Baumer's 36 best films of 2018 (top 3 has been revealed)

[MOVIEGUY]

I don't know how well RPO holds up but I saw it high as shit at the Imax and had an absolute blast watching it. Some of the acting and especially the writing was downright crap at times though, I swear to god there's a part where one of the characters is delivering a bunch of exposition and their line actually started with "In other awesome news...", but again I had a blast watching it and didn't have any problem overlooking the bad writing and nothing acting from the lead. I think it's a little condescending to go "Oh well you're not in my generation so you wouldn't get it."

[RealLyre]

good list 

 

are any of these in your top 5:  Leave No Trace, Hereditary, Tully, Widows, Ghost Stories or Revenge?

 

 

[Ethan Hunt]

30 minutes ago, Christmas baumer said:

#6

Won't You Be My Neighbor

Documentary

Box office:  22.6 million

 

The one disturbing thing about watching this movie is that you realize that although the world needs a man like Mr. Rodgers, we might need him now more than ever, but even though we need him, he would probably be ostracized and ridiculed beyond belief in this cynical time we live in.  Here's a man who truly cared for kids.  There was never any chicanery, no whispers of abuse or molestation or any other nefarious kind of rumour that would exist today.  He loved them and wanted them to grow up believing in themselves.  He also loved people and he tried to help others, including taking a stand with black people in the tumultuous times they lived in.  

 

A stunning film and one that should be a shoe in for best documentary this year.

 

@Rorschach  This is a wonderful and timely documentary that I feel the world needs in a time like this. Mr. Rogers' messages of peace, love, acceptance, etc. remain as poignant and important today as they did during his time on television.

 

 

Now we're talking 

[baumer]

47 minutes ago, RealLyre said:

good list 

 

are any of these in your top 5:  Leave No Trace, Hereditary, Tully, Widows, Ghost Stories or Revenge?

 

 

Hated Hereditary.

Widows would be top 50

Haven't seen the others although I really want to see leave no Trace Tully and revenge.

[filmlover]

Nice to see Adrift getting some love. Movie should’ve received more attention than it did.

[baumer]

#5

Upgrade

Box office:  14.3 mill WW

Logan Marshall Green....diected by Leigh Whanell and produced by Jason Blum

 

Stuck in the past, future man, Not-Tom Hardy, is assaulted and his wife murdered one night. Months later, now living as a full-time paraplegic, he's given the opportunity to, well, Upgrade back to human status and help solve the crime of his wife's murder. And by upgrade, I mean thoroughly transformed into an A.I. fighting machine. Watch out bad guys.

It seems these indie films are constantly evolving without involving a higher budget. Again: bravo. I love seeing these gems and seeing where they'll go with the restraints only on budget and not on imagination. This one kept feeling old, but new and kept impressing me. I waited for it to let me down and it just never did.  It sounds like it was scored by Brad Fiedel.  It looks like and 80's film.  And it's 100% awesome.  I really hope they do not make a sequel to this because it's just perfect the way it is.  

 

 

 

@Daxtreme   I liked the fight choreography aesthetics. Sure it was filled with quick cuts but that was actually the point. I'm not gonna delve into spoilers here but at least this movie understood the reasons why it chose to frame and cut the fights the way it did, really one of those few instances of a director filming action in a way that serves the story and not just for some specific thrills (although it's an added bonus). 

 

[chasmmi]

I am really behind on my 2018 viewing compared to normal years, but here is my two cents so far:

 

36 Sicario - Didn't see it (that'll be a big theme here), but I thought the first was very Meh and this is meant to be worse so I likely won't see it.

35 Old Man and the Gun - Didn't see it. Don't think it has released here. Redford is an actor I like in almost everything i see him in, but rarely watch the films he is in. 

34 Bird Box - Didn't see it, but I likely will before I do a list as it sounds interesting and is easy to get hold of

 

33 Death Wish - Didn't see it. It was in theatres here for about 6 days. I may try a cheeky download at some point as I want it to be good. 

