Phil’s 2019 Preview & Look Back At 2018’s Predictions…

Phil’s 2019 Preview & Look Back At 2018’s Predictions…

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

Phil’s Quick look at what’s wetting his whistle for the upcoming year in films…

2018 once again delivered some great films but mostly it was the Indie movies that did made it.   2019 has the promise to be even more mixed with a bundle of reboots and Disney remakes… so here’s the films I’m most looking forward to in 2019.  And a few that I’d be happy to miss.

 

The Must See’s



Most Excited:  Toy Story 4
This could be a major bust but Pixar and Toy Story have always been a match made in heaven.  Can this sit alongside one of the best trilogies ever made?  I get the feeling it just might.

 

2. Hobbs & Shaw
The Rock.  And The Statham. In a Fast & Furious Spin Off.  If anything about that sentence doesn’t make you go ‘I’m in’ then you are probably dead already…

 

3. Star Wars: Episode IX
So the ball’s back to JJ to land the end of the Skywalker(less) trilogy.  Whether he can or not will depend on just how he takes the curve balls Johnson delivered and brings them in to make this trilogy feel complete.

 

 

4. Captain Marvel
Marvel’s first female led superhero film could be something really special and judging by the trailer this is a must watch.

 

5. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
This could see Tarantino return to the form he’s lacked since the early days.  The story, the setting, the cast… are all first rate.  But this will all come down to whether the Hollywood darling can control his worst impulses.  Let’s hope.

 

Bubbling Under: Avengers Infinity War Part 2 (Marvel delivers big as Phase 4 ends), IT: Chapter Two (Part One was amazing), Wonder Woman 1984 (the original was mostly excellent), Frozen 2 (come on!), Glass (Split was great and this could be something else), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Monsters!  Thousands of ’em), Spider-Man: Far From Home (Marvel + Spiderman = HIT), Joker (I could be wrong here but this looks pretty interesting) , Jumanji 2 (Welcome To The Jungle was great fun), The Irishman (Hopefully it will make it this year!)

 

 

The Must Nots


(Just a reminder of what T6 has to live up to!)

Stinker Of The Year: Terminator 6
It pains me to say it but the Terminator films have done nothing since T2.  Yup Cameron is back (as  producer) and yup it’s reboot territory again but I just don’t see a world where the 6th Terminator film can get anywhere near the form of its classic siblings.


Also Dreading: The Lion King 2019 (the trailer looks like the’ve done a Psycho ’98 here),  Pet Sematary (this doesn’t have an IT feel about it), Dumbo 2019 (I’d love to see it work but Burton’s not delivered in a long time), Pokemon Detective Pikachu (yup not interested), What Men Want (Remake of sorts of What Women Want… say no more), Aladdin 2019 (I’m not anti-Disney but this is yet another film that isn’t needed), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (The last X-Men movie was a total dog),  John Wick: Chapter 3 (Part 2 was a bore), Alita: Battle Angel (Looks pretty bad), Men in Black Spin Off (The world doesn’t need another MIB film)

 

Last Year…


So how did I do last year?

This is the time of the year when I look back at my picks of the good, the bad and the ugly from 2018 and see how close I was (or as it often is the case, how far!)…

 

For best: I tipped   Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War,  The Incredibles 2 & Black Panther as my most anticipated of 2018.  And you know what all delivered one way or another.  Which to be honest is a major first! Okay so Deadpool 2 and Infinity War would never be QUITE the films our mind’s had created.

 

As for the rest? Tomb Raider wasn’t great and neither was Ant Man & The Wasp.  The Predator wasn’t great but it didn’t deserve the bashing it got, Mission Impossible 6  was epic (top 5) and The Happytime Murders again got a bashing that was (for the most part) pretty undeserved.   The Purge: The First Purge  ended up being the worst or the series so far and The Irishman never landed.

