Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2018

Looking back at my "Most Anticipated of 2017" list, out of 10 movies only 1 landed on my "top ten" of the year list (Okja), 4 I found heartily enjoyable (Coco, Logan, A Cure for Wellness, Baby Driver), 2 I found mildly underwhelming (Guardians Vol. 2, Alien: Covenant), 2 I outright didn't like despite critical praise (Blade Runner 2049, The Last Jedi), and 1 got bumped to 2018 (Annihilation).  

Basically, most of the big movies set in space ended up disappointing me. So, being burnt out on Treks and Wars, this upcoming year I'm mostly hyped for smaller, dramatic movies. The following are the top ten movies I'm most looking forward to watching in 2018!

10. Stan and Ollie
Director: Jon S. Baird (Filth, Cass)
Cast: John C. Riley, Steve Coogan, Danny Huston, Shirley Henderson

Laurel and Hardy is one of the most iconic comic duos of all time, but unlike Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, there has yet to be a biopic made of their life. Stan and Ollie stars John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy (looking great in prosthetic makeup), and Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel. I seriously could not imagine more spot-on casting for the legendary comedians. The film will follow the duo in their later days, during a British variety hall tour in the 1950s as the crowds are starting to dwindle. With a screenplay by Jeff Pope, who wrote one of my favorite movies of 2013, Philomena, I can only hope this is as good a comedian biopic as Man on the Moon.

Release Date: TBA

Top Ten Movies of 2017!

HERE IT IS! The bane of every movie blogger: constructing a Top Ten of the Year list. This year I found that many of my favorites gravitated towards the criminally under-seen, so hopefully this post will get the word out on some great movies! Like I say most years, this is a personal top ten list, so I'm really not trying to please everyone or appear "cool" with these picks. I just tried to choose movies that had a big effect on me. Enjoy!

10. Detroit
Dir. Kathryn Bigelow

The tenth spot on any Top Ten list is always the hardest, because in effect you're bumping off a handful of other fantastic films. So to break the tie, I went with the movie that I thought most about after I left the theater. Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit shook me up - it details the night of July 23rd, 1967, when rioting took over the city and the Michigan State Police conducted a brutal raid and interrogation at the Algiers Motel.

The performances across the board are incredible; Algee Smith nails it as a young Motown artist whose life changes forever that night, Will Poulter is terrifying as a racist cop, and John Boyega is great as an African-American police officer torn between his identity as a black man and a "blue" man. Unflinchingly documentarian in style, disturbing, and all too reflective of the time we live in, Detroit is a fantastic film that shouldn't be overlooked!

Available to rent on Amazon and iTunes

The Talkies: 2017 Best and Worst Superlatives!

2017... not exactly one of our brightest years. Mass shooting records were broken, North Korea dropped some scary bombs, and many of our favorite entertainment personalities turned out to be disgusting sex fiends! But just because we might be on the brink of a nuclear holocaust doesn't mean there's nothing to celebrate - hence my 2017 movie superlatives! To honor some of the best (and worst) aspects in this year of film, I've compiled this list of 12 categories. Enjoy my 6th annual "Talkies" Awards!

BEST ACTOR - Robert Pattinson, Good Time

Not in a million years did I think Robert Pattinson would deliver my top performance of the year, but 2017 was full of surprises. In Good Time, the Twilight heartthrob is practically unrecognizable as Connie Nikas, a small-time crook, part-time scumbag who is the primary caregiver for his mentally handicapped brother, Nick. Although he loves him, Connie can't help but involve Nick in his crimes, leading to some intense consequences for both of them.

Essentially playing a modernized version of George from Of Mice and Men, Pattinson's character is a hot mess of contradictory impulses. He's both sympathetic and a scoundrel, street-smart yet ignorant, pathetic and brave, likable and deplorable. Yet all of his decisions, however misguided, are always made out of love for his brother. It's truly a complex role. I don't know where this Pattinson has been hiding all this time, but I welcome more of him.

All the Money in the World, Downsizing, I Tonya, Call Me By Your Name Reviews

All the Money in the World
Dir. Ridley Scott
Watch Trailer

The sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey should have ruined All the Money in the World. Playing the third lead in the film, the cold-hearted billionaire J. Paul Getty, Spacey had his career killed a mere two months before its release. In a shocking turn of events, however, director Ridley Scott quickly recasted the character with Christopher Plummer, scrambling to re-shoot and re-edit the film up until mere weeks before landing in theaters. While it would at first appear that Spacey's downfall could have resulted in disaster for this movie, it actually ended up being the best thing as Christopher Plummer's performance is one of the most interesting aspects of the film!

