By Derek May:
Before I started doing these reviews for Flapper Press, I used to do a big wrap-up of the year’s films for friends, family, and whoever might be interested. It was a tradition that I let slip by the wayside the last few years, but now that I’ve got such a wonderful forum here at Flapper Press, seems timely and appropriate to bring it back.
But first, a small explanation of what these lists really mean. Looking up the past year’s releases as a reminder to myself, IMDB listed more than 12,000 movies out over various platforms in 2018 alone. So it should come as no surprise that I haven’t seen them all. I do my best, but with working several jobs and limited free time, I can usually only hit a handful, but I try to make that handful count.
The lists below represent what I’ve seen of what was officially released in 2018 (not all were reviewed on here), and what I consider representative of the finest or most disappointing this year. Those terms are naturally subjective, and therefore so is my opinion. I try to judge films based on what they were trying to accomplish first, and what they evoked in me second; films I’d have no hesitation recommending to anyone looking for exciting, emotional, and/or thought-provoking fare.
So without further ado, I present the films I thought represented the BEST of 2018.
Honorable mentions:
Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians, The Old Man & the Gun, Black Panther, A Quiet Place, The House with a Clock in its Walls, Animal World, A Simple Favor, Incredibles 2, Ant Man & Wasp.
And as we must, we come to the not-so-great. It’s hard to be good, it’s relatively easy to be bad. So naturally we could probably put 90% of that 12,000+ on this list. In a lot of ways, this list is both easier and much harder to create, as I don’t have time to waste on films I know I’d hate. But of the ones I did catch, I’ve listed out those I felt truly dropped the ball—those that failed to live up to the expectations of the craft and of their own story.
I think it would be tough to rank, so for the most part I will simply list.
Except for one . . . the movie I consider the absolute worst of this year, in terms of creativity, execution, and expectation.
Thus, the WORST film of 2018 for me was:
And for the rest that failed to measure up, I present in no particular order:
And there you have it. I’m sure there will be lots of disagreement and debate about these lists, and that’s certainly fine. To each their own. But if nothing else, I hope this list inspires you to check out a few films you might not have seen yet, or avoid some of those that won’t be worth the time. In any case, we can all agree to look forward to an amazing year of film to come in 2019! Happy watching!