2018 Watch List

The blog may be dead for some months, but the tradition has to continue. Otherwise, we'll all be Olaf looking for traditions and hated by people around the world. Honestly, who looks for traditions? You make traditions, or someone made them. I wasted a lot of time in the past year but no 24 minutes was more wasted than watching Olaf singing sub-par songs. But good news, I ended the year watching The Disaster Artist and started 2018 with All the Money in the World. Looks like a solid year or everything could go downhill.

You know the drill: bold titles mean must-watches and unmarked means it's optional. I just copied and pasted and paraphrased that last sentence, because plagiarizing your own work is totally acceptable (and at least I owned it)--AGAIN.

(There are some award-season films that I overlooked as they were mostly released in 2017 and obviously, we have to watch them anyway. Some films that are too far in the year are selected from its premise, cast and crew.)

JANUARY

The Commuter Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Jaume Collet-Serra (director)

12 Strong Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Nicolai Fuglsig (director)

FEBRUARY

Annihilation Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Alex Garland (director)

Black Panther Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Ryan Coogler (director)

MARCH

Isle of Dogs Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Wes Anderson (director)

Ready Player One Tye Sheridan, Mark Rylance, Steven Spielberg (director)

Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Francis Lawrence (director)

A Wrinkle in Time Chris Pine, Oprah Winfrey, Ava Duvernay (director)

7 Days in Entebbe Rosamund Pike, Daniel Bruhl, Jose Padilha (director)

Mary Magdalene Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Garth Davis (director)

Tomb Raider Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Roar Uthaug (director)

Pacific Rim: Uprising John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Steven S. DeKnight (director)

APRIL

God Particle Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, Julius Onah (director)

The New Mutants Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Josh Boone (director)

Beirut Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Brad Anderson (director)

A Quiet Place Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, John Krasinski (director)

Tully Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Jason Reitman (director)

Rampage Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Brad Peyton (director)

MAY

Avengers: Infinity War Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Russo Brothers (directors)

Where'd You Go, Bernadette Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Richard Linklater (director)

Solo: A Star Wars Story Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, ? (director)

JUNE

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, JA Bayona (director)

Deadpool 2 Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, David Leitch (director)

The Incredibles 2 Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird (director)

Ocean's 8 Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Gary Ross (director)

Sicario 2: Soldado Josh Brolin, Joel Edgerton, Stefano Sollima (director)

JULY

Mission: Impossible 6 Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Christopher McQuarrie (director)

Ant-Man & The Wasp Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Peyton Reed (director)

Alita: Battle Angel Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Robert Rodriguez (director)

Mamma Mia! 2 Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Ol Parker (director)

Skyscraper Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Rawson Marshall Thurber (director)

AUGUST

The Predator Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Shane Black (director)

The Meg Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Jon Turteltaub (director)

Scarface Diego Luna, Coen Brothers (directors)

The Equalizer 2 Denzel Washington, Antoine Fuqua (director)

Crazy Rich Asians Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Jon M. Chu (director)

Captive State John Goodman, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Wyatt (director)

Christopher Robin Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Marc Forster (director)

Kin James Franco, Zoe Kravitz, Baker Brothers (directors)

SEPTEMBER

Robin Hood Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Otto Bathurst (director)

Johnny English 3 Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, David Kerr (director)

Boy Erased Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Josh Edgerton (director)

OCTOBER

First Man Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Damien Chazelle (director)

The Girl in the Spider's Web Claire Foy, Fede Alvarez (director)

Mowgli Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis (director)

Venom Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Ruben Fleischer (director)

Bad Times at the El Royale Chris Hemsworth, Drew Goddard (director)

NOVEMBER

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Simon Kinberg (director)

Fantastic Beasts 2 Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, David Yates (director)

Creed 2 Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Steven Caple Jr. (director)

Widows Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Steve McQueen (director)

Holmes & Watson Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Etan Cohen (director)

Mary Queen of Scots Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, Josie Rourke (director)

Nutcracker & Four Realms Keira Knightey, Lasse Halstrom (director)

Wreck-It-Ralph 2 John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Rich Moore (director)

DECEMBER 

Aquaman Jason Momoa, Willem Dafoe, James Wan (director)

Mary Poppins Returns Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rob Marshall (director)

Bumblebee Hailee Steinfeld, Travis Knight (director)

Mortal Engines Christian Rivers (director)

Bohemian Rhapsody Rami Malek, ? (directors)

I feel like there are more films that you can skip easily this year especially the comedies and some actioners. Even Clint Eastwood's latest isn't compelling for me as a non-American. The Rock has two films this year and after last year's disappointments, we'll proceed with more caution now. Some sequels also has to be approached with less expectations such as Pacific Rim: Uprising, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Soldado. Not to mention there are at least two troubled productions this year, the Han Solo prequel and the Freddie Mercury biopic. We've seen how reshoots can impact a film from the 'successful' Rogue One to the disastrous Justice League, it'll be interesting to see how those two films turn out.

