films of 2018

Jan 

- three billboards outside ebbing missouri: how simplistic, as if one man is changed just by a letter? abbie cornish was miscast, stuck out like a sore thumb. where is my resolution/sense of closure? yes frances macdormand is awesome but i already knew that. the only cathartic bits were perhaps the excessive and free swearing coming from franny mostly. 

- the shape of water: it was perfection. so gorgeous. my heart was full. sally hawkins was just amazing. the aesthetic, the mood, the loving tender moments - oh if you had a loved one, to share this would be something special. 

- call me by your name: i had read the book and enjoyed it. it is that coming of age, young love, story. set in beautiful northern italy, in a lazy summer, where the young and beautiful fall in love and lust. it was familiar, but also endearing and gorgeous and made me long for that feeling of falling freshly and madly in love again. 

- all the money in the world: i went in expecting very little. too much a morality tale re: the callousness of the ridiculously wealthy. michelle williams's accent was distracting, mark wahlberg's role was completely redundant. the main draw for me was (despite her accent) michelle williams and the still incredibly beautiful romain duris whose face i missed and couldn't get enough of. 

Feb

- lady bird: gorgeous. loved saoirse, LOVED laurie metcalf. their relationship was so reminiscent of my own with my mum. the fact that it wasn't all happy and perfect, it felt so real and authentic. it made me wanna become friends with greta gerwig.

- black panther: the excitement i felt about this movie was visceral; a new type of superhero movie, featuring a near all-black cast... perhaps in the end it didn't quite fully match the hype, and there were still some of the usual superhero movie tropes, but overall it was enjoyable, never boring, and full of inspirational female characters, and gorgeous men. michael b jordan you're something *heart eyes*

- game night: fun? jason bateman plays the same role over and over again. it's always good to see rachael mcadams doing comedy. 

Apr

- a quiet place: more jumpy and grotesque than scary. good for a 'horror' type movie since i don't enjoy them generally. can't get enough of emily blunt.

May

- avengers infinity war: oh how convenient! just re-cast the minor characters with 2 lines per movie? so cartoonish, so many effects, yet talking so seriously... but the funny bits were funny esp guardians of galaxy guys coz they at least know not to be serious at all. 

- death of stalin: hilarious. 

Jun

- ocean's 8: i wanted it to be great. it was okay. as per one critic, it was a very quiet movie. lacking excitement. lacking that pizzazz. something not quite great - more than 2% lacking, very much by the book procedural. even the last 'twist' was all a bit meh. sad really coz i wanted it so badly to be good. more rihanna, more kaling, more awkwafina, more SOMETHING. less gaping plot holes. 

- i, tonya: watchable. entertaining.

- phantom thread: surprisingly watchable, captivating, intriguing storytelling. the quirks of daniel day lewis's character. the beautiful fashion, the oddity of his sister. the somewhat annoying but also identifiable character of the mistress whose need to be needed came at me hard despite the mild psychopathy. i really enjoyed this actually. 

- goodbye christopher robin: what a cutie the child actor was. not sure i was particularly enamoured by domhnall gleeson but overall i enjoyed the sweet family drama. 

Sep

- crazy rich asians

Nov

- a star is born: i wanted badly to watch it on first watching the trailer. when finally i did, i cried twice. first when she gets called up in front of the huge crowd, her moment of discovery so to speak, i was so overwhelmed with joy for her, my heart felt like it'd burst and i cried with a visceral response. then of course at the end. how can you not cry. the second half was a bit meh, a little cliched, but no matter, it was an experience. 

- shoplifters: this stayed with me for ages. the slow reveal, that everyone was a little of both - kind and loving but also opportunistic and not truly entirely altruistic either. it made me want to watch all of rest of kore-eda's work. such a beautiful, well made film. 

Dec

- sorry to bother you: was this... a slightly worse Get Out 2? i get the (not so subtle) messaging, and the surrealism, trying to be innovative... but idk it still felt a little not quite there, a little rusty or amateurish. if there were no horse-sapiens it'd'v'e been a true dud.