Top 10 Films of 2018

Honestly, I didn't see nearly as many movies as I'd have liked to in 2018, making up for it by outright purchasing them blindly, and thankfully I picked out some really great ones. 2018 started out not amazing for movies but ended very strong. Before I start with my personal favorites of the year, I want to say one thing: I did not see every single "amazing" feature out there, some that were big that I just didn't care for, or ones that I just have been too busy to see.

Let's start off with just a few honorable mentions:

Halloween (2018)- This was a worthy sequel/continuation of the original Carpenter film. While a sequel isn't necessary at all to one of the greatest horror films ever, I'm pleased that it treated the source material well, and brought the brutality in full force to showcase just how much of a beast Michael Myers is.

Hereditary- I thought this movie looked really stupid when I first saw the trailer, but I was honestly shocked once I saw it, in that I liked it and it scared the crap out of me, in particular the last 20 minutes.

Teen Titans Go to the Movies- I used to watch the OG series back in the day, and heard Go was terrible, but I bit the bullet and bought this movie after Black Friday, and it was surprisingly very well done. Stick to cartoons DC.

On to the favorites!

10. Deadpool 2

This movie was a worthy successor to the wonderful first Deadpool movie. There's not much more to say that I didn't in my review, but I'm curious if they make another to see where it goes next (not counting Once Upon a Deadpool which was a retelling of this movie).

9. A Quiet Place

This movie piqued my interest from the moment I saw the trailer. One of the more intense movies I've seen in awhile, and great acting all around. One of the biggest reasons I appreciated this movie is the atmosphere it presented in the theater. You were holding your breath along with the characters, and it made it slightly less likely for idiots to talk or be on their phones during the movie, which I will always appreciate.

8. Searching

This movie is insane, in a good way. I can't think of a thriller that's left me this on edge and with such a cool premise in awhile. You'd think the whole thing taking place on a computer screen would get old after awhile (like Unfriended did, at certain points), but I can honestly say it was a great experience the whole time. Like I said in my review, it felt like it went on much longer than it did, but that's only because I didn't have any time to think, it was nonstop concern for the safety of his daughter. Absolutely a pleasant surprise for me last year.

7. Mission Impossible: Fallout

I honestly haven't ever really cared about the Mission Impossible series, and the trailer for this movie left me groaning that the series was still churning out sequels, but after hearing how amazing this one was I decided to give the series a go through again. I can't believe what I was missing out on! Rogue Nation and Fallout are some of the most enjoyable action I've seen in a long time. One of the reasons I love the John Wick movies is that Keanu Reeves does a lot of his own stunt work (and the fact those movies are masterpieces), and Tom Cruise is just as insane in doing his own stunts. He just decides to increase the chances of giving people heart attacks, but man if it isn't entertaining.

6. Game Night

I'd wanted to see this one in theaters but was working too much, I'm disappointed I didn't get to because I love this movie, and I want to support great relatively original scripts. Like Tag of the same year, making a movie based on simple games (let's not talk about Truth or Dare) is so simple yet the execution was done perfectly. The perfect blend of dark and slight improv makes for an enjoyable watch.

5. Bad Times at the El Royale

I compare this to The Hateful Eight, and for good reason. Classic whodunnit style, but in my opinion for the most part unpredictable. The acting is great, the soundtrack is fantastic and overall I really enjoy this movie. Probably didn't make as much money as it should've (in part due to the trailer), like the Nice Guys, but it was surely one fun time at the movies.

4. Upgrade

I don't even think I remember hearing about this movie when it came out, but one of my friends told me about it a few months ago and after seeing just the trailer I outright bought the movie, and I'm glad I did. Mix John Wick with Blade Runner and the twists of Saw and you've got an amazing, blood soaked thrill ride from start to finish. This movie, while not breaking major ground in cinema, was unique and the execution was spot on. This has become dang near one of my favorite movies.

3. Eighth Grade

This movie really affected me on a personal level for many reasons. It was written and directed by tied for favorite comedian Bo Burnham, who just understands people, himself and comedy on a deep level. This was billed as a comedy for the most part, but honestly it was more drama to me, but that's because the main character really resonated with me. This is where the list started to really become hard to place, because honestly all of these top 3 could be number 1, but I gotta draw the names somewhere.

2. Bohemian Rhapsody

I still reserve my opinion on how great this movie was. I usually hate hype trains, but in this case I'm totally fine with the buzz this movie got and the floods of people that came to see it, because it exposed a different generation to the amazing-ness that is Queen. I'd always been a casual but appreciative Queen fan, but this movie cemented my love for them to the point where I bought their entire discography. I loved this movie, and that final performance is just beautiful. I can't wait to see the full performance recreated once the Blu-Ray comes out.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

This was a surprisingly easy decision in the long run, because at the time of writing this I'm only a day removed from having seen it. This movie was just breathtaking in every way.The story was handled extremely well, the soundtrack is growing on me a little, the voice acting was really well done, and the visual style is just beautiful. I really wish I would've seen this one earlier because I would've probably seen it another 4 times, because it was that good. Please see this movie if you haven't, it's probably the best superhero movie ever, besides Deadpool in my opinion.

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