Thoughts on 2018 Movies: Part 1

Another two part post I like to do every year is basically reviewing the major movies I wanted to see from the last year. So today we have part one of that. The second part will be after I've seen everything else I wanted to, so probably around June. Let's get straight to it.

Black Panther

Original Thoughts: I enjoyed Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, so this movie looked pretty cool. I was also excited to see more Wakanda.

Thoughts After Viewing: Totally worth the hype. It was a beautiful movie full of great actors and real heart. Everyone's performance was great and it was cool seeing so many black actors combined on screen. And now it's the first superhero film to be nominated for "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. I have fond memories of watching this for the first time because we got it while we were in South Carolina and watched it on vacation.

Not that this ever happened in the movie.

Infinity War

Original Thoughts: I was so nervous. The first trailers looked amazing. I couldn't wait to see all my favorite heroes team up.

Thoughts After Viewing: *screams into the void* I was not ready for that ending. I thought I had a lot of stuff spoiled for me from just being on the internet, but I felt like it was barely anything after seeing it. I didn't cry, but Thanos and I had better not meet or else I have some words with him. And none of them are going to be "goat". Although I did hope Captain America would have more screen time. Now I'm even more nervous for Endgame. (And did anyone else notice how many shots were different in the movies as opposed to the trailers?)

A Wrinkle in Time

Original Thoughts: It looked pretty aesthetically pleasing, but would it actually have a good story? I didn't know.

Thoughts After Viewing: Was it the best movie ever? No. Was it close to the book? Eh, so so. But it wasn't terrible and it you could watch it enjoyably. So I'd say it was a success. I liked the casting and the young actors did well. Plus, like I said, it was just so pretty.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Original Thoughts: Han Solo is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I was excited to see this movie, even if the actor they picked to portray him doesn't look or sound anything like Harrison Ford.


Thoughts After Viewing: Even if the main actor isn't anything like Harrison Ford, I think he captured Han's personality and movements. And I liked the movie. It was fun, we got to see some more planets and the famous card game, and it had a great soundtrack. True, there were some problems (the Honest Trailers for this is hilarious), but I enjoyed it.

The Incredibles 2

Original Thoughts: I was really pumped to see this one. Incredibles has long been one of my favorite Pixar films, and I couldn't wait to see what this sequel, fourteen years later, would hold.



Thoughts After Viewing: It was almost as good as the first one. Jack-Jack was a major star of the whole movie with his new powers and it was fun getting to see all the kids grow some more. I feel like it could have been a bit better, though I'm not sure how. This one we got to watch in theaters, so that was fun, although I couldn't watch any of the strobe light scenes because they were making me sick.

Ant-man and the Wasp

Original Thoughts: I wanted to see Wasp in action. The villain looked pretty cool and I just like the light-hearted air of the Ant-man movies.


Thoughts After Viewing: Another fun romp of a movie. (At least until the after credits scene that we don't talk about.) I loved the dynamic between Scott and Hope and I thought I almost saw some seeds of romance blossoming. What I didn't expect though was to have such a interesting villain. I can't say much because of spoilers, but she was great.

Christopher Robin

Original Thoughts: I was looking forward to it, since I'm a life-long fan of Winnie the Pooh. I just hoped they weren't going to ruin my childhood with this movie.


Thoughts After Viewing: It was so adorable and very true to the feel of the books. Ewan McGregor was an excellent Christopher Robin. The whole thing was heartfelt and even my dad liked it, so that's saying a lot (he's also a Winnie the Pooh fan).

Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Original Thoughts: I'm also a huge Nutcracker fan and this movie looked pretty magical. I hoped it would be good and I was excited to see Misty Copeland.


Thoughts After Viewing: It was not quite what I was expecting, but in a good way. I loved the costumes and the ways they used the music from the original ballet. I loved the Nutcracker and all the actors did great performances. (Even if I saw the plot twist coming early on.) This was another one I got to see in the theater, made more special by the fact it was just my mom and me. (Thanks, Mama!)

Peter Rabbit

Original Thoughts: Looked funny, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. At least the animation looked good.


Thoughts After Viewing: This was surprisingly good. The humor was spot on and there was actually quite a bit of heart. Both human and animated characters were well done. You should definitely give this one a watch.

Sherlock Gnomes

Original Thoughts: Again, not quite sure what to expect, except a lot of Sherlock Holmes references. Honestly, it didn't look quite as good as the first, but I was willing to give it a go.


Thoughts After Viewing: Really one of those sequels that falls short. The plot was all fairly predictable, which was the most disappointing thing. But I did enjoy Johnny Depp's performance and Gnomeo and Juliet's continued love.

Ready Player One

Original Thoughts: I read the book and it had some pretty cool concepts, so I was interested in seeing this movie. I also have a love of virtual reality worlds (but only in fiction) so I wanted to see what it would look like on screen.

Thoughts After Viewing: It's one of those movies where they were like "Hey, this is a great book, let's make a movie from it. But let's take out basically everything from the book except a few key details and change 80% of it." Not that it wasn't good the way they made it, just that if you've read the book, you'll know it's nothing alike.

Ocean's 8

Original Thoughts: Just don't be a repeat of Ocean's 11-13 was all I was asking. I just wanted an awesome, girl powered heist movie.

Thoughts After Viewing: It wasn't a repeat, so I was happy. It shared similar elements, but that's to be expected. I thought all the women were cool and it had some great plot twists.

Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom

Original Thoughts: What would this new Jurassic World movie bring? Hopefully some cool new dinosaurs and more impossible stunts.

Thoughts After Viewing: It was pretty cool. There were sad bits, and quite a few unrealistic ones, but it was fun. And that new dinosaur was super creepy. I'm not sure how they're going to top it for the next movie. Although I'm here more for Owen and Blue.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Original Thoughts: I hoped it would be good, but honestly, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be on the same level as the first two.

Thoughts After Viewing: I was right. For me, it had none of the charm of the first two. Did I hate it? No. But did I expect more? Yes. It's still a fun movie, but more for a younger audience. Plus, I generally don't like any non-dance movie where they beat the villain through a big song and dance routine.

Have you seen any of these movies? What were your favorites from last year? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

Movies 2018: Disney Edition
My Thoughts on 2017 Movies: Part 2