Despite super-hero adventures and horror flicks continuing to dominate the box-office while Netflix has moved even more aggressively in to swooping-up interesting indie and foreign-language films that they rarely show in a theater, the year in cinema for 2018 still managed to be exceptional with theaters displaying a wide variety of bold and exciting films, particularly with non-fiction features.
Here are my selections of my favorite films of 2018 in no particular order:
"ROMA"
Alfonso Cuarón, the Academy Award wining filmmaker, decided to look back on his life and has masterfully created a beautiful and meditative drama inspired by his experiences as a child. "Roma" tells the story of Cleo (in an amazing performance by first-time actress, Yalitza Aparicio), who works as a maid for a family in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City during the 1970's. The mother of the family, Sofia (Marina de Tavira) is having some serious marital problems with her doctor husband, Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and is trying to keep it from her four young children. Cleo is casually dating Fermín (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a young local boy and soon finds herself in the family way. Cuarón (who produced, wrote and photographed the film in stunning black & white) has crafted an intimate and loving tribute to a seemingly simple servant who selflessly helped keep the lives of an unraveling family steady while she struggled to keep her own life on solid ground.
"IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"
"If Beale Street Could Talk", the beautifully rendered yet emotionally devastating story of love and commitment by writer/director, Barry Jenkins, is surprisingly one of the very few books by the masterful writer, James Baldwin that have been adapted for the big screen. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a cinematic renaissance of Baldwin's work. This 1970's set film tells the story of Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne in her first major role) who are young and in love. But their happiness is interrupted when Fonny is falsely accused of a horrific crime and placed in jail. Tish's parents (Colman Domingo and Regina King) help find a lawyer to work on Fonny's case however the situation becomes more urgent when Tish discovers she's with child. Mr. Jenkins effectively uses lush colors and expressive visuals to enhance Baldwin's powerful narrative. And with only his third feature (following his Best Picture winner, "Moonlight"), Jenkins proves to be one of the most vital filmmakers working today.
"THE FAVOURITE"
"The Favourite", Yorgos Lanthimos' outlandish historical dramedy, was certainly not expected from this Greek film maker. He is best known for his surreal and experimental works like "Alps", "Dogtooth" which received a Best Foreign-Language Film nomination in 2010 and "The Lobster" that earned Lanthimos a Best Original Screenplay nod. Working for the first time with a script he didn't write (and it's a great one from Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara), the director has made his most conventional film to date while still managing to deliver his brand of deliciously wicked humor and peculiar dramatics. Based on real-life members of the eighteenth century British royal court yet far from factual, our story involves Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), a sickly and eccentric royal, who is advised and comforted by Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the Duchess of Marlburough. Sarah's cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone), a poor relation who has fallen on hard times, comes seeking to be of service but she's only made a servant. Seeking a better opportunity, Abigail finds a way to get closer to the Queen which leads to a brutal battle between the cousins for her affections. These three actresses are all at the top of their game and help make "The Favourite" an unforgettable experience.
