The Top 10 Best Movies I saw in 2018

On December 30, 2018January 1, 2019 By 18cinemalane3 Comments

As the sun sets for December, as well as 2018, lots of movie bloggers have participated in creating the lists of movies that they have liked and disliked. What I’ve noticed about these lists is that they’re filled with movies that are newly released films. While I have also decided to partake in making end-of-year movie lists, my lists will be slightly different from the rest. This difference is any movie that I saw within the year of 2018 is fair game. Like I said in my Top 10 Worst Hallmark Movies of All Time post, both of my end-of-year movie lists are not only based on my opinion, but also based on movies that I have personally seen. Before I talk about the list itself, I just wanted to mention that both of my movie lists were not created to be mean-spirited or negative toward anyone’s opinions/cinematic preferences. These lists are simply a way for me to be honest about the films that I liked and disliked within 2018. Now, as the title suggests, this is the list where I will share the Top 10 Best Movies I saw in 2018. I’ve been very grateful to have had a really good year in terms of movie-viewing. I’m not going to lie, this list was not easy to create. There were a good amount of films I saw, and sometimes reviewed, this year that I really liked. However, with the nature of any Top 10 list, there are bound to be movies that don’t make the cut. Speaking of which, let’s begin with this short list of 2018’s Honorable Mentions:

Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Christmas Everlasting, The Dark Knight, Love, Of Course, Christmas at Pemberley Manor, Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder, Escape to Witch Mountain, Return from Witch Mountain, Shoelaces for Christmas, Flicka: Country Pride, Strangers on a Train, Hailey Dean Mysteries: A Will to Kill, Pearl in Paradise, The Bad Seed (2018), Christmas on the Coast, Love, Once and Always, and Runaway Romance

new year 2018 text made with particles bursting upwards — 2018 in gold dust image created by Starline at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Starline – Freepik.com</a>. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/new-year-2018-text-made-with-particles-bursting-upwards_1472355.htm’>Designed by Starline</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Now, the moment has come to start the official list! Let’s start with number 10:

10. Wedding of Dreams

Like I mentioned in my review for Wedding of Dreams, I said that, in 2016, I would have debated about why For Love and Honor was more deserving of a sequel than Summer of Dreams. However, Wedding of Dreams was not only a good movie individually, but also a great continuation to this particular story! One of my least favorite clichés that Hallmark has ever incorporated into their films is the “planning-a-wedding-in-an-unrealistic-time-period” cliché. While this cliché does appear in Wedding of Dreams, it was written in a way that actually makes sense for that specific story. What also helped this movie is not having this cliché be the primary focus. Instead, it serves as an interconnecting subplot that works together with another subplot. To me, this was the best wedding themed movie that Hallmark released in 2018!

9. Avengers: Infinity War

Despite the fact that I wasn’t a fan of this film’s ending and end-credit scene, I still found it to be an enjoyable film. All of the key components of Avengers: Infinity War looked and felt like they are handled with great care. Every detail, from the acting to Thanos himself, were put at the right place and time in order to create an entertaining cinematic experience! Besides the ending and end-credit scene, I was disappointed by the movie being more of a “set-up” film than I had expected. But, as I said in my spoiler-zone review of Avengers: Infinity War, I will take Dale Travers’ advice to “trust the timing” as I patiently wait for the arrival of Avengers: Endgame.

8. Oliver!

Yes, I know I just reviewed this movie recently. But, when I look back on all the movies that I’ve seen, and reviewed, in 2018, Oliver! just makes me smile. Honestly, this has quickly become one of my favorite movie musicals, with an engaging story and memorable songs. Even as I list these movies one by one, I still think of the song “Consider Yourself”. A great thing about movies is they can have the ability to find a special place in your heart. For me, this is exactly what Oliver! did, finding a special place in my heart in order to be carried and remembered as time goes on. As I mentioned in my review, this movie is one of the reasons why I’m thinking about reading Oliver Twist in 2019!

7. Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa

Out of all the Christmas movies that were released from Hallmark in 2017, Christmas in Evergreen was one of the last movies I would have expected to receive a sequel. However, this sequel pleasantly surprised me by how good of a film it was! What’s so great about Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa is that it adds something new to the story, as well as expand the world of Evergreen. It was nice to see two interesting, on-going mysteries in this film, with one of them leading to one of the best plot-twists in Hallmark movie history! Hallmark has proven that Evergreen is a truly special place, creating a likable environment filled with likable characters. I really hope Hallmark considers continuing the series, as I’m sure more stories can be found within this precious town.

