2018 Watch List
Annotated list of movies I watched for the first time in 2018
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26 titles
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsCharlotte RamplingTom CourtenayGeraldine JamesA married couple preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary receives shattering news that promises to forever change the course of their lives.The acting was magnificent, but of course that's to be expected with Rampling and Courtenay. My only complaint was that everything was so subtle and restrained, it came very close to being boring.
- DirectorThomas Della BellaStarsTodd LoweBrooke ButlerHannah NordbergWhen a family moves into an old Victorian home, they discover a chest in the attic containing antiques inhabited by an evil spirit. As the antiques slowly possess each family member, the spirit grows stronger.Not the greatest horror film I've seen recently, but it was fairly watchable. You expect a certain amount of cliche in all horror film and literature, but this had a little more than I like. Still - it had good atmosphere and some scenes were actually scary. So, four stars out of ten seems just about right.
- DirectorMark JeanStarsKellie MartinKavan SmithErin PittTwo years after her husband dies in a sudden accident, Annie and her two children are left to cope with the loss.Very cute movie - easy to watch and pretty entertaining. Nowhere near as saccharine as I expected.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.I'm giving this three stars mainly because some of the music wasn't terrible. Otherwise, I just really didn't see the point of this one.
- DirectorRitesh BatraStarsJim BroadbentCharlotte RamplingHarriet WalterA man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsCedric HardwickeVincent PriceNan GreyThe owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.It would seem highly unlikely that I've never seen this before now. Thought I'd seen all those invisible man movies from the 1930s and '40s. But I watched it last night and didn't remember any of it, so I'm including it here. Very entertaining; in fact, I think I might have enjoyed it more than the original Claude Rains film, or at least as much.
- DirectorJames WanStarsVera FarmigaPatrick WilsonMadison WolfeEd and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
- DirectorRobin SwicordStarsBryan CranstonJennifer GarnerVictoria BrunoA lawyer on the edge of madness decides to disassociate himself from his own life.I'm a huge Bryan Cranston fan, and never figured a film could have TOO MUCH Cranston. I was wrong. Not sure how this one has gotten such a high rating. Really, it was seriously boring.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRicardo MontalbanSally ForrestBruce BennettA small-town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor after the discovery of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.
- DirectorPhil ClaydonStarsMichael VartanErin MoriartyNadine VelazquezA widower moves into a seemingly perfect new home with his daughter and new wife.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsHumphrey BogartAlexis SmithSydney GreenstreetAn engineer trapped in an unhappy marriage murders his wife in the hope of marrying her younger sister.Surprised I've never seen this one before. It's very much like the later film "The Two Mrs. Carrolls," also pairing Bogart and Alexis Smith. I always think of Alexis Smith as cool and sophisticated; it's a little strange seeing her cast as the ingenue. Not the most thrilling thriller, but definitely worth seeing, if only to watch Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet, back together again.
- DirectorMark LevinsonStarsDavid KaplanFabiola GianottiSherwood BoehlertAs the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time -- or perhaps their greatest failure.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsLoretta YoungTyrone PowerAdolphe MenjouIn Paris, a young American is in debt to a nightclub owner who forces him to woo an heiress in hopes of reaping her fortune.
- DirectorFarren BlackburnStarsNaomi WattsCharlie HeatonJacob TremblayA widowed child psychologist lives an isolated existence in rural New England. Caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.The description of this film made me expect some supernatural elements, but it's really not that kind of spooky. They also call it a heart-pounding thriller, but my heart didn't pound. It's certainly nerve-wracking, though, and the twisty ending was good -- I actually did not see that coming.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsLon Chaney Jr.Dick ForanJohn HubbardThe ancient Egypt Mummy, Kharis, is transported from his homeland with the high priest Mehemet to wreak vengeance on the family who has defiled the sacred tomb of his beloved Princess Ananka.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsVicky KriepsDaniel Day-LewisLesley ManvilleSet in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.Some fine performances here, but the story was a little "meh" -- you know? The costumes were definitely the best thing about this one.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChôko IidaHôhi AokiEitarô OzawaA young boy follows Tashiro home to his tenement housing complex on the outskirts of Tokyo, the boy who was separated from his carpenter father somehow and somewhere in Kudan. All Tashiro knows is that the boy and his father came to town from Chigasaki that morning. Despite Tashiro's want to house the kid until they decide what to do more permanently, Tashiro's roommate, Tamekichi, the tenement's head, won't let the kid stay, not liking children and not wanting to get involved. So Tashiro foists the kid onto their neighbor, the widowed Tane, who too protests, she also not liking children and not wanting to get involved. Tane treats the boy with disdain, which only increases by the next morning due to an overnight incident. Amongst the tenement residents, Tane is charged with going to Chigasaki to see if she can find the father or find out what happened to him. On that trip, what she learns by putting the pieces of the story together is that the father purposefully abandoned the boy as he went off to look for work. This news does not change Tane's outlook or poor treatment of the boy. Nothing changes as the week progresses, however Tane's outlook takes a one hundred eighty degree turn when there is the possibility that she may never see the boy again.One of the finest Ozu films I've seen. This could be his masterpiece.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel CraigRachel WeiszNaomi WattsSoon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home, a family learns of a brutal crime committed against former residents of the dwelling.A little too convoluted for a thriller -- I had some trouble keeping track of all the whos and whens and whys of this tale. But when the major twist was revealed, it turned out to be something that I hadn't actually been anticipating. This one was more entertaining than I expected.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.A+ for whimsy and inter-species romance. F for too much gore.
- DirectorTom FordStarsAmy AdamsJake GyllenhaalMichael ShannonA wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.One of those "so what?" movies. There were some good performances -- actually, it was sort of a waste of an excellent cast; but in the end, I just got very bored with all the angst and the jumping back and forth in time/place. Very impressed with Michael Shannon, though.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTye SheridanOlivia CookeBen MendelsohnWhen the creator of a virtual reality called the OASIS dies, he makes a posthumous challenge to all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune and control of his world.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsMichael FassbenderRebecca FergusonCharlotte GainsbourgDetective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.
- DirectorSeth HoltMichael CarrerasStarsAndrew KeirValerie LeonJames VilliersAn archaeological expedition brings back to London the coffin of an Egyptian queen known for her magical powers. Her spirit returns in the form of a young girl and strange things start to happen.
- DirectorAlex WrightStarsScottie ThompsonRyan PaeveyErica TremblayDivorced Sydney inherits a house from her grandma. Seeing it with her 8 y.o. daughter, she stops at the bookstore and meets a single teacher there. She ends up helping out there for the Christmas season.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsPaul LukasAlison SkipworthDonald CookAfter socialite Lynn Llewellyn receives an anonymous threat, he is poisoned at his uncle's casino, and although he recovers, his wife is murdered by the same killer.