The 2018 Stars & Popcorn Movie Awards
Honoring the Best of the Movies from 2018.
It’s time to celebrate the end of another year at the movies with the first annual Stars & Popcorn Movie Awards. I’ve already counted down the 10 Best Movies of 2018 and the 10 Worst Movies of 2018, but there’s a lot more to celebrate from the world of cinema this year. Since we’re not your average movie review site, we’re not going to have your average movie awards. This year our awards are broken into three different parts: Annual Honors, Genre Awards, and Superlatives. While many other movie awards focus strictly on how “good” a movie or performance is, Stars & Popcorn took a broader approach recognizing how fun and
Annual Honors
Actor of the Year: Michael B. Jordan
Michale B. Jordan had one hell of a year at the movies in 2018. The rising star appeared as one of the greatest MCU villains in Black Panther where he proved himself to be the perfect adversary for Chadwick Boseman. Following that, he returned as the big screen boxing phenom Adonis Johnson in Creed II. He also starred in the HBO update of Fahrenheit 451 and helped produce (and appeared in) the sci-fi thriller Kin. This was a pretty busy year for Jordan and he managed to hit the perfect balance of quantity and quality. All his hard work has paid off since he’s earning himself the Actor of the Year Award for 2018.
Runner-Up: Josh Brolin
A close second to Michael B. Jordan is Josh Brolin who appeared in a ton of movies this year, including Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. While he was in just as many movies as Jordan, his weren’t quite as good as a whole. Still, it would be rude not to give him a nod for his hard work.
Actress of the Year: Tessa Thompson
Oddly enough Stars & Popcorn Actress of the Year also appeared in a film with our actor of the year. However, she is so much more than just a co-star. Tessa Thompson has been incredibly prolific this year, but in 2018 her filmography puts even Jordan’s busy schedule to shame. Not only was she in Creed II, but she also appeared in Annihilation and Sorry to Bother You, as well as a number of series such as West World and Dear White People. Thompson showed herself to be a versatile and talented actress in 2018 taking on a wide variety of roles that proved she’s more more than a breathtakingly beautiful woman, which is why she’s Stars & Popcorn’s Actress of the year!
Runner-Up: Emily Blunt
While she might not have had quite as extensive a filmography as Tessa Thompson, Emily Blunt had a pretty good year at the movies. Not only did she take on the beloved role of Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns, but she also appeared in the A Quiet Place. Unfortunately, her stellar performances just didn’t stack up to Thompsons.
Director of the Year: Ryan Coogler
There were a ton of incredible movies that made their way to theaters this year, but the most memorable of the year is from Ryan Coogler who brought Black Panther to the big screen. It was far from an easy task since he had to bring a fictional country to life in such a way that celebrated the strength and diversity of the African continent. His brilliant visuals, attention to detail, and emotional performances he got from his actors came together to create one of the truly great comic book movies of all time. While it might not be Oscar material, it’s more than enough to earn him an award from Stars & Popcorn as the director of the year!
Runner-Up: Boots Riley
There were a lot of woke movies in 2018, but none shed quite the same light on the classism and institutionalized marginalization faced by minorities quite like Boots Riley. The musician turned auteur proved himself to be more than capable behind the camera with his magical-realist film, Sorry to Bother You.
Movie of the Year: Black Panther
There is a difference between being the best movie of the year and the most important movie of the year. For 2018, no other film proved to be such a huge triumph as Black Panther. For years Hollywood tried to deny that people would spend money to see films featuring people of color in the lead roles. That claim was smashed by the staggering $1.3 billion international box office which made it the most profitable film of 2018. Movies like Sorry to Bother You, Kin and BlacKkKlansman followed in Black Panther’s footsteps proving that change is in the wind, it just took one hell of a film leading the charge. When all is said and done, 2018 will be best remembered as the year of Black Panther.