10 Best Films of 2018

It’s a great privilege of the gig, yet it’s always such an agonizing process. How do you choose the 10 best films of each year? And how do you rank them? I went with the ones that most moved me emotionally and wowed me technically, yet there are many more that I considered as 2018 went along but sadly had to part with (including “Cold War,” “Thoroughbreds,” “Shirkers” and “Leave No Trace”). As always, I hope you enjoy, and I’d love to hear which films would make your list of the year’s best.

1. “The Favourite” 

Image result for the favouriteI love the contradictions here: This looks like a genteel, British period drama, yet it couldn’t be weirder or wilder. You could say this is the most accessible film yet from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos (“Dogtooth,” “The Lobster”), but it retains so much of what makes his work so singular and unsettling. “The Favourite” features towering performances from Olivia Colman as a mercurial and childlike Queen Anne and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone as the conniving women competing to be her confidante. The costumes are lush and the camerawork is vibrant, and while the overall tone is deliciously mean, there’s also an undercurrent of sympathy that makes the film unexpectedly moving.

2. “Roma”

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A very close No. 2 for me. Alfonso Cuaron’s personal and intimate depiction of his childhood in 1970s Mexico City is visually dazzling and emotionally resonant. Serving as his own cinematographer, Cuaron shoots in exquisite black and white and lures us into this insular world with his signature, long tracking shots. He creates a rich sense of place and punctuates it with surreal, Felliniesque touches. And Yalitza Aparicio is a massive discovery as the family housekeeper at the film’s center; in just her first film role, she will inspire you and leave you sobbing.

3. “Burning” 

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Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s film is a mesmerizing masterpiece. It’s the kind of movie that leaves you staggering from the theater in a daze, its spell is so powerful, and yet you’ll also want to talk about it immediately afterward to hash through all its complex themes and possibilities. It’s a film of Hitchcockian suspense that’s rooted in a vivid sense of place in both its urban and rural settings. Lee draws subtle and deceptively powerful performances from his three stars — Ah-in Yoo, Jong-seo Jeon and Steven Yeun — and keeps you guessing with dreamy cinematography and an unsettling score. 

4. “First Reformed”

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Paul Schrader revisits some of his biggest influences and most famous iconography in this quietly suspenseful tale of a country priest who’s slowly losing his grip, and it’s his best film in years. There’s a lot of Travis Bickle in Ethan Hawke’s tormented Reverend Toller, and yet “First Reformed” asserts itself as a work of great contemporary relevance. It’s technically and tonally precise in its austerity, yet it’s also daring and thrilling narratively. Hawke has done so much interesting work in recent years as he’s reached middle age, but this is the pinnacle of his lengthy and eclectic career.

5. “Suspiria”

Image result for suspiria 2018I’ve come to love this movie way more than my three-star review would suggest. It’s dug into my skin and stayed with me in ways that few other films have this year, to the extent that I wish I could get a do-over. Luca Guadagnino’s brilliantly insane remake of Dario Argento’s seminal 1977 horror film grips you with its technical assurance from the very start. It places you on edge with its masterful camerawork and editing and holds you in its spell with the help of Thom Yorke’s melancholy score. Dakota Johnson does the best work of her career, and Tilda Swinton is chilling in multiple roles. 

Read the review here

6. “Sorry to Bother You”

Image result for sorry to bother youThis film is just straight-up nuts, in all the best possible ways. And yet the points it’s making about the current state of race relations couldn’t more more insightful or necessary. Visionary writer-director Boots Riley absolutely goes for it with his exciting and assured feature filmmaking debut, a modern-day fable about a struggling, black telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) who discovers the secret to wealth and success when he starts using his “white voice.” With its analogue charms, it’s constantly changing, challenging and surprising.

7. “Eighth Grade”

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The bracing honesty at work here is what makes this coming-of-age comedy such a delight, yet so squirm-inducing.Writer-director Bo Burnham, in his astonishing first feature, truly gets the fact that at this age, even the most benign situations are fraught with peril. We have all been that awkward 13-year-old — trying to figure out who we are, trying to connect with others — and in the starring role, Elsie Fisher doesn’t hit a false note. As Fisher’s Kayla struggles to survive the last week of middle school (with help from Josh Hamilton, who’s great as her fumbling, well-intentioned dad), all you want to do is give her a hug and tell her it’s going to be OK.

8. “Hereditary”

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Good lord, this movie is deeply disturbing. There is imagery in here that will literally never leave your brain — that’s how much of an artistic statement writer-director Ari Aster has made with his feature filmmaking debut. Toni Collette is crazy great as a wife and mom coming to grips with the truth of her family history while grieving the loss of her own mother. That’s what makes “Hereditary” so terrifying: It takes place within a mundane setting during a moment of emotional vulnerability. And the cinematography and sound design work wonders to create a chilling mood.

