Films of 2018, Part I: The Disappointments
There were only 18 films in 2018 that sucked, but many more that disappointed me. Although one could argue that some of the disappointments weigh heavier on the soul than most of the failures, I start with the films that didn’t fulfill my (high) expectations.
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- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsYalitza AparicioMarina de TaviraDiego Cortina AutreyA year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.No. 1 of 21 disappointments
Elegant, beautifully lit, with some extraordinary shots within a movie theater, a film full of unorthodox settings and people. Yes yes yes, all true. But also full of vanity shots and semi-involving characters.
Is it just me or is Alfonso Cuáron’s autobiographical overrated? Don’t get me wrong: I’m a huge fan of this director, back since he helmed Y TU MAMA TAMBÍEN and GREAT EXPECTATIONS and the only great HARRY POTTER-installment (AZKABAN). Cuáron’s GRAVITY is one of the very few movies of the decade that blew me away (and continues to do so). But ROMA… Maybe it’s just another case of expecting too much after the early accolades. I doubt that, though. From the beginning I thought the film was overdirected, always letting you know how masterful it was put together, the neverending tracking shots telling you how great the mise-en-scène is. (A steep contrast to the organic tracking shots both in GRAVITY and CHILDREN OF MEN.) Finally, the main character was so angelic that she didn’t interest me. A completely unexpected situation: This is the first Cuáron-film that I’m NOT rooting for come Oscar time! - DirectorBrad BirdStarsCraig T. NelsonHolly HunterSarah VowellThe Incredibles family takes on a new mission which involves a change in family roles: Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) must manage the house while his wife Helen (Elastigirl) goes out to save the world.I love the original – it’s among my 3 favorite Pixar-movies –, I still like the characters very much, and some of the jokes and visual ideas were really neat. But overall it just didn’t have the magic of Part I. They were playing it safe. Too safe. Very comparable to my FINDING NEMO/DORY-experience.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsChadwick BosemanMichael B. JordanLupita Nyong'oT'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.A revelation for many, a gentle bore to me. (And I DO like Marvel-films, as you can see from my Top 25.) I thought BLACK PANTHER was a decent action movie at best. Ryan Coogler fared much better with CREED.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsChris PrattBryce Dallas HowardRafe SpallWhen the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.Although none of the PARK-movies rattled my cage, I liked (large) parts of I, III & IV. Then they cast Juan Antonio Bayona as the director of Part V, which skyrocketed my hopes. But then: all talk, too many humans, no monsters. (Well, definitely not enough of them.) Bayona? Imagine my letdown after the worst of the JURASSIC-films.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsEddie RedmayneKatherine WaterstonDan FoglerGellert Grindelwald plans to raise an army of wizards to rule over non-magical beings. In response, Newt Scamander's former professor, Albus Dumbledore, seeks his help to stop him.Even more frustrating: This sequel to one my most pleasant surprises of last year had practically none of the charm of the first outing. Explosions, sinister creatures, dramatic confrontations and no breathing time/space. Haven’t we had this often enough? As if that wasn’t enough, the filmmakers stuffed too many tidbits in there, preparing for the four to fifteen sequels.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsAlden EhrenreichWoody HarrelsonEmilia ClarkeDuring an adventure in the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebel Alliance.Ok, but is ok good enough for a Han-Solo-movie? And Emilia Clarke … don’t get me started with her and her ability to “act”.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsEmily BluntLin-Manuel MirandaBen WhishawA few decades after her original visit, Mary Poppins, the magical nanny, returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives.Way too mechanical. Emily Blunt has all the right looks and moves, but Rob Marshall proves again his inability to make an engaging genre movie. (CHICAGO, NINE, PIRATES 4, INTO THE WOODS – what a list of wasted opportunities and / or bad movies.) Marshall is the worst puppeteer around. All you see are the strings attached to the poor puppets.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.I see what Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling were after. But the movie felt too frigid, almost dead at some points.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.This occult blood fest (starring the intense Toni Collette) made me angrier by the minute. And it really unnerved me as well. So the film probably achieved what it set out to do. But at a very high price: I loathed the experience.