My Top 15 Films of 2018





So, I may be a bit late to the party in the usual rundowns of everyone’s favourite films of the year, but I wanted to try catch as many of last year’s popular films as possible, granted I didn’t get around to everything. This list is a look back at some of the cinema I enjoyed over the past year, there will be no spoilers for any of the films and if I haven’t already I will probably review them sometime in the future. And, as per, this is my opinion and is completely subjective but feel free to let me know if I missed out on your favourite films of the year! In no particular order, here are my favourite 15 films of 2018.





Isle of Dogs













Like most film fans, I love the work of artistic director Wes Anderson and although ‘Isle of Dogs’ doesn’t quite reach the heights of films like ‘Rushmore’ and ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ it does stand out as an absolute achievement in original and exciting animation. Completely stop motion, every frame is full of energy and authenticity with a fun plot that works for children and adults. The story uses a dystopia style like never before, creating a weird ode to man’s best friend by crafting fully developed conflicts and dramatic plots based around a group of dogs. It’s fundamentally weird, but with Anderson’s precise direction and a hilarious stellar cast, the film feels fresh and incredibly entertaining.





Black Mirror: Bandersnatch













Ok, so it may technically be a game or an episode of TV, but I do not want to ignore what is one of the most entertaining pieces of media of recent memory. A choose your own adventure style story about a choose your own adventure game, Bandersnatch is deliciously meta and an incredibly memorable experience. It isn’t exactly the most well-written thing to come out all year, but I can’t stop thinking about the amount of fun that is to be gained from going through Bandersnatch, as you get lost down a rabbit hole of alternate endings and diverging paths. It can go for hours in the end as you try and find every secret and it really makes it worth it. It, if anything, is an entertaining piece of media that I won’t forget about in a hurry.





Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot













I have a lot of time for director Gus Van Sant, he seems to have this talent as a director to get the most out of every performance and really creates effective emotional storytelling. Joaquin Phoenix’s stellar performance as John Callahan is the reason this film is in my top 15 of the year, biopic performances are often overpraised due to the fact they are often just impersonations of real-life footage, but Phoenix creates a sympathetic, complex and ambitious performance. Callahan is a person I had no context about going in and, as all good biopics do, it made me want to find more of this artist work and research his life. Phoenix is placed alongside a career-defining move by Jonah Hill as Donny, Hill proves he can really create a comedic and dramatic character simultaneously and the two work incredibly off each other. A truly fantastic drama that above all is a depiction of some of my favourite performances of the year.





Hereditary













So, I recently released a review on this film so I’m going to keep this concise. ‘Hereditary’ is the scariest film I have ever seen, it is visceral and disturbing, and it shook me to the core. A confident and daring debut by Aster as he creates a blend of emotional storytelling and gruesome cult horror imagery. It is visually exciting, with an inventive visual language that utilises motifs and framing in ways the horror genre hasn’t witnessed before. Toni Collette steals the show in a horrific and disturbing performance that is aggressive, upsetting and raw, yet the whole cast is just as effective and unique in creating Aster’s visceral cult horror masterpiece.





Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse













Not many films have pushed the genre of animation quite like 'Into the Spiderverse', it’s probably one of the greatest superhero films I’ve ever seen with one of the greatest animation styles as well. I adore this film so much, every element is downright perfect, I struggle to fault this movie on its execution other than I just want more of it. Every character is developed, funny, sympathetic and well-rounded with every line of dialogue serving an essential purpose and not ever wasting time. I think it manages to balance its comedic energetic style with an amazing message and some really effective emotional beats in that particular Phil Lord way that cements him as one of the most exciting people working in Hollywood.





BlackKklansman













A cinematic legend delivers an aggressive and biting depiction of racism in Spike Lee’s exploration of the KKK in the 1970s and the story of a black cop infiltrating their ranks. I don’t think I’ve seen a more relevant and politically charged film like 'BlackKklansman', Lee doesn’t back down with his portrayal of racism and the implications it has in our society. I love his ability to make these Racist characters constantly teeter from being genuinely scary to over the top hilarious, mocking and poking fun whilst also drawing attention to how they were really dangerous factors in society. The film is slick, full of style and uniquely ambitious with how Lee writes this universal appreciation for the social other, drawing attention to how people from all sorts of backgrounds and situations will and have faced prejudice. It is one hell of an angry film, full of bitter wit and politically charged depiction that makes it one of my favourite films of the year and a massive contender for the film that could define a generation.





Mandy













And now for something completely different. ‘Mandy’ is one of the craziest films I’ve ever seen, it is a psychotic stylish and action-packed burst of insanity. I don’t even know what to say about ‘Mandy’ without spoiling it because it just pushes the boundary of cinema into an entertaining and ridiculously dark revenge thriller. Nicholas Cage is perfect at this brand of insanity that he has managed to baffle audiences with for many years and this just lets him loose on a screenplay that takes every opportunity to be bizarre. It still manages to look gorgeous and have a beautiful score, as well as utilising its surprisingly slow pace to a very effective means. I adored my time with ‘Mandy’ and I don’t think I'll ever recover from the madness that this film created.





Avengers: Infinity War













The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most influential parts of modern cinema and has become a staple of society and 2018 was the year where 10 years of set up and character building resulted in one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of the year. I wouldn’t exactly call it a perfect movie, it is more of a spectacular balancing act of a film as (most of) Marvel’s character collide in an intense and emotional ride of a film. The surprising thing about the film is that it puts a lot of time into the villain Thanos, played by Josh Brolin who manages to live up to the years of expectations and be a complex and intimidating character with an amazing arc and backstory that really keeps the film focused. The Russo Brother’s have mastered their ability to maintain tone yet an enjoyable experience and if you weren’t invested before this film it will draw you in and blow you away.





