Fascinating flicks of 2018 – reviews in roughly 140 characters
Should have been a great year in film; unfortunately, except for a few outstanding stories, it was pretty unremarkable.
The Black Panther
The first of the tent pole superhero flicks of 2018. Does not disappoint, although a little overblown.
4 of 5
Isle of Dogs
Another of Wes Anderson’s sweetly sarcastic classics. Smartly written and exquisitely animated, a joy to watch.
4 of 5
Annihilation
Perplexing.
1.5 of 5
Early Man
Aardman Studios first real miss. Cute, but nothing memorable or insightful.
2.5 of 5
Game Night
At moments, decidedly funny; however, not enough content to warrant this caliber of acting.
3 of 5
Wrinkle in Time
That’s exactly what watching this felt like. Leans toward pretentious.
2 of 5
Pacific Rim Uprising
If you can overlook the physics of time and space, you might have a shot at enjoying these visually stunning juggernauts duking it out. If not, you probably shouldn’t have bought the ticket.
2.5 of 5
Ready Player One
As Matt Miller so succinctly stated, “…if you want to escape our own dystopian reality with Spielberg’s version of a dystopian reality about escaping a dystopian reality, this is the movie for you.”
2 of 5
A Quiet Place
THIS should be receiving the accolades lauded upon Get Out. A truly suspenseful exercise in directorial restraint by debut director John Krasinski.
4 of 5
(Cock) Blockers
A crass and inelegant attempt at juvenile humor. Not even worth rating.
0 of 5
Rampage
The Rock needs to seriously step back and analyze his projects. This is NOT how he wants to continue his career. The monkey was funny.
2 of 5
Traffik
Paula Patton needs to seriously step back and analyze her projects. This is NOT how she wants to continue her career.
1 of 5
I feel pretty
Amy Schumer’s latest attempt at self deprecating meta humor loses its bite when it turns on itself. She thinks so highly of her supposed low self esteem that its difficult to follow her point or feel anything resembling empathy for her character.
1 of 5
Acrimony
Perfect title for this production. Bitter.
1 of 5
Avengers Infinity War
The culmination of a decade’s worth of Marvels cinematic storytelling, an entertaining exercise in forward moving narrative. While it’s depressing for a “comic book film”, it defies the traditional feel good resolution for extra gravitas.
4 of 5
Deadpool 2
The second in a series is arguably the most important, it redefines the structure of the first effort and expands the scope of the characters in new directions. In this case, the story succeeds on many levels. The humor is more focused. The drama is more personal and pacing is more even.
Breakout star Zazie Beets and her character Domino.
4 of 5
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Entertaining. This origin story had the potential to be something great, but the burden of shoehorning too many pastiches from the earlier stories regarding the characters past creates a burden that the film has trouble overcoming. The score was sadly uninspiring for a Star Wars film.
3 of 5
Ocean’s 8
Sandra Bullock and a ton of star charisma can’t replicate the chemistry of Clooney and clan. Uneven and unthrilling for a heist caper. Breakout star / scene stealer Awkwafina.
2 of 5
Incredibles 2
Witty, insightful and entertaining, THIS is the sequel that works on every level.
4.5 of 5
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Not as solid as its predecessor, but Alejandro is like Logan without superpowers.
3 of 5
Ant-Man and the Wasp
While not Marvel’s best, the forward momentum of this B-team endeavor is infectious and enjoyable.
3 of 5
Skyscraper
The Rock needs to seriously step back and analyze his projects. This is NOT how he wants to continue his career. There’s no funny monkey in this one.
2 of 5
Venom
Perhaps Sony will realize that not all comic characters can’t hold up in a feature length film. Uneven.
2.5 of 5
The Predator
I’m not sure Shane Black even saw the first Predator. It’s energetic, however, perhaps too frenetic.
2.5 of 5
Aquaman
Rollicking fun. Finally a DC superhero film that revels in being just plain fun. Momoa finds his niche as the Atlantean king.
3.5 of 5
All in all, not as bad as it seems. Fairly entertaining.