Anyway, we are moving on to the Top 20. What will take home the honors? Read on and find out.
#20
#19
Menace II Society – About halfway through the year I was scrolling through recently added stuff on Netflix when I came across Menace II Society. It had been at least ten years since I’d last seen the film, and I didn’t remember a whole lot about it, so I decided to check it out. Right away the memories came flooding back. This film does a great job of forcing you to look at people in the hood as, well, people, and not just stereotypes. You care about them. I guess you could argue that O-Dog is a stereotype, but that is beside the point. Caine is a sympathetic character and the movie does a great job at making you worry about his well-being. Which, of course, makes the ending only that much more tragic. A great and moving film.
#18:
Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – I came into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about the Murder on the Orient Express, either the book or the past versions of the film. The movie’s strong cast is what initially drew me to it. Plus my wife is a big Poirot fan, so I figured this was something we could watch together. We started watching, and –would you believe it- I actually thought that the movie was pretty great. There are fun and intriguing characters everywhere you turn. The plot is mysterious and keeps you guessing. The ending doesn’t let you down either. This movie definitely surprised me in a good way.
#17:
Black Panther – I knew almost nothing about the Black Panther when I watched this movie, but I did recall his brief yet enjoyable stint in Captain America: Civil War. The internet was abuzz with how good this movie was, so I expected it to be amazing. While I did not think it was necessarily the greatest superhero movie ever made, I still thought it was pretty dang fun. It took a while for the movie to really get rolling for me (I didn’t have much of an interest in the tribal politics stuff), but once it got going I was completely enraptured. Awesome special effects, a great supporting cast, and one of the best villains I have seen in a Marvel film. By the time the film was done, I was already hungry for more time in Wakanda.
#16:
Face/Off – I will admit that I had a tough time deciding between what should rank higher between Face/Off and Con-Air. It was a close call, but I gave the nod to Con-Air. Both are classic Nicolas Cage movies. Face/Off I thought was going to be a “serious” 90s action film like Die Hard or something, but it quickly proved me wrong. It is so over the top, both in its action and in its off the wall comedy that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Some things in this film are just so insane that I couldn’t help but admire it for its audacity. If you want to shut off your brain and lose yourself in mindless (and at times tasteless) fun, then this movie is for you.
#15:
Con-Air – This movie slightly edges out Face/Off, mainly because I recognize it as the “better” film. A big fun cast, outrageous characters, high flying stunts, a classic 90s soundtrack, and a Nicolas Cage hero you can really get behind. I miss 90s movies like this so much!
#14:
Boogie Nights – I have some really fun memories from my older days that I associate with watching this movie. While it is probably for the best to not go into them in great detail, let me just say that I have always been a fan of Boogie Nights. This is one of the first times, however, that I was actually able to sit down and watch the movie by myself. And you know what, I still thought it was great. I love the cast. I love the characters. The acting is superb, as are the set pieces that do such a great job transporting you back to the 70s. Usually I prefer movies with a bit more action, mystery, or drama in them, but Boogie Nights doesn’t need that to be great. I could watch these characters just sit around and talk for days on end. Awesome film.
#13:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – When I first read the name of this movie, my initial reaction was “huh?”. The weird, long title alone was enough to pique my interest. Once I read what the movie was actually about, I knew I had to watch it. Three Billboards dives into all kinds of complicated themes. Justice, racism, revenge, forgiveness, redemption. The acting is what kept me interested. I am not a huge Frances McDormand fan, but her performance in this movie is very intense and believable. It would have been an absolute travesty if she didn’t win an Oscar for this role, which she did. Phew! This movie is worth watching just for her acting alone.
#12:
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – When I was a kid, I would watch this movie over and over again. I had nearly the whole thing memorized. I could recite any line, tell you what was going to happen before it happened. I loved it. For some reason, this is a movie that never came along with me for the ride as I transitioned from child to adult. I went from watching this movie every single day to NEVER watching it for over 20 some years. That only made my 2018 viewing of this movie so much better. All the old jokes, all the visual gags, all this stuff I had forgotten about slowly came back to me as I watched. Honestly, it warmed my heart. Not only did my old memories carry the movie for me, I also was able to pay closer attention to the film as I watched, and I noticed a ton of things I had never noticed before. Maybe it is just nostalgia speaking, but I really got into this movie and was able to appreciate it like I never had before. On the surface you may think that this is just some silly Pee-Wee movie. But really, it is so much more.
