I felt underwhelmed by everything put out by Hollywood. Even some movies I gave four stars to I ended up putting in my "Liked" section instead of my "Really Liked" section because so few movies really impacted me. Movies I thought I would "Love" were more "Really Liked." I had a hard time finding mainstream movies I was especially passionate so thank you independent and foreign films.
I didn't have a "not interested" list last year but I needed one this year. I just went back through all my old posts and realized that to this day the only time I have ended up actually watching a movie on my "not interested" list was The Big Short, which was really worth my time. I've thought about watching The Martian since I ended up reading and liking the book but overall I seem to have a decent sense of which movies are skippable.
Movies I Still Need To See:
* If Beale Street Could Talk
Movies I'm Not Interested In:
* Green Book: The premise seemed okay until I looked deeper into it. Alex didn't like it which seems like a safe bet to avoid.
* Beautiful Boy: I was bored trying to read a plot description of this. I feel like I've seen this movie at least three times.
* The Wife: See above.
* First Reformed: See above.
* Never Look Back: See above.
* Boy Erased: I already watched a gay conversion movie this year and while this one got praised a lot for Nicole Kidman's performance, I just don't know if it's worth my time.
* Mary Queen Of Scots: I already watched a few period dramas this year and while this one got praised a lot for its costumes and makeup, I just don't know if it's worth my time.
* First Man: Another biopic. I'm sorry but all biopics are basically the same to me at this point. Most lack a fundemental purpose outside of telling a story of a life and trying to inject purpose often comes off as false. You're literally trying to give meaning to life.
* The Mule: See above although John Mulany and Pete Davidson's review of it made me wonder.
* At Eternity's Gate: See above although the premise seems marginally interesting compared to the other two biopics on this list.
* The Ballad Of Buster Suggs: I hate westerns. I liked Mudbound last year but no thanks.
* Mary Poppins Returns: I love and worship Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda but I don't need this in my life.
* Isle Of Dogs: The animation freaks me out somehow.
* Ready Player One: Well, how much will you pay me to watch this?
Maybe I'll get around to the other animated movies but I don't really feel strongly about them enough to really bother.
Movies with a + were not nominated for an Oscar.
Previous Years: 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Movies I Loved:
Cold War: This movie broke into my house, murdered me, and stole everything. I was literally glued to my screen the whole time and off and on crying. The only non-doc movie I gave a full five stars to. I do have a very unemotional explanation for why I liked it so much (directing, cinematography, editing, acting, USE OF MUSIC) but every beat of it kept hitting me in just the right way that it also gave me a lot of feelings from beginning to end.
The Favourite: A lot of people seem torn about this movie. Complaints seem to include historical inaccuracy (I'm of the opinion that you should either go strictly accurate or wildly inaccurate and this did the latter so no problem), unlikeable characters (that was kind of the point), and tone shifts (it was a comedy, guys, but like the kind of comedy this Greek madman makes). Sorry, I loved it. It was visually beautiful on every level, the plot was interesting and layered with lots of character development, and even when I think Yorgos Lanthimos makes a film I don't think is particularly good (The Killing Of A Sacred Deer) I'm always entertained.
Roma: I was a bit on the cusp of Really Liked and Loved with this one but I bumped it to Loved for the directing, which was impectable. It reminded me a lot of La Dolce Vita for some reason but that's another movie that's long, well-directed and makes me think a lot afterwards so i guess the comparison is apt.
Burning: Same conflict with the cusp of Really Liked and Loved but once the movie was over I thought about it for about a half hour and I realized just how many layers there were and I was shook. The social commentary aspect was in the back of my mind while watching and it hit me like a ton of bricks afterwards. I'm kind of floored this wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Film.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch: Wikipedia told me this was a movie so it is. Black Mirror is literally one of two shows that I watch so I may have an inherent bias, but this was one of the best movies of the year. I can already hear people claiming that it's gimmicky but the thing is, this movie basically created a genre of movie and then destroyed it with its content and themes at the same time. Amazing.
Director's Cut: Technically this movie is from 2016 but it wasn't released until 2018. Speaking of movies that someone could dismiss as gimmicky, this film is unique and darkly hilarious and its gimmick really works to unfold a narrative. There need to be more fun movies in general to be honest.
Blindspotting: After watching something like 15 movies in a short amount of time, I saw this and immediately texted everyone I know to say that I finally saw a good movie. It's got a comedic friendship, drama about police brutality, gentrification, and race, and it involves a scene were someone is so angry they can only rap their feelings. It's quality.
Eighth Grade: Last year I mentioned that Lady Bird was a movie that felt almost too real but didn't quite hit all the notes to make it really amazing to me and I have sense realized that film men seem to like it more than film women. Eighth Grade hit the beats that Lady Bird felt like it was missing for me. The juxtaposition of the YouTube videos was brilliant.
Pick Of The Litter: I called this movie the best movie of 2018. I was joking but also not. My other five star movie.
Free Solo: So stressful but so satisfying.
RBG: This documentary was so well edited that I couldn't believe how seamlessly the narrative of RBG's life with her present managed to fit together.
Movies I Really Liked:
BlackkKlansman: This movie is at the top of my "I need to watch this again because I don't think I gave it a fair shake" list. I really liked it, for sure, (my only real criticism is that Spike Lee got obvious even for him at the end) but I was distracted during the first 20 minutes so it made it hard for me to catch up, interest wise. This movie deserves better than that.
Black Panther: Every year there is one superhero movie that I actually bother with and it was great that this year's superhero movie also came with a bunch of thought provoking aspects, cool characters, and a clearly passionate team behind it.
