Top 10 Films of 2018

Just like that, another year has come and gone. It's become an annual tradition for me to share my ten favorite films of the year and I always enjoy reflecting on what I've seen. If you read most of my reviews, some of these selections may not be that surprising, but I think there may be a couple placements or choices which people won't see coming. This year I've seen 81 new releases in total, which is 10 more than last year. There are still quite a few reviews I need to write, but those will come in due time. Like always, I've noted some honorable mentions and will write a brief blurb about each film to justify its place on my list. I have uploaded reviews for them all, so if you're interested and haven't done so already, you can read my more in-depth thoughts by clicking the blue title once you're done perusing my list. 

Top 10 Films of 2018

Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical order): Annihilation, Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, If Beale Street Could Talk, Paddington 2, Roma, Thoroughbreds, Vice, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and You Were Never Really Here.

10. Beautiful Boy

Beautiful Boy turned out to be one of the most emotional viewing experiences I've ever had in the theater. Some may call it emotionally manipulative, but I felt every emotional beat was well-earned on account of a layered story and excellent, career-best performances from Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carrell. The narrative structure is occasionally a little messy, but that only adds to the honest, down-to-earth depiction of addiction in my eyes. As a poignant, tearjerking cautionary tale about the perils of addiction, it more than serves its purpose. Also, have tissues on hand.

9. A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place snuck up on me earlier this year and turned out to be one of the most engaging and creative mainstream horror films I've seen in quite some time. I'm honestly not huge on the horror genre as a whole, but A Quiet Place quickly invested me in its story, concept, and characters with an excellent opening. On account of its terrific technical precision and exceptional core ensemble, Krasinski managed to make a horror film with heart as well as solid scares.

8. Mary Poppins Returns

To put it plainly, Mary Poppins Returns is an utter delight. A simply splendid sequel that is, dare I say it, even better than the original... Thanks to a cheery, whimsical disposition, charming musical numbers, and a towering lead performance from Emily Blunt, it wound up being the spoonful of sugar I needed this holiday season.

7. Avengers: Infinity War

As the cinematic culmination of nineteen films and ten years of storytelling, Avengers: Infinity War is a unique and unprecedented achievement. A blockbuster of this scale simply has never been done. In terms of sheer spectacle, it is astounding, and I'm still impressed the Russo Bros managed to balance that immense ensemble as well as they did. However, my opinion of it has somewhat diminished since my first viewing as I came to the realization the grand spectacle often overshadowed any character growth and Avengers: Endgame could make or break it in the long run.

6. Widows

While being a riveting heist film, Widows is a superb character drama which features tons of well-woven social commentary and some of the best filmmaking I've seen all year. McQueen's got plenty to say and a lot of ground to cover but somehow gets away executing a complex smash-and-grab without sacrificing quality or entertainment value.

5. The Favourite

Devious plotting, elaborate machinations, and a trio of renowned female performers operating at peak capacity made The Favourite one of my favorites. It's sharp, twisted, and delightfully wicked. What more could you request?

4. Eighth Grade

Rarely do modern coming-of-age films offer an authentic representation of teenage life today. Fortunately, Bo Burnham gets it right, and Elsie Fisher provides a lead performance which is wonderfully sincere and among the best acting I've seen all year... and she's only fifteen! Eighth Grade is honest, hilarious, heartfelt, and relatable above all. Eighth Grade reminds audiences of awkward, cringe-worthy mess that is their teenage years, and within minutes, it's like we're reliving the moments we often over-exaggerate as the worst of our brief, privileged existence.

3. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

The hyper-stylized, frenetic animation style seen in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is truly unlike anything else I've ever seen. Not only is the film breathtakingly beautiful, but it understands the idea of Spider-Man better than any of the wall-crawler's live-action outings. Anyone can wear the mask. Anyone can be Spider-Man, which is perhaps why the character's still a staple of pop-culture. It swung towards the top of my list very late in the year, but instantly became a favorite of mine in terms of both animation and cinematic comic-book adaptations! Most importantly, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is a love letter to Spidey and a fitting tribute to the legacy of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

2. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

It's telling when the sixth entry in a long-running spy series manages to up the ante and stand apart as not only the best franchise installment yet but also one of the greatest action films ever made. Mission: Impossible - Fallout is exhilarating from start-to-finish and a pulse-pounding exercise in action. Every major stunt and set piece in Fallout ranks among the best I've seen all year and the genre as a whole. Cruise's willingness to perform the stunts himself only further enhances the insanity, as it lends a greater deal of authenticity to the proceedings. In Fallout, the action, plot, and character all work in tandem to deliver the edge of your seat suspense audiences have come to expect from the series and McQuarrie even dares to question the effectiveness of the franchise's central hero.

