It’s that time of year when, as we have done for the last decade or so, we have dragged ourselves from the revelries here at SFFWorld to try and put some sort of order to our favourite (and not so favourite!) stuff from 2018. Here’s our last review of the year.
The first part, on Fantasy & Horror books is HERE and the second part on Science Fiction is HERE.
And so, in the finest traditions of trying to reduce our lists to five in each category, here’s the last part of our attempt to show what we liked (or didn’t) this year. Taking part are Rob Bedford (Rob), Mark Chitty (MarkC) and Mark Yon (MarkY).
Part A: Film
Mark Y’s Comments
As ever, let’s begin with a list of the top grossing movies of 2018:
The domination of genre reigns supreme: perhaps more so than in previous years! I make it 9 out of 10 of the Top 10 being genre-related. (I suspect Mary Poppins Returns will come crashing in before the end of the year and possibly the appearance of Aquaman and even Bumblebee!)
But the list continues that ongoing trend that genre movies are both popular and successful economically, if not critically.
Of that list, it is nice to see some originals amongst the remakes, sequels and series. A Quiet Place is determinedly low budget, but worth a watch (Emily Blunt again!) Particular favourites here were Solo and Venom, both great fun and, away from the divisive criticism, better than the reviews have suggested. Rather like when Ant Man came out – I hope to see the sequel (Ant Man and the Wasp) soon. Younger members in the family also rate Deadpool 2 for its irreverent fun. Avengers: Infinity War was a big movie in all of the senses, the culmination of a long journey – but I suspect would be totally mystifying to anyone seeing the series for the first time.
But…. I must say that for me, anyway, there seems to have been less I’ve wanted to see at the pictures this year. Sensory overload? Perhaps. But I’ll repeat my request to see more original material next year.
Mark C’s Film Thoughts
I’ve managed to watch a fair few movies this year, though perhaps not as many new releases as I’d have liked. I mostly watch films at home these days, so end up waiting for the home release before getting to them, which explains why I’ve missed most of the recent releases.
Of the superhero movies I watched, Infinity War has to be at the top of the list. It may not be the best of the bunch, but it’s damned close and managed to do everything I wanted from start to finish. Black Panther was fantastic, while Ant Man and The Wasp was a slight disappointment for me. Deadpool 2 was much of the same as the first, and Venom was a pleasant surprise, if a little messy.
Of book/game adaptions, I only caught a few of them: Ready Player One (not as good as the book, but fun nonetheless), Annihilation (better than the book, for me, and somewhat clearer in terms of story), Rampage (three mutated beasts plus The Rock: ‘nuff said), and Tomb Raider (a better adaption than expected, but not as focused as I’d have liked).
Of original genre films I saw this year, a few have really stood out: Upgrade, A Quiet Place, Extinction, The Cloverfield Paradox, The Titan. Perhaps I’m alone in some of those picks, but I enjoyed them all thoroughly! However, I was disappointed with Pacific Rim Uprising and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, for their seeming lack of originality, and I pretty much hated a film I had high hopes for: The Predator.
I also caught the latest entry in the Tremors franchise: A Cold Day in Hell. Just as crazy, good/bad, cheesy, etc. as I would expect.
Finally, I absolutely loved watching Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s not perfect by a long shot and had plenty of little issues here and there, but so much better than what I had heard, and completely enjoyed.
Rob’s Comments
Most of the SFnal films I saw were Comic book related and I enjoyed most of them, too. Avengers: Infinity War was the biggest and most ambitious. Black Panther was probably the best of the super-hero films, it was so much more than just a “superhero” film – it was a cultural touchstone and a beautiful movie, period. Unfortunately, as much as I liked Incredibles 2, it was a bit of a let down. This was likely because there was so much time since the first movie released and the anticipation of perhaps the most sequel-able of all the Pixar films. The most surprising was Venom, which was a mishmash of movies that couldn’t quite figure out what kind of movie it wanted to be – superhero? Horror? Buddy film? – but was ultimately quite enjoyable. As of this writing, I haven’t yet had the chance to see Aquaman.
