Each day a new 'year in review' party. Well, today you get two. Here's a bonus list from the team...
Tonight, Team Experience (and a few friends of ours from elsewhere) drool on our favorite thrist traps. The entries aren't ordered since we just asked people to choose which man they wanted to cover from a preliminary list of notable big screen men of 2018 with "write-in" choices welcomed.
We should probably note that the most popular choice, and in fact the only choice several different people asked for, was Steven Yeun from Burning so apparently that multilingual yawn and general air of mystery/superiority really did it for everyone. Curiously no one chose Henry Golding but given his barrier-breaking double duty in both Crazy Rich Asians and A Simple Favor, we dedicate this list to him.
Let's take the men in random order. Y'all ready for this?
Noah Centineo as "Peter" in To All the Boys I've Loved Before
In To All the Boys... Noah Centineo was all the boys I've loved before and had sworn off loving in the future — to no avail. With a knack for being in the buzziest places at the buzziest times ("The Fosters," Sierra Burgess Is a Loser), Centineo has the sensitivity of Alan Alda, the pout of Matt Dillon and the good sense to keep his shirt off. Plus, he's woke AF, which I'm told is something Cary Grant wasn't. Look up "zaddy" in the Urban Dictionary, and there he is, eyebrows raised. He's in the upcoming Charlie's Angels reboot, too, making him the prettiest person in the franchise since Cheryl Ladd. - Matthew Rettemund (Boy Culture)
Colman Domingo as "Joseph" in If Beale Street Could Talk
He’s playing a dad, a very warm and loving father to his daughters, so 'thirst trap' is not the first thing that comes to mind. But imagine that deep throated laugh filing any room you are in, or that wide smile lighting up his face as he looks at you. Imagine him coming at you, enveloping you in his arms and dancing together like he does with screenwife Regina King. Yep, now you get it, no? - Murtada Elfadl
Chris Pine as "Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick" in Outlaw King
Basically the only press coverage this Netflix film got centered around this gorgeous man's penis, which makes you realize why so few famous actors are willing to go full-peen. Michael Fassbender had the role of his career when he did it in Shame, and while his legendary member did indeed get plenty of attention, everyone still walked away talking about what a brilliant actor he is. Pine's role in Outlaw King doesn't allow for those levels of scale and color, which is a bummer, since he's a wonderful actor. He was MVP of the ill-conceived Into the Woods, the only actor who truly matched the demands of stylized musical theater, broad but specific comedy, and sheer joy. He also worked wonders in last year's Wonder Woman, slyly channeling Harrison Ford but shining with his own confident bravado. Chris Pine is a beautiful man: those movie-star baby blues, that jacked torso, the dreamy smile. But it's his talent and charisma that take him over the top. -Eric Blume
Raúl Castillo as "Paps" in We the Animals
There is by design some discomfort baked into Raúl Castillo’s white hot turn in We the Animals, since the camera that’s leering up at him as he does his tighty-whitey dance has already been framed as being his son Jonah’s point of view. Jonah’s brothers see it as a goof and laugh but Jonah, Jonah looks. And so do we. And to borrow a turn of phrase from Piper Laurie... we liked it - we liked it! It’s all part of the heady pubescent stew that the film expertly captures, our heads swimming with hormones, confusion, rage, lust. Raúl gets me all worked up too, Jonah! It’s not tough to commiserate. - Jason Adams
Josh Dylan, Jeremy Irvine, and Hugh Skinner of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
When you use the music of ABBA to try and find yourself over a summer, in my book you’re entitled not to one thirst trap, but three. Donna Sheridan (Lily James) got the adventure most of us only have a dream about when she lost the battle to Harry’s (Hugh Skinner) advances in France, rode Bill’s (Josh Dylan) boat and Nordic features by the pier, and had a summer romance with Sam’s (Jeremy Irvine) angel eyes in Kalokairi. Three sun-kissed twinks all to herself. My, my, how could she resist that? If only she knew who the father of her daughter was… - Jorge Molina
Pierre Png as "Michael Teo" in Crazy Rich Asians
