If anyone tells you that 2018 was a bad year in movies, they clearly weren’t paying attention or failed to look beyond their local IMAX screen. It was a Herculean task for me to whittle my favorites down to a manageable list of twenty films. My first ten selections were posted just before the New Year. If you would like to read that post, click here. Here are the rest of my favorites for 2018:
If Beale Street Could Talk
This follow-up from Barry Jenkins, the director of the 2017 Best Picture winner Moonlight, is the product of two love affairs. The first is the romance between Tish and Fonny (KiKi Layne and Stephan James) chronicled in the James Baldwin novel of the same name. The second is Jenkins’ love affair with the films of Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai. Beale Street is In the Mood for Love (2000) set in 1970’s Harlem. Like a successful head coach, Jenkins surrounds himself with talent. Beale Street boasts the best ensemble cast, the best cinematography and the best score of 2018. Beale Street has that special alchemy where visuals, narrative and performance combine to create something transcendent. (Currently playing in theaters)
Leave No Trace
From the love of a man for a woman to the love of a father for his child. Will (Ben Foster) and his daughter, Tom, live off the grid in a forest in Portland, Oregon. He sells his PTSD medication to make ends meet until the two cross paths with the authorities and are forced to rejoin society. Leave No Trace is a brilliant examination of family, sacrifice and the price a parent is willing to pay so his child can lead a better life. Writer/director Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) should be raking in the awards that her male colleagues are collecting this time of year. (Currently available on digital platforms and physical media)
Private Life
Richard and Rachel (Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn) want nothing more than to have a baby. Their pursuit of fertility has taken over their lives. Their bank account and their marriage have suffered as a result. When the daughter of their close friends offers to act as a surrogate, Richard and Rachel seize their best opportunity yet to become parents, but the emotional cost may be too high. The screenplay co-written by director Tamara Jenkins (The Savages) is some of the best screenwriting of 2018. The film is filled with dark humor and rich emotion. When the credits roll, the audience knows these people. We’ve shared in their triumphs and heartbreaks. It’s an astonishing piece of film-making. (This Netflix Original is currently available only on that streaming platform.)
Revenge
Richard is having a fling with Jen (Matilda Lutz). The two are frollicking at an exotic remote rendezvous before Richard embarks on a hunting trip with his two friends. When one of the men rapes Jen, Richard decides it’s simpler to kill her than have his affair revealed. And that’s when this action-packed, technicolor masterpiece begins. Matilda Lutz is a force of nature as a hot pants wearing, lollipop sucking fantasy who transforms into a bad ass angel of death and wreaks her revenge on the men who victimized her. (That’s not exactly a spoiler given the title of the film.) Revenge is a thriller with an agenda. The film examines the “male gaze” tendency to reduce women to objects and to see their sexuality as an invitation for unwanted advances. I’ve seen Revenge three times now, and I still can’t believe that this brilliant thriller is the debut feature from writer/director Coralie Fargeat. I truly can’t wait to see what she does next. (Currently available on digital platforms, physical media and the Shudder streaming service)
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero
The Little Doggy Who Could. Sgt. Stubby was one of the most captivating stories of 2018, on-screen and off. This animated film comes from Fun Academy Motion Pictures, an independent animation studio, and opened on over 1200 screens nationwide. In a film genre dominated by Disney, Pixar and other corporate behemoths, it’s an unprecedented distribution accomplishment. Sgt. Stubby tells the tale of a dog who fought in the trenches of World War I and was ultimately given an official rank by the U.S. Army. It’s a heart-warming story that features beautiful, painterly animation. If you have not yet discovered this family-friendly gem, you have a treat in store for you and your youngsters. (Currently available on digital platforms and physical media)
Shoplifters
2018 was a year in cinema that examined the nature of family and the ties that bind, and no release did that better than this film from Hirokazu Kore-eda. A group of small-time thieves survive in contemporary Japan by stealing to supplement their meager incomes. When they take in a young girl living in an abusive household, they begin to receive unwanted scrutiny from the authorities they are doing their best to avoid. Shoplifters shows us that family is simply a concept, a social construct that has little to do with genetics and instead springs from love and sacrifice. At one point in the film, our protagonists are listening to a fireworks display that they can’t see. Their faces are filled with wonder. Much like the bonds between these characters who share no biological ties, the fireworks display isn’t the genuine article, but it sustains them nonetheless. (Currently playing in select theaters)
A Star is Born
My favorite film of 2018. It gets everything right about falling in love, chasing your dreams and “the in-between times” when that dream or new love can’t keep your personal demons at bay. Bradley Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a country-rocker whose career is fading. He plays to packed houses, but you can tell he hasn’t had a hit in awhile. He’s coasting on his legacy. Enter Ally: a young waitress/hostess who’s a talent waiting to be discovered. Their ensuing relationship launches Ally’s music career as Jackson struggles with the darkness inside himself. The cinematography and sound design put the audience on the stage with the kick drum thudding in our chests and the lights shining in our faces. It’s a stunning cinematic accomplishment. The film has suffered recent backlash because some critics can’t accept the fact that a big successful studio film can also be a work of art. (Currently playing in theaters and hits digital home video on January 15, 2019 with a physical media release on February 19, 2019)
Widows
My most eagerly anticipated film of 2018 exceeded my expectations. What happens when one of the best young directors in film (Steve McQueen) explores my favorite genre (crime films)? Cinematic magic. When a robbery crew is wiped out in a police shootout, the mobsters behind the heist expect the thieves’ spouses to pay back their missing money. Boasting the best ensemble cast of the year, Widows digs deep into its characters as it simultaneously fashions a riveting thriller. The supporting players (Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Arivo, Brian Tyree Henry and Daniel Kaluuya) somehow manage to outshine their famous castmates (Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell). McQueen continues to dazzle with stylistic visuals. The camera is never quite where you expect it to be and to great effect. (The sequence when Farrell drives from a rally in an impoverished neighborhood to his home on the fringes of the same electoral district is one of the best shots of the year.) Widows is an instant crime classic. (Currently playing in theaters and hits digital platforms on January 22, 2019 with a physical media release on February 5, 2019)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor
I caught this film at the True/False festival way back in March 2018. When the credits rolled, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. (I was having allergy issues that day so my eyes were watering off and on.) This documentary about the television career of Fred Rogers is the antidote to our intolerant troll culture. If you’re expecting to hear the dirt on the guy that seems too good to be true, you will be sorely disappointed. The twist to this film is the kindly children’s television host was truly a great guy who loved kids and wanted to help them deal with the stresses of childhood. Director Morgan Neville combed through hundreds of episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and interviewed everyone who played a role in front of the camera and behind it. It’s a moving tribute to a man who lived his life to help others. (Currently available on digital platforms and physical media)
You Were Never Really Here
Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) has a special set of skills … and a claw hammer … that help him rescue missing children. Each blow from that hammer chips away at Joe’s psyche and his soul. He’s a traumatized veteran living with his elderly mother, and he only seems to understand the world around him when he’s killing the predators hiding in the shadows of society. You Were Never Really Here is a dark, bleak marvel from writer/director Lynn Ramsey (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and features an astonishing lead performance from Phoenix. If quiet, internal acting is your bag, this film should be at the top of your must-see list. (Currently available on digital platforms and physical media)