There were some really good horror movies released this year, with The Quiet Place being a standout. John Krasinski, best known for comedic acting, delivered a well shot movie from the other side of the lens as director. He also performed double duty as the father of the family hiding from aliens in the decimated landscape. Hereditary was also a powerful and unique film. Not scary in the traditional horror sense, but it delivered on extremely dark themes; the legacy of a family of demon worship. SFF writers Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig had an interesting twitter conversation in the summer of 2017 which formed the basis of You Might Be the Killer, which premiered on SyFy the first Saturday in November and can now be seen on Netflix. This was a fun send up of the slasher subgenre of horror movies. Perhaps the biggest horror movie of the year was based on the biggest book from the biggest horror writer on the planet, of course I’m referring to IT. Though it had some issues (like some of how Bev Marsh was handled), it was a very good take on a Stephen King classic.
Part 2: TV
Mark Y’s Comments
As with Film, so TV. There has been so much genre television this year that it has been impossible to watch it all. Much has been merely OK, some has been better than expected, some has been phenomenal.
The rise and dominance of streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix has continued. One of the best things about this has been the global appearance of programmes, with often whole series appearing around the world in 24 hours. This has meant, more than ever before, that often the world is watching a truly global experience at the same time.
To the list then. Personal favourites this year have been Castle Rock, the imagining of many of Stephen King’s nightmares, that combined characters from a diverse range of books into something quite chilling. Similarly impressive, though not always genre related, was Inside Number 9, written and starring two of the League of Gentlemen, which was as intelligent, perceptive, funny and uncomfortable as ever. Think Black Mirror but shorter, better and less depressing. Their live half hour at Halloween was a particular highlight of the year.
I have enjoyed more than I expected to, the re-imagined Star Trek: Discovery, though the move to pay-per-view in the US (not here in the UK, luckily) has, quite rightly in my opinion, caused upset. There will be more of this next year as shows move to a new Disney channel and has led to the cancellation of liked series such as Daredevil and (the less loved) Iron Fist. Expect similar outrage over Star Wars’/Disney’s The Mandelorean next year. Seth McFarlaine’s The Orville settled down into a good series – what I rather expected a new Star Trek to be like and not the joke-fest I had feared.
I also really enjoyed Altered Carbon, although clearly different from the books as I remember them. Nightflyers has had its moments but generally suffers the now-usual course of too much time, too little plot. Expanding some of these books/films to 10 hours is not always the best, as I also found with the classy yet glacially slow adaptation of Dan Simmons’ The Terror.
The many Marvel TV series (Daredevil, The Punisher, Luke Cage etc) seem to have been generally well received, although personally I gave up on most of them a season or so ago.
I also liked The Haunting of Hill House, though like many of these new streamed series it was almost fatally slow to start. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was more entertaining than I expected. It is not particularly deep but was creepily fun. A Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a new generation, perhaps.
And talking of new traditions, the revival of Doctor Who was for me in some ways good and in other ways less so. It is clear that the new season has struck a chord for many (younger) viewers, but for me, and as before, the scripts were variable, from the good to the dire. Turning it into a soap opera series rather than a Space Opera has not gone down well with some vocal members of the Who community. I sat through the whole series, but think it could be better, despite all of the promotion and positive spin from the BBC that suggests that it is good enough.
Less enjoyable for me were the many series that I failed to sit through until the bitter end. These included The City and the City, Legion season 2, American Gods and Midnight, Texas season 2. Not necessarily bad, but they did little to generate continued interest on my part.
The good news is that, for all of my personal moans, 2019 Film and TV has got some big stuff coming up. I’m particularly looking forward to the second part of IT and Captain Marvel but less optimistic on the film front about Avengers 4, Star Wars Episode 9 and X Men: Dark Phoenix. (I’m sure that they’ll do fine without my wholehearted support.) And as for Terminator (again?), Men in Black International and Toy Story 4? Hmmm.
