I’ve missed quite a few movies I’ve wanted to see this year, mostly foreign or independent ones that are hard to see, like Cold War, Shoplifters, They Shall Not Grow Old, Revenge, Custody, Borders, The Rider, and Burning, or ones I just haven’t seen yet, like Can You Ever Forgive Me, Vice, Leave No Trace, If Beale Street Could Talk, Suspiria, and First Reformed.

While it wasn’t a particular memorable year for great films, I do think there were quite a few fine movies made this year, and even one or two possible masterpieces.

Some of the runners-up to my top ten include:

Endless - trippy low budget horror/sci-fi
First Man - very good but why didn’t it stay with me longer?
Incredibles 2 - funny as hell
Unsane - low budget Soderberg is still Soderberg
Overlord - fun Nazi/zombie hybrid
Game Night - Rachel McAdams should do more comedy
The Death of Stalin - funny until it’s horrifying
Crazy Rich Asians - classic rom-com
On Body and Soul - Eastern Bloc magic realism
Borg vs. McEnroe - a personal fave

*********************

So onto the top ten, in descending order:

10. Private Life, Tamara Jenkins

Why is the woman who made Slums of Beverly Hills and The Savages only allowed to make movies every decade or so? This is a very funny, but realistic look at a NYC couple trying to have a baby through every means necessary. Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn should star in every other movie made. Smart, heartfelt, but with no cloying, Hollywood bull****. Great movie.

9. Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson

My favorite Wes Anderson is probably Fantastic Mr. Fox, but now this one might leap over it. The animation/puppetry/whatever it is, is brilliant, while the story made me laugh out loud many times. My favorite might be when two packs of dogs discuss the virtues over fighting for scraps before suddenly falling into a cloud of cartoon violence. I love that half the movie is in Japanese, yet without subtitles. So original.

8. A Quiet Place, John Krasinsky

Great horror relies on a great conceit, and A Quiet Place has that, even if it has one or two holes in it. One of the great horror setpieces in recent memory is Emily Blunt trying to give birth to a baby in a tub while not making any noise, lest she and her offspring be eaten by the sound-sensitive monsters. This one is a lot of fun in the theater.

7. The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos

I was a big fan of The Lobster and all its surrealness, and The Favourite is probably the most “un-surreal” of his films, yet it’s undoubtedly his best. Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, and Olivia Coleman are a powerhouse threesome in this blacker than black comedy of non-manners in the English court of Queen Anne. Coleman should win every award there is.

6. A Simple Favor, Paul Feig

This might be the most purely entertaining movie of the year. Anna Kendrick plays an Anna Kendrick type character times 10, as she befriends then tries to solve the convoluted mystery of her new friend’s disappearance. Blake Lively plays the impossibly cosmopolitan friend who is hiding a deep, dark secret. This is one very funny movie, with some really nice twist and turns. Nothing is more fun than a movie with a crackling good, smart script.

5. Mission Impossible: Fallout, Christopher McQuarrie

How does Tom Cruise do it? He’s my age and yet he’s climbing ropes, diving, running, swimming, motorcycling, and actually flying a damn helicopter, all for our entertainment. This series just keeps getting better and better. Fallout is insane, and has some of the most intense, stunt-crazy set-pieces I have ever seen in a movie. The supporting cast is also great, and I love the narrative connections to the previous films. Watching this film on the big screen was like taking a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

4. A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper

Who knew Cooper had these kind of chops? Both behind the camera and the mic. The musical performances in this movie are exhilarating, and the story oh so heartbreaking. Sam Elliott and Andrew Dice Clay shine in supporting roles, and Lady Gaga is an absolute revelation. It’s astounding that this is her first movie. Her face is luminous and displays everything going on behind her eyes. She’s a natural. And if she wasn’t biggest star in the world already through her music, she is now. A Star Is Born is an old-fashioned tear-jerker with a modern feel to it. It’s awesome.

3. American Animals, Bart Layton

This is probably the first ever half heist/half documentary movie ever made. It’s one-of-a-kind filmmaking by Layton, and completely enthralling from beginning to end. Hell, it even has the documentary, real-life participants in the heist interacting with their movie-dopplegangers. This came and went without a peep, and that’s a shame...it’s a great movie.

2. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

A blast from beginning to end. I’m not a superhero guy, but this movie knocked me sideways. It’s up there with the very best animated movies ever made, and how the filmmakers make it look like a comic book while also making it so alive and action-packed is amazing. I’m positive this film will grow in stature through the years - it’s close to a masterpiece.