6. Cowgirls ‘N Angels

This year, I was pleasantly surprised to find two horse themed movies that I really liked! One of these films was Cowgirls ‘N Angels, a movie that I had heard about, but never seen until 2018. The story within this movie was very sweet and emotional, keeping me invested throughout this cinematic journey. Bailee Madison’s performance was so great, it was actually one of her best acting performances that I’ve ever seen! Even though she was the youngest cast member in Cowgirls ‘N Angels, she still found a way to bring so much versatility and emotion to her character. It makes wish to see Bailee receive a dramatic role in a Hallmark movie. Yes, I know Bailee is an important member of the Good Witch television show. But, it’s been two or three years since we’ve seen Bailee star in a Hallmark movie that wasn’t Good Witch affiliated.

Avengers Infinity War Bucky poster — I think it’s safe to say that my friends, Bucky and Bucky, had a pretty good 2018! Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

5. L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew

I have seen all of PBS’s Anne of Green Gables films starring Ella Ballentine, with the first movie being good and the second movie being just decent. However, I thought this third movie was the best one in this trilogy! Something that really impressed me about this story was the messages and themes that were found within the film’s narrative. These messages and themes, such as the importance of education, were not only worth promoting, but were also presented in a way that seemed very realistic. This made me feel good about what I was watching, like that time was well spent. I hope that PBS considers creating more movies for this series, as I would definitely like to see Anne’s story continue. For the most part, this particular Anne of Green Gables series has had a pretty good track record when it comes to quality. PBS has proven that they have what it takes to make entertaining and meaningful films.

4. Jurassic Park

I had such a great movie-going experience when I saw Jurassic Park at a Fathom Events screening. One of the reasons why is how great of a movie this was! For me, Jurassic Park has almost everything I could want in a movie, making the movie itself such a memorable masterpiece. I mentioned in my review that I saw Jurassic Park for the first time in 2018. Looking back on this film, I’m glad I chose to review this movie when I received 25 followers on my blog. Otherwise, I might have missed out on a truly spectacular film! I have not yet seen the other films within this series, so I might have to make time to see them in 2019.

3. Saving Mr. Banks

This is a film that I’m so glad to have finally seen! I said in my review of Saving Mr. Banks that I have wanted to see this film for a while. When I received five followers on 18 Cinema Lane, I decided to make the time to see this movie. I can only speak for myself, but I think I made a wise choice. There were several great things about this film that helped make it the gem that it is. Similar to what I said about Avengers: Infinity War, everything about Saving Mr. Banks seems like it has handled with such great care. Because of this, my experience with watching this film ended up being a great one!

2. Cooking with Love

This was the first movie to receive a perfect score (10 out of 10) out of all the movies I reviewed in 2018! Even after all these months later, I can still remember how excited I was to share my thoughts about Cooking with Love with all my readers and followers. This movie took something that I love (the Hallmark movie, This Magic Moment) and added even more creativity to it. There were so many great elements in this film, that it truly makes me smile just thinking about the film as a whole. While there were a few things that I didn’t like about the movie, these things were minor and didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the movie. I would definitely love to see Cooking with Love receive a sequel, especially since there are enough story elements within this narrative to naturally lend itself well to a second chapter.

1. Royally Ever After

While Cooking with Love was the first movie to receive a perfect score on 18 Cinema Lane, it was definitely not the last. Royally Ever After also received a score of 10 out of 10! There is no such thing as a “perfect” Hallmark movie. But, to me, this film was the first Hallmark movie I’ve seen in quite a while to be as close to “perfect” as possible. The best part of Royally Ever After is how the creative team behind this project went out of their way to use as few “Hallmark royal movie” clichés as possible. It felt like Hallmark had taken a concept that had been told so many times and give it a much welcomed “breath of fresh air”. Like Cooking with Love, Royally Ever After has enough story elements to naturally lend itself towards a sequel. Besides, as far as I know, Hallmark has never made a movie that featured a royal wedding. This would be a great way for this movie to, potentially, be the start of a new series!

Royally Ever After poster — *Royally Ever After* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Royally%20Ever%20After&IsSeries=False.

What did you think of my list? What was the best movie you saw in 2018? Please let me know in the comment section!

Have fun in 2019!

