Film Review: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Hey, remember Wreck-It Ralph? Yeah, me neither. Well, Disney went and made another one, and it's essentially a backdoor advert for the rest of its stuff! 

My Top 10 Films of 2018

With 2018 drawing to a close in just a few short hours, it's time to look back at the year that was and reflect on some of my favourite films from the past 12 months.

My 2018 Movie Soundtrack Playlist

Every December I take a look back at the year that was and cherry pick some musical highlights, whether they be soaring orchestral scores or licensed tracks that have been inserted into films to great effect.

From the good (Black Panther, Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse) to the bad (Aquaman) and the ugly (Venom), superhero films and their licensed soundtracks have covered the whole spectrum in the last 12 months. Everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Pitbull features in my playlist, although the latter is definitely not an endorsement.

I've also included a handful of my favourite 'needle drops' of the year, such as American Animals' use of Elvis Presley and I Tonya going for an unsubtle introduction to its antagonist with Cliff Richard's Devil Woman.

Between Bohemian Rhapsody, Mamma Mia and A Star Is Born, films about music or musicals were all the rage in 2018, with a select few favourites featuring below. Then we dip into the original scores; Annihilation is a firm fave, while Black Panther, Game Night, Mission Impossible: Fallout and First Man should all garner a mention as some of the best from this year. By no means a comprehensive list, feel free to let me know some of your favourite film soundtracks from 2018 and I can add them to the playlist in Spotify.

Film Review: Vice

With American politics currently in a nosedive, can Adam McKay’s Vice spin a yarn that is stranger and more compelling than the headlines? 

Film Review: The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite puts a devilishly dark spin on English history, with three terrific central performances elevating a decidedly strange and distorted tale of power, war and sex.

Film Review: Aquaman

Aquaman swims into cinemas this Boxing Day – will DC's latest tentpole cause a splash or be all lost at sea?

Film Review: Spider-man - Into the Spider-Verse

Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man is back, just not in a way that you have seen before.

Film Review: Overlord

It's the Allied Forces versus a horde of hungry Nazi zombies – that premise alone should entice, but the execution of Julius Avery's Overlord will have genre fans salivating. 

Film Review: Mowgli - Legend of the Jungle

Andy Serkis' sophomore film as director sees the acclaimed actor tackle a literary classic with mixed results.

Film Review: Bumblebee

Travis Knight's Bumblebee spin-off flies into cinemas this Boxing Day – we caught an early preview to see what all the buzz is about. 

Film Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Fraud, forgery and a feline-loving culprit – Can You Ever Forgive Me? is an unlikely crime caper set in early 90s New York buoyed by two brilliant lead performances. 

Film Review: Creed II

Director Steven Caple Jnr serves up a knockout Creed sequel that doesn't do a disservice to the Rocky legacy.

Film Review: Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald

Director David Yates and screenwriter JK Rowling return to the Wizarding World for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the second entry in the series set several decades before Harry Potter.

Film Review: Roma

The most personal project to date from director Alfonso Cuaron, Roma chronicles a turbulent year in the lives of a middle-class family in 1970s Mexico City.

Film Review: Widows

Director Steve McQueen serves up a sharp Chicago crime drama with a sprawling ensemble cast and an unexpected helping of social commentary in Widows.

Film Review: A Star is Born

It's the film that's already a lock for practically every Oscar, if film news sites are to be believed. But does the 2018 iteration of A Star Is Born - which stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga - live up to the sky-high hype?

Film Review: Suspiria

Lose yourself to dance with Luca Guadagnino's twisted horror remake Suspiria. 

Film Review: My Generation

The Mini British Film Festival rolls into town this October for another year of celebrating what makes Britain oh so great. Featured on the lineup in My Generation, a documentary about the Swinging Sixties. Groovy baby! Cue Soul Bossa Nova...

Film Review: Bad Times at the El Royale

Seven strangers, one crummy hotel; Bad Times at the El Royale sees writer/director Drew Goddard serve up a stylish throwback to grimy 90s noir. 

Film Review: Venom

Fan-favourite Spidey rival Venom gets a solo venture courtesy of director Ruben Fleischer and starring Tom Hardy – and despite its best efforts, this lethargic slog lacks the panache of its web-slinging cousin.