 

As for the Stinkers? Fifty Shades Freed ended up in second place behind Cloverfield Paradox, Solo – A Star Wars Story was okay (but little more),  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom disappointed, Day of The Dead: Bloodline wasn’t amazing but passed the time, Ready Player One was actually really good, X-Men: Dark Phoenix & Scarface didn’t land, Oceans 8 was everything you knew it would be and a little less and  Pacific Rim: Uprising was far better than I expected.

 

So here’s to 2018… see you again next year!

 

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Phil’s Best & Worst 2018 Films.. The Final Edition (31st December 2018)

Phil’s Best & Worst 2018 Films.. The Final Edition (31st December 2018)

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

So this is my semi-regularly updated of the BEST and WORST of the films from 2018 (2018 Films), as well as the best films I missed from last year and, of course, the Phil’s Quick Capsule Review Sharknado Award.

All in my very humble opinion…

 

BEST Films Of 2018… So Far:

  1. Coco
  2. Mission Impossible: Fallout
  3. I, Tonya
  4. A Quiet Place
  5. Mary Poppins Returns

Honourable Mentions:  Mandy, My Generation, Lady Bird, Revenge, Mollys Game,  Upgrade, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, You Were Never Really Here, Bumblebee, The Festival, Calibre, Avengers: Infinity War, Game Night, Black Panther, Ready Player One, Office Uprising, The Post, Bohemian Rhapsody

 

WORST Films Of 2018… So Far

  1. The Cloverfield Paradox
  2. Fifty Shaded Freed
  3. Annihilation
  4. A Wrinkle In Time
  5. Mile 22

Dis-Honourable Mentions: Gotti, The Spy Who Dumped Me,Red Sparrow, The Commuter, The Humanity Bureau, Renegades, Peter Rabbit, Ocean’s 8, Death Wish, Hellraiser: Judgement, Day Of The Dead : Bloodline, Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters Part 1, Extinction, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Patient Zero, Isle Of Dogs, Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell, All The Money In The World, The First Purge, The Ballard Of Buster Scruggs, Redcon-1

 

 

The 2018 Sharknado Award for Films So Good (!) They Cant Be Rated:  

The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time

 


The 2018 Films I just couldn’t Finish…

Once Upon a Time in Venice

Great Films Of 2017 That I saw In 2018:

The Disaster Artist, The Babysitter, Mayhem, Icarus, The Greatest Showman, The Big Sick, LA 92, Better Watch Out

 

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Those We Lost… 2018 In Memoriam

Those We Lost… 2018 In Memoriam

by Phil Hobden Year In Review

In memoriam.  2018 continued deaths relentless march through the great and good of Hollywood.  Here’s a selection of those who passed in 2018 whose deaths will be felt within them film library of Phil’s Quick Capsule Review…

(Apologies for any one we have missed out)

 

Nicolas Roeg

William Goldman

Stan Lee

John Mahoney

Burt Reynolds

Fenella Fielding

David Ogden Stiers

Emma Chambers

Frank Doubleday

James Karen

R Lee Ermey

Margot Kidder

Aretha Franklin

Connie Sawyer

Reg E. Cathey

Mickey Jones

Steven Bochco

Verne Troyer

Milos Forman

Leslie Grantham

Scott Wilson

 

Rest In Peace and may your considerable legacy’s live on.

 

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Phil’s 5 Best & The Worst TV Shows of 2018

Phil’s 5 Best & The Worst TV Shows of 2018

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

2018 was another epic year for TV.  Even if we did miss Game of Thrones!   Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime delivered again and even the BBC and YouTube jumped in with a good show or two.  Here’s my lost and the 5 best and The Worst TV shows of 2018…

 

The Must Watch…


TV Show of The Year: Cobra Kai
Nostalgia helped but Cobra Kai managed to step outside that to become a truly excellent Tv series.  Compelling, funny and FAR better than it had any right to be Cobra Kai  delivered across it’s first season and ended leaving you wanting more.

 

2. Nailed It
In Brief:  No i’m not going mad.  Nailed it is bloody brilliant and grabs you with it’s ample charm and silliness. It’s a show you can watch with your family (I do) and one that defines compulsive binge viewing.

