Looking back on 2018, it was quite a year for cinema. In fact I would go so far as to say it was an incredible year, continuing the trend from 2016 and 2017. There were so many films this year that were a delight to watch that it would be impossible for me to list all of them here. Instead, I chose to talk about the ones that truly impacted me the most in this blog, my 25 favorites.
As such, there are a lot of amazing films that did not make the list that I wanted to give a shoutout to. There was a lot of amazing genre films, such as The Ritual, Apostle, Upgrade, Veronica, Revenge, and the excellent Tarantino-esque thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. While I normally find them lacking, there was several amazing and creative big studio comedies such as Crazy Rich Asians, Blockers, and especially Game Night. Superhero films had a truly great year (aside from Venom anyway), with Aquaman, Infinity War, and especially Black Panther proving the quality that the genre can reach. Additionally,Won't You Be My Neighbor  is a heartwarming documentary about one of the greatest humans of our times as well.
Also, of course I did not see every film this year. I have not had a chance to see many of the big foreign hits this year, such as Burning, Shoplifters, and Cold War because they never released near me and are not yet out on VOD. Likewise there are some indies that I have not gotten a chance to see yet, like Eternity's Gate, Can You Ever Forgive Me, Madeline's Madeline, Vox Lux, the Sister Brothers, Support the Girls, Wildlife, and The Rider. I am sure they are all great based on what I have heard, but because I want to get this out as soon as possible they will not be on the list. But that is enough of the honorable mentions and stuff I have not been able to see yet. Let's look at my favorite films of this last year.
25. Mandy (dir. Panos Cosmatos)
This movie is a complete acid trip in the best possible way. Mandy tells the story of a man named Red (played by a perfectly cast and completely unhinged Nicholas Cage) who is attacked by a deranged religious cult and seeks revenge on them after they kill his wife and he barely gets away. Unabashedly strange, Mandy cares very little for plot and characterization, instead focusing on creating a disturbing and psychedelic tone as it descends further into madness. Featuring the last score of late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson which adds a droning hypnotic atmosphere, this movie is about as metal as a movie can be. Nicholas Cage forges a giant axe, fights leather clad bikers, and does LSD laced cocaine off of a shard of a glass table that he had just killed someone with. Does this sound like something you would be into? If so, this will be one of the most unique and entertaining movies you could see in 2018.
24. Private Life (dir. Taramara Jenkins)
Private Life is the type of New York comedy that we simply do not see much of anymore. Intertwining humor and tragedy to heartbreaking and gut busting effect, Private Life explores the struggle of a couple desperately trying to get pregnant as they also go through mid life crises. With two incredibly poignant performances from Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti, Private Life finds humanity in its the most frustrating and heartbreaking moments of life. Writer and director Tamara Jenkins deserves a ton of credit, because Private Life is a wonderful dramady that delivers on all levels.
23. First Man (dir. Damian Chazelle)
Damian Chazelle followed up his smash hit La La Land with First Man, an intimate drama that chooses to focus on the personal life of Neal Armstrong. While general audiences didn't love that choice, it worked extremely well for me. Instead of being about the moon landing, Chazelle instead focuses on the emotional trauma's and losses that leads someone like Armstrong to be willing to risk everything in a mission like that. Ryan Gosling gives one of the best performances of his already amazing career, with his natural emotional expressiveness working perfectly to convey the underlying motivation of a famously stoic man of few words. Chazelle's directing is another huge reason why this works so well, shooting most of the film with subjective and claustrophobic hand-held close-ups that make the take-off sequences even more restrictive and tense as we only see what Neal can see in those tight spaces. The sound design and visual effects work here is also brilliant, creating some of the most awe-inspiring yet minimalist space sequences ever set to film while Justin Horwitz's score is the perfect emotional backdrop for this melancholy but deeply impactful film.