Mandy, Panos Cosmatos

A fever dream of a Heavy Metal, drug-induced, meth-addled, 80s-style, hellbound nightmare. Fire and shadows and red smoke, nightmare creatures with steel claws in the night, scary animated hallucinations, slo-motion tigers, tranquil, forested and romantic cabins, battles with a 4-foot long chainsaw, and one, creepy cheddar goblin.

And oh yeah, Nicolas Cage, Linus Roache, and Andrea Riseborough in my favorite performances this year. This one is not for everyone, but it’s both a grindhouse throwback and a brilliant, Art Film with a capital A, and my favorite movie of 2018.


****

What's yours?

Sadly, and in part due to not driving for six months, I haven't seen nearly enough movies this year. I don't have close to a top ten although the two I want to see most are Let The Sunshine In by Claire Denis, my favorite living director. I might just buy it to watch tonight. Denis directs Juliette Binoche (with whom I'm having an affair; too bad Juliette doesn't know) in what's labeled a romantic comedy. Really anxious to see this one.

Also looking forward to Cold War and the new Lanthimos as well.

I know I can stream a few that will be contenders, but I would rather see them in the theater, especially Mandy.

Some of my favorites include A Star Is Born. It's not a great film, but the cast works well together. I liked Juliet, Naked quite a bit although most will think it rather slight. Ethan Hawke really is quite good and charming as a musician who is trying to avoid his past. One scene in which various forgotten children and exes show up when he's had a heart attack is wonderful. See him also in First Reformed. Paul Schrader channels, as he does so often, Bresson, this time Diary of a Country Priest.

Private Lives was terrific. It's funny and heartbreaking at the same time, but the leads, Giammati and Hahn, capture perfectly the rhythms of married life. Sure, it's a film about fertility treatments, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. (If I described Sembene's Moolaade as about female circumcision, which it is, no one would see it and miss a joyous film.)

My favorite movie of the year is Paddington 2. What a cast: Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Brendan Gleason, and Ben Wishaw. It's a funny and touching film. The original Paddington, the book character, was based on the author's glimpse of immigrants arriving at Paddington Station. The film reminds us to keep trying, to be kind, to show respect. It's a winning formula for Paddington. Perhaps it may be for the rest of us as well. We can hope, can't we?

I started watching Paddington but turned it off when he was going to be set up for a crime he didn't commit. I hate that in movies.

Two movies that were underwhelming for me were Roma and Widows.

Oh, Dom. Stick with it. The prison scenes, especially Brendan Gleeson, are terrific.

ok, I will try again

The Mule would merit consideration mainly because of another memorable performance by Clint Eastwood and an excellent supporting cast. The story is not perfect but the movie is entertaining from start to finish.

Also should add Orson Welles's The Other Side of The Wind. I doubt I will watch it again--it's not great Welles--but it is Orson Welles, mostly.

American Animals was hilarious. I loved that movie the whole way through. Awesome. I also really liked I, Tonya that was another pseudo fake documentary.

Other notable films for me were:

The Hummingbird Project - Bald Alexander Skarsgård and Jesse Eisenberg try to run a fiber optic cable half way across the country. Also has Salma Hayek as their controlling hot boss.
Cold War - A romance between two musicians that weaves through several decades throughout Europe starting in like the 50s. Black and white. Very cool.
Unsane - Claire Foy accidently commits herself to a mental institution where she thinks she sees her stalker working and questions her sanity.
Thoroughbreds - Two rich like 17 year old girl sociopaths with very different personalities behaving in very strange ways. Fascinating.


I never saw Mandy but the most WTF movie I saw was The House That Jack Built where Matt Dillon plays a serial killer. It gets pretty gruesome with the murders and then goes Lynchian bananas at the end.

Wife and I just saw The Mule.

Story is pretty much obvious from beginning to end with one sharp turn that probably doesn't make much real difference. But it was fun to watch Eastwood playing a man who accidentally slips in to a very bad situation with no way out. Not a tremendous amount of violence for what is potentially a pretty violent plot. Rest of the cast is pretty good - but I think the main value is seeing Clint in what may be his last starring role. Would recommend.

MM MD

Honorable Mention: Mid 90s, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Game Night, Support The Girls, M.I. XVII, Have A Nice Day.

