Best Film of 2018: My top 15 — so far
It’s been a really good time to be a movie fan. There have been a plethora of great to exceptional titles to hit cinemas during the first…
It’s been a really good time to be a movie fan. There have been a plethora of great to exceptional titles to hit cinemas during the first six months of this year. I’m still catching up with a few that I missed on the big screen (some just didn’t play near me). That said, the list below is filled with fantastic films that deserve your attention if you haven’t yet seen them.
15) Deadpool 2
The Merc With the Mouth is back back back. He’s the same as ever, but with some changes to his team. Zazie Beets, Julian Dennison and Josh Brolin join the lineup in spectacular fashion. The sequel is a highly enjoyable romp that needs more Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus for (the inevitable) third film. Because isn’t everything a trilogy?
14) Isle of Dogs
Writer-director Wes Anderson goes back to the stop-motion animation board with his latest about a boy’s devotion to his pup and how he’ll stop at nothing to bring him home after dogs are outlawed. There’s actually a lot more to this imaginative yet relatable tale, but where’s the fun in knowing everything before you watch the film? A stellar voice cast led by Bryan Cranston bring heart and humor to Anderson’s wonderful script.
13) You Were Never Really Here
Joaquin Phoenix gives a tremendous performance as a veteran suffering from PTSD, who rescues missing girls for a living. When he takes on a new case, it threatens to be his undoing. Writer-director Lynne Ramsey adapts Jonathan Ames’ novel and gives both the film and New York City a lived-in feel. It’s a gritty, emotionally driven piece that haunts you long after it’s over.
12) A Quiet Place
Horror movies and sound are intrinsically linked, but silence can add an extra layer of fear when making the smallest noise could be the end of you. Writer-director John Krasinski (who co-wrote the screenplay with Bryan Woods & Scott Beck) also stars in this effective chiller alongside wife Emily Blunt as parents of three kids, one of whom is deaf. Aliens have descended, and use sound to track and kill humans. The cast has a natural chemistry (particularly between Krasinski and Millicent Simmons as his daughter) that makes you feel for the family as everything starts going wrong. So basically from the off.
11) Black Panther
After making his debut in “Captain America: Civil War,” T’Challa gives audiences a proper look at Wakanda and introduces us to a world we didn’t realize we needed so much. Writer-director Ryan Coogler (who cowrote the script with Joe Robert Cole) and a fantastic company of actors led by Chadwick Bowman and Michael B. Jordan bring vitality and heart to the newest chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A superhero film with a predominantly black cast is long overdue. Inclusion isn’t a four-letter word, after all.
10) Tully
Charlize Theron is a harried mother of three (including a newborn) who takes up her brother on his present of a night nanny in this wonderful gift from screenwriter Diablo Cody. Directed by Jason Reitman, the duo’s latest pairing (after “Young Adult” — also with Theron — and “Juno”) delivers a beautiful portrait of a mother struggling to balance her mom/wife duties while finding time for herself. Theron and Mackenzie Davis, as the titular character, are a charming double act that revel in portraying these complicated women with the grace they deserve.
9) Ocean’s 8
A fun, sexy heist caper led by a squad of smart, funny women. Why did this take so long to arrive? Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett round up Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwafina and Rihanna so they can pull off a glitzy job at the Met Gala. The female cast is fantastic — especially Bullock and Blanchett, whose characters’ relationship is a highlight — as is James Corden, who pops up as an insurance investigator. “Ocean’s 9” is one sequel I hope comes into existence soon.
8) Avengers: Infinity War
It’s a rare superhero movie that leaves you in tears at the end of it. The first half of this two-part “Avengers” sequel brings the usual laughs and excitement you would expect, but then it sucker punches you in the heart so you can’t breathe. Death looms like a specter as Thanos and his crew wreak havoc with Earth’s mightiest heroes. Marvel served up a satisfying double play with this and “Black Panther” earlier this year, but they really should have handed out tissues as you entered and exited the theater for “Infinity War.”
