Top 10 Movies of 2018

One of my most popular blog features is back for another year!  This list is the top 10 movies I'm most excited for in the upcoming year.  I had a hard time shortening my list of movies down to 10 this year because there a ton of movies coming out that I'm interested in.  But it had to be done, so here are my top 10 movies of 2018!

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story (5/25)
To be honest, the only reason this movie is this far down on my list is because it sounds like the people that made it don't even like it.  Disney has already written it off as a loss, and that can't be good coming from a proven money-maker like Star Wars.  We'll see if it is really that bad in May, but I'm hoping to be entertained.

9. Venom (10/5)
Bane gets a symbiote!  Tom Hardy will play Eddie Brock in this movie, and he will don the evil space goop.  It's going to be weird having a Venom movie without Spider-Man, but we'll see what happens when this movie releases later this year.

8. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (12/14)
An animated Spider-Man movie covering one of the best Spider-Man comic arcs in recent years?  Yes please.

7. Ant-Man and the Wast (7/6)
Ant-Man is back!  I loved the first Ant-Man movie, and this movie should be no different.  Evangeline Lilly will don the Wasp suit for the first time, and the micro-shenanigans her and Paul Rudd get into should be fun.

6. Black Panther (2/16)
The first MCU movie of the year kicks off with a trip to Wakanda.  I am so excited for this movie, and many people believe T'Challa's story is long overdue.  This should be an exciting outing that sets the stage for the biggest Marvel movie in history.

5. Insidious: The Last Key (1/5)
This movie is already out, and critics have said it's the best Insidious movie since the original.  A couple horror podcasts have panned it, but I'm excited to get an Elise-driven story.  I can't wait to take another trip into the Further.

4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (6/22)
Another Jurassic Park movie, just in time for my birthday!  The trailer for this movie looked epic, and I'm excited to see if Blue remembers Chris Pratt, or if he's going to lose an arm.

3. Deadpool 2 (5/18)
Of course the Merc with a Mouth is on my list!  Deadpool was one of my favorite movies in 2016, and I've been looking forward to the sequel.  I hope this one is just as fun as the original, and I'm sure they will up the ante when this movie hits theaters.

2. Avengers: Infinity War (5/4)
This is the movie that we've all been waiting for.  Since 2008's Iron Man, the MCU has been leading towards an all-out war with Thanos.  This year we'll finally see the Mad Titan don the Infinity Gauntlet and lay waste to the entire universe.  This is just the first part of the story, so it'll be interesting to see where the MCU goes from here.

1. Halloween (10/19)
The only thing that could beat out the biggest Marvel movie on my list is the return of my favorite horror franchise.  I am so excited for this movie.  I love every single Halloween movie, no matter how bad they are (and I will not stop defending Rob Zombie's 2007 remake).  In a surprising twist, Jamie Lee Curtis will be returning in this film as Laurie Strode, because she apparently didn't actually die in Halloween: Resurrection.  And she has a daughter!  Which also means that Halloween: H20 didn't happen.  Don't think too hard about the chronology of these movies.

Thanks for reading!  What movie are you most looking forward to in 2018?  Let me know in the comments below!

A Look Back at My Top 10 Movies of 2017

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about the 10 movies I was most looking forward to during 2017.  And now at the end of the year, I'll look back at those movies and see if I really liked them as much as I thought I would.  I always rate movies I watch on IMDb, so my rating will be in parenthesis next to the movie title.

And it should go without saying, but beware of spoilers!

10. Logan (8/10)
This movie was the perfect way to end Logan's story.  I really enjoyed the take on an aging Wolverine, and Hugh Jackman once again delivered a wonderful performance for what may be the final time.  I ended up waiting until December to see this movie, but I am glad I finally watched it.

9. Annabelle Creation (9/10)
I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the filmmakers did a good job at taking care of some of the crappy stuff from Annabelle, and I liked the vibe from the isolated house.  I felt like this was a pretty good entry into the Conjuring universe.