From last year's list of 61 films, I watched 41 of them. Some of them hasn't been released and a few were bumped to this year (transfers from last year include Red Sparrow and God Particle). Last year I put four duds in my top 10 (JL, Kingsman 2, Kong Skull Island and Alien Covenant). Let's see how I fare this year. Honorable mentions go to Alita Battle Angel, The New Mutants, Isle of Dogs and Widows (scripted by Gone Girl's Gillian Flynn!). Here's my top 10 anticipated films for 2018:

10. Robin Hood - Hoping for a Peaky Blinders/Kingsman vibe in this one

9. Mission Impossible 6 - All in for Tom Cruise in action mode

8. Ready Player One - So far the trailers look great

7. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Ugly title though

6. Deadpool 2 - Annual dose of R-rated superhero film

5. Aquaman - Hoping for a Wonder Woman-scale success

4. Avengers: Infinity War - if this isn't in your list, whats wrong with you

3. God Particle - God bless the Cloverfield series

2. Annihilation - Alex Garland yass

1. First Man - Ryan Gosling & Damien Chazelle double yasss

My new year's resolution this year is easy: list all the films/episodes I watch this year and probably at the end of the year I can reflect on how much time was utilized (or wasted or saved) by watching them. Also, I'm on Letterboxd, find me!

And also get a better job.

Summer Recap 2017

Summer 2017 has been dubbed the worst in years. And I think I agree. I haven't seen a lot of bad movies as much like this year. Last year I skipped this summer recap. (Quick last year recap: Top 3 2016: Popstar, Civil War, umm that's it?; Worst 2016: Independence Day Resurgence; Most Disappointing: Suicide Squad & Jason Bourne)

But now I'm back! After went missing for two months in July and August. I saw a lot of films though. But I didn't see The Emoji Movie (high-five!). But also I didn't see The Dark Tower or Cars 3.


Top 3 Films
1. Baby Driver
Coolest film this summer. Featuring a great ensemble led by Ansel Elgort and featuring the coolest soundtrack, Edgar Wright is now 5 for 5. By now, I'd dare him to make a bad movie and I'd pay him up before his new film comes out. The action scenes are super energetic almost unlike other action films you've ever seen. If you come out of the theatres not humming one of the 30+ songs featured, then you must be deaf and tasteless.





2. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword


Controversial choice, yes. I might be the only one putting this film above Dunkirk. The deciding moment for King Arthur is in the first 2 minutes: if you're okay with this version having a giant elephant and more magic stuff than ever, then you're in for a treat. Legend of the Sword is destined to be a cult classic for its action, amazing soundtrack, and quick storytelling (honestly, it skipped shit parts making it so much better). It's a shame people are too dull that this film made less than The Mummy.




3. Dunkirk
It's a Chris Nolan film. This film, as he said, to be experienced. It is. And you have to see it in IMAX to get the full experience. But then there's some weird editing that prevents this film from being my number one this summer. Also, when compared to Joe Wright's five minute sequence of Dunkirk, this film feels a tad dull. (This is a lot of criticism for a film in number 3). 






Honorable mentions
 - War For The Planet Of The Apes, best franchise not featuring humans in leading roles. Also, the soundtrack from Michael Giacchino here is an Oscar contender.
  - Spider-Man: Homecoming, for successfully handling the third iteration of the human spider in a decade in such grace, with a decent villain too.
 - Wonder Woman, for showing that DC could do something right and pioneering female-led superhero film.

Most Surprising Film
Dunkirk
Surprising for not being the best film this summer. But also not a really bad film. It's a different type of film. A film where Tom Hardy acts with his left eye. A film where Cillian Murphy is not explained well. A film with a very intense soundtrack. A film with three different timeframe and place. A film that is super loud. A film that fills complete but also empty at the same time. It's a weirdly good film. It's surprisingly very short. And after Nolan's talky space masterpiece Interstellar, Dunkirk is a weird follow-up.

Honorable mention
- King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, for being more enjoyable than it should've (for me).


