Best Movies of 2018

Ah 2018. I won’t really miss you. I feel like it was kind of a weak movie year. I didn’t see a whole lot of movies that wow’ed me. But I decided I needed to put together a list of my favorite movies from 2018. Now this is your fair warning. These are my favorite movies from the past year. I don’t think these are the best movies of the year generally speaking. But these are the movies that really gripped me. That made me say, “Wow, I really really liked that.” Typically if I am still thinking about a movie days after I’ve seen it, that’s a good indicator for me that it was an important one. Now I already know that you won’t agree with me on some of these. But too bad, these were my faves. I linked up my reviews for each film so you can check them out if you’re interested. But here’s my top ten for 2018:

1. Minding the Gap
This is a documentary so most people probably haven’t seen it. But you really really should. It’s an amazing film that left me nearly in tears. It’s a very real depiction of growing up with both physical and emotional abuse and how that scars you.

2. The Favourite
I have a mild obsession with Olivia Colman so I was buzzing when I saw this. Everything about this film was spot on. The three main actresses Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone each gave brilliant performances. The writing and story line were excellent and it was my brand of dark humor.

3. Roma
This is a beautiful film. I got to see this in theaters although it’s also on Netflix. Cuaron is one of my favorite directors and I was happy to see him make a film in Spanish that was set in Mexico City. The performance from first time actress Yalitza Aparicio was magnetic and she deserved that Oscar nomination.

4. They Shall Not Grow Old
Peter Jackson worked his magic on this documentary. He turned old WWI archival footage into color and brought WWI to life in a way I have never experienced before. Truly a unique experience.

5. Blindspotting
One of the best films I’ve seen about race and race relations in the United States. Daveed Diggs puts in a mind blowing performance. I was sad that this didn’t get more recognition because it’s truly amazing.

6. First Man
I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. But I walked out of the theater and thought about this film for about a week afterwards. Best part of this was Claire Foy’s performance as Janet Armstrong. She was one of my favorite supporting actress performances of the year.

7. Burning
This Korean film blew me away. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. The story was mysterious and kept me engaged trying to figure out what would happen next. It was a slow burn, making you wait and wait and then exploding into chaos at the end.

8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Most innovative animated film I’ve seen in a while. I loved the comic book style animation as well as the story. I mean there’s Peter Porker AKA Spider-Ham in this one. C’mon you can’t tell me that’s not amazing.

9. Annihilation
This one was creepy. I generally like sci-fi films and this one had a brilliant concept. Plus it was a female-led cast which was amazing. The acting was great and it kept me guessing as to what the heck was going to happen. All around very entertaining.

10. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Melissa McCarthy in a serious role. Yes, please. But Richard E. Grant really stole the show here. Their chemistry together was insane. I just had the best time watching this.

Honorable Mentions

Border: One of the weirdest films I’ve seen in a while. Such a unique premise and it really left you thinking.

Shoplifters: A very touching story about a family of low level criminals in Japan.

If Beale Street Could Talk: Barry Jenkins second effort is absolutely stunning.