8. Thor Ragnarok (10/10)
I'll be honest: I think Thor Ragnarok may be my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date.  I loved everything about it.  The comedy was great, the characters were great; everything about it was great.  I'm excited to see where Thor goes in Avengers: Infinity War.

7. Insidious Chapter 4
This movie didn't actually come out this year, but it'll be out in January.  Check back later, because this movie will definitely be on my list of movies for 2018.

6. The Dark Tower (9/10)
Was this movie true to the books? No.  But it was fun, and that's all I really look for in a movie.  And technically it was a sequel to the books by Stephen King, so that's how they got around making something that wasn't really a Dark Tower movie.

5. Power Rangers (10/10)
I loved this movie.  I enjoyed the new take on the Rangers, but it still had nods to the original series.  The original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme song was a nice touch, and it was cool to see original Rangers Kimberly and Jason with cameos in the film.  I'll also look past the whole "Megazord is built by love and friendship while burning up in a fire thing" too.

4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (9/10)
I loved The Last Jedi.  I don't know what all the hate is about online, but I really enjoyed another trip to a galaxy far, far away.  The ending of the movie was perfect, and I believe it will set up for a very interesting finale to this new trilogy.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (9/10)
I had such a great time watching this movie.  Baby Groot's antics throughout the whole movie put a huge smile on my face that stayed there the whole time.  I thought it would be hard to follow up the original, but Chris Pratt and company proved they could pull it off.

2. IT (10/10)
This was my favorite movie of the year, hands-down.  I loved it.  I've been a fan of the book and the TV miniseries from the 90s ever since I was a kid, and this movie was true to the source material.  The Loser's Club was perfect, as was Bill Skarsgard's portrayal of Pennywise.  He was equal parts creepy and funny and weird.  I loved every minute, and I can't wait to see the sequel.

1. Spider-Man Homecoming (10/10)
I loved this movie, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.  I just felt like something was missing, and I still can't quite put my finger on what was missing from Spider-Man's first solo entry into the MCU.  It was still a better movie than any of the Tobey Maguire films (I still love Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man films).  I'm interested to see where they take the character in Infinity War and beyond.

That's my list! What movie was your favorite of 2017?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Movies: 2017 Edition

A new year has begun, and with it come a whole slew of new movies.  This list features the top ten movies I'm most looking forward to in the coming year.  So let's get started!

(Editor's note: the release dates in parenthesis include links to the respective film's page on IMDb.)

10. Logan (March 3)

Power Rangers

This is it.  One final ride with Hugh Jackman as everyone's favorite Canadian with a metal skeleton.  I can't wait to see what an R-rated Wolverine movie looks like because the character lends itself so well to the rating.  Thankfully, Deadpool showed us that an R-rated superhero movie, when done well, can drag all the nerds to the theater (I saw the movie in theaters twice).  I can't wait for Jackman's swan song as Wolverine.

9. Annabelle 2 (August 11)
I make it pretty clear that I love horror movies, right?  There has been such a resurgence in good horror lately, we've all been spoiled.  Annabelle was one of the best horror movies in recent memory, and the sequel should be good as well.  I can't wait to see my second-favorite creepy doll make her return to the silver screen.  Sorry Annabelle, Chucky is still the king.

8. Thor: Ragnarok (November 3)
Thor is my least-favorite Avenger, but I'll still be seeing this movie opening night nonetheless.  I'm very excited to see how they work the Hulk angle into this movie, especially since props have leaked that point towards a Planet Hulk-themed setup. 

7. Insidious: Chapter 4 (October 20)
Insidious is definitely my favorite horror franchise in recent memory.  I loved the first two, and the third film kicked it up another notch and was legitimately scary.  The same creative team is coming back together for this film, and it still features everyone's favorite ghost hunter Elise.

6. The Dark Tower (July 28)
Stephen King's epic series is finally coming to the big screen, and I couldn't be more excited.  While it's going to stray a little from the books, I'm perfectly alright with the creative choices they're making.  I can't wait to see Roland Deschain and The Man in Black in theaters.  I read these books when I was in high school, and I've been waiting ever since to see them made into a movie.

