2018 has been a year that spoke the languages of race, directorial debuts, and integrity in bold and passionate film making. It for sure makes a difference compared to 2017 because of all the clatter with such disappointments like “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and Oscar-bait like “The Post” (still a good movie). Last year focused on originality and ingenuity rather than the latter of 2017. Here are my 10 honest and personal favorite films of 2018.
10. (tie) The Rider/Lean on Pete
The reason why this is a tie is because those are two amazingly told horse films, but told in a very melancholic manor lead by two overlooked acting performances by both Brady Corbet and Charlie Plummer respectively. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” tells the story about a rodeo horse trainer named Brady whom injured his leg and thus cannot ride at the rodeo for a good amount of time. On the other side, Andrew Haigh’s brilliant “Lean on Pete” tells a boy visiting a horse track finding a horse and calling him “Lean on Pete”, therefore avoiding the horse’s slaughter as Charlie could. Although I prefer Haigh’s story better, both films do such a brilliant job on building flexible and relatable character traits with or without their assistance with the horse. The character of Brady in “The Rider” feels adapted to the horse, but doesn’t feel adapted to the pain of his leg while the 15-year old character of Pete is desperately finding a job and focusing on the on-coming tragedy of his father at the same time. Another similarity of course is that both needed desperate Oscar nominations for their screenplay especially for “The Rider.”
9. Green Book
The greatest film out of all of the eight Best Picture nominees this year, Peter Farrelly’s first dramatic effort (after the comedy hits “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary”) is such an important and crucial watch to behold. Following the same (and better handled) premise of “Driving Miss Daisy”, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), searching for new employment, searches himself as a driver for a certain musician named Don Shirley (the fierce Mahershala Ali) to drive through certain states like Pennsylvania as Shirley embarks a tour across the states. The world encompassing them is a whole grounded danger of racial bullies where African-Americans couldn’t allow themselves to do certain things. What makes “Green Book” improve over “Driving Miss Daisy” is that the racial environment is a lot more stronger than it was in “Daisy” since that what makes this an important watch. It is absolutely hysterical how the friendship evolves along whenever Tony is recommending Don Shirley “Kentucky Fried Chicken” or if he has ever heard of Aretha Franklin and Little Richard. The chemistry between both Mortensen and Ali feels so realistic, sensitive and natural that you are on the emotional journey with them. Green Book is a well-deserved film to win Best Picture this year.
8. Eighth Grade
A24 probably is manufacturing some of the honest, raw coming-of-age films in recent memory like “The Spectacular Now” and “Lady Bird”. Bo Burnham is another reason why this studio is making such flawless films like this with “Eighth Grade” experiencing the hard emotions going through teenagers when transitioning to high school. Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) is a shy, non-interactive young girl who is reaching the end of middle school. Sure she is a typical young girl where she his spare time to browse on her phone, but she is still eager to make friends whenever it is in the aftermath of a party. Showing no interest to communicate to his father, Kayla is very nervous about starting to transition to high school. Burnham isn’t afraid to show the authenticity of not just a harrowing human perspective of school transitioning, but also to explore the authenticity of what school is like during a scene when Kayla participates in a school shooting drill. Elsie Fisher is a brilliant national treasure in this film portraying the hard development of Kayla with making new friendships with high school students. She reminded me of Evan Rachel Wood as Tracy in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Thirteen”, where she in that film developed similar characteristics of a teenager like stealing money from a woman’s wallet. Let alone also that I also surprisingly encountered Bo Burnham in a Q&A when I first saw the film in Evanston. That can tell that he made one of the most hard-to-watch coming-of-age films in some time.
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Sony Pictures Animation of the totally infamous “The Emoji Movie” officially made the most human, in-depth, unique, and hysterical superhero film since “The Dark Knight”. Miles Morales (played by Shamiek Moore of “Dope” fame) is painfully struggling to adapt to his new boarding school. Meanwhile, at his uncle’s (Mahershala Ali) house, Morales is bitten by a black radioactive spider hence accessing his super powers. Kingpin (Liev Schrieber plays him amazing) has set an accelerator where Morales can access many different worlds of Spider-Man. When witnessing the death of Peter Parker, Miles follows his motivation and slowly develops himself into the superhero he wants to be. The best animated film since “Coco”, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse” feels so mature and fresh as a superhero film in such an extremely long time. Shamiek Moore proves that he delivers such amazing character development and new features in the Spider-Man universe as Miles Morales. The humor written by geniuses Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is sharp and sarcastic with poking fun at the other Spider-Man films as well as John Mulaney’s comic performance as Spider-Ham. Most importantly, the comic-book animation in this film is a flawless work of art especially when it comes to the final battle between Miles and Kingpin. It is for sure impossible to top “Spider-Verse” as the best Spider-Man film to date.