9. “Support the Girls”

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This is such a wonderfully sneaky little movie. It seems like an understated slice of life at a Hooters-style sports bar in bland, suburban Texas. But it’s actually a primal scream disguised as a shaggy hang. Writer-director Andrew Bujalski takes his low-key approach and applies it with great affection and generosity to the hard-working ladies at Double Whammies. And at the center, he’s given Regina Hall the starring role of a lifetime as the waitresses’ manager and den mother. Watching her calibrate who she needs to be to tackle each crisis that comes her way all day is a joy and in inspiration.

10. “A Star Is Born”

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The year’s most satisfying blockbuster. Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut pays loving homage to its hugely influential predecessors while simultaneously feeling bracingly current and alive. It’s glossy and swoony, epic yet intimate, and Cooper’s direction brings great energy and authenticity to the crucial concert scenes. A star truly is born in Lady Gaga, who takes the famous role of the talented ingenue and gives it her own unique edge and soul. And she and Cooper have such insane natural chemistry with each other that you truly feel as if you’re watching them fall in love.

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  1. Thanks, Christy for giving me my short list of films to find and enjoy. My personal favorite so far for 2018 is the documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” which helped me understand and appreciate the beautiful innocence of Fred Rogers tenderly touching the hearts of a generation.

  2. Favorite movie of the year was Mandy. Also loved Ballad of Buster Scruggs. I still can’t believe that was Dudley Dursley.

  3. For me this year, there were a bunch of not-so-bad movies, and then there was Leave No Trace. I get choked up just thinking about it. Can’t say why, exactly, but it was an overwhelming experience.

  4. I’m sad that you left Leave No Trace out. That film has stuck with me all year. I just wish it got as much love as these late year entries

  5. Team,

    I’m trying to catch up on movies that I’ve missed in the last few months again.

    I’m wondering though, listening to Hugo talk about one of his projects here at the Dublin Film Institute, an old haunt of mine – going waaayyy back to 1992 when it first opened (yeah Alonso, you’re not the only guy who went to see ‘art house’ cinema of strange Scandinavian movies that no one’s ever heard of) – I was wondering, a blunt film critics assessment if you may. How does one manage in 2018, when interviewing Hugo Weaving talking about an Irish Film about the Famine. Like there’s only a ‘one’ ever made.

    IFI Temple Bar (Shake-y-iPhone)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9m1y5t3UkI

    How does one not even manage to score point’s for the short interview film, being in focus? In the age of portable pocket sized movie cameras. I’m baffled. It’s one of the things I always appreciated about my native land. We manage to not get these simple things right, half of the time. And Lord help you, if you try to complain.

    Anyways. Would it be possible for the crew to talk about this movie some time. It’s coming out on general rental release here after Christmas, and I’d love to get the reaction of the experts. Over and out.

  6. Hi Christy from Sydney, Australia
    Rogers site is always far too US of North America-centric for our liking here – it’s really hard to get past, on occasion. Often we end up looking elsewhere for review just to get away from the US of North America focus and certain obsessions pertaining to it. This also includes reviews making regular, casual cultural references and use of language that no one outside of the US of North America would have any idea of. I guess this is a common experience for anyone outside the US of North America. Nonetheless, there are aspects to Rogers site that make it, naturally, the strongest film site on the web. You are one of these reviewers that stand out for us. We love your writing and your presence shines through your work. You also seem like a really genuine, quality human being. It’s a pleasure to peruse your website. Thanks so much for your contribution to film and art.
    Kindest regards at this festive season xxo

  7. Did WTF review An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn? I fell absolutely in love with that movie and would be curios to hear your thoughts on it.

  8. great list, i need to see a couple on here mainly the foreign ones that come out later here. my list so far is:

    1.a quiet place
    2. the sisters brothers
    3.red sparrow
    4. ballad of buster scruggs
    5. avengers:infinity war
    6.widows
    7.sorry to bother you
    8.green book
    9.hereditary
    10.sicario: day of the solado

  9. Hi Christy,

    I’ve only seen two of the films on your list so far- A Star is Born and Hereditary- hope I’ll get to see a few more when they’re released here.
    The best films I saw this year were:
    Cold War (which I loved)
    A Wild Pear Tree by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
    Phantom Thread
    First Man
    Isle of Dogs

    Christy, have you ever done a Criterion Top Ten list like they do on their website? That would be fun to read. #christmasrequest!

