The days of the Michael Bay Transformers movies is over. Bumblebee is a breath of fresh air, a heartfelt adventure from start to finish. It’s ET meets The Iron Giant.
On the run in the year of 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.
You know that old saying right. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Well, what about five times? Okay, maybe just four. But since 2007 we have gotten five Transformers movies, all of which haven’t been met with the most positive reviews. The problem was, these movies were the definition of box-office gold. Gold Jerry, gold! The world had finally had enough after Transformers: The Last Knight, which bombed at the box-office, the studio execs over at Paramount decided it was time for a change. I’ll admit that I really enjoy the first Transformers and think it still holds up, but after four really bad sequels, I believe it kind of gets looped in with the rest of them. This isn’t about those movies, not anymore, it’s now about everyone’s second favorite Autobot, Bumblebee.
When the screen faded to black after all the previews and commercials, we are instantly transported to Cybertron, and let me tell you this. Not only is this the best opening scene of any movie in 2018, but it could be the best movie sequence in 2018. It’s everything us fans have wanted since 2007, it was Transformers perfection. Seriously I can’t stress enough how incredible the first 15 minutes of Bumblebee is. Travis Knight is responsible for directing this new addition to the Transformers universe, or maybe it’s the reset button on the whole thing, no one knows quite yet. Coming off Kubo & The Two Strings, people were giving this movie a chance. They played it smart, they scaled down the destruction, they simplified the plot, and they made the Transformers fun again. Bumblebee is an 80’s callback, which they love to remind the audience about every few minutes or so. I was okay with that, it doesn’t take away from the movie at all, and all the references were incorporated nicely. Unless you want to be a prick about things and say certain songs hadn’t be released before the summer of 87, then yeah go ahead a do that.
So Bumblebee takes place in the summer of 87′. He has fled Cybertron in hopes of setting up a base on Earth. He takes refuge in a junkyard and has been in hiding. Until Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) finds him on her birthday and is able to take her home with her. She soon finds out that the yellow beetle is more than meets the eye. Steinfeld is a fantastic lead, much like Shia LaBeouf in the first Transformers, she’s quirky, and plays off Bee really well. Transforming in front of her very eyes, Charlie at first doesn’t know how to react but quickly realizes that much like herself, her new friend is scared and alone. You see, Charlie is a bit of an outcast herself and has secluded herself away from her friends and family ever since her Dad died from a heart attack. So this is kind of like a match made in heaven. Charlie helps Bee find his voice, while Bee helps Charlie feel like herself again. This is where the movie feels like an 80’s adventure. I mentioned ET and The Iron Giant, and honestly, that is like the perfect marriage. A lot of hijinks ensues, involving a large robot trying to fit into tiny places. Charlie eventually crosses paths with Memo (Jorge Lendeborg JR) literally the boy next door who helps Charlie and Bee keep safe from Sector 7 and Agent Burns (John Cena). Did anyone else know John Cena was in this movie? Because I couldn’t see him – sorry had to make that joke. In his first real big Hollywood role, I thought Cena was fine. In fact, he was pretty great in some scenes and provided a lot of the comedic relief in the film. He made for a formidable foe. The real standout villain in my mind and someone who wasn’t even in the movie, it was the voice work by Angela Bassett who voiced Shatter. Give some credit to Justin Theroux as well who voices Dropkick, her Decepticon side-kick.
Unlike preview incarnations where it was really hard to see the action going on in front of you, Travis Knight managed to make the action easy to follow. That was always one of the nitpicks with previous movies, you could never tell who was fighting who or just what the hell was going on. When our robots are throwing down, it’s fun to watch, and they were able to improve on something that was already awesome to watch on the big screen. All of the music is great, and the score is even better. Without a doubt, one of the best scores of 2018. Everything just flowed so well, the pacing is near perfect and the movie hits all the right beats. Emotionally and physically, when you wanted action, you got it, and when you just wanted to watch Bumblebee do stupid things, you got it. There’s a scene where he tries to tee-pee a house, and it’s hilarious. I just found myself having a good time throughout, something I have wanted to do with all the Transformers movies. They brought it back to its roots, and it felt like the 80’s cartoon come to life. If you have been disappointed with the other movies in this franchise, this will put a smile on your face, and if you have enjoyed them, guess what? This movie will put a smile on your face, it’s kind of a win-win situation here. I really hope this is the start of something special and the overhaul this franchise needed. Can’t say enough good things about Bumblebee.
Now those are some awesome Transformer designs. We’ve been waiting a long time for a new look at this franchise and the newest Bumblebee trailer gave us an in-depth look at it. Not going to lie, I’m pretty sold on this flick after this trailer. I know with saying that I’m setting myself up for some serious heartbreak, but I can’t seem to help myself.
