Top Ten Films of 2018
I don’t feel the need to recap this year as an entire year. The movies only this time.
Venom made more money than Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Deadpool. That’s because Venom is good.
This was the year of Green Book. It won best picture and boy was that stupid. That movie has Viggo Mortenson playing a ridiculous Italian man teaching the artist that Mahershala Ali plays how to eat fried chicken. I know they mean well. But someone should’ve spoken up.
That movie winning right in the middle of all this makes a lot of sense. Our country is regressing to an extent. People are finding comfort however they can and the liberals are needing some good news. Seeing a racist and a black guy become friends is what they want. They just want to make movies and be rich and not be around the homeless people they could collectively house if they really wanted to do so.
It was the year of Roma, Freddie Mercury’s teeth, and Glenn Close not winning because she was a wife. (She’s good in the movie but no, Olivia Colman forever).
It was a year of surprises and falling in love with new filmmakers for me. Let’s get to the list (and remember this is the listed year they came out on IMDB or Letterboxd and not when they hit U.S. theaters.)
Also, these are mostly available on streaming somewhere so go watch good movies.
25. Woman at War (Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson) - Hulu
24. Climax (Directed by Gaspar Noe) - Amazon Prime
23. Destroyer (Directed by Karyn Kusama) - Hulu
22. First Man (Directed by Damien Chazelle)
21. Minding the Gap (Directed by Bing Liu) - Hulu
20. Blaze (Directed by Ethan Hawke) - Netflix
19. The Sisters Brothers (Directed by Jacques Audiard) - Hulu
18. Suspiria (Directed by Luca Guadagnino) - Amazon Prime
17. Under the Silver Lake (Directed by David Robert Mitchell) - Amazon Prime
16. High Life (Directed by Claire Denis) - Amazon Prime
15. Mandy (Directed by Panos Cosmatos) - Shudder
14. Shoplifters (Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda) - Hulu
13. Leave No Trace (Directed by Debra Granik) - Amazon Prime
12. Private Life (Directed by Tamara Jenkins) - Netflix
11. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Directed by Coen Brothers) - Netflix
top ten
10. Thunder Road (Directed by Jim Cummings) - Amazon Prime
One of the most confident debuts you’ll ever see. Jim Cummings made things before this but this was his CUMMING out party (sorry). An incredible long take opening scene that leads into a deeply humanist movie about mental health and trying so damn hard. It’s one of the most sincere works I can recall.
9. Wildlife (Directed by Paul Dano) - Netflix
It makes sense that Dano would make a feature as nuanced and strong as his acting. Written with his partner Zoe Kazan, and acted with a ferocity from Carey Mulligan, this movie is a slow burn but gets under your skin. It is a grown up old fashioned drama that I loved.
8. Her Smell (Directed by Alex Ross Perry) - HBO
Elisabeth Moss is the most underrated actor I think. Just from her being respected and understood to be good but I think she’s maybe the best? Her work in this long take 5 act play of a movie about a rock star rules so much. I can’t recommend it enough if you like big performances and movies about musicians.
7. Eighth Grade (Directed by Bo Burnham) - Amazon Prime
A year of confident debuts. Elsie Fisher is so damn good and Josh Hamilton adds the most important layer as the dad. It puts all the anxiety we’ve ever felt and puts it in a specific circumstance. I think almost anyone can relate to something in this.
6. The House That Jack Built (Directed by Lars von Trier) - Hulu
A strong member of the can’t recommend canon but if you like serial killer stories and maybe can tolerate some artsy twists along the way I say watch it. I think it is a beautiful gory swan song by a director who clearly feels bad about some things and wants to reckon with himself and his mistakes. And it has one of my favorite endings in recent history.
5. Vox Lux (Directed by Brady Corbet) - Hulu
The other popstar story with deeply interesting themes woven in the entire way. Raffey Cassidy is a star, Natalie Portman is GOING FOR IT and it mostly works, and Corbet creates one of my favorite openings to a movie. It is unsettling and off putting but it totally works for me and I could watch it on a loop. Jude Law was born to be YUNG POPE and a sleazy music manager.
4. The Bread Factory Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 (Directed by Patrick Wang)
Patrick Wang is a brilliant filmmaker. I don’t believe in pure geniuses but he might be. His previous entry on this list, In The Family, is amazing and he gives a great performance to lead it. Here he lets his cast do it all. But he adds tap dancing, meta art jokes, and all with a tone that is like if David Lynch didn’t have messed up dreams and just thought about art collectives. I love it so much and it might be my number one if I watch them again soon. 4 hours of bliss for me.
3. The Favourite (Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos)
A master filmmaker doing his version of one for them. It’s still odd, wild, and makes people uncomfortable at times but overall it is hilarious and a fascinating story. Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman are a trio of magnificence. His filmmaking is only getting better and more exciting and I hope whatever he does next comes out soon because I miss this guy on the screen.
2. Annihilation (Directed by Alex Garland)
A movie that really understands grief. A beautiful adaptation of a book that it uses as a jumping off point as plot and fills the rest of the space with new ideas. Portman heavy top here, and the ensemble here stands out. Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez, and Jennifer Jason Leigh put in strong work. Garland makes good things and this is my favorite of them.
1. Hereditary (Directed by Ari Aster) - Amazon Prime
A hard to watch movie for some, and for me it is almost comfort. Something about dealing with trauma through art makes it easy for me to live. I love dealing with these feelings and I get something out of it. Toni Collette not winning an oscar for this is stupid. It’s a deeply disturbing and difficult movie that I could watch every night. I think it’s the best movie this year and I will watch it again soon. Bless you Ari. See you soon.