Sally Silverscreen

Word on the Street: Marvel finally reveals the title and first trailer for Avengers 4

On December 7, 2018 By 18cinemalane3 Comments

I was going to publish my Movie Blogger’s Christmas Wish-List, but since Marvel released the first trailer for Avengers 4 today, I decided that this particular movie news story took more precedence. After months of waiting and weeks of false alarms, fans of the MCU got their first look at what was in store for Marvel’s next big adventure. Along with the trailer, Marvel also decided to reveal the title for the second part of this two-part saga. First, I’ll talk about the title and then I’ll talk the trailer itself. So, with that said, Marvel announced that the title for this new movie is:

(cue the drum rolls)

Avengers: Endgame

Narratively, this title makes sense. It indicates that the events within the film are being put into motion because of what Dr. Strange said in Avengers: Infinity War. But, personally, I’m not thrilled with this title because of how “on the nose” it sounds. I would have titled this film “Avengers: Excelsior” because it would have had a poetic meaning that correlates with the significance of the film’s plot as well as honor the memory of Stan Lee. Now, for the trailer. To me, it was…fine. I understand that Marvel doesn’t want to spoil the movie for their audience. However, this trailer lacked intrigue. For example, in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, scenes of battle preparations and meet-and-greets with fellow MCU superheroes gave the audience something to get excited about as they awaited the release date for the film. In the trailer for Avengers: Endgame, it was a mostly bleak and depressing depiction of what some of the heroes had gone through since we last left them. As for the “dusted” heroes? Well, none of them were featured in this trailer. I thought this decision was a mistake because it’s one of the primary reasons why this trailer didn’t have a lot of intrigue. Had, at least, a few of the “dusted” heroes appeared in this trailer, audiences could have wondered if their appearance was legitimate or an illusion. If I were not already looking forward to this movie, the Avengers: Endgame trailer would not have enticed me to want to see the movie as soon as possible. To me, this trailer did not increase my excitement or anticipation for Avengers: Endgame. I still think the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War is better than the one for Avengers: Endgame.

299832-P7FMT8-686 — Popcorn and movie ticket image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/cinema-tickets-in-bucket-with-popcorn_2303439.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/layout”>Layout image created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Before I conclude this post, I wanted to share one more announcement that Marvel made. Along with the title and trailer, the studio revealed that Avengers: Endgame was moving release dates from early May to April 26^th. I’m kind of not surprised that this decision was made, especially since Avengers: Infinity War went through a similar situation earlier this year. What I wonder is whether the film will premiere around the world on the exact same day? Because of the need to prevent spoilers, Marvel changed the release date for Avengers: Infinity War, so all of Marvel’s fans could see the movie around the same time. No matter the reason, MCU fans will finally get to see the film sooner than they thought.

exploding heart 0912 — Breaking heart image created by Kjpargeter at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/broken-heart-valentine-background_1041991.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Kjpargeter – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What are your thoughts on the trailer for Avengers: Endgame? Are you looking forward to seeing the film? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Word on the Street: Could we get a new Captain America sooner than we think?

On October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Last month, all of my Word on the Street posts were about the upcoming Christmas movies from Hallmark. Now, with most of those movies officially announced and with both of Hallmark’s Christmas line-ups premiering just around the corner, it’s time to talk about a movie related subject that has yet to receive an outcome. Yesterday, on Screen Junkies News and Collider Movie Talk, as well as today on The John Campea Show, a tweet from Chris Evans has been the talk of the town. On all three of these movie news shows, it was reported that Chris may have indicated, in a recent tweet, that after Avengers 4, he would no longer portray Captain America. While no one in any of these videos confirmed or denied Captain America’s departure in the MCU, all of the panelists provided their opinions and thoughts as to what the meaning behind Chris’s tweet was. Some of them speculated that Chris’s tweet was the writing on the wall for what was to come in Avengers 4. Spencer Gilbert, from Screen Junkies News, pointed out that, because Captain America has avoided getting killed off for so long, he might end up facing his demise in Avengers 4. Mark Ellis and Jeff Sneider, from Collider Movie Talk, questioned what else was there left for Captain America to do once Avengers 4’s story had finished. There were other people who believed that Chris’s tweet was a calculated misdirection in order to avoid any of Avengers 4’s spoilers to be leaked. John Campea, from The John Campea Show, said that since there’s nothing within Chris’s tweet that explicitly says he’s leaving the MCU, there’s a chance that Chris could continue to portray Captain America in future Marvel films. Mark Reilly, from Collider Movie Talk, suggested that all Chris was probably doing was expressing his gratitude for the opportunity he’s had working with Marvel.

20180814_155133[1] — Did Marvel show their hand by revealing a potential spoiler for Avengers 4? Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

When I came across the Screen Junkies News video, ‘Chris Evans Says Goodbye to Captain America – SJU’, I wondered why Chris would say anything about Captain America’s fate before the first trailer for Avengers 4 had been released. As I mentioned earlier, nothing was confirmed or denied in any of these videos. After listening to all of the points of view that were found within these videos, I still believe Steve Rogers/Captain America could pass away in Avengers 4. I do agree with what Spencer said about Captain America’s potential fate. At the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos tells Thor, “No more resurrections this time”, I actually thought the writers of this movie were foreshadowing what was to come later in the film. Because Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are a story that’s told in two parts, maybe Captain America could get defeated by Thanos after all. In a video from the Youtube channel, Looper, titled ‘Why Avengers 4 Will Blow You Away’, the Russo Brothers shared that a specific journey/story arc that started in Captain America: The Winter Soldier would be concluded in Avengers 4. Since the Russo Brothers have directed both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War as well as Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely writing all three Captain America movies, I think that Bucky might become the next Captain America, especially since there are subtle hints of that possibility within these films. Before this movie news story broke, I believed that Captain America could pass away toward the end of Avengers 4. Now, I think Steve Rogers could die in the middle of the film, with audiences getting a first glimpse of Bucky is his new superhero title like they did with Spider-Man and Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.

While we don’t know, right now, what the meaning behind Chris’s tweet is, I think Marvel had something to do with the timing of when this tweet got released. Out of all the days a tweet like this could show up on the internet, it just so happened to appear on the first day of New York Comic Con. Danielle Radford, from Screen Junkies News, mentioned that Marvel was planning on having a presence at this particular convention. I have a feeling that Marvel could reveal something significant relating to Avengers 4. Last year, Marvel premiered the very first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War at D23 and San Diego Comic Con. Maybe the first trailer for Avengers 4 will premiere at New York Comic Con? From a fan’s perspective, it would make sense for Marvel to show the trailer to convention guests a month before the public sees the trailer. The Avengers: Infinity War trailer was released to the public last November, so having a smaller window of time between New York Comic Con and a public trailer release could decrease the amount of leaked footage available for people unable to attend the convention to find. If this is what Marvel is planning on doing, this could make up for their absence at San Diego Comic Con and help the popularity of New York Comic Con grow.

newyork4 — New York City skyline with letters image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/new-york-skyline-typographic-silhouette_719554.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What do you think Captain America’s fate is in the MCU? Are you planning to go to New York Comic Con? Share your thoughts below in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to check out the videos I referenced in this post, you can go to the official Youtube channels of ScreenJunkies News, Collider Videos, and John Campea. You can also find the videos by typing the titles of each video into Youtube’s search bar. The titles to each video are the following:

ScreenJunkies News: ‘Chris Evans Says Goodbye to Captain America – SJU’ (just to let you know, there is some language within this video) Segment starts at 0:46 and ends at 8:31

Collider Videos: ‘Is Chris Evans Officially Done with Captain America? – Movie Talk’ Segment starts at 1:09 and ends at 14:48

John Campea’s The Movie Vlog: ‘Chris Evans Didn’t Actually Say He Was Done As Captain America’ – The John Campea Show (just to let you know, there is some language within this video) Segment starts at 18:28 and ends at 26:11

Why AVENGERS 4 Will Blow You Away – REACTION & ANALYSIS!!! (the original video has become unavailable, but you can watch the video within a Reel Rejects video. This video can be found on the official Youtube channel for The Reel Rejects)

Word on the Street: Title for Avengers 4 may come in late 2018

On June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 By 18cinemalane1 Comment

I haven’t published a Word on the Street post in two weeks, so I thought this movie news story would be a perfect way to get back to talking about movie related topics that I find interesting. Yesterday, Collider released an article about how one of their writers, Christina Radish, asked Kevin Feige in an interview about the title for the next Avengers film. In that same article, Mr. Feige indicated that the title would be revealed later in 2018, after the start of the Captain Marvel marketing. You can read Mr. Feige’s quote and the Collider article here:

http://collider.com/avengers-4-title-reveal/

Bucky and Thor at the movies — My friends, Bucky, Bucky, and Thor, at a screening of *Avengers: Infinity War*. Photo taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

After reading this article, I was, honestly, not surprised by what Mr. Feige said. Last month, John Campea, on The John Campea Show, talked about the official DVD release date for Avengers: Infinity War being set for August 14^th. It makes sense for Marvel to wait until after the film has made its theatrical run to announce the title for the next film, especially if that title contains any spoilers from Avengers: Infinity War. It also makes sense for Marvel to focus on releasing their Captain Marvel advertisements first, since that movie is being released next March and there has, so far, not been any official marketing for the film yet. Personally, I think the title for Avengers 4 will be revealed toward the end of the movie’s very first trailer, as to encourage people to watch the trailer and catch them by surprise. But for now, we’ll just have to take Dale Travers’ advice from Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You and “trust the timing”.

If you want to watch the video that I referenced in this post, type “Infinity War Digital Details, Deadpool 2 Box Office – The John Campea Show” into Youtube’s search bar.

