Blankments' 118 Films of 2018: From the Worst To the Best

[Blankments]

5. Incredibles 2

 

 

 

Directed by Brad Bird.

Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huckleberry Milner and Samuel L. Jackson.
Release date: June 15, 2018

Runtime: 118 minutes

 

 

A sequel well-worth the wait in my opinion. Bird returns to his original super family with spectacular action sequences and hilarious moments that knows exactly what about the first film made it such a classic for my generation. It’s much lighter than the first film, but that’s okay because the action here truly is, well, incredible. I remember remarking the craziest thing about this movie was that, after watching it three times, I couldn’t imagine the original without the sequel right alongside it. Excellent!

[Blankments]

4. Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert

 

 

Directed by David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski.

Starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon, Alice Cooper, Norm Lewis, Ben Daniels, Jason Tam, Jin Ha and Erik Gronwall.
Release date: April 1, 2018

Runtime: 100 minutes

 

 

A perfect combination of theater and film. The spectacle here is truly remarkable, with excellent performances from the cast and awesome Andrew Lloyd Webber music. I can’t imagine watching it without commercial breaks because there’s so much energy both from the performers and the crew as they capture this concert with the fervor of live theater. It’s a marvel.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Blankments

[Blankments]

3. Madeline's Madeline

 

 

Directed by Josephine Decker.

Starring Molly Parker, Miranda July and Helena Howard.
Release date: August 10, 2018

Runtime: 93 minutes

 

 

Experimental cinema is under-made these days, and thus, this was totally up my alley. Telling the story of a theater kid with mental health issues from her perspective, it tackles a load of real issues in the theatrical community while also going bonkers with the editing and sound design. It’s a movie like I’ve never seen before and it really is quite smart in every way. Loved it.

[Blankments]

2. Roma

 

 

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

Starring Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira.
Release date: November 21, 2018

Runtime: 135 minutes

 

 

A masterpiece. You can tell Cuaron has every aspect of the film under his control, and the whole thing feels monumental despite its intimate story. Aparicio’s performance is so great it feels invasive, and Cuaron’s cinematography is to die for. I got to see this on the big screen in 70mm and let me tell you, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had this year. Monumental and pure excellent filmmaking.

[Blankments]

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

 

 

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman.

Starring Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage and Liev Schrieber.
Release date: December 14, 2018

Runtime: 117 minutes

 

 

I’ll let my BOFFY write-up do the talking:

 

On 3/10/2019 at 9:21 PM, Spaghetti said:

When I was a boy, I knew who I wanted to be when I grew up. I learned it in the summer of 2002 when my parents bought a DVD player that came with Sam Raimi’s inaugural superhero film. Yes, I wanted to grow up and be Spider-Man. I regret to inform you all this hasn’t come true yet, but with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, my memories of this dream came back full swing.

 

Persichetti, Ramsey, and Rothman have directed a film that takes Spider-Man back to his biggest strength as a hero ideologically. Whereas Superman was born with his powers and Batman buys them, Spider-Man has always been the everyman. We may know Peter Parker is behind the mask, but for New York, anyone can be behind that friendly neighborhood hero. Furthermore, Spider-Man is entrenched in responsibility, something that seems often forgot from recent incarnations of his character. A deep loss and failure begins his journey as a hero, which really is just atoning for his biggest sin.

 

Spider-Verse has this in spades, reinventing Spider-Man in the mainstream consciousness to be an idea. You don’t have to be Peter Parker to be Spider-Man. Heck, even Peter Parker, portrayed here as a washed-has-been, doesn’t need to live up to the stereotypical image of Spider-Man. Miles, our main hero, wants to be just like Peter Parker, but it’s not until he realizes that he is worthy enough as his own self does he truly become Spider-Man. It takes him meeting two Peter Parkers, a Spider-Woman and a Pig, along with an anime heroine and a noir detective to realize this, which makes the point incredibly clear, and Miles even states it in film: “Anyone can wear the mask. You can wear the mask.”

 

Of course, all the waxing on about the philosophical points of Spider-Man as a character really doesn’t mean shit if the film itself doesn’t back it up in quality. Don’t worry, because this film is insanely good regardless. It being unconnected to a cinematic universe is for its benefit as it allows the film to throw anything to the wall to see what sticks, not caring about it messing up films down the road. This is most evident in the gorgeous art style, which combines vibrant colors, frame-rate fluctuations, and a genuine comic book aesthetic to create a wholly unique visual experience. I’ve seen it five times on the big screen and every time my jaw drops at so many of the visual moments in this film. Worth also shouting out visually is how Peni and Spider-Ham interact with the environment, never losing their individual two-dimensional feel despite their obviously 3D models.

 

@CoolioD1 posted an FYC for this being nominated for Ensemble and although it was snubbed, I whole-heartedly agree with that endorsement. I can’t think another an animated movie where everyone perfectly fit their characters and stood-out as strong casting. Moore anchors the films emotionally as Miles, melding flawlessly with the character. I always say this is a film where I can’t single out actors, but I will single out one who has been weirdly overlooked: Brian Tyree Henry as Miles’s dad, building a ton of dimension to a character who really doesn’t have a lot of screentime.

 

The smartest thing about Spider-Verse is how it focuses on Miles’ story. There’s an insane amount of ways that a film with alternate dimensions and several Spider-People could go awry, but by focusing it on Miles's origin, it gives something we’ve never seen before. The best aspect of origin stories are, well, the origin, but the way superhero blockbusters are set up, the origin has to be completed by the end of the first hour, so they can fight a villain by the end of the movie. Thanks to the more experienced heroes around him, mentoring him, Miles’ origin lasts the entire movie, only truly completing in the third act, allowing the emotional catharsis to hit at the peak of the exhilarating final setpiece. Lord and Miller have produced an utter masterpiece with this film, brought to life by Persichetti, Ramsey and Rothman’s excellent collaboration. It’s the best superhero movie in a decade and, yes, 2018’s best film. The first Marvel movie that really is a total marvel.

-