 

3. Better Call Saul
In Brief: Better Call Saul finally gave us Saul Goodman this year and ended on a the dark downward spiral that would bring the character to what we know him in Breaking Bad.  It was captivating stuff, brilliantly directed and expertly acted.

 

 

4. Billions
In Brief:  Billions is just insane.  Lewis and Giamatti relish in their roles as they raise the fuckery weekly.  It’s sharp, silly yet brilliant all at the same time.

 

 

5. American Vandal 
In Brief: Season 2 of American Vandal took the ball and ran with it.  A poo based mystery once again played with all the tropes of the Serial style true Crime genre and delivered laughs, shocks and a mystery that kept you glued to the screen.

 

 

Bubbling under:
Star Trek Discovery (ending the season strong), The Waling Dead (Season 9 has reinvigorated the series) , Silicon Valley (Still delivering even without TJ Miller), Sharp Objects (trippy as hell), GLOW (a strong second season) , Bodyguard (Slick BBC thriller)

 

The Must Nots…

Miss of the year: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

In Brief: I loved the first series of American Crime Story.  It was amazing.  But for me the second series just didn’t connect.  Much like the Serial podcast the bar was SO high the first time out that Season 2 was always going to struggle.  And Struggle it did.  Overlong, confusing and at times dull there was little to grab me.

 

Other shows I check-out ion this year: American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Westworld, Altered Carbon, The Terror, Luke Cage, Iron Fist , High Maintenance

 

Phil’s Worst Films of 2018

Phil’s Worst Films of 2018

by Phil Hobden 2018: In Review Quick Review Year In Review

So 2018 is almost over and it’s that time a year again where everyone reflects back on their best and worst films of the year.  So first up… the 10 WORST films of 2018 (with a few honourable mentions!).  And, as always, there were quite a few to choose from..

 

Stinker of The Year: The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

In Brief: In a year where there is both a Transformers movie and a Fifty Shades Movie it takes a special kind of rubbish to bin them BOTH.  Well step up to the mark The Cloverfield Paradox – a total mess of a film dumped on Netflix by Paramount with all the love of a bottom draw direct to DVD release.  And rightly so… poorly made, badly acted with shoddy direction and a total lack of clarity.  This is everything wrong with studio filmmaking right here.

 

 

2. Fifty Shades Freed
In Brief: Rubbish but mildly better than the previous entries in the series.  Still about as sexy as a group shower at a OAP weight watchers meeting, the franchise limps to a conclusion like all the grave of a flaccid penis.

 

3. Annihilation
In Brief: Alex Garland wrote one of my favourite films of all time (28 Days Later).  He’s now directed one of my least.  Another direct to Netflix joints – Annihilation is a pretentious, non-sensical pile of rubbish that thinks it’s far cleverer than its audience.

 

4. A Wrinkle In Time
In Brief: A Wrinkle In Time so so dull I fell sleep twice whilst watching it.  I think that says all you need to know about this over stacked mess.  That said my daughter liked it a lot so what do I know?

 

5. Mile 22
In Brief:  Considering the films Berg and Marky Mark have made previously, Mile 22 should have at LEAST been fun.  It’s not. It’s a total disaster.

 

6. Gotti – Badlymadefellas.

7. The Spy Who Dumped Me – Unfunny, overlong and a mess

8. Renegades – Totally forgettable.

9. Red Sparrow – A film you didn’t need or want

10. Ocean’s 8 – yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn

 

Dis-Honourable Mentions: The Humanity Bureau, All The Money In The World,  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Patient Zero, Isle Of Dogs, Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell, The First Purge, Ralph Breaks The Internet 

 

The 2018 Films I just couldn’t Finish: Once Upon a Time in Venice

 

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Phil’s 5 Best Films of 2018

Phil’s 5 Best Films of 2018

by Phil Hobden 2018: In Review Quick Review Year In Review

And that’s it.  Another year in the rear view mirror and another reason to take a look back at the BEST, WORST and, well, others of 2018.  So here it is… my pick of the Best Films of 2018.

