BUT FIRST!...
Best Movies 16-20
BUMBLEBEE - Easily the best Transformers movie. I credit the simpler story, the 1980's nostalgia, and a compelling lead (Hailee Steinfeld).
GAME NIGHT - Comedy's hard, and Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are hilarious in this high-concept comedy where a group of couples think they're part of a pretend kidnap-mystery when it winds up being the real thing.
HEREDITARY - Spooky. A horror slow-burn, with a nomination-worthy performance from Toni Collette as a mom who gets more unhinged after her own mother dies and supernatural events start happening around her and her family.
ROMA - Alfonso Cuaron's semi-autobiographical tale about a house-servant in Mexico in 1971 is immersive and natural, and while not much happens in the first hour, it marinates the audience into these people's lives so that the events of the second half have more impact.
SEARCHING - A gimmick done right. John Cho is a desperate father searching for his missing daughter, but it's all done from the POV of screens. Computer screens, phone screens, camera footage, and it never overstays its welcome or feels like a cheap trick.
=======
And now my Top 15 Films of 2018
=======
15. ANT-MAN & THE WASP
14. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
13. BLACK PANTHER
12. SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE - I lump all four Marvel movies together, but I do have them in order that I enjoyed them. They're all great. Infiinty War did a good job of juggling the massive cast and dozens of subplots. Ant-Man & the Wasp manages to be as fun as the first one. Black Panther is the first comic-book movie to actually get nominated for Best Picture (after the wrongful snub of The Dark Knight a decade a go). And the Spider-Verse movie, which I do believe will win Best Animated Film, is a landmark in animation, the same way Toy Story was in 1995.
11. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE - Joaquin Phoenix is a force in this pared-down version of Man on Fire. He's a mess, not someone you want in your life, but if your daughter got kidnapped, there'd be no one on Earth you'd rather have hunting her down than him.
10. ANNIHILATION - One of the more original sci-fi movies of the past few years, it contains genuine suspense, unsettling imagery, and a third act that mystifies without feeling like a cop-out.
9. THE FAVOURITE - Two bisexual women vie for the attentions of Queen Anne in 17th-century England. It's wickedly funny.
8. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT - The franchise continues to impress with its stunts but it also has emotional resonance, as the repercussions of previous films' events seem to be catching up to Ethan Hunt. MI7 & MI8 are filming back-to-back, presumably to allow Cruise to play Hunt for the last time before he turns 60.
7. GREEN BOOK - Funny, touching PG-13 dramedy about the unique friendship that springs from musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his driver Frank (Viggo Mortensen). It's based on true events, and Frank's real-life son co-wrote the screenplay.
6. THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS - Some stories are stronger than others but taken as a whole, it hits on many familiar Coen Brothers' themes, and this is now the most gorgeous Netflix movie yet.
5. A QUIET PLACE - A movie suspenseful enough to make the audience hold its collective breath with the main characters.
4. WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? - Mr. Rogers made quite an impact being the most decent human being of the 20th century. This doc captures how sincere he was, and how he touched everyone who came into contact with him.
3. SORRY TO BOTHER YOU - It's not perfect, but it's so unique and takes such unexpected twists that I couldn't help but love the audacity of it. And Lakeith Stanfield should get as much work as possible.
2. A STAR IS BORN - A classic story told right. I'm surprised this isn't the front-runner for Best Picture. Seems like the perfect Hollywood-y movie that the Academy likes to celebrate.
1. BLACKkKLANSMAN - It seems like Spike Lee's been in the wilderness for a while, and this is his best movie in decades. It's sharp, it's entertaining, and it packs an emotional wallop at the end. Very well done.
Honorable mentions to Bohemian Rhapsody, Chappaquiddick, Creed II, The Death of Stalin, First Reformed, Isle of Dogs, RBG, Red Sparrow, A Simple Favor, Unsane, Upgrade and Widows.
