Here it is! Finally, my top ten favorite films of last year. You should watch every one.
1. ROMA
A stirring ode to 1970’s Mexico, childhood memories and the women who ruled one household in the middle of it all, seen through the cinematic sweep of a tremendous visual storyteller. One of the great movies ever made.
2. SHOPLIFTERS
An enthralling story of a family that starts off as one thing, then becomes something else and knocks you sideways when it does. Powerful, heartfelt, emotional and deeply human filmmaking.
3. BLACK PANTHER
The cultural phenomenon of 2018 was the rare blockbuster that managed to tell a good story that had actual meaning to it, along with visual pizazz and a great cast of characters. It felt like something new packaged in something familiar, and empowering to anyone who sees it.
4. THE DEATH OF STALIN
The best comedy of last year was a dark historical farce that threw so many zingers at you it requires multiple viewings to keep up. A terrific ensemble led by Steve Buscemi manages to wring absurd humor out of Stalin’s purges while never diminishing the horror of it all, through a swift and compact 90 minutes.
5. FIRST MAN
Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon is given the epic treatment in a serious minded, sensitive biopic that delivers a partial study of the enigmatic man himself, who always kept the world at a distance (literally). A majestic score assists some of the most thrillingly directed cinematic sequences of the year.
6. A STAR IS BORN
The fourth remake of an oft-told Hollywood story feels new again, and Bradley Cooper effortlessly delivers this musical melodrama awash with romance and old-fashioned tearjerking entertainment. Loved it.
7. BLACKKKLANSMAN
Spike Lee can still pack a punch and does it again with a buddy cop movie, mixing comedy and drama with the urgency of the moment, as no other film of the year spoke more to the current climate than this 1970’s set reminder of what America is.
8. MINDING THE GAP
A documentary that painfully, almost accidentally, captures the sickness that is passed on from one male generation to another, especially in economically challenged areas in the middle of the country. A timely, impactful look at what drives many of the problems we as a society face in ignoring this reality, and watching these men grow up to become the transmitters of inherited suffering.
9. ISLE OF DOGS
Wes Anderson’s love letter to Japan is a the adorable story of a boy and his dog(s), that for once blends a story that has its own hints in reality, with nods to political corruption, protest and the power of resistance, along with a visually dazzling world of varying furry friends and bright colors.
10. FIRST REFORMED
An allegory of a dying man obsessed by a dying world, who lingers on and asks questions no one seems to have the answers to. The world is not an imagined one, but the real one that we all inhabit, which makes this story sting all the worse. One of the most original and thought provoking films of the year, with one of the most hardhitting final scenes ever.
5 HONORABLE MENTIONS: SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE; THE SISTERS BROTHERS; IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK; PRIVATE LIFE; BURNING