 

Film of The Year: Coco

In Brief: Coco has No1 spot for almost the whole year.  Yup in a year of great Animation (once again!) it’s yet another Pixar film that nails the top spot.  Coco is just amazing.  Emotionally engaging, heartfelt and funny it’s everything Animated cinema can be and more.


2. Mission Impossible: Fallout

In Brief: : The 6th Mission Impossible film delivers some of the biggest, best and most impressive action sequences ever committed to film.  It’s tense, well crafted and modern action cinema at it’s best.


3. I, Tonya

In Brief:  I, Tonya is Goodfellas on Skates.  No it is.  Really.  Robbie is sublime, the direction on point and humour expertly delivered.


4. A Quiet Place

In Brief: Another low budget horror , A Quiet Place is without a doubt one of the most tense films of the year.  Also here’s  first TWO Emily Blunt films in the top 5.

 

5. Mary Poppins Returns 

In Brief: Damn it who knew? A funny, charming, engaging throw back to days of old that just get’s you from the start.  They really don’t make them like this any more…

 

6. Mandy – Mandy is a surreal, trip of a movie full of OTT gore, OTT action and OTT violence

7. My Generation – A top notch documentary starring Sir Michael Caine.

8. Lady Bird – An excellent Award smashing coming of age drama

9. Revenge – Violent, original and unlike anything else this year

10. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – Award darling, it’s the performances that sit at the centre of this film that make it stand out

 

Bubbling Under:  Molly’s Game, First Man, You Were Never Really Here, The Festival, Calibre, Avengers: Infinity War, Game Night, Black Panther, Ready Player One, Office Uprising, The Post, Bohemian Rhapsody

 

 

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Grosse Point Geek’s 2018 In Review

Grosse Point Geek’s 2018 In Review

by Phil Hobden A Blog Year In Review

Each year Will and Phil compare notes on their favourite and least favourite films of 2018… here’s Will’s look at what’s been and what he’s most looking forward to in 2019.

 

Top Ten Best:

 

  1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (just superb – loved it)
  2. First Man (brilliantly directed and the moon landing sequence was brilliant)
  3. The Darkest Hour (had me in tears)
  4. Mission Impossible Fallout (a genuine summer blockbuster, featuring a proper movie star doing his own stunts and the kind of balls to the wall action scenes we have haven’t seen in years)
  5. BlackKKKLansman (funny and brilliant – I usually don’t like Spike Lee but this was incredibly good)
  6. Bohemian Rhapsody (Rami Malik’s performance was incredible and the Live Aid concert re-enactment at the end was gobsmacking)
  7. Avengers Infinity War – (exciting, fast paced, funny, great action, a cracking villain and THAT ending – roll on Avengers Endgame)
  8. A Star Is Born (a trio of incredible performances  – Lady Gaga was a revelation, Coopers acting and direction were brilliant plus Sam Elliott was astounding)
  9. Creed 2 (not as good as Creed or Rocky Balboa – but still great and had lots of heart)
  10. 12 Strong – balls to the wall action, great story, v well-acted

 

 

Top Ten Honouree mentions

 

  1. Deadpool 2 (v funny and extremely clever in parts)
  2. A Quiet Place –  (tense and scary  – a great directorial debut from John Krasinski)
  3. Hunter Killer (ridiculous but really great fun with a smashing performance from Gerard Butler)
  4. Ant Man and The Wasp (not Marvels best but I really liked it)
  5. The Meg (complete nonsense but a good laugh)
  6. Rampage (utterly insane but top drawer entertainment)
  7. Skyscraper (a Die Hard clone but who cares when its this much fun?)
  8. Mile 22 (I must be the only person on the planet who liked this one!)
  9. Mamma Mia 2 (a genuinely lovely film that had heart and soul and wanted nothing more than to entertain and have people leave the cinema with a big smile on their faces)
  10. Outlaw King (well made, top final battle and a great turn from Chris Pine)

