Sunday, January 13, 2019

The Best Films of 2018

As a film year, 2018 feels more like a "meh" than the resounding whoops of box office receipts seem to signify. In fact, the state of film in theaters felt bleak to me as major blockbusters kept feeling more watered down than usual in an attempt to get the widest markets. I understand why and I cannot condemn studios from doing this considering the market as it is, but I worry that inventiveness and ingenuity is being put to the wayside. Then I started to make my list for the best films this year and considering that I had to step away from the theater more than usual these last twelve months due to personal and professional matters, I found that I easily had more than ten to make the list, and some of them weren't just great but astounding. While a few of my selections are award contenders this year, what I found  that surprised me was how many of those contenders were just as bland as the blockbusters. The great films this year aren't getting the proper respect they deserve and I will not accept that. So here are twenty, count them TWENTY great films that you need to see from 2018.

20. Boy Erased: I LOVED Joel Edgerton's The Gift and was eager to see what he would do next as a director. Boy Erased, a film about a young man's journey through a gay conversion center is just as perilous as his attempts to communicate with his father. Actor Lucas Hedges gives a subtle yet deep performance that is matched by supports from Nicole Kidman and Russel Crowe as his parents. What keeps this film from being yet another gay acceptance indie is that the film centers around communication and trying to find common ground rather than the cliche parents-bad, gay kid-good that usually comes with this type. Add in some complicated feelings about religion and faith that actually respects the subject is a nice touch. Could be tough to sit through if you're not into indie dramas.

19. Ready Player One: Steven Spielberg took cultural geekdom and made a film that both celebrated it as well as invite the next generation of filmmakers to aim higher. Ready Player One is also a victory lap of sorts for the filmmaker who gets to call back on not just his own work, but those who he worked with and those who were inspired by him. Visually astounding, great score and sound, a fun and Easter egg-infused dreamscape with actors who are clearly enjoying themselves. This, Mr. Abrams, is what a Spielberg is supposed to feel like.

18. They Shall Not Grow Old: If Spielberg played to his strengths, director Peter Jackson stepped completely out of his. His documentary on trench warfare of World War I did something both visually amazing and yet cerebral. Taking 100-year-old footage and not just remastering it but stabilizing and colorizing it allows the film to be seen as a testament of the horrors of a war being more and more forgotten. Jackson states he has even more footage and I for one would love more of this.

17. Thoroughbreds: This is a film that is purely mean and isn't afraid to be perfectly blunt about it. This modern take on the dysfunction of youth as we see two affluent teenage girls plot a murder while establishing a connection through this destructive act is darkly humorous and rather dry. And while the latter would usually be a bad thing, it fits the two main characters' personalities, played to perfection by Anna Taylor Joy and Olivia Cooke. Also must mention this has the late Anton Yelchin in his final role before his untimely death.

16. The Other Side of the Wind: Orson Wells has been laid to rest over 30 years before his final incomplete film has been painstakingly pieced together to make possibly one of his most difficult and experimental films ever. Both a love letter and harsh rebuke towards Hollywood as well as a brutal dissection of his own character flaws, The Other Side of the Wind dances on the fine line of pretense only to be saved by the fact that it criticizes itself for doing just that. I must state that to get the full appreciation of the film, also watch the companion documentary They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, which is about the long-gestating path towards the film's completion.

15. Hold the Dark: Jeremy Salnier is one of those filmmakers whom I'll race to theaters to see his next film sight unseen. Thankfully, all I needed was Netflix to see his follow-up to Green Room, a quiet, contemplative and extremely violent tale about a naturalist who gets caught in the middle of a mystery that can only end badly. The film's stark cinematography, amazing use of locations and scenery and one of the greatest shootout scenes of all time. This is not something I can recommend to everyone considering the very bleak nature of the film and the ending that might not be satisfying to some.

14. Isle of Dogs: I'm rather surprised that this was not only NOT on my top ten, but also NOT the best animated film of the year. That said, Wes Anderson's stop-motion use is even better this time around than his Fantastic Mr. Fox, with a story that is much deeper and more satisfying. The unique blend of drama and comedy here is also more finely tuned. That said, the film is still a little shallow when compared to Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom.

13. Mom and Dad: Never in a million years would I have EVER thought a Brian Taylor film would beat out a Wes Anderson film. Yet Mom and Dad is a film with a brilliant premise with a great cast and understands the genuine horror of what is happening even while it entertains. Props to Nicholas Cage for coming to play and even more to Selma Blair who came to see if she could out-crazy Cage. That said, this movie intends to offend and if you're not prepared to go all the way with it, you're going to feel disgusted more times than not.

12. The Death of Stalin: Armando Innaucchi has been making brilliant satire for decades now with The Thick of It, In the Loop, and Veep. Now comes The Death of Stalin, a satirical look at the days after the death of Josef Stalin as the powers that be try to figure out not just their own place in things, but what the Soviet Union should be in the aftermath. Extremely funny, politically savvy and a lot of fun thanks to Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Isaacs.

