that comes out. It's a list of everything I would expect out of a perfect superhero film. For example: Beautiful visuals (if one visual medium is being adapted to another, there's no excuse for lazy cinematography), a strong grasp on its tone (If the film has drama, I'd like to be able to take it seriously whilst still having fun), a great soundtrack (films such as 'Superman', 'Spider-Man' and 'Batman' have shown just how effective and essential a great soundtrack is). Most essential is great heroes and a great villain. Outside of these specifics, I generally just hold the same expectations for superhero films that I do for every film (i.e. great performances and outstanding technical aspects).

This film was visually inspired in the manner that the very best films of the genre are; taking inspiration from the panels of the source material and blowing them up into beautiful, sweeping, instantly iconic shots. The soundtrack consisted of one of the better Marvel scores and the music actually stood out at points and overtook the audio landscape of a few key scenes; as opposed to just being filler, background noise. The effects looked great and Thanos was especially detailed and he never felt like he wasn't actually within each of these environments; he appeared to have a lot of physicality and weight to him. Outside of Brolin's work here, much of the cast such as Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth and Zoe Saldana were given the opportunity to impress. The film was well-edited, keeping the various storylines intertwined and connected; always maintaining a coherent narrative trajectory. The story was fast-paced and was able to establish the stakes, the MacGuffin and the various character groups efficiently without wasting the first hour of the film just discussing it as 'Civil War' did. I think that because this film had to fit so much into it, there was a greater emphasis on keeping the story constantly moving. This film had a lot of action but unlike other films in this genre such as 'Man of Steel' and even the previous 'Avengers' films, it never became stale or repetitive. I was a little worried when the Wakanda battle started that we'd have to sit through half an hour of these characters just punching aliens like in the previous two films. Luckily because the film was already so long, the Wakanda battle against the aliens only lasted a few minutes of screen-time and these restrictions resulted in a conflict that's actually engaging and fun to watch.

Thanos was a great villain and definitely one of the best I've seen in a comic book film. He was a make or break character for me going in. If he sucked and didn't extend any further than just showing off how powerful he is, I probably would've disliked the movie as a whole. His motivations though entirely questionable logically speaking, do mostly make sense from a character perspective. Not to mention Josh Brolin sold the hell out of it, giving the best performance in the entire film. The story treated his character seriously unlike just about every other Marvel villain, and the result was the only antagonist in the MCU that actually feels genuinely antagonistic and threatening against the other main characters. Some characters had absolutely nothing to do within the story whatsoever, and were obviously only there because that's the gimmick of the movie. Minor spoilers here but characters like Black Widow, Falcon, Winter Soldier, Black Panther and War Machine had literally no function within the story and were just there to fight aliens. I didn't really mind because I'm not a fan of about half of those characters, but this might annoy some. A few characters that I'm not a fan of had a lot of screen-time, but I really didn't mind them in this film. Characters like Dr. Strange and Iron Man were much more pleasant to watch and I didn't find myself annoyed by them all that much.

I respect the direction that this film took quite a bit and this is a film that's growing on me the more I think about it. As far as MCU movies go, this is the only one that basically ticks all the boxes when it comes to what I want out of a superhero movie; so it's up there with my favourite films in the genre like 'Spider-Man' 1&2 and 'The Dark Knight'. More so than any previous MCU movie, this feels like an instant classic.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #6 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #42 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

A very interesting film with a lot to say, and it says it well. This is a very well-made movie and without knowing much going in, it didn't take long for the film to have me hooked. Daveed Diggs is a great actor and the last 10 minutes left me in awe. Everyone should see this film.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #15 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #47 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

Was surprisingly disappointed by this one initially. I was very excited to see the latest from the Coen Brothers as they're easily among my favourite filmmakers. I sat down to watch it and was really into it for the first two stories, but then it lost me, and I only felt engaged in small moments. I genuinely loved the first two stories and figured this would be one of my favourite films of the year. Extremely well-shot, acted and the overall style was really awesome. But then the third story started and it seemed to drag in a manner that lost me. The fourth story picked up again and was pretty awesome but the final two stories didn't engage me very much at all; despite having some great dialogue.

