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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