Sorry to Bother You













I admire a debut director that manages to stick to his guns with an ambitious and unique style, Boots Riley proved himself in 2018 with ‘Sorry To Bother You’, an absurd and hilarious adventure. Combining a cast of amazing performances from Laketh Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Danny Glover and Steven Yuen and an amazing screenplay which lets these performers have so much fun. Its unique style is what kept me so invested, with a world that Riley just plays with, establishing it as unique and unusual but with a purpose for comedy and the absurdity is paced wonderfully for the bizarre and over the top third act which is one of the most ambitiously weird turns I've seen in a film for a long time. Riley also slips in fantastic commentary about race and capitalism in an effectively subtle way that never distracts from the entertaining experience ‘Sorry To Bother You’ is.





Mission Impossible: Fallout













This isn’t a film I expected to see on my top films of the year list that’s for sure, but 'Mission Impossible: Fallout' delivered my favourite action film since 'Mad Max: Fury Road'. I think there is an aspect of self-awareness that really makes this film as enjoyably ridiculous as it is, the spectacle of seeing Cruise go through more and more elaborate set pieces with a plot that is so over the top and convoluted. But it wears all this with pride, its something the Bond films never seem to do anymore which is to take pleasure in the vapidity of what you are creating and deliver what is essentially more of a cinematic experience than a fully formed film. From the get-go, the film twists and turns and due to fantastic established characters each action beat and brick on the tower of ridiculousness works fantastically. I thoroughly enjoyed Fallout and think it really deserves to be commended for its ambitious fun.





Eighth Grade













Finding out one of your favourite comedians is releasing his own film can create a lot of hype, Bo Burnham’s complex musical comedy has always entertained me as he developed a style where he honestly explored his own struggles with fame and the infamous industry. But instead, Burnham chose to write and direct an honest depiction of, well, eighth grade whilst putting his own experiences with social media into the film. Honestly, the real star of ‘’Eighth Grade’ is its protagonist Elsie Fisher as Kayla, you can tell she had a mutual experience with Burnham in creating the film, Fisher’s understanding of Middle School and its anxieties and Burnham's fantastic ability to write pathos and complex issues in a subtle human way. This is one of those films that, even if it got absolutely snubbed at the Oscars, will have a prevalent societal impact as Burnham manages to create one of the most honest depictions of School and brings up a fantastic debate about social media.





American Animals













I discovered ‘American Animals’ quite late into the year and it really surprised me as a really hidden underrated gem of a film. It is a heist film/ documentary that plays with this true story of these university students robbing their library and makes it into a fantastic character study of these real people. It is just admirably clever, with its ingenious editing and writing to utilise the documentary footage in a way that I have never seen before. With performances from Barry Keoghan and Evan Peters who communicate the desire and fear of living a boring life, it’s a heist film about the characters motivations for doing a heist which is a fascinating approach to a film. I really really recommend ‘American Animals’ as its unique approach to what is essentially a typical heist film results in a highly investing story and set of morals.





The Favourite













Lanthimos managed to cement himself as perhaps the most exciting director of our generation with ‘The Favourite’, which is purely a magnificent film. He takes this weird inaccurate approach to an obscure true story because he instead chose to tell this politically charged love triangle and a story about power, manipulation and madness. Olivia Colman won the Oscar for her performance and it was definitely earned, she is formidable in this film and I’ve no idea how to conceive the amount of effort and talent that went into this performance. It’s a slick, stylish film with an undeniable amount of ambition as the film shifts between gripping drama and absurdist comedy sometimes between lines to the point where those closing moments flood you with an exhausting amount of emotion and you finish the film in complete astonishment. Lanthimos’s unique direction is what makes ‘The Favourite’ stand out and an extremely amazing production made me fall in love with this film.





Can You Ever Forgive Me?













Anybody who knows me will most likely know my love and admiration for British actor Richard E Grant, and when a film was released which gained him an Oscar nomination I was definitely curious, then when the film turns out to be a witty well-crafted and intriguing it’s a bonus. ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me’ tells the story of a lonely writer who discovers a talent for forgery. A surprising turn for Melissa Mccarthy as she delivers a truly unrecognisable performance and the film creates a melancholy character study of this real person that is so well thought out and intriguing. Grant’s performance deserved all the praise and attention he got, he is versatile and erratic that maintains your attention every step of the way. This is one of those ‘based on a true story’ films that pull off the feat of being satisfying yet investing due to its unique style and writing so you want to find out more.





Roma













I said this list was in no particular order but I left ‘Roma’ to last as it is definitely the best film of the year and one of the most extraordinary films I've ever seen. I struggle to describe the experience of watching ‘Roma’, as a 2 and a half our black and white foreign language film doesn’t seem exactly enticing. But Alfonso Cuaron puts this beautiful personal touch on the film which results in a tale of sorrow, resilience and human connection in an almost hushed subtle tone. I think ‘Roma’ is a film which will be relevant for years to come, as it manages to say a lot about class and human identity, it explores ambition, childhood, prejudice, abuse, love, relationships in a way that makes it not feel exhausting and unbelievable. In a year full of conflict and aggression, Cuaron delivers a reminder that it is important to remember and respect those around you as human beings. I haven’t been emotionally affected by a film like ‘Roma’ before and it is undeniably my favourite film of the year.





Thanks for reading!