    Hope to see WTF back on YouTube soon (and WinetheFick too!)

    Merry Christmas to you!

  10. Just trying to think what really worked for me this year. A belgian TV drama – finite with 10 episodes. EG DAG (The Day)
    It’s about a hostage situation and the detectives and negotiators. The script, pacing, dialogue, photography, acting – all just so clear and concise and impressive. I hung off every moment, it was so enthralling. Highly recommended. Oh, and it was really fresh watching Belgian actors, no pretence, no familiarity, no dross. I’m speaking of how I perceived them but maybe they had something to do with it, also.
    PS I love you Christy! Big hug from ‘down under’

  11. Such a massive fan of Armando Ianuccis’s ‘The Thick Of It’ – never could see the appeal or humour in Veep because it seemed such a pale, poor imitation – but thus was itching to see the The Death of Stalin. Make anyones list?
    It was so brilliant in every way, nothing can be faulted, but I have to say the subject matter disturbed me so completely I didn’t walk out feeling very good at all!!! That was an odd experience. Trust Armando to conflate the most toxic, dysfunctional occasion of human experience imaginable, with satire. (!)

  12. I can’t take this “Hereditary” business any longer. It’s easily the worst film of the year. Full of plot holes, Toni Collette, who I normally love, overacts like it’s nobody’s business, and the score was so overbearing it felt like someone was prodding me throughout the movie and repeatedly asking, “Are you scared yet? Are you scared yet? Are you scared yet?”. It’s the worst film since “Mother”. Now “First Reformed”, that’s a movie. I’m glad it made the list.

  13. I thought The Favorite was a huge disappointment. The very dark turn it takes in act three comes from out of nowhere like a slap in the face and when I walked out of the theater I heard people mumbling about how that was a lot different than they expected, especially since the trailer for the film makes it look like a comedy. Not fun. Want to forget it.

  14. Throwing out some favorites that won’t show up on many others’ lists:
    Liz and the Blue Bird – Japanese animated movie directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, two female animation veterans whom I became aware of with their 2015 collaboration A Silent Voice. Their work is beautiful and moving, and they’re the kind of talents who deserve more attention, especially since they’re producing the kind of animated stories we don’t really see from Hollywood studio fare.
    The Night Comes for Us and Operation Red Sea – the two best action movies I saw this year
    Last Letter (Shunji Iwai)
    Apostle (Gareth Evans)

  15. Great list! I’m wondering if you ever got a chance to see the documentary Minding the Gap? It’s my personal favorite of the year after The Favourite (and currently on Hulu for those who wanna watch).

  16. Thanks for the list! Agree with most of your choices! My personal favorite of the year was Beautiful boy. Movie itself wasn’t perfect but it defiantly hit me hard.

  17. I agree “The Favourite” is this year’s best. Have trusted your opinion since you name “Bellflower” your best film in like 2014. What ever happens to that director?

  18. The only movies on your list that I’ve seen are A Star Is Born and Roma.

    Star (2018), for me, is totally forgettable. I think it’s because I LOVED the Judy Garland version so much the nostalgia remains in my consciousness. For me, there was no need to redo that movie . . . yet. On the other hand, I enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns way more than the original. Was it a remake? Maybe not. Maybe it was a further adventure of Mary Poppins. But when Mary has to leave I balled my eyes out . . . and my grandkids are too old for a nanny. I can’t say what brought the tears . . . I can only credit Emily Blunt’s superb performance.

    Roma. I’m so glad it’s available on Netflix otherwise I’d probably still be looking for it. We’re a tad backward in OC. I’m like halfway between Hollywood Archlight and Newport Beach’s Laemmle. So it might have been a while before I could find Roma. Black/white movies leave me cold. I HATE them. Use color. Please. This is 2019. I’m just not sophisticated enuf to enjoy the nuances of black/white. Plus I had to read subtitles? Come on. We live in the age of translation software. Strangely, I totally enjoyed Roma. Saw it last night. Woke up this morning still wondering why he titled the film Roma as images flashed back of water sloshing over a tiled floor, the baby, the beach. Excellent film.

  19. Scrolled back to your 11/20/18 podcast to relisten to your reviews of The Favourite and Roma.

    Thank you, Alonso, for telling us “Roma” is the neighborhood where Cuarón grew up. I was stumped.

    Actually tracked down a showing of The Favourite. I agree with much of your review. Snappy dialog, its sumptious interiors, the scene where Emma Stone’s character shows up drenched in feces … the circling flies … hahaha … you can almost smell her, the bawdy physical humor, the conniving treachery by the major characters set this movie apart. While I enjoyed the romp, this wasn’t my favorite film of the year.

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