32 Red Sparrow - I saw this one!!! But didn't like it at all. I felt it dragged on forever.

31 Tag - Saw this on Sunday. Really fun film and actually had a good amount of heart. I approve. 

 

30 Annihilation - Didn't see it. This is the one @Telemachos loves right? So it will either be pretty good, or involve Chickens and deserts. It's on my 'to watch list'

29 Game Night - Fun film. Better than I thought it would be, had potential to be better though. Reminded me of Date Night in how it abandoned its apparent concept for insanity. 

28 The Mule - Didn't see it. Will likely release here in Oscar Season (between now and March)

 

27 The Meg - Didn't see it. Will hopefully change this status in the next week,

26 Creed 2 - Didn't see it. Hasn't released here yet

25 The commuter - Didn't see it. Don't see that changing

 

24 Solo: A Star Wars Story - Solidly the 3rd best Star Wars Film behind episode 7 and Rogue 1 and above the rest... Maybe Episode 8 is close to the same level. 

23 Aquaman - Fun film. Enjoyed it, but it was the 4th best film I saw that released in December.

22 Christmas Chronicles - Didn't see it. Judging by the cast, isn't that just a family's home video?

 

21 Deadpool 2 - A great superhero film in a year of great superhero films. 

20 Den of Thieves - Didn't see it. Will probably fall by the wayside this year. 

19 Halloween - Everyone loved this film. I thought it proved that this style of film is a dinosaur in the genre as it just felt dull and repetitive compared to where slashers have evolved to today. 

 

18 - MI6 Fallout - Have not seen. Will rectify soon. 

17 -Book Club - Didn't see it I remember people raving about this upon release. But it either didn't release here or it was a micro-release.

16 - Hunter Killer - Didn't see it, but really want to.

 

15 Rampage - This was fun. I enjoyed it but I hope that there are more than 14 films I liked more than it. 

14 Vice - Didn't see it. Probably getting an Oscar release here.

13 A Simple Favour - Didn't see it, but probably will try to.

 

12 Ready Player One - Loved this film. One of my favourite Spielberg films of the 21st century.

11 Bohemian Rhapsody - The Live Aid scene is epic, one of the best scenes of the year. I liked the film, though it is essentially a one man show, 

10 - Adrift  - Didn't see it, probably won't now

 

9 - Little Italy - Didn't see it. But neither did anybody else so that is okay. 

8 - Avengers IW - Another great Superhero film in a year of great Superhero Films. Maybe my 4th favourite Superhero film of the year 

7 - Mandy - Didn't see it, but I must see it. 

 

6 Won't you be my neighbor - Didn't see it, have only heard good things, but also felt like this is a film that only resonates with people from the right places at the right times

5 Upgrade - Didn't see it, will try to soon

 

 

 

[baumer]

#4

Blackkklansman

Box office:  89 million WW

Stars:  John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace...directed by Spike Lee

 

The best film of the year for me so far.  It educates and makes you laugh in some parts and then makes you cringe and feel ashamed at being a human being in other parts.  My favourite part of the film, and perhaps the most harrowing section of the whole film is the juxtaposition of the two gatherings at the end.  The Klan welcoming their new members and the planning of the bombing and them the black power gathering where Harry Belafonte tells the story of the young black man convicted of raping a white woman by an all white jury in less than 4 minutes.  This story and the telling of it almost brought me to tears.  Belafonte tells it in a calm manner, the complete opposite of the first speaker at the beginning of the movie.  This scene is like the final fight in a Rocky movie or the final act in a Mission Impossible film.  The whole film is building to this one moment and it's the crescendo.  As @filmlover mentioned, it shows how far we haven't come.  This is a film that takes place in the 70's and yet it could be about events that happened yesterday.  The leader of the "free world" comes off as racist, you have young and elderly black folk being gunned down by the police, you have rallies where racist inbreds are carrying confederate flags and so on.  This movie takes place 40 years ago and yet we see a lot of the same stuff on the news today.

 

The acting in this is top notch from everyone.  John David Washington was simply hypnotic.  He was funny yet serious, vulnerable yet strong and just made me forget his was an actor playing a role.  Adam driver was his normal terrific self and even the smaller roles from actors like Topher Grace and Michel Buscemi were very well played.  I think this would have been a hard film to make for an actor, I really do.  Some of the lines that they had to recite would have been difficult to say but credit all the actors and of course director Spike Lee for getting it all out of them.  As for Spike, he is hit and miss for me.  He's done some brilliant films like Malcolm X and do the Right Thing and he's had some that just didn't connect with me.  I'm not sure if this is his best because Malcolm X is in my top 100 but it certainly is in the same conversation.