Ever since the first movie, these have become well ever more dreadful to watch, but they are always a guilty pleasure. The last two installments have been nothing but train wrecks, so I’m hoping this can breath some new life into this franchise.
Bumblebee and the rest of the Transformers that appear look so incredible, that I wish these were the designs we had all along. They just remind me more of the classic cartoon, the one will all watched growing up. Having that 80’s look, which is so hot right now, makes it even more appealing.
I will say that the one concern I do have lies with John Cena. He speaks two whole lines in the trailer and seems to be the film’s villain. I don’t know if they are hiding him from us or maybe I’m just overreacting to this. I hope he churns out a great performance and doesn’t drag the film downwards. The Cybertron stuff also looks magnificent and I’m just getting really excited for this. It might be the best installment since the first, and that will go a long way, and maybe shift the franchise in a new and better direction.
The Transformers franchise is like that ex that you keep going back to, thinking this time it will be different. This time it actually looks to be different.
The joys of being transported back in time. I remember sitting down to watch the first ever Transformers movie and being blown away at that time. The franchise as gone onto making terrible sequel after sequel. You know, more explosions, terrible plot, awful dialogue and absolutely zero heart. Where did the movie that I watched so many years ago go to?Well it appears that director Travis Knight is bringing us back to the beginning because Bumblebee looks like a ton of fun. The Transformers franchise appears to have had a heart replacement, because this trailer makes me feel something inside. Everyone loves Bumblebee, he’s the reason why I keep giving this franchise my money, so it only makes sense to make him his own solo movie. Set in everyone’s favourite decade, the 80s we are getting B’s origin story and I’m all in. We even get our first look at Starscream, the villain of the movie. Not sure if John Cena was in the trailer, because I have a hard time seeing him. Movie looks great, can’t wait and really hoping for an Optimus Prime cameo. Autobots roll out. Check ya later.https://youtu.be/fAIX12F6958
After saving all my movie tickets from 2017, I can officially say, I have a movie problem.
Another movie going season is in the books! Time flies when you’re at the theatre, and for me, that was pretty much every week. Upon further review, I believe I sat in a movie theatre seat roughly 50 times in the year 2017, by far the most in a single year for me. But hey, there were a ton of great movies this year, and some of the very best of 2017; I haven’t even had the opportunity to go see, because my local theatres haven’t gotten them yet. That’s why I haven’t written my top ten movies of 2017 list, because I feel some of the movies I haven’t seen yet are going to make the list! 2017 was full of incredible movies, but every time I went, it certainly wasn’t a home run. In fact, I think 2017 was full of the most disappointments that I can remember (I’m looking at you JusticeLeague and Alien: Covenant), but that’s all in the past. We are looking to the future now, 2018 to be exact, and boy oh boy are there some goodies coming up. The very first blog post I did on this site was “Most Anticipated Movies of 2017,” some lived up to expectations, while others fell flat on their face. Last year I did 10 movies, well this year, I’m doubling down because I’m going BIG! 20 movies are about to be listed, and I’m even going to do it in order! If you were upset, or underwhelmed with the movies in 2017, I think 2018 could be the year for you, or if you are like me and see roughly 50 movies a year, well start saving your pennies now, because 2018 is going to be awesome. Just like last year, I will miss some movies on this list, well some movies haven’t even be announced yet, but these are the 20 movies right now, that I cannot wait to see.
(FOX)
20.) X-Men: Dark Phoenix. director/ Simon Kinberg. 2/11/18
The wonderful band of misfits is back. The fourth entry into this new X-Men saga will be the follow-up to 2016 X-Men: Apocalypse, which wasn’t met with great reviews by fans and critics. This time we get the story of Dark Phoenix, Jean Grey’s split personality, where we will see her go to the dark side. This was explored in the first X-Men trilogy, but it wasn’t done very well, so I’m excited to see them tackle it again. This is director Simon Kinberg’s first time up to bat, being a producer on pretty much every X-Men movie ever made, he should have a good feel and understanding on what the fans want to see. These movies always have a fantastic cast, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, and Evan Peters and now add in Jessica Chastain to play the villain role, sounds good to me. They just need great execution on that villain part, because that was the major flaw in Apocalypse. I dig these X-Men movies, but after the last outing I’m a little skeptical, so that’s why I have it last on my list! This will also be the last X-Men movie done by FOX, seeing how Disney bought them, so if you really love these movies, well this will probably be the last one, until we see these characters reintroduced into the MCU. For the love of god, send a garbage truck full of money to Hugh Jackman’s house so he can play Wolverine again.
