Here we go - my Top 10 Films of 2018!
To check out my preview of this article (which lists all the films I watched during
the year) click HERE.
To be fair, compared to some previous
years I didn't watch all that many films that were actually released in 2018
(those in bold on that list) so my
selection was somewhat limited. So please don't get outraged if your favourite
film isn’t mentioned or have a go at me for putting The Meg at no.1!
Off we trot:
10. Mission
Impossible: Fallout
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg
You probably know what to expect
by now given that this is the 6th entry in the franchise, however MI:F still managers to deliver in terms
of action set pieces and twisty turny plot machinations. By now fans will probably
be able to pre-empt the majority of the double crosses and fake-outs as they
have admittedly become somewhat de rigueur by this point, but Cruise does get
to show Ethan Hunt’s struggle a bit more this time around, both in terms of
physicality (it’s acknowledged that he is now older and more susceptible to
taking a battering); as well as with his ideals (the realisation that the longer
he keeps this going the less able he is to protect everyone around him).
Indeed we see him get knocked
around a lot more, with the addition of a CIA handler ‘blunt instrument’ Henry
Cavill helping to contribute a lot in this regard. It actually follows on from
the last Mission: Impossible film too,
welcoming back many returning characters helping to provide a bit more
continuity to the universe.
Worth a watch just for the action
scenes and the mad Tom Cruise stunts.
Favourite Bit: The hard-hitting bathroom brawl.
9. Mandy
Directed by: Panos Cosmatos
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache
Not everyone’s cup of tea but if
you like the idea of an LSD laced horror involving a murderous cult, demon
bikers and chainsaw fights this is the one for you. Nicholas Cage is let off
the leash in a film that matches (and even often surpasses) the craziness he is
known for in his performances. Andrea Riseborough’s ghostly visage is
hauntingly memorable as is the lingering feeling of dread over the first half
of the film that suddenly gives way to the bonkers b-movie gore and violence of
the latter half. Apart from all that the stunning visuals are the big draw
here. I can only describe it as a hallucinogenic black metal album cover brought
to life.
Favourite Bit: The summoning of the demon bikers with the
Horn of Abraxis – the moment when the film suddenly swerves into what the hell am I watching territory.
8. Game Night
Directed by: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
The surprise comedy entry of the
year. It’s one where the premise itself initially seems thin but gradually
spirals out into something both mysterious and wonderfully chaotic. Although
the ending seems to be tied up almost too conveniently and perhaps maybe one twist
too many, Game Night is still
enjoyable throughout just because you enjoy these characters so much. The
central pairing of Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams is a sweet one – they are
human and relatable and bounce off each other well. Other highlights include the
dimwitted yet childlike enthusiasm of Ryan (Billy Magnussen) and Jesse Plemons
as the initially creepy but ultimately endearing neighbour Gary. Kyle Chandler
does well playing up his punchable smugness to the max too.
I don't tend to rate a lot of
comedies but this one hits more than it misses – largely on the strength of its
characters.
Favourite Bit: The Jason
Bateman and Rachel McAdams scene where they try do-it-yourself bullet removal. A
great interaction of dialogue, physical comedy and timing.
7. Halloween
Directed by: David
Gordon Green
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak
Let’s be honest, most people
expected a cheap cash in – after all, this is like the 16th or so entry
in the franchise. However despite all that, this is a more stripped down and
back to basics approach that manages to homage the 1978 original but is also very
self aware about it.
It’s chronologically sound – a
direct sequel to the first film (ignoring all other entries) and explores the
PTSD of Laurie Strode as a survivor of the first film. In fact the strong
performance from Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the film’s draws – she exhibits a
fragility in equal measure to her hardened bad-assery. The majority of other
characters in the film try hard to avoid cliché and the kills are not too
elaborate – often just functional and brutish death scenes, which helps ground
the film in a scary reality a bit more. Michael Myers fans will certainly enjoy
it though I doubt it will do much to convert any newcomers.
Oh, there’s a rocking
synth soundtrack too!
Favourite Bit: Laurie’s mask of normality slipping as she
attempts to join her family for a meal outside. It shows the real fallout of
being a survivor which we rarely get to see in horror films.
6. Leave No Trace
Directed by: Debra Granik
Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Foster
This is one of those wonderful
films where so much is said but with minimal dialogue. It’s a story of a father
and daughter relationship as they attempt to live a life off-grid. So much is
beautifully understated and subtle with an amazing naturalistic performance
from lead Thomasin McKenzie. The amount of information and emotion conveyed just
by her eyes sometimes is staggering.