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Disaster Artist, Three Billboards, Darkest Hour Reviews

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Dir. Rian Johnson
Watch Trailer

I'm scared to write this review. Irrationally scared. Star Wars has become more than a series of fun sci-fi movies, it has become a cult. What started as, let's face it, a kids movie, has been adopted by grown men and women into some kind of sacred religion, and anyone with opinions against it are blasphemers. Online comment threads are battle zones. The mouth-frothing began when Star Wars announced its "comeback" a few years ago, taking the reins away from its original creator, George Lucas, and continuing the story that left off in 1983. That return, The Force Awakens, was met with such blind praise and adoration that as someone with mixed-to-low opinions on it I now live in an underground doomsday bunker just to avoid the fanboy fury. Now, The Last Jedi, the official sequel, is getting even higher praise from critics while I'm looking left and right, wondering if there's something not wrong with me.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #12: Rare Exports (2010)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Rare Exports
Dir. Jalmari Helander

Though there have been a great many movies with unique depictions of Santa Claus over the years, I think Rare Exports takes the cake for having the weirdest. Starting out almost like John Carpenter's horror classic The Thing, we find that the real Santa has been encased in the icy mountains of Finland for decades and a rich, eccentric billionaire has hired a construction unit to uncover Santa's tomb. Meanwhile, a clever young boy, Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his down-on-his-luck dad (Jorma Tommila) live in the mountains, hunting deer for the season to make ends meet. But when they find that the deer have been slaughtered by an unknown force, and a mysterious, bearded man shows up, soon it's not just the deer that are in danger...

12 Days of Christmas Movies #11: A Christmas Tale (2008)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

A Christmas Tale
Dir. Arnaud Desplechin

The Christmas season brings families together - even if you can't stand each other. Or, in the case of A Christmas Tale, even if you previously had a restraining order placed against them! This French family "dramedy" unsentimentally explores how the holidays can bring out both the best in people and also their deep-rooted jealousies and bitterness. It's a complex, naturalistic portrait of a household told with a degree of "New Wave" style. Although the story meanders a bit, wandering in and out of the lives of these brothers, sisters, parents, and cousins, the characters are fun to watch and make A Christmas Tale a bittersweet, schizophrenic tapestry of warm and cold feelings.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #10: Love Actually (2003)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Love Actually
Dir. Richard Curtis

Inspiring the likes of Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, the "dozen celebrity couples falling in love on a holiday" genre starts with Love Actucally. It's really the Pulp Fiction of romantic comedies in that there really is no main character - it's more a tableau of different situations in which people find love. Well, at least this movie's definition of love. I personally found many of the relationships unrealistic and troubling, especially considering in some circles this movie is an annual Christmas viewing!

12 Days of Christmas Movies #9: Jack Frost (1998)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Jack Frost
Dir. Troy Miller

In 1979 Jim Henson founded "Jim Henson's Creature Shop," which has since created some of the most timeless practical puppets and animatronics of all time. The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Sesame Street, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Harry Potter, The Muppets - these people worked on many of the seminal films of my childhood. The puppet from Jack Frost, however, isn't one of their most shining creations. Looking like a possessed Cabbage Patch Kid, this Frosty knockoff is an unintentionally terrifying monster that undermines an otherwise pleasant family film. Roger Ebert called it: "the most repulsive single creature in the history of special effects, and I am not forgetting the Chucky doll or the desert intestine from Star Wars."

12 Days of Christmas Movies #8: Scrooged (1988)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Scrooged
Dir. Richard Donner

I wonder if Charles Dickens had the foresight to realize his immortal classic A Christmas Carol would continuously and shamelessly be ripped off, remade, and re-packaged more than a century after his death. To capitalize on Bill Murray's newfound Ghostbusters cachet in the 80s, one such remake was produced by special effects-driven comedy director Richard Donner (The Goonies, Lethal Weapon). In fact, one of the US taglines of the film was: "Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it's three against one." Despite its cash-grab origins, Scrooged has become a cult classic over the years and remains popular at Christmastime. However, I'd argue that nostalgia may be pulling blinders over many of its fans' eyes, because Scrooged is a loud, obnoxious, and (ironically) mean-spirited Christmas movie!

12 Days of Christmas Movies #7: Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Fanny and Alexander
Dir. Ingmar Bergman

NOTE: There are two versions of this film, a 188-minute theatrical cut and the "definitive" 312-minute cut that originally aired on Swedish TV. The 4-episode TV version is generally considered superior, so of course I hunkered down and watched all 5.5 hours of it. There are no "half measures" on Talking the Talkies!

The master of existential angst, Ingmar Bergman basically defined what an "art film" was in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. With movies like The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Persona, the Swedish director is pretty much the first thing most people think of in regards to "European art cinema" (black-and-white, religious themes, super-serious, ambiguous, etc). Fanny and Alexander, a massive, lavish coming-of-age epic, was meant to be his final swan song, his last movie to cap off a decades-long career in cinema. It went on to win four Oscars and is often cited as one of the greatest films of all time. As a movie geek, the pressure is on to love this movie!