(PARAMOUNT)
19.) Bumblebee. director/Travis Knight. 21/12/18
I bet at first glance you thought this was a sequel to Bee Movie didn’t you? Well if you did I’m sorry to disappoint you, it’s actually the first spin-off of the Transformers franchise! Now before you start to roll your mechanical eyes at me, you need to know that I am indeed a sucker for these movies. Guilty pleasures, but I will say the last two installments have just been awful, and I’m hoping this movie provides a much-needed spark to this franchise (That was a transformers pun, in case you missed it). Bumblebee for me at least, was always the best part of these movies and now you’re telling me he gets his own movie? That’s pretty cool. We’re also going back in time, because this is taking place in the late 80’s, everyone’s favorite time, and we will see John Cena and Hailee Steinfeld (Charlie Watson) team up with this loveable robot. If director Travis Knight, who did the fantastic Kubo & The Two Strings, can keep things simple, and make the action easy to follow, I think Steinfeld and Cena can carry this movie together, I’m really interested to see how this turns out, because it could actually be the worst movie of the year, Autobots, roll-out.
(MARVEL)
18.) Ant-Man & The Wasp. director/Peyton Reed. 6/7/2018
If someone would have told me, that back in 2015 when Ant–Man was released, that I would have watched it once, forgotten about it, and now we are getting a sequel, I would have said, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Jokes aside, I did enjoy Ant-Man when it came out, it had great humor and Paul Rudd was fantastic as Scott Lang. He even had a great moment in Captain America: Civil War, but now this will apparently be the first “Rom-Com” Marvel movie. That’s right, they are going Rom-Com on us folks, and we will probably all love it. Kevin Feige and the people over at Marvel are about to deliver the greatest love story every told. Move over Romeo and Juliet. Ant-Man is struggling being a Dad and a Super Hero, so when a mission comes along about his past, he needs to team up with The Wasp. I’m a big fan of Evangeline Lilly who plays The Wasp, her and Paul had great chemistry in the first. They added Michelle Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne to the cast, I’m sure this movie will be great. On a serious note, we now have more solo Ant-Man movies then Batman movies since the year 2012 what a strange and wonderful world we live in. Fun fact, this movie and Bumblebee have something in common, actress Vanessa Ross, who plays “The mean girl” in Bumblebee and “The hot jogger” in Ant-Man, you go girl!
(NEW LINE CINEMA)
17.) Rampage. director/ Brad Peyton. 4/20/2018
“I was just thinking, the only thing missing is a giant crocodile”
Coincidence that a movie about giant animals smashing through buildings is being released on 4/20, I think not!! Seriously the trailer alone sold me on this goofy concept. Like what more do you want? Dwayne Johnson kicking ass, check. Giant monsters running around Chicago destroying everything in sight, check. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, check. This is looking like the leading candidate to be the best video game movie of all time people; the curse could finally be over! Video game movies are like airport sushi, you think it’s a good idea, until about 90 minutes later. If this movie turns out to be a huge pile of well, monkey shit, I won’t be shocked. But it’s got a great cast, toss in Joe Manganiello, Malin Akerman and Naomie Harris, alongside Dwayne. Here’s the thing, the trailer is so awesome, and they didn’t really even show anything, it helps when you have a Smashing Pumpkins song playing during the trailer, but I think this movie is going to be a ton of fun. Wouldn’t it be nice if this was the turn around video game movies needed. I will also see anything with Dwayne Johnson in it, because that’s the bottom line, because Nathan Wallace said so.
Okay so very little is known about this movie so far. But, I’m fairly confident they are just re-making Diehard, but replacing Bruce Willis with Dwayne Johnson. If that doesn’t make a little pee trickle down your leg, then I don’t really know what will. Seriously nothing on IMDB about the plot, it stars Dwayne and Neve Campbell, who never really had the career I thought she would, but we all know she can throw down if she has too. I didn’t purposely put the two Dwayne Johnson movies back to back, I actually don’t know which one I’m more excited for. One has a trailer the other movie does not. Judging from his social media though, Skyscraper appears to be one epic movie, tons of stunts and explosions going on. Rawson Marshall Thurber, who might have the best directors name going, did Easy A, so I have high hopes for this, because that movie is awesome. I’m hoping for this to be a little more serious in tone as well, I like to see Dwayne act a little more, and be in some tense and serious scenes would be a nice change.
This movie should probably be a lot higher on my list, but that’s just a testament on how good some of the movies are in 2018. It also doesn’t help that I HATED the trailer, and I think this movie is going to flop at the box-office. I don’t know, they seem to think, “bigger is better” with these new Jurassic Park movies, and that shouldn’t be the case. I love Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard is great also, and I think she won’t be running away from a T-Rex in high heels in this one (lets pray). I’m just so uncertain about this movie, I really hope I’m wrong about it, because I want to love it, I want to go back to 1993 and feel the same way I did when I saw the original. Just make it rain, have it be dark and make humans try and get away from scary ass dinosaurs, it’s not complicated. We don’t need hybrids, we don’t need humans and dinosaurs being friends, just stick to what works. A guy getting eaten when sitting on the toilet is a fail-safe plan. J.A Bayona has pretty big shoes to fill after the historic and massive success of Jurassic World, that can be a lot of pressure for a guy. The last one made over a BILLION dollars, so I’m sure they are going to try and one-up everything from its predecessor. I don’t even think the return of Jeff Goldblum will be enough to save this bloated and forgettable sequel. Sorry Chris Pratt, I still love you.
