Aaron’s Superb Top Ten Films of 2018
It’s the end of another year, and for whatever difficulties there have been, I certainly had a lot of movies to consider for my year-end list of favorites. I had a lot of fun putting together this final top ten list, knowing full well the strong set of contenders. Given that I’ve watched around 200 2018 releases theatrically and via Netflix and Amazon Prime, there was a lot to narrow down from, but here we are. Some films were instant favorites for me, some grew in my opinion over time, and a few lost a bit of their luster as the year went on. All of that in mind, here is the set of films that resonated with me the most in my official list for the Top Ten Films of 2018, complete with runner-ups, honorable mentions, and more. (Reviews are linked when available and, as per usual, I’ve also linked lots of Easter Eggs in all of the pictures, so enjoy that as well.)
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Superb Top Ten Films of 2018’
This year was the first time since I started doing this ten years ago where my ‘worst of the year’ list was compiled before my ‘best of’. Both have since fluctuated with the titles on those lists, but the moral of the story is that while 2018 had some great films, I never felt it was a great year for films. In the final weekend before this article was due, I crammed in four theater visits in 48 hours for the most accurate top 10 list I could compile (unfortunately Vice came out too late to be viewed for this list). Little did I know three of those four wouldn’t even come close to making this list (sorry, Aquaman, I’m elated you finally got a film but it’s just too long and the Black Manta actor was awful). Nevertheless, the films that did make this were very worthy of my movie-loving appreciation for any number of reasons. As always, here’s my disclaimer that this list isn’t claiming each of these films are super artsy or award-worthy. Some of them will likely walk away with a Golden Globe or Oscar. Others are just definitive popcorn movies that were pure fun. Either way, it’s quite a mash-up of action, emotion and great storytelling.
For some reason I thought I would be last out of the Why So Blu? crew in terms of listing our Top-10 films of 2018. Nope! Looks like I’m first, so my selections are on deck. As is customary with my Top-10 list of films – I was not able to watch everything I wanted to before my cut-off date. I’m going to list my Top-10 selections in a streamlined fashion and I will omit any honorable mentions due to time and scheduling. You want a Top-10 list, well, that’s what you’re gonna get! Without further ado, let’s get busy! 
One of my favorite and most frustrating times of the movie writing season is the end of the year “TOP X” lists. They are a lot of fun, but also hurt the brain when trying to weed through all the releases and then put them in a specific order. When it came to 2018, the year was one full of significant and terrific upgrades of previously released titles. Whether it be the format jump to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray or a brand new Blu-ray release, the year showed that you’re doing more than just buying the same thing again for a new bonus feature. DVD and VHS brought about “double dipping” but in the case of standard Blu-ray, you’re actually getting an (ideally) improved picture and audio presentation to leap past your previous edition. It truly does fall under the term “upgrade”. New 4K and 2K scan restorations have yielded some impressive results and “fixed” many collector’s issues with the previous versions of a film. While us 4K Ultra-HD users pine for EVERYTHING to come to the format, many of the 4K restorations put on Blu-ray are keeping us satisfied with some of the smaller films for now. 
This year every time a new month came in, my money went out. I found an impressive array of discs released in 2018 and there was definitely some jockeying for position that took place with this list since mid-summer. For instance, DC Comics’ Justice League had been a mainstay on here until recently when one release after another pushed it off the list. Still, that film does have my favorite steelbook to date, but we’re not counting points for artwork here. We’re looking at quality of the production and the library of content. Extras aren’t the be all end all, but they can make or break a title entering this list so let’s see who made the cut.
As the years have passed, I have drifted significantly from video games and focused that time more on boardgaming. I just find the ability to use my imagination and the skill of critical thinking far more engaging in something like Terraforming Mars or Memoir ’44 as opposed to the button mashing of Mortal Kombat or the run ‘n gun of Call of Duty. Nevertheless, there is that occasional title of pixel fun that just captures my attention and won’t let go. Whereas last year that honor went to the DC Comics street fighting game Injustice 2, this year just happens to be another comic book-influenced title. No, that is not a requirement. It’s just that this game was done so incredibly well, I almost want to use the word ‘perfect’ in describing it.
Over a decade ago, Why So Blu founder Brian White brought to my attention a website based out of Winnipeg that did reviews of recently released Blu-rays. When he asked the lone admin of that site how he accumulates the material to write about, Brian was rather surprised to learn that the film studios send them out. “Do you send them back when you’re done?” The answer was a simple ‘no’. As the gears started turning in Brian’s head, his love for movies started dating a knack for writing and it wasn’t long after that the two got married.
Whereas 2018 was not the best year for films (in my humble opinion), it proved to be an exceptional year for comics. The world of Spider-Man saw one massive tie-in after another between the PS4 game, the upcoming animated film and the Spider-Geddon series. Valiant did a slight but impactful retooling of its popular Ninjak series, now referring to him as Ninja-K, the eleventh assassin of his kind (A through K) in Her Majesty’s service. DC made their own statement with the Drowned Earth story arc, establishing the importance and strength of Aquaman as the half-Atlantean, half-human gets ready for his own feature film later this month. Long story short (too late), there was no shortage of entertainment from comic book publishers these past twelve months. You’ll see some familiarity from last year on this article and a few new titles that are certainly worth checking out. After all, why else would they be on this list?
