Listmania: The Top 40 Movies of 2018 (Top 10)

Scene from Sorry to Bother You

The end of 2018 is upon us. That could only mean one thing for Listmania. It is officially time to honor the best of cinema in 2018. Over the next two days, I will be counting down the Top 40 movies of the year, recognizing the wide variety of films that made the year a little better and will be talked about for years to come. It was an excellent year for dramas as well as genre films ranging from horror to action. It's hard to say goodbye to the year, but at least these films will be with us to remind us of how great it was to sit in a cineplex and cheer in awe as the images moved on screen. It's the one thing that's always pure about years as fraught with tension as this.

10. Roma

With each passing film, Alfonso Cuaron further proves why he's one of the most essential filmmakers of the 21st century. In his latest film, he puts aside his technical grandiosity in favor of a more subtle approach as he explores the life of a maid in 1970's Mexico. It's a quiet film, and one that requires close attention from its audience to fully understand its beauty. The landscapes are breathtaking and the sound design puts you into crowded restaurants so well that you might shush the person sitting behind you in a theater (if you're lucky to get the chance, please do). It's a story of such awe that slowly reveals itself in meaningful ways, showing Cuaron's strengths as an artist with a story that is among his most personal, touching, funny, and memorable. What it lacks in the spectacle of Children of Men and Gravity it makes up for with a powerful performance by Yalitza Aparicio that makes a story so small feel extraordinary and big.

9. Support the Girls

You don't have to have gone to a Hooters bar to appreciate this comedy about a sports-bar with sexy waitresses and a whole lot of problems. The story takes place over a day and follows one manager's (Regina Hall in one of the year's best roles) quest to fix the cable before the big game while dealing with employees who have different problems both with their personal lives and with customers. For all of its wackiness, it's a story grounded in enough realism to make it feel like you're sitting in a corner seat watching these conversations unfold. It's one of the most engrossing and original films of the year and one that ranks among the best films about dealing with a public who just wants to drink beer, watch sports, and look at women. The film is much more than exploitation, giving sympathy and depth in unexpected ways with an affectionate cast. It's a film that will make those who work in the public sector laugh at how familiar these archetypes are, and how you just want your job to go five minutes without anything going wrong. It's a universal problem, and this film is among the most charming explorations of it.

8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

As 2018 was starting to wrap-up, it looked like there wouldn't be a better, more groundbreaking superhero film than Black Panther. While it's still speculative which is better, there's a lot to be amazed about with one of the most ambitious, eye-popping films of the year. With a story that spans across multiple universes and brings together elements of urban dramas, anime, Chuck Jones slapstick, and noir, it's a miracle that this film works as well as it does. In a time where Spider-Man has become a household name, this film is the reinvention that the big screen needed not only to care about him as a character, but what the potential of cinema can be. Considering its average box office, there's a chance that this will remain one of the best anomalies of the decade alongside Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but for those who are on its wavelength, it's a beautiful achievement of spectacle, emotion, and ingenuity. Love it or hate it, there's no film like Spider-Verse and that's enough to make it worth discovering over and over.

7. Eighth Grade

As the camera turns on, Elsie Fisher pops into our lives with a performance that becomes immediately recognizable to everyone. Why? It's because there's a good chance that those interested in seeing the film have lived through eighth grade before. They know the struggles, even if there's now cell phones and the need for an online presence, where Fisher gives advice that's clearly not pulled from her own life. It's painfully real and creates one of the few films that not only gets preteen angst so well that you can even imagine the smells of the kids, but understands the internet in a way that makes the most sense of why we connect to each other in ways not recognized since The Social Network. Director Bo Burnham did an incredible job in making this film feel almost too real, and it's amazing how much it will resonate with you regardless of age.

6. A Star is Born

In a year where every critically acclaimed film seemed to flop at the box office, the biggest miracle of the year was this remake of a franchise spanning back to the late 30's. Then again, a story that allows Lady Gaga to give such a rattling performance that catapults her into superstardom (and potential Oscar wins) is enough. "The Shallows" remains inescapable and the soundtrack has even more hits that will resonate for years. This is the popular film of the year that more than delivered. It managed to update tropes going back almost 80 years and make it relevant to the modern era while creating one of the best adaptations of this story ever, second only to the George Cuckor/Judy Garland adaptation of the 1950's. More than any other version of this story, this one gets the heart of its characters so well and the chutzpah that Bradley Cooper had to make it work so well as an audience pleaser is worthy of applause. In a time where the relevance of movies is being questioned, this one proves that people still care. If you doubt it, just look at the dozens of memes this film generated (including debate on if "Why Did You Do That to Me?" is really as bad as they say). It's a film that's built to last, and that makes it feel all the more important.