From television (or at least through our streamed services) I’m looking forward to Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens most of all (with two of my favourite actors in it!), as well as Season 3 of Stranger Things (due Spring) and more Sabrina, whilst still unsure of The Dark Crystal: Age of Innocence. And then there’s that last season of Game of Thrones…
Nevertheless, it is still a good time for genre, even if getting to see them and finding time to watch them may be at a premium.
Mark C’s TV Thoughts
I’ve not watched as much TV as I thought I had this year. Or rather, not as much new TV. I’ve missed plenty of shows in either their first or subsequent seasons, but managed to catch at least some I wanted to.
Starting with the Netflix Marvel shows, I only watched Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, both of which I found too long for their episode count. Each had their good points though, and hearing of Luke Cage’s cancellation was a shame. I still need to watch Iron Fist and Daredevil, the former for completion sake, the latter because it’s my favourite of these shows.
Of other shows, I finished the first season of Star Trek Discovery and enjoyed it very much. The only real issue I have is how different it is considering it should be in the Prime timeline. Still, once I put that out of my mind I found it a great show that did many good things, and felt a fresh take on Star Trek. The Expanse continued to be excellent and perhaps the best SF show out there at the moment (at least that I’ve watched). Altered Carbon was a good adaption with just enough differences to keep it fresh and entertaining without ruining it for fans (this one, at least). Castle Rock was good, with plenty of mystery and intrigue and keeping with King’s themes despite being an original story set in a familiar place.
And that’s it from me – too much missed this year, but I enjoyed what I did watch. Roll on 2019!
Rob’s Comments
The Expanse was probably the standout from the SF side of things in 2019, an immensely enjoyable, well acted, glorious looking adaptation of the popular books by James S. A. Corey. The cast is damned near perfect, the storytelling is gripping. Thankfully, Amazon Prime picked up the series shortly after SyFy cancelled it. Altered Carbon was also an impressive adaptation, a fantastic looking show that managed to carry much of the weigh of Richard Morgan’s debut novel. Joel Kinnaman brought both a vulnerability and a sense of menace to the character of Takeshi Kovacs throughout the first season, though other actors portrayed the character since a person’s consciousness can be “sleeved” and inserted into other bodies. I tried to watch Nightflyers, the George R.R. Martin adaptation but didn’t make it past the first hour of the show. What did work was the new Doctor Who, it took Jodie Whitaker all of about a half hour of screen time to win me over as the Doctor. While she was fantastic, some episodes felt a little uneven.
Although I’m still extremely far behind on the Marvel series for Netflix, a couple of comic book adaptations stood out very high for me. I really enjoyed The Tick on Amazon Prime, which was a nice homage/reboot of the series that centred the story on “sidekick” Arthur. My favorite show of the year may have been The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which I reviewed here and works both as a comic book adaptation and a very good horror story. Speaking of horror, one of the biggest shows on Netflix this past year was The Haunting of Hill House. It had that addictive viewing aura, looked great, was mostly well acted, and played with some classic themes and stories. A couple of the episodes were contenders for best episode of the year, regardless of genre, but like many, I felt the ending left a little to be desired. Back to Stephen King, Hulu attempted something interesting with Castle Rock. The story took themes, characters (Alan Pangborn), actors (Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard), and the locale from various King works and mashed them up into a pretty enjoyable first season. Like Hill House there was one episode that was a showcase for just what a great actress Sissy Spacek is.
Although technical a sitcom, The Good Place plays very actively in the SFF genre space – the primary conflict in the show involves The Good Place and the Bad Place contending for the souls of the four “dumb dumbs;” the protagonists of the show. Kristen Bell is the defacto lead, while Ted Danson plays a reforming demon trying to usher souls into either the Good or the Bad Place. The Good Place is the brain child of Mike Schur, who also had a big part in The Office (U.S. version), Parks and Recreation, and Brooklyn 99. The Good Place is in the middle of its 3rd season and is a delightful show.
And that’s it for another year. We hope that you’ve found it useful and entertaining (or even both!) We wish you all the best for 2019 and hope to see you again next year.
I have now seen Ant Man and the Wasp. Was very good, despite the still-annoying “kiddie in peril” cliche. Definitely one of the better Marvel movies.