(Marvel Studios)
And just like that another year has come and gone. While not
packed with as many fantastic films as 2017, 2018 still had a lot to
offer.
I’ve decided to mix things up a bit this year. Instead of my
usual 10 films, I’m offering 15. It’s a change I wish I had made last year, as
I look back and am saddened by how many incredible films got left on the
sideline.
I also have become increasingly annoyed by the completely
arbitrary differences between, say, the number eight film and the number seven
film. For this reason, I have listed the first nine films alphabetically.
Numbers six through one are ranked like a typical top 10 list.
First, some honorable mentions. For some reason I soured on Black
Panther after a second viewing at home, but upon third viewing I’m back
to celebrating it as an exciting cultural event with a smart political slant
and only a handful of small detractors. Avengers: Infinity War isn’t an especially
exceptional film per se, but as a
culmination of the MCU it was a hilarious, colorful thrill ride with a killer
villain and a killer ending. With Ryan Coogler helming Black Panther, Creed II didn’t quite match the surprising excellence of its predecessor,
but it had me in tears for what seemed like half of its runtime. Support
the Girls was an unexpectedly heartfelt and sympathetic tribute to women’s
solidarity. Finally, while the film built around her is merely okay, I want to
give a special shout-out to Jessie Buckley’s character in Beast, who I found to be one
of the most fascinating and memorable characters in any film this year.
15. – 7. (Alphabetical)
(Paramount)
Annihilation
Alex Garland’s previous film Ex Machina is one of my all-time favorites, so I was initially
disappointed with my first viewing of Annihilation.
But after giving it another shot over the summer, its themes of
self-destruction became more evident and the overall pacing of its descent into
madness felt more controlled. The film sports a few tremendously tense sequences
and the climax is one the most gleefully bizzaro moments in recent memory. It never reaches
Ex Machina’s utter brilliance, but it’s
still a great piece of science fiction.
(Annihilation will
be available to stream on Hulu starting January 5th.)
(20th Century Fox)
Bad Times at the El Royale
Boasting the year’s finest collection of songs, an exquisite
1960s set, a terrific cast, and plenty of twists and turns, Bad Times at the El Royale is a
nostalgic mystery with style in spades. One of my favorite straightforward entertainments
of the year.
(Paramount)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
The story here is serviceable, but it keeps you
invested as the film moves from one phenomenal set piece to the next. Between
the HALO jump one-shot, the brutal bathroom beatdown, and the climactic
helicopter chase and cliff-side showdown, Mission:
Impossible – Fallout has the best action this side of Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s nonstop excitement from start to finish.
(GAGA Pictures)
Shoplifters
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme
d’Or winner oozes with empathy. It’s the embodiment of the idea that the
people related to you are not always your true family and is well worth seeking out.
(Lucasfilm)
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Perhaps the most unfairly dismissed film of 2018, Solo didn’t have the same cultural
impact as the previous three Star Wars films. Take a closer look, however, and
you’ll find a film that harkens back to Lucas’s original inspirations: Solo is a delightful mashup of western
and gangster genre tropes. The cast is beyond charming and it continues the
series’ allegorical undercurrent of cultural diversity and political
resistance.
(Solo: A Star Wars
Story will be available to stream on Netflix starting January 9th.)
(Annapurna Pictures)
Sorry to Bother You
Unfortunately overlooked by the general public this summer in
favor of Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, Boots
Riley’s directorial debut is a pointed takedown of contemporary American capitalism
with a decidedly racial edge. Sorry to
Bother You covers a lot of ground, but it maintains its excellence even during
its most outré developments—an
exquisite piece of satire.
(Sorry to Bother You
is available to stream on Hulu.)
(Sony)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
With one of the most inventive animation styles put to
screen, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
is one of the most visually exciting films you’ll ever see. This comic book
brought to life also sports a remarkably funny, heartfelt, and compelling
narrative that hits on what initially made the Spider-Man character so beloved all those years ago. Into the Spider-Verse
reminds us that anyone can wear the mask, and moreover, that there’s room for more
than one hero in this crazy world of ours. It’s also a beautiful sendoff to the
legendary Stan Lee.
(20th Century Fox)
Widows
A supremely compelling heist thriller imbued with smart commentary
on issues of class, gender, and race, Steve McQueen’s Widows may not have the same ferocious effect as Shame or Twelve Years a Slave, but it’s his most accessible film yet and has a
superb ensemble cast. It disappointed at the box office, but I imagine this
film will go on to have quite the legacy.
(Focus Features)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
In a year of politics even more distressing than 2017, this
Fred Rogers documentary is a much-needed dose of genuine compassion and
kindness. It’s a terrific reminder to love your neighbor.