(PLATINUM DUNES)
14.) A Quiet Place. director/ John Krasinski. 4/618
If you make noise, you die! I would be screwed, because I am a very loud chewer. That’s the premise for what appears to be 2018’s breakout horror film. Real life husband and wife, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are teaming up! When I first saw the trailer I was hooked, after the success of IT this past year, I have tried giving the horror genre another chance, and this looks really good. Krasinski even has a pretty awesome beard in it, so you know it’s going to be serious as hell. Like I said, you make noise, something comes out to try to kill you. Seems like a pretty difficult task, and when some dipshit kid knocks over a lantern, well all hell breaks loose. The trailer just leaves everyone very intrigue about the concept of the film. Why can’t you make noise? What are those creatures that come out when you do? When was the last time anyone in this movie farted? All these questions I’m sure will be answered in due time. The two stars of the movie are a real life couple, the chemistry will be undeniable, and I think this movie is going to crush it at the box-office. Krasinski is even directing this, so you know this is a passion project for him, which makes me believe that this movie is going to be really special.
13.) Super Troopers 2. director/ Jay Chandrasekhar. 4/20/18
Okay I definitely know this one isn’t a coincidence being released on 4/20. Am I happy to have a Super Troopers 2 in my life? Yes. Do I wish it were Weed Fest instead? Absolutely. I’ll settle for some more Car RamRod fun though. I love these guys, they work so well together and this was something they wanted to make for a really long time. They even got some fan feedback about what they wanted in the sequel. I’m sure they will even bring back some of the old jokes we have all come to love, after watching this movie a hundred times over the last 17 years. That’s right, 17 years since SuperTroopers was released, that is crazy talk. I know it’s kind of a cult classic at this point, but die-hard fans can’t wait for this one, and everything these guys put out is really good. Sometimes you got to root for the little guys, because in a world chalk full of blockbusters this one certainly won’t be on many people’s radars. And if you haven’t ever seen SuperTroopers, well shame on you.
I bet you one million dollars, that at some point during this movie, Tom Cruise will be running. It’s a Tom Cruise movie tradition now, and I love it. He also does all his own stunt work, and I’m sure like most Mission Impossible he will go bigger in the latest installment. If you thought Henry Cavill looked stupid in JusticeLeague, you can blame this movie. That’s right, they added Superman to the already packed cast of this franchise, and I couldn’t be happier. Plot is unknown at this time, but I’m sure that Ethan Hunt will be saving the world with a little help from his friends. The Mission Impossible franchise kind of reminds me of the Fast & Furious franchise. It was kind of dead in the water and forgotten about after the third, and then Ghost Protocol came out and everyone was blown away by it. 5 years had passed since MI3, but that kind of jump-started the franchise back to life. These are always just really well made, fun action/adventure movies, Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg work so well together, and I’m really curious to see Henry Cavill’s role in this movie. I hope he becomes a regular addition to this franchise, Ethan Hunt kind of needs some muscle on his side. The movie also boasts a stellar female cast; Ethan Hunt might have his hands full.
(PIXAR)
11.) Incredibles 2. director/ Brad Bird. 15/6/18
“You have powers! Yeah baby!”
A sequel 14 years in the making. What I love most about the fact that we are finally getting a sequel to the greatest Pixar movie ever made, is that, well 14 years have passed, but they are starting right where they left off. That’s right its been a long time since we last saw the Parr family, and honestly I thought they were going to do a time jump, but I’m really glad they aren’t. Jack Jack is so awesome, and now he’s got powers and that’s going to be really cool to see. I love the first one so damn much; I’m really nervous and excited all at the same time for this. I just want it to feel right, not over done, and I pray they just don’t ruin a good thing. They told such a great story the first time, and I know Brad Bird, the director cares so much and has so much passion for these characters that I know this won’t be a waste. Everyone does such fantastic voice work, I’m excited to see Frozone back, and my guess is, they will have a female villain this time around. I have extremely high hopes for Incredibles 2. Just remember, no capes!
