The first wave of Oscar films have come out to threaten my Top 10 films of 2018. There’s a change in the Top 5, and 2 new entrants total, with some of the more heavy hitters coming out in November.
Part documentary, part dramatic retelling, this botched heist by bored, faux ambitious college students at Transylvania University captures the delusional entitlement at that age of predestination for greatness and how it all comes crashing down when reality hits, and hits HARD.
Charlize Theron does it again, but Diabolo Cody’s script is the star here (until the crazy twists), impressively observing motherhood and the evolution of becoming a mother, and all the good and bad it has to offer.
Boots Riley’s debut film. This film has a LOT to say about MANY topics: corporate malfeasance, racial attitude toward consumerism, worker’s rights, etc, and isn’t afraid to go to insane lengths to drive home the point.
Damien Chazelle, turns out, can make as compelling a movie about Neil Armstrong and NASA as movies about musicians trying to get their work heard. Oh yeah, and Ryan Gosling is pretty great too, I guess…
The last all Asian cast in an American film was the Joy Luck Club. This movie is much happier, taking a classic rom com and using a fresh, original story. Plus, it’s a travelogue of Singapore, and a star maker for Constance Wu and Henry Golding.
Directed by a Chinese directer, a Lakota Indian Cowboy gets thrown off a bull and potentially has to give up his bullriding and horse whispering. This movie sounds like melodramatic garbage, but magnetic star Brady Jandreau and director Chloe Zhao find that truth of how hard it is to give up something that defines who you are.
Rich, sprawling story about a host of things including cultural appropriation, police overreach, family drama, and a coming of age story anchored by a great Amandla Stenberg performance.
Hereditary got all the buzz for being scary, but it’s this John Krasinski directed film that hit those buttons more. I think that’s because the story is simpler: a husband and wife try to protect their family from aliens who can hear any sound for miles. It’s elemental, scary, and emotionally resonant.
Maybe it’s because of the bitter, divisive moment in time, but Morgan Neville’s documentary about Mr. Fred Rogers is like warm chicken noodle soup on a cold day. Mr. Rogers, it turns out, is actually more wonderful than he was on his show, living by such a caring, empathetic mantra that you can’t help but shed a tear or two.
I never pegged YouTube comedian Bo Burnham for a directing savant, but I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong. He and his amazing star Elsie Fisher capture that either gut wrenching or euphoric time, and how fraught each new experience or decision can be, moment to moment.
