So it’s come to this – December of 2018. Sorry this post is a little late, but I’ve been on holidays since Christmas, so I wanted to get through the Boxing Day movies before I wrapped up 2018 with my ranking of December releases. The last month of the year has given us some… alright films, I guess. Marvel gave us Spider-Man, DC gave us Aquaman and Illumination gave us more Dr. Seuss. Finally we got a good Transformers flick for a change and somehow that came at the cost of a real crappy Sherlock Holmes adaptation. You see, what I’m trying to say is that December has been a real rocky month, but ho-hum, let’s just get into this; 2018 is over and we need to rank this month to cap off the year and start anew. So Happy New Years, here we go:
#9 Holmes & Watson [Theatre of DOOM]
A horrifyingly unfunny flick which claims to be a so-called comedy but does not even deserve status as a movie…
#8 The Grinch [Kingdom of the Criminally Dull…]
A vibrant and colourful looking animation which goofs and jokes but never escapes its stale, unsatisfying narrative, never mind its inability to bring nuance or freshness to the Dr. Seuss classic.
#7 Aquaman [Kingdom of the Criminally Dull…]
An ambitious and vast new flavour of DC cinematic endeavours that struggles to keep its head above water when its imagination outweighs its execution and a rough unchartered narrative of contradictions surfaces.
#6 Best F(r)iends: Volume 2 [A CRUSADE!!]
A bizarre and hilarious follow up to Volume One that surprisingly builds thematically on its predecessor whilst locating entertainment outside of Tommy Wiseau’s standout performance, never mind the film’s poor production efforts that honestly come as no shock.
#5 Overlord [A CRUSADE!!]
A shlocky and grainy B-movie extravaganza with A-level technique, ensuring an entertaining and thrilling look at the horrors of war, never mind the lack of some necessary explanations and explorations.
#4 Bumblebee [A CRUSADE!!]
A heartwarming coming-of-age film disguised as a Transformers blockbuster that stays true to its mythos and delivers popcorn fun whilst never shying away from its emotional undercurrent, centrally depicted between a terrific Hailee Steinfeld and the titular Bumblebee – though sometimes at the cost of weakened subplots and supporting characters.
#3 Sorry To Bother You [A CRUSADE!!]
A wholly inventive and comically bonkers absurdist piece from newcomer, Boots Riley, that emerges as a half heavy-handed, half intricately detailed deconstruction of capitalism and modern day slavery with one final F-U to the man and his restraints on both society and, as an extension, creativity.
#2 The Favourite [A CRUSADE!!]
A comedic tragedy with a Shakespearean feel, highlighting key performances from Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz whilst also shifting the trajectory of its filmmaker, Yorgos Lanthimos and his style, but not always in the finest of ways.
#1 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse [Lost Art]
A vibrant cinematic comic book in motion with revolutionary frames and a style unlike anything before it, working effortlessly to tell a largely personal, comical, heartfelt and original tale on uniqueness that highlights the classic character of Spider-Man near perfectly.
Image Sources:
- Morris, W 2018, ‘Aquaman’ Review: Our Hero Swims. His Movie Sinks., The New York Times, The New York Times Company, viewed 2 January 2019, <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/movies/aquaman-review.html>
Reviewers of the Lost Art 