MOVIE REVIEW: Best movies of 2018

There is little use in trying to discern a prevailing theme to the past year in cinema. Just as the world is too messy for broad generalization, movies in 2018 touched on many, seemingly contradictory ideas.

Complex race relations took center stage in many of the best movies of the year. On the other hand, much of what was popular with audiences seemed to purposefully avoid the unpleasantness of the real world (I’m looking at you, giant drumming octopus in “Aquaman”). Then again, one of the biggest blockbusters of the year ended with a snap that dusted half of all the living creatures in the entire universe.

In making this list, I opted for my usual process. What were the movies that excited me in 2018? What seemed unique, and what would I want to return to in subsequent years? Out of the roughly 90 movies from 2018 I saw, these were the 20 or so that stuck with me.

I consider the list unfinished, as I haven’t had the opportunity to see everything, notably acclaimed titles like “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Burning” and “Cold War.” The work never ends, but I wouldn’t want it to anyway.

1. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

The warm-hearted documentary about children’s television host Fred Rogers probably isn’t the objective “best” film of 2018.

Director Morgan Neville, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of “20 Feet from Stardom,” certainly assembles an engaging collection of talking heads alongside finely curated footage from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and the movie serves as a potent reminder of how positivity and kindness can still make an impact, even in a culture overrun by hatred and dissonance.

The movie is very good, but I recognize the comfort-food quality of its assembly. I love “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” more for personal reasons. I grew up watching “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and I have vivid memories of specific moments and how they comforted me about various “scary things” in the world. I’ve watched this documentary a few times now, and it turns me into a blubbering mess at multiple turns. It’s just a warm blanket. Even when the film examines how pop culture keeps trying to abandon the core ideals of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” I still see the documentary as a sign of hope that we’re not all too far gone.

Maybe it’s because I now have four young kids of my own. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent too much of my adult life fixated on all the terrible things in the world that any assemblage of decency now feels like a transcendent experience.

Whatever the reason, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” is the movie I choose to put into my personal capsule for 2018. Available on home video platforms.

2. Roma

The best made movie of 2018 is the vivid and entrancing Spanish-language drama from Alfonso Cuarón, and you know it’s the best because it’s the movie most considered as “overrated” by a certain segment of the internet film community.

Shot in stunning black-and-white, almost any individual frame of “Roma” could be hung in a gallery. Cuarón, who also wrote, produced, shot and edited the film, slowly shifts a small character study into a richly detailed epic about the culture of domestic life in Mexico City at a time of escalating political unrest.

Anchored by a sympathetic central performance by newcomer Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” weaves complex stories out of individual sequences and compositions to serve its larger narrative, building to a powerful final 30 minutes that is both tragic and hopeful.

It’s not for everyone, and it requires your full attention, but even its detractors must admit to the incredible craft on display. Available to stream now on Netflix.

3. BlackKklansman

In one of the best movies of his exceptional career, writer/director Spike Lee crafts a thrilling and funny procedural from the fact-based story of an African-American detective who infiltrated a Colorado chapter of the KKK.

With charismatic performances from John David Washington and Adam Driver, “BlackKklansman” operates efficiently as a crowd-pleasing studio effort. But Lee also doesn’t abandon his role as social provocateur, and the film takes some huge narrative risks that result in some of the most powerful sequences of his entire career.

Consider the way he depicts a scene of Klan members watching the notoriously racist 1915 film, “The Birth of a Nation,” or how the film shifts from its narrative climax into documentary footage.

Lee is (justifiably) angry about the state of the world, and “BlackKklansman” serves as a bold warning to the rest of us. Available on home video platforms.

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Tom Cruise continues to risk his life for our entertainment, and in the sixth entry in the remarkably consistent “Mission” franchise, he and director Christopher McQuarrie deliver some of the most incredible stunts ever committed to film. The plane jump. The bathroom brawl. The motorcycle chase. The helicopter battle. “Fallout” never lets off the gas, and the film stages its thrills around an engaging story that even makes time to explore the emotional turmoil inside Ethan Hunt. Available on home video platforms.

5. Eighth Grade

The humanity and specificity on display in Bo Burnham’s comic drama about the horrors of middle school will most certainly conjure repressed memories of puberty and all its awful intricacies. Elsie Fisher is terrific as Kayla, a 14-year-old girl struggling to overcome her sometimes crippling social anxiety.

It’s a poignant, genuine, funny, and, yes, terrifying depiction of young adulthood. Now available on home video platforms. Stream on Amazon Prime beginning Jan. 13.

6. The Favourite

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster”) takes a warped and wicked approach to a historical costume drama about Queen Anne and the two women jockeying for her influence.

