The 2018 Stars & Popcorn Movie Awards
Best Visual Effects: BumbleBee
All the previous Transformers movies were so incredibly gratuitous when it came to the designs of their robots that the fights looked like globs of metal smashing into each other. Bumblebee’s simplified takes on the robots were pure eye candy. While there were still plenty of explosions, you could actually tell what was going on and the end result is some of the best fight scenes I saw at the movies this year. It just so happened that they were between giant robots. Needless to say, it was an incredible sight to behold.
Runner-Up: Aquaman
Most complaints I’ve heard about Aquaman are along the lines of “the underwater people riding sharks looked unrealistic.” Well, no duh. They didn’t exactly have references to work from.
Best Ensemble Cast: Bad Times at the El Royal
Featuring the likes of Jeff Bridges, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo, Bad Times at the El Royal is features an incredible ensemble cast. Best of all though, they turn in some truly memorable performances thanks to the rich characters they get to play with. While the idea of a taut thriller is appealing, it was the stars attached to this film that got me so excited to see this movie. Thankfully all my expectations were met and exceeded by the incredible cast of actors.
Runner-Up: Avengers: Infinity War
How could I not mention the biggest Marvel event to date? The thing is that it had so many stars that it felt a bit bogged down at times. Still, I have to admire the star power in it.
Best Cameo: Deadpool 2
Blink and you’ll miss Brad Pitt’s cameo in Deadpool 2. One of the biggest (and arguably most handsome) stars in the world finally takes on a superhero role and he’s invisible. Not only that, but he never utters a single word throughout the film. In fact, you only know it is Pitt when he suffers his demise at the hands of a power line. Best of all, rumor has it the cost of his performance was the SAG minimum and a cup of coffee delivered by Ryan Reynold’s to the set.
Runner-Up: Deadpool 2
Matt Damon delivers an intense speech on the benefits of wet wipes over toilet paper disguised as a hillbilly. I didn’t even recognize him the first time I saw the movie.
Best Hero: Miles Morales (Into the Spider-Verse)
Diversity has been a wonderful trend over the course of 2018 and while Black Panther brought one of the biggest black comic book characters to the big screen, Spider-Verse brought one of my favorite minority heroes to life. Over the course of the film, Miles goes from an uncertain teenager forced to step into the boots of Spider-Man himself and ends up saving multiple dimensions from destruction. His journey is one of the best of the year and that’s why I have to give him a shout out as this year’s best movie hero.
Runner-Up: Boyce (Overlord)
Anyone who kills Nazis is a hero in my book. However, Boyce went toe to toe with super, undead, monster Nazis. So, he’s a pretty damn good hero.