2018 Movie Releases - Luis' Reviews/Thoughts

As I have done with my 2017 film releases, this thread is exclusively for movies that are released in 2018. I have a separate movie log for every movie I watch. I will be placing the films underneath the month they were released, even if I didn't watch it that month.

January
Insidious: The Last Key
The Commuter
Paddington 2
12 Strong

February
Winchester
Black Panther
Annihilation
Game Night
Mute

March
Red Sparrow
A Winkle in Time
Thoroughbreds
Love, Simon
Unsane
The Strangers: Prey at Night
Ready Player One

April
A Quiet Place
Blockers
You Were Never Really Here
Isle of Dogs
Rampage
Lean on Pete
Truth or Dare
I Feel Pretty
Avengers: Infinity War

May
Tully
Life of the Party
Deadpool 2
The Kissing Booth
Solo: A Star Wars Story

June
Upgrade
Hereditary
Incredibles 2
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Sicario: Day of the Soldado

July
The First Purge
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Mission: Impossible - Fallout

August
Eighth Grade
Christopher Robin
Crazy Rich Asians
BlacKkKlansman
The Meg
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Searching

September
The Nun
Crazy Rich Asians
A Simple Favor
Hell Fest

October
A Star is Born
Venom
First Man
Bad Times at the El Royale
Halloween

November
Bohemian Rhapsody
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Widows

December
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Aquaman

The first Insidious holds a special place in my heart as it was the first film I saw in theaters that absolutely horrified me, even a couple of months after the fact. (NOTE: I was 11 when the first Insidious came out 7 years ago) I've enjoyed the look of the ghosts/demons, and how original the story was. This fourth installment is decent, especially for a horror film released in January, I was surprised this was remotely any good. The opening sequence is great, it has a very good haunting scene delivered with just the right amount of tension and pay off. Lin Shaye carries this film, and she brings lackluster lines above mediocrity. The best thing about this film is some of the character choices, and I can see that this was handled with care. However, some of the story beats, and attempts at adding complexity to the overall arc felt very forced and inconsequential. Overall decent to good, just not something I will remember a month from now.

I thought this was a rather enjoyable film. The best thing in this film is definitely the narrative flow; the pacing was tight, the editing consistent, it's just a very well structured film. Liam Neeson is also very good. The plot is very middle of the road, nothing new or exciting here, but as far as mysteries inside a train goes, this movie did keep everything interesting. Towards the end, it does try to make the narrative more complex and it propels forward a reveal that just doesn't quite land for me. The ending also felt inconsequential and just not very impactful. I liked Liam Neeson's character treatment, it did lend itself to some nice moments of tension. The film is also very well shot, the subtle dialogue scenes have some great close ups and the confined action sequences have a lot of unbroken, unshaky shots. Overall entertaining, solidly directed, and a very good appetizer while we wait for the great films of 2018

This film was so adorable to watch. I like the first one very much, and I thought it was a solid movie, the sequel however, is even greater as it explores more of Paddington's psyche, and takes his overall arc to more challenging and affecting places, ultimately to create a sweeter theater experience. I thought the villain was much more interesting than the last one, and I thought his role in this film was quite nice. Like the first one, but to a much greater extent, this film just wants to be sweet, to display the virtue of a righteous person, (or in this case, a bear) and to just make the audience joyous.I also felt such a special connection with our protagonist, the film just excels the idea that this bear is good, and that just being good is what makes him great. Sometimes, for me at least, it's nice to forget about the craftsmanship of a film and to just lay back and be charmed, and this adorable little bear might just be the one to do it for you too. Definitely go watch this, it will charm your pants off.

I thought this was pretty good. I think war films might be some of the most challenging to create in terms of shooting consistent action, and in terms of editing a bunch of chaotic shots to coherence, and 12 Strong did pretty good. The characters weren't a huge stand out, but they were serviceable enough to get somewhat invested in their mission. There are a couple of great war sequences sprinkled here and there, and overall the pacing wasn't overwhelmingly inconsistent even though there were a couple of stretched out scenes that undercut the tension. I did have a bit of a problem getting a full grasp of the stakes set in the film, I can't exactly pin point what it was, but for a true war story told on screen, I would've loved to have felt more of the intensity.

SCORE - 74/100

I should probably see a 2018 release early this year but I can't seem to find out I care about enough to go to.

Normally, none of the January/February releases look interesting ever, and none of the releases I've done so far have interested me. But I still push myself to go because I really want to watch as much as possible. But so far, there hasn't been any I haven't liked, maybe you'll surprise yourself.

I always loved a good deal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, mostly because they are essentially extremely exciting popcorn flicks that are done well for the most part. With Black Panther, however, they go beyond their duty to deliver a cool superhero flick and they have created a fantastic film with a surprising amount of thematic depth; this has become one of my absolute favorites in the MCU.

Like mentioned many times before, my favorite films are films that have compelling characters, and for me, this aspect is definitely the most resounding in Black Panther. We get introduced to a protagonist who is very likable, yet mentally and physically flawed. He is faced with the challenge of stepping up and becoming a proper king, while also finding the best way of navigating his father's death and the overwhelming role of becoming a figure of power. The culture built around this film was also so well established as well as the female supporting characters; It was honestly very humbling to see a group of women of color have such great moments in a film like this. We finally get introduced to a worthy villain in the slate of Marvel films, a villain who has grown tired of social and personal injustices and directs his anger towards our protagonist; and it was honestly all reasonable. The latter also leads to our hero questioning himself, and his family's past actions; the plot progression is never kept in a straight path, it is just great storytelling. Overall, the film delivered the great Marvel action set pieces and much more thematic depth than expected, goes to show how great someone like Coogler is.

