the 3rd annual MARZON-YEAH! awards - THE EXPERIENCES, THE PERFORMANCES, and THE MOMENTS

2019 Marzon Yeah Awards thumbnail.png

WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD SHOWS IN ALL OF MY APARTMENT. This is a chance for me to share the best and worst of all the movies I saw (strictly) in theaters or whatever other categories I want to throw in. I’m trying to honor some of the less mainstream/recognized movies of 2018, and not just trying to single out one specific winner, but recognizing what I think are huge achievements! Note that I don’t think they’re objectively the best, rather my favorites so don’t @ me, please.

PART 1 - THE EXPERIENCES

TOP 10 FAVORITES
MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIES

PART 2 - THE PERFORMANCES

MVPs
FAVORITE LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCES
FAVORITE SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCES

PART 3 - THE MOMENTS

Favorite Scenes
Biggest facepalm moments
most tears

PART I - The ExperienceS

TOP 10 FAVORITES

My favorite movies of 2018!

  1. BLACK PANTHER

  2. CRAZY RICH ASIANS

  3. BODIED

  4. ROMA

  5. HEREDITARY

  6. THOROUGHBREDS

  7. BLACKKKLANSMAN

  8. THE HATE U GIVE

  9. SEARCHING

  10. BUMBLEBEE

MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIES

These were the movies that didn’t fulfill my sky-high expectations, whether they came from marketing or filmmakers’ previous work.

  • HOTEL ARTEMIS

  • MARY POPPINS RETURNS

  • SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO

  • TULLY

  • WIDOWS

Part II - THE PERFORMANCES

MVPs

These prolific people turned in 3+ great performances in 2018 movies!

  • Joe Alwyn (OPERATION FINALE; BOY ERASED; THE FAVOURITE; MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS)

  • Angela Bassett (BLACK PANTHER; MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT; BUMBLEBEE)

  • Josh Brolin (AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR; DEADPOOL 2; SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO)

  • Sterling K. Brown (BLACK PANTHER; HOTEL ARTEMIS; THE PREDATOR)

  • Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS; READY PLAYER ONE; LIFE ITSELF)

  • Lucas Hedges (MID90S; BOY ERASED; BEN IS BACK)

  • Brian Tyree Henry (HOTEL ARTEMIS; WIDOWS; IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK; SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE)

  • Oscar Isaac (ANNIHILATION; OPERATION FINALE; LIFE ITSELF; SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE)

  • Nicole Kidman (*test screened film*; BOY ERASED; AQUAMAN; DESTROYER)

  • Cailee Spaeny (PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING; BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE; ON THE BASIS OF SEX)

  • Tessa Thompson (ANNIHILATION; SORRY TO BOTHER YOU; CREED II)

  • John David Washington (BLACKKKLANSMAN, THE OLD MAN & THE GUN, MONSTERS AND MEN)

Honorable Mentions (2 great performances in movies that I saw in theaters): Awkwafina, Emily Blunt, Kyle Chandler, Henry Golding, Regina Hall, Kathryn Newton, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, John C. Reilly, Haley Lu Richardson, Hailee Steinfeld, Justin Theroux

FAVORITE LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCES

Assuming the Oscar nominated performances, here are my favorite leads of 2018 movies!

  • ASSASSINATION NATION - Odessa Young

  • CRAZY RICH ASIANS - Constance Wu

  • CRAZY RICH ASIANS - Henry Golding

  • FIRST MAN - Ryan Gosling

  • FIRST REFORMED - Ethan Hawke

  • FLOWER - Zoey Deutch

  • HEARTS BEAT LOUD - Kiersey Clemons

  • HEARTS BEAT LOUD - Nick Offerman

  • HEREDITARY - Toni Collette

  • LEAVE NO TRACE - Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie

  • MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS - Saoirse Ronan

  • A PRIVATE WAR - Rosamund Pike

  • ROMA - Yalitza Aparicio

  • SHOPLIFTERS - Sakura Ando

  • A SIMPLE FAVOR - Anna Kendrick

  • SORRY TO BOTHER YOU - Lakeith Stanfield

  • THOROUGHBREDS - Olivia Cooke

  • THOROUGHBREDS - Anya Taylor Joy

  • TULLY - Charlize Theron

  • VENOM - Tom Hardy

  • VOX LUX - Raffey Cassidy

  • YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE - Joaquin Phoenix

FAVORITE SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCES

Again assuming the Oscar nominated performances, here are my favorite Supporting Acting performances!