What are your thoughts on Kevin Feige’s statements? Do you agree with Marvel’s decision to possibly reveal the Avengers 4 title in late 2018? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Avengers: Infinity War (SPOILER-FREE) Review

On May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

The day has finally arrived for me to review my most anticipated movie of 2018! Successfully avoiding possible spoilers, I had excitement and anticipation riding on my shoulders. This movie was definitely a cinematic event, probably one of the biggest this decade has ever seen. Avengers: Infinity War has been dominating the box office recently, dethroning previous champions and achieving almost every record imaginable. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) celebrating a milestone birthday, the hype for this film was absolutely real. But is Avengers: Infinity War worthy of all this attention and popularity? While you’re reaching for the stars, make sure to check out my review of Marvel’s newest installment; Avengers: Infinity War!

This review has no spoilers ahead!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The entire cast of Avengers: Infinity War was fantastic! Everyone put everything they had into their acting performances and it truly showed in the film. All of the comedic and dramatic timing was perfectly executed, as all of the actors and actresses’ portrayals appeared natural and believable. Because of the superb job from the cast, it helped me as a movie-goer put emotional investment into the characters.

The cinematography/special effects: All of the special effects in Avengers: Infinity War looked beautiful! Not only were the different environments pretty to look at, they all felt so distinctive and life-like! I also really liked the character designs of the CGI villains, especially Thanos. They all looked and felt very real, helping to make these characters come across as believable.

A balance of comedy and drama: While Avengers: Infinity War is a film that has a more serious tone, there are comedic moments that help prevent the movie from being “doom & gloom” from start to finish. The insertion of the jokes never felt forced, as they were both well-written and well-executed. But whenever there were dramatic moments in the film, it felt like it matched the overall tone the creative team behind this movie was trying to achieve.

Thanos as a villain: When watching Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos ended up scaring me. One reason for this is how Thanos felt like he was justified in creating and attempting to execute his plan. The other reason is how Thanos felt like nothing could stand in his way of his goals. Both of these aspects of Thanos made him one of the most memorable villians in the MCU.

Avengers: Infinity War logo created by The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios. © Disney•Pixar. All rights reserved. Marvel and Avengers Characters: ©2017 Marvel. Image found at https://marvel.com/.

What I didn’t like about the film:

The ending: Since this is a spoiler-free review, I can’t really elaborate on why I don’t like the ending. What I will say is that I felt like it was shocking just for the sake of it. Also, it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me.

The end-credit scene: Like I said about the ending, I can’t explain why I didn’t like the end-credit scene. All I’ll say is I felt it didn’t make a lot of sense and to me, was not worth the wait.

My overall impression:

Avengers: Infinity War was a good movie! There are a lot of things that this film did right, such as effectively balancing both comedy and drama. However, I didn’t think this was a great film. Going into this latest Marvel movie, I knew this would be a “set-up” film. But I was hoping that it wouldn’t be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 all over again, where the majority of the events in the film happened for the sake of setting up the next film. While Avengers: Infinity War is a better movie than the seventh Harry Potter installment, it still felt like a “set-up” for the next part in the Avengers story. Because the next chapter in this saga is coming in about a year, I’m only bothered by some of the events in the movie to a certain extent. Hopefully “Avengers 4” will be a better film than what we ended up receiving this time around.

Overall score: 8.5 out of 10

Have you seen Avengers: Infinity War? Was it worth all the hype for you? Please tell me what you think in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Avengers: Infinity War (SPOILER-ZONE) Review

On May 17, 2018May 22, 2018 By 18cinemalane4 Comments

If you read my spoiler-free review for Avengers: Infinity War, you would know that I gave the movie an official score of 8.5 out of 10. While I explained some of the reasons why I gave Marvel’s newest installment this score, I wasn’t able to go into depth about the other reasons for this score. Spoilers were the only reason why I didn’t elaborate on the things I didn’t like about the film. Because of this, I wanted to create a separate post where I could talk about the things from this movie that made me feel that this movie was good but not great. Since I already reviewed Avengers: Infinity War, this post will be more of a discussion/companion piece to the spoiler-free review. Now that introductions have finally been made, let’s talk about the spoilers from Avengers: Infinity War!

Be aware that there are spoilers ahead!

Avengers Infinity War Thor poster — Thor really wanted to get a picture with the *Avengers: Infinity War* poster! Photo taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

Avengers: Infinity War feeling like a “set-up” film: In my review of Avengers: Infinity War, I talked about how I was disappointed that some of the key events in this movie felt like they happened for the sake of setting up the next part of the story. The biggest example of this is when Thanos successfully gathered all the Infinity Stones. Throughout the film, Thanos’ quest to achieve a balance in the galaxy seemed way too easy. Sure, the Avengers and Guardians put up a good fight, but it seemed like the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War made Thanos just too powerful. Before I saw Avengers: Infinity War, I had predicted that Thanos would get all but one of the Stones. That way, the conflict of the next Avengers film would be of Thanos trying to track down the last Stone, while the Avengers and Guardians went to great lengths to protect it. However, because the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War knew they were essentially creating a second part to this particular story, this creative decision felt like Thanos got his way too easily, giving the heroes a forced conflict for “Avengers 4”.