6. – 1. (Ranked)
(Annapurna Pictures)
6. If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight
is one of the greatest films of the century, so I had some high expectations
for his latest effort. This is an achingly beautiful film in every sense: people,
narrative, images, and score. It’s a tender and affectionate love story
throughout, but it also depicts injustices that have, of course, failed to
vanish from America. However, even in its most heartbreaking moments, If Beale Street Could Talk reminds us
that love will always persevere. If Moonlight
wasn’t enough, this film confirms that Jenkins is not only one of the kindest filmmakers
working today, but also one of the most immensely talented.
(Neon)
5. Vox Lux
The dark, twisted antithesis to A Star Is Born, Vox Lux recognizes
the sheer ridiculousness and excess of pop music celebrity. Natalie Portman’s
Celeste has clear parallels with Lady Gaga, and Portman seems plenty content with
depicting her as a grown child incapable of any genuine artistry and trapped in a never-ending performance. Emerging from national tragedy, Celeste is also
an acknowledgement of our cultural inability to respond to similar horrors in
an appropriate fashion, instead worshipping repugnant bombardments of the
senses. I love this film and am saddened by the lack of attention it so deeply
deserved.
(A24)
4. Eighth Grade
By far the funniest film of the year, Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade is also one of the most empathetic
and relatable—like the best of films, it finds the universal in the specific.
Middle school is probably the most uncomfortable period in most people’s lives,
and while you’re likely to cringe at many a scene here, Burnham taps into such
an honest sense of humor that it’s never anything less than marvelously
entertaining. What’s more, it’s a perfect time capsule of our digital era and
the immense impact it’s had on the current generation of children.
(Eighth Grade will
be available to stream on Amazon Prime starting January 13th.)
(A24)
3. First Reformed
Paul Schrader’s First
Reformed makes it abundantly clear that it’s about the Trump era without
ever doing so clumsily, and indeed it immediately joins the ranks of a handful
of instant classics (Get Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Shape of Water, to name just a few)
that perfectly capture the anxieties of our present. Schrader touches on a lot here—mainly
climate change and political extremism—but the most haunting issue is also the
most deceptively simple: Will God forgive us? You don’t have to be a believer
to find the question utterly fascinating, and it’s to the film’s credit that it
never comes across as ham-fisted or juvenile. Looking around at the world, I
would posit that the answer is a firm no, but I’ll let you decide that for yourself.
(First Reformed is
available to stream on Amazon Prime)
(Warner Bros.)
2. Paddington 2
No, it’s not a joke—Paddington
2 is a completely absorbing piece of family entertainment with several
Oscar-worthy elements and the most lovable talking animal put to screen. Like The Shape of Water last year, this film
is an antidote to cynicism. No matter how scary life can get, it’s impossible
not to watch Paddington 2 and have
your troubles momentarily melt away. Paddington genuinely makes us want to be
better people because, in our hearts, we know that if we all tried to be more
like him, the world really would be a better place. You’ll laugh, you’ll smile,
and by the end you’ll shed a tear or two. Don’t believe me? Give it a chance
and I guarantee you’re in for a treat.
(Paddington 2 is available to stream on HBO)
(Netflix)
1. Roma
As the culmination of Y
Tu Mamá También, Children of Men,
and Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is an undeniably momentous piece of
cinema. The Mexican auteur’s most
personal film yet, it takes everything the director has learned and tells a
story that’s at once achingly intimate and surprisingly grand. There aren’t
enough superlatives in the English language to properly praise Roma—it has the most staggering visuals,
the most assured direction and superb craftsmanship, the most impressive
performances, the most deliberate and engrossing editing, and the most emotionally
overwhelming moment of any film this year. It’s the rare film that reminds you
what movies in their highest form can be, and it's an immediate entry into the canon of the
greatest films ever made.
(Roma is available
to stream on Netflix. However, I implore you to see the film on the big screen.
You can read all about why in my essay, The
Netflix Paradox, here.)
As always, I was unable to catch every film I wanted to before
the year’s end. Some that may or may not have made this list: Cold War, Burning, Mary Poppins Returns,
Vice, The Other Side of the Wind, Crazy
Rich Asians, Searching, Welcome to Marwen, On the Basis of Sex, Aquaman,
Bird Box, American Animals, Blindspotting,
Happy as Lazaro, Zama, Minding the Gap, The Kindergarten Teacher, Lean on Pete, 22 July, The Miseducation of
Cameron Post, and The Tale, among
many others.
You can read my reviews for some of the films mentioned here at these links:
Annihilation (no longer reflective of my thoughts on the film)
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