Film Review: First Man

After saving jazz (twice) and winning an Oscar, director Damien Chazelle turns his gaze skyward for a soaring biopic of the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong. 

Film Review: A Simple Favour

Slick, sexy and sorta silly, Paul Feig's A Simple Favour is a surprise hoot.

Film Review: Boys Cry

A tragic, twisted Italian crime drama about two young men who lose their way, Boys Cry is an effective if harrowing film.

Film Review: American Animals

Kentucky, 2004. Four college students plot one of the most audacious art heists in US history. Fourteen years later, director Bart Layton regales us with their exploits in a darkly comic docu-drama, American Animals. 

Film Review: The Predator

Can Shane Black lend his magic touch to the Predator series? The results may surprise you...

Film Review: Kin

Written and directed by Josh and Jonathan Baker, Kin is a sci-fi action film that lacks imagination and impact.

Film Review: Crazy Rich Asians

John M Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians is the feel-good film of the year and a landmark moment for representation. 

Film Review: The Happytime Murders

Avenue Q meets Chinatown in the worst film of the year, as Melissa McCarthy stumbles through the latest in a long line of flops. 

Interview: Jordon Prince-Wright

Note: This article originally appeared over at Hooked on Film, a Perth-based website where you can find even more new release movie reviews, features, interviews and insight. Click here to check it out.

A five-year production from pen to paper to premiere, The Decadent and Depraved has been making waves with audiences across the state since its big unveiling last December. 

Film Review: The Meg

All shark and no bite; Stath versus shark turns out to be a rather tame affair. 

Film Review: BlackkKlansman

Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes, Spike Lee's Blackkklansman uses some crazy 'fo real shit as the basis for one of the best films of the year.

Film Review: Mission Impossible - Fallout

With death-defying stunts and crazy choreography, Tom Cruise risks life and limb for our entertainment – it could only be Mission Impossible: Fallout.

Film Review: The Breaker Upperers

Kiwi comedy produces yet another kooky double act in The Breaker Upperers.

Film Review: Skyscraper

One night, one building, one absolute unit; Dwayne Johnson must brave heights and hellfire to save his family from death in Rawson Marshall Thurber's Skyscraper.

Film Review: The Rider

A young cowboy grapples with an identity crisis after suffering a devastating head injury.

Film Review: What Will People Say

Opposing cultures collide in Iram Haq's What Will People Say.

Film Review: Ant-Man and The Wasp

Even when they are phoning it in, Ant-Man and The Wasp proves Marvel can deliver a fun lark.

Film Review: You Were Never Really Here

Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here takes the foundations of an action thriller and uses them to build something altogether stranger.

Film Review: Sicario - Day of the Soldado

Stefano Sollima’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a solid sequel that is sorely lacking in identity.

Film Review: More Human Than Human

What does it mean to live in the age of intelligent machines? Two documentarians set out to find out.

Film Review: Incredibles 2

Leave the saving the world to the men? I don't think so...

Film Review: Jurassic World - Fallen Kingdom

Return to Isla Nublar in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, a sequel with plenty for fans to enjoy – but also its fair share of issues.

Film Review: Ocean's 8

Girls just wanna have fun in Gary Ross' she-quel, Ocean's 8. 

Film Review: The Leisure Seeker

Love is dead and growing old sucks – what else is new? 

Film Review: Hereditary

A24 hits another horror home run in Hereditary, an unsettling suburban thriller than transforms into a cyclone of stressful supernatural shit.

Film Review: Upgrade

Slick, scorching, grisly and clichéd AF – strap in for an Upgrade. 

Rank the Films: Star Wars

Who doesn't love a good list? On the slate this month; Star Wars ranked from worst to best.

Film Review: Solo - A Star Wars Story

Lucasfilm winds back the clock for a crime caper centred around everyone's favourite scruffy-looking nerf herder – but how does Solo: A Star Wars Story stack up?

Prequels and Hollywood's Lack of Imagination

With Solo hitting cinemas later this week, I take a look at the deluge of prequels that we've seen in recent years.

Film Review: Kodachrome

An absentee father and his quarrelsome son embark on one final trip together. Buckle up for some feels, man.