  • ALPHA - Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

  • BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE - Jeff Bridges

  • BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE - Cynthia Erivo

  • BLACK PANTHER - Michael B. Jordan

  • BLINDSPOTTING - Rafael Casal

  • BLOCKERS - Ike Barinholtz

  • BURNING - Steven Yeun

  • FIRST MAN - Claire Foy

  • GAME NIGHT - Jesse Plemons

  • THE HATE U GIVE - Russell Hornsby

  • HEREDITARY - Alex Wolff

  • THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS - Cate Blanchett

  • LIFE ITSELF - Antonio Banderas

  • OCEAN’S 8 - Anne Hathaway

  • THE PREDATOR - Sterling K. Brown

  • ROMA - Marina de Tavira

  • A SIMPLE FAVOR - Blake Lively

  • STAN AND OLLIE - Nina Arianda

  • SUPPORT THE GIRLS - Haley Lu Richardson

  • UNCLE DREW - Chris Webber

  • THE WIFE - Jonathan Pryce

PART III - The Moments

FAVORITE SCENES

A few of my favorites scenes, whether they hooked me by their acting, gripping action or whatever else! (See “MOST TEARS” for more Favorites!)

  • AMERICAN ANIMALS - the heist

  • ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE - “Turning My Life Around”

  • AQUAMAN - Sicily (weaving through both fights)

  • ASSASSINATION NATION - the home invasion tracking shot

  • BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE - the hallway behind tracking shot

  • BLACKKKLANSMAN - lie detector

  • BLINDSPOTTING - the garage

  • BODIED - the final battle(s)

  • BUMBLEBEE - first transformation

  • BURNING - a confession

  • CRAZY RICH ASIANS - a game of Mahjong

  • FIRST MAN - docking the Gemini 8

  • FIRST MAN - the Moon landing

  • FREE SOLO - “I’m delighted”

  • GAME NIGHT - falling in love (opening sequence)

  • THE HATE U GIVE - detectives question Starr

  • HEREDITARY - dinner

  • HEREDITARY - the first seance

  • INCREDIBLES 2 - the maglev train rescue

  • JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM - bubble escape

  • MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT - Paris

  • ON THE BASIS OF SEX - moot court

  • OVERLORD - escaping the tower tracking shot

  • PADDINGTON 2 - storybook

  • ROMA - writing letters

  • SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE - escaping the facility (Kingpin getting out of the car)

  • A STAR IS BORN - “Shallow”

  • TULLY - the post-birth home life sequence

  • UPGRADE - the first fight/home investigation

  • VICE - a heart-y sequence

  • A WRINKLE IN TIME - a colorful reunion

  • YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE - the diner

  • YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE - a hallway infiltration

BIGGEST FACEPALM MOMENTS

The scenes that made me sigh in disappointment…

  • AQUAMAN - “People of Atlantis, I give you your king”

  • BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - “I think this one’s gonna be a hit”

  • JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM - Maisie’s final decision

  • THE PREDATOR - hotel room “jokes”

  • RAMPAGE - San Diego Zoo friends

  • SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO - the recognizing

  • SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY - “Who are your people?”

  • VENOM - “Like a turd in the wind”

  • VENOM - “Sorry about Venom”

  • WIDOWS - just visiting

MOST TEARS

The moments that made me realize my eyes are allergic to popcorn or something in theaters. These also fall into the “FAVORITE SCENES” category.

  • AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR - “I don’t wanna go…”

  • BEAUTIFUL BOY - the coffee shop argument

  • BLACK PANTHER - “Bury me in the ocean…”

  • BLACK PANTHER - Killmonger’s ancestral land

  • BUMBLEBEE - Charlie’s memory of her father

  • CRAZY RICH ASIANS - the wedding

  • DEADPOOL 2 - crossing over/reunion

  • FIRST MAN - saying goodbye

  • THE HATE U GIVE - the opening scene: a father teaching his children

  • HEARTS BEAT LOUD - the final performances

  • LOVE, SIMON - words from Simon’s parents

  • ROMA - the protest

  • SEARCHING - the opening sequence

  • WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? - think about someone


Thank you so much for reading! I’ve already started listing my favorites of 2019, so tune in next year for those picks!!!