Best of 2018 - Films

So as its near the end of 2018, everyone is now deciding which was the best film, video games, TV and so on of the year. But I'm not doing that. Instead I'm going to give you all a list of the best things and will not be doing any top lists on them. These are just some of the best things this year has given us and that's all there is to it. So in the film world, superheroes and at least one anti-hero have passed on (or so we think), we've had a number of nostalgia filled trips from people like Stephen Spielberg and Disney and numberous records have been broken and for good reason too. So all the films on this list are films I have seen and came out everywhere or most areas this year. It must have been released this year and not any year before this year. Also please bear in mind that while this will have quite a few films, I have not seen every single film that came out this year due to recent financial difficulties and other commitments. All the films here are worth giving a watch and some are now out on home media whereas others will be out on home media early next year. So get ready as we look at the best films of 2018:



Black Panther

It felt like such a long time ago that we saw Iron Man and Captain America against each other and in that time, we got two heroes that were there more to promote their films than anything else. One of them got that chance last year so this year its time for the king of Wakanda to take centre stage. A lot of people have called this film something of an empowerment film and rightly so. Its not often that you would have a cast who are largely of a different racial background than your traditional big budget American superhero film and this one is just great. Although its set in a universe who are all about cracking one liners and giving us a good time without being super serious, this film up until another MCU film felt like an almost much more serious film when compared to some of the MCU's other offerings. Nevertheless, Black Panther is a solid film that isn't just a great superhero film but also a great empowerment film too. All hail the king of Wakanda!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

It goes without saying that this film has a lot of problems. But despite those problems, its actually not that bad of a film. The biggest change it has compared to the other films is that the island takes up a very small portion of the film whereas in other instalments, it or Site B is the central location for the entirety of the film. There are things wrong with it and there are things that don't make sense or make you ask "Why?!". But its still as big of a film as the franchise has always been and this time it takes advantage of Chris Pratt's signature sense of humour which is pretty good. And the name of the film is where the world ends up in the end of it (not entirely a spoiler, but still kind of gives it away so to speak)

Incredibles 2

The big question many fans have about Pixar is just why did it take so long for this film to come out. There was a lot of demand for it especially as in between this and the first film we got quite a few films from Pixar that nobody wanted and they had their first stinker or two as well. But despite that, its good to finally have another Incedibles film after such a long time waiting. And as expected, its role reversal as Elastigirl takes centre stage in this one while the rest of the family as well as Frozone are just side characters but still get their times to shine when needed. Brad Bird has never been that great when it comes to storytelling, but I think this time he's managed to get the continuity done well as its to date one of a handful of superhero films to talk about the political side of being a super which itself is done really well and doesn't spoil the film at all. Plus its also nice to see Bob Odenkirk channel his Saul Goodman persona in a role that was seemingly made for him in this film. Its as incredible as the first film, but may be even more so than before.

Ready Player One

So here we have one of the few nostalgia thrill rides that we got this year, but I'd say this one is the biggest. With over one hundred pop culture references, plenty of Easter eggs and awesome moments like Batman climbing Mount Everest, Ready Player One is the ultimate nerd film just as the book its based on is, if not a bit more. It manages to do two things; the first is the use of the now mainstream VR technology and secondly the idea of throwing in everybody's dream into one big virtual world all built or rather dreamed up by a Steve Jobs like character who made it a reality. Now I know that too much pop culture may not go down well with many of us and its always a risk to do as such. But this film manages to spend more time on the original characters than those references, but nonetheless have those references in there for things like one liners, races, battles and so much more. What really puzzles me though is the age rating it got here in the UK. In the UK, films like what Marvel and DC bring out are typically given a 12 rating and Ready Player One is also given this rating. But the reason I question it is because of a moment in The Shining sequence where the pool of blood is shown. I guess the rating people may have overlooked it. But anyway, still a great film despite that.

Venom

So with super villains taking up the big screen after years of being under the shadows of superheroes, Sony saw the potential and decided to make up a universe of all the Marvel characters they still have the rights too but somehow have this universe share some connections with the MCU. In the first of these films in this new cinematic universe, we get a film about one of Spider-Man's most well known villains though in recent years it has taken the role of anti-hero. Venom may not be the best film there is out there that I will grant you. But I think the risk Sony took paid off because unlike the Venom we saw in Spider-Man 3, this Venom feels much more like the Venom we know and love even if the idea of needing a host is a bit creepy if nothing else. It feels like a horror film, but has some pop and fun in there to which in a way makes it stand out from most films being released at the time. The script wasn't great and sure it had an inconsistent tone. But it was a lot of fun and I look forward to the sequel which I hear may have a bit of Carnage in it.

