Here it is – my top ten favorite movies of 2018. I had an especially hard time with the top three – it was very, very close – but I stand by my rankings.
Enjoy!
10. Summer 1993
If Summer 1993 had been made in the U.S. for a major studio, we’d be looking at a rehash of My Girl (1991), or something like it. But, since it’s an indie from Spain, I’m happy to say we get so, so much more. More realism, more heart, and more honest, earned emotion. READ THE FULL REVIEW
9. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
If you were to have asked by before the movie what my favorite memories of the show were, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a thing. It wasn’t specifics of the show I remembered, I realized, it was a sense of learning and growing. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? brought all this back in a matter of minutes. READ THE FULL REVIEW
8. Hereditary
Hereditary is utterly terrifying and extravagantly tense. Even in its moments of calm it manages to unnerve. It’s the best horror movie to come along in decades. READ THE FULL REVIEW
7. You Were Never Really Here
If you can get past the brutality and darkness of its subject matter, You Were Never Really Here is a beautiful movie. Lynne Ramsay paints a surreal picture with vivid colors and a twisted electronic beat. READ THE FULL REVIEW
6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
I’ll put it to you like this: if you’re a Coen Brothers mark (I am), then there’s a hell of a lot to love about The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. If you’re not, well, then I hope you like it as much as I did – but you might not. READ THE FULL REVIEW
5. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
McCarthy is wonderful as real-life author Lee Israel – a down on her luck, alcoholic, and straight-up unlikable person – who, quite by accident, finds herself as a career criminal. This is a great story with a lot of heart, and a lead that’s impossible to hate, even though you should. READ THE FULL REVIEW
4. The Favourite
An 18th-century period piece from Yorgos Lanthimos. Curiosity alone should get you through the door, but it’s the biting wit and wonderful performances that will keep you in your seat. READ THE FULL REVIEW
3. Cold War
The love between Zula and Wiktor is endless yet corrosive – deep and selfish at the same time. It’s an enigma, and it’s one of the most beautiful stories told this year. READ THE FULL REVIEW
2. Roma
Rarely are recollections translated so vividly and convincingly as in Roma. This is Cuarón’s story, but it’s not about him. It’s about the women who helped shape him. Roma is a deep, rich, wonderful film that should not be ignored. READ THE FULL REVIEW
1. First Reformed
There’s a darkness simmering below the surface that comes to a boil so naturally you may not even notice you’ve been taken in by it. By the time it’s revealed in full, the cathartic release is, for me, a completely satisfying shock. For others, it may just piss you off. READ THE FULL REVIEW
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.