6. Wildlife
Paul Dano is such an underrated force in acting so much great characters in film while in 2018, showcased his directing skills through a tough husband-and-wife relationship in arguably Dano’s greatest work since “There Will Be Blood”, “Wildlife”. Jerry Brinson (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is a husband in despair when he is fired as his job as a golf pro. When offered his job back, Jerry downright refuses it and looks for a job in a firefighting service. Jeanette Brinson (played by Carey Mulligan), wife of Jerry, hears what he has to say to her and Jeanette feels uncomfortable of him. Out comes a tense argument between them as Joe Brinson (played by Ed Oxenbould) watches in grief of the tension. Joe and Jeanette choose to stay together as Jerry prepares his new occupation. Paul Dano is such a brutal force in film making who I hope that develops more amazing films later in the 2020’s decade. He for sure understands what choices in life feel naturally and consequentially when interacting with one another. It is also a hard-to-watch film because it encompasses a theme of divorce incorporated into the film. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers his best performance as Jerry Brinson for sure since Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler” where he delivers a confident, calm human being, yet the reaction towards other people surrounding him seems very deadly. Arguably the greatest aspect in the film would none other than be the strong chemistry between Carey Mulligan and Ed Oxenbould. The bond tries to avoids the dangers in life when both characters they play are sometimes located at a diner. Paul Dano, as in simple terms, made a slow-burner that everyone will remember when exiting the auditorium.
5. Capernaum (Chaos)
Focusing on the dishonest perspective of parents and politics, Nadine Labaki tells such a captivating, unforgettable tale of a Lebanese kid rebelling against his personal life. Zain (coincidentally played by Zain Al Rafeea) is a boy in court for two main reasons. He is not just in there for just beating up a man that leads him to five years in prison, but also for fighting for his parents whom do not know Zain’s age nor birth certificate. The boy decides to embark on an astounding journey to find his true identity when meeting and also bonding a friendship with a toddler out on the streets. Zain Al Rafeea gives one of the best and seriously raw child debut performances since Brooklynn Prince in last year’s “The Florida Project” because of his behavior blending in with the rural society portrayed in the film. The character of Zain acts like a typical, developing child where he misbehaves towards her parents, but wants to fight rather than blowing it up. Labaki makes such of a childhood environment as consequential as it could get. Not to mention, the chemistry between Zain and the boy added some humor, but quite adorable. For all of the mischievous obstacles this boy goes through, this for sure deserved its uproarious 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes.
4. Unsane
Steven Soderbergh isn’t usually one of my favorite directors when thinking in my head. Yes. I don’t usually compare him to something like Scorsese and Kubrick. However, what he did last year with “Unsane” was an uncontrollable madhouse of a film. Claire Foy plays a woman named Sawyer, who moves away from home to escape a hideous stalker. With her troubling interactions with men, she decides to go make an appointment with a counselor at a behavioral center about that problem. What makes this film a true “madhouse” is that Sawyer unknowingly signs a release committing her to a 24-hour stay. Sawyer gets physical towards a patient and a staff member. That gets her a seven day stay there. At her experience at the place, she witnesses the stalker under a different name. That outbursts her. Now she has to prove that she is insane or normal. Claire Foy proves that she is no wuss at this performance. She is an absolute monster in this picture. Delving into the eeriness of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, Steven Soderbergh understands the frustration of mental behavior and how its main character fits in their society. I was entirely rooting throughout the entire film for this hideous stalker to get ridiculed by Sawyer. Interesting enough, I did not notice the iPhone cinematography Soderbergh utilized in the film. It just tells you how much Soderbergh knows the feeling of a mid ’70’s film. It is easily for sure Soderbergh’s greatest film he has directed and a huge surprise as well.
