ABC Film Challenge

Favourite Films of 2018

T

Tomb Raider

Why I’ve Picked this choice – Lara Croft returned in what is easily the best video game movie ever made, the film does feel like a video game which makes it more enjoyable ass you get to watch as if you are playing along with Lara, Alicia Vikander steps up into the role giving us a more realistic version of Lara and while the quest she goes on, is by the book, it is one that can be enjoyable to watch as we wait to see just what will happen for her next.

Head over to Movie Rob’s for more reviews

“It’s risky, but it’s worth a try.” – Qira

Number of Times Seen – 5 (24 May 2018, 30 May 2018, 13 Sep 2018, 30 Oct 2018 and 14 Jan 2019)

Link to original review – Here, Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A young scrounger tries to find a way to survive on the streets of the crime ridden planet of Corellia in the hope to eventually reach the stars.

My Take on it – When Darren informed me of this month’s topic, this was another film that immediately popped into my head as being among the best of the movies released in 2018.

I have always been a fan of everything Star Wars and I have loved every one of the films that they have made (besides the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) which was terrible).

This film is a great addition to the entire SW universe because it allows us to see the origin of an extremely important character who is not part of the Skywalker lineage.

We get to learn so much about how the character of Han Solo came to be based on his early life.

They do a great job explaining his origins along with giving us enough explanations about his various character traits and how they became to be over the years.

It may seem to some that they cram in way too much, but that’s the point of an origin story especially when you know that you probably will only get one chance at doing one.

There are some amazing action scenes in this film and is probably one of the most action packed films of the saga (to date) because we get to see so many varying kinds of action scenes that show different aspects of the kind of world a smuggler could live in.

The special effects are superb and they do a wondrous job transporting us to that Galaxy Far Far Away even if things are a bit different from what we have been used to in the past.

Ron Howard does a great job directing this film and keeps things so thrilling the entire way through.

The choice to keep the Jedi out of this film’s story works really well in order to give us a look at other things in this Galaxy that are both related and unrelated to everything we already know about it.

The cast of this film is great and Alden Ehrenreich does an amazing job both imitating the past performances of Harrison Ford in the role while at the same time bringing a youthful and inspirational interpretation to this role.

The rest of the characters all help keep things quite enjoyable throughout and all play the parts of the story really well in order to help create and transform this character into the smuggler we all love so much and who might be one of the original trilogy’s best characters.

This is a film that will be quite high on my list of Favorite films from 2018 and even though Ive seen it 5 times in just 9 months, I can’t wait to see it again soon.

Bottom Line – Such a great new addition to the Star Wars Universe.  WE learn so much of how the character we all came to love came to be. This is a fun origin story because they cram in so much of the traits that we already know about yet still give us reasons for those traits becoming a part of this character.  The action scenes are presented in a really thrilling way and Howard does his best to give us such a great ride along the way. The special effects are also great and immediately get the viewer into the mood of the Galaxy Far Far Away. Love the fact that they felt no need to bring the idea of Jedi into the story and only occasionally mention the Empire itself which allows for us to see other aspects of this Galaxy that are bit related and unrelated to everything else we already know. The cast is also great and Ehrenreich does a great job of imitating Ford while also bringing his own interpretation to the role.  The rest of the characters all fit into place really well here and help give us such a fun and enjoyable chapter in the life of one of the original trilogy’s best characters. Will definitely be quite high on my end of year Top Ten List. Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The movie finally addresses a long-time fan theory about the series. When Luke and Obi-wan meet Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Han boasts about the Millennium Falcon’s speed by claiming that it was the ship that “made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs”. However, people quickly pointed out that a parsec is a measure of distance, not time (one parsec being approximately 3.26 light years, or just over nineteen trillion miles). Star Wars printed materials explained that the Kessel Run is a route of fixed distance, but Han was able to navigate it much quicker, by finding a short-cut that limited his flight to somewhere at, or over, twelve and a half parsecs. This fact was again referenced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). This movie agrees with that, by showing that the Kessel Run is normally twenty parsecs long, and runs along a series of corridors through a nebula. Han managed to traverse the nebula itself, risking the debris, very large creatures, and a phenomenon called “the Maw”, and making it to the other end in twelve and a half, to just under thirteen, parsecs (but he says he “rounded it down” to twelve). This film reveals that it was actually slightly more than twelve, but Han was rounding down. Still an impressive feat, considering that Lando says it’s impossible to make it in less than twenty. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (slight downgrade from original review)

Head over to Movie Rob’s to read his many reviews

“In the form of my avatar, Anorak the all knowing. I created three keys. Three hidden challenges test worthy traits, revealing three hidden keys to three magic gates. And those with the skill to survive these strengths will reach the end, where the prize awaits.” – Anorak

Number of Times Seen – 2 (2 Apr 2018 and 13 Jan 2019)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – In the near-future where most people in the world spend their time in a virtual on-line world, a teenager tries to win a complex contest created by the now deceased creator of the virtual world.