22. Sorry To Bother You (dir. Boots Reiley)Â
Some movies just swing for the fences, and such is the case for Boots Reiley's directorial debut Sorry To Bother You. A mix of absurdist comedy, poignant satire, and surreal drug trip, Sorry To Bother You is about how our late-stage capitalist economic system exploits and dehumanizes people, stripping them of their identities in the name of profit. While some film-makers use a laser-like focus when satirizing, Boots Reiley instead uses his satire like a shotgun, targeting anyone and anything within the capitalist system. The cast is packed to the brim with talent, with Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer (who particularly stands out with his coked-up and only slightly more demented Jeff Bezos stand-in) all committing fully to the absurdity of the material. With a delightfully quirky and unique editing style, hysterical physical comedy, and a script that takes no prisoners, Sorry To Bother You is one of the most original and daring films of the year.Â
21. Widows (dir. Steve McQueen)
Steve McQueen is one of the finest directors of our time, and Widows represents his most mainstream film yet as he brings his art house, show don't tell minimalist style to a heist crime thriller. With a star studded cast (in particular Viola Davis in an emotionally restrained but angry performance and Daniel Kaluyya as a psychopathic fixer), McQueen's venture into genre film-making manages to be both exciting and thought provoking. The heist itself is one of the most tense sequences I have seen in a film this year, and the film around it takes its time to make us understand the characters committing it, so we are even more invested when the heist itself happens. As with all of McQueen's work, Widows artfully explores issues of racism, repotism, gender, and class, showing how the corruption of Chicago's politics and the control of uncaring men create the problems that lead these women to such a point of desperation. Widows is a wonderful film, and one that I think I will be returning to many times in the future.
20. A Quiet Place (dir. John Krasinski)
A masterful Hitchcockian thriller, John Krasinski's breakout monster movie is a delight and a masterful use of sound and visual storytelling. A simple conceit executed masterfully, A Quiet Place tells the story of a family attempting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters can kill you if you so much as make a sound. Krasinski really impresses as the writer and director here, capitalizing on his concept as he makes every tiny sound as impactful as possible due to the very limited soundscape. Since sound and dialogue is extremely limited, Krasinski has to tell much of his story with just the camera, brilliantly using his visuals to set up future threats and foreshadowing danger that lurks in the background. Every performance here is filled with expressiveness and emotion, creating a family unit that we truly care for, making the tension and thrills all the more impactful. This is a fantastic high concept horror film that shows off the true power of sound in film.
19. American Animals (dir. Bart Layton)
Oh hey, a story that takes place in my hometown! American Animals is a true story thriller about a group of college students who decide to pull off a heist to steal some rare books from their college library. What really makes American Animals stand apart from other films is the unique approach it takes to telling this true story. Director Bart Layton takes interviews with the real people involved in this incident and cuts them together with the filmed recreation of the events. The results is a fantastic exploration of the nature of true stories on film and how our own subjective perspectives and our "best intentions" view of ourselves distorts reality. With an amazing cast, stylistically tense presentation, and some of the best editing of the year, American Animals is a great heist film/documentary hybrid.Â
18. Paddington 2Â (dir. Paul King)
If there was something that we as a society desperately needed in the year 2018, it is a tale of how love, compassion, and empathy are some of the most important characteristics a person can possess. Enter Paddington 2, a movie that proves that family movies can be incredible when they respect their audience. Writer and director Paul King brings this joy-filled and completely optimistic tale to the screen with remarkable skill. With some of the best visual comedy in a long time, thrilling action moments, gorgeous production design, phenomenal performances from a star-studded cast of British talent (with a career best comedic performance by Hugh Grant), and an absolute commitment to its core theme, Paddington 2 goes above and beyond what is expected from a family film. It is inspiring, emotionally striking, and hilarious throughout. Paddington 2 is a gem, do not miss it.