Usually when any of my four favorite bands release a new studio album, I get a little excited. When three of the four release new albums in the same year, I climb to the roof and do repeated backflips off the chimney. Such was the case this year as Dave Matthews Band, Daughtry and Imagine Dragons all gave the public something new to rock to in 2018. Since my biggest regret was not addressing each release individually as they occurred, you now get them bundled and gift-wrapped in this neat little article. Please hold the applause until later. We’ve got some music to talk about!
On September 25th, Lionsgate will release John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece, Halloween, onto the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format for the first time. Halloween, like some other popular vintage horror properties (The Evil Dead, for instance), has long been part of a running gag with multiple re-releases on home video having many fans coining the phrase “double dipping.” Rolling their eyes with every new edition, questioning how much the cow has left to offer while subserviently forking over money to have the most current version available. With the first jump to the most current format on the horizon, I thought it would be the right time (And fun) to take a look back at the Haddonfield, IL home video catalog. What studios have once given us the shape of horror? What made certain releases worth purchasing, even if you already owned it in the same format? Join me as we take a look back and see some items that may have once haunted your shelves. 
So far I’ve found 2018 for comic books to be the complete opposite for the year’s movies. For instance, my top 10 films of the year list is looking rather bleak while my comics list is abundant with top tier stories. Hey, keep ’em coming! I’d rather have a top 10 list that is forever changing as opposed to one that is stagnant and empty. These titles have proven to be attention grabbers with great stories and great art that just don’t stop…unless it’s a mini-series, then, you know, that’s pretty finite. The titles in this group each have their own unique characteristics that put them on the list as recommended reading. Here are five comic book titles for 2018 that you shouldn’t be passing up.
This past February, Marvel let the cat out of the bag. To be honest, a more specific interpretation is Marvel unleashed a panther from its cage. Directed by Oakland’s own Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed), Black Panther didn’t merely flex its muscles at the box office nor did it scratch and claw its way to the top. On the contrary, it was more like a complete obliteration of the competition. Domestically the film grossed just under $700 million. Globally it brought in just over $1.3 billion…with a ‘b’…billion. Not a lot of films are able to stake a claim to that kind of accomplishment. Still, the money and the ticket sales are just side-stories to what Coogler and this film truly achieved. What I saw as a super hero movie turned out to be something much greater to a lot more people.
There will always be a debate as to who likes which Star Wars film more, why their opinion should be validated and what we all would have changed in whichever film. We all have different tastes and varying points of view on the movies. Honestly, I no longer feel the need to tell anyone why I love Attack of the Clones or Return of the Jedi. I’ve found such discussions often go nowhere, especially when someone says they dislike The Last Jedi because of porgs or the fact that Laura Dern’s Holdo character is in a gown. If that’s how you judge a film, I’d stay away from movies in general. However, as time has gone on, the criticism tossed around Star Wars content has gone outside of the realm of scenes or character actions. Rather, it has become nothing short of vile as some so called “fans” have verbally attacked anyone associated with the films on a grand scale.
DC has a massive library of characters to its credit. Some, like Batman (of course), are so successful that there is never a need to shelve the character in any form in comics. Then you have others like Plastic Man which disappear for years at a time, and are then brought back fresh and revamped. Finally, there are those super heroes that are commonly found in the pages of DC Comics, but for some reason or another, disappear for a short time and finally make a big splash in their return. This is certainly the case for Carter Hall, better known as the mace-wielding, sky-soaring hero known as Hawkman.
Hey, what’s a sports article doing here? Well, we are an entertainment website and some things just don’t entertain the way pro sports do. Case in point, the Vegas Golden Knights. I remember a few years ago when I first heard the NHL will be expanding again with the possible locations for a team being Seattle, Washington, Hamilton, Ontario, Toronto, Ontario (yes, a second team there) and Las Vegas, Nevada. Having someone rival the Maple Leafs in the same town seemed highly unlikely, and honestly, quite ludicrous. Hamilton recently had the Bulldogs of the AHL, but that’s a location that didn’t strike me as being big enough to support an NHL team. Seattle seemed the most likely of all, yet they wouldn’t be the one awarded a franchise team for the 2017-18 season. That left Las Vegas as the one holding all the cards.
Most of us have had a chance to see Disney’s latest installation in the Star Wars franchise by now. Solo: A Star Wars Story recently arrived in theaters after a well-documented production period littered with turbulence. The original director tandem of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) were fired after Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy didn’t like where they were headed with the Han Solo film. Ron Howard stepped in, did a bunch of reshoots, and viola! Success! Right? The film opened to a less than spectacular $103 million in its 4-day opening weekend and dropped 65% in its second weekend. What went wrong? Let’s take a closer look as to why Solo is by itself in the realm of Star Wars’ performances at the box office.