This was originally supposed to be a miniseries, and I would assume the format was supposed to be a story for each episode. It certainly feels like I didn't get enough from even the stories I didn't really like. Sure, I'd love a two and a half hour film about Buster Scruggs, but the later stories also felt like I needed more. They felt too short to really get into anything interesting, but they also felt like they didn't go anywhere because they didn't have time to. There's much to think about with each of these stories, but the later ones didn't engage me to the point where I was enjoying thinking about them. Again, I wish I just got more from these stories.

So even though I loved the film for the first act, I can't say I enjoyed it overall as much as I respect it. I'm not sure whose call it was to cut this from a miniseries into a film, but it certainly feels like a disappointing restriction. I wish I loved this film as much as everyone else seems to be but I'm afraid I just didn't enjoy half of what it had to offer narratively. Despite being disappointed by half of the six segments, each of them was definitely well-directed and beautifully shot with great performances.

I'd like to give it another watch, maybe each segment individually. I feel like I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't comparing each of them to one another.

Update After Second Viewing:

If you felt a little unsure after your first watch, I'd strongly recommend revisiting it. This movie is great. 'Surly Joe' will never get out of my head.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #5 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #38 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

An extremely authentic and incredibly well-written coming-of-age film; one of the best the genre has ever seen. It's funny, emotional and features some great performances; potentially all overshadowed by how outstanding Elsie Fisher is in the lead role. Everyone's calling this film "relatable" and I was surprised that it managed to extend beyond "ooh boy wasn't being 13 rough" and actually deliver as a much more satisfying exploration of social interaction, insecurity and everyday anxieties.

This film is refreshingly and surprisingly in-touch with what Gen-X eighth grade is (it's suitably cringe-y and embarrassing); and achieves a unique sense of humour as an extension of that. My only complaint would be the often flat-looking visual aesthetic. Outside of that, this is a film for everyone, and is without a doubt one of the most accessible movies of the year (in the best way possible).

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #4 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #26 Times Seen: 5

Thoughts:

I agree with the general consensus that 'Fallout' is the best of the 'M:I' movies. This is a series where I get hyped like a week outside of a new films release, and then I see it and I have a good time, and then I kind of forget about it and wait three years for the next one to come around. This on the other hand, is a movie that I really want to see again soon. It's essentially a passing-grade kind of spy story, but the action sequences are so insanely impressive; as well as being the most engaging and fun set-pieces that I've seen in a long time. There were so many great moments in this film that I can't wait to revisit, and they're arranged and paced throughout the movie in a clever way, so that the film on the whole is completely engaging from start to finish.

The opening scene had me worried, because it was essentially just a front-loaded exposition dump, and it all just went in one ear and out the other. Following that, was one of the most entertaining blockbuster films of the decade. Sure, I have my problems with the movie. I'm of the opinion that Henry Cavill is not a very good actor. I find he struggles with convincing, natural dialogue delivery, and that carries over into this film. Having said that, I did like him in the movie and without him and his character, this movie wouldn't have been as good. He fills the role perfectly when it comes to the physical side of it. He does a great job in the action scenes, and he can't help but have screen presence because he's just so massive.

Everything from the HALO jump to the bathroom fight to the chase through Paris to the helicopter sequence; there are just so many unforgettable scenes in this film that it stands head and shoulders above every straight Hollywood action film of the last few years. I actually really loved the score in this movie. I know some people have complained that it's generic, but I felt that it really set a fun and frenetic tone in many scenes, whilst feeling quite classical. Standouts on the soundtrack include 'Free Fall', 'Fallout' and 'The Exchange'. Mixed with the top-notch sound design, this is just a really nice movie to listen to. But what really sets this film above the rest, what really makes it the best film in the franchise, and the best straight-forward action movie in recent memory: is the glorious mustache. That bad boy has like 50 minutes of screen-time. Genuine respect to Paramount for being so petty and actually improving 'Justice League'.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #3 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #28 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

