FinalBoss.io is dedicated to covering everything we can in the world of entertainment. From unmissable TV to the biggest games of the year. The result is that our team collectively manage to keep up with the must-see movies of the year, which means we can help you do that same! There are over 700 mainstream movies released in cinemas every year, which means you’ll be hard pushed to see them all.

But of those 700, how many are actually worth your time as well?

We all know that a truly great movie is often few and far between these days. Whether it was the sinking of massive blockbusters like Mortal Engines or Wrinkle in Time, or just small disappointments that had great potential, such as Red Sparrow, 2018 was filled with plenty of flicks that are not deserving of your precious waking hours.

Some though, cannot and should not be missed.

To help make sure you spend your time only on the must-see movies of 2018, each member of the FinalBoss.io has chosen their top film of the year. So, what made the cut?

James: A Quiet Place

John Krasinski really is trying to stray as far as possible from his ‘The Office‘ roots. Moving into big-budget action dramas like 13 Hours and Jack Ryan, the man seems determined to show he’s more than just a sitcom goofball. If there was ever any doubt that he wasn’t up to the challenge, A Quiet Place firmly puts a nail in that coffin. Directed by and starring the man himself, alongside Emily Blunt and a well-selected cast of completely tolerable child actors, this movie is a thriller/horror that combines some elements of low-grade sci-fi with chilling suspense wrapped up in a bow of endearing character moments and family bonds.

A Quiet Place does everything right. It is paced beautifully, combining gripping action set-pieces with slowly building tension. The premise, a world where mysterious and un-killable alien creatures have taken over, and eviscerate anyone that makes a sound, reels you in, while the relationships and trials of the family around which the movie is centred keep you hooked.

While it is a billed as a horror, this isn’t your typical jump-scare flick. Its plot is well designed and intelligent, moving from beat to beat with a deliberate narrative purpose. There are no scares for the sake of scares here; A Quiet Place is all about telling a unique and engrossing story. Another interesting factor in A Quiet Place is that lot of the film takes place in near-total silence, given that if any noise is made, the monsters would tear our character’s limb-from-limb. This creates a one-of-a-kind experience in itself.

Gaining massive critical acclaim and garnering many awards, this definitely is a must-see movie of 2018. Just make sure you don’t watch it somewhere noisy, or do what I did, and have a crunchy snack…

Jon: Mandy

My top pick for 2018 was a pretty straight answer actually. (Maybe with the exception of McQueen’s “Widows”) No movie had quite the effect on me like this year’s “MANDY”.

Mandy was an acid throwback to the cultist 70s cinema with its neon lighting, synth soundtrack, and bizarro lore. Mandy felt like a really good Video Nasty that you would stumble across by accident, having heard nothing about it prior and only picking it up based solely on the cool artwork on the box. Heads are squashed, there’s a chainsaw battle, fire, Cenobites, and Nick Cage at his most 12 out of 10.

Ryan: Aquaman

Many wrote Aquaman off before even giving it a chance, due to the previous poor showings from the DC universe, cough cough Justice League, Suicide Squad.. But hell, I’ve been following Jason Momoa’s career on and off since his light-hearted, loveable portrayal as Ronon Dex in one of my favourite sci-fi franchises SGA, so of course, I was going to see it regardless of the haters.

Aquaman tells the origin story of Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and his fight against the power-hungry King Orm (Patrick Wilson) who seeks to use the vast army of the seas to conquer the surface. With the main plot out of the way, there’s a lot of movie here in Aquaman, from the backstory of his childhood, to the CGI masterpiece of Atlantis, the many whimsical sea creatures throughout the movie and a hell of a lot of choreographed fighting scenes between, after and during, guy’s there’s a lot of action in this movie! However, there is plenty of light-hearted humour and jokes throughout the movie, most of them land, but here are a few that could leave a room silent in awkwardness, but thankfully the pace of the movie moves it on swiftly.

Aquaman is a joyous fun ride for the whole family, with plenty of rewatchability and no doubt an extended version with more jokes and humour coming to the physical release later this year. I genuinely feel that DC has taken a more Marvel approach to this one, moving away from the darker tones of previous films and instead giving us a film that we’ll want to watch again and again.

Aquaman is already on track to pull in well over $900 million dollars and to put that into context, The Dark Knight Rises earned $1.09 billion back in 2012 and the more recent Wonder Woman pulled in $821.8 million. So for all the misconceptions, Aquaman had and even our very own James Speyer chiming in with “It’ll suck, I’m going to watch Bumblebee instead, it has a GOOD story.”, it looks as if DC has finally found its footing.

Before I wrap this up I want to give a well-deserved nod to James Wan, there was a hell of a lot of movie to fit into 2 hours, but he certainly delivered it well. I’d be excited to see if the success of Aquaman with James Wan at the helm translate into upcoming DC movies, because god knows Zack Synder isn’t doing the DC universe any favours right now.

Charly: Incredibles 2

Incredibles 2 is a movie that we’d been waiting for for a very, very long time. The original, released all the way back in 2004, is widely regarded as one of the best superhero movies ever made, while also changing the game in terms of animated storytelling. The result was that the sequel had some pretty big shoes to fill, and much like Finding Dory, Pixar seemed apprehensive to offer up anything new until they had a story that was well worth telling.

Happily, they did.

Incredibles 2 is a fantastic return to this bizarre and enchanting world; a definite must-see movie of 2018. It takes everything you loved about the first film and builds on it. While there are plenty of superhero hijinks and whacky stunts, at Incredibles 2’s core is exactly what captivated us about the first one: character relationships and development. The motives here are different, and actually almost completely reversed. It’s not about recapturing youth anymore, it’s about accepting maturity, but that still allows us a window into the world of our lovable family of heroes.

What we get with Incredibles 2 is just what we got with Incredibles, the first one, an exciting but also an endearing adventure. It might not be as groundbreaking as the first, and probably won’t live on in quite the same cult-classic style, but it’s still absolutely unmissable.

Fraser: Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody could have been a disaster. When you tackle a subject so beloved as Queen, you risk complete ruin. But, thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

Rami Malek – of Mr Robot fame – does an incredible job of capturing Freddie Mercury’s energy and charisma. He, along with the rest of the cast, draw you into this wild and turbulent time in the band’s illustrious career, taking you on a journey that would be just as enthralling if it were the work of fiction rather than biographical.

Of course, some of it is fictitious, in a way, with events occasionally happening out of sync, being cut and so on. This isn’t uncommon for a true-to-life story adaptation and Bohemian Rhapsody handles the whole process well; managing to match up as many real events as possible while still maintaining a good cinematic flow and narrative structure that keeps the audience hooked. You get what feels like a true insight into the world of Queen, but at the same time, Bohemian Rhapsody progresses like a movie should and you never feel bogged down some of the more hum-drum aspects of what life is really like.

That exciting movie experience is continued, and enhanced, by the stunning cinematography of this film. The visuals are a powerful element of Bohemian Rhapsody, with director Bryan Singer often using the epic scale of concerts, as well as the vibrant lighting and costumes associated with the band, to produce captivating visuals that really get you immersed in this hectic rock-and-roll world.

Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t just a great tribute to the genius that was Queen, it’s also a brilliant movie in its own right and is 100% a must-see movie of 2018.

The post The Must-See Movies of 2018: FinalBoss Top Picks appeared first on FinalBoss.io.