17. Eighth Grade (dir. Bo Burnam)
First time director Bo Burnam brings the same brutal emotional honesty to Eighth Grade that he has brought to his various stand-up shows throughout the years. Eighth Grade tells the story of Kayla, a girl finishing up her last year of middle school, having to navigate the complex social environment of adolescence in the age of social media. Burnam's writing here is incredibly nuanced, as he channels his own experience as someone who became famous by going viral on the internet as well as dealing with anxiety into the story here to wonderful effect. The depiction of social media in this film is the most accurate I have ever seen in a film, and its depiction of anxiety the insecurity that comes with being a teenager prove both heartwarming and terrifying. Elsie Fisher is a revelation in her first ever screen performance as the main character Kayla, providing one of the most authentic and believable performances of the year. Eighth Grade is incredibly accurate in its depiction of the joys and terrors of adolescence, and is an extremely rewarding film.
16. Halloween (dir. David Gordon Green)
I love the Halloween franchise, it has always been my favorite of the big horror franchises. And I can tell that the film-makers behind this 2018 sequel to only John Carpenter's original film have the same loving affection for this franchise. From bringing back John Carpenter to create an updated, moody, and atmospheric score, to bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis, to David Gordon Green's careful recreation of the visual style of the original Halloween, Halloween (2018) is as loyal a sequel as you can get. It takes the mythos of the original and twists it, playing with your expectations as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers toy with each other, changing roles between hunter and pray as they get the upper hand on each other. This movie is a solid mainstream horror film full of dread, a tense atmosphere, and solid jump scares, but the real treat comes in how well written it is in deconstructing and honoring the franchise it is a part of.
15. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (dir. Joel & Ethan Coen)
The Coen Brothers deliver a fantastic and hilarious western anthology film in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coen's signature deadpan sense of humor and absurdist worldview are in full effect here, as they tell 6 tales of the Old West that are only connected by the theme of death, its inevitability, and the different forms it can take. Don't let the somber themes fool you though, this movie is a hysterical as it is dark. With puns, sight gags, a power-packed cast of memorable and quirky characters, and absurdly funny dark deaths galore, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is another excellent entry in the filmography of my favorite American directors. Give it a chance, and you will not regret it.
14. The Night Comes For Us (dir. Timo Tjahjanto)
This movie kicks ass. So much of it, in fact. Director Timo Tjahjanto (frequent collaborator with director of The Raid and The Raid 2, Gareth Evans) takes a fairly standard action/crime thriller plot and kicks it up to 11 with an old-school approach to directing action, a wickedly dark sense of humor, and gallons and gallons of fake blood. Returning to the action style of Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, with wide camera angles and minimal cutting to make sure you can see every bit of bodily destruction, Tjahanto delivers thrills a mile a minute, keeping up a frenetic pace of escalating threats as the characters use every weapon, tool, piece of furniture, or piece of debris to overcome the challenges in their way. The leads Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais (of The Raid fame) deliver excellent charisma as well as incredible martial arts skill and physicality that sell every moment of action. If you want an adrenaline pumping, old-school action film, look no further.
13. Roma (dir. Alfonso Cuaron)
Roma is a film that leaves me in complete awe and at a loss for words to describe it. Alfonso Cuaron is a director of unparalleled skill, and Roma is his most personal film yet and also perhaps the most meticulously crafted. With many of the most beautiful and symbolically loaded shots of the year, the cinematography on display in Roma will leave your jaw on the floor as Cuaron approaches this film as an impartial observer, a ghost visiting the memories of his childhood. There are countless long takes in this film that go on for minutes at a time, bringing you in the world and perspective of the characters while also leaving you wondering "how did they pull off this shot?" The soundscape here is among the most detailed I have ever heard, immersing you into the world of Mexico city through sound in the absence of a soundtrack. The acting from the entire cast is great across the board, particularly first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio who delivers a beautifully emotional but reserved performance as the lead Cleo. See this on the biggest screen with the best sound system possible if you really want to see what cinema is capable of as an art form.