(LEGENDARY)
10.) Pacific Rim: Uprising. director/ Steven S. DeKnight. 3/28/18
PacificRim all the way back in 2013 is a movie going experience that I will never forget. I thought it would be a loud, clunky mess, which featured cool looking robots and gigantic monsters. That wasn’t the case at all, watching Guillermo del Toro’s monster movie epic. Was like watching poetry in motion. It was simply beautiful to look at; something that chaotic, yet you could fully comprehend what exactly was going on, and it really blew me away. It was one of my favorite movies of the year and I couldn’t wait for a sequel. Well here we are 5 years later, and John Boyega is trading in his light sabre for a Jaegar. It looks like 10 years have passed, he’s playing the son of Idris Elba’s character from the first, and I bet giving bad ass speeches about the world ending runs in the family. Charlie Day is back as well as Rinko Kikuchi, and adding Scott Eastwood. I’m fearful about Del Toro not coming back to direct, but hopefully he left this franchise in good hands, because my expectations couldn’t be any higher. It’s cool looking larger than life robots fighting these incredible looking monsters, it won’t take that much to please me, and the trailers have even been really good. They used a giant submarine as a ninja sword in the first one, can’t wait to see what they use in Uprising!
(DISNEY)
9.) Black Panther. director/Ryan Coogler.16/2/18
Yes another MCU movie is on my list, and it certainly won’t be the last. Black Panther is finally getting his own movie, a comic book movie centered on a black character, about time. Who better to do it than Chadwick Boseman, who’s Black Panther ripped his way onto screen in Civil War back in 2016. The cast is simply brilliant, and I’m not going to name the 20 or more incredible actors and actresses appearing in this movie. Ryan Coogler is behind the camera and he does fantastic work. I loved Creed so I know this will be something special, some say this could be the best MCU movie to date. This movie looks hip, it’s got all sorts of style and it appears to be different from any MCU movie that has come before it. It looks like Marvel and company just let Coogler make the movie he has envisioned for a long time. When you have a terrific filmmaker behind the camera you want them to be able to spread their wings on the project, and that appears to be the case for Black Panther. Really excited about this one!
(SONY)
8.) Venom. director/Ruben Fleischer. 10/5/18
If you could create a time machine and replace Tom Hardy with Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3, that would be really nice. That can’t happen, so we are getting a Venom movie, Hardy is playing Eddie Brock, and very little is known about it. I’m fairly confident that Spider-Man, or even Tom Holland won’t be showing up in this movie. Which is a really weird thing to say, because I feel like you need those two people together in the same movie to really make it work. Don’t get me wrong, I think Hardy is going to crush this role, he did a fantastic job as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and he’s a phenomenal actor, so I think he’s really going to dive deep into this role. Venom is one of my favorite characters in all of comics, so to think we are getting a standalone movie about him, wets my beak a little. Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson and Riz Ahmed round out the cast, and it’s been rumored that Riz could be playing Carnage. If that happens, boy oh boy. I just don’t see them passing up the opportunity to introduce Spider-Man as well in this, I think it would be a failure if they don’t. This is a trailer I’m really curious to see, because I really have no idea which kind of direction they are going to take this movie. It can’t possibly be worse than the version we got to see in Spider-Man 3.
(FOX)
7.) Untitled Deadpool Sequel. director/ David Leitch. 6/1/18
Here’s the thing, I’m pretty sure that will be the actual title to the movie. Which makes perfect sense given the movie. Deadpool was a colossal box-office hit back in 2016. It was the reason for Logan, and it’s the reason for any rated R Super Hero movie you will see going forward. It broke so many boundaries for movies like these, and on top of that, it’s one of the best Super Hero movies ever made. Josh Brolin was added for this sequel, he’s playing Nathan Summers, AKA Cable. Who is a complete and utter badass, and I can’t wait to see the chemistry between Reynolds and Brolin. The comedy in Deadpool was perfect, the whole movie was pretty much flawless, now they have more money, and I’m sure a really good story to tell. Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role, and he loves playing Deadpool, he’s pretty much Van Wilder, but a Super Hero. Nothing really has come out yet, plot wise, and there hasn’t even been a real trailer yet, but you don’t need to sell people on this movie. I just hope it doesn’t suffer from sequel fatigue, but since there is so much passion behind this project, I highly doubt that will happen. Like they brought back Dopinder, this movie cannot fail!!!
(FOX)
6.) The Predator. director/Shane Black. 3/8/18
Predator was released before I was even born. I saw that movie maybe a little too early into my childhood, but hey, it’s one of the reasons why I fell in love with movies at such a young age. I’m talking like 6 years old here, and Predator is a hard R movie, thanks Grandpa! I love the Predator so goddamn much, they are bad guys, but I always want them to win. I actually love seeing them get the best of the human characters in their movies. All three “Predator” movies that have come out, in my opinion are fanfuckingtastic. The AVP movies, not so much, but again the Predators are the best things about those movies. So when Shane Black (director) who also happens to star in the 1987 original, he’s the first guy to meet the Predator, yeah not good. So you know a couple things, one Shane Black is an extraordinary filmmaker, he even helped write the original, and like I just mentioned, he was in it. So you know he’s got a taste and a ton of passion for this character and this franchise. The cast is chalked full of incredible people that I can’t wait too see meet their demise in this movie. Reek from Game of Thrones is in this and if he thought getting his wee-wee chopped off was brutal, well just you wait pal. My one big fear about this movie, is doing what all movies seem to do these days, some how find a way to make it “BIGGER AND BETTER.” We don’t need a modified Predator, which the government has cooked up in a lab. We don’t need a new and improved Predator, drop some people somewhere and have them be hunted one by one, pretty simple. Toss in some jokes, which Shane Black is known for and you’re golden. He’s been part of this mythology since the beginning; there is no way he screws this up right?