 

@Webslinger  With BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee delivers his most electrifying film in more than a quarter-century

 

[baumer]

Excellent post @chasmmi...I really hope you can see Adrift.  Such a powerful film.

[baumer]

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting.

 

For the faithful readers, you have about 6 hours to guess....but if anyone can guess my top three, in any order, I will give you a one month gold membership.  This won't be easy because I will say two of the three films are not really in people's mental rolodex.  In other words, they are sort of horror movies with low grosses.  But give it a shot!

[RealLyre]

38 minutes ago, Christmas baumer said:

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting.

 

For the faithful readers, you have about 6 hours to guess....but if anyone can guess my top three, in any order, I will give you a one month gold membership.  This won't be easy because I will say two of the three films are not really in people's mental rolodex.  In other words, they are sort of horror movies with low grosses.  But give it a shot!

are they in English? and did they all get theatrical releases? 

 

[reddevil19]

I'm thinking Overlord is one of the top 3. It SHOULD be. Love that movie

[baumer]

15 minutes ago, RealLyre said:

are they in English? and did they all get theatrical releases? 

 

They're all theatrical releases they're all films that you have heard of. And yes they are all in English. And they're all Hollywood movies.

[RealLyre]

ok I'll try

any of these?

 

Unsane

Anna and the Apocalypse 

Mara

A24's Slice

Nic Cage's Mom and Dad?

Unfriended 2

Colette

Blindspotting

The Sisters Brothers

The Rider

First Reformed

Sorry To Bother You

The Favourite

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by RealLyre
added the The Favourite

[CoolioD1]

1 hour ago, Christmas baumer said:

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting.

 

For the faithful readers, you have about 6 hours to guess....but if anyone can guess my top three, in any order, I will give you a one month gold membership.  This won't be easy because I will say two of the three films are not really in people's mental rolodex.  In other words, they are sort of horror movies with low grosses.  But give it a shot!

I'll go A Star is Born, Unsane, Assassination Nation.

[WrathOfHan]

Been really enjoying this list baumer (even if some of your takes are hot).

[baumer]

Overlord is not one of them nor is black Panther.

[Lordmandeep]

My top ten for 2018 (have not seen BR, spiderman and such yet though). Unlike past Years I have not found many smaller films that great this year. 

 

10. Green Book

Yeah the film gets a huge minus for tackling issues very superficially but the two leads are amazing.

9. Blackkklansman

A more conventional film by Spike Lee but it works really really well.

8. Black Panther

A huge moment in blockbuster films but I found the climax to be a bit lacking.

7. Deadpool 2

The film had a much better story than the first and I liked it more then the first.

6. Mission Impossible 6

The ending was amazing, it felt like an Uncharted video game brought to life.

5. A Star Is Born

A very conventional film but a very heartwarming one and Lady Gaga really blew me away.

4. Searching

This is a great thriller and some great performances by the cast.

3. Sanju

Likely one of the best bio pics ever made in Hindi Cinema

2. Andhadhun 

Likely one of the best Hindi Movies I have seen, what an epic thriller!

 

 

1. 

- You guess lol 

 

Avengers: Infinity War

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Lordmandeep

[TwoMisfits]

5 hours ago, Christmas baumer said:

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting.

 

For the faithful readers, you have about 6 hours to guess....but if anyone can guess my top three, in any order, I will give you a one month gold membership.  This won't be easy because I will say two of the three films are not really in people's mental rolodex.  In other words, they are sort of horror movies with low grosses.  But give it a shot!

Horror movies with low grosses...okay, what the heck, I'll bite:)...

 

Suspiria, Hell Fest, and A Star is Born...

 

(Gonna go with two films I know aren't in people's rolodexes:)...haven't watched either, so if they are awful, I wouldn't doubt it:)...

Edited January 8, 2019 by TwoMisfits

[Ethan Hunt]

Upgrade

A Sar is born 

Unsane