Like I needed any more reason to love Adam Driver. 'BlacKkKlansman' is an entertaining and powerful film that manages to balance a unique tone; constantly oscillating between genuine, intelligent comedy and uncomfortable, confronting tension. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the script here is really great; making it look easy. I mostly like the way Spike Lee directed this movie; I was often impressed throughout at how much this feels like an actual film from the 1970s. The costume and art direction were absolutely outstanding. The performances are great; most notably Driver, Washington and Grace who I'd love to see receive some recognition come awards season. The score, though often repetitive was pretty great, especially the main theme which really helped establish a style and reflect the tone effectively. Not to spoil the film, but the ending will be a topic of discussion and I believe it earned what might otherwise be considered cheap or manipulative. It felt relevant and it's always great to see a film that stands out, and isn't afraid to make a statement. There's one character who feels a little cliched (in terms of storytelling) and the climax of the film ended in a bit of an odd way. Some characters are a little underwritten in favour of keeping the focus on the main story, and the story is at times slightly repetitive. Outside of these small issues, I really enjoyed this film and can't wait to see it again. It's a good film that works outside of its politics, but its politics get you thinking and hopefully talking as well. I'd highly recommend seeing it in theaters. The crowd I saw it with seemed to really love it and it's great to see Lee release a film that seems to be finding its way to a wide audience.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #6 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #50 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

One of the best NASA movie ever made; it's certainly up there with the likes of 'Apollo 13' and not much else. Though I'm admittedly a bit of an 'Apollo 11' skeptic, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and it's great to see director Chazelle try something completely different from his previous films. My only real complaint towards this movie that sees it sit a little below his previous two films is that it felt a little repetitive around the middle. Aside from that, this is an excellent historical film with some of the best cinematography you'll see all year, as well as some genuinely pretty flawless visual effects. The score is also a tad repetitive, but still well-done and memorable. This is one of the most technically proficient films of the year. Ryan Gosling provides one of his best performances yet but Claire Foy is the real standout here.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #23 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #73 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

This got way better when it got weird, it did take until the third act to get there though. Felt a little overlong and awkwardly paced especially in the second act. Great performances and a fun sense of style, felt very unique and fresh; but it was held back by its pacing issues and I would've liked a little more subtlety at points. A good film with an interesting voice and important subjects to explore.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #17 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #70 Times Played?: 2

Thoughts:

Is this even a movie? Ah well, it's going on the list anyway. So this was pretty fun. The story is far from the best of 'Black Mirror', but for what this film is trying to do, it's mostly engaging with some fun performances and a relatively interesting main character. Will Poulter is a real standout here; his character was very watchable and entertaining. The ending that I got was pretty great but towards the third act, things started to feel just a little too repetitive and the approximate 110-minutes that it took me to finish it did feel much closer to 2.5 hours. After a while it kind of lost narrative momentum and I felt like I wasn't doing it properly because the story stopped introducing new elements and I was just left to revisit moments and make different decisions to reach the end of the story. But despite this, the actual ending that I got was very satisfying and there's lots to chew on conceptually throughout. This all makes for what might be the most groundbreaking, interesting and original science-fiction film of the year. It's not airtight in its storytelling and it's far from perfect; but being the first of its kind, it's undeniably special. I don't believe that this is necessarily the future of entertainment, but I'm excited to see what other kinds of stories we can tell through this "new?" medium. Imagine this concept placed on to different genres.