 

Top Ten Worst

 

  1. Death Wish (terrible terrible terrible.  Bruce  – you obviously can’t be bothered anymore so either start putting in the effort or do us all a favour and give it up)
  2. Red Sparrow (what should have a been a balls to the wall action caper turned out to be nothing more than catastrophically over long and boring as all hell)
  3. Pacific Rim Uprising (not as bad as the first one but still rubbish)
  4. Equalizer 2 (utter pants, dull and completely pretentious to boot)
  5. Love Simon (I liked the message it was trying to give but hated the way it did it)
  6. Ladybird (yes I know it was loved by the critics but I HATED this film with a vengeance!)
  7. Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald (so boring I nearly fell asleep- this franchise needs a new director – fast)
  8. Ghost Stories (complete bilge and made no sense)
  9. 15:17 To Paris (now this was awful – Clint we love you but dear God mate what were you thinking?????)
  10. Mortal Engines (not the worst film I’ve ever seen and certainly gets an ‘A’ for effort but this just didn’t work at all)

 

 

Biggest Letdown:

 

The Predator  – someone PLEASE tell Shane Black that he isn’t as good as he obviously thinks he is  -also somebody please explain to me how in the hell they managed to blow this one????

 

2019 Most anticipated:

 

  1. Avengers: Endgame
  2. Star Wars Episode IX
  3. Rambo: The Last Blood (yeah I said it!)
  4. Angel Has Fallen (yeah Hobden you read it right -I said that too!)
  5. Captain Marvel
  6. Glass
  7. Godzilla King Of The Monsters
  8. Hellboy
  9. Spiderman: Far From Home
  10. Captive State
  11. Brightburn
  12. Hobbs and Shaw
  13. The New Mutants
  14. X-Men Dark Phoenix
  15. Fighting With My Family

 

See you next year!

 

Author: Will Strong 

 

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Phil’s Quick Capsule Review & Friends Turd of 2018 Award: Red Sparrow

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review & Friends Turd of 2018 Award: Red Sparrow

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

The votes are in, they have been counted an verified and I can now proudly announce the Winner of 2018’s Phil’s Quick Capsule Review & Guests Turd Of The Year award is…


Red Sparrow

Yup for the second year running Jennifer Lawrence takes home the award for Worst Film! This wasn’t unanimous but it pulled over 50% of the votes!

Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to ‘Sparrow School,’ a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

 

 

 

Other Nominations: Annihilation, Death Wish (2018), CloverField Paradox 

 

 

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Grosse Pointe Geek’s Ten Favourite Scenes of 2018

Grosse Pointe Geek’s Ten Favourite Scenes of 2018

by Phil Hobden A Blog Year In Review

Grosse Pointe Geek’s picks his Ten Favourite Scenes of from the movies of 2018…

12 Strong

The Tiangi Gap Battle – Chris Hemsworth, plus the special forces and their Afghan allies mount up and charge a fifteen thousand strong Taliban army on horseback – what follows is a veritable cacophony of bombs, bullets, grenades, explosions and gunfire that is made all the more incredible due to the fact the film is based on a true story and this battle actually happened!

 

Mission Impossible: Fallout

The last 20 minutes   – an astounding feat of eye-popping action choreography and amazing stunt work  – and yes that really is Tom Cruise flying that helicopter.

 

Avengers: Infinity War:

Thor’s arrival in the battle of Wakanda – “Bring Me Thanos!” (an entire army proceeds to soil themselves)

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

The Kessel Run –very well handled by director Ron Howard and sadly pretty much the only thing this film got right.

 

Blackkklansman:

Looking to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan  – African American Police Detective Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) gets on the phone to the head of the local KKK chapter and tries to join up – the looks on his colleague’s faces (especially Adam Driver’s Flip Zimmerman) is absolutely priceless.

 

Mile 22:

Iko Uwais vs the assassins. An enormous bout of bone crushing fisticuffs that has to be seen to be believed.

