15. First Man: The most confusing part of this year was when First Man didn’t become the biggest movie of 2018. Everything about it screams success. A great leading man, Ryan Gosling, takes on one of the most legendary American figures, Neil Armstrong, as the astronaut embarks on one of the United States’ greatest adventures: the moon landing. Plus, it’s directed by Damien Chazelle of La La Land and Whiplash fame and scored by his partner in crime, Justin Hurwitz. I didn’t think there was a point at which a Ryan Gosling vehicle would be considered underrated, but here we are.

Perhaps it’s because it’s not exactly a glowing, self-indulgent portrait of Armstrong and the space program. He’s haunted by the losses of his young daughter to illness and numerous friends to space missions, and his grief leads him to keep his head down while preparing to pilot a mission to the moon. Gosling is very reserved and very Midwestern, but excellent nonetheless. Matching him step for step is Claire Foy as Janet, his wife and rock, in one of the best supporting performances of the year. She steals the movie in a brief scene with Kyle Chandler.

The highlight of the film, however, is the moon (I’m not spoiling anything, we know he makes it!). Words can’t do the scenes justice, but I was breathless, much like I would be if I was in space without a helmet.

14. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: If the Coen brothers started a cult, I would be the first to sign up, so it’s not a surprise I love this collection of shorter stories rolled into a 2 hour and 13 minute film. They’re only loosely related in their setting and time, so there’s no real connection to any of the characters or conflicts, but that’s not a problem. Each story is so realized and the protagonists so vividly characterized that, in the limited amount of time they have to unfurl, the viewer is left fully satisfied.

IMDb

Of the six stories, a few stand out. The titular short is the first one if you’re watching in order, and Tim Blake Nelson’s Buster Scruggs is as delightfully cheery as he is precisely violent. This is the only one I wish we had more time with, but only because I was enjoying it so much. One of the last shorts, called “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” is also the longest, so we have plenty of time to spend with Zoe Kazan and the charming Bill Heck on their wagon train to the West. This one is probably the best, with plenty of time for subtle but beautiful moments, although the end is, uh, not very uplifting. My personal favorite, titled “All Gold Canyon,” stars Tom Waits as an old prospector on his quest for gold. Waits is hysterical and needs to be seen.

13. The Old Man & The Gun: When I went to see Robert Redford’s supposedly final feature in the theater, I was the youngest audience member by a solid 30 years. I suppose that makes sense because so many people grew up with Redford’s career, and if this really is his last on-screen role, that’s a pretty big deal. Anyway, those people that love Redford enough to follow his career aren’t going to like what I say next: Robert Redford was the worst part of this Robert Redford movie. That doesn’t mean Redford was bad. He was great! His character, based on a real-life bank robber profiled in the New Yorker story the film is inspired by, is so relentlessly charismatic that you forget that he’s objectively a bad person! I mean, he’s a bank robber who lies to women; he’s not exactly citizen of the year. But you wind up rooting for him because, despite a performance riddled with rigid line readings and forced youthfulness, he’s still got it.

But there are a lot of aspects of this movie that shine brighter than the star, specifically some performances from Sissy Spacek as Redford’s love interest and Casey Affleck as the detective hot on the robber’s trail. Spacek has a really great chemistry with the aging thief, and who doesn’t love to watch old people fall in love? Affleck only interacts with Redford a few times, but it’s tense and conflicting, particularly one scene in a diner, the standout scene of the film. As for the rest of the movie, the tone is subdued but effective, and despite the severity and number of crimes, it’s a very calming feeling. The music only adds to that. This feels like another one that flew under the radar, but hopefully time rights that wrong.

12. BlacKkKlansman: If I had a dollar for every time I saw a “Spike Lee is back!” tweet or headline, I’d probably be able to pay my rent for a couple months. But they’re also correct because Spike delivered one of the funniest and most relevant movies of 2018. It pulls exactly zero punches, dropping conspicuous references to today’s political climate every chance it gets. And they work well, showing viewers that things haven’t really changed. He balances it with sharp humor, but any laughs are stifled moments later by a moment of horrific prejudice that mirrors the United States today.

The actors he got to commit so wholly to these rolls are fantastic. John David Washington (son of Denzel) leads as Ron Stallworth, and Adam Driver is almost sure to get a supporting actor Oscar nom. Topher Grace as David Duke is slimy and snide, which, mission accomplished, I guess.

As much as I enjoyed this movie, what Spike chooses to do after the film leaves audiences shell-shocked and depressed at how allegorical his film was. It’s also an important reminder that while this movie, and all movies, can be used as some form of fun escapism, we shouldn’t allow it to trivialize the real-world issues they draw inspiration from.

IMDb

11. American Animals:

This was, stylistically, the most unique film of the year. It’s sort of a documentary? But it’s sort of not? The story is about four college-aged boys who hatch a plot to steal a massively valuable book from a small Kentucky college library. This actually happened. The movie, directed by Bart Layton, is shot in a narrative style using semi-popular actors Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan, along with occasional talking-head interviews with the actual boys (now men) involved in the caper. When the two worlds interact, the concept is completely upended, leaving you to wonder what’s real and what’s not.

Layton’s carefully precise storytelling is not only effective but also just really fun and thrilling. It has great heist-film elements — planning, scoping, getting the gang together — which I’m a sucker for, but also real emotional, existential inner conflict from Keoghan and the excellently maniacal Peters. The heist itself and its consequences are heart-pounding. I was quite literally on the edge of my seat. Some of the biggest criticism of the film was that it made the scale of the theft seem too big and important for what it actually was. My counter to that is simple: To those boys, it was that important. The whole point of the film (and the real-life event) was that the main characters thought this would cure them of their struggles with direction and purpose.

