Wednesday, January 16, 2019

73 Movies I Missed from 2018 (Part 2)

Annihilation



There's really no excuse for my missing this one. I was pretty interested in it and I certainly had opportunities, but I never got around to it.

Isle of Dogs



I dig some Wes Anderson stuff, but he's not an instant sell for me. These puppets are gorgeous though and dog movies are an interest in my house. More for my wife and son than for me, but their enthusiasm rubs off. In an unusual move, they went to see this while I was out of town, so I never circled back to catch up on it.

Black '47



Historical drama set in Ireland during the Great Famine. And look! Hugo Weaving.

A Wrinkle in Time



I didn't read the book until sometime in the last couple of years, so I don't have the nostalgic fascination with the story that many of my friends do. I find it pretty impenetrable in places, but that makes me more interested in seeing how other people approach and adapt it. This version didn't get great reviews, but I'm still curious.

Mary Magdalene



Another historical drama; this one featuring one of the Bible's most enigmatic and provocative characters. I really want to see what approach this film takes. Heckuva cast, too.

A Quiet Place



Another one that I absolutely should have seen already. I was super excited about it, never got around to it, decided to wait for Halloween, then got really busy then, too. Soooon...

Galveston



I'm pretty sure I have Nic Pizzolatto's novel on a shelf at home, having picked it up on a whim at a bookstore. (I was a fan of that first season of True Detective.) But really, I'm into this for Foster and Fanning.

Elizabeth Harvest



My interest is 80% about that poster, but I also like that the film starts with a gothic romance premise (a newly married woman is forbidden from entering a single room in her husband's house), but then takes it in a scifi direction.

Summer '03



Ahem. Moving on.

Paul, Apostle of Christ



Another Biblical biopic, but where Mary Magdalene is a mystery that I want to see explored, Paul is someone I have a fairly concrete vision of. My enjoyment of the film will likely depend on how closely it presents the Paul in my head, so it's basically like any Superman movie.

Rampage



David and I were gonna watch this together, but never got our schedules synchronized. That's my only excuse for not yet seeing The Rock and a bunch of giant monsters. It's a pretty bad excuse.

The Dark



A horror movie set in the woods? The heck you say!

Breaking In



I need to see more Gabrielle Union movies. I always forget that she was in 10 Things I Hate About You, but she was great in The Brothers and Almost Christmas and I want to see her kicking some butt.

Show Dogs



Yes yes, I will not blame you if you think this looks ridiculous. I could totally blame my interest on my dog-loving family again. But honestly, the dog in that poster - with Stanley Tucci's voice - is something I 100% unironically choose to see.

Hotel Artemis



The trailer looks great and look at that cast. Jodie Foster. Jeff Goldblum. Dave Bautista. What is wrong with me for not having seen this already? I need to rethink my priorities.

Siberia



Keanu Reeves has never been a huge draw to me until recently, but post John Wick... I'm super interested.

Buffalo Boys



2018 was an interesting year for Westerns set in other countries. We had Sweet Country in Australia, Five Fingers for Marseilles in South Africa, and now Buffalo Boys in Indonesia. Buffalo Boys looks bonkers in the best possible way. I mean, look at the armor on that bruiser in the poster. And the trailer has a woman who's an archer. I can't wait to see this one.

Christopher Robin



I had written this off after the first trailer. First of all, I have feelings about the exploitation of Christopher Robin Milne and if we're going to have a movie about him, then I want it to be like Goodbye, Christoper Robin and actually have something to say about his experience growing up famous when he had no choice in the matter. At some point though, I realized that this film isn't about the real life son of AA Milne, but about the fictional character he wrote about, so I lightened up about that. But the first trailer was pretty depressing, so I decided that I still didn't need to see it. But then it actually came out and I heard good things. And if we're going to have Disney doing live-action versions of all their cartoons, I'd much rather them be sequels like this than straight-up remakes.

Down a Dark Hall



AnnaSophia Robb in a gothic horror tale set in a boarding school.