"SORRY TO BOTHER YOU"
With his feature film directorial debut, "Sorry To Bother You", musician Boots Riley has cleverly merged some serious issues of capitalism and racial politics with outrageous dark comedy and a touch of oddball sci-fi. In his first major starring role after many impressive supporting performances, Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius "Cash" Green, a young African-American slacker from Oakland living in his uncle's (Terry Crews) garage with his performance-artist girlfriend, "Detroit" (Tessa Thompson). "Cash" struggles at his new job as a telemarketer until an older co-worker (Danny Glover) explains to him that in order to succeed, he needs to create a "white voice". As he successfully moves up the business ladder, "Cash" is torn between joining the fight against the company's poor labor practices and enjoying the good-life of the corporate elites headed by the smooth CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). "Sorry To Bother You" is provocative, hilarious and just plain weird, making it one of the most innovative films of 2018. "THE SISTERS BROTHERS"
The western, a genre known for its macho posturing and brutal violence, is slightly turned on its head with "The Sisters Brothers". This dark comedy, adapted from a novel by Canadian writer, Patrick deWitt, features John C. Reilly as Eli Sisters and Joaquin Phoenix as his younger, hot-headed brother, Charlie. They are hired hit-men in Oregon who work for a ruthless man only known as The Commodore (Rutger Hauer). While tracking down their latest target, a chemist (Riz Ahmed) with a valuable invention that makes gold detectable in water, the brothers are intercepted by a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) in his capture. They soon catch-up with each other and unexpectedly wind up working together with a plan to split the profits from the gold they find. What makes "The Sisters Brothers" really stand out in a wonderfully unpredictable way is that in between the robbing, shootings and killings, we have these men being vulnerable, sharing their feelings and forming actual friendships. "The Sisters Brothers", which is the first English-language film directed by the acclaimed French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard, did not get nearly enough attention in theaters that it deserved, so I highly recommended you seek this extraordinary film out.
"CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?"
Anchored by two amazing performances by Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, the comedy-drama, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" looks at the real-life story of failing writer, Lee Israel and the desperate measures she takes to make a living and remain creative. Israel (McCarthy) was a one-time successful author but her alcoholism, writer's block and bad attitude has put her in a serious financial bind. She comes up with a scheme to write and sell letters that were supposed to have been written by deceased famous authors, playwrights and actors. Israel gets away with it for a while, with some help from fellow con-man, Jack (Grant), until people become suspicious and contact the F.B.I. The director, Marielle Heller has made a deceptively, charming film rich with witty humor and touching emotions.
This was an incredible year for some great documentaries and people turned out in impressively large numbers to see them in theaters. Three of my favorites were "RBG", which stands for "Ruth Bader Ginsberg" and before she became an admired Supreme Court Justice, she was a law professor and went on to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court six cases regarding gender discrimination. "Three Identical Strangers" examines the crazy and cruel story of a set of identical triplets that were each adopted to families separately and no one was told that the others existed. And rock climber, Alex Honnold is profiled in "Free Solo" with his dangerous (and definitely crazy) quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
"WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?"
Out of all the films I saw last year, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" is the one that moved me the most. This profound documentary by Morgan Neville is a profile on Fred Rogers, the amiable host of the children's television program, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". His goal was simple; to teach children to be kind, compassionate and empathetic to others. And yet in our society, it always seemed to be a difficult challenge but Rogers never lost faith in the message or in the basic goodness of humanity. As we go through our troubled times, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" serves as a timely reminder to make that extra effort to listen and try to understand our fellow neighbor.
"Cold War (Zimna wojna)" is a dazzling musical love story involving a passionate yet volatile couple set shortly after the second World War in Poland. Inspired loosely on the relationship of director, Paweł Pawlikowski's parents, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), a musical director in charge of the selection of local folk musicians to create a touring troupe to revive Poland's rich cultural history through music and dance. He falls hard for the beautiful yet troubled, Zula (Joanna Kulig), a singer he hires and the couple begin a torrid affair. But soon politics and propaganda are forced upon the ensemble and Wiktor wants to have more creative freedom. While touring Germany, his plan is to defect to East Berlin with Zula to start a career making jazz music in Paris but ultimately he goes off alone. Yet over the years the couple's paths keep crossing and their desire for each other never wanes. Shot in glorious black & white by Łukasz Żal (who also did the nominated cinematography for Pawlikowski's Oscar-winning 2014 Best Foreign-Language feature, "Ida"), "Cold War" is a mesmerizing and haunting film enhanced by the radiant performances of Mr. Kot and Ms Kuling.