While I’ve never thought about executing a multi-million dollar book heist, I’ve definitely longed to do something that matters in the grand scheme of the world, so when we’re watching this play out through the boys’ eyes, it should look this grand. As far as pure enjoyment goes, this was unequivocally my favorite movie if the year.

10. Shirkers: There are movers and shakers, and then there’s Shirkers. That’s almost a direct line from this documentary by Sandi Tan. It’s a documentary about a movie, which is #filmception. The movie in question is one that Tan made with her friends as a young adult before a mysterious figure disappeared with all their footage. The doc follows her journey from making the movie to reconnecting with people to get it back. It’s weird and mysterious, but also very colorful, dream-like and personal. It’s a marvel to look at and a puzzle to think about.

But the content Tan works with isn’t the only great part of the film. A lot of what she finds on her journey isn’t about where old tapes are hidden or where this figure disappeared to. It’s about herself. A great deal of introspection arises from talking with old friends and thinking about how the film was made. She was idealistic and bossy, or, to put it shortly like one of her old friends, “an asshole.” But that’s half the wonder; reliving old memories is at once a cathartic experience for us and an embarrassing one, allowing us to realize that we’ve changed into someone better (or worse) from what we once were. Tan’s journey of self-discovery makes the documentary all the more rewarding.

9. Widows: Daniel Kaluuya! Viola Davis! Elizabeth Debicki! Brian Tyree Henry! Colin Farrell’s accent! All these people and more make up the cast of Widows, the best heist film of the year! I was hyped for no other film this year more than Steve McQueen’s Widows, mostly because of this gif in the trailer:

And also this one:

So, yeah, big Kaluuya guy here. Anyways, this movie is super fun and also extremely emotional. Plus, it tackles social issues! Wow! All the acting is great, the dialogue is heavy and sharp, and the storyline is predictable enough from the trailers but with enough twists and turns that you’re riveted the whole time. It’s tense, vivid and made with such measured brush strokes from McQueen and the actors that it might be the most stylish movie of the year.

The four actors I mentioned are all standouts in the film (except for Farrell’s accent — atrocious), but a lot of other great supporting work is done, namely Robert Duvall and Cynthia Erivo. Also, Liam Neeson is there. Also note that I said it was a heist movie. That is technically true, because the central plot revolves around a heist, but it brings in so much more than that — politics, racial inequality, corruption — that really, it’s just a great big movie. It was my favorite theatre experience of the year.

8. Sorry to Bother You: Boots Riley’s debut feature took such a hard left turn that it went right. It was easily the most bizarre plot twist in a movie I’ve seen, maybe ever? But that’s not a bad thing; its jaw-dropping randomness was still quite funny and only added to the movie’s ridiculousness. It’s a wildly inventive film from Riley, backed by tight dialogue and really likable characters. Plus, we all like a good stick-it-to-the-man plot.

Annapurna Pictures

This was LaKeith Stanfield’s first leading role in a major feature, and it’s evident that it’s a space he’s perfectly capable of occupying. He starred as Cash, the protagonist, whose frustrating-then-rewarding journey to the top of the food chain serves as the plot vehicle. And it’s what Riley has him experience along the way that skewers the commercial, racist society we live in today. Like BlacKkKlansman, it plants ideas in the back of your mind as you’re laughing, leaving you with much to think about after you’re done thinking about how weird that ending was. Stanfield’s performance is nothing, however, without the help of Tessa Thompson and Steven Yeun, plus a short visit from a disturbing Armie Hammer.

7. If Beale Street Could Talk: Barry Jenkins is at it again, folks. His follow-up to 2016’s Moonlight is, as Moonlight was, the most beautiful film of the year. Stark colors, a centered camera and perfectly lit black bodies harken back to Jenkins’ previous film, yet also feel all their own this time around. It’s a story about love and family, and through the eyes of the characters, it’s told brilliantly.

Stephan James and Kiki Layne play the couple at the center of the film, and they’re both great, but the smaller roles really bring it to life. Brian Tyree Henry, Dave Franco, Ed Skrein and Diego Luna pop in for at least a few minutes each, and all of them interweave moments critical of society that are relevant today, though the movie takes place in the early 1970s. But the best supporting role (and one of the best of the year) is Regina King, who mastered one of the must excruciatingly difficult scenes of 2018. Don’t just take my word for it — this is one of the few films on the list still in theaters as of this writing, so go see for yourself.

Also, Nicholas Britell’s score is the best of year. It’s exquisite.

6. Roma: Alfonso Cuarón has directed great films like Gravity, Y Tu Mamá También and, of course, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but Roma is unquestionably his greatest. It’s such a technically proficient experience that it’s basically a master class in filmmaking. The camera work, environmental sound and the framing is exquisite. And the color, or lack thereof, is striking. For being shot in black and white, it really is rich with aesthetic pleasure. It’s largely a slow, quiet film, but never clumsily so. Those aspects are measured so precisely that you’re afraid to breathe so as not to disrupt the stillness.

Its emotion packs a punch, too. Based around love and family, it’s immensely heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time, but your emotions are never grappling with each other. They come in and out, sort of like the tide (*winks*), ebbing and flowing throughout the film while we follow Cleo, a well-to-do family’s maid in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Cuaron’s native Mexico City. Cleo is played by Yalitza Aparicio in an unheralded performance. She blew me away with her subtle telling of Cleo’s story, always keeping it together for others until she needs to let go herself. It’s one of the most affecting films I’ve seen in a long time.