12 Days of Christmas Movies #6: Christmas Evil (1980)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Christmas Evil
Dir. Lewis Jackson

Although it's a holly-jolly holiday, horror directors have exploited Christmas for decades. But while slasher movies like Black Christmas (1974) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) still have cult followings, Christmas Evil remains a little more obscure. Unlike the aforementioned titles, Christmas Evil is actually more of a character study about a man's descent into madness as his principles are threatened. Unbelievably, this movie featuring a knife-wielding Santa Claus possibly bears more resemblance to Taxi Driver than Friday the 13th!

12 Days of Christmas Movies #5: Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny
Dir. R. Winer & Barry Mahon

NOTE: Apparently there are multiple versions of this movie floating around, one of which features a "Jack in the Beanstalk" segment, another with "Thumbelina." I saw the "Beanstalk" version (Amazon Streaming), and that is what I will be reviewing here!

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny is one of the worst movies I have seen in my entire life. It's right up there with Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Room, and Birdemic. But before I talk about the movie itself, I feel a little history lesson is required:

In the 60s and early 70s, before the ribbon was first cut for Disney World, one of the more popular theme parks in Florida was "Pirates World." It was a bit of a piecemeal operation, taking discarded rides and parts from here and there to make up their park, which had "lands" dedicated to fairy tales, and of course pirates. There came a point where the heads of the park wanted to produce a series of films to promote it - including "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Thumbelina," both directed by Barry Mahon, who was previously best known for directing softcore "nudie" movies.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #4: Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Christmas in Connecticut
Dir. Peter Godfrey

In 1944, the government declared actress Barbara Stanwyck as the highest-paid woman in America, earning $400,000 (roughly $5.5 million today). She had a long, diverse career in over 80 films typically playing self-reliant, cool-talking ladies, and she was one of the most magnetic actresses of the classic Hollywood era. Fresh off her Oscar-nominated role as a ruthless femme fatale in Double Indemnity (one of the all-time great film noirs), with the romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut she pulls a 180 and lightens it up for this festive and fun romp. Even while WWII was at its fiercest, and her husband was fighting in the Air Corps, she was still able to be delightful on screen.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #3: Christmas Holiday (1944)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Christmas Holiday
Dir. Robert Siodmak

With a title like Christmas Holiday and starring Gene Kelly, you'd think this movie would be a colorful, musical romp for the whole family to enjoy. There you'd be wrong. Christmas Holiday is actually a black-and-white gritty noir, complete with jilted lovers, sleazeball reporters, and murderous momma's boys. Directed by Robert Siodmak (The Killers) and adapted for the screen by Herman J. Mankiewics (Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz), this movie is a far cry from It's a Wonderful Life... more like It's a Miserable Life.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #2: The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

The Shop Around the Corner
Dir. Ernst Lubitsch

Fans of early Hollywood will likely recognize the name Ernst Lubitsch, one of the premiere directors of "sophisticated" comedies in the 1920s-40s (pinkies up!).  His films featured what critics touted as the "Lubitsch touch" - a light and intimate style that often included fully fleshed-out characters (not just those in leading roles), snappy dialogue, and more than a pinch of sentimentality. The Shop Around the Corner is a great example of this style. Although it's not an out-and-out Christmas movie per se, it's often listed on "top" holiday film lists, as it's a romantic comedy that takes place during the pre-Christmas shopping rush.

12 Days of Christmas Movies #1: Babes in Toyland (1934)

Happy Holidays everyone! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, I've decided to complete a daily review series of 12 Christmas movies leading up to the big 12/25. To qualify, the movies have to be tied to Christmas in some way and also something I've never seen before. I'll be going in chronological order. So, without further ado, if you got chestnuts, roast 'em - and enjoy my 12 Days of Christmas Movies!

Babes in Toyland
Dir. Gus Meins & Charley Rogers

I'm probably paging Captain Obvious here, but movies as we know it were completely different 83 years ago. When comedy producer Hal Roach made Babes in Toyland, sound in film had only existed for 7 years. Because most silent actors weren't trained for the transition, Hollywood often mined Broadway and the vaudeville stage for on-screen talent, including Laurel and Hardy. While successful on stage and in silent shorts, the comedy team really came into their own in the sound period. One skinny, one fat. One English, one American. One clumsy and childlike, the other bullish and short-tempered. They're the classic "odd couple" and one of the best comic pairings of all time.

The Shape of Water, Wonder Wheel, Last Flag Flying, The Breadwinner Reviews

The Shape of Water
Dir. Guillermo del Toro
Watch Trailer

Whether a fairy tale like Beauty and the Beast or a creature feature like King Kong, there has been an ongoing thread of romantic longing between "outsider" humans and non-humans in fantasy movies for decades. But where those films only dipped their toe in the water regarding lady-on-monster love affairs, with The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro dives in headfirst. Telling a love story between a mute woman and an amphibious man, this movie could only work with Guillermo's wonderfully mystical, grotesque, and melodramatic sense of filmmaking. Its main concept may lose a few people, but if, like me, you connect with del Toro's sensibilities, you'll find that this may very well be the most enchanting fish romance ever caught on film.