Movies I loved this year but don't count: Drunken Tai Chi, Cowboy Bebop, Ong Bak, Hands on the Hardbody, Rumble in the Bronx, Shaolin Soccer, Out of Sight, City Hunter, Kiki's Delivery Service, Totoro, Castle in the Sky.

10. Free Solo. Rock climbing redux. Had me afraid to look at the screen during the tense parts.

9. Death of Stalin. Black comedy that did a delightful job of sending up politicos for the scumbags that they are.

8. Won't You Be My Neighbor. People try to politicize this movie, but in the end it was a good documentary about a guy who took his duties as an adult seriously and was good at his job.

7. Crazy Rich Asians. I love rom-coms. All rom-coms have the same plot and this one was no different, but it was well executed with a great cast. I saw it twice -- I went back a second time to listen to the music again and to watch Michelle Yeoh glide around and dominate every scene with a quarter inch elevation of an eyebrow.

6. Dog Island. Cool cartoon with archetypal Good Guys, Bad Guys, Romance, and, you guessed it, a boy and his dog.

5. Vice. A new take on the most recent Bush debacle. Unlike Oliver Stones' W., which had Jr. firmly in charge, Vice portrays events more as I remember them.

4. Spidey-Man: Into the Spidey-Verse. A fresh take on an exhausted genre that manages to send up everything from 1960s TV Bat Man to metrosexuals.

3. Before We Vanish An apocalyptic space invaders movie with interesting characters and some good plot twists. Showed up for a week locally, then disappeared.

2. Burning. Korean take on a Murakami short story. As I love to mention, I don't think I've ever seen a bad Korean Movie.

1. Shoplifters. A great movie with a modern interpretation of a modern family. Kept me engrossed for the entire time. I ended up caring about everybody and what happened to them.

Hmm...will have to seek out Before We Vanish

Sorry to Bother You doesn't even get a mention?

never saw it

I liked it, but couldn't remember much about it.

I tried find overall average rating for each film between RT, IMDb, Metacritic.

I'm guessing most don't really care but maybe you see a title you might wanna try.

Yes I know you can pick apart the numbers since I treated sites = and some have low votes.

Here is the results anyway.

Overall Critic+User

1. They Shall Not Grow Old
2. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
3. Shoplifters
4. Roma
5. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
6. Free Solo
7. Paddington 2
8. A Star is Born
9. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
10. Burning
11. Eighth Grade
12. Cold War
13. The Rider
14. Isle Of Dogs
15. Science Fair
16. If Beale Street Could Talk
17. A Quiet Place
18. Leave No Trace
19. The Guilty
20. Incredibles 2

Critic

1. Roma
2. Shoplifters
3. Eighth Grade
4. They Shall Not Grow Old
5. Burning
6. The Rider
7. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
8. Paddington 2
9. The Favourite
10. If Beale Street Could Talk
11. Leave No Trace
12. Cold War
13. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
14. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
15. Black Panther

User

1. They Shall Not Grow Old
2. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
3. Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
6. Free Solo
7. Shoplifters
8. Bohemian Rhapsody
9. Science Fair
10. A Star is Born

Overall Critic+User Worst List

1. Holmes and Watson
2. Slender Man
3. Show Dogs
4. The Open House
5. Fifty Shades Freed
6. How It Ends
7. Paradox
8. Death of a Nation
9. Truth or Dare
10. Gotti

It's very weak if not one at all has The Mule.

And I think it is time to mention:


Bad Times at the El Royale

Upgrade is my choice for most surprisingly good movie of the year.

lots of humor mixed in with the well executed violence.

Agreed. Upgrade was a fun watch.

Probably need to add Lynne Ramsey's You Were Never Really Here to my top ten list. Echoes of Taxi Driver and The Searchers and Ramsey's style in Movern Callar.

Leave No Trace is by far the best movie I've even this year, it's totally original and unlike anything I've ever seen really. Kinda amazing to me it even got made these days!

I'm looking forward to seeing Isle of Dogs, pretty sure that's gonna have great appeal for me.

I always want to like her films, but they always leave me cold. You Were Never Really Here included. It's interesting,, but....nothing else, for me.

Will see Leave No Trace soon. Isle Of Dogs is so damn goofy.

We have similar tastes in movies, so I feel like you would like this one.

when it comes for free on Netflix or Amazon, I will watch it!

Simple Favor and Won't You Be My Neighbor were the goat 2018 films.