Worst Films of 2018

Back again from my year long exile to deliver the best and worst of the year! Before I get to the best (beginning next week), let's start with the worst. There were actually quite a few bad movies this year, so here are a few more than 5, but less than 10!

05. The Commuter - Or as I like to refer to it as: a huge waste of talent! Yes, this movie stars Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Sam Neill and 2017 MVP and future Little Woman Florence Pugh. And, yes, it wastes all of their considerable talent in a fairly predictable, not at all thrilling thriller. This is paint by numbers, with most of the talent looking bored as can be. Fair play to you: I was bored too.

04. Keanu Reeves Movies - If you know me at all, then you know that I love Keanu Reeves. Like, I would leave my family and friends and job and run off just to have one night with Keanu Reeves. He's a bonafide movie star who is far more talented than anyone gives him credit for. Unfortunately, 2018 wasted him in two very terrible roles. The first was as a spy who falls for a waitress in the convoluted Siberia. It's described as a "romantic crime thriller" but it is neither romantic, nor thrilling. The second was as a cynical curmudgeon in the not as smart as it wants to be Destination Wedding, co-starring everyone's OTHER favorite 90s crush, Winona Ryder. Their chemistry is fine, but the script is needling and annoying and for a movie where everyone talks so much, it doesn't really have much to say.

03. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Can we be done with this series now? The original is one of the greatest blockbusters of all time. There were a few decent sequels. The reboot was fine and had a few genuinely fun and thrilling moments. The sequel to the reboot (whew) is just plain exhausting.

02. Den of Thieves - Honestly, I remember absolutely nothing about this movie except actively hating it.

01. Horror Movies - Every year, I watch as many horror movies as I can. Sure, 50% of them are dumb and dull and awful, and 49% of them are not so great, but still fun... but every now and again, you come across that 1% - a gem that makes it all worth it. And, yes, there was that gem in 2018 (you'll have to keep reading to find out which movie!), but there were also a lot of duds. First there was the unnecessary Unfriended: Dark Web, which was a sequel that no one wanted or cared about. Then there was The First Purge, the fourth in a franchise that started off good, somehow got even better (thanks Frank Grillo), and then turned real bad, real fast. Next up is the utterly boring Winchester, based on a real life house that has long interested me, but somehow the movie version bored me to tears (I didn't think anything starring Helen Mirren could be that uninteresting). And finally, the worst of the worst, The Strangers: Prey At Night. The first Strangers movie is one of the greatest horror movies of the 2000s, genuinely and effectively terrifying. This is just a cliche rip off that has no scares, no originality, and no heart.

Starting Monday: The best of 2018!