It's difficult to review this traditionally, and even more difficult to give it a numerical rating; because I'll have a slightly different experience to others who've completed it. I certainly had some issues with it, and if you really just don't find this concept fun at all, then it's just going to come across as gimmicky and all you'll have left is a middle-range 'Black Mirror' story. But I had a blast with it. I can't help but enjoy anything that's this ambitious and I'm excited to see where the technology of personalized entertainment goes from here.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #3 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #19 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

This was a really good movie. It has great performances, memorable visuals and a constantly engaging and unpredictable story. The three leads all turn in fantastic performances, and I was extremely entertained throughout. I don't want to spoil what happens, but I was surprised by how unsure I was of where the story would go from beginning to end. I'd recommend this film highly, but don't expect it to be a typical teen movie or anything. This is definitely not that, but that subversion of genre helps the film a lot.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #20 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #83 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

A well-directed film with some fantastic performances (KiKi Layne, Regina King and Stephan James in particular) beautiful cinematography by James Laxton (Moonlight). The score by Nicholas Britell was also a huge stand-out and I wouldn't be surprised if it manages to take home the Oscar this year. Overall this was a very well-made film, but I can't say it really left an impact on me and I'm not in any hurry to revisit it. It's definitely a step down from 'Moonlight', which I consider to be one of the best films of the decade. Still, it's by no means even an average movie; it's very well done and it falls slightly short of being great mostly due to my own experience with it. Everything about it on a technical level is exceptional and I can totally see why people love it, but it just didn't do it for me. Took a while for me to get into it and some scenes were a little repetitive, but it is good movie with something to say and it definitely does it well. Still very much invested in Barry Jenkins as one of the most promising up-and-coming filmmakers working today.

7/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #9 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #46 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

I was extremely skeptical and extremely surprised by this film. Films like the 'Unfriended' series left such a bad taste in everyone's mouth for the kind of film concept. I started seeing the film getting really good reviews but still didn't think I'd like it because I was convinced of how ugly a way this is to present your film. But fortunately the filmmakers knew what they were doing and this film turns it's creative limitations into an opportunity to actually be creative. Who would've thought that possible after seeing the 'Unfriended' movies? This is a very engaging thriller that had me genuinely hooked for the majority of its runtime. It overcomes its usually terrible presentation concept by doing it accurately and imaginatively. There wasn't so often that I found myself questioning why the characters were using technology in certain ways for the benefit of the audience. This has always been a pitfall of this specific sub-genre and whenever it happens it always breaks immersion for a cinematic format that's supposed to be completely immersive. However this film was surprisingly riveting.

John Cho was pretty great in the lead role; this being a role where you have to be on screen for basically the entire film. He carries the film quite well and his performance provides the story with its emotional core. I thought I'd be complaining about the films visual aesthetic, but it is in fact edited with such detail and less misguided attention to keeping it "found footage". This allowed the creatives to maintain some freedom in how things were presented and it actually made it much more believable. Overall, this was a pretty great movie and easily one of the better studio films of the year (and especially from Sony). It's hard to sell because of how horribly this concept has been done in the past, but as someone who thought the novelty was inherently terrible, I enjoyed this film a lot.

6.5/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #18 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #63 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

An entertaining, thought-provoking and genuinely informative documentary. Some sections are reaching a bit, as Michael Moore is liable to do, but a lot of the information in this movie made me feel ignorant for not knowing prior. It's less a "take-down" of Trump, and more of a general examination of the current political state of America, and how it affects the population. The film opens with Michael Moore asking how we got here, and I think he does a pretty great job of dissecting what led to the 2016 election result. Would recommend it either way you swing politically.

6/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #26 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #85 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

I found the latest effort by Gaspar Noe to be gross, dragged-out and honestly insufferable; and it’s clear that this was exactly what Noe was looking to achieve. I really can’t fault the film on that front and it’s technical merit is undeniable. Breath-taking camerawork and lighting, fused with some of the most kinetic and violent dance choreography ever captured for feature film. This appears to be a very inspired vision in terms of its filmmaking and I feel like I was supposed to like this movie, but it’s a difficult one to appreciate. Sure, it’s designed to put you at the centre of the awful experience that the characters are dealing with, but it also establishes the characters as awful people; so it’s not as though it positions you to empathise with them. It does so by way of an excruciatingly long sequence in which Noe continues in trying your patience; as our surrogate characters talk openly and shamelessly about their obviously disgusting desires and intentions.