Widows: I saw this in a New York City theater with Alex and the people were INTO it. I honestly think it's Steve McQueen's weakest film but Steve McQueen's worst is still really good. I also immediately noticed Gillian Flynn's incluence on the script and it was highly appreciated because I love how she writes characters.
A Private War: Very intense. Biopic with a point.
How Could You Ever Forgive Me: Less intense but still very good.
Shoplifters: Not my favorite Kore-eda (nothing will beat "After Life" for me I think) but definitely a good one.
The Hate U Give: I really liked the book and I thought this was a great example of how to adapt a book for film even if I have a few minor nitpicks about things they should have kept in. A lot of the changes really supported the story and tightened up the theme.
Love, Simon: I really like the book and this movie was very, very different. It completely functions well as an separate product although I think I'm an old curmudgeon who is a little tired of Hollywood conventions (yes, it's great to have a film where two guys kiss with their classmates cheering them on; I'm not that miserly).
On Chesil Beach: It seems like the people who didn't like this movie, wouldn't have liked the book either. I love the book and I thought the movie was a great adaption of it. Like The Hate U Give, there were a few changes made that really strengthened the themes for a visual medium.
The Death of Stalin: I need to watch this again. I enjoyed it but I was kind of distracted while I watched it and I think I would enjoy it more a second time. I did laugh a bunch though. I love a good dark comedy about death.
Thoroughbreds: Speaking of dark comedy, I kind of thought this would be a Loved and while I did really like it, something kept me from putting it all the way up top. It's not quite the new Heathers but it's a solid watch for fans of Heathers.
Support The Girls: This was just such a nice, earnest movie that happened to also have some social commentary buried under all the wholesomeness. It's a family film, I swear.
Crazy Rich Asians: I watched this on a plane because I had just watched two documentaries and I wanted something fluffy. I was super pleased that it was more about family relationships than a romance and it was just fun to watch with a lot of shiny to keep you entralled. Call me a cornball but that proposal scene hit me in the gut.
Three Identical Strangers: This one's a wild ride. It reminded me of the doc The Imposter in terms of technique but I thought this one was better.
Movies I Liked:
Bohemian Rhapsody: I said earlier that all biopics are the same to me, and I continue to stand by that, which is why I only watch biopics about people who I actually like or find interesting. This biopic at least had a theme that ran through it, and I'm always happy to listen to Queen's music.
Vice: This movie was enjoyable, particularly with the acting, but it had a lot of pieces that really didn't come together for me. Adam McKay needed to tone down his Adam McKay-ness and pick a mood because it was jarringly inconsistent for a topic that has elements that are still, you know, emotionally traumatic for your target audience.
Incredibles 2: A perfectly adequate sequel from Pixar. I don't think Pixar is particularly capable of making bad movies.
The Miseducation Of Cameron Post: A very decent film about gay conversion therapy, not to be confused with that other movie about gay conversion therapy. I saw this in a tiny theater in Burlington while on vacation with Alex and I remember us being very amused (and also two of the four people in the theater).
Colette: This was really the year of WLW in film, I swear. Twenty GayTeen indeed. Anyway, this film was fine but nothing special. Biopic historical drama with some bisexuality.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before: Sometimes you just need to watch a cute and earnest teen movie and this movie was a great one for that. Wouldn't mind this becoming a classic in the genre. My one problem with this film was that some of the boys looked the same and I kept getting confused.
A Quiet Place: This year's one good horror movie.
Ocean's 8: This movie was fun as hell. I loved the cast dynamic.
Leave No Trace: It's definitely unfair to compare this movie to Mr. Fantastic, which I really liked, but I think my problem with this film was the organization. I spent way too long wondering where it was going and even for a character study like this, I shouldn't have spent so much time looking for a purpose to the journey.
Mandy: It wasn't boring or conventional and it knew exactly what it wanted to be. Considering how many movies bore me nowadays, this movie gets a lot of points.
Movies I Thought Were Okay:
Disobedience: This movie had a good sense of style but was really underwhelming when it came to substance. I discussed it with my friend Rene who sees every lesbian movie that comes out and we managed to break down the problems in this film to two main ones: 1. The main character is weirdly underdeveloped. Her motivations, her relationship to her community, and everything about her background is never discussed and 2. The spitting.
A Star Is Born: What worked: Lady Gaga. What didn't work: the plot, Bradley Cooper's character, Bradley Cooper's directing.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindlewald: I think this one barely escaped the bottom category because I enjoyed parts of it. It's a damn mess though and needed a million rewrites. I don't think the franchise is unsalvageble though, which is why it was better than the next one.
Movies I Didn't Like:
Solo: A Star Wars Story: I liked this movie less the more I thought about it. My signother and I actually talked about it and revised it to be a trilogy with all the same characters and major moments but actual story beats and it became clear that the basic material of the film wasn't bad, but it was constructed so wrong. I doubt there'll be another Solo movie.
Unfriended: Dark Web: I was about two-thirds of the way through this movie when I realized I really wasn't having a good time. I felt bad for the characters and irritated that there wasn't anything they could do to stop what was happening. This is a fundemental problem with a horror movie. Unlike the first Unfriended which involved a bunch of unlikable teens and a ghost as a enemy, this one features a bunch of very likeable 20-somethings just trying to have a nice game night over Skype being brutally hunted down by a bunch of merciless dark webbers. It felt like a really depressing episode of Black Mirror without a morale.
The First Purge: The worst one since the first. New movie, same critique: less violence, more politics. The only part that really interested me last about 5 minutes where the psychologist realized that her predictions weren't working and you find out why. The politican's intentions with what they were trying to sell to the public didn't even make sense.
God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness: Bad movie night watch.
Cool Cat Kids Superhero: Bad Movie Night. The original Cool Cat was much better.
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