If you follow the awards season, you'll probably hear a lot about Alfonso Cuaron's visually stunning "Roma", Bradley Cooper's heart-stirring "A Star is Born" or the cultural phenomenon that is "Black Panther". Yet while all of these are certainly worthy of praise, it's a testament to the strength of this year's films that none of them made my final Top 10. Cinema in 2018 indeed offered an embarrassment of riches, with an extensive variety to suit every taste. As you'll see below, the year's highlights represented virtually every genre of filmmaking possible, forcing some of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make for a year's best list. Both of my honorable mentions for example, are as strong as any film in the list and were seriously considered.
But ultimately, the year belonged to one special film for me. While it has been unfathomably underappreciated in the general Best Picture conversation thus far, it delivered everything I could have wanted and more. Find out which film took that #1 position, as I present to you my Top 10 Films of 2018, with excerpts from my reviews:
Honorable Mention: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Hale County This Morning, This Evening
10. Happy as Lazzaro (directed by Alice Rohrwacher)
"Italian neorealism meets magical fable in this gorgeously wrought drama."
9. Free Solo(directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi)
"A film so audacious that it has to seen to be believed."
8. Hereditary(directed by Ari Aster)
"With one of the most striking debuts in recent memory, Aster proves to be a new mastermind of the horror genre."
7. Whitney(directed by Kevin Macdonald)
"Incisively connects the dots of toxic relationships, racial and sexual identity crises, greed and even our own fanatical obsession."
6. Won't You Be My Neighbor?(directed by Morgan Neville)
"This biographical portrait of Fred Rogers is one of 2018’s most poignant and timely documentaries."
5. A Quiet Place(directed by John Krasinski)
"Krasinski crafts one of the most effective horror films ever made."
4. Widows(directed by Steve McQueen)
"Gradually reveals deeper layers which make it one of the most resonant films of the year."
3. If Beale Street Could Talk(directed by Barry Jenkins)
"From Nicholas Britell's jazz-inflected score to James Laxton's picture-perfect cinematography, the film finds the beauty in these black lives, exalting them through his lens as works of art."
2. The Favourite(directed by Yorgos Lanthimos)
"A vulgar delight that kept me thoroughly entertained."
1. First Man(directed by Damien Chazelle)
"A supremely well-crafted, thoroughly engaging experience."