The stakes not feeling big enough: While there were stakes in Avengers: Infinity War, I felt like the stakes made did not create as big of an impact as it could have been. The characters the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War chose to kill off (before Thanos got his way) are Loki, Heimdall, the Black Order, Gamora, and Vision (twice). Basically, it seems like the creative team chose characters that felt like easy targets. While I found Gamora’s death to be shocking and Vision’s death to be sad, it didn’t seem to emotionally affect many of the superheroes featured in this movie. If the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War wanted to make an emotional statement (for the superheroes in the film and for their audience), they would have created an outcome that negatively affected one of the bigger heroes (example: Captain America or Iron Man). This way, the other heroes could use their emotional responses as fuel to defeat Thanos.

Making favorite heroes disappear: Speaking of “set-ups” for the next Avengers film, the ending of Avengers: Infinity War felt like a painfully obvious and forced “set-up” for “Avengers 4”. This was caused by almost all of the superheroes featured in this movie turning into dust as a result of Thanos’ plan being successful. Personally, I didn’t like the ending for several reasons. It felt too ambiguous and sudden for the general movie-going audience, not providing an explanation to where the “disappeared” heroes went. The specific superheroes that the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War chose to have “disappear” didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Why would they choose to have Spider-Man “disappear” when we know that a Spider-Man sequel is coming next summer (in fact, it’s premiering two months after “Avengers 4”)? Why would Black Panther be one of the “disappeared” heroes after the MCU gave him his own stand-alone movie, causing him to become one of the most popular and marketable superheroes in the MCU’s roster? The one “disappearance” that upset me the most was Bucky’s. Not only is Bucky my favorite superhero in the MCU, but it frustrated me that he was on his way to finally start thriving, only to have those potential opportunities taken away from him. He had been through so much in the course of the Captain America trilogy, was taken out of cryo-freeze in the Black Panther end-credit scene, was finally cured because of Shuri (which bothered me that no one acknowledged this in Avengers: Infinity War), got a new prosthetic arm (which looked absolutely gorgeous), was featured in this movie at all, was able to fight alongside the other heroes, only to have him disappear? Also, Steve Rogers/Captain America already lost Bucky while they were in the Army, so what would be the point of Steve losing his friend again? Speaking of Captain America, out of all the superheroes that stuck around, most of them were the “original six” Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye). Keeping those heroes around felt so painfully obvious that the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War want to possibly recreate the “classic” Avengers line-up from the first Avengers film. Even some of the heroes that the creative team behind Avengers: Infinity War chose to keep around that weren’t a part of the “original six” didn’t appear to make sense. Out of all the Guardians, why would they have Rocket be the only one that stays? Since I knew going into Avengers: Infinity War that the “disappeared” heroes are going to appear in the next Avengers movie (because of announced sequels and IMDB Filmographies), the ending wasn’t as emotionally affective for me.

That end-credit scene: Going into Avengers: Infinity War, I knew there would be an end-credit scene (especially since that’s an MCU staple). After that ending, I was hoping that the end-credit scene would, at least, make up for it. Sadly, this was not the case. All that happened was Maria Hill and Nick Fury “disappearing” into dust (which, again, didn’t seem to make sense) and the Captain Marvel logo being shown on a beeper-type device. To me, the decision to tease the arrival of Captain Marvel didn’t appear to make sense from the perspective of a general movie-goer. Why would Marvel hint at Captain Marvel’s appearance when we the movie-goers haven’t even been officially introduced to her yet? Wouldn’t it make more sense to dedicate the only end-credit scene to Ant-Man, especially since he wasn’t in Avengers: Infinity War and the next MCU movie is Ant-Man and the Wasp? Because of the end-credit scene, it, honestly, makes me skeptical about whether Captain Marvel can successfully fix the mess that was left at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.

As you can tell, I’m not pleased with some of the decisions that the creative team behind this movie ended up making. One of the reasons why the MCU is so successful is because they’ve built a strong sense of trust with their audience/fans. But after this ending, it seems like that trust has been tarnished to a certain extent. Because I am simply a movie blogger, there’s not much I can do about the situation. However, I can only speak for myself when I say that I will take Dale Travers’ advice from Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You to “trust the timing”. Let’s not forget that we still have “Avengers 4” coming up and the marketing campaign for that film could, highly likely, start later this year. Hopefully, some of the “disappeared” heroes can show up in the advertisements, which would give fans peace of mind that their favorite character is going to be okay. Who knows, maybe the release date for “Avengers 4” could get pushed forward, like Avengers: Infinity War, so we can see the film early? All I’m saying is to let things surrounding this franchise take its course. It’s great how some fans have found creative ways to deal with their feelings about the ending, such as Youtuber, AmyLynn Craig, teaming up with her friend to save Spider-Man. It’s also great how people have been able to find each other to discuss how they feel, such as Rachel, from Rachel’s Reviews and Hallmarkies Podcast, talking about the movie with her friends, Trevor and David. But please remember, these are Marvel productions and, so far, Marvel has steered their ship pretty well. I just hope the creative team behind “Avengers 4” takes the feelings of their audience/fans into account while they’re making their next film.