Most Disappointing Film
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
I'm a big fan of the original trilogy. No one would proudly declare that. But I would. But On Stranger Tides was a massive dud. This one tried better, but failed as well. They managed to make Captain Jack a total buffoon and drunkard. They deleted Will Turner's backstory in favor of a very bland Henry Turner's rescue mission. For a franchise that has ran for 14 years, it is critical to have at least the characters right. On Stranger Tides still has Jack, Barbossa and Gibbs right. This one, not really--only Barbossa was right in this film. It's a shame. They nailed the coffin this time for sure.

Dishonorable mentions

- Alien Covenant, honestly what is going on with this franchise.

Worst Films

1. The Mummy
Worst film ever. Nothing is good, except the production design. At least Tom Cruise got his zero-G plane. He's the only winner here.

2. Transformers: The Last Knight
Also a massive dud. It bad for even the worse things like aspect ratio. There are 8 aspect ratio changes in the film, constantly changing. It's filled with total nonsense. But also surprising stuff that made you stay until the end, just shrugging away every scene. Like Anthony Hopkins or a robo-butler that is voiced by the butler from Downton Abbey. Honestly this film is the epitome of "what the fuck is happening." This film's title should be a curse word, everytime you shout "what the fuck is happening" you should just scream "transformers the last knight!"

Nolan's Gravity

Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan's passion project. Same like Gravity is Alfonso Cuaron's passion project. Both are outstanding technical achievements. Both are short in their runtime. So basically Nolan just made a film worthy to envy Gravity's achievements, which is a weird compliment because Alfonso Cuaron and Christopher Nolan are two different directors. But yes, both are different films. Dunkirk, based on a true story unfamiliar to people outside the UK (or the Commonwealth at least), stars newcomers Fionn Whitehead & Harry Styles, backed up by greats Tommy-fucking-Shelby Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.

The film plot is the evacuation of 400,000 soldiers from the city of Dunkerque in France, after the Allies + Brits gets pushed back by Germans. The story is told from three settings, land, air and sea. This story device/structure makes the film unique than other war films or other films in general. And it's very Nolan-y with his signature unconventional timeline. The film is technically superior. The sound design is over-the-top in a good way that it's perfect. I saw it in IMAX last week and it's amazing. The score by Hans Zimmer is very Zimmer-y but this film don't actually need a musical motif and Zimmer delivered a music that plays like a main cast member in the film. It is intense and you should blast the song when you're doing a project the night before deadline.

The actors in the film don't have much to do, because the film, like Gravity, is not an actor's film. But more than Gravity, the actors have more to do. Mark Rylance and Cillian Murphy are unquestionable greats and Tom Hardy spends most of the film acting with his left eye only. Damn. But the real test in this film is Harry Styles, which is like the equivalent of when you hear Rosie Huntington-Whiteley got cast in Fury Road. Like Rosie Huntington, Harry Styles did a good performance in this film. He even gets more lines than the Fionn Whitehead, who's in the poster. My only criticism in this film is sometimes the editing takes you out of the film. It could be Nolan's fault too and not only the editor. There are at least three moments that could have better editing. Two of them need more scenes to stitch the existing scenes and the other needs to be deleted. It's a small thing but it could annoy you. It's a tricky film to edit anyway with its complicated structure. But the film is still great. Just like Nolan claimed, the film needs to be experienced in the biggest theatre available with the loudest sound system available. And for that I wholeheartedly agree. Dunkirk: 3.5/4.


PS. Like Inception, Christopher Nolan can be unimaginative to preserve the realism (it's dreamscapes!). Go to the amazing tracking shot in Atonement to see Joe Wright's stellar depiction of the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Peter Parker's Day On

Look at that stupid title for my post. If you missed the reference, it's obviously Ferris Bueller's Day Off, this is actually similar to some of the unsubtle references in Spider-Man: Homecoming to John Hughes' era films. But the film is typical Marvel-entertainment, but mixed with actual entertainment. Confusing? Example, Doctor Strange is typical Marvel entertainment: It's pretty good but you feel like you've seen something similar within the MCU films. Homecoming is directed by Cop Car helmer Jon Watts (weird choice on paper) and starring Tom Holland and RDJ, but still produced and distributed by Sony instead of Disney. This is the best studio teamwork that makes you wonder why don't they just do this for all Marvel properties.

