This has been a pretty rocky year for the movies (and an even worse year for awards) so I now would like to take the time to share with you the best of the movies I saw this year. In total, the number of 2018 releases I have seen and assessed up to now is 55.

But first, a few notes on some of these categories:

I considered the animated films for all the categories except for makeup and costume design, since there are technicians behind the editing, cinematography, and set design that deserve every bit as much recognition as those who work on live action films. So it's virtually free for all in everything.

I also consider all films that feature visual effects shots a chance in Best Visual Effects. I say that it should be the goal of any VFX artists to  make the effects invisible, so that's what I've been judging this year.

I'm not following the same judgment as the Oscars, who like to judge based on technical achievement. While that's important to acknowledge to make sure the artistry of filmmaking continues to grow with its discoveries, my focus is on how the practical elements contribute to the film's unique needs, so you may find nominees in some of these categories you'd never expect to find in any other awards show lineup. I'm not saying I'm better than any of them, but rather this is my two cents on what's important in filmmaking.

So now without further ado, here's my nominees, starting with...

Black Panther
Best Picture
Best Popular Film

What do these three have in common? The latest changes the Academy has made, with the inclusion of a 25th category: Best Popular Film. What does that mean? Well, to be honest, nobody knows, not even the Academy themselves! They're still working out the details...

Another significant change they made includes condensing the ceremony to a much stricter 3 hour run time, which means the winners of the smaller categories will only be able to have their speeches condensed into a shorter montage run during commercial break, kind of like how the Tony Awards works.

If you've been on social media a lot since yesterday, I'm sure you saw that the response has been overwhelmingly negative. As in, I have not seen even one person who's happy about these changes. At first, I didn't really care much about the Best Popular Film category, but after thinking about it more, and hearing other people's reactions, I do have some things to say.

I now want to introduce something that is new for both of us: a full complete list of what I believe is the best of the year. Now, I haven't seen everything this year, and that includes several of the films that the Oscars nominated, so based on all 53 releases this year I assessed and graded, here's what I genuinely believe deserves the honors.

But first, a few notes on some of these categories:

I considered the animated films for all the categories except for makeup and costume design, since there are technicians behind the editing, cinematography, and set design that deserve every bit as much recognition as those who work on live action films. So it's virtually free for all in everything.

I also consider all films that feature visual effects shots a chance in Best Visual Effects. I say that it should be the goal of any vfx artists to  make the effects invisible, so that's what I've been judging this year.

I'm not following the same judgment as the Oscars, who like to judge based on technical achievement. While that's important to acknowledge to make sure the artistry of filmmaking continues to grow with its discoveries, my focus is on how the practical elements contribute to the film's unique needs, so you may find nominees in some of these categories you'd never expect to find in any other awards show lineup. I'm not saying I'm better than any of them, but rather this is my two cents on what's important in filmmaking.

So now without further ado, here's my nominees, starting with...

​

Another year for movies has gone. If there's anything I can say about this year for movies is that this has probably been the most  polarizing year we've had. With films such as Bright, mother! and Star Wars: The Last Jedi dividing audiences and critics, as well as audiences themselves, the artform of filmmaking is growing more and more subjective, nearly as hotheaded as the political arena. I myself have some opinions that polarize from other popular opinions, which I'll go through in this list of my favorites and least favorites of the year. Bear in mind, I haven't seen all the films this year, so you won't see The Emoji Movie in my worst list, and this is purely subjective. That is, I'm using this time to take off my critic's cap and judge each movie purely by how much I personally enjoyed it.

If you want to see what I pick for the objectively best of the year, you'll have to wait until it gets closer to Oscar Sunday, I'll post my own little awards show when it gets close. So for now, here's what stood out for me in the cinema this year! To make sure we end on a high note...

I’ve heard the reactions: “Your opinion on movies is very mean,” “Dang, Trevor! Vicious like always!” “Have you ever given a movie above a B?” “I loved this movie. You have bad taste in movies.” Especially over Twitter and Amazon, people despised my critiquing style:

​So now, I want to take some time to defend myself if you think I’m too harsh in my assessments.

Everybody has their own criteria that leads them to a conclusion as to what they thought of a certain movie, and for the most part, it would be as simple as, "I enjoyed it," or, "It was a pretty fun time," or, "I was so bored watching it!" In fact, this is how a lot of critics think when they give their consent about the movie they’re assigned to review. Instinct becomes their most reliable factor, usually playing it as, "I can’t find anything I disliked about it, so I give it four stars," or, "I disliked it, but there were a couple of things I liked, so I give it one star." It basically becomes a purely subjective sport where everybody plays their own set of cards as to what makes a good movie or a bad movie. Armond White has the reputation of being the worst movie critic, bashing on widely praised films like The Social Network but praising widely panned films like the Transformers series. Whereas Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were considered throughout the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s to be the top authorities on a film’s quality. Then there’s the internet, where no one can express their opinion on a movie without receiving 50 death threats.
 
What I want to change is the way people look at movie as not just entertainment, but art that expresses the historical values and issues in society. To do that, we need to take off our nostalgia goggles and look at a movie for what it is. Therefore, I took the liberty of putting this chart together that helps me to assess a film while I’m watching it, critiquing it from an objective standpoint that concerns its moral values.