Though there is only one outright
emotional scene toward the end, she continually wins your heart throughout the
film with these small moments of loneliness, yearning and joy. You keep
thinking something awful is about the happen but in fact (spoiler) it never really does. So many people they meet are
genuinely nice and understanding, which only serves to help us really feel her
conflict: why must they keep hiding? Is the world really such a bad place after
all?
Glimpses of the father’s PTSD are
also explored subtly, with a similarly understated turn from Ben Foster. It’s
amazing how heartfelt this film manages to be without an ounce of melodrama in
sight.
Favourite Bit: The inevitable bittersweet farewell.
5. Upgrade
Directed by: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo,
Harrison Gilbertson
There’s this whole internet thing
where people often mistake Logan Marshall-Green for Tom Hardy. And funnily
enough this year they have both starred in films where their body has been
taken over by a higher power that talks to them and gives them extraordinary
abilities. Though whilst Venom proved
to be an awkward tonally unbalanced dumpster-fire bromance, Upgrade is a far more satisfying dark
and brutal slice of sci-fi that riffs off of many existing ideas but still delivers
something fresh and watchable. You have a great physical performance from
Marshall-Green (better than the overly comic gurning of Hardy in Venom),
violent and kinetic action sequences with great choreography, a bio-augmented
hipster for a villain (Benedict Hardie’s wonderfully smarmy Fisk) and thugs
with guns built in to their arms.
A refreshing small budget affair
that largely flew under the radar, Leigh Whannell’s latest comes recommended if
you like grim sci-fi. The most pleasant surprise of the year for me.
Favourite Bit: When Marshall-Green first allows STEM to
take over.
4. Black Panther
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita
Nyong’o
Another pretty divisive entry.
Some lauded this film as the best thing ever, others gave it a collective
shrug, not knowing what all the fuss was about. The truth is though that whatever
you thought of it this film it is undeniably important and a milestone for
mainstream big budget superhero movies.
The criticisms against the actual
content seem to be acknowledged universally: Chadwick Boseman as the titular
character seems to have less drive and character growth in this than he did in Civil War and occasionally even feels
sidelined in his own movie; some of the CG (in comparison to other Marvel
Studio productions) is downright shocking and really pulls you out of the movie
(the end fight in particular being a huge disappointment); the Wakanda battle
seems small scale and petty – especially when compared to another Wakanda
battle sequence in a certain other Marvel film released this year.
However despite these foibles there
is so much to enjoy. The production design, costumes and music are all vibrant,
gorgeous and culturally rich. The film also features one of the strongest
Marvel villains yet: Killmonger, in terms of how you understand and relate to
him and his motivations. Every scene with Michael B Jordan is magnetic.
Whilst not the greatest superhero
movie out there it's undeniably a monumental achievement for mainstream cinema
and pop culture in general.
Favourite Bit: The entrance of Umbaku to challenge the
throne. So good it spawned a twitter meme: #umbakuchallenge.
3. Aquaman
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson
Who would have thunk it? DC actually
done gone and made a decent movie? Now don't get me wrong Aquaman isn’t particularly smart, dramatic or game changing in any
way but the actual effort that went into this and money that was thrown at it
in terms of sheer spectacle is staggering. James Wan has gone above and beyond
in delivering a plethora of awesome action sequences - both on a small and
utterly ridiculous scale. Though there is more CG here than you can shake a
greenscreen stick at, it’s all so colourful and creative that you end up just buying
into this whole world. It’s a million miles away from the dour and overly sombre
Snyder movies – and ends up being hella fun as a result.
Jason Momoa counters the inherent goofiness
of the premise with the sheer weight of his charisma and every actor fully
commits in their roles: Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison and Willem Dafoe in particular
work very well with what little they have. Although the film is almost too busy
and frantic in its pacing for the most part (a necessarily result of having almost
three films worth of content stuffed into one) there still manages to be the
odd tender moment – the romance of Aquaman’s parents, a moving reunion in a
faraway place and Mera er… ‘enjoying’ her flowers.
It's far from being a masterpiece that
I could recommend to absolutely everyone and I acknowledge that the film does
have its fair share of flaws, but Aquaman
is such a welcome step in the right direction for DC that in my opinion it even
surpasses their previous surprise hit Wonder
Woman - just as a result of it being so much more vast, colourful,
confident in its execution and almost needlessly ambitious. Great production
design (taking influences from Tron, Thor: Ragnorok, and Uncharted to name a few), a great score (Pitbull’s abomination of
a cover of ‘Africa’ is kept mercifully brief) and being relatively faithful to
the comics is a big plus too.
For the sheer spectacle alone I recommend
you watch it on the biggest screen available.