What are your thoughts about Avengers: Infinity War? How do you feel about that ending? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to see the videos that I referenced in this post, just type the name of the channel (AmyLynn Craig, Rachel’s Reviews) or the names of the videos (“Our Spidey Mission! *Infinity War Spoilers* (2018 Disney Vlog #4)”, “David and Rachel vs Infinity War (Spoilers)”, “Talking Infinity War w How to Love Comics [SPOILERS]”) into Youtube’s search bar.

My game plan for avoiding Avengers: Infinity War spoilers

On April 16, 2018April 18, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Avengers: Infinity War is coming next weekend (where has the time gone?)! Whether it’s purchasing tickets or creating predictions with friends, fans everywhere are preparing for this movie’s long-waited arrival. An important part of that plan is avoiding that one thing every fan that cares about this movie despises: spoilers. Going to the movies is cost and time consuming as it is, so fans are wanting and hoping this movie is worth both their time and money. A fan’s excitement and future enjoyment could be easily destroyed if they catch wind of anything, including spoilers, that might ruin their experience. Now I’ve been avoiding all of the Avengers: Infinity War TV spots because I know there could be potential spoilers featured in them. So, I decided to create a game plan for myself so that I can have the best experience possible when I finally do see this movie. If you are looking forward to Avengers: Infinity War as much as I am, this list is meant to be a friendly set of guidelines that can help you enjoy the movie and have a good movie-going experience. Even though this list was made for me and by me, you are free to look at this list as an example to help you out.

Avengers Infinity War poster image — *Avengers: Infinity War* poster image created by The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios. © Disney•Pixar. All rights reserved. Marvel and Avengers Characters: ©2017 Marvel. Image found at http://marvel.com/movies/movie/223/avengers_infinity_war.

Staying the heck off of social media

When the Russo brothers, the directors of Avengers: Infinity War, and John Campea, from The John Campea Show, go out of their way to urge people not to spoil this film, that’s when you know this movie is going to be a big deal. Unfortunately, that advice is going to get ignored as spoilers will highly likely still be found in comment sections, on places such as Youtube and other blogs, and from accounts on sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, and the like. With this knowledge in mind, I will not visit any of these sites during the week of April 23^rd (in case you don’t know, April 23^rd is the day of the world premiere for Avengers: Infinity War). I will continue to make posts on my blog, but I am, personally, limiting my use of the internet.

Reading

As I’ve mentioned in my post about the release of the trailer for Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Beach House, I have not yet read Mary Alice Monroe’s novel (which is the basis for Hallmark’s film). Because The Beach House is premiering on April 28^th, this gives me a good opportunity to read the book before I see the film. Reading this book does not require the internet, so it can give me something to do until I see Avengers: Infinity War.

Watching movies

I did say earlier in this post that I will still make posts to 18 Cinema Lane. Because I haven’t posted a movie review yet, this gives me a great excuse to catch up on some Hallmark movies and figure out which movie I will review next.

Preparing to see Avengers: Infinity War

Like a lot of fans and movie-goers, I am excited about Marvel’s latest film! In anticipation, I will be making some important decisions like what I’m going to wear and when I’m going to see the film. Because I want my movie-going experience to be the best it can be, taking the week of April 23^rd to prepare for this movie will keep my excitement for this film alive. These things will not involve a lot of internet use, so spoilers will not be a concern.

So, this is how I plan to avoid spoilers until I finally see Avengers: Infinity War. I hope that my game plan can help spark some ideas to help you in your quest for the best movie-going experience possible. Even though most of you have probably heard other people tell you this before, I will give you the friendly reminder to not give spoilers away for Avengers: Infinity War (especially if you are seeing the film early). As John Campea has stated in most of his videos, we are a part of a film-fan community. Being a part of a community should mean helping one another as well as showing respect and kindness.

If you plan on seeing Avengers: Infinity War, I wish you the best and most fun-filled movie-going experience imaginable!