Destination Wedding



Look. It's okay to want to see Mina and Jonathan Harker in a cliché romantic comedy. Don't judge me.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before



Alright, going back to Summer '03. I couldn't write this with Joey King standing over me with ice cream dripping all down her hand, but I like me a good teen comedy/drama. It started with The Breakfast Club and continued to 10 Things I Hate About You, Easy A, and The Edge of Seventeen (among others that I'm forgetting). To All the Boys I've Loved Before is supposed to be pretty great.

Blue Iguana



I don't hear good things about Blue Iguana, but I have a soft spot for crime comedies. And this one has Sam Rockwell and Ben Schwartz in it.

He's Out There



Another horror movie set in the woods. It's like someone figured out that's an excellent setting for spooky shenanigans.

Operation Finale



Ben Kingsley stopped being an indicator of quality films a long time ago, but I'm a big fan of Oscar Isaac and this story sounds fascinating.

Roma



A slice-of-life story about a family in Mexico City wouldn't normally be my thing, but I completely trust Alfonso Cuarón. From A Little Princess to my favorite Harry Potter movie to Sandra Bullock in Space, I've loved every movie of his that I've seen. I don't know how I haven't yet seen Y Tu Mamá También and Children of Men yet. That's madness and I need to watch my way through his filmography this year.

7 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

I feel like we're on the same page. Many of these perked my interest, but not enough to rush out and see right away.

Annihilation came out the weekend of the Oscars when everyone was making speeches about how there need to be better leading roles for women. Meanwhile no one mentions this movie. The bear monster is the hook for me to see it.

I'm shocked that Quiet Place did so well for an original property. I'm worried about going in with high expectations now. Quite similar to watching "Get Out" last year after all the Oscar buzz.

The reviews for Rampage make it sound like these people should have done "The Meg" as well since the selling points seems to be "tongue in cheek without self mockery".

Christopher Robin is one I'd likewise written off but ended up seeing. Its got plenty of flaws, the tone seesaws between poignant and wacky far too often but its a step above what we've been getting from the Live Action Disney SpinOff/Remakes. I'm right there with you that going the sequel route is preferable.

Michael May said...

If you haven't seen Get Out yet, I do recommend it. Maybe don't go in expecting God's Gift to Horror Movies, but it's a cool, new concept and the movie is scary, funny, and very well acted.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Oh I saw "Get Out" its just that it went from "That thriller movie you heard good word of mouth from your friends who see a movie every weekend even in Feburary" to "Something that is hugely important" after its Oscar nod.

I enjoyed it, but wonder if I would have appreciated it more or been more surprised by its content if not for that sudden burst in hype.

Siskoid said...

Well Annihilation is this year's Arrival, but it's deeper and more intriguing.

Isle of Dogs was my #1 movie of the year. 'gruff said.

A Quiet Place was top 10 for me. An efficient little sf thriller.

For an arcade game movie, Rampage is pretty great. Huge fun, and that's no pun.

Hotel Artemis was good, kind of a mix between John Wick and El Royale. The kind of thing you catch on Netflix and are quite happy to have done so.

Christopher Robin is poignant AF. It held my heart in a tight squeeze, and I don't even have a history with the original books or cartoons. Eeyore is hilarious.

Roma in on our list to watch as a group, it might even happen this Friday.

Michael May said...

I'm glad to hear that you liked Annihilation more than Arrival. I'm one of the few who was disappointed by Arrival.

Heh! Dog puns. :)

And that's cool to hear about Christopher Robin. I was just hoping for Not Saccharine, so you've raised my hopes for it.

Siskoid said...

I'd say Christopher Robin is more melancholy than sweet. I was in fact surprised it resonated with the younger children in the theater given its tone, but they were totally absorbed.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

The scenes in the Hundred Acre Woods were easily the best. Shockingly somber with a maturity I did not expect. But then theres the third act slapstick chase through London that feels like we switched over to a different movie.

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