12. A Star Is Born (dir. Bradley Cooper)
Rookie director but veteran actor Bradley Cooper offered his take on an age-old Hollywood story this year, and while the notes themselves seem familiar he brings an emotionally personal and nuanced perspective to a story that has been done before. Telling the story of an up-and-coming singer Ally and tired rock star Jackson Maine, Cooper is very much an actors director, using extreme close ups and hand-held camerawork to immerse us in the subjective perspective of these two characters, using those long drawn out close-ups to reveal the minutia and micro-expressions that hint at every emotion lying under the surface. He contrasts these quiet and visually intimate moments with transcendent concert performance sequences captured with wide, sweeping shots full of layered lens flares and complex lighting. His directorial work is outstanding for a first-timer, and perfectly captures the mood of this story.Â
Likewise, the acting of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper is absolutely incredible. Gaga brings a youthful energy to her performance as Ally as well as an emotional authenticity that cuts to the core as we follow her through this journey into stardom. Cooper does some of the best work of his career here too, using his nonverbal expressiveness to convey more about this emotionally scarred character than any monologue could. Their chemistry together is even better than the two separate performances somehow, and this chemistry and authentic connection is the emotional core of the movie. As you would expect, the music is phenomenal (as Cooper took vocal lessons and learned guitar for the role). While a few of the moments are held back by the notes that the story has to hit (either being a bit rushed through or seeming like the movie is on autopilot for a few minutes in the second act), A Star is Born is at its best when it is at its most intimate, showing these two characters learning to love each other (or struggling to). It caused the strongest emotional reaction I had at a movie this year, leaving me weeping long after it finished. I cannot applaud it enough for that.
11. Blindspotting (dir. Carlos Lopez Estrada)
Blindspotting is first and foremost a film about identity, the way that culture shapes us, and the struggle when the culture we identify with and the culture that society assigns to us clash. Telling the story of a man on his last 3 days of probation trying to get his life back on track when he witnesses a police officer shoot an unarmed black man, Blindspotting is most impressive for its writing and performances, thanks to amazing work by the main stars and co-writers Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. I did not see a film this year that more deftly addressed its themes or organically explored its characters through humor. Diggs and Casal possess the chemistry of true life long friends, and their interplay proves consistently hilarious and also provides a good deal of tension throughout the film. Also, this film has multiple scenes that utilizes rapping to express characters inner monologues and they are visually stunning, incredibly performed, and filled with stomach-churning tension. Blindspotting is entertaining as hell and will leave you thinking about it long after the credits end.
10. You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynn Ramsey)
The story of You Were Never Really Here is one that you have heard 1000 times before. A man who is payed to do nasty things to nasty people is hired to retrieve a kidnapped girl from a corrupt politician. However, the difference here is all in the execution. Director Lynn Ramsey has always handled the topic of violence with more nuance than any of her male counterparts working in the psychological thriller genre, and nowhere is that more apparent than in this film. Instead of relishing in the revenge, Ramsey is far more interested in the psychological toll that violence takes on a person, and how that trauma can impact them for the rest of their lives. Brilliantly often choosing to not show us the violence at all in favor of instead showing the reactions of the characters to the atrocities they commit/witness, Ramsey's thriller is a masterpiece of directing that should have been recognized by the Academy. Joaquin Pheonix is brilliant as Joe, a traumatized and emotionally stunted assassin that simply longs for a connection with another human. His performance is filled with that longing, as well as barely restrained childish rage that he releases through some remarkably memorable emotional breakdowns. This thriller is completely art house in its execution, and all the better for it as it transforms the story of a by-the-numbers revenge thriller into a humanistic look at trauma, violence, and the ability to overcome (or be overcome by) our past.
9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (dir. Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman)
"We all have powers of one kind or another. In our own way, we are all Spider-Man." Finally, a movie gets it right. A movie truly understands the character of Spider-Man. And not just Peter Parker, but every version of Spider-Man from Miles Morales to Spider-Gwen. Into the Spider-Verse is a masterpiece of superhero film-making. It takes full advantage of the medium of animation for telling comic book stories, utilizing animation to not only appear like a comic book, but to achieve the color, fluidity, and magic of those stories. Everything about this movie is honestly perfect, from the kinetic and thrilling action sequences, the breathtaking visual style, the hilarious humor. But most important is its emotional honesty, its commitment to who Spider-Man is and what he stands for. I lost count of the amount of times this movie made me tear up. Honestly, this is one of the best superhero films of all time and I don't know what else to say about it but that.
