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Follow-Up: Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018 Reviewed

Hi Everyone! Today’s post is a follow-up for a post I did in the beginning of Last year. Last year I posted a list of my Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018; throughout the year whenever I watched one of these films I jotted down my thoughts, and now I will rank these movies according to how much I enjoyed them. I am going to include the original order of these movies in my original list and the new order.  The reason I am doing this is there is really no point in doing an anticipated list without actually following up on it and letting people know how I liked it.

So without further ado, the original order of the list found in my Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018 post:

  • #10 Crazy Rich Asians
  • #9 X-Men: The New Mutants
  • #8 Game Night
  • #7 The Death of Stalin
  • #6 Ocean’s 8
  • #5 Ready Player One
  • #4 Mortal Engines
  • #3 Black Panther
  • #2 Red Sparrow
  • #1 Avengers: Infinity War

Now, in some cases, movies have drastically changed ranks, while others have remained firmly in the same spot. Oh and please note that since X-men: The New mutants got postponed, it will be excluded from the list.

Starting off with my least favourite, we have:

#9 Mortal Engines

Release Date: December. 13

Starring: Leila George D’Onofrio, Jihae, Hugo Weaving

This movie was supposed to be epic; it was supposed to be a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic action adventure. It features the amazing concept of mechanized cities that roam around and consume smaller cities. However the movie completely failed to live up to the hype. I was just thoroughly disappointed. I mean the CGI was good, but like, that doesn’t even come close to mattering, compared to the plot and the characters, all in all I would not recommend.

The next movie is:

#8 The Death of Stalin

Release Date: Mar. 9

Starring: Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Friend

This film is a satire, occurring after the death of Stalin, and portraying the power vacuum that his death created. It is supposed to be a masterpiece of comedy, but instead it was just, a bit of a bore. I mean I could see the jokes and identify punch lines, but it just, wasn’t that funny? I wanted to like it, I was actually expecting a movie that subverted my expectations, one along the lines of Monty Python, however it was quite meh.  I was bored and kind of annoyed with some of the characters, especially at the start of the film.

On to the next one:

#7 Ocean’s 8

Release Date: June 8

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter

The star studded cast was about the only good thing about this movie. It completely failed to live up to the previous Ocean’s films. This is because it failed to build up any sort of tension, or suspense. The protagonists breezed through every obstacle like the entire heist was a cakewalk. The characters were characterized according to plot convenience rather than being consistent. I mean, it’s a fun enough ride, but it leaves you feeling quite unsatisfied.  Overall, bland and unmemorable.

Onwards my fair steed:

#6 Black Panther

Release Date: February. 12

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira

This movie is part of the Marvel extended universe and is the story of the Wakandan King: T’Challa. It will see King T’Challa coming back home to the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda where he stands alone in confronting a threat to his kingdom – and a possible world war.

Oh and speaking of disappointing, I was expecting much more from this movie. I mean it was fun enough at points, but I just was kinda disappointed with the hack that was Vibraniam, and also the only truly compelling part of the story is the villain. The hero is bland enough that his scenes bore me, his sister is sooo obnoxious and annoying, God. The only likeable one on the heroes side is Okoye. Killmonger totally steal the show. And I know people across the internet love this movie for being an iconic one culturally; however, for me that doesn’t matter in my enjoyment of the movie. Also the movie had no impact on MY culture so… I gotta rate on it’s own merits.

And the next spot goes to:

#5 Red Sparrow

Release Date: March.1

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons

Meet Dominika Egorova, a Prima ballerina who has suffered an injury that ends her career; with no way to make ends meet and having her mother dependent on her; she joins Sparrow Academy. There she is trained in the arts of seduction, manipulation and assassination. She is forced to learn to use her body as a weapon and is sent on her first mission. Her new abilities place an enormous responsibility on her shoulders which she tries to deal with while also fulfilling her missions and deciding where her loyalties lie.

This movie was not disappointing per say, but more misleading; where I was expecting a action heavy kind of Black Widow esque type of film, it turned out to be more cloak and daggers spy movie. Not that I have anything against that, but this film was actually uncomfortable to watch, because of how weirdly graphic and sexual it gets.

I was riveted throughout the film, however, I did not have fun watching it. The acting was great, the story compelling, however my enjoyment was marred by the graphic nature of the film and also by the message or should I say propaganda portrayed by the plot. I won’t say anymore here, but suffice to say I do not recommend this movie.

The next movie is:

#10 Crazy Rich Asians

Release Date: Aug. 17

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina

This is basically a romantic comedy with a unique twist: a Chinese-American woman experiences culture shock when she visits her boyfriend’s family in Singapore. She finds out that he is apparently from a filthy rich and one of the most eligible bachelors in Asia. Confronted by a foreign lifestyle she was not at all expecting; she experiences and learns about this unfamiliar culture; which brings up all sorts of relationship hiccups and shenanigans.

This was a movie that as soon as I finished it, i completely forgot what happened in it. It is generic to the point where it becomes extremely forget-able. Apart from the entire cast being asian, nothing about the plot, characterization, or story are interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t bored watching the film, in fact I had a great time, it was sweet and charming; however, I was not emotionally invested whatsoever. The hero was hot enough, and the leading lady gorgeous, but their romance was bland. If someone asked me to describe this movie in one word, that word would be: Generic.

And the next spot is for:

#3 Ready Player One

Release Date: Mar. 30

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn

This Steven Spielberg flick is based on the book of the same name and is a sci-fi film set in a dystopian future of widespread poverty and overpopulation. The picture will mostly be set in the computer-generated realm of OASIS, where players like Wade Watts hunt for a $240 billion Easter Egg left by its deceased inventor which also gives the one who finds it dominion over the entire game world of OASIS. The film pays homage to the eighties and is a goldmine pop culture references.

Okay, i was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did. A lot of the references went over my head, but knowledge of them was not necessary for enjoyment of the film. I liked the characters, The plot was okay, but overall it was a fun movie. There is something to say for uncomplicated enjoyment, all in all, not a Great movie bt a good one.

The second spot on the list goes to:

#2 Game Night

Release Date: Feb 23

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Sharon Horgan, Kyle Chandler

A comedy film with a Mystery/Suspense mix: this movie centers around a couples’ game night gone horribly and bizarrely wrong. Max (Bateman) and Annie (McAdams) are attendees at the game night hosted by Max’s brother Brooks (Chandler) who arranges a murder mystery party full of gangsters, fake thugs and fake federal agents. It’s all in good fun until… the host gets kidnapped!  However none of the participants are aware of the very real danger until they are thrust into life threatening situations while trying to solve the mystery.

What I was saying about great movies back there, it doesn’t apply to this one. Because this was exceeding my expectations big time. It was a great film. I was in stitches at some part and amused throughout. I cared about the characters and enjoyed the shenanigan. The movie had great serious parts too. The blend of horror/mystery with comedy was superb. I loved this film way more than I thought I was going to. I definitely recommend it.

For number one we have:

#1 Avengers: Infinity War

Release Date: May.4

Starring: Everyone in the Entire MCU

God, this movie was so good. I loved it. Loved it. Totally loved it. It was so cool seeing my favorite heroes coming together to fight Thanos. Thanos, gosh, he was a great villain. I love the way they introduced hima and set up his character. He was completely the focus of the whole film and I’m not complaining. I was actually worried that the film would fail to live up to the heaps of expectations placed on it, however it did not. It was epic and awesome. Just, a great movie.

That’s It, Folks!

If you want a full length review of any of these films (or just an film) leave your requests in the comments below.

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