My Favorite Films of 2018
What a year for movies! What a year for documentaries! Between Free Solo, Dominion, Minding the Gap, and more I felt like this was a really strong showing for non-fiction. Not to mention Roma coming through with a chance at becoming the first foreign language film to snag best picture.
All of that out of the way I wanted to take a second to highlight my favorites from 2018 and why I felt they were so good and important.
10 | Green Book
An ever-important and timely subject matter. I was surprised by the amount of post-Oscar backlash this received. This was definitely a standout for Mahershala in a year that seemed to belong to him between True Detective, Spider-Man, and Green Book. Peter Farrelly also brings in his comedy to create a surprisingly poignant yet funny look at atrocities that are unfortunately still present in modern-day America.
9 | Isle of Dogs
Speaking of comedies, I don’t remember laughing as hard at a movie as I did in the first minute of Isle of Dogs. I think this film had me sold from the opening line of “All dog barks have been translated to English” for viewer enjoyment. It helps that I’m a dog lover, but Wes Anderson brought his live-action flair to animation that I thought was sorely lacking in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
8 | Free Solo
As a climber, watching Alex Honnold move his way up a 7,500 ft slabbed rock face is impressive enough, but the shots that Jimmy Chin and co. were able to get during the act is astonishing. Adding on a layer of human complexity certainly made this a standout in the outdoor-film genre. Looking forward to seeing what Honnold, and Jimmy Chin for that matter, do next.
7 | Hereditary
One of the few films I wrote a long-form review this past year, and for good reason. I don’t remember ever being as engrossed in a horror movie as I was in Hereditary. I also am contractually obligated to say that Toni Collette was robbed of an Oscar. I was most infatuated with the score and visuals, but I think there is a staying power in the enigmatic story and performances.
6 | Roma
The most memorable scene of any movie this past year is unquestionably the beach scene from Roma. While enough to make the movie, the realism, environment, and visuals give Roma an added edge that makes it extremely memorable to me. It also helps that Alfonso Cuarón is one of my favorite working directors.
5 | Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
If there were ever a film to make me cry tears of joy in 2018, it would have to be one about Mr. Rogers. I mean wow, what an optimistic world view and positive perspective this film and that man had. I think the opportunity for more positive and life-affirming media is very present and necessary in this day and age and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank this film for giving me that.
4 | Love, Simon
While a cliche and banal high school drama with a “twist” at first glance, I’m going to have to stand up for this film. Love, Simon was an important and necessary film to make in this day and age. Yes, there’s a white protagonist. Yes, his gay experience does not reflect everyone’s. And yes, there may have been some emotionally overdone moments. However, this sort of mainstream success and tale was unthinkable even at the beginning of the 2000s. I think this is a testament to the progress society has made and lays the groundwork for future tales to be told of even more walks of life. The score, ever awesome and touching human moments, and a nuanced portrayal of Simon make this a great film in its own right.
3 | Widows
As someone that was not completely sold on 12 Years a Slave, I think Widows is an awesome noir-like heist film that creates an awesome narrative of women empowerment. Each member of the ensemble cast can hold their own, and I think the twist and turns the narrative took kept me on my seat.
2 | Minding the Gap
I have always been infatuated with the idea of using footage you yourself took throughout your entire upbringing and creating a narrative out of it. I think Minding the Gap not only manages to do this well but also creates a really enthralling story with many layers to unpack. A truly raw and emotional story that only real-life footage can portray. We as viewers are allowed to see this only in its fleeting 90-minute run-time, but it is certainly something that has stuck with me since.
1 | Dominion
There’s not much I can say about this film other than that you should watch it. This film singlehandedly made me stop in my tracks, take a look at my actions, and become vegan as a result. I have now been vegan for about 6 months and have no plans of stopping. Never has a documentary or film have this big of an impact not only on my thought-process, but my own behavior. A truly important film that every person should watch. It is time for us as a society to reflect on how we are impacting the environment and world we live in.