5. Power Rangers (March 24)
The Power Rangers were literally my childhood.  Being a 90's kid, I grew up watching different iterations of Rangers kicking butt on TV.  I was born the same year Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers debuted on TV, and I grew up adoring the Green Ranger, Tommy.  While he's not in this movie, the other original rangers will be.  I can't wait to see how they portray these characters, and hopefully the movie is great.  Even if it does turn out poorly, it still couldn't be as bad as the original movie with Ivan Ooze.

IT

4. Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15)
The Force Awakens was awesome.  Rogue One was awesome.  I have no doubt that Episode VIII will be awesome as well.  I can't wait to see what happens now that Luke has been found and Rey will start her training.  Also, more BB-8 is always a good thing.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (May 5)
Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I can't wait to see what the sequel holds.  The first trailer for the movie looks amazing.  Plus, just look at how cute and awesome baby Groot is!

2. IT (September 8)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

IT was one of my favorite movies when I was little, and it's became one of my favorite books as well.  This movie is the reason my sister is afraid of clowns, because I showed it to her when she was little in a genuine act of brotherly love.  They're splitting this one up into two movies to properly cover all 1,081 pages of Stephen King's epic.  Pennywise looks amazing, and before I even see it, I know this movie could be my favorite of the year.

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7)
I. Can't. Wait.  Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character of all time, and I've been waiting for the character to be done "right," and this looks like it'll be perfect.  Tom Holland looks like he's going to finally bring the quintessential Spider-Man story to the big screen.  I remember sitting in the theater during Civil War's big fight scene and, while Giant Man is on screen, thinking that the real Spider-Man would make an "Empire Strikes Back" reference.  And then he did. I fell in love, and I got more excited for this movie than I thought I ever could.

Those are my top ten movies of the coming year; what movies are you most looking forward to?  Let me know in the comments below.

Review: Top 10 Movies of 2015

At the beginning of the year, I counted down the top 10 movies I was most looking forward to in 2015.  Now that the new year has begun, I decided to look back at how great (or crappy) that list was, along with a quick little review about each movie and my personal IMDb rating.  Let's go!

10. Inside Out
Rating: 9/10
I really liked this movie.  It was really cute and I liked all the actors they casted for the characters.  This movie also gets bonus points for putting Lewis Black in a Disney movie.

9. Poltergeist

Ant-Man!

Rating: 8/10
I actually really liked this movie.  I saw it twice in theaters for some reason.  The only problem with the movie was that the family is completely unlikeable.  They're actually kind of giant dicks.  In fact, when everything starts going down, I realized that I didn't care about this family at all.  I bought the extended version when it came out because I was sure it would make me care about them.  Nope, still dicks.

8. Insurgent
Rating: 9/10
I thought this movie was really fun, and a good sequel to Divergent.  It took me awhile to see it, but I loved it once I did.  Maybe next year I'll actually see the new one in theaters.

7. Fantastic Four
Rating: 4/10
There are not enough words to describe how much I hated this movie.  I could easily pick apart the thrown-together story, the obvious re-shot scenes, the A-list actors phoning in their performances, and so on.  Instead, I will say one thing to Fox: please give the Fantastic Four back to Marvel.  This movie sucked hard.  I didn't pay to see this movie and I still wanted my money back. 

6. Friday the 13th
Rating: NA
Alright, I guess I jumped the gun on this one.  Now IMDb says it's coming out January 13, 2017.  I'll let you know.

5. Insidious: Chapter 3
Rating: 8/10
I loved this movie.  It was the scariest of all three Insidious films, and I loved every minute of it.  I especially liked the ending, but I won't spoil it here.  It was fun to see how Elise got involved with Tucker and Specs.

4. Jurassic World
Rating: 9/10
This movie was great.  It was a great return to the franchise, and it felt the same as the original.  Sure there were some major plot holes, but I'm willing to look past the fact that the Jeep from the original movie was able to start by just replacing the battery.  It was fantastic, and Chris Pratt can keep popping up in franchises because it works.  Plus the T-Rex from the original is a bonus.

3. Ant-Man
Rating: 10/10

BB-8 rolled his way into our hearts.