#11:
Deadpool 2 – I thought that the first Deadpool movie was only so-so. I had read reviews that the sequel wasn’t as good as the first one. As a result, I did not come into the sequel with high expectations. Little did I know that I would end up loving it! I don’t know what is so different about this one, but I found the jokes to be a lot funnier. Deadpool himself seems a lot more endearing this time around. I loved Cable, I loved the X-Force that was thrown together (Peter forever!), I love the whole time travel element to the film. The action scenes are top notch, and the story itself is clever and entertaining. I thought this was really excellent.
#10
Trading Places – I had never seen this movie before, but when it arrived on Netflix I read the description and knew that it was something I had to watch. It had a couple of actors in it that I love, along with a super interesting concept. I expected it to be a blast, and I was not let down. This movie is flat out funny. I’m not one who laughs a whole lot, but this movie got me several times. A lot of the film’s content probably would be scoffed at by today’s standards, but when you put that aside this is really a great movie. It’s crass and it may not necessarily be PC at all times, but it teaches a lesson about race and humanity and manages to be hilarious at the same time.
#9
The Return of the King: Extended Edition – Last year, the local theater by my house played all three extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movies. I was super excited when I heard the news, as I never had the chance to see any of them on the big screen when they first came out. Unfortunately, I forgot that they were doing this and I missed the first two in the theater. When it was down to Return of the King, I made it my goal: I HAD to go see this on the big screen before I missed my chance forever. I couldn’t find anyone to go with, as the movie is four plus hours long, and my wife had to be up early the next morning. For the first time ever, I went to theater by myself to watch a movie. It ended up being a terrific experience, though. I’ve always liked Return of the King, but I’ve never gotten as “into” it as I did this time around. I was riveted by the movie, soaking in every little detail, everything I may have missed on previous viewings. The movie flew by, too, and didn’t seem like it was four hours long at all. I’ve never enjoyed Return of the King as much as I did on this viewing. Great movie, great experience too.
#8
Star Trek: First Contact – I love First Contact, but when I put it on I expected it to become a “background” movie since I have seen it so many times in the past. That happens a lot when I watch something that I’ve seen a bajillion times before. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen here. In fact, the movie pulled me in and I ended up enjoying it as much as I did the first time I saw it. I can’t stress enough how much I love the Next Generation cast, it is one of my favorite casts for any show ever. They are all at the top of their game here. The story is great, the action scenes are some of the best Star Trek has ever seen. The movie packs an emotional wallop too. I actually teared up a little bit at the end when Picard had to say goodbye to Lilly. What the heck? I never cry. As a Trek fan, this movie is great. I think people who don’t even like Star Trek could get into it too. In my opinion this is the finest Star Trek movie that has ever been made.
#7:
I, Tonya – Admittedly I didn’t think much about this movie when I first heard about it. I grew up in the 90s and I had seen Tonya Harding on the news and read about her in the paper. I didn’t think a movie about her was really that necessary, or would even be entertaining at all. Turns out, I was wrong! I liked this a ton. The movie isn’t just a straight up biopic, there is a lot of humor in it. That helps. At the same time, the film has a serious side and shows you a lot about Tonya’s upbringing and why she grew up to be the way she did. Combine that with its excellent acting, great musical score, and the fact that the movie actually makes figure skating seem interesting to a guy like me, and you have a winner. Epic movie.
#6:
Coco – I’m not big on kids movies, but ever since I saw the first trailer for Coco I knew that it was something I would have to check out. I waited till it hit Netflix and then dove in. From beginning to end, the movie is great. Sweet, touching, sad, funny, all at the same time. The plot of the movie is actually pretty darn clever, and I like how there are twists that throw you off track and keep you guessing. This isn’t just a movie you can turn your brain off when you watch it, it really makes you think; really makes you use your mind. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, and actually wanted to turn it on and watch it again when I was done, which never happens! I didn’t, however, because I didn’t want the movie to lose its magic the second time around. This is a movie I would recommend to anyone, whether you are a fan of this type of movie or not. If you don’t like Coco, you have no soul.