Fresh off the events in Civil War, Peter Parker goes back to New York, waiting to be called to action again by The Avengers. But honestly, who would endanger a high school kid by recruiting him to fight bedazzled intergalactic gods? So Peter Parker is left fighting his own battles, mostly high school "battles" and helping people solve petty crimes. Until he stumbled on Adrian Toomes who is scavenging alien material from superhero battles.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is basically Spider-Man 2. Uncle Ben is now Tony Stark and Doc Ock is Vulture. It's a subtle 'with great power comes great responsibility' premise that is true to the Spider-Man lore. The film is also filled with a great energy, led by Tom Holland. It has a good Marvel villain in recent memory but I still can't help to think that Michael Keaton is paid a lot of money to be in a superhero film unrelated to his Caped Crusader films. He delivers a great performance though. There is this one sequence which just stands out in the film between him and Tom Holland. Also the other supporting cast is super great, especially if you watch a lot of series, from Donald Glover of Atlanta or Community (or just Donald Glover because you should know him by now) to Bokeem Woodbine of Fargo to Nacho of Better Call Saul (sadly underused here though) to Mendoza of Orange is the New Black; seriously, the list goes on. But yes, there are some underused great actors here: Hannibal Burress, Abraham Attah from Beasts of No Nation, and Donald Glover to name a few.

The film has a cool action sequence, seen in the trailers in Washington monument. It's definitely helped by Michael Giacchino's standout score. Seriously, the chills you get from his updated take on the Spider-Man theme is amazing. What I like the most from the whole film is that you don't see Iron Man that much in the film. From the trailers, it seemed like we're going to have a buddy Spider-Man/Iron Man film and even though that would be cool, it would suck for a Spider-Man film. The only thing I dislike the most is how they treated Zendaya's character. She absolutely adds nothing to the story. And honestly, why can't we just get Tobey Maguire to do an old retired Spider-Man called back to action? (Okay this is unpopular opinion). Nevertheless, it's a good "home-coming" for Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's certainly better than what we would expect from a second reboot in 5 years. Spider-Man: Homecoming: rated 3.5/4

Clunky Metals

What was I expecting anyway? After Shia LaBeouf left, the Transformers franchise has hit self-destruct by continuing in the same timeline/universe as the original trilogy instead of hitting a hard reset. What follow are some of the worst and laziest blockbusters ever made. Age of Extinction is 3 hours full of pointless dialogue, unexciting action and obvious product placements. This new one is the same. Yes, this opinion comes from someone who enjoys Revenge of the Fallen and Gods of Egypt. I have low standards, and if a film can't clear my low standards, you know what that means.

Transformers: The Last Knight is so bad Michael Bay seems like he's just there to cash his paycheck. Gone are the Bayhem thrills and spectacle, it's just filled with nothing. There's a Suicide Squad-wannabe sequence that feels studio-commissioned because, honestly, even Michael Bay wouldn't sign off on that. The story is stupid, except for the King Arthur parts which are pretty cool (note that Michael Bay was once in the running to direct the Clive Owen version and head writer Akiva Goldsman is one of the EPs of the Charlie Hunnam version, it's super possible that they just lift the elements from those films). The grand villain is even stupider. All in all, there's too much human stuff going on, and we go to these movies to see metal hit metal and shockingly, there's not enough robot action within all the explosions going on. I mean, they have a writer's room filled with superstars for this film!

The fact that they are able to make one of the coolest CGI character stupid is another thing entirely. Optimus Prime is super underused here, Bumblebee too, in fact all the robots are underused. And how they are able to get big names to voice these robots is beyond me: I mean, John Goodman! Ken Watanabe! Omar Sy! Mr. Carson from Downton Abbey!! That is not as shocking as Anthony Hopkins starring in this film. The only explanation I can think of is that he wants a more hands-on experience on robots after dealing with the hosts in Westworld. But I like Laura Haddock, and her career might fail after starring in this wreck of a film, I hope not. Also props to Stanley Tucci (as Merlin for no reason). Let's talk about the distracting aspect ratio in this film. The film constantly changes aspect ratio and it's annoying. I'm not even watching this in IMAX so why am I seeing those 10 aspect ratios throughout the film?? Overall, the film is super bland, but it can keep you entertained if you decide everything that's going on in the film is normal. It's bad, but it won't annoy you that much. But I promise, I won't see another Transformers film after this in cinemas. Please report my blog to the police if I decide to see another one. Transformers: The Last Knight: rated 1.5/4.

PS. There's a lot of bad movies this year. Why...
Most of them are franchise films (Pirates, Mummy, Kong Skull Island..), so I hope Hollywood understands that if you think with your wallet, you'll get shit. (Except for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which you should continue).