If you want to watch John Campea’s video about not spoiling Avengers: Infinity War, you can find it on Youtube when typing “PLEASE No Spoiler Reviews Before Avengers Infinity War Opens – Open Letter” into the search bar. John Campea also talks about the Russo brothers’ letter encouraging people not to spoil Avengers: Infinity War in his video “Are Avengers, Solo, Deadpool Going To Hurt Each Other At The Box Office? – The John Campea Show”, which you can also find on Youtube.

What do you think of my game plan? How do you plan to avoid spoilers? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Word on the Street: My thoughts on the official second Avengers: Infinity War trailer

On March 16, 2018December 7, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

When it comes to second/final trailers, I usually avoid watching these because I’m concerned about potential spoilers. However, when I found out that a new Avengers: Infinity War trailer was released today, I knew that I had to watch it, especially so I could share my thoughts with you. As I’ve mentioned in my Word on the Street post about the release date of the film, Avengers: Infinity War is my most anticipated movie of 2018, so I was curious to see if this new trailer would hold up in the overall marketing campaign. What did I think of it? Keep reading to find out!

I really liked this new trailer! Unlike most second/final trailers, the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War actually added to my already growing excitement for this movie! I have to applaud the marketing team involved with creating the promotional materials for Avengers: Infinity War because, so far, I’ve felt like they’ve gone out of their way to not show the audience too much footage. This trailer feels like there was enough content to keep people’s interest and excitement for the film. I also liked how the trailer showed how the superheroes are making a conscious effort to prepare themselves for the fight against Thanos. Whenever a movie is released, involving superheroes or honorable protaganists, you always hope that the main characters know what they’re doing. The trailer for Avengers: Infinity War lets the audience know that the heroes are trying their best to not get caught off guard. At the end of the trailer, I noticed that there was a message about the start of ticket sales. This was a pleasant surprise, as now people can start making their official plans to see Avengers: Infinity War. Overall, I really like the marketing campaign for this movie! To me, this film had become a bigger deal than something like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2. Until the release of Avengers: Infinity War, I will try my best to keep talking about this movie on 18 Cinema Lane!

If you want to watch the trailer, you can look for it on Youtube by typing in “Avengers Infinity War trailer 2”.

What are your thoughts about this trailer? Are you excited for Avengers: Infinity War? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Word on the Street: My thoughts on the new release date for “Avengers: Infinity War”

On March 3, 2018 By 18cinemalane2 Comments

I’m pretty sure you’ve heard by now that Avengers: Infinity War will now be released on April 27^th (if you didn’t know, well, you do now). Instead of reporting on this significant piece of movie news (because that’s already been done), I’ve decided to share with you how I really feel about it.

Vector set of isometric illustrations making movies and watching a movie in the cinema. — Movie process chart created by Vectorpocket at freepik.com <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/vector-set-of-isometric-illustrations-making-movies-and-watching-a-movie-in-the-cinema_1215936.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a> <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/business”>Business vector created by Vectorpocket – Freepik.com</a> Image found at freepik.com

I found out two days ago as I was looking at YouTube on my phone. When I was scrolling down the page, I stumbled across a video from ScreenJunkies News titled “Why Did Marvel Just Change Avengers Release Date? Our Theories – INFINITY WAR BREAKING NEWS”. Without having watched the video yet, I instantly became shocked by the video’s headline (mostly because Marvel has never changed movie release dates after they were officially announced). Then I came across a video from Beyond The Trailer titled “Avengers Infinity War April 27^th NEW RELEASE DATE”. As I read this second headline, I couldn’t understand why Marvel would do something like this for their biggest, and arguably most important, film. Determined to get answers to my quickly growing lists of questions, I watched the videos from both ScreenJunkies News and Beyond The Trailer, as well as a video from ColliderVideos titled “Avengers: Infinity War Release Date Moves Up One Week”. While watching each of these videos, the words of Roth Cornet and Billy Business (from ScreenJunkies News), Grace Randolph (from Beyond The Trailer), and John Rocha and Mark Reilly (from ColliderVideos) eased my anxious mind-set as they explained the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the sudden news (which involved a very cute Twitter exchange between Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios). Everything each of these respective hosts said in their videos sounded good, but I still have one concern. In all three videos, it was mentioned that Avengers: Infinity War will be released around the world on April 27^th. The last time a superhero film had a release date correlating with other areas of the world was Justice League (and we all know how that worked out for Warner Brothers). With each of these videos reflecting very positive opinions about Marvel’s recent decision, I now feel confident that Marvel made a good decision! As someone who has Avengers: Infinity War as their most anticipated movie of this year, I know that April will be a very exciting month for not only me, but also 18 Cinema Lane!

If you want to watch any of the videos I talked about in this post, you can go to YouTube and either type the title of the video or the channel name into the search bar.

What are your thoughts about this release date? Are you excited to be seeing the film earlier than expected? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen