'Holmes & Watson' Is Stupidly Unfunny

Many people consider Holmes & Watson as the worst major film of 2018.  But, despite being aware of this, I still decided to watch it because: a.) I’ve been a die-hard fan of the source material for most of my life, and as a consequence of that fandom, I’m usually compelled to check out as many adaptations and media inspired by it as I can – even the bad ones; and b.) I was genuinely curious if it was indeed worse than A Wrinkle in Time, the most terrible film I saw last year.

'The Mule' Is an Investing, Soulful Crime Drama

Due to the things I heard prior to watching The Mule, I went see this movie expecting it to be the kind of bad that can be fittingly enjoyed in an ironic manner.  To my surprise, I found it to be genuinely good – engrossing, well-paced, and soulful.

Fans Ought to See the Modern Retelling of 'Little Women'

Little Women is easily one of my most favorite IPs ever.  Not only have I read Louisa May Alcott’s original novel and its sequels countless of times since I was a kid, but I’ve gone out of my way to see many of its screen adaptations – the films from 1933, 1949, and 1994; the anime series from 1981 and the other anime series from 1987; and the year-end BBC mini-series in 2017.  And thus, it was only imperative for me to watch the latest one that came out in 2018.

This new Little Women movie is not like any of the previous adaptations, for it is a modern retelling.  This means its characters and major plot beats remain the same, but it’s set in our present time.  And for being this kind of novelty, it’s automatically something fans would want to check out.

'Mortal Engines' Deserves to Flop

Mortal Engines is a steampunk adventure film that is based on the YA novel of the same name.  It’s set in a future where an apocalyptic war ravaged the world, and somehow led the remnants of humanity to turn entire cities into gigantic, mobile vehicles.  This inevitability creates the philosophy of “Municipal Darwinism”, in which large “predator” cities hunt down and devour smaller cities to cannibalize their resources.

'Anna and the Apocalypse' Is a Delightfully Wacky Genre Mashup

Anna and the Apocalypse is a high school comedy drama film.  It’s a Christmas film.  It’s a musical.  It’s a zombie horror comedy.  It’s a weird combination of all those things.  And it works!

'Mary Poppins Returns' Plays It Safe

Mary Poppins Returns is the sequel to the beloved 1964 classic Mary Poppins.  It’s set more than two decades after the events of the first film, with the Banks siblings now adults.  Michael (Ben Wishaw) is working as a teller in the same bank his father worked for, while his older sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) is a labour organizer.  Financial difficulties force Michael to take a loan, and this eventually leads to the family home being put under the threat of getting repossessed by the bank.  As the Banks family faces this crisis, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt), Jane and Michael’s former nanny, returns and offers to ease the household hassle by becoming the nanny to Michael’s children (Pixie Davis, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson), who just lost their mother a year earlier.  With the lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) often in tow, Mary Poppins take the new generation of Banks children into a series of magical adventures.

Steven Caple Jr. Filled Ryan Coogler's Shoes Superbly in 'Creed II'

Creed II is the sequel to Creed (obviously), and is set three years after it.  With Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) on his side as trainer, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been on a winning streak since his loss in the first film.  His latest victory earns him the world heavyweight championship, but any celebration is cut short when he’s soon challenged by the formidable Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Rocky’s former rival Ivan Drago (Dolph Lugren).  Many years ago, Apollo Creed, Adonis’ father, died in an exhibition match with the elder Drago (see Rocky IV), and this detail is not lost on everyone.  With raging bad blood at play, a vicious battle is inevitable.

'Free Solo' Deserves That Oscar Win

Free Solo is the winner of the “Best Documentary Feature” award at the recently finished 91^st Academy Awards.  Three Identical Strangers is still my favorite documentary film of 2018, but Free Solo is indeed incredible and much deserving of its win.  The biographical documentary film chronicles American rock climber Alex Honnold as he prepares and attempts conducting a free solo climb of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot vertical granite rock formation in Yosemite National Park.  If he succeeds, he would be the first one to ever do it.

'My Hero Academia: Two Heroes' Isn't Exactly a Must-Watch

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (a.k.a. Boku no Hero Academia the Movie: Two Heroes) is the first movie of the My Hero Academia franchise.  It is set between season two and season three of the anime series – during the summer vacation.  It follows main protagonist Izuku Midoriya a.k.a. Deku as he accompanies All Might to I-Island – an artificial, mobile, state-of-the-art island where the world’s best scientists live, conduct Quirk-related researches, and develop gadgets and technologies that will aid heroes.

'Liz and the Blue Bird' Is a Technically Masterful Arthouse Anime

Liz and the Blue Bird is a spin-off film of the anime series Sound! Euphonium.  However, the main characters of Sound! Euphonium only have cameos in it, for the focus of the film is on two of their bandmates who are mostly found in the background of the show – the reserved oboist Mizore and the outgoing flutist Nozomi.  The story follows these two girls, who have been inseparable best friends for a long time, as they deal with the impending end of high school – an occasion that may finally lead them to head toward separate paths.

'Overlord' Is a Terrific Genre Offering

At one point, Overlord was reported to be the fourth Cloverfield installment.  However, months before its release, it was officially announced that it would be its own thing – completely unrelated to Cloverfield.  My guess is that the initial intention was for it to be part of the Cloverfield series, but the eventual business decision was to not push through with it, so that it could be distanced from the lukewarm reception of The Cloverfield Paradox (which is, for the record, a movie I actually liked).  In the end, tying it up with Cloverfield or not wouldn’t have mattered.  Either way, it would have turned out being terrific.