This movie was one of my favorite movies I saw this year.  No one believes me when I tell them it's one of my favorite Marvel movies, but it really is.  Sure, it's literally Iron Man with "Iron" replaced by "Ant," but it was great anyways.  Ant-Man is up there with Guardians of the Galaxy in my book.  I can't wait to see what Marvel does in the future with Scott Lang.

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Rating: 9/10
I don't know why, but I felt kind of "eh" after seeing this movie.  I still can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about it, but there was just something that was holding it back for me.  I still loved it, and the death of [redacted for spoilers] was absolutely terrible.  But seriously, Civil War though.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Rating: 10/10
This movie was my favorite of 2015.  There was a ton of hype surrounding the movie, but it totally lived up to it.  I loved it so much, and I am going to see it more than a few times in theaters.  I went on opening night, and it was absolutely amazing.  See it if you haven't yet.  Plus it has BB-8!! I love that little ball droid so much. So, so much.

What did you think of my list? Be sure to stay tuned to the blog in the next few weeks for my Top 10 movies of 2016!

Top 10 Movies of 2015

The new year is here, and one of my most popular blog features is back -- the 10 movies I'm most looking forward to in 2015!  Along with the list, the release dates for the movies will take you to their respective pages on IMDb.

10. Inside Out (June 15, 2015)
Inside Out will be this year's movie from Disney Pixar.  I love everything Disney and Pixar put out, and this one looks like it's going to be pretty funny.  Plus this will bring Lewis Black into a Disney movie, which is the strangest pairing on this list.

9. Poltergeist (July 24, 2015)
So apparently they are remaking 1982's Poltergeist.  There's no poster or anything up on IMDb yet, so I'm not quite sure if it's going to happen.  Although, Sam Raimi, director of the original Evil Dead and the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man, is attached to the project, so it should be good if it does happen.

8. Insurgent (March 20, 2015)
So my girlfriend finally forced me to watch Divergent in December.  I really thought it was going to be stupid like Twilight, but it actually turned out to be pretty awesome.  I absolutely loved it, and I really can't wait to see the sequel.

7. Fantastic Four (August 7, 2015)
I haven't seen the original Fantastic Four in awhile, and I don't even think I've ever seen Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but my recollection is that they both kind of stink.  Hopefully this one is a little bit better, and if it follows every other superhero movie that has come out in the past few years, it should be.

6. Friday the 13th (November 13, 2015)
This movie is probably even less likely to come out in 2015 than Poltergeist.  IMDb says the movie is still "in development," which is basically movie speak for "not gonna happen anytime soon."  If it does come out this year, I'll be in the theater on opening night.  I love a good slasher horror movie.

5. Insidious: Chapter 3 (June 5, 2015)
Insidious was one of the best horror movies I've seen in the past few years.  And Insidious: Chapter 2 was a really cool place to take the franchise.  I'm really excited to see how this prequel turns out.

4. Jurassic World (June 12, 2015)
This movie looks crazy.  All of a sudden Chris Pratt has started popping up in everything awesome, and this movie should be another one.  The trailer looked crazy, and I've always loved the Jurassic Park franchise. 

3. Ant-Man (July 17, 2015)
When this movie was announced, it got about the same reaction of "WTF" as Guardians of the Galaxy.  But it's a Marvel movie, so it should be absolute gold.  I'm really excited to see it in the summer, and it has Paul Rudd, so you know it'll be funny.

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015)
Seriously, this is obviously one of the movies I'm most looking forward to in 2015.  I can't wait to see Ultron up on the big screen, and it is going to get crazy.  I always look forward to the next movie in the Avengers series, so I've been looking forward to this since Guardians of the Galaxy in August.

1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (December 18, 2015)
This movie being my top movie of 2015 is a no-brainer.  I loved Star Wars as a kid, and I even loved Episode I when it came out.  Of course, as I grew up I realized what a monster Jar-Jar was, but this one is going to be amazing.  I seriously can't wait until December.

Thanks for reading!  Leave a comment below with the movies you are most looking forward to in 2015.