Avengers: Infinity War

So after almost 7 years of waiting, we finally get the film that the MCU had been building up to since Avengers Assemble back in 2012 and to sum it up its an emotional rollercoaster. Often in many superhero films its always the superheroes that win and save the day sometimes at the cost of those they love. But in Infinity War, the roles are kind of reversed due to the complicated character that is Thanos. Some believe that what he is doing as far as overpopulation is concerned, seems justified while others believe that he is trying to commit genocide and as such its down to the combined efforts of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and other heroes to stop the dreaded snap of death from happening. Yeah I may have given away one big spoiler, but by now you probably will have seen it. Still though it is the biggest and most emotional MCU film to date and with Endgame just around the corner, there's a lot to look forward to in the years to come.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Described as the pallete cleanser of the MCU, Ant-Man and the Wasp came to us at a time where we Marvel fans needed a fun and largely light hearted film after the emotional rollercoaster that was Infinity War. So as many of us who went and saw the film will know, Infinity War had so many characters in there that we all thought everyone was in it. Well that turned out to be false because Ant-Man wasn't present. However this was because of his new film coming out very soon after Infinity War. Not only did it talk about what he was up to after Civil War, but it introduces a new hero in the form of The Wasp (though the identity of the Wasp was revealed in the first film). All the best things about the first film are back though a bit toned down than before and it ends with quite possibly the most shocking ending a film can get if you didn't see Infinity War beforehand. Still though, its a very fun film and one that came out at the right time too.

Deadpool 2

Well we were promised another Deadpool film with Cable in it and that's what we got despite the short development hell that it had. So a lot has happened since the first film. Wolverine died in his own film, Disney are buying Fox and the idea of having a young cast to keep a franchise going has become all too familiar. So with the first thing, the Merc with the Mouth declares that in his film he will die one way or another. A joke was planned for the second one but was ultimately cut after Fox demanded it to. And as for the third thing, this was largely a joke more than anything else, especially as the film Deadpool assembles which he calls X-Force, almost everyone in the team gets killed off. Ultimately, Deadpool 2 delivers what we were promised and gives us some new if a bit dated jokes, a villain unlike any other, a fan favourite character and a very funny James Bond 007 like opening with Celine Dion singing a song that is funny when being used in this film but may fit better with Infinity War. The film is very good and the lower rated Once Upon A Deadpool should be a very interesting cut of the film (I haven't seen the cut yet at the time of typing this all up).

Isle of Dogs

You know sometimes in life you have to embrace the weirdness of things and Isle of Dogs is definitely a weird film. But as weird as it is, its also quite brilliant too. Often in films that have actors of eastern decent, its a little bit of their own language and then English for the rest of the film. And then there are those films where its just one language all the way through and you have to rely on English subtitles or English dubbing and if neither are available and you haven't learnt any other languages, you are kind of screwed. Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and many other animators like him I'm sure have always said that you should only watch things in your own language because by doing that, its less frustrating and you can enjoy it more. But what Wes Anderson did in Isle of Dogs that I believe has never been accomplished before is keeping the authenticity of the people of eastern decent's first language and let them use it while using the character's body language to explain to people who don't necessarily understand eastern languages what they are trying to say. While using translators and subtitles where necessary. Anyway I think Isle of Dogs is one of the best well made films this year but as I said in my review, you need to be in the right frame of mind to watch it. I personally think its a great film and I understand the message it is trying to get across even though there is too much weirdness in it.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

So while I still firmly believe that this film is as predictable as it was, its still a pretty good Star Wars film. It answered all the questions we have been wanting to know for a very long time. Such questions like how did Han become a pilot, how did he meet and befriend Chewbacca, how he came across the Millenium Falcon and took it from Lando Calrissian of which he made a frenemy out of and how he came about knowing Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate of sorts. Plus we also get to find out if Han had someone he loved before meeting Princess Leia and what happened to her. And a former sith lord makes a long awaited appearance after so many years of absence from the big screen. It may have been a flop and may have been too predictable, but its still a pretty good ride of a sci-fi film from a galaxy far far away.