'Mirai' Is Wonderfully Whimsical

Yep.  The hype was real.  Mirai no Mirai (literally translated into English as Mirai of the Future), or just Mirai, is the best anime film of 2018.  And if I had seen it last year, it would have had a place within the top ten of my annual favorite movies list.

'Burning' Pays Well in Return for What It Demands

After several worthwhile Korean films grabbed my eyeballs in the prior two years, it’s a bit surprising that not one was able to do so in 2018 (actually, 2018 was also not a good year for K-drama for me; only watched one).  I did read and hear good things about Burning, which is being widely praised as the best Korean film of 2018, but I had no chance of seeing it last year.  It was only recently that I finally get to watch it.

'The Girl in the Spider’s Web' Falls a Bit Short on Grit and Thoughtfulness

The Girl in the Spider’s Web is the fifth film of the Millennium franchise.  It serves as a loose sequel to the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as well as a reboot of the movie series.  Moreover, unlike the previous film adaptations which were based on the original Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, this film’s source material is the novel of the same name written by David Lagercrantz, who was commissioned by the publisher to continue the series after Larsson’s death.

Top 10 Memorable Movie Moments of 2018

From all of what I saw from 2018 cinema, here are the top ten moments that had been most memorable to me.

Honorable Mentions: the Brachiosaurus’ death scene (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Cash raps in his boss Steve’s party (Sorry to Bother You), Disney Princesses save Ralph (Ralph Breaks the Internet), Teen Titans time travel to prevent and then un-prevent the origins of superheroes (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies)

10.) Giant Oprah

Let’s start with an unforgettable moment for the wrong reasons.  A Wrinkle in Time was probably the worst movie I saw in 2018.  And there’s one thing from it that I will never forget (or two, if we count the most insufferable child actor/character in movie history): the hilariously terrifying image of gargantuan Oprah – a most unsettling titan this side of, well, Attack on Titan.

'Bumblebee' Nails What a 'Transformers' Live-Action Film Should Be

The Transformers movie series has the reputation of being bad.  And thus, when a spin-off Bumblebee movie was announced, nobody was expecting much of it.  Certainly, it must be just another half-assed attempt of a cash-grab, right?  However, when I saw the trailer, I was surprised because it actually looked good.  Thus, it became a movie that I anticipated for.  Having just watched it, I can say it’s the best Transformers live-action film we’ve ever had.

'Bohemian Rhapsody' Rocks

Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic about Freddie Mercury and the legendary rock band that he fronted for, Queen.  Focusing on the period from 1970 to 1985, the film explores the band’s inception, their rise to fame, the creative processes behind some of their greatest hits (most especially “Bohemian Rhapsody”), Freddie’s relationship with his family and lovers, and a few other storylines, which then culminates with their iconic Live Aid set.

'Once Upon a Deadpool' Didn't Deserve a Theatrical Release

Deadpool 2 has had three cuts at this point: the theatrical cut, the “Super Duper” cut (which has a few additional scenes – most notably a post-credit scene in which Deadpool tries to murder a baby Hitler – and some alternate gags), and Once Upon a Deadpool, a PG-13 cut that was released in theaters.  I’ve just seen the last one, and it’s essentially Deadpool 2, just with the blood, gore, and most of the profanities edited out.  And since I already reviewed Deadpool 2, there’s really no need to make a thorough review of Once Upon a Deadpool.

'Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie' Is a Quintessential John Constantine Tale

Constantine: City of Demons, in its initial form, was a CW Seed web series that was somewhat connected to the Arrowverse.  Each of its first season’s five episodes is just 6-7 minutes long, and collectively, the episodes essentially covered the first act.  In my review for it, my bottomline asserts that it would have been much better if it had been released as a DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) installment instead.  Well, the powers that be probably realized this as well.  Thus, instead of releasing further seasons in such format, they repackaged the series and released it as a feature-length animated movie instead.  And since it’s a standalone story in the first place, whose only connection to the Arrowverse is that its John Constantine is voiced by the same actor that plays the Arrowverse’s live-action version (Matt Ryan), and since its character design for Constantine is the same as Justice League Dark’s (and who is also voiced by Matt Ryan), it was easy to be retconned as part of the DCAMU.

'Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms' Is a Moving High Fantasy Drama Anime Film

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms is an anime film set in a fantasy world where a tribe called the Iorph lives.  Their lifetime is considerably longer than that of normal human beings; an Iorph remains looking like a teenager even though he or she is already hundreds of years old.  Because of their remarkable nature, they choose to live far from other humans, and spend their lives weaving a special fabric called “Hibiol,” which chronicles history through the passage of time as textile patterns.

The focus of the plot is the titular Maquia, a young Iorph girl who gets separated from her people when dragon riders from the neighboring imperialistic kingdom of Mezarte invade their village in order to exploit the Iorph.  While wandering through the forest, she stumbles upon a caravan ambushed by bandits, and the only survivor is a bawling baby boy in the embrace of his murdered mother.  Falling in love with the baby, she decides to take him in, and gives him the name “Ariel.”