7) Annihilation
A new film from writer-director Alex Garland is always a reason to celebrate. Based on the book by Jeff VanderMeer, it follows a biologist who gets sucked into exploring a mysterious zone when her MIA husband unexpectedly returns after venturing into the area as part of a mission. A creepy, atmospheric vibe seeps into the picture, leaving you unsettled almost from the off. The fantastic cast includes Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
6) Love, Simon
This winning adaptation of the Becky Albertalli novel is bolstered by an exceptional turn by Nick Robinson as closeted teen Simon, who has his world rocked after he falls for an online friend. It’s refreshing to see a compelling YA story that has nothing to do with post-apocalyptic futures or special powers. Director Greg Berlanti is in familiar territory as anyone familiar with his television CV will know (think “Everwood,” not the Arrowverse). He and his cast make the most of the lovely, heartfelt and funny script from Elizabeth Berger & Isaac Aptaker. If they ever adapt the sequel, “Leah On the Offbeat,” I’ll be first in line.
5) Hearts Beat Loud
Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons star as a father and daughter who are both dealing with turning points in their lives. However when dad Frank posts a song they created on Spotify, the reaction gives him hope he and daughter Sam can reinforce their bond just as she’s preparing to leave for college. Offerman and Clemons have an easy chemistry with each other that make their scenes absolutely charming and heartfelt. The original songs they perform are tight, landing the soundtrack in my heavy rotation list. Brett Haley (who also directed) and Marc Basch’s screenplay is filled with wonderful character moments not only for the leads, but Sasha Lane, Toni Collette, Ted Danson and Blythe Danner, as well. Track down this gem. It’s a feel-good delight.
4) Paddington 2
The bear from deepest, darkest Peru and his surrogate family the Browns return in the best sequel so far this year. Paddington’s quest for the perfect birthday present for his beloved Aunt Lucy has him crossing paths with dastardly actor Phoenix Buchanan (played to the hilt by Hugh Grant). A rollicking adventure ensues, testing the bear’s fortitude and his emotional ties to the Browns (rest assured, they have his back). If this doesn’t hit you hard in the feels, nothing will.
3) Disobedience
Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star in this powerful story of two women who are reunited after one of them returns to their Hassidic Jewish community for her father’s funeral. As they start spending time together, old feelings resurface and a bond that was forged previously resolidifies. Based on the novel by Naomi Alderman, writer-director Sebastian Lelio (who co-wrote the script with Rebecca Lenkiewicz) grants us access to a world that is off-limits to most of us. It’s a fascinating look at how life inside a religion can be affected by the unexpected union of two people.
2) Hereditary
A family in mourning is rocked to its core when unknown skeletons are revealed through insidious means. Toni Collette gives a stunning performance as a woman grieving the loss of her mother while being pulled toward a black hole of dark supernatural phenomenon that is targeting her and her family. Writer-director Ari Aster has crafted a story that is hypnotizing and kaleidoscopic in nature. It’s a film that demands multiple viewings just to fully absorb what you have just witnessed.
1) First Reformed
A priest grapples with mounting despair in writer-director Paul Schrader’s gripping, dark psychological drama. Ethan Hawke leads a first-rate cast as a man of the cloth who begins questioning everything, leading to decisions that take him farther away from the man he thought he was and closer to the man he is becoming. The film has been compared to “Taxi Driver,” which Schrader also wrote, and that’s apt. To watch the two back-to-back would be fascinating. “First Reformed” also could be viewed as a horror tale in the vein of ’70s classics “Don’t Look Now” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” as the Rev. Ernst Toller (a mesmerizing Hawke) descends into a state of mind that not everyone would view as healthy. Madness is in the eye of the beholder.
Best of the rest
The Commuter; Duck Butter; Pacific Rim Uprising; Red Sparrow and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Joanne Thornborough is pop culture junkie with a particular love for film, TV and the printed word. Find her at @cinelitchick on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.