Favourite Bit: This film is chock-full of great moments
and set pieces to choose from but I would have to go with the chase/fight
across the rooftops of Sicily.
2. Spider-Man: Into
The Spider-Verse
Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
The real surprise hit of the year
– it’s not only the best animated film of the year but also the best Spider-Man film of… well, perhaps ever.
Not withstanding the fact that a lot of the previous films are pretty guff
(especially by today’s standards), this one just appeals on so many fronts. The
central story is a fresh take, with the Miles Morales iteration of Spider-Man
taking centre stage to give us a new perspective on the origin story. Not only
is this in and of itself appealing (Peter Parker works really well as a
supporting character here), but the rest of the diverse and colourful cast, the
flavoursome Brooklyn setting, bumping soundtrack and the quirky and effective
post-modern comic book come-to-life art style and animation all add up to a great
experience.
There are exciting set pieces,
plenty of humour and even some effortlessly heartfelt moments that will kick
you in the feels – largely thanks to the excellent writing courtesy of Phil
Lord (one half of Lord and Miller, the duo behind the The Lego Movie).
Although an extra treat for
Spider-fans (a similar smorgasbord of references and in-jokes that the Caped
Crusader enjoyed in The Lego Batman Movie), you don't need any
prior knowledge of any other spider-man or Marvel films to enjoy it. It may be
cliché but there really is something for everyone to enjoy here.
It’s the best Spider-Man film
there has been to date – there I said it.
Favourite Bit: The final showdown is a trippy, reality-bending affair, but an earlier scene with a fair
few heroes and villains brawling in a suburb is tightly sequenced and leads to
an emotional climax.
1. Avengers: Infinity War
Directed by: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Josh
Brolin
One of the most anticipated releases
in the history of Marvel Studios is finally here. And it certainly delivers. A
few years ago I wrote about how miraculous it was that we got to see the
successful culmination of Phase 1 to give us the first Avengers film.
We’ve now come full circle again
and this time it is the Avengers plus
a myriad of other characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming together
in a single story, under a single purpose. Again, it’s all about the balancing
act and despite being a long (and suitably epic) film, you feel all characters
get their moment to shine, with the tone shifting effortlessly from dramatic to
humorous without ever derailing the film from the seriousness of the whole
situation.
And the stakes are indeed set high
from the very beginning, with main characters biting the dust throughout, not
to mention that ending that left theatregoers
gobsmacked. Perhaps the key to all this working is the introduction of Thanos –
though teased in previous films, here he finally takes centre stage as the unstoppable
force that requires all these heroes to band together to defeat. Good writing
and Josh Brolin’s fine mo-cap and voice performance really sell him as an OP
threat, but also fleshes him out, giving him pathos, motivation and even
conflict. He’s not just an antagonist for the sake of a story needing one.
I would say the only downside
would be that newcomers may feel disadvantaged having not seen many of the key
Marvel Films that have lead up to this, but that’s alone isn’t enough to
detract from what a monumental achievement this film has been. This film has
already earned over $2 billion worldwide and sets a very high bar for the
concluding instalment Avengers: End Game
due in 2019.
Favourite Bit: What’s not to like? The battle on Titan,
the seize on Wakanda, Captain America’s triumphant return from exile are all
great moments, but even the smaller and more personal moments such as the
sacrifice for the Soul Stone and the shared moments of Vision and Scarlet Witch
also pack an emotional punch.
Honourable mentions
These are films that didn't quite
make the Top 10 but really do deserve a shout out. In alphabetic order these
are:
Ant-Man & The
Wasp – inferior to the first
Ant-Man but provides more great comedy moments and creative set pieces involving
growing/shrinking as you would expect. More Evangeline Lilly is also welcomed
Ghost Stories – 3 creepy stories with a compelling
overarching narrative – not quite as impressive as the original stage play but
one of the best horror films of the year.
Incredibles 2 – Smart, funny and with great action scenes.
A worthy sequel though doesn't quite match up to the high benchmark set by the
original.
A Quiet Place – a high concept film whose mechanics create
many moments of tension. Just don't think too much about it or else it all
falls apart. Great ending too.
Ready Player One - Steven Spielberg’s love letter to 80’s
nostalgia, gaming, virtual reality and pop culture. It’s thick with references
and gaming/movie cameos to the point where it’s almost overwhelming.
Well, that’s it for my Top 10. Maybe
some contentious ones – let me know your opinion. Or just yell at me for having
superhero films utterly dominate the list this year.
Up next is The Alternative Awards 2018
– coming soon!
You can also check out Top 10 film lists for all previous years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 by clicking the relevant date!
5th Jan 2019
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