5. Isle of Dogs

There's something beautiful whenever director Wes Anderson gets to play in the world of stop motion animation. This film comes nine years after his last venture, the classic Fantastic Mr. Fox, and finds him playing even more with form in a story of dizzying aptitude. On one level, it's a story about dogs trying to survive in a world of garbage. On a deeper level, it's a metaphor for how society treats its social outcasts. If you look at the aesthetic, it becomes just as fascinating as an exploration of how language impacts our viewing of film through various narration, subtitles, and dependence on the audience to fill in blanks. While some may be turned off by certain plot elements, Anderson remains one of the most exciting, original directors of the modern era and this film may be among the most artistic achievements he's created. It's more than a film about dogs. It's a grim story about life and how we connect to each other.

4. You Were Never Really Here

Coming six years after the perfect We Need to Talk About Kevin, director Lynn Ramsay finally returns with a film that feels like the most meticulously crafted of the year. It's funny to say that when the film has a ramshackle charm, feeling like the camera was slapped around until it sent Joaquin Phoenix into a distorted trauma only accentuated by the incredible (possibly best) Jonny Greenwood score that feels like an orchestra falling apart. For as disastrous as this may sound, the film is an astounding achievement and creating a tonal poem about a hit man saving a woman only to discover the weight that his past has creates hurdles for him. It may be kaleidoscopic, even at times cryptic, but it's a beautifully crafted film that achieves the chaos it sets out to show in a way that in compelling, horrific, and alluring in a way that will be hard to ever truly forget. 

3. Tully 

Who knew that what it took to make director Jason Reitman produce one of his strongest films since Juno and Young Adult was a mother going through a midlife crisis? With the assistance of his collaborator Diablo Cody, he creates a portrait so unflinching and honest that it's almost uncomfortable to watch. Still, Cody has always been able to find the line between pain and the humor that can be drawn from personal experience. Charlize Theron continues to turn in some of the decade's greatest performances, portraying a mother whose body has been ravaged by pregnancies, sleepless nights, and almost no respect from society. It's a film that sympathizes with her while getting to the heart of just how traumatic it is to want to have kids in the first place. Cody's evolution of a writer is fascinating, especially as this film often feels tired in all of the right ways. Few films have depicted motherhood in ways this honest, unpleasant, beautiful, and thought provoking. It's proof that Reitman and Cody still have a magic to their craft that shines with the right material. Here's hoping the next project comes very soon.

2. Sorry to Bother You

Pound for pound, Boots Riley turned in one of the most ambitious, thought provoking directorial debuts in quite some time. The story starts as social commentary by ways of surrealism before becoming an even richer tapestry about the capitalist society and the protesters who fight them. Lakeith Stanfield graduates to lead role with such ease that he sells this vision that is at times Kafkaesque while also reflecting a contemporary society driven by greed, even in unexpected ways. The film is hilarious, often featuring background gags that only become funnier as they are recycled. The film plays like a hand slamming on the door, often accompanied by Riley's band The Coup on the soundtrack, asking whoever is willing to listen. The ending is definitely worth discovering for yourself and the third act is maybe one of the most psychedelic of the year, managing to leave the viewer stunned. There hasn't been a better vision of characters and themes this year, and thankfully is very funny about all of it.

1. Widows

If you've followed director Steve McQueen long enough, you'll notice what's so exciting and strange about the film's first 30 seconds. Within those moments, the film fires off with such energy that you'll feel like you walked into the wrong theater. This is McQueen making a studio film, with an impeccable script by Gillian Flynn and featuring a cast of charismatic women (notably Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki) and the men who fight her. Daniel Kaluuya gives the best performance of the year as a villain whose demented stare puts him on par with Daniel Plainview, where the mere thought of him will exude dread. McQueen applies all of his art house technique to the heist genre in a way that elevates it to new heights. Few films were this accomplished technically, narratively, and even sonically with a shattering Hans Zimmer score. This is one of the few perfect films released this year, and evidence that McQueen is a filmmaker whose potential is only starting to be explored. Here's hoping we get more masterpieces like this. 

Stay tuned! Next week on Sunday, January 6, I will announce dates for 2019's year long Listmania Decades series that will look at the best in film from over the entire decade.