1. First Man

In First Man, Damien Chazelle perfectly balances the intimate and grandiose nature of space. There's an imminent sense of danger as you watch astronauts enter a bucket of bolts intent on blasting off into space. In regards to the moon landing, Chazelle positioned one of the most infamous American achievements as an introspective and emotional affair. First Man takes one small step for cinematic space-exploration, and one giant leap for cementing Chazelle's position as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today!

'Eighth Grade' Review

Eighth Grade follows an introverted teenage girl as she struggles in the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year.

Written and directed by first time filmmaker Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade chronicles a bona fide coming-of-age tale for the social media-crazed teens of today. Burnham's a twenty-seven year old comedian mostly known for his YouTube and television work, yet he manages to ideally encapsulate the struggles that middle-schoolers are facing now. I'm a twenty-one year old male, so I can't personally attest to the experiences of being a thirteen year old girl in 2018... Fortunately, my youngest sister is thirteen years old! Upon first seeing Eighth Grade about a week ago, I was reluctant to review the film without her perspective because I felt that her insight was invaluable. I asked if she'd be willing to watch it and she was more than happy to oblige, so here's an eighth grader's review of Eighth Grade for those curious:

@boburnham @ElsieKFisher, I saw #EighthGrade last week and immediately thought it would be perfect for my little sister who will be entering 8th grade this year! I took her to see it today and she thought it was gucci! 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/chaqjXd3CW

— David Weiser (@weiser_david) August 12, 2018

As you might be able to surmise by the huge grin on her face, she loved it and felt it was really realistic in its portrayal of modern middle-school and teenagers today. She's brought the film up in conversation several times in the few days since we saw it, so I imagine she can't wait to see it again and I'm really glad that she enjoyed it as much as she did.

Anyways, despite setting Eighth Grade in the modern day, Burnham's made a feature which we can all relate to in some way or another (provided you're older than 13). The awkwardness of our teenage years is a fairly universal experience, and plenty of awkward social interactions ensue as Kayla goes about her day-to-day life. From beginning to end, Eighth Grade is incredibly authentic in its awkwardness. Nothing feels fake or manufactured for the purposes of dramatic tension. The kids act like kids and it's as if Burnham simply captured a few days of a teenage girl's typical life.

Social media and cell phones certainly play a large role in the proceedings, but Burnham never treats the devices as an unhealthy obsession. He certainly gets into the good and bad of today's tech, but for the most part, Burnham depicts the devices as teens see them: a way of life. There's even a conversation in which Burnham directly acknowledges the significant lifestyle differences between the childhood of an eighth grader and a high school junior/senior. Technology's progressed, and in this day-and-age, kids often receive their first cell phone or activate their first social media account comparatively much earlier than their elders did. With three younger sisters, I've even witnessed it firsthand. 

Thematically, Eighth Grade is remarkably genuine on so many levels that most coming-of-age stories just aren't these days... Though there are certainly exceptions to that, Bo Burnham understands today's youth or was at least willing to hear them out and gather feedback on his own interpretation of adolescents. Stylistically, the filmmaking approach is very personable, so overall, Eighth Grade is an intimate experience that's hilarious and heartfelt. There are some neat flourishes in regards to the editing and cinematography while Anna Meredith's synth-driven keyboard score establishes an atmosphere that can be both inviting and nerve-wracking (an ideal summation of what 8th grade is really like). 

Holding it all together is Elsie Fisher's wonderfully sincere performance. You may know Fisher best from the first two Despicable Me movies where she adorably voiced Agnus, but this will surely be a defining moment in her career. Fisher is onscreen for just about the entire hour and a half, but not a single second of it feels forced or fake. You forget you're even watching an actress because Fisher's anxiety, innocence, and vulnerability all feels so heart-breakingly genuine. Matching her beat-for-beat every step of the way, Josh Hamilton portrays a kind, loving, and supportive dad. Like any good parent, his character only wants what's best for his little girl, and Hamilton conveys his caring nature beautifully. A heart-to-heart conversation between the two of them had me on the verge of waterworks. Filling out the supporting cast, Emily Robinson and Jake Ryan are well-deserving of a mention for their roles as high school mentor Olivia and the hilariously dorkish Gabe (the chicken nuggets scene is the comedic peak of 2018 thus far). 

After some reflection and a second viewing, I feel confident enough to declare Eighth Grade as not only one of the best films I've seen all year, but my new favorite A24 feature, and I'd certainly place it among the very best coming-of-age films. If you're an adult who's considering taking a teen to see Eighth Grade, please don't be discouraged by the R-rating. It's overblown on account of a few F-bombs and some slightly mature content, but I can guarantee that the child has seen and heard far worse. To put it simply, films this sincere and sentimental don't come around that often. Eighth Grade is a film for everyone who has ever been through eighth grade and for those who have just begun the rollercoaster of their teenage years. An exceptionally authentic coming-of-age story for the social media generation.

Film Assessment: A+