8. Blackkklansman (dir. Spike Lee)
Spike Lee is back and just as angry at the injustice he sees in the world as ever. His signature style, pitting uncomfortable truths about racism in America with a biting and outrageous comedic style that makes the dark and serious moments all the more impactful. The script, adapting Ron Stalworth's 2014 novel about his experience as the first African-American member of the Colorado Springs Police Department and his sting operation infiltrating the KKK, somehow manages perfect tonal control. Every moment of humor punctuates the underlying tension and danger of the story, and neither the humor nor the thrilling drama overwhelms or undercuts the other.
Stylistically shot and edited with an appropriately 70's style full of split screens, camera tilts, and steadicam slow-mo, Lee's direction is pitch perfect here, as is his message as he makes sure we see the real life parallels between the comedic and bumbling Klan members in this story and the racists that we see today. He knows that racism hasn't gone away today, and he does not pull any punches when it comes to making those connections (the parallel he makes near the end left me breathless). Every actor works extremely well here, as John David Washington shows off both the presence he inherited from his father and his comedic timing, while Adam Driver provides a great level of emotional nuance, and Topher Grace delivers a shockingly accurate portrayal of the Klan leader David Duke himself. A scathing portrayal of racism in American society, a laugh a minute comedy, and an edge of your seat police thriller, Blackkklansman is not one to miss.
7. Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland)
Delivering another excellent sci-fi horror film after his 2016 debut Ex Machina, Alex Garland delivers an ambitious and thrilling film in Annihilation that dives deep into humans underlying desire for self destruction, and the different ways that this can manifest. Following a team of 4 female scientists who are sent into a quarantined zone called the Shimmer, Annihilation is incredibly tense, visually mesmerizing, and disturbing on a primal level like the best work of H. P. Lovecraft, I was in awe and on the edge of my seat the entire time. One of the most impressive things about Annihilation is how it manages to inject an entire thesis' worth of exploration of its themes in a completely unpretentious way through its story and the perspective of its characters. Natalie Portman is brilliant and appropriately introspective in a quiet, reserved role that holds a river of emotion behind a cold, scientific exterior. The visual effects are stunning and imagery from this film (both the beautiful and the terrifying) are forever seared into my mind, and the haunting electronic score provides the perfect accompaniment for this descent into madness that will stay with you long after you finish watching it.Â
6. If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins)
If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful visual poem about love and overcoming obstacles and adversity. Director Barry Jenkins does a fantastic job here using his camera to replicate the feeling of being in love; the feeling of a memory. It floats around these characters, lingering on a face in the way that we memorize certain facial expressions of those we love, or swirling around the characters in moments of triumph or joy in the way that we feel the world begin to spin in those moments of transcendence. Jenkins command of his camera and the unbelievably emotional and naturalistic performances from his entire cast creates powerful close-ups that are unrivaled by the work of any other film this year. The score by Nicholas Britell conjures up so much bittersweet emotion with just a sound, and the script adapting James Baldwin's book manages to deliver a nuanced look at unconditional love while also discussing topics such as racial injustice, corruption in the criminal justice system, and poverty. If Beale Street Could Talk is a fantastic film and a worthy follow-up to Jenkins debut Oscar-winning film Moonlight.
5. The Favourite (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
Yorgos Lanthimos has caught my eye the past few years as a filmmaker who creates wholey unique comedies whose sense of humor is absurd, deadpan, and most importantly pitch black. And The Favourite is not only his best film yet but also his most accessible. The story of two women who find themselves at odds over their pursuit of the affection of Queen Anne of England, and the Queen's dilemma over who she should both trust and love. The Favourite is both an riotous comedy and a nuanced character drama at the same time. The script is insanely efficient and layered, with every single joke or carefully chosen offhand comment providing insight into these characters, their desires and motivations (or at least the facades that they are putting forth), foreshadowing future events, or laying the groundwork for important revelations later. It’s honestly a feat, I do not think there is a single line of dialogue in this film that is wasted. And it does all this right under your nose by distracting you with the sharp and hysterical dialogue so that by the time you realize the significance of certain lines, it is likely too late.Â
The witty, deadpan comedy of the script is only enhanced through the delivery, as Lanthimos uses distorted ultra-wide "fish-eye" lenses, unexpected outbursts of slow motion, and a very off-kilter and dissonant score to highlight the artificiality of the aristocratic society and the distorted perspective of the selfish characters. The cinematography is aesthetically gorgeous as well, shot in mostly natural light, with long takes displaying some of the best production design of the year. The acting here is obscenely good as well, with Olivia Coleman, Rachael Weisz, and Emma Stone delivering some of the best performances in years. Each of them utterly sell every moment of deception, manipulation, and betrayal. Watching this a second time I was truly in awe of the level of nuance and subtlety in each as they manage to find ways to express their characters inner thoughts even through their carefully crafted facades. Far from being a posh and boring period piece like it appears, The Favourite is hysterically funny, darkly twisted, and taps into the pain and the desire to be loved that drives all of us.Â
4. Suspiria (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
How do I even begin to write about a movie like the 2018 remake of Suspiria? I am not sure what to say about a movie this unusual, this thematically dense (with its observations on feminism, the legacy of and rebirth of fascism, and the guilt and shame that these cycles of violence creates) and outright strange. But I love it so much. . Luca Guadagnino takes the bare bones of original Suspiria and weaves almost an entirely new story with it. The themes are very different and also more complex, the characters are better fleshed out, and the moments of terror more chilling. He blurs the line between reality and fiction, performance and action, dream and desire, through his intensely subjective and dreamlike camerawork which only intensifies as the film delves further into madness. The camera floats around the room like a ghost voyeuristically stalking the characters, the 180 degree rule is broken to mess with the audience and disorient us, and a sense of geography is purposefully never developed to make the dance academy feel like a labyrinth where something could be lurking around every corner.
I also feel the need to mention the editing here because it is sublime. Guadagnino uses every possible manner of editing to ramp up tension and discomfort. There is a dance scene towards the end of the second act that is as tense as any Hitchcock film, with the set-ups of dangers and threats established from the very beginning and perfectly timed intercutting between them rocketing up the tension to insane degrees. There may only be dancing going on in this sequence but the filmmaking leaves you feeling like you are watching the climax of a thriller by creating tension through the edits, reverse shots, insert shots, and rhythms of cuts. Likewise there is an early dance sequence that contains some of the most dread filled, stomach churning smash cuts between two different dancers... influencing each other’s bodies... that I have ever seen. It left my entire audience squirming, truly disturbing stuff. Also, Tilda Swinton plays not two but three different characters which should sell you on this movie by itself. Suspiria is a rule-breaking film, pushing the line of what is considered effective or acceptable film-making, and is all the better for breaking those rules. It is one of the best horror film in recent years.
3. First Reformed (dir. Paul Schrader)
A complex and thoughtful character study and dramatic thriller, First Reformed tells the story of Reverend Toller who is struggling with his faith, his health, and a fear of the future environmental catastrophes that humanity is facing. One of the things that impresses me the most about this film is that it is packed to the brim with thematic subtext about loneliness, extremism, and isolation, but fully trusts its audience to unpack these themes themselves. We experience the seduction that extremism can offer just as the main character does thanks to Paul Schrader fully immersing us in the subjective perspective of a very warped individual, and trusts the audience to see the harm in this perspective. The film grounds these intellectual musings with a truly phenomenal (and even career-best) lead performance by Ethan Hawke. Hawke is one of the best working actors today, and manages to say more with a single look in this film than most actors do an entire monologue. It is the best performance of his career full of amazing performances.
Schrader's writing is as good as ever, on par with even his best screenplays like Taxi Driver, but what surprises me even more here is how he uses the minimalistic film-making style of the film to further communicate these themes. I love how the camera remains very still throughout the entire film, using static shots to physically separate Hawke from every other character in the film, further reinforcing his lack of human connection and isolation. This pays off in the scenes where Reverend Toller gets to experience an authentic human connection, where the style of cinematography shifts to visually represent the transcendent emotions that he feels. The use of formal stylistic choices to reinforce the unreliable narrators twisted perspective is super impressive, and I cannot give Schrader enough praise for that. First Reformed is one of the most humanistic, philosophically interesting drama/thrillers in recent years.
2. Mission Impossible: Fallout (dir. Christopher McQuarrie)
The best film in the best ongoing action franchise, Mission Impossible: Fallout is, in my opinion, already worthy of the title of one of the best action films of all time. Christopher McQuarrie again shows here that he is basically unparalleled as an action director, with his style of editing and shooting managing to achieve both maximum clarity and a perfect sense of tempo and flow throughout all the action sequences. He has the perfect star for his style of movie in Tom Cruise, a man so committed to his craft that he will do all of his own stunts, including learning to fly a helicoptor for this film, so that you do not have to edit around a stunt double. And it pays off here so so well.
Everything about this movie is perfect, with each set piece somehow increasing the stakes from the last, with every moment building upon what came before into a crescendo of maximum tension. I kept thinking after every action sequence "okay, this has to be the peak. There is no way they can top this." Yet every time they did. From a one-take HALO jump sequence, to the best hand to hand sequence of the year in a bathroom, to an insane motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris, to an final act that involves both helicopter chases and more than one nuclear bomb, every moment in this film is a masterclass in action film-making made by a dream team. I truly don't know how the franchise will top this if they make another, because Mission Impossible: Fallout is a perfect film.Â
1. Hereditary (dir. Ari Aster)
So what could possibly top a film I described as perfect? The answer is Hereditary. This breakout hit from a brand new film-maker absolutely blew me away when I first saw it, and the effect has not lessened on repeat viewings. Hereditary strikes the perfect chord between a terrifying horror film and a devastating emotional drama about the effect of grief and family trauma. Toni Collette's central performance as Anne is mind-blowingly great and unbelievably layered as a mother attempting to deal with personal family losses and the legacy of trauma from her own painful upbringing. She plays it flawlessly, effortlessly displaying the range of emotions that accompanies grief, from fear, self-loathing, seething anger, and desperate hope. Every other member of the family also delivers great performances, such as Milly Shapiro as the the family's troubled daughter Charlie, and Alex Wolff who plays the teenage son Peter who is desperately looking for a way to overcome the horrors he witnesses early in the film.
Hereditary impresses in every way. There is the incredible script that effortlessly layers in its themes and foreshadows future events so subtly that you will still be picking up small details and hints in the background on the third or fourth viewing. Ari Aster's directing is so masterful that I cannot believe that it was his first feature film. The way that he manages to scare you with every tool in the film-making vocabulary is insane. The lighting, editing, shot composition, camera perspective, cinematography, even transitions from shot to shot are used to unnerve and terrify as he trusts the audience to notice small details in the background without telegraphing them via noisy sound cues. His control over the camera is remarkable, knowing when it is more terrifying NOT to show things, holding many shots for agonizing amounts of time on characters faces as they react to the events around them to devastating effect.Â
Hereditary works on every conceivable level. It is filled to the brim with dread, is emotionally sophisticated in the way it deals with its complex themes, and is a roller coaster ride and a blast to watch. I already consider this to be one of my all-time favorite horror films, and one of my favorite films in general. It is an honest-to-god masterpiece, and an outstanding example of what film as an art-form is capable of achieving. That is why I consider Hereditary to be my favorite film of 2018.