#5:
Thor: Ragnarok – I have never been a big Thor fan, plus I had read mixed reviews of this movie. I didn’t expect much when I started watching it, but just five minutes into watching the movie I knew I was going to love it. Everything you want in a comic book movie, Thor: Ragnarok has. Fun characters, big fight scenes, amazing special effects, good music, and a sense of humor. This movie does not take itself too seriously at all, and it is so much better for that. This movie is all fun without any superhero brooding or doom and gloom. Not that there is anything wrong with some doom and gloom, it just didn’t have a place here. I had a great time the whole way through this movie and never even came close to getting bored once. It probably would have gone down in the ranks as my favorite superhero movie ever if I didn’t happen to watch a certain something else a short time later.
#4:
Lady Bird – I’d read the critical accolades this movie was getting and decided to give it a shot. Obviously I loved this movie as it ranks so highly on my list. The titular character, Lady Bird, is very relatable to me for some reason. We are very different people, but I understood her on some level or another. This movie has it all. It is funny when it wants to be funny, sad when it wants to be sad. It hit all of the right chords with me. Despite this being not my favorite genre of movie, I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. The characters are great and the acting is even better. I really cared about everyone in this film, even though we barely get to spend any time with them. The movie is only an hour and a half, and a fast one at that. When it ended, I couldn’t help but want more Lady Bird in my life.
#3:
Avengers: Infinity War – As a Marvel fan, this is the movie I’ve been waiting for. It’s got a giant cast - basically every superhero introduced in the MCU so far. It’s got a big, formidable villain. The stakes are high. You can tell right away by the movie’s dark introduction that the bar has been raised. Actions feel like they have real consequences this time around. The good guy isn’t guaranteed to win, and that is super awesome. You are on the edge of your seat the whole movie. The feeling of dread I felt in my gut as I watched the film is something that few movies have been able to replicate. Everything about this movie is terrific, and as if that wasn’t enough – it gets even better when you watch it a second time through. I mentioned earlier that Thor: Ragnarok would have been my favorite superhero movie of all time, if it wasn’t for something else. This movie is that something else.
#2:
The Silence of the Lambs – I’ve seen this movie a ton of times in the past and I have always appreciated it for being such a great film. I don’t know what happened this time around, but when I watched it in 2018 it completely blew me away. I have always liked it, but it was like I was seeing it in some kind of brand new light. The acting is terrific. The plot of the movie is sensational. The music is top notch. But what really made this movie great for me was in its tone. There is this intense undercurrent of dread that follows you from the second the movie starts until the end credits start to roll. I really felt it this time around, and it made the movie so much better for me. I was riveted. Add everything up, and this is almost a flawless movie. I could easily make a case for this being my favorite movie of the year.
#1:
Bohemian Rhapsody – When I first heard about this movie, I wasn’t too excited about it. “Oh, a Freddie Mercury movie? That’s nice.” Then I went on with my life. Even on my way to the movie theater to see this, I wasn’t very excited. That all changed once the lights went dark and "Somebody to Love" started to play. I’ve been a fan of Queen’s music for a long time, and that song combined with the movie’s opening visuals really got me in the mood to watch this. After that, the movie had me in its grasp. I loved everything about it. The cast is great. Rami Malek does a sensational job as Freddie Mercury, and deserves all the accolades he has received for the role. The guy who plays Brian May does a great job too. As a Queen fan, of course I loved the movie’s soundtrack. Almost all of my favorite songs made the cut. The only glaring omission I could think of was You’re My Best Friend. Not only is the soundtrack great, but the situations in which the songs are played are perfect and fit what is happening onscreen. I know that the musical performances in this movie are not “real”, technically, but the cinematography really made me feel like I was there. I’ll never get to see Freddie Mercury perform in concert, but now that I have seen this movie at least I now have some idea of what would have been in store for me. I have to say that the Live Aid performance at the end of the movie may very well be the best single scene I have witnessed in a movie, EVER. Movie magic at its finest.
Freddie Mercury himself is a very intriguing character. I like how the film balances getting to know him as an individual versus getting to know him by his stage performances. There is no denying that he was a brilliant performer, and as I watched I couldn’t help but admire his talents. He was a special individual, and I can only imagine that his bandmates and close friends probably looked at him with a god-like reverence.
I found out after I got home from the theater that a lot of events of the film were fabricated. While it would have been nice to get a more accurate representation of Queen’s rise to power and Freddie Mercury’s life, it still didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film. I rocked, I laughed, I cried, I soaked it all in. Bohemian Rhapsody was my number one viewing experience of 2018.
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