11. Upgrade: This was the movie Venom WANTED to be, a smart, visually-sharp, low-budget sci-fi/horror film about a paraplegic who gets the chance to not only walk again, but take vengeance for his lover's death when given an advanced neural microchip that does more than he expected. Logan Marshall-Green KILLS this role and shows that he's worthy of the same acclaim as his lookalike Tom Hardy gets. Seriously, this is the Venom film you were wanting!

10. The Guilty: This Danish film set entirely in a 911 dispatch is possibly one of the most stress-inducing, thought-provoking films I EVER seen. A film that will have you paying attention as much to what you hear as you do what you see and where some of the best performances come from over a telephone. Just when you think you know how this going to go, the film expertly beats you down for your arrogance. I. Love. This. Film.

9. The Favorite: Like Thoroughbreds, this film is simply mean and is unapologetic about it. This is the film I wanted for Yorgos Lathimos since seeing Dogtooth. It allows him to play to his strengths by placing the action in a  setting where stilted acting and peculiar dialog makes perfect sense. The trifecta of Rachel Weitz, Emma Stone and Olivia Coleman makes award season so difficult as each performance requires the other to compliment it. The ending, as mean as it is, feels triumphant in a vicious way that left me contemplative. That's what the best films should do.

8. Eighth Grade: Bo Burnham's directorial debut is the film that Lady Bird SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Elsie Fischer's performance as an anxiety-driven preteen in an age of social media is perfect parts awkward and awful and easily one of my favorite performances of the year. She makes mistakes, poor decisions and yet you can't help but feel she's going to make it out just fine. And the film around her is observant yet compassionate. I cannot recommend this film enough to everyone.

7. Won't You Be My Neighbor?: Yet another film that EVERYONE should watch, but make sure you bring tissues. Fred Rogers is a true superhero who sought only to provide quality children's television to the masses, especially during the turbulent latter-half of the 20th century. This documentary is a loving tribute not only of the man, but of the mission Mr. Rogers championed. And if you don't feel a sense of something lost by the end of the film, please check your pulse.

6. Bad Times at the El Royale: Director Drew Goddard made a film so stylistic and labyrinthine that it cannot truly be appreciated until it is seen. Not just a simple crime drama or period piece, it's a deep character study of flawed people fighting inner-demons at a place designed to bring out the worst in themselves and others. This is the best Jeff Bridges since True Grit and Cynthia Erivo is nothing short of AMAZING in this film.

5. A Star is Born: Can a film be considered great simply off the chemistry of its lead actors? If you go by A Star is Born, then that answer is YES. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga aren't just great, they're astronomically phenomenal a billion times over! Not just in their scenes together either, but during their scenes apart. The structure of the film is fine-tuned to create a roller-coaster relationship that we can both see as authentic and yet destructive. If you're not crying at the end, you're pretty damned close to it.

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse: This film was not supposed to be as good as it was. After the meh Infinity and the WAYYYY overrated Black Panther, I didn't expect to actually be moved by a Spider-Man film, much less an animated Spider-Man flick. Yet everything about this film is near-perfect; the action, the comedy, the characters, the visual look, the soundtrack, the voice cast, EVERYTHING. Like The Lego Movie before it, this changes the expectations of what animation is capable of and the kind of style animation can be used for.

3. Annihilation: This film came out last February and there hasn't been a month since that I have not thought about it. Alex Garland's follow-up to Ex Machina is just as cerebral, just as powerful as that film, though less likely to be a classic. And while Natalie Portman gives one of her best performances here, it's actually the supporting cast that is real shining stars of the film, specifically Gina Rodriguez who deeply impressed me. Visually stunning, otherworldly, and unnerving, the film's themes of self-destruction have yet to be mined thoroughly, yet I'm going to make an attempt pretty soon.


Okay, so before I go into my last two, I just need to say that these films are so good, I really cannot say which one  is better than the other. Considering that they pretty much tackle the same issue, let's just call it a tie and leave it at that....


1. (Tie) Sorry to Bother You AND Blindspotting:

These films affected me in ways that I'm still trying to process, yet they do so in very different ways. Sorry to Bother You is a clear satire that is not just incredibly insightful for joyfully irreverent. This was the film I expected from Get Out. Lakeith Stanfield is a great protagonist who journeys his way into the heart of corporate America via telemarketing and along the way finds a disturbing secret to it all.

Blindspotting's premise of a former convict days away for getting off parole only to witness a cop shooting is part psychological drama and part Kevin Smith comedy. Daveed Diggs, as the main character, is EASILY the BEST PERFORMANCE of the year. Not only does he have several great Oscar-worthy scenes, but he manages to bounce back and forth from hard drama to screwball comedy is balancing act only a handful of actors are capable of doing.

Both are dealing with the black experience in America, yet do so in ways that are more proactive than reactive. These are not characters that have things done to them, but are doing things and making choices about their lives. While race plays significant parts in these films, they do not take up a majority of the film or become distracting from either of these films' goals. Both films transcend their respective genres and their directors Boots Riley and Carlos Lopez Estrada show clear promise of greatness to come.