Grimly funny without being glib, the movie’s dynamic visual style is balanced by a trio of blistering and kinetic performances by Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. Now in theaters.

7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

A thrilling, visually dazzling new take on the famed wall-crawler. “Into the Spider-Verse” combines a thoughtful origin story for young Miles Morales with a dimension-busting adventure that incorporates all kinds of Spider-heroes, including a talking pig and a gritty noir version voiced by Nicolas Cage.

It’s the first comic book movie in a long time to really take advantage of some of the more out-there aspects of the form while still retaining a heart and soul. Now in theaters.

8. Widows

A thoughtful crime caper elevated by the artistic ambition of director Steve McQueen and screenwriter Gillian Flynn, “Widows” has much more on its mind than a stash of money.

A powerhouse cast led by Viola Davis Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo emboldens a story about class, race, political corruption and gender dynamics. Available on home video platforms on Feb. 5.

9. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Consisting of six distinct Western tales, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is experimental while still somehow retaining all the signature elements we come to expect from a Coen Brothers movie.

Bleak, grimly funny and often emotionally devastating, the individual stories combine into a potent, singular experience worthy of multiple viewings and interpretations. Available to stream on Netflix.

10. Sorry to Bother You

A wild and deeply funny satire on race, class warfare and the American workplace, Boots Riley’s comedy about a telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) who adopts a “white voice” to climb the corporate ladder takes dramatic turns few filmmakers would dare to attempt.

It’s a little bit nuts, and definitely unlike anything else this year. Available on home video platforms and to stream on Hulu.

11. Tully

Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody reteam for a third time (following “Juno” and “Young Adult”) with a funny and insightful exploration of how new parents struggle to retain an identity outside of constant (and exhausting) child care.

Charlize Theron gives a fearless and persuasive performance as an overworked mom who receives an unlikely support system in the form of a temporary night nanny (Mackenzie Davis, excellent in a tricky role). Available on home video platforms.

12. Private Life

A compassionate and sharply observed comedy from writer/director Tamara Jenkins (“The Savages”) about a middle-aged couple trying everything they can to have a child, from adoption and surrogacy to even more complicated and exhaustive methods.

Jenkins’ stellar screenplay is buoyed by a trio of rich performances - Kathryn Hahn (Oscar-worthy) and Paul Giamatti as the couple, and Kayli Carter as their free-spirit niece. Available to stream on Netflix.

13. The Death of Stalin

Equal parts grim and hilarious, this dark comedy written and directed by Armando Iannucci (the creator of whip-smart political satires, “The Thick of It” and “Veep”), mines laughs out of the power struggle that followed the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Available on home video platforms.

14. Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson injects his signature whimsy and unrivaled production design into this stop-motion animated adventure about talking dogs that doubles as a potent political allegory. Available on home video platforms.

15. First Man

In his bold follow-up to “La La Land,” director Damien Chazelle explores the more terrifying aspects of flying to the moon in this dynamic (and largely ignored) biopic about Neil Armstrong. Available on home video platforms on Jan. 22.

16. Shirkers

Back in 1992, a teenager in Singapore collaborated with her friends to make an experimental road movie. Before she could finish the movie, the footage disappeared without a trace.

This documentary follows filmmaker Sandi Tan as she unravels the mystery of her long-missing project, leading to a number of shocking and enthralling discoveries. Available to stream on Netflix.

17. The Sister’s Brothers

An unconventional Western about a pair of assassin brothers (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) who stumble upon a way out of their bloody trade via a gold scheme in frontier California.

The frequent shifts in plot and tone shouldn’t work, but director Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet”) manages to put a unique stamp on the genre. Available on home video platforms.

18. Lean on Pete

A 15-year-old kid (Charlie Plummer) desperate for cash cares for an ailing racehorse in “Lean on Pete,” but don’t go in expecting the usual heartwarming tale of boy and horse.

Gorgeously photographed and full of piercing and surprising dramatic power. Available on home video platforms and to stream on Amazon Prime.

19. The Hate U Give

A teen struggles with her own moral identity after witnessing a police shooting in this adaptation of the provocative YA novel by Angie Thomas.

The film avoids numerous dramatic (and political) landmines thanks in large part to its strong cast, led by Amandla Stenberg. Available on home video platforms on Jan. 22.

20. Annihilation

A group of military scientists discover all sorts of monsters in this challenging and thrilling piece of science-fiction from “Ex Machina” director Alex Garland.

Natalie Portman shines, and the “bear sequence” especially is brilliant nightmare fodder. Available on home video platforms.

Honorable Mention: “Black Panther,” “Madeline’s Madeline,” “Cam,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “A Quiet Place,” “Mandy,” “Leave No Trace,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” the first half of “A Star is Born.”

- • •

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com