Teen Titans Go! to the Movies

Yep I still don't get why this show got a film in the cinemas when the original Teen Titans didn't. Still for what the film is, it may be cringey and may have stuff that would normally be dismissed as being bad. But this is really just how a film with this version of the Teen Titans would play out. And also it is true that we have been waiting for a film about Batman's allies for years and we hope one day that film would be made. This isn't the film of course, but we are still hopeful that something will come. Plus its also good that DC are willing to make films about characters who are ready and willing to poke fun at them as well as the superhero genre in general. Because after a while of a bunch of serious films, its ok to have a bit of fun in between. I mean that's what The LEGO Batman Movie did and so is this film. Now I'm just waiting for Marvel to do the same, but actually be a Marvel made film over being made by someone else.

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight

It has been known to anyone living in the UK that there is a myth about a serial killer known as Jack the Ripper and that none of us know if this killer every existed or if he is just make belief. Some time ago, some writers at DC decided to do their own take on Jack the Ripper and throw Batman into the mix. And low and behold we have Batman: Gotham by Gaslight which many years later was turned into a film. Albeit an animated direct to home media film, but a film nonetheless and its actually pretty good. It gives us a fresh and new take on the caped crusader and puts him in a version of Gotham that is set during the Industrial times. Plus there is a twist concerning one of Batman's traditional allies which makes this take even more fresh than ever before and it is really good. I wish the film was longer, but its still pretty good for what it is.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

So with the rise of their popularity thanks to the OK but not great film a couple of years ago, the Suicide Squad are back in a little animated film set in the DC Animated Movie Universe (itself based on the New 52 continuity). While its not the most perfect of films, it does manage to be one of a few super hero or villain based films to be willing to kill off some of its key characters and throw in some humour for good measure. Most of the traditional line up is here and it manages to at least try to tackle the spiritual subject of whether there is a heaven or a hell hence the name of the film. Its fun, full of humor and a lot of bloody violence as you might expect.

The Death of Superman

Yep its not just Marvel that killed off their characters this year. DC did the same, but on a much smaller screen. So many years ago following the end of the DC Animated Universe with Justice League Unlimited, DC formed a new divison called DC Universe Animated Original Movies which unlike their earlier animated film are aimed at a more mature audience and instead of following a single continuity, each film would be based on either a well established DC graphic novel or storyline or simply a screenplay. The Death of Superman is DC's second attempt at doing an animated film based on the famous Superman storyline where he fights and gets killed at the hands of Doomsday only for other Supermen like him to rise and take his place. The original film tried to cram the whole story into one film whereas this time, DC decided to make it a two part film with the first part focused on Superman's battle with Doomsday and using Justice League members to fill up the places of the characters seen in the comics. It is possibly one of the few times where each of the Justice League are brutally beaten to almost death with only Superman having the best chance to defeat Doomsday despite the odds being against him. Its gripping, very emotional and just shows how much weight Superman carries on his shoulders as he questions what happens if he dies.

Batman Ninja

Its been a while since we last saw a film about Batman made by Japanese animators. Its also good that we're seeing more of these films set in a time period and using a well established DC character to give itself some originality if nothing else. Batman Ninja is quite possibly the most action driven film we've ever seen of Batman and also one of the rarest times where Batman needs to rethink his strategy and must rely on his wits and instincts over his gadgets and long time allies. The most well know villains of his rogue gallery as well as his most well know allies from the Bat family are all here kicking a** and vice versa. Gorilla Grodd at first looks a bit out of place considering that he is traditionally known as a villain to the Flash. But as the film goes on, we come to know that he actually has a purpose in the film's story. Overall it is a very good Batman film that's as over the top as it can be and even has moments of being quite epic too. Though I would very much like to see both version as I heard that the English and Japanese versions have different scripts which is quite interesting.

Ralph Breaks The Internet

So I managed to squeeze in one more film this year and it's the third of the nostalgia thrill rides of the year. The second film is a lot more fun than the first as it explores the big wide world of the internet. Although we didn't get an appearance from Mario, Tron still made it as does many characters from across the large variety of Disney franchises. It's funny, at times blizzard and over the top and has a seemingly familiar plot but full of everything the trailers and info promised us. 9/10

So that's my personal picks of the best films for this year. But before I sign off for today, let's say a final farewell to all those we lost this year in the film industry:

Stan Lee - a legendary comic book writer who went on to become the face of Marvel and appeared in a number of films in the form of cameos. He also co-created many of Marvel's most beloved characters such as Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk.

Stephen Hillenburg - The creator of Spongebob Squarepants and Rocko's Mordern Life and was one of the most well known faces of Nickelodeon. On this list because he also made films too.

I'm sure there were many others that passed away this year, but these two are my main ones. But please leave your favourite films as well as those who had an impact in your life who passed away this year in the comments below.