SCORE - 93/100

I didn't realize how badly I needed this movie until i watched it. It's been a while since a film has intrigued me and floored me this much in its unique sci-fi world. The film intrigued me with the puzzled relationship of our lead protagonist and the mysterious reappearance of her husband. The cinematography, apart from the special effects, was also incredible. The film went out of its way to build a complex, intriguing, intelligent, and terrifying reality, which astounded me. And yet, it never felt too flashy, which is my favorite type of Sci-fi, when a world solidifies itself in a story, without feeling like the filmmakers were shoving their creation in your face. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to give anything away, I'll just say that the controversial ending worked magnificently for me, and it terrified me. Go watch this please.

SCORE - 95/100

I had a really great time watching this, it is very effective as a comedy. The characters are all serviceable and they all have their assets that serve towards the humorous points in the movie. The film stretches towards the end, but it was mindless fun for the most part. Short review, but there isn't anything big to address.

I really liked this one. I thought it was overall effective in its craft regardless of a couple of short comings. My love for Jennifer Lawrence is colossal, and she is fearless in this film, and at this point in her career, there is nothing she won't do, and she will do it with power; she is the highlight of the film. The aesthetic of the film was also noteworthy and it fits the the dark themes. I also appreciated the different approach this took towards the genre. The film was good, however, it was very spotty as well, mostly in the transition between two points; this was particularly true with Jennifer Lawrence's character shifts. The film also tried to expand on its arresting plot, but it was never established as efficiently as it should have, and it left me a bit in the dark towards the end. Also, 15-20 minutes could've been easily shaven off.

Holy Sh*t this was bad. It was just a matter of time before getting graced by the presence of a horribly made horror film, and it's always early in the year. (shoot me) Anyway, this movie is just bad. Not even the horror elements were good. The scares felt nonsensical, and it felt like the movie was just crossing a list of horror cliches without the narrative demanding it. We have an obligatory scare were our lead moves a mirror three times to (obviously) reveal something on that final try. The problem is, there was no reason to move the mirror back and forth, he just did, there wasn't a "suspicious shadow" or even a "mark" on the mirror, HE JUST KEPT ON MOVING IT BECAUSE WHY NOT! That's just one example, but there are a bunch of scenes like this. Dialogue was terrible, I did not connect to any of the characters, pace was slow, the movie never took advantage of such an awesome setting. The only thing I liked was the cinematography and a couple of fantastic shots. Otherwise, this film just took away all of my energy, don't watch this please.

I've been on the fence for this one. I can appreciate the artistic? elements, but maybe not understand them. I talked with a fan of the books and they weren't really excited to see it, because they have apparently changed a good bit.

Just looked and saw it's out of the theaters here, so hopefully I can watch it at the second run.

I'm can't conclude from your comment if you've seen it or not. Have you? If not, I really recommend it, it's definitely not for everyone, but I'm sure you will find things to appreciate. I think it's out on Netflix already, but the cinema experience was fantastic.

Everywhere but Murica'.

I haven't seen it, but will go to the 2nd run (less expensive but very clean!) theater if they get it.

I am falling in love with the old theater and non-stadium seating. The screen towering above, really makes the experience Grand for me.

Haven't experienced it myself, but it sounds wonderful. I hope I can find something like this near where I live. I remember last year I went to an old drive-in, enjoyed it so much.

Yeah, I'm very mixed about this film. On the one hand, it's interesting, and it has a very arresting concept, on the second hand it's very amateurishly executed. First off, some of the characters were undeniably interesting, and a couple I would even say are very good. My problem is with the protagonist, it's quite hard to find a connection when he just stands there and reacts blankly to everything that happens to him, that being said, I really didn't care for or felt the gravity of any event in the film.

The relationship established in the beginning was nice, and I liked the portion of that movie a lot, but all it does is make you have a bit of pity for the character, that's literally it, not a complete emotion, characterization is lacking. The execution is also quite sloppy, we see our character get from one point to another (physically and emotionally) but never a clear path in between. I really liked the chemistry between the two villains of the film, if anything, I cared more when they were on screen than when our protagonist was. The film is also set in the future, which is, admittedly interesting, but unnecessary; nothing about the main plot calls for the advanced setting, and it just didn't really serve the story. I appreciated how different the film was, and while I thought it was overall mediocre, I was still thoroughly entertained.

SCORE - 45/100

This is a fantastic Coming of Age flick, you guys know I'm a sucker for these. Just to get my one negative out of the way, in the first act there were a couple of awkward character interactions, as well as some cringy PG-13 lines "You're so effing this" and "He was getting a HJ". Other than that, the film has the best aspects of a good Coming of Age story: a great protagonist who finds himself in different emotional places throughout the film, an assemble of supporting characters who have some sort of specific impact in this character's life, well developed friends, comedy, heart, and smart writing. There were some sequences that made me laugh, other sequences put a smile on my face, others really made me feel for the protagonist. Definitely watch this if you like High School films, it's not the most original when it comes to the story structure and resolution, but hell if it isn't extremely well executed.

This was a film I was excited for, but it turned out to be massively disappointing... oh well. If I had to recommend this, I would do it for the visuals alone; beautifully constructed shots and a wide variety of range in sets and color, every scene was as visually exciting to see as the last. The protagonist was also good, she was charming and I got behind her. As far as the rest of the film goes... well, it's certainly is interesting, but the story is built very awkwardly, it's kind of hard to pin point what it is exactly. Oftentimes the film also just felt like a series of sequences never really linked together, and the writing, particularly in the dialogue was sometimes very childish and just very on the nose. I don't know what else to say, I was just dissapointed with this.

SCORE - 55/100