As I post the final 2018 list of the last ten films I watched, I thought I’d add an additional wrinkle to this exercise, which I’ll do going forward: As well as including the director and where/how I saw the film, I’ll add some other thoughts and details to the roundup.

For me, one of the fun things about doing this is that I get clued in to films I’ve never heard of and I get continuing insight into the tastes of the people that post their lists below as well. As someone that makes films and writes/talks about them and publicizes them, I am more frequently reflecting on the fact that my love of film permeates everything I do. My house’s walls are covered with posters and film stills. There is memorabilia everywhere. I am very much a fan as well as an analyst and critic and creator, and even this very basic – but fun (for me) exercise should have more to it than just a list of titles.

So, here we go, sending off 2018…

This list incorporates some films that I learned about either on journalists end-of-year “these films were underrated” lists (BLACK ’47) or some Facebook discussion along the lines of “Have you seen this? You should check it out!” (PORNDEMIC). I exploited a free sample week of HBO and Showtime memberships to watch some films for free that I hadn’t yet caught (PADDINGTON 2, READY PLAYER ONE, JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS), had the dutiful Christmas film viewing late one night (A CHRISTMAS CAROL), and cracked open one of my Blu Ray gifts (RAMPAGE). And there’s more, of course.

New Years Eve Movie CROSSFIRE HURRICANE – Brett Morgen (DIR) (Netflix)

This was how I chose to bring in the New Year. With the Stones. Don’t know why, really? A couple hours going through the history, enjoying the music, wondering how deeply they would delve into what happened to Brian Jones (barely), Keith’s heroin thing (hilariously flippant) or anything else for that matter. It was like a cinematic victory lap. Totally weird since they produced the film, right?

CROSSFIRE HURRICANE

1 EQUALIZER 2 – Antoine Fuqua (DIR) (VOD)

You know, when you don’t want to think, don’t want to even have the remotest doubt how stuff will work out, just want to have Denzel (or the equivalent) go about his or her business taking down baddies, why not? I was amused that the final showdown hurricane set piece had all the mystery and risk of the DIRTY HARRY shooting range scene, but Did. Not. Matter. I just wanted Denzel to set his timer and take them down one by one. So…there. Satisfied.

THE EQUALIZER 2

2 PADDINGTON 2 – Paul King (DIR) (HBO)

So many critics lists telling me this one was more sublime and entertaining than your average bear.. Get it? Anyway, it was, in fact, very charming, inventive, and supremely entertaining. Fine, PADDINGTON cheerleaders, you were right. Now go have a marmalade sandwich and leave me alone.

PADDINGTON 2

3 READY PLAYER ONE – Steven Spielberg (DIR) (HBO)

HBO film #2. I obviously wasn’t in danger of hurting myself rushing to see this one and yet I enjoyed it quite a bit. Also couldn’t help myself but think it would be cool to have some kind of Spielberg/Mark Rylance versus Tarantino/Christoph Waltz tag team challenge of some sort, like a Pay-Per-View Cage Match armed with nothing but Super 8 cameras.

READY PLAYER ONE

4 JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS – Susan Lacy (DIR) (HBO)

Bored and decided I would do the trial run of an HBO streaming membership. This was first up on what they had to offer. And a great example of something I talk about a lot with types of documentaries: You think you know the subject, but you really have no fucking idea about the subject. REALLY would love to have Jane Fonda at one of my film festivals now. So much to talk about (when I already would have had so much to talk about)… The one word that comes to mind about her after watching this doc: LEGIT. She is it.

JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS

5 RAMPAGE – Brad Peyton (DIR) (DVD)

Got the DVD for Christmas. It was exactly the fun, ridiculousness you want to see after the present-opening hysteria after glow. The surprise for me was the not just the discovery it was based on a game, but that so many people were KA-RAZ-Y about this arcade game and wanted to work on the film because of it. I mean, I’m a Tetris guy, so I missed a lot of the other stuff while I was trying to clear rows of blocks, right?

RAMPAGE

6 PORNDEMIC – Spookie Daly (DIR) (Showtime)

My friend, director William Butler was talking about watching this on a Facebook thread, so I checked it out. I remember reading about this thing when it happened (A porn actor allegedly – we have to say “alleged” on the most technical levels – infected or caused the infection of half a dozen performers after faking his HIV-neative test result.) One dumb, selfish, fucker. Literally.

PORNDEMIC

7 ROMA – Alfonso Cuarón (DIR) (Netflix)

Again, because, of course. I appreciated it, but I also wasn’t inspired as much as a lot of critics were.

ROMA

8 A CHRSITMAS CAROL – Edwin L. Marin (DIR) (DVD)

The oldest, I believe, and only version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL I had not seen yet and frankly, probably the worst. I hate going negative, but seriously… Fucking SCROOGED had more pathos than this thing. The movie poster tag line should read “The Merriest Christmas Carol you’ll ever see! Dickens has never been more jaunty!” Wow.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

9 AQUAMAN – James Wan (DIR) (Theater)

Because, of course. Big, silly fun. How many moments were we going to have Jason Momoa do the slow “hero” turn into the camera? There are probably more on the director’s cut. Awesome spectacle, a whole new world, and Black Manta’s got the goods to be more than just a thorn in the side for the sequel…

AQUAMAN

10 BLACK ’47 – Lance Daly (DIR) (VOD)

I started off the “holiday viewing” with a film that was on someone’s “underrated of 2018” list. And BLACK ’47 justified being singled out. Really solid revenge thriller with single-minded dude that had been wronged, western-style but set in Ireland in the 1840s.

BLACK ’47