(PARAMOUNT)
5.) Annihilation. director/Alex Garland. 23/2/18
I don’t know what it is about this movie. Perhaps it’s the insanely strong female cast? Maybe it’s because Alex Garland makes it? The fact that I still don’t know what the hell is going on in the trailers? Whatever it is, I’m fully onboard with Annihilation. Shrouded in mystery, like most good science-fiction stories, this one is no different. Something wicked has come to Earth, and we still can’t explain it ourselves. So when Natalie Portman’s husband (Oscar Issac) comes back from the “Shimmering” he is infected with some sort of disease. I’m getting some District 9 vibes, and a little Aliens, if that’s not a compliment, I don’t know what is. I think it’s so high on my list because of just the secrets involved in the movie, and I can’t wait to see them play out on the big screen. The acting will be top notch, I’m not worried about that, I just hope the story doesn’t become some crazy web of messiness, I guess is the best way to describe it. For science-fiction junkies, where it seems the laws of nature have been tossed out the window, Annihilation might be their most anticipated movie of the year.
(WARNER BROS.)
4.) Ready Player One. director/Steven Spielberg. 30/3/18
“My name is Wade Watts. My Dad picked that name because it sounded like a Super Heroes alter ego”
There’s a saying, that when a movie is adapted from a book, it’s never as good. That is the case yes, but it doesn’t mean that the movies aren’t just as fantastic. Example, ReadyPlayerOne. Without doubt, one of the most enjoyable reads of my entire life, I felt like I myself was rushed off to the Oasis, and disappeared from reality. The legend himself, Steven Spielberg is helming what appears to be a masterpiece. I know it will vastly differ from the book, I understand that, but it’s the concept of the book that will make the movie so intriguing. The trailers have even been really well done; Ernest Cline (author of the book) is going to be really proud of the film that gets released. I just can’t wait to see all these different characters from so many different things I love come together. Iron Giant, Chucky, Joker and Harley Quinn and that is honestly 1 percent of the characters we will see in this movie. It’s going to be a ton of fun, and I highly recommend reading the book, because well reading is good for you. This has all the potential to be my favorite movie of 2018.
3.) Creed 2. director/Steve Caple Jr. 21/11/18
That’s right! Apparently I can see into the future, that tweet is from 2 years ago. Moments after I saw Creed, which was one of my favorite movies of 2015, I just knew the direction the sequel had to go. Adonis Creed needed to fight Ivan Drago’s son, because well why wouldn’t you bring back Ivan Drago, and now have his kid be a boxer as well. It all made perfect sense, to me at least. Now here we are, Creed 2 is in the works, and guess what? Adonis looks to get revenge against the man who killed his father. BOOM! Now there is no way he’s actually fighting Dolph Lundgren, that would be insane, but rather he will get his revenge by beating his son. Sly Stallone and Michael B Jordan are both back, but unfortunately, Ryan Coogler is off making Black Panther, and so Creed 2 is falling into the hands of Steven Caple Jr., who seems up to the task. Now I love Creed so much, I love the entire Rocky franchise and universe so damn much. I love Rocky 4 more than almost any movie ever. So when you tell me Ivan Drago is coming back into my life, please don’t screw this up! There is so much potential and incredible story telling that can happen here, and I’m so curious to see where they take this. I can’t possibly be wrong about his son getting involved, so who will play him? Will they get an unknown? So many questions, so many possibilities, but one thing is certain, this movie is going to kick so much goddamn ass. Sage Northcutt a UFC fighter auditioned for the role of Drago’s son, and my god, he certainly has the look. He’s a genetic freak, who happens to look like a mini Ivan Drago, so if he’s got the acting chops to stand in the ring with Michael B Jordan, that’s my pick.
(WARNER BROS.)
