The Blu-ray Community Top 25 Films of 2018 (Please Read 1st Post)

[thewerepuppygrr]

the Deadline for your votes is set for:
Thursday (Feb 28th) at noon eastern time (9 am pacific).

Happy New Year, Blu-Ray.com! Let's give 2018 a good send off by rounding up the best films this past year had to offer. You've got two whole months to catch up on anything you've missed.

Guidelines

Like previous years, simply list your top 20 - 25 films in order descending from your favorite, the higher up the film is the more points it'll get, like this:

1. 25 Points
2. 19 Points
3. 18 Points
4. 17 Points
5. 16 Points
................
16. 5 Points
17. 4 Points
18. 3 Points
19. 2 Points
20. 1 Point
................
21. 1 Point
22. 1 Point
23. 1 Point
24. 1 Point
25. 1 Point

Your top film gets 25 points, because it's your favorite so it deserves a little bit extra. This year continues the addition of 21 - 25 as we believe everyone should have a chance to add some runners up, they all get 1 point each, which will hopefully avoid us getting many tie breakers and might allow us to add some little known films that wouldn't of initially gotten many peoples attention last year. If you can't think of extra 5 films worth mentioning, then don't worry, the minimum amount of submission is 20 films, the extra 5 are for people who might want them.

And please, list your films in the order given, no randomly ordered submission will be counted.

The Rules

1) Like mentioned above, Minimum amount of films listed is 20 and Maximum is 25. If you can't list 20 movies you've seen this year, all the films on your list will only receive 1 point each towards the total so be sure to reach that 20 milestone.

2) What counts as a 2018 release? - A film must have been released either limited, wide, on demand, or straight-to-dvd (which ever comes first) in the United States in 2018. This does not include film festivals or released internationally. It may be hard to determine if some films were released in 2018 or not, so that's what the strict rules on this are for. We stick to the US as our guide for no other reason than it is easier that way.

Use the release dates on IMDb if you are unsure if it's eligible. As an example from a previous countdown, Snowpiercer was released in some countries and festivals in 2013, but did not get a limited release in the U.S. until June 27th, 2014. So that film will count as eligible for 2014. Likewise, a movie that doesn't get a wide release until January, but it had a limited release sometime in 2018, would also count.

Classic films that were re-released ARE NOT ELIGIBLE! Please do not include them on your list, you'll be asked to change it and if you haven't changed before the deadline, the films on your list will get 1 point each.

And if you're unsure if a film is eligible, just ask and we will help figure it out for you!

3) Please only make one list - Make only one list on this thread. However, you are free to update and change your original post as often as you'd like until the deadline. It will make tallying very hard if there are multiple lists from one person. Just find your original post and click 'Edit' to make your changes. If you do re-post your list twice or more, I'll message you to remove them.

4) Add a short review of your film choices - In an attempt to personalize the list as a whole, I want members to post a short bit of prose about their choice. This can range from a short sentence consisting of a couple of words to a couple of lines long paragraph, or you can link to a previous review you wrote when the film was released.

This is not compulsory, and you can write these short pieces on however many of your choices you want, even if it's only for your first pick., however the more input the better, the short words of wisdom will be included on the final tallied up list in a well presented manner, and you're list will be linked with you're description so others who see your words will hopefully want to look at your other choices as well.

5) Finally, just to remind you, the Deadline is set for:
Thursday (Feb 28th) at noon eastern time (9 am pacific).
Please make sure you get your list in and make any final edits before this deadline, as any changes after that will not count.

Previous Years:

[Lepidopterous]

25.



Isle of Dogs

Creative animation, an engaging story, a great rhythmic score playing almost continuously, amusing (and well-acted) characters... Isle of Dogs is a real treat for the viewer, Anderson fan or not.

___________________________

24.



Assassination Nation

A pulpy, ambitious, yet all-too-accurate catharsis of everything wrong with our hive-minded society—and the frightening realization that the internet is but a vessel for history to repeat itself.

___________________________

23.



Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

This film is a total mind-trip from the people who made the inventive anime series The Tatami Galaxy. It plays out like the vibrant and dream-like quality of Paprika from the late Satoshi Kon, and the animation is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a niche little anime that is simultaneously inspired, hilarious, and bizarre.

___________________________

22.



First Man

Claire Foy. Justin Hurwitz. Chazelle's direction. Being scrubbed of the social and political tensions of the time only makes this film that much more of a pure and sincere depiction of what the moon landing really was: A scientific benchmark (First) and a man behind that small step (Man). A focus is maintained not on the American flag and its symbolism of one nation conquering the moon, but on a single man's humility and his journey toward making one giant leap for all mankind. This is the mark that elevates First Man from a mere status symbol of patriotism to a remarkable, human, and globally accessible film.

___________________________

21.



Transit

A mix of Antonioni, Buñuel, and Resnais, Transit complements and thematically aligns with Petzold’s last effort, Phoenix, as an exploration of identity enriched with a human depth that is best absorbed from multiple viewings; which is what I love most about this director—his films grow on you with time.

___________________________

20.



Madeline’s Madeline

Who knew Eighth Grade had some competition for best coming-of-age of the year? This gem of a film’s magic, ambition, and loose hold on reality bring you back to Beasts of the Southern Wild, and it has a lot to say. It’s one of those movies that has a wavelength you are either on and you love it, or you’re not and it’s not for you.

___________________________

19.



If Beale Street Could Talk

Beale Street effectively tells and interweaves two parallel stories—one of social commentary and one of love. And damn can Barry Jenkins bring out and capture human essence and intimacy. The romantic scenes move as if you’re watching choreographed ballet theater. It’s quite a beautiful thing.

___________________________

18.



The Rider

Like The Wrestler, but a true story documentary-drama starring the actual Rider and his family. The style, setting, and editing all come together like visual poetry. Sophomore director Chloé Zhao has made a beautiful film. Don’t miss it.

___________________________

17.



Mirai

Such an adorable, true-to-life, and beautifully animated movie about a little boy coming to terms with the birth of his sister. Mirai explores identity, family structure, and feelings of abandonment from a child’s eye in It’s a Wonderful Life prose. Hosoda at his best.

___________________________

16.



Blindspotting

A film by Oakland about Oakland, that feels even closer to the city’s culture and people than Fruitvale Station. It’s one of the year’s best and more transcendent social justice films, with exceptional performances and chemistry from the two leads.

___________________________

15.