This movie sells itself as an experience, but I struggled to invest emotionally or intellectually here due to the lack of any fresh or engaging substance. Sure, drugs are bad and humans can also be bad. It’s pretty clear that if Noe had anything else on his mind whilst crafting this film, it was a desire to tackle the darker side of human nature (the setting of an empty school building appears very purposeful). Drugs and the notion of crafting a film experience around that of a drug experience doesn’t appeal to me on its own terms; drugs just aren’t interesting to me as subject matter. Something like ‘The Holy Mountain’ has a lot more to offer than that subtextually, and I’m not sure that the same can be said for ‘Climax’. Maybe it’ll grow on me over time, maybe I’ll hear a unique interpretation that opens my mind up to a new way of appreciating this movie beyond its admittedly impressive technical achievements. Instead of feeling immersed and trapped into this horrible, nightmare experience, I honestly just found the film tedious and repetitive. Again, this feels somewhat intentional and essential to the experience, but to what purpose was Noe testing us?

The directing here employs a vast array of clever filmmaking tricks and tools to craft an immersive experience but I felt distanced by it all. I don’t think you’re supposed to enjoy it by traditional entertainment standards, but surely there needs to be something else to appreciate here outside of it managing to be an intentionally painful 90-minutes. I genuinely hated the experience of watching this. Films like ‘Mother!’, ‘Killing of a Sacred Deer’ and 2018’s ‘Suspiria’ all felt like similarly immensely uncomfortable viewing experiences, but all three were tremendously engaging and thoughtful films that I loved and couldn’t stop thinking about. This on the other hand felt too (frankly) boring to appreciate in the same way. This is likely the most perfunctory and useless star-rating I’ve given out in 2018, as it’s difficult for me to decide how much credit I ought to give this film for being everything it wanted to be, but not at all enjoying exactly that. Maybe I was supposed to take drugs to enjoy this, but even if I were looking to have a drugged up film experience I’d probably rather be watching ‘Holmes and Watson’ or some shit.

6/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #16 Year of First Viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #54 Times Seen: 2

Thoughts:

Even when the movies in the Rocky franchise suck, I love them. This one however was a pretty good movie and surprisingly compelling. It felt less artistic and mature than the first film, but it upped the intensity to eleven and managed to present a gripping narrative with appreciated care for character complexity. I never expected this sequel to be as good as its predecessor, but I do think that this was as good a non-Coogler sequel we were going to get. Steven Caple Jr. proves himself to be a talented filmmaker, and Ludwig Göransson provides another excellent score. Michael B. Jordan is still great in the lead role, and though he's less charismatic in favour of an angrier, more emotional Adonis Creed, it's something different for the character despite having a much weaker character arc. Dolph Lundgren is great and I actually would've liked to see even more of him.

Sure, this movie sticks to the usual series formula but it's not a problem for me. It's one of the more effective films in the franchise and a lesser Creed sequel is still ahead of most Rocky films.

6/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #28 Year of First Viewing: 2019 Movie Viewing Order: #86 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

The cinema of the future is here.

6/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #2 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #5 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

I have pretty mixed feelings when it comes to Alex Garland's latest sci-fi venture. On the one hand it's largely boring and uneventful, with a complete lack of any engaging elements due to paper thin, dull characters and an unpleasant visual aesthetic. The first half-an-hour was super boring and difficult to sit through, then once the plot kicked in, I still wasn't as interested as I was expecting to be. Once they entered 'The Shimmer', the film moved quite slowly as they gradually explored and discovered elements of this mysterious zone. I'm fine with sci-fi films moving slowly in parts, because I think it gives the audience room to breathe and contemplate ideas of their own in relation to the film. However, it takes so long for this film to even get interesting that by the time the interesting concepts come up, I was just wanting the film to end. Visually, I did not enjoy what this film had to offer. 'The Shimmer' had a colour palette comparable to that one you get when you mix every colour paint into one.

