Best/Worst Movies of 2018

[Irishman12]

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO

I enjoyed the first SICARIO as it was a very interesting story, suspenseful, with a fantastic trio of leading actors (Emily Blunt, John Brolin and Benicio Del Toro). However, I was quite surprised when a second film was announced. This film continues the story of Matt Graver's (Brolin's) and Alejandro's (Del Toro's) relationship. The story is the Mexican drug cartels are helping terrorists cross the border illegally. As a result, the US government uses this as an excuse to manufacture a war between rival drug cartels by kidnapping the daughter of one of the heads of said cartels. Brolin and Del Toro are their normal badass selves, showing no emotion as these 2 heartless characters, who are nothing more than mercenaries. I was quite impressed with young Isabela Moner, who plays the kidnapped daughter of a cartel kingpin. She's able to hold her own and even push back against the likes of Del Toro in every scene she's in. Overall, it felt like a much longer film than it was, and while it wasn't bad, I enjoyed the first one more. Rumors are, depending on how this does at the box office, there's chatter of a third film and this film leaves the door open nicely to satisfy that need. 6/10

[duckyhoward]

Gotti was laughably bad.
https://letterboxd.com/film/gotti/

[michaelmillichamp]

Sicario 2 was pretty good. Didn't expect it to be anywhere near as good as the first but I enjoyed it.
Incredibles 2 was great. Far better than the first in my opinion.

[pjsteelerfan]

Gotti was laughably bad.
https://letterboxd.com/film/gotti/

They hype around Gotti being so bad kind of makes me want to see it. When it is on cable or Netflix.

[RottenAtom]

Sorry to Bother You is bonkers. It's fun/creative and takes you to places unexpected.

Uncle Drew was better than expected for a feature stretched from a commercial with a bunch of amateur actors, a clunky script, and wack direction. The real players' personalities shine through and the movie isn't terrible despite being predictable and formulaic. (But why is Nate Robinson in there...?)

[Irishman12]

Sorry to Bother You is bonkers. It's fun/creative and takes you to places unexpected.

Uncle Drew was better than expected for a feature stretched from a commercial with a bunch of amateur actors, a clunky script, and wack direction. The real players' personalities shine through and the movie isn't terrible despite being predictable and formulaic. (But why is Nate Robinson in there...?)

Nice. I'm hopint to see SORRY TO BOTHER YOU along with SKYSCRAPER this weekend. I wasn't a huge fan of UNCLE DREW personally. It was extremely formulaic and predictable but found it kind of hard to stretch a commercial to a feature film. It seemed in almost every scene Kyrie Irving was referring to someone as "young blood." After about 4 or 5 I was starting to get burnt out already. And yes, why was Nate Robinson with the rest of that ensemble?

[iambillyg]

Did not care for Sicario 2.

[Irishman12]

UNCLE DREW

I only recently saw the commercial this was based upon and while you have a host of amateur actors (Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, etc.), the film was decent and the story wasn't bad, but it was incredibly predictable and formulatic. In addition, I felt the film started out with some steam but the jokes ran dry after the first 20 minutes or so. Chris Webber seemed to be doing his best Arsenio Hall/Reverend Brown impression throughout and I was tired of Kyrie Irving referring to everyone as "young blood." 4.5/10

THE FIRST PURGE

With the exception of the first installment of this series, I have never been a fan of this franchise. I thought the premise was interesting but it's never truly translated to film as well as I had hoped. This is just another example of it. The story tells of the very first purge which takes place as an experiment on Staten Island. Residents are encouraged to stay and participate and those who do are compensated (the more you purge, the more you'll make). My biggest problem with the film was the social/political commentary of the film. White mercenaries/police officers going into predominately minority neighborhoods to "cleanse themselves." Another race-baiting movie that I think is inappropriate for it's time, given the current high tensions between minorities and the police. 4/10

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

I recently rewatched the original before seeing the sequel, and after viewing both, I've undervalued this franchise. The sequel turned me into more of an Ant-Man fan and Evangeline Lilly killed it as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp. As with any sequel, the characters are already established so we can jump right in with more action and more comedy. The supporting cast is back (namely Michael Pena, TI and David Dastmalchian) to provide their antics and levity. The anti-aging CGI used for both Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, during a scene earlier in the film set in the 1980's, is incredible. Between the 2, I enjoy the first one slightly more, but this was still a great followup and I'm looking forward to the third. 7/10

[Creation88]

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

go see it.

[hunterjax]

Definitely agree with Irishman on Ant-Man and the Wasp - it was really fun, good action, likable characters. There isn't much "there" there, but the two movies really are very watchable and Rudd is a pretty great in the lead.

[RadRacing]

I went to an advance screening of '8th Grade' last night. New movie written and directed by Bo Burnham. It was great, I really enjoyed it. The lead actress (Elsie Fisher) was fantastic. Good score too. Check it out if you have a chance.

[RottenAtom]

I just realized that the Dwayne Johnson movie Skyscraper is not that other Dwayne Johnson movie Rampage. They look like the same movie and when I received the Skyscraper screening invite I dismissed it and thought "didn't this come out already?"

[toobs]

I just realized that the Dwayne Johnson movie Skyscraper is not that other Dwayne Johnson movie Rampage. They look like the same movie and when I received the Skyscraper screening invite I dismissed it and thought "didn't this come out already?"

followed by

[Irishman12]

SKYSCRAPER

This had a DIE HARD-esqueness to it, just not on that level of quality. I was glad to see Neve Campbell get a gig like this again as I'll always have a soft spot for Sidney Prescott. However, for the most part I felt she was underutilized. Playing the role of mother/wife and with the exception of one or two scenes, is pretty much a bland mother trying to get her kids out of a burning building. The rest of the cast is mediocre, even The Rock. I was glad to see that his character has a physical limitation as it's a nice break from the overly masculine performances we've seen in recent years. The limitation I feel makes him more vulnerable and sympathetic in my opinion. Otherwise, this was a decent summer popcorn flick. 5.5/10

[HenryGaleWasHere]

I just realized that the Dwayne Johnson movie Skyscraper is not that other Dwayne Johnson movie Rampage. They look like the same movie and when I received the Skyscraper screening invite I dismissed it and thought "didn't this come out already?"

followed by

https://www.avclub.com/tornadoes-and-robots-9-things-dwayne-the-rock-johnso-1827461737