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsClaire FoyJoshua LeonardJay PharoahA young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where she is confronted by her greatest fear - but is it real or a product of her delusion?Normally I like Steven Soderbergh’s guerilla-style-features. But this one continued to pile up far-fetched, scripted horror bits until I had to fight boredom.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloElena Sofia RicciRiccardo ScamarcioA film about the life of Silvio Berlusconi.A lot of flesh and frenzy, in fact too much frenzy and WAY too much flesh. It seems Paolo Sorrentino got corrupted by the topic (the madness surrounding Silvio Berlusconi) and all the beautiful girls he hired.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAlek SkarlatosAnthony SadlerSpencer StoneThree courageous young Americans prevent a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris.A strange experience watching the three real Americans reenact their heroic deeds on the Thalys to Paris. It looked like the first rehearsals to a stage show that could have been worthwhile, but was still very roughly sketched. Clint Eastwood’s direction at times seemed a little too laid-back here – and then too heavy-handed.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsScott ShepherdRosamund PikeAva CooperIn 1892, a legendary Army Captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory.A beautifully crafted Western, but way too earnest for its own good.
- DirectorMichael NoerStarsCharlie HunnamDamijan OklopdzicChristopher FairbankWrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charriere forms an unlikely relationship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter, Louis Dega, in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.An ok remake of Franklin Schaffner’s prison-classic. But should PAPILLON and „ok“ come up in the same sentence?
- DirectorOtto BathurstStarsTaron EgertonJamie FoxxBen MendelsohnA war-hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown.Yes yes, another origin story of Robin Hood. By the numbers even when it attempts to be fresh. Taron Egerton should better come up with a performance or at least a movie I like soon.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsConstance WuHenry GoldingMichelle YeohThis contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.Great entertainment for the wanna-be-rich, but not for me. It left me wondering what on earth I was looking at.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsTom SchillingSebastian KochPaula BeerGerman artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.A very serious take on German history that travels far, I’m afraid, even to the Oscars. It’s been twelve years since Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck astonished us with his feature debut DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN. Ever since then he has been looking for his footing. THE TOURIST was off in many ways; WERK OHNE AUTOR has several impressive moments. But also some very embarrassing moments of high-mindedness and shameless cross-cutting.
- DirectorStéphane BrizéStarsJudith ChemlaJean-Pierre DarroussinYolande MoreauA fragmented account of the life of Jeanne as she sets out on the path of adult life and gradually experiences the harsh realities of a woman's life in the 19th-century.French auteurism at its most spartanic, a sad story of failed emancipation in the 19th century. It certainly makes you happy to be living in the 21st.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsJuliette BinocheMasatoshi NagaseTakanori IwataFrenchwoman Joan is a world traveller and chronicler. She travels, sees, experience and writes. She lands in the forest and hills near Nara, Japan and meets Satoshi. Despite the mysterious aura and eccentric personality the woodsman finds a place in the visitor's heart.Another poetry slam from Naomi Kawase. This one actually has its moments, but all in all it is too fond of its magic tricks. And Juliette Binoche, still one of my favorites and capable of acting wonders, falls into the trap of seriousness.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsChloë Grace MoretzTilda SwintonDoris HickA darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.Yes, sometimes it got to me. (Berlin is a creepy town, as anybody who ever saw POSSESSION can testify.) And no, I don’t think this remake does injustice to Dario Argento’s 70’s schlock-fest. But Dakota Johnson just never convinced me and the rest didn’t come full circle.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJosé Luis FerrerIsmael FritschiJuan López-TagleToby, a disillusioned film director, is pulled into a world of time-jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler believes himself to be Sancho Panza. He gradually becomes unable to tell dreams from reality.Criticizing Terry Gilliam for his labor of love seems unjust. But I’d rather watch LOST IN LA MANCHA ten more times than endure DON QUIXOTE a second time.