THE MOVIE-WARDEN’S TOP 10 BEST OF 2018.

OPENING REMARKS.

As 2018 comes to a close, it’s safe to say that it has been an incredible year for films both in a good and bad way. Some films have lived up to the expectations that the audiences and critics alike set out for them, some surprised audiences and critics in a manner they did not expect and vice versa. In this piece, I am specifically going to delve into my personal top 10 best movies of the year; movies that I have re-watched at least twice. Let’s crack on my people!

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10. INCREDIBLES 2.

Release Date; June 2018

Director; Brad Bird.

Cast; Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Bob Odenkirk.

Box Office Gross; 1.243 billion USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks;

Brad bird was at it yet again with this animated film and he amped up everything I liked from the first Incredibles movie. Better action sequences. Better comedy. Better Dialogue. The story wasn’t better than the original for me but it was a extensively decent one nonetheless.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/incredibles-2-movie-review/

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9. CRAZY RICH ASIANS.

Release Date; August 2018

Director; Jon M. Chu.

Cast; Henry Golding, Constance Wu, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh.

Box Office Gross; 238.6 million USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

With a small budget of just about 30 million dollars, this movie was exceptional to say the least and also a testament to the fact that you don’t need a big budget to make an awesome movie. Jon M. Chu, the director, understood this and so did the all Asian cast who all came together and made out a relatable love story with exciting elements to it.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/crazy-rich-asians-2018-movie-review/

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8. BLACK PANTHER.

Release Date; February 2018.

Director; Ryan Coogler.

Cast; Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Daniel Kaluuya.

Box Office Gross; 1.344 billion USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

Apart from the overdone C.G.I at the closing stages of the movie and a few other small faults, Black Panther took the movie audiences by storm especially audiences of African descent like myself. It did this not only through it’s well-crafted story but also through the performances of the actors most notably Chadwick Boseman who exuded a a lot of energy and charisma in the lead role.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/black-panther/

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7. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE; FALLOUT.

Release Date; July 2018.

Director; Christopher McQuarrie.

Cast; Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Basset.

Box Office Gross; 791 million USD.

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

Seeing a 50 years plus Tom Cruise not only act extra-ordinarily but also perform various death-defying stunts was nothing short of epic. I came into this movie with high expectations, as anyone would, and for sure I wasn’t disappointed.  Thumbs up to McQuarrie and his team for giving us yet another visual masterpiece in a franchise that fans have grown to love over the years.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/07/29/mission-impossible-fallout-2018-movie-review/

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6. HOSTILES.

Release Date; January 2018.

Director; Scott Cooper.

Cast; Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Adam Beach.

Box Office Gross; 35.5 million USD.

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

I’m not really a fan of Western films but this one became an instant exception once I watched it. Yes, it might have a star-studded cast nevertheless, I was mostly drawn to the riveting plot that is established very well from the get-go.  The inclusive cinematography, the accurate period clothing, and the tone of anarchy and chaotic violence were additional elements to that added more flesh to this incredible piece of cinema.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/hostiles/

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5. AVENGERS; INFINITY WAR.

Release Date; April 2018.

Director; Joe Russo and Anthony Russo.

Cast; Robert Downey Jnr., Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Chadwick Boseman.

Box Office Gross; 2.049 billion USD.

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

This was indeed a film that redefined conventional story-telling considering how the film ended with the Mad Titan Thanos reigning supreme over earth’s mightiest heroes and wiping out 50% of life in the universe. Avengers; Infinity War was breath-taking to say the least and it was a proper culmination of the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe upon its release.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/avengers-infinity-war/

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4. ANNIHILATION.

Release Date; May 2018.

Director; Alex Garland.

Cast; Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac

Box Office Gross; 43.1 million USD.

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

This was quite a unique and suspenseful horror flick from director Alex Garland of the Ex Machina fame. It had a very sophisticated plot that the acting, visual effects and cinematography gave more life to. Additionally, there is the ‘girl power’ aspect i.e. a bunch of strong and smart women braving a dangerous territory despite the odds that are stacked against them.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/annihilation/

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3. A QUIET PLACE.

Release Date; April 2018.

Director; John Krasinski.

Cast; John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe.

Box Office Gross; 340.7 million USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

This so happens to be John Krasinski’s directorial debut and it’s a film that packs up real punches considering how the story unfolds from the beginning all the way to the end. Ideally an audience member is supposed to invest in the plight of the main characters in a horror movie and invest I did. Award winning actress Emily Blunt was the stand-out performer on here for me; her fantastic acting considerably fueled the intensity and tone of the terrible events as they happened.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/a-quiet-place/

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2. HEREDITARY.

Release Date; June 2018.

Director; Ari Aster.

Cast;  Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne

Box Office Gross; 79.3 million USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

Eerie. Creepy. Scary. These are just a few in a long list of words that one can use to describe this Ari Aster movie. If there’s one thing that I think made this film what it eventually turned out to be was the fact that the individuals in charge of crafting, packaging and presenting the story to the viewer gave it their all and it’s very evident in each and every scene. Toni Collette is phenomenal on here and frankly, it would be an abomination if she doesn’t win an Oscar next year for her performance.

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/06/17/hereditary-2018-movie-review/

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1.  A STAR IS BORN. 

Release Date; October 2018.

Director; Bradley Cooper.

Cast;  Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliot, Dave Chappelle.

Box Office Gross; 382.1 million USD

The Movie-Warden’s Remarks; 

This is undoubtedly my best romantic drama since the phenomenon that was Titanic and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s yours as well. Just like Krasinski in ‘A Quiet Place’, Bradley Cooper steps into the director’s chair for the first time in this while also being in a lead role and his contributions in both sectors go on to make the film the success it came to be. Of course, there’s also the Lady Gaga factor; fantastic acting from her by the way.  Gaga and Cooper’s characters have incredible chemistry on here and as an audience member I was invested in what they were going through; the occasional hardship and splendor. It had quite the emotional ending as well; what more would you ask for?

My Review; https://moviewarden.wordpress.com/2018/10/14/a-star-is-born-2018-movie-review/

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CLOSING REMARKS.

My Top 10 list of course does not mirror a lot of top 10 lists from other film critics and that’s the beauty of it all, right? As I have said before on this platform, Opinion is subjective; it varies from one person to another. Thanks for reading this piece, I appreciate your time and interest and please look forward to my Top 5 worst list of 2018 that I’ll be doing very soon. That should be interesting!