2018 has been a tough year for many people and even I've had my lesser moments. Thankfully, we've had plenty of awesome flicks to pass the time in between all the chaos. A lot of good stuff flew under the radar and I'm going to try to give all of it some time in the sun (be it in this article or some other down the line). Likewise, I won't do a "Worst of the Year" list because they're tacky, boring and ultimately unproductive. Besides, why would waste my precious time pissing and moaning about films I either didn't care for or outright despised? Never have, never will. End of discussion.
Art is subjective and people are free to like or dislike whatever they wish to. I'd also like to note that nothing about this is set in stone or sacrosanct. Chances are these rankings will fluctuate and change over time. My thoughts on each entry may increase or sour as the years pass. That also feeds into why I call these lists my "favorite" movies of the year and not the "best". So, take this with a tiny grain of salt. Now, with all of that expository garbage out of the way, on with the list. The following fifteen films are what I'd consider to be the standout works of cinema from 2018. Enjoy!
#15) SEARCHING
Contemporary techsploitation has finally yielded its first out-and-out success with
Searching. Doing a more subtle riff on the likes of
Taken (only leaning more towards slow-build tension rather than cheap white knuckle thrills). John Cho and company give great performances in spite of the constraints inherent to this kind of movie. Really, everyone involved gave this project 110%.To say it's refreshing would be an understatement.
#14) YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Consider this a sort of arthouse
Taxi Driver. Joaquin Phoenix gives a gut-wrenching yet understated as a hitman grappling PTSD. Plus, it's all undercut with what I'd say is some of Radiohead alum Jonny Greenwood's best work as a composer and that's really saying something. Words can't properly sum up what it's like to watch this. It's a personal experience that means different things to the different people who've seen and/or loved it.
#13) THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
A lot has been said about Netflix lacking quality releases when it comes to their film output. Thankfully, it appears that won't be the case for much longer. They've really stepped their game up this year and we're all the better for it. Joel & Ethan Coen gifted the streaming titan with a Western anthology. Veering wildly from the comical to the darkly tragic to the poignant,
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a nice Western-flavored slice of everything that makes the Coen brothers so endearing.
#12) GAME NIGHT
Frequently hilarious and thrilling,
Game Night is a wonderful example of what you get when focus on comedies as movies first and not ninety-minute sitcoms (albeit with leeway to push the envelope a tad further regarding content). Here's hoping this and
Tag serve as shots in the arm for a genre that needs to evolve now more than ever.
#11) THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND
Whenever the release schedules start feeling predictable, I find that it's always important to remember that pleasant surprises still lurk around the corners. Case in point:
The Other Side Of The Wind. Distributed by Netflix, the posthumous final film of the legendary Orson Welles turned out to be a Fellini-esque tone poem that poses the interesting thesis that Welles himself might have far from the genius that film snobs praise him as. Or, for a more recent comparison, a more abstract work in the vein of
Birdman. What does it all mean? I'm not entirely certain. Nevertheless, I can't wait to return for several more viewings in the vain hope of figuring out this inscrutable cinematic puzzle.
#10) UPGRADE
Speaking of pleasant surprises,
Upgrade seemingly came out of nowhere to the delight of hardcore movie nerds including myself. Every action beat is next-level brilliant, with uniquely mechanical camerawork and a gleefully cavalier approach to gore. All of which is anchored by an appropriately maleable yet grounded performance from Logan Marshall-Green. Combining the best elements of revenge thrillers, body horror and cyberpunk into one unique, it's a fantastic B-movie from Leigh Whannell as well as a showcase the best of what Blumhouse is capable of.
#9) ISLE OF DOGS
Wes Anderson popping up on anyone and everyone's year-end best list stopped being surprising eons ago. What is surprising is how that never became tiresome. 2018 was a mostly solid year for animation and
Isle of Dogs reigned supreme among the genre's myriad of offerings. Some misconstrued as an act of cultural appropriation when it turned out to be a sincere work of cultural appreciation. Soulful, quiet, and visually sumptuous, it's a solid family adventure with more artistic flair and high-minded ambition than this sort of fare usually gets.
#8) WIDOWS
If
Drive owed more than a little debt to
Thief, then this has a lot of
Heat in its DNA. Timely, slick and morally uncompromising, it's decidedly an slow burning anti-crowdpleaser which makes it all the more engrossing. The less I say about this picture, the better. If it's still playing in your area, check it out.
#7) MANDY
Nostalgia has become so ubiquitous in the culture that by now that not only have people started to grow tired of its omnipresence; but, complaints and thinkpieces about have grown more tiresome. Then, there comes a movie like
Mandy that shows how it can be used to push the medium forward rather than being strictly reflexive. It accomplished the impressive feat of combining Nicolas Cage's cult appeal while also reminding everyone how we continue to underestimate him as an actor. The sophomore film of Panos Cosmatos is a fascinating intersection of art and exploitation, creating a meditative moodpiece out of visuals ripped straight from a Megadeth album cover. Plus, who can't groove with a film that opens with a King Crimson track and climaxes with Nicolas Cage engaging one of the villains in a chainsaw duel?