2.) Aquaman. director/James Wan. 21/12/18
Did Justice League kind of suck? Yes it did. Do I blame the studio for interfering and destroying Zack Snyder’s original vision? Yes. Was Aquaman totally badass and I can’t wait to see his solo film? Yes again. Justice League is a thing of the past; let it go, let the past die. Aquaman has all the makings to be a terrific solo movie, much like WonderWoman. You have a passionate and fantastic filmmaker behind the camera in James Wan. The star of the show LOVES playing the titled character, and I mean he loves being Aquaman. Jason Maoma looks like be could live underwater and be King of Atlantis. Everything we saw from Aquaman in JusticeLeague was incredible, and I can’t wait to visit Atlantis again, and learn more about Arthur Curry. Amber Heard is back as Mera, who little screen time that she got, was pretty kick ass. She looks like she will have great chemistry with her co-star Mamoa. Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, William Dafoe, Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II round out this amazing cast. Lets talk about Yahya for a second, because he is playing Black Manta, who is honestly one of the most badass characters in DC comics, for me at least. I pray they get his look right, because he’s a pretty powerful villain for Aquaman, and I can’t wait to finally see him on the big screen. I get it; the DCEU is on its last legs. This is the next movie they are releasing, so to say there is a lot riding on Aquaman, is an understatement. They need not only for this to be received much like WonderWoman, but it also needs to crush it at the box-office. Personally I have a ton of faith in this project because all the people involved, and believe that Warner Brothers is going to let James Wan make the his own movie and not get to involved. That’s what they did for Patty Jenkins and that turned into a massive success. Everyone sleeps on Aquaman because they think he isn’t cool or has stupid powers, I’m telling you this right now. Remember how big Aquaman was in Entourage?Well think of that but actually good. Another trailer I can’t wait to see!
(MARVEL)
1.) Avengers: Infinity War. director/Russo Brothers. 4/5/18
Cliché I know. I can’t help myself when it comes to the MCU. Back off because this movie looks like the bees knees. I’ve been waiting a decade to see Thanos come to Earth and really mess some shit up. It’s all hands on deck for his epic showdown and its only part 1! Let me tell you something, people will die. This movie looks to pack an emotional punch. A lot is at stake here, and that’s something very uncommon in an MCU movie. I can’t wait to see it all play out. Nothing ever seems to be at stake in these movies, because they certainly play it off like everything is hunky dory. There are far too many characters to even list, but anyone who is anyone who has shown up in an MCU movie will appear in Infinity War. Actually a pretty ballsy task if you ask me, that’s a lot of characters for probably a movie that will run 2 hours and 30 minutes long. Unlike this years JusticeLeague I know going in that this movie will be great, they do such a fantastic job with these movies, and this is the end of everything, no one will be safe. I just hope they don’t play it safe, I want to see blood and carnage and legit heroes dying. I want a “Holy shit – did they just do that!” kind of moment in this movie. I’m just excited to see Thanos on screen; no villain has been built up like him in movie history. It’s been 6 years since we first saw him smile at the end of Avengers, and ever since I wanted to see our heroes throw down with this guy. It just makes me sad at the same time, because I’m a DC guy through and through and I wish this were a DC property we were talking about. I wish the DCEU had this much success; I just want them to get it right. Marvel makes it look so easy, and if this movie is as good as I think it’s going to be. DC is never catching up to Marvel. Rocket Raccoon and Spider-Man better have a scene together or we riot!
Well that’s all she wrote. My 20 most anticipated movies of 2018! So I know for a fact I will be seeing at least 20 movies this upcoming year, plus multiple viewings of some add in the movies I didn’t put on the list and the movies I don’t even know about yet. Add all that together and I think reaching 60 visits to the theatre isn’t out of the question. Writing this and saying it out loud back to myself, makes me realize one thing……I’m awesome!
So it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it might have been written by 8th graders.
(PARAMOUNT)
Everyone’s favorite franchise is back! That was a joke, the more this franchise goes on the angrier people seem to get. I remember way back when the firstTransformerscame out and I dragged a bunch of my friends to the theatre to go see it. They all thought it was going to be horrible, and they really didn’t know too much about it, unlike myself who like now, was a nerd. All I remember was after the initial scene of Blackout going after the military base, they all looked at me and said, “this is going to be awesome,” then Megan Fox came onto the screen and well then they were really sold. I love the first Transformers, it’s honestly in my top 20 favourite movies of all time lists, but ever since the original, they haven’t really been able to make a better movie. The best part about the original, besides it having Shia LaBeouf in it, was they really kept it simple. The plot wasn’t insanely confusing and it was really easy to follow. Ever since, Michael Bay, who is back in the directors chair for the 5th and last time for this franchise, just really likes to make things BIGGER, and way more confusing each time out. All I’ve ever wanted was for them to recreate the magic from the first one, and just go back to the stuff that made it so awesome. But well I think at this point Bay has just become a world-class prick, and honestly does this on purpose. Transformers: The Last Knight, isn’t the worst of the franchise, but it’s just the cherry on top of what can only be describe as a less than stellar summer movie season so far. I wish I could just go back to Megan Fox opening up the hood of Bumblebee, because those were good times, I even had the poster in my university dorm room.