My Take on it – When thinking of my favorite films from the year, this is the first one that popped into my head and I immediately knew that I wanted to revisit it again both by re-reading the novel and re-watching the film.

I was once again blown away by both because they do such a great job of translating Ernest Cline’s superb novel to the screen.

The fact that the novel and the movie are the same story yet choose different paths to reach the same place is amazing.

The tasks in both are different but that has so much to do with the fact that some of the scenes in the book would be quite tedious on screen but were riveting on the page.

Both storylines run parallel to one another and manage to give us something so unique and complex that it remains poignant in either format.

The characters are great and the manage to build such a great visual platform for us to envision this future world that they created for us.

This film is filled with lots and lots of 80’s and 90’s nostalgia and they are able to get us into the mindset of that era so easily.

The music used on the soundtrack does just that and gives us the pure 80’s beat even in a science fiction futuristic world while keeping the viewer still waxing for 80’s nostalgia the whole way through.

Love the way that the message of the film builds so much on the message of the book and finds a way to personalize it for the viewer.

There is no question in my mind that this film will be quite high on my Top Ten Films of 2018.

Bottom Line – Such an amazing adaptation of Cline’s novel.  The fact that the novel and film are so much the same, yet very different is amazing because they are able to build a visually sound storyline that runs parallel to the written version which could possibly never be made due to its complexity. The characters are great and they get the entire pop-culture nostalgia of the 80’s and 90’s so right.  This is done via references but also via the music used n the soundtrack that helps the viewer wax nostalgia for the days of the 80’s. The film has such a poignant message that builds on the message of the book and in some ways even brings it more personally t the viewer.  One of the best film of the year by far. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia –  Ready Player One, as in the book, pays homage to popular culture from various time periods, mainly the 1970s and 1980s but also extending to the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s; reviewers have identified well over a hundred references to films, television shows, music, toys, video games, anime and comics from these eras. Cline did not have any issues with these copyrighted elements when he published the book, but was aware that securing all necessary rights would be a major obstacle for a film adaptation. This task was eventually made easier thanks to Spielberg’s reputation in the film industry. Spielberg and producer Kristie Macosko Krieger spent several years securing the rights for the copyrighted elements used in the film long before filming began, knowing that some scenes would not be possible without certain copyrighted elements. In the end, Spielberg estimated that they managed to get about 80% of the copyrighted elements they desired, noting that in some cases, the filmmakers were able to secure rights for some but not all the characters they wanted. In negotiating with Warner Bros., they could not secure Close Encounters of the Third Kind from Columbia Pictures, despite the latter being one of Spielberg’s first films as director. Blade Runner, which was integral to the plot of the book, was off-limits as Blade Runner 2049 was in production at the same time as Ready Player One; as a replacement, the creative team had the players play through the events of The Shining, which Spielberg was able to secure the rights to as an homage to his friend Stanley Kubrick. While Cline’s original work heavily used the character of Ultraman, the rights over the character were still under legal dispute, requiring them to replace Ultraman with the titular robot from The Iron Giant and RX-78-2 Gundam. Spielberg recognized that his past films were a significant part of the 1980s popular culture cited in the book, and to avoid being accused of “vanity”, he opted to remove many of the references to his own work. Cline stated that he believed Spielberg wanted to avoid self-references to films he directed, due to the criticism he received for his film 1941, which lampooned his own previous works Jaws and Duel. Cline said he had to convince Spielberg to include some iconic elements, such as the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future, which Spielberg conceded as the film was one he produced rather than directed. Spielberg also allowed the Tyrannosaurus rex from his own Jurassic Park to be included. Cline also asked ILM to include a reference to Last Action Hero, one of Penn’s first screenplays, without Penn’s knowledge. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (slight downgrade from original review)

 ABC Film Challenge

Favourite Films of 2018

R

Robin Williams Come Into My Mind

Why I’ve Picked this choice – Robin Williams is easily one of my favourite actors and people, we have heard many stories about him and after his tragic death the world was shaken. In this documentary we get to learn about big moments in his career and life, his demons, he outlet and what eventually took him. He left a legacy of happiness and made the world a better place, anything that showed us just how good of a person he was, should be watched.

ABC Film Challenge

Favourite Films of 2018

Q

A Quiet Place

Why I’ve Picked this choice – This horror follows a family living in a world where sound will get you killed because of the creatures that lurk just for sound for their kills. This film isn’t afraid to show us just what we are going to be facing with the opening scene showing us, no one will be safe. We have a brilliant cast spearheaded by Emily Blunt you gives us the second best performance in horror this year. This was also the best cinema experience of the year as nobody in the audience wanted to cough through the film.