Another year has been and gone, and as we count down to the new year, it’s time to take a look back on all the movies that we’ve seen in 2018. It’s the big one that the whole year has been building towards: my top 10 best movies of 2018.
Honourable Mentions
Penguin Highway – A delightfully imaginative and even thrilling anime that really went under the radar.
Ready Player One – Visually astonishing, with an immensely entertaining blockbuster story to boot.
Free Solo – The year’s best documentary, a vertigo-inducing and enthralling watch throughout.
Creed II – An excellent sequel that builds fantastically on a great foundation.
The Hate U Give – Hugely underrated, a provocative and passionate drama like few others all year long.
Roma – An intimate, immersive and enthralling piece of personal cinema from Alfonso Cuarón.
Suspiria – One of the best remakes of all time, and a brilliant reinvention of the psychotic original.
The Heiresses – Elegant, emotional and wonderfully understated, a real gem all the way from Paraguay.
Game Night – The year’s biggest comedy surprise; far, far funnier than it ever had the right to be.
Eighth Grade – A beautiful coming-of-age drama that really gets to the crux of the age-old story of growing up.
10. The Favourite
The latest creation from the mad mind of Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite is a devilishly funny and fiendish affair from start to finish, and proudly one of the most ‘out-there’ movies of 2018.
The story of a rivalry of two women as they strive to win the affections of an ailing Queen Anne, and with that power over the country, the film is a hilariously dark look into the lust for power, as well as a pleasantly bizarre take on the classic period drama, with pristine sets and costumes juxtaposed with hilarious foul language and general luridness.
It’s a more accessible watch than The Lobster and other of Lanthimos’ previous films, and with a trio of stellar performances from Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman, The Favourite is an absolute riot throughout, and one that will have you laughing your socks off from beginning to end.
Read a full review here.
9. U – July 22
An exceptional portrayal of fear and the fight to survive, Norway’s stunning drama U – July 22 is not only a devastating and hard-hitting account of the 2011 terrorist attacks, but also an incredibly bold piece of cinema.
A breathless, devastating and terrifyingly immersive thriller, the movie follows one girl as she desperately tries to survive while a madman senselessly mows down all those in sight on an isolated island, all filmed in one memserising, 90 minute-long take.
Capturing the sense of danger and fear like few films before, U – July 22 is an undoubtedly thrilling piece, but it combines that with a tender and appropriate story that respects the victims of the horrifying attacks, as you form a deep, almost unbreakable, bond with our main character, making the tragedy of the events all the more devastating, and making the film all the more emotionally powerful. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it is a film that’s both a stunning technical achievement as well as a riveting and devastating watch from beginning to end.
Read a full review here.
8. Deadpool 2
Deadpool 2 is a film that I really didn’t expect to see on my best movies of 2018 list. I loved the original, but wasn’t as mad about it as many others, yet I was stunned by just how much the sequel improved on its predecessor, with yet another hugely funny breakaway from the comic book formula.
Having thoroughly enjoyed Deadpool two years ago, I was sceptical that a sequel could recapture the film’s maverick attitude to blockbuster cinema, yet it somehow manages to up everything that the original did, with an off-the-chain sense of humour that combines with another surprisingly enthralling story, all centred around another hilarious performance by Ryan Reynolds as the Merc With A Mouth.
With a bigger budget, more fourth wall breaks, and even more foul-mouthed laughs, the movie somehow feels like a breath of fresh air once again, providing two hours of brilliant entertainment while bewildering you at how it manages to recapture the legendary maverick spirit of the original.
Read a full review here.
7. First Man
Universally recognised as this awards season’s most criminally overlooked film, First Man is a brilliant biopic, telling the life story of astronaut Neil Armstrong and his role in the Apollo programme, all brought together in spectacular fashion by director Damien Chazelle.
You might think you know the history, but there’s so much depth and intrigue to the story that’s brought to the screen in First Man, exemplified by an enthralling performance from Ryan Gosling, and it helps the movie to become one of the most riveting and exciting biopics of recent years, all the while featuring a passionate and inspiring central theme about ambition and pushing all the boundaries of what people consider to be possible.
And on top of that, the film is filled to the brim with exceptional technical work, ranging from an exhilarating musical score to spectacular visual effects that not only feel entirely appropriate in the middle of a historical biopic, but also add so much realism and dynamic to the story of the first man to walk on the Moon.
Read a full review.
6. Annihilation
Arguably the boldest film of 2018, Alex Garland’s brilliantly cerebral sci-fi Annihilation left me jaw-dropped at every moment.
With a story that’s often on an other-worldly level reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film is a riveting and striking watch throughout, complete with exceptional sci-fi thrills, deep intrigue, eerie and unsettling mystery, and the scariest movie scene I’ve seen all year, and with such an innovative and bold character, it remains one of the most memorable and unique films of the whole year.