The performances were surprisingly also quite dull, which is a shame because I usually love the work given by these actors in different films. A grand total of two scenes stood out in this film as memorable/interesting. The first being the scene with the bear creature. It was tense despite not caring about the characters and the effects looked pretty great. The second of course being everything inside the "lighthouse". These moments were well-directed and the last 20-minutes or so were an audio-visual delight. It's a shame however that everything that came before it was so ridiculously un-engaging that it became difficult to get invested in these extremely well-done scenes. I should also mention that the soundtrack was quite effective throughout.

The concepts on display here were as interesting as Garland has ever raised. This was expected as Garland is one of the most thoughtful and intelligent science-fiction screenwriters in the business. I did however find it extremely difficult to care about these ideas when everything outside of them was so often unappealing. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to opinions on this film, but because I wasn't enjoying the film due to its slow pace and displeasing presentation, I wasn't able to have fun thinking about these concepts. Surprisingly for Garland, some of the scenes were terribly-written and just felt like the screenwriter was talking to the audience, rather than creating authentic dialogue that an actual human being would ever say.

I would say that the main reason this film didn’t work for me was the structure. The framing device Garland decided to implement into this story drained the film of the much needed narrative momentum that could’ve propelled this into being a great film. It’s odd because I think this element was one of ‘Ex Machina’s’ greatest strengths. Not sure why this story was t presented in the same manner, and I do feel that the structure is entirely responsible for more than half of the film being quite dull.

So overall a very mixed bag. I didn't enjoy the film very much but I can't deny that it achieved quite a bit (whilst failing at quite a lot as well). It's probably a film that benefits from a second or even a third viewing, but I don't really have any interest in sitting through it again. I feel I should re-iterate that I have absolutely nothing to complain about in the final 20-minutes however, and I do really appreciate and respect this film for just being interesting and intelligent, more so than I would other films of this elk in terms of it’s presentation.

6/10

Highest Ranking on This List: #21 Year of first viewing: 2018 Movie Viewing Order: #48 Times Seen: 1

Thoughts:

I didn't expect to love this movie as much as everyone else, because the trailer made me roll my eyes. I have to admit that I was impressed by the filmmaking on display, especially from an actor turned first-time director. I found myself more engaged for the first two acts than I was expecting I would be. But the third act left me pretty unimpressed. Lady Gaga is actually pretty great here, but her character is quite basic and the focus is shifted more towards Cooper's lead. Which is a shame because even though he's supposed to be the complicated, Oscar-winning character study; his character is extremely conventional and an amalgamation of tired cliches. Cooper's performance is solid but this film even as a whole felt very uninspired from a screenwriting perspective. Like they wanted to do a realistic, modern, gritty interpretation of the story, but they didn't do anything interesting with the material anyway. This is one of the most predictable films of the year and the ending was very off-putting to me. I kind of figured that was where they were heading with the story, but when they did it, it was to no real purpose. It doesn't really progress Gaga's Ally as a character. It's just kind of there because we needed a tear-jerker ending if we wanna win Best Picture and Best Actor.

The entire film felt very conventional when I felt like that's exactly the opposite of what they were going for in tone and even the message of the film. If this film has anything to say (which it doesn't really), it's that you have to stay true to yourself in art and say what you have to say. Like there's a scene dedicated to Cooper flat-out telling us that this is the point of the movie. But this movie doesn't actually have anything to say about much of its subject matter. It features alcoholism and drug abuse but it just includes them as a tired trope to try and make the lead character interesting, and give him something to struggle with. I wished they spent less time showing Bradley Cooper drinking alcohol, and dove more into his younger life with his brother. Or maybe restructure the film to explore Ally's life after the events of the ending, rather than pass off a musical number as enough closure for her character. The film felt very safe and uninterested in doing anything too complex. This probably isn't a problem for most people seeing how it's made buckets of money, cracked the Top 250 here on IMDb and will probably win Best Picture, but this is how I felt about the film.