"BLACK PANTHER"
There is a reason why "Black Panther" became the highest grossing film in the U.S. last year and is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time with over 1.35 billion in ticket sales worldwide. And it's not only because it is the first major super-hero movie to feature an African-American actor in the lead along with the majority of the impressive supporting cast. It is because under the direction of Ryan Coogler, he has guided a thoughtful and thrilling adventure that manages to deliver fully-developed characters and an engaging story that is appealing to everyone. After the death of his father, King T'Chaka of the African nation, Wakanda, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who is also known to the world as the hero, "Black Panther", claims his place on the throne. But he is challenged by his American-born cousin, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) for the crown. T'Challa is shockingly defeated and as the new King, "Killmonger" plans to aggressively announce the isolated Wakanda to the world and start a global revolution. But it will take Black Panther and the help of his younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Wakanda's all-female special forces led by Okoye (Danai Gurira) to stop him. "Black Panther" shifts the super-hero movie in an exciting new direction while still delivering all the fun and entertainment you expect from these films.
"EIGHTH GRADE"
"Eighth Grade" perfectly captures all of the anxiety and struggles of being a teenager in today's world. Elsie Fisher, in an incredible breakout performance, plays Kayla, a shy and awkward eighth grader finishing her final week of middle school. She records her thoughts to motivate others and posts them online yet no one watches them. Kayla desperately wants to fit in with her fellow classmates while secretly having a crush on a boy at school that's she's willing to do anything to get his attention. And her single father (Josh Hamilton) struggles to connect with his daughter and tries to convince her to not spend so much time on the Internet. Bo Burnham, a comedian who makes his directorial feature debut, has made a film that brilliantly handles the modern challenges of adolescence with honesty and sensitivity.
"VICE"
I would never have imagined wanting to sit through a movie about Dick Cheney, the sinister and despicable Vice-President during the George W. Bush presidency. But in the hands of Adam McKay (who did similar magic with the 2008 U.S. financial crisis in "The Big Short"), the writer/director has made his political satire, "Vice", detailing Cheney's climb from drunken derelict to becoming one of the most powerful Vice-Presidents in America's history, in to a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining film. Christian Bale completely transforms in to Cheney (with the aid of make-up and some serious weight-gain) and delivers one of the best performances of his career while the always reliable Amy Adams is deliciously commanding as his Machiavellian wife, Lynne. The rest of the cast is terrific with Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell perfect as Bush, Alison Pill and Lily Rabe as the Cheney daughters and Tyler Perry (!) playing Colin Powell. And while it is clear that McKay is certainly left-leaning, he did make some effort to present the Republican Cheney and his story in a way that is fairly well-rounded.
"MARY POPPINS RETURNS"
It has been fifty-four years since Walt Disney brought P. L. Travers' beloved British nanny, Mary Poppins to the big screen. And when I heard about the idea to do a sequel, it was hardly anything I was anticipating. Yet I was delightfully surprised and enchanted by "Mary Poppins Returns". The director, Rob Marshall ("Chicago", "Into The Woods") has successfully managed to pay loving homage to the first film while taking this musical-fantasy forward in a way that's appealing to a modern audience. Emily Blunt plays the magical title character (and she's perfect in practically every way) who returns to the Banks household during the Great Slump in 1930's England. Michael (Ben Whishaw) is a widower trying to raise his three young children in his childhood home with the help of his sister, Jane (Emily Mortimer) and the family's long-time housekeeper (Julie Walters). Mary takes over to offer support, discipline and some fantastical fun to the children's lives. But an unscrupulous banker (Colin Firth) threatens to repossessed the Banks' home if an overdue loan is not repaid. Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his shot at a cockney accent as a lamplighter and Meryl Streep appears as Topsy, Mary Poppins's eccentric cousin. Perhaps a little too much care was taken not to disturb the legacy but "Mary Poppins Returns" is an absolutely joyful and moving experience.
Honorable Mention: "BlacKkKlansman", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy, Rich Asians", "First Man", "First Reformed", "Green Book", "Happy As Lazzaro", "Hearts Beat Loud", "Incredibles 2", "Operation Finale", "A Private War", "A Quiet Place" , "Revenge", "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", "Widows" , "Wildlife"
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