End of Year 2018

Okay, so it's the last day of 2018 and while it was better for me than 2017, it still wasn't a great year.  It dragged on so long that I totally forgot what movies came out in the first half.  I didn't go to the theater as often as I wanted but I still saw most of the films I had marked out.  So here are the top ten that I liked for the year.

10.  Annihilation - Visually, this was one of the most beautiful films I saw all year.  I hope it gets some recognition from the Academy but I'm not holding my breath.  I think it came out too early to really be a contender this year.

9.  Solo:  A Star Wars Story - People were really down on this but that has more to do with the toxicity of the fan base than any demerits of the movie.  I don't think it was strictly necessary as a story but Ron Howard delivered a truly fun Star Wars experience.  Fuck you guys, it's canon now.

8.  Ralph Breaks the Internet - I loved this continuation of the Wreck-It Ralph universe.  It showed some real character development, even if it did suffer a little from sequel-itis.  Those Disney princesses, though.

7.  Ant-Man and the Wasp - After the total downer of Infinity War, this sequel was exactly the uplifting superhero movie I needed to see.

6.  Venom - Speaking of surprise gems.  I went into Venom with no expectations and came out totally shipping a reporter and an alien lifeform.

5.  Spider-Man:  Into the Spider-Verse - This one just made it in under the wire as far as deadlines but I'm so glad it did.  One of the best superhero movies and maybe my favorite Spider-Man movie ever.

4.  Hereditary - I loved this movie so much.  I watched it again over Christmas break with my cousin and it was still great.

3.  Black Panther - Did you even remember this came out this year?  It feels like it's been part of the universe forever.  I don't think another comic book movie has impacted society as much as Black Panther has and that's amazing.  Ryan Coogler is an incredible director and a really hope he gets as much work as he wants forever.

2.  The Avengers:  Infinity War - The snap heard round the world.

1.  Deadpool 2 - This movie was so good, they had to recut it and put it back in theaters as a PG-13 version so they could get twice the money for it.  That takes some serious balls.  And it worked because as fucked up as it is, this is a movie about family that manages to be insanely specific and also incredibly relatable.  That's why it's number one.

Obviously, this list is geared only to my taste.  I'm sure you have favorites that I overlooked, fairly or not.  Feel free to discuss them in the comments.