Not only that, the film is a visual masterpiece, with a psychedelic kaleidoscope of a colour palette that transports you to another world in stunningly vivid fashion, furthered by excellent CGI and a terrifyingly unnerving musical score throughout, creating one of the most powerful and bold sci-fi worlds ever seen.
Read a full review here.
5. Ralph Breaks The Internet
Disney’s main animation studio have been through an incredible renaissance these past few years, and Ralph Breaks The Internet is arguably the very best that they’ve made in that period.
A near-perfect follow-up to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph Breaks The Internet is one of the most vivid and imaginative films I’ve ever seen, filled to the brim with beautifully vibrant colours, as well as a truly fantasic portrayal of the world inside the internet, poking fun at everything out there in the online world, all the while crafting its own thoroughly entertaining and genuinely heartfelt story.
And while it didn’t make me cry quite as much as the original, it’s a film that had me smiling ear to ear at every second, with a heartwarming and delightfully sweet story that’s mixed in with consistently hilarious comedy, all of which makes for what is arguably the film filled with the greatest sense of wonderment all year.
Read a full review here.
4. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Having released a stunningly unique teaser back in December 2017, I was hugely intrigued by the prospect of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, however nothing prepared me for just how exceptional the full film turned out to be.
Not only a hugely exciting superhero movie, but without a doubt the most beautiful film made all year, Into The Spider-Verse is a spellbinding piece of animation that brings the classic comic book to life on the big screen like no film before, combining with a sleek and modern urban vibe that gives the film a stunning energy that you’ll never see in any mainstream superhero flicks.
With a seemingly boundless imagination to boot, the film draws inspiration from all walks of comic book lore, bringing together superheroes from all over the multiverse, all the while working with a brilliantly playful sense of humour that adds great energy and character to the movie, making it just as hilarious as it is exciting and visually mesmerising.
Read a full review here.
3. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
I don’t know how it keeps happening, but the Mission: Impossible franchise continues to blow minds with its thrilling resurgence, with the sixth installment, Fallout, proving the most exhilarating yet.
Combinig classic action thrills with a genuinely enthralling and often deeply complex story, the movie is a triumphant hurrah for the good old blockbuster, featuring yet more exceptional stunts from Tom Cruise and what is surely the best stunt team in the world, as well as stunning action sequences from director Christopher McQuarrie that come together to make for two and a half hours of absolute non-stop exhilaration.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the action movie that all others should aspire to be, one that puts tension, intrigue and excitement before all else, all the while thrilling with its stunning ambition, pushing the boundaries of what can really be made for the big screen, and most importantly allowing for yet another hugely entertaining blockbuster from start to finish.
Read a full review here.
2. Go-Go Sisters
Of the hundreds of films that I’ve seen this year, none has delighted me quite like Go-Go Sisters, a purely wonderful film about friendship and the nostalgia of childhood all the way from Vietnam.
A beautiful look into the past, the story follows a group of women who reminisce about their days together at school during the 1980s, and with its bright colours, brilliant humour, delightful characters, fantastic soundtrack, and all-round lovely sense of nostalgia, Go-Go Sisters put a bigger smile on my face than any other film in all of 2018, and it’s truly the perfect film for anyone who longs for the memories of their childhood, as well as the strength of great friendship.
Starring a huge ensemble cast that features both younger and older portrayals of the same characters at different time periods, there’s such a brilliant energy and brightness to this film that I feel I haven’t seen in a very long time. It’s fun, it’s happy, it’s funny, and it’s wonderfully nostalgic, still sitting in my mind as one of the most perfect movies of the entire year.
Read a full review here.
1. Incredibles 2
It was my most anticipated film of the year back in January, and has in fact been on my watchlist ever since I walked out of the cinema as a 7 year-old when the original was released, so I am absolutely delighted to say that Incredibles 2 is my favourite film of 2018.
Without a doubt Pixar’s best sequel, Incredibles 2 is an exceptional piece of blockbuster filmmaking, not only proving what is possible with animation, but also exhilarating me like no other film with its breathless and action-packed story from start to finish, stunning with non-stop thrills and amazing action sequences, as well as featuring some of the funniest movie moments of the whole year with its consistently hilarious comedy throughout.
I’ll admit it’s not quite on the level of the legendary original, but as far as living up to such a brilliant predecessor goes, I was blown away by just how good Incredibles 2 was, satisfying all of my childhood dreams in two hours of exceptional blockbuster excitement, while also featuring some of the most ambitious and undoubtedly most exciting filmmaking all year, and that’s why it’s my pick for the very best movie of 2018.