#6) THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD
A war documentary that takes the questionable practice of colorizing black-and-white footage and uses it as an indispensable storytelling technique (opting to use it to rather make something old more suitable for modern audiences). Without a doubt, it's the best thing Peter Jackson has made since he remade
King Kong almost fifteen years ago. It's a remarkable work of craftsmanship and film preservation all the same. Do not miss this when it opens wide next February. I rarely this phrase because it's as cliched a saying as "instant classic"; but,
They Shall Not Grow Old is essential viewing.
#5) SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
There are times where I wonder if I'll ever go a year without having a Star Wars movie in my year-end best list. If I could redo my Best of 2016 and 2017 lists,
Rogue One and
The Last Jedi wouldn't have made the cut (or, at the very least, wouldn't rank as high as they did). A lot of discussions have popped up around the latter regarding how it radically subverts expectations and attempts to push the franchise forward. On the other side of the storytelling spectrum, you have
Solo. A film that was plagued with production issues, had the least necessity for its own existence out of all the various sequels/prequels/spinoffs/whatever else is being pumped out of the LucasFilm system and was casually ignored by general audiences; yet, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't my favorite of the new movies. It stayed true to the spirit of it's title character while expanding his and adding to the overall mythos in satisfying ways. Sometimes, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Rather, you can do wonders by just polishing and fine-tuning it.
#4) WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Now, I can't say this is the best documentary of the year; but, it's an engaging reminder of how important Fred Rogers and his messages still are in increasingly cynical times. It effectively brings him down to Earth without being a feature-length hitpiece. It's gentle and sincere while . An emotional yet experience. If you missed it while it was in theaters, rent it when you can. You won't regret it.
#3) READY PLAYER ONE
It's hard to think of any praises for Steven Spielberg that haven't been sung time and time again. Let's face it, he's not going to be around forever. When he's gone, there's going to be a lot of difficult discussions and debates we're going to have over his extensive catalog of work. One of which I've already accepted is that his more serious movies aren't going to be the first things that come to mind. To put it more bluntly, we're going to remember him for stuff like this,
Jurassic Park and
Close Encounters moreso than the likes of
Lincoln or
Schindler's List. Matinee friendly popcorn fare like this is going to be the reason we continue to for decades to come. Taking a charming yet clunky novel and deciding to reinvent it from the ground up to make it fit better on screen and sneak in undercurrents of career introspection. it has enough on it's mind to make it more than simple entertainment. Even if you're not digging for subtext,
Ready Player One is just an awesome ride from one of the all-time masters of silver screen spectacle. The only way I could've fallen for this even harder is if I'd seen this when I was still a kid.
#2) ANNIHILATION
Speculative science fiction cinema with top-notch production design and gorgeous cinematography while managing to strike a balance of being open to interpretation without coming off as unbearably pretentious. Did I mention it's also perfect nightmare fuel? (that Bear scene still gets under my skin just thinking about it). It's scary for what it shows and even more terrifying for what it suggests. How something this out there and challenging could come out of the studio system is as ambiguous as the note writer-director Alex Garland chose to end his latest masterwork on. I have a good feeling we're going to be talking about this one for a long time.
As per tradition, I'd like to shift some focus towards some honorable mentions. After all, tons of good movies come out every year and you can't stick everything on a year-end list without losing all the weight that's important to these lists. Anyway, here's a few films I liked even if they didn't find a place on the final list.
MANIAC
Yeah, yeah, I know this doesn't really count because it's a miniseries. You know what? I don't particularly care. If the third season of Twin Peaks can make lists from professional critics in 2017, I don't see why I can't gush about this at the tail-end of 2018. It's so well-executed, intellectually stimulating and skillfully put together it might as well be cinematic.
AQUAMAN
Out of the all the comic book flicks that came out this year, this was far and away my favorite out of the bunch. Did it have the best screenplay? Nope. Was the story the most original? Of course not. But, did it look spectacular and lean into everything that made the comics such goofy fun? You better believe it did!
Aquaman is big-budget camp of the highest order and I wouldn't have it any other way.
PADDINGTON 2
File this with
Won't You Be My Neighbor under "Cinematic Bastions of Wholesomeness and Positivity" (although you'll probably feel a lot happier after finishing this one).
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT
Techinally superb and relentlessly entertaining, Fallout finds welcome company among high watermarks of action cinema.
And, now, my favorite film of 2018 is....
#1) BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE
The downside of having years where there are plentiful cinematic riches is that there's going to be a lot of stuff that gets lost in the shuffle. Such is the case with Drew Goddard's latest picture,
Bad Times at the El Royale. A coastal neo-noir set in the late-60s with as much polish and sleaze as such a description would entail. It starts out quiet and unassuming (steadily increasing the mystery of what exactly might be going on)...and then Chris Hemsworth shows up, giving what is arguably the best performance of his entire career, and things go completely off the rails. A crime thriller with a unique setting, inventive story twists and occasionally thoughtful ruminations on redemption. Like a few other pictures on this list, you can trace its cinematic reference points; but, it's like nothing seen before. Once again, looking to the past to see how we can bring art into the future. Top that off with an expertly utilized soundtrack and a remarkably satisfying ending, what you get is one of the most well-crafted slices of cinematic pulp ever made and my favorite film of 2018.
Well, there you have it. If you didn't see a certain title pop up here, never stress. I haven't been able to see absolutely everything this year and I might write about a few in future. Happy New Year!