 

First Man

The Moon Landing.  Neil Armstrong (a brilliant Ryan Gosling) pilots the Eagle towards the moon’s surface  – edge of the seat exciting and the standout sequence in one of this year’s best films.

 

Deadpool 2:

The Opening five minutes and the two end credit sequences  -by turns extremely rude, very clever and downright hilarious.

 

Bohemian Rhapsody

Live Aid  – Rami Malik literally transforms into Freddie Mercury in an incredible recreation of what is widely agreed to be the greatest live performance of all time.

 

Creed 2:

The training montage plus Adonis vs Viktor’s climactic boxing match

 

 

Author: Will Strong 

 

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Phil’s End Of Year Awards 2018

Phil’s End Of Year Awards 2018

by Phil Hobden Quick Review Year In Review

So 2018 is almost over and it’s that time a year again where everyone reflects back on their best and worst films of the year.  So we’ve covered our best and our worst films of 2018, so before we look at the films coming up in 2018 here’s my ‘Alternative’ End of Year Awards for 2018…

 

The Most Entertainingly Bad Film Of The Year Award…


 

The Gerard Butler Award For Consistently Making Entertainingly Terrible Films
… Will return in 2019 when Butler stars in Den of Thieves 2, Naya Legend of the Golden Dolphin, Angel Has Fallen, Afterburn and many more…

 

 

Surprise of The Year Award…
Mandy.  If enough monkeys with typewriters can write Shakespeare then enough filmmakers can eventually make a good Nicolas Cage film again…

 

 

Performance Of The Year Award…
Blumhouse for making enjoyable film after enjoyable film this year…

 

 

Just Fuck Off and Die Award…
Netflix ‘Original’ Sci-Fi Movies… Annihilation, Cloverfield Paradox, Mute, Tau and MANY others!

 

 

Yup, I’m over them Award…
Jennifer Lawrence

 

 

I may have just slept through that Award…
A Wrinkle in Time

 

 

Oh that came out THIS year? Award…
Tomb Raider

 

 

Come In Your time is Up Award…
Comic Book Films. 2018 was good but not great year for comic book films.  Avengers, AntMan and Black Panther were good enough and Deadpool 2 was Deadpool 2. But even I’m feeling a wee big fatigued now…

 

 

Trailer Of The Year Award…
Mandy

 

 

 

Let Down of The Year Award…
Solo. It didn’t suck.  But it was also the worst Star Wars Film since Attack of The Clones.  Which meant it was a huge let down…

 

 

Emperors new clothes Award…
The Shape Of Water

Runner Up: A Star Is Born

 

 

How did they screw this up Award?
Mile 22 – Peter Berg and Marky Mark

 

 

The not actually that popular popular award to…
The Oscars for the on off Popular Oscar award

 

 

 

Cameo of The Year Award…
Drag race alumni Alaska in The Last Sharknado (as well as Drag race alumni Shangela in A Star Is Born)  

 

 

You should have left Spacey in it…
All the Money In The World

 

 

 

The Oscars only like REALLY famous dead people award for missing out other stars who died Award…
Tobe Hooper & Adam West

 

 

 

The Poof That Award Shows DONT Suck Award…
Roger Deakins FINALLY wins an Academy Award

 

 

The Proof That Award Shows Suck Award…
Roger Deakins FINALLY wins an Academy Award but really it took THIS long.

 

 

WHY GOD WHY? Award…
Overboard, Superfly, Death Wish remakes

 

 

Less Is, Er, Less Award…
Ocean’s 8

 

 

The Year Of ‘Yeah that was okay’ Sequels Award…
2018 for The Predator, Sicario 2, Equalizer 2, Escape Plan 2, Pacific Rim 2

 

 

Films That SHOULD have been on my 2017 List’s but I Hadn’t Seen…
Mayhem, Icarus, The Greatest Showman, Better Watch Out 

 

 

Next time: Phil’s Look at 2019 and a look back at my 2018 predictions… 

 

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