The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
A superhero movie stood the tallest in 2018 (no, um, a different one)
In the grand scheme of things, what film wins the Academy Award for best picture is the opposite of important.
And yet, much in the same way I enjoy rooting for, say, the Browns and Cavaliers, I like having that one film to get behind. While my sportsteam loyalties were ingrained in me many a year ago, which film I pull for every year is decided differently. The film I think was the best of the year, that’s my horse.
This year, I gotta tell you, I really don’t care.
Like any year, 2018 produced a number of films worth seeing, the eight entries in the best-picture category certainly being among them.
I simply can’t champion any of them, starting with “Roma,” the Netflix film from writer-director Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron has a real eye behind the camera, but the intimate, personal tale didn’t pull me in the way I expected it to given its acclaim.
In fact, I couldn’t quite find room for it on the accompanying, just-completed top 10 list for 2018 — I procrastinated as long as I could before compiling it because I’m not as enthusiastic as I’d like to be about the crop — a list You’ll notice my top film is not up for Oscar, and I’m relatively surprised to see it there myself.
Hey, I like comic book movies just fine, but I typically don’t think they typically stand out from the pack. And while the Oscar-nominated “Black Panther” did in a number of ways — and earned a spot in my ranking — when you scrape away its cultural relevance, fine performances and excellent direction, there’s a pretty standard adventure underneath.
I don’t feel that way about the incredible “Avengers: Infinity War,” directed by Cleveland natives Joe and Anthony Russo, which is like a comic book team-up double issue come to thrilling, visually and ultimately highly entertaining life.
Look, there are myriad ways to judge a movie, but, ultimately, I tend to think about two things: how ambitious was the vision for the film and how well was that vision executed?
With that in mind, “Infinity War” crushed it, the Russos telling a compelling superhero story with scads of superheroes, a strong villain, terrific action and even solid writing. The best aspects of the now-familiar bigscreen versions of the Marvel Comics characters were showcased in the film, and some actual thematic territory was mined by writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
Without question, “Avengers” was not the more important comic book film of the year — “Black Panther” having a predominantly black cast very understandably meant a great deal to many people — but I think it’s a more satisfying watch, especially on a repeat viewing.
Considering “Green Book,” the easy-to-love historical drama from Peter Farrelly about an oldschool Italian-American bonding with a sophisticated black gentleman during a trip to the segregated Deep South, is second on my list, I suppose I’ll pull for that.
And yet were the highly enjoyable “Bohemian Rhapsody” to pull a major upset at the Oscars, it would put a smile on my face. While many found things to dislike about the biopic about late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, the music-centric film may have been my favorite movie-going experience of the year. I loved virtually every frame and was pleased when it took home a major award earlier this year at the Golden Globes.
I’m sure I’m missing something when it comes to “Roma,” so I’m going to try to find the time to rewatch it before the Oscars ceremony begins — heck, it’s just sitting there on Netflix — because I’d love to love it.
But you’ll have to forgive me if I pop in my Blu-ray of “Avengers: Infinity War” instead.
Without question, “Avengers” was not the more important comic book film of the year — “Black Panther” having a predominantly black cast very understandably meant a great deal to many people — but I think it’s a more satisfying watch, especially on a repeat viewing.