From me, the "trash" moniker is high praise. These are movies that are not appreciated by the greater culture -- none have earned a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- but which instead are B-style flicks that are more concerned with delivering feels, thrills and titillation than with "respectability." For me, this is the good stuff -- the very best of Hollywood's delightful blue collar flicks.
12. "Proud Mary" -- This is the story of a depressed assassin (Taraji P. Henson) who wants to get out of the dangerous life but is just too damn tired to take the initiative. It's a weird story for a movie, but one that is probably the most relatable movie about a hitman ever.
11. "The Hurricane Heist" -- This one is surprisingly topical. It's got climate change, economic anxiety, corrupt trigger-happy cops, and a situation too dire for anyone not in the immediate area to be able to help.
10. "Skyscraper" -- I really appreciate any movie that can give me vertigo without making me watch in 3D. I also appreciate any movie that makes The Rock into a shy, nervous guy. And, lastly, I appreciate Hanna Quinlivan being such a badass -- she needs to become a movie star like yesterday.
9. "Pacific Rim: Uprising" -- I'm not much of a fan of the new "Star Wars" movies, and I dislike them a little bit more every time I see John Boyega totally own every other movie he's in. Anyway, Boyega is a delight, as is Charlie Day as the manic villain. The ridiculous scale of the robot-on-monster carnage is still wonderful, and it's made even better by "Uprising" actually being a real movie, unlike its predecessor.
8. "Breaking In" -- An excellent example of the underrated home invasion thriller subgenre. Also a reminder of how criminal it is that Hollywood has spent the last two decades not giving Gabrielle Union piles of leading roles.
7. "Tyler Perry's Acrimony" -- Sometimes I enjoy a movie just for its sheer audacity, and this is definitely one of those instances. Tyler Perry's dramas have always been pretty wild, but "Acrimony" is on a whole other level of madness. This thing makes "Temptation" look like a bog-standard romantic drama by comparison.
6. "Red Sparrow" -- Folks were preoccupied with complaining about its overly long running time, dour tone and Jennifer Lawrence's stone face, but I think all of those things are what make it good. Plus, it's got a few moments that make me physically ill whenever I watch it.
5. "Fifty Shades Freed" -- I could convincingly argue that these movies are making fun of the books they're based on. "Freed" especially, because the entire movie is about how rich people should use the considerable resources at their disposal to take care of orphans -- except Ana and Christian brazenly ignore that message because that's the joke. Anyway, "Freed" stuck the landing for our generation's greatest trash trilogy.
4. "Rampage" -- Is Dwayne Johnson the patron saint of trash movies? He seems to aspire only to participate in the most fun and awesome projects, and "Rampage" is as fun as any other movie that's come out in 2018.
3. "Gringo" -- This dark comedy is extremely relatable, with a message about how awful rich people and capitalism are. "Gringo" feels extremely right in 2018. And also David Oyelowo is hilarious.
2. "The Commuter" -- Jaume Collet-Serra and Liam Neeson team up for yet another trash masterpiece, this time to deliver a screed about how corporations and cops suck. All of that is good.
1. "Den of Thieves" -- A movie that will leave you thoroughly dirty by the end, while also being a major crowd-pleaser. That's a rare and wonderful combination.