3. Searching
The best directorial debut of 2018 without any arguments, Aneesh Chaganty challenged so many tense audiences asking the rhetorical question, “What will you do online if you are searching for a beloved one in your family?”. Then he impressed so many critics hailing it as one of the best heart-pounding thrillers in years. I would say the same. David Kim (played by John Cho) is a father who recently reconciled the tragedy of his wife which still mourns him to this very day. There he still shows a deep love for his daughter, Margot. She unfortunately goes missing when she is with her Biology group. David is on the loose to not just find her daughter, but to find a smart, intelligent detective (played by Debra Messing) who can make things right in David’s life. Chaganty showcased that genius filmmakers like him can make a memorable, poignant thriller on a computer that can be declared as a modern classic. Featuring some of the most brutal and sharp twists and turns in a movie since Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners”, “Searching” is such a masterpiece in the thriller genre that it might be more impressive as something from David Fincher (Gone Girl, Se7en). John Cho is a phenomenon in this film showing the grief and fear like what a father should feel in real life. In addition, the screenplay in this film written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian is just majestic and unnerving avoiding all of the cliches of dreadful thrillers like “Unforgettable” and “When the Bough Breaks”. “Searching” for sure should be regarded along with “Prisoners” as one of the most crucifying thrillers in motion picture history (even without an “R” rating).
2. The Hate U Give
Amandla Stenberg makes such a triumphant, magnificent character study in probably the greatest film about police brutality ever made, “The Hate U Give”. Starr lives in a fictional, black neighborhood of Garden Heights where she attends an all white academic white school. She goes out with Khalil at a party where a gun goes off and everyone leaves. While Starr and Khalil drive home, they are hesitated by a white police officer, who tells Khalil to exit the car. The officer notices that there is a gun is is hand and he attempts to shoot Khalil three times in consequence. He sees that it wasn’t a weapon. It was a hairbrush. This adds more salt to the wound as not only Khalil’s death is a major impact on global news, but Starr also has to stand up for what is right since it is not right for a white person to shoot a black person. This movie pretty much roars every ingredient in a hard-to-watch film; hateful police, sympathy, and importance to current times. It is also a rare occasion that a young-adult film portrays such a tough topic with such sheer brilliance and not over-dramatizing it like the Hallmark channel. It is sad when a film like “Vice” gets more appreciated than “The Hate U Give”. George Tillman, Jr. is a director that made a decent variety of films like “Men of Honor” and “Faster” with Dwayne Johnson. He does so much magnificence to his scope of film making with this that it comes off as Oscar-worthy. Probably the greatest character in the film in my opinion aside from Starr would be his father played by the outstanding Russell Hornsby. He is a character that consistently stands up for his rights (as shown on tattoos on his arms) and teaches his family the right thing to personify when police brutality occurs. Hateful and tough are the words I can describe from my experience of Tillman, Jr.’s “The Hate U Give”.
1.Madeline’s Madeline
This is the film that gave me the shrieks and temper. It gave me the most emotional punch I got in 2018. From Josephine Decker, she makes such an original, flawless, and fluid work of art that originally was not on my radar called “Madeline’s Madeline”. Madeline (flawlessly played by Helena Howard) works as a stage actor for plays, but something is triggering her mind. She isn’t quite playing her character. Instead, she is playing herself going through the mental times previously happened in her life. But can the theater instructor (Molly Parker) control that nut sack of an illness she is going through? This is probably the only film of 2018 that made me think of films that were made in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s where it portrayed it’s eeriness brutally that it stays with you forever in your mind. Helena Howard is someone you have to watch out in 2019 when looking for a mind-blowing breakthrough performance from 2018. She portrays Madeline’s personality as intrepid as a wild animal would have the biggest hissy fit. If anyone thought that the remake of “Suspiria” had such a eerie instructor played by Tilda Swinton, please look out with an clear, open eye for Molly Parker as the instructor in “Madeline’s Madeline”. You will thank me afterwards. The kind of cinema showcased is some sort of a challenging and unpredictable one. Think Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay of “Anomalisa” and “Being John Malkovich”, where it blends fresh originality, then mix it up with Darren Aronofsky’s horror of “Mother!” and “Black Swan”. You have a livid imagination from the mind of Josephine Decker.
Thanks for tuning into my belated ten best films of 2018 honoring the greatest and triumphant achievements it entertained and engaged me personally. Tune in tomorrow for my reviews of “The Kid Who Would Be King” and “Destroyer”. See you on our next flight of turbulence and continue to enjoy my perspective of cinema!