People forget that the freshly showered abs that caused such a media frenzy when Crazy Rich Asians opened were not Henry Golding's but Pierre Png's. But abs are not even the half of it since they're vying for MVP with those sculpted cheekbones, smiling dimples, defined chest, perfect hair, soulful face. You can feel Teo's caddish downfall coming a long ways off but I personally resisted, delusionally thrilled that an otherwise aspirational fever dream would posit that you can be just as sexy if you're the 'have not' among not just the 'haves' but the 1%. Crazy Rich Asians done him wrong! Can he be a romantic hero next time? - Nathaniel R
Luke Benward as "Bo" in Dumplin'
I wasn't familiar with Luke Benward before coming across him in Netflix's recent charmer Dumplin', but I could have told without consulting his IMDb that he has Disney Channel history: there's a training ground for that level of clean-scrubbed cuteness. But he doesn't seem manufactured or robotic in Dumplin', imbuing a thinly conceived character — Bo, the flirty burger flipper with a heart of gold, who loves our heroine just the way she is — with a spontaneous twinkle and some measure of wit in his delivery. He even manages to make the character's ever-present toothpick between the teeth seem rakishly appealing: the boy has talent. - Guy Lodge (Variety/The Guardian)
Joe Alwyn as "Samuel Marsham" in The Favourite
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend certainly had quite a year, and no 2018 film has demonstrated this better than with his hunky, somewhat doofy portrayal of Samuel Marsham. Whether he’s tumbling around in the leaves with Emma Stone or performing his hypnotic (and dare I say, seductive?) dance routine with Rachel Weisz, Alwyn offers the one subtle glimpse of kindness the other characters severely lack. But don’t worry, Joe, if none of the leading ladies want you on your wedding night… I’ll still be there. - Spencer Coile
Allen Leech as "Paul Prenter" in Bohemian Rhapsody
The quality of Bohemian Rhapsody is another conversation, but its supporting actors help make this wet dream tolerable and relatable. One such supporting actor is Leech, who makes background actors memorable in the visual sense. He makes background characters like Tom Branson pop, and he makes his thicc body welcome in movies, but here in Bohemian Rhpasody he’s svelte, a Tom of Finland fantasy come to life, leather jacket and creepy mustache and everything. His character manipulates Freddy Mercury’s (Rami Malek) bank account, career, and body. And honestly, he can do the same to me anytime. - Paolo Kagaoan (In the Seats)
Steven Yeun as "Ben" in Burning
Before this year, I only had a vague sense of who Steven Yeun was, not having seen Okja or a single episode of "The Walking Dead." Then came Sorry to Bother You, where he plays a slightly mysterious, surprisingly seductive rabble-rouser who kept stealing my attention (and Tessa Thompson's) away from Lakeith Stanfield. That was followed by his star-making turn as an even more mysterious and alluring, though far wealthier and ultimately more sinister romantic rival in Burning. Beneath his smooth friendliness and air of easy culture and refinement lies a core of deep boredom with life that drives him to play with and eventually discard people, yet that's precisely what makes him so fascinating. Is his character a foil, a cad, a sociopath, a projection, or all or none of these things? With his enigmatic smiles, sleepy eyes, and (perhaps literally) killer yawns, he keeps you guessing, and hooked, drawn like a moth to his flame. You know you shouldn't get mixed up with this guy, but like the main character(s), you can't help it. - Lynn Lee
Tomasz Kot as "Wiktor" in Cold War
“Cute” and “sexy” are concepts that shift in what they encompass from one era to the next, but “handsome” is more fixed: Polish star Tomasz Kot would have qualified as leading-man handsome in pretty much any cinematic decade. That razor-cut jaw! Those moodily deep-set eyes! That perfectly swept swoosh of hair! Pawel Pawlikowski knows just how to shoot him in Cold War, and he repays the camera's kindness with aloof soulfulness to burn, his still-waters presence perfectly offsetting Joanna Kulig's volatile sensuality. I can't say I would keep hopping across borders to get away from him, but you do you, girl. - Guy Lodge (Variety/The Guardian)
Okay readers, who didn't we mention that you drooled upon? Who made you quiver under your bodice in 2018?
PREVIOUSLY, YEAR-IN-REVIEW
- 10 Best Dance Sequences
- Screen Animals of the Year
- Co-star Chemistry
- 100 Most Popular Foreign Films
- 30 Most Popular Docs
- 10 Biggest Hits in Multiple Categories
- Each Month: Jan | Feb/March | April/May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov