Top 10 Movies of 2018

While still making my way through 2019,

here are my top ten films of 2018 out of 44. They are:

10.  Leave No Trace
9. Free Solo (although as I say in the video, I'm not a fan of documentaries)
8. If Beale Street Could Talk
7. Tag (yes, I am not joking here)
6. The Favourite
5. Crazy Rich Asians
4. Disobedience
3. Death of Stalin
2. First Reformed
1. Green Book


For reference, the other 34 films I saw were:
Ant Man and the Wasp, Aquaman, Bad Times at El Royale, Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Beirut, BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther, Clapper, Bohemian Rhapsody, Game Night, Hotel Transylvania, Ibiza, Night School, Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Ocean's 8, Overboard, Racer and the Jailbird, Ready Player One, Red Sparrow, Roma, Set it Up, Sierra Burges is a Loser, Shock and Awe, Solo, Teen Titans Go to the Movies, Tomb Raider, Vice, Wreck-it-Ralph, Welcome to Marwen, Wrinkle in Time, Widows

Seven More Classics I Recently Saw for the First Time

The Sting (1973):

Why it’s a classic: For reuniting the two biggest stars of Hollywood four years after they made a big splash together with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and packaging it with excellent production values at a time when period pictures were in (think The Godfather, Chinatown, Murder on the Orient Express), “The Sting” was awarded Best Picture in the 1973 Oscar race. On top of that, the “Sting” is a positively loaded crowd-pleaser.

Did it live up to the hype? From the expansive supporting cast to the sepia-toned color palate to the complimentary age-appropriate score, there is a lot to like about this show. Even more than “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, this is a testament to Redford and Newman’s star power and even a meta-commentary of sorts on the nature of the star. Hard to also discount Robert Shaw’s turn as a terrifying villain. The man is so still and focused, I could have easily been convinced I didn’t see him blink.

Poseidon Adventure (1972):

Why it’s a classic: In the 70’s, disaster films were among the highest grossing films of their day, had some of the best casts, and were nominated for Oscars all over the place (“Airport” and “Towering Inferno” even got BP nominations). The Poseidon Adventure, set aboard a cruise ship, pulled together five Oscar winners (Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Jack Albertson, Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine) along with Roddy MacDowall and Arthur O’Connell.  As evidence of its cult status, the film has even been looked upon as a religious allegory (it features two preachers with contrasting views) and spawned re-showings and convention-type events.

Does it live up to the hype?: Like the best of Roland Emmerich’s films (the filmmaker of “Independence Day” and “Day After Tomorrow” and spiritual successor of this trend), this is a tightly-scripted action film on a scale of grandeur that’s beautifully pulled off. It also can’t be underestimated that the first time watching this film, you don’t know how it will end and it’s pretty clear that all casualties are on the table. It also helps that none of the big-name actors at the time were stars that overshadowed the rest of the cast so the film has a great even-keeled ensemble feel with an even spread among multiple compelling stories.

Carrie (1976):

Why it’s a classic: The opening tracking shot during the credits is up there with “Touch of Evil” as the greatest in history and it is the first Stephen King adaptation to be put to film (his debut novel no less). It is one of the most highly acclaimed horror films in history in terms of mainstream appeal.

Does it live up to the hype?: The film is primarily known for being such a well-told tale of adolescent carnage and while it’s tonally difficult to grapple with, I could accept that there was some heavy symbolism that would take some effort to work out with (generally a good thing).

What stuck out to me for the strong characters and relationships. Sissy Spacek (who would go on to be nominated for six Oscars) is the epitome of that feeling all puberty-ridden teenagers have of feeling alien in their own body. Carrie’s singularity is also better defined by the happy-go-lucky coterie of girls who so casually exhibit cruelty towards her and Nancy Allen (who plays the ring leader) deserves credit for that. Piper Laurie was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the fundamentalist mother but Betty Buckley can’t be underlooked for her performance as a gym teacher so sweet and understanding that I kept wanting to press the reset button on my adolescence so I could have her in it.

King Kong (2005):

Why it’s a classic: Peter Jackson followed up his blockbuster-defining trilogy Lord of the Rings and his cache of Oscars with a remake of the 1933 classic that was one of the most ambitious films of its day. Jackson cited the original King Kong as his first cinematic love and media reports suggested he drove himself to exhaustion trying to recreate it for the CGI era. Although the film didn’t deliver Titanic-levels of return at the box office and lost the December battle to “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, its $218 million domestic gross ($550 million international) was solid enough to call it a success. More importantly, it garnered excellent reviews and had enough buzz to merit an outside shot at a Best Picture nod (exceedingly hard for Blockbuster films in the 5-film era).

Did it live up to the hype? Although a little on the long side, it’s definitely worth it. The film’s first act doubles as a scene piece of Depression-era struggles (like “42^nd Street” or Tim Robbins’ “Cradle Will Rock”) that could be its own movie, the second act is a cheesey romance and comedy of manners between Adrian Brody and Naomi Watts, the third act is essentially a giant monster film like Godzilla, and the fourth act is an allegory for the follies of man in thinking they have a right to cage the animals.  The quality of the film on every level ties the disparate parts together and it’s hard to understate how amazing Naomi Watts is in playing off a CGI age.

Princess and the Frog (2009)

Why it’s a classic: This late entry into the canon of animated Disney musicals is the first Disney musical to feature an African-American role in the archetypical princess character. It also made headlines for its retro method of 2D animation at a time when animated films were trying to push the uncanny valley of realism (the worst offender would be the utterly pointless “Lion King” remake a decade later). The film was nominated for two Best Song Oscars from Randy Newman’s score and competed in an incredibly deep Animated Film category (“Fantastic Mr. Fox”, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, “Coraline”, and “Up” came out the same year).

Did it live up to the hype? Definitely! I give this film three zip-a-dee-do-dahs and a chim-chim-a-ree. The film sets itself apart through a regional specificity that comes from doing great research and sprinkling it organically into the story. The map of New Orleans, the details about Mardi Gras, the culinary and architectural delights of the city, and the mystique of voodoo (used in both the characterizations of the villain and the wise elderly savior character) are all things that have some footing. The film also dares to imbue characters with regionally speficic and often unintelligible accents, fear of backlash be damned, and it’s beautiful. The downtrodden protagonist Tianna is juxtaposed with her wealthy friend Lottie and his father Big Daddy Bouffet and the privilege of the Bouffet clan isn’t ignored while the bond between the two parties and the lesson of voluntary benevolence is celebrated.

Nine to Five (1980)

Why it’s a classic: The 2^nd highest grossing film of 1980 is probably best known for its iconic title song that doubles as an anthem for punch card working life resiliency. The unlikely pairing of Hollywood royalty Jane Fonda, comedienne Lily Tomlin, and singer Dolly Parton produced a lightning-in-the-bottle chemistry that led to a lifelong friendship.  The story of rebelling against a handsy boss (Dabny Coleman) through a haphazard hostage scenario likely resonated as a feminist power ballad in 1980 and probably resonates more with the #metoo movement today.

Did it live up to the hype? The days when a simple comedy can jump that high on the box office charts are long gone so it’s hard to judge it along the scale of today’s most popular comedies which rarely crack the top 15 in yearly box office. “The Hangover” might be the best example of a critically well-received blockbuster that made a dent in the box office charts today (“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Bridesmaids” were a little more successful critically but not financially).  The chemistry between the three is a-sparking and Dolly Parton, who was likely cast as herself, brings a certain amount of welcome pluck. It’s a bit broad as a comedy but entirely pleasing. The special effects to depicting the three women’s revenge fantasies also didn’t do much for me.

Pawn Broker (1965)

Why it’s a classic: It’s not well-known among Sidney Lumet’s repertoire but it’s one of his most personally affecting and stylistically innovative films. The story of a jaded Holocaust survivor who owns a pawn shop in Harlem is the first film to approach the tragedy from the point of the view of its survivors. It is also a massive stylistic departure from the New Wave with a jazz score, black-and-white, and raunchy realism (it’s the first film to show a topless woman in some context).

Does it live up to the hype: This film is more of a hidden gem than a classic, so there’s not as much hype to live up to and that’s a shame. The film is visually rich, meaningful, and doesn’t look or feel like other studio films from the era. It isn’t necessarily a light popcorn film but its darkness isn’t without meaning and there are slivers of a redemptive arc worth holding out for.

All films I've seen in 2018 ranked 1 to 32

All films I've seen in 2018 ranked 1-32:
1. Green Book-Exactly what our disastrously polarized society needs right now: Throwing political correctness out the window so we can have a real conversation. Think Driving Miss Daisy with a sense of fearless adventure. If humor is about the release of tension, watching these two completely mismatched people go at each other is downright cathartic and hilarious

2. First Reformed-The film’s cinematography is still and meditative, much like the protagonist’s newfound lucidity that doing good involves sacrifices and uneasy compromise. Films about spirituaility and environmentalism are rarely hot topics in moviedom and writer-director Paul Schrader makes the case that these human elements can work cinematically. 
3. The Death of Stalin-Ten times better than anything else Armando Ianucci has done, fitting your style of writing into a historic tragedy and making it hillarious is a high-wire act
4. Disobedience-Orthodox Jewish film about a community outcast (Rachel Weisz) who returns to sex up Rachel McAdams, shot with a Hitchcockonian bent, treats its three leads with a lot of affection
5. Tag-Popcorn comedies can be treated as highish art if done well and this film is sweet, rebellious and does so much right. It's also thematically got a great thematic parable about keeping the best parts about adulthood as you grow up
6. Crazy Rich Asians-Go Asians on screen (is what people are saying)! But this is a film that's legitimately probing into inter-race racism (if that's a term) and classicism specific to the Asian commuhnity and immigration experience, and it's a lot of opulence and scenery porn
7. If Beale Street Could Talk-Better than Moonlight in my book because it was more overt about its racial issues. Beautifully shot and scored although the chronological jumping was more self-congratulatory than useful
8. Leave No Trace-Think a less pretentious "Captain Fantastic" dealing with ADHD and a daughter who has to outgrow her dad sooner than later. By Deborah Granik of "Winter's Bone"
9. Solo-What Star Wars should be like: Quixotic and adventurous, not too rooted in complex mythology, and loaded with fantasical CGI (Full disclosure: Didn't see Last Jedi)
10. Bohemian Rhapsody-Considering I knew nothing about Queen, it was a solid intro to a unique man and his three sort-of-unique band mates (especially the one who still kept that gnarly hairstyle after the 70s). If you already knew about Queen, you'll be less impressed but hopefully enjoy the music deconstructed
11. Ocean’s 8-After seeing "Widows", went back to this one for an execution of a heist film done right. Even with the standard suspension of disbelief, the way they get around James Corden's character is ridiculous but Corden was pretty charming, nice to see him acting. Had more of an emotional uplift than anything in the entire Ocean's 11 trilogy
12. Night School-The premise: novel, the execution: Formulaic but sweet and funny and throws realistic out the window
13. Set It Up-Reminiscent of "Juno" in its efforts to be hip but its cuteness will bowl you over and it's a romantic comedy that ends pretty organically and logically and that rarely happens
14. BlacKkKlansman-This is a guy who "infiltrated" the KKK on the phone? This is like pranking Pizza Hut and saying you've done industrial espionage. It was exciting in parts but not Lee's best work
15. Ant Man and the Wasp-Definitely the kind of fun-for-all-ages film that I imagined Marvel movies used to be modelled after and had room to do big things special effects-wise
16. Ballad of Buster Scruggs-Definitely dark but if you're a fan of Westerns and want to see the different forms of the genres commented on and taken to absurd levels. If it wasn't such a dark murderous year for movies, my patiences for some of these tragic endings might have been greater
17. Black Panther-It's a good movie, I guess? Don't have that much patience for Marvel films that want to be grounded , and now that so many of the must-see films are commentary on the African-American experience in America in some way, the profoundness of any one of these gets diluted. It still had very awesome visuals and I liked the message of the hero that the end goal was peace and not fighting all slights (too bad some of the more extreme leftist voices liked the villain more)
18. The Clapper-It's a pretty low-stakes comedy but the subject matter has some pretty stinging satire in how exploitative our media (and subsequently all of us who absorb that media) can be of our public figures. Not a bad movie at all
20. Bad Times at El Royale-Shot with a lot of stylistic flair and some very memorable scenes. Again, it was a dark year and I kind of got fatigued of so many people **SPOILER** dying meaningless deaths. If you dig the look and the performances, you'll get this film.
21. Dog Days-Very sweet. I got a little teary at the end. Although you know from the very beginning that all the romantic pairs are gonna get together because this is the romantic comedy. So it's not the most organic film
22. Beirut-The Jon Hamm character is very interesting because he has an attachment to a certain kid from the other side of the battle lines and he has a bit of that Don Draper stoicness in geopolitical negotiations. The plot was compelling up to a certain point and then became sleep-inducing (although maybe it was my particular level of fatigue the night I watched the film). So close to being memorable.
23. Tomb Raider-Alicia Vikander and Anjelina Jolie both have the same number of Oscars, but as far as I can tell, Anjelina Jolie was mostly sold to audiences in the 2000s like waitresses at Hooters are sold to potential diners. I’m a sucker for archeological jungle adventures and while the McGuffin was ridiculously weak, the Alicia Vikander character was progressive without being obnoxious, compelling, and was a unique style of action star (mainly crashing into objects with minimal impact). The races and set pieces were pretty solid.

23. Sierra Burgess is a Loser-The protagonist is a teenager who is entirely comfortable with being bullied and eventually uses it to her advantage to get something she wants out of it, that's something novel.
24. Ibiza-Pretty standard "people go on a Spring Break like experience and get wild" film

25. Widows-Loved the way that director Steve McQueen treated such a diverse type of cast members with equal focus but the whole heist thing was a mess. Either they wanted to make the heist intentionally confusing to the point of being forgettable, it was a red herring, or they just fumbled it
26. Thoroughbreads-Nice seeing the young woman from Bates Motel do some acting but this was just dark
27. Ready Player One-I was thinking it was nice to see something other than a sequel, but this was like the quasi-sequel to every film from the 80s. It was almost like fetishizing unoriginality
28. Red Sparrow-A bit gruesome and repetitive but a largely coherent plot and less nihilistic than the female spy thriller I saw last year “Atomic Blonde.” Spy thrillers like these often have too many twists and turns and that can lose viewers at light speed, so that this is a coherent story is a major accomplishment. I also imagine a decent sociology thesis can be written about everything this movie has to say about female sexuality and cinema.

29. Racer and the Jailbird-I thought this would be an exciting film about a female race car driver and a prisoner but it's a dark, dark film. If I had known it was a dark film about two people who suffer a lot, maybe I'd have been more ok with it even if I knew it wasn't a popcorn film?
30. Shock and Awe-A film about hotshot journalism which committed the sin of tedium. Cute romantic plot with James Marsden and Jessica Biel though
31. Game Night--I hardly see a reason to justify this film’s existence. A couple (Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman) like playing games? That’s the hook? The violent take on comedy has been done a million times and it just feels tacked on here. The “when is this real, when isn’t this real” tension is stripped of its meeting when we know the plot is “thing that they think isn’t real becomes real.”
32. A Wrinkle in Time-This children’s film doesn’t treat its mythology as something worth caring about yet asks us to endure excruciatingly boring technobabble about said non-interesting mythology. The film is too tonally bizarre and its character dynamics too uninteresting to care about anything at all that’s happening on screen.