So here’s the thing, I’m not even going to attempt to tell you what this movie is about, because to be perfectly honest, I’m not even sure myself. One thing is certain though; this movie starts off in medieval times, as we see King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table team up with Transformers. I know, and that’s where we get introduced to this magic staff, that only certain people can use. Honestly that’s all you really need to know, for a simple concept, boy do they really make it seem like you’re trying to learn a new language throughout this movie! The magic staff is the key to the whole movie, that’s all you need to know, magic staff and well explosions! Again Mark Wahlberg is back as everyone’s favorite inventor Cade Yeager (that’s his actual name), and he’s trying to save and rescue the remaining Autobots around Earth. He’s also like the most wanted man on the face of the Earth, but manages to stay hidden, in a junk yard, along with like half a dozen giant robots…..Josh Duhamel is back as Lennox, appearing in the first three movies, so now he leads a team called TRF, their job is to hunt down any Transformers and well kill them. We get introduced to two new female characters in this movie, and they were just meh. So we got a little firecracker Izabella, who has no home or family and goes around fixing Transformers, they try to play her out to be this kind of badass kid, but most of the time, she’s just being ridiculous and any 14 year old, would no doubt shit themselves if they were dealing with giant robots. Next we have Laura Haddock (who I love from the Inbetweeners movie) who is the love interest of Cade. But she’s also very vital to the story line, but I won’t really go into it, seeing how it’s in the spoiler territory. All I can say is I’m pretty sure they wanted to bring back either Megan Fox or get Sophie Turner for this role. Because she is these two girls mixed, actually at some points in the movie, I could swear it was Megan Fox on screen. So that kind of took me out of the movie, like why are they casting someone who looks identical to her? Oh I know it’s because Michael Bay is just messing with us at this point right? Sir Anthony Hopkins is in this also, well because sometimes you just need a good payday. He tries I guess, but like, all he’s really doing is filling us in on plot details and giving a few monologues. BE BETTER ANTHONY! That’s all I’m saying about the plot and characters, because the plot doesn’t matter, or the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, Michael Bay, you know how to shoot action scenes. He knows how to do things on the biggest and most grand scale. I’ll give him that, and I think the action and the fighting in this movie, was the best of the series so far. I went to this movie solely based on the fact that I knew there would be incredible action, and he didn’t disappoint. I’m even going to go as far to say that well, the Bumblebee vs. Optimus fight is better than the Batman vs. Superman fight. When the first trailer hit and I saw that these two guys were going to throw down, I knew I would have to be their watching it in IMAX. Like I don’t get why Bay has to make such great looking movies, but care so little about everything else. My god this script was probably written by 8th graders. There are so many talented writers that need a chance, and yet you turn out garbage like this. There is no reason why we can’t have an incredible Transformers movie, but it seems like all Bay cares about is explosions, product placement and introducing the world to new hot girls. Seeing how this is his fifth movie, maybe he could take a little pride in his overall work, because he shoots actions almost better than anyone, and I think he’s really good at getting the most out of his cast. He’s also an asshole for shooting this movie in three different aspect ratios, so throughout the entire movie, the screen keeps getting bigger and smaller, depending on what camera he used to shoot that particular scene. 3D glasses make movies hard enough to watch, imagine the screen changing sizes every 10 seconds.
At the end of the day, yeah this movie isn’t very good, fans and critics alike are destroying it, but I had to find out for myself. The 10-15 good minutes of this movie, and by that, I mean like 10-15 minutes of just pure awesomeness, reasons I go to the movies for. But it’s 2 hours and 28 minutes, they could have cut 30 minutes loose. But Bay is notorious for making extremely long movies. Those great minutes almost make up for everything else, because I’ll remember that Bumblebee vs. Optimus fight for a long time, because it was just so breathtakingly beautiful. I just don’t understand why everything else has to be just so terrible. This is a money making franchise, it will probably still make upwards of 700 million dollars, so maybe Paramount just doesn’t care about fan service anymore. Michael Bay is done as director and I think it’s time for some fresh blood to get in there and overhaul this thing for the better. We need better human characters, if they are going to be in these movies as much as they are. But more focus needs to be on the Transformers themselves and if I had it my way, I would say to hell with the humans and replace them with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Just for one movie, and see how it goes, I think that could be a really fun movie, it beats watching Mark Wahlberg be a superhero and a 14 year old girl some how fight Decepticons, it’s just not worth my time anymore. But I continue to give this franchise money, because of moments like Bee vs. Optimus and the other incredible action sequences, it’s a love/hate thing for sure, because it just doesn’t make sense to me, why these movies can’t be great. They are making like 14 more, so I guess they have plenty of time to correct this course, or simply just take more of my money. I’m a sucker for robots, what can I say….
Check ya later,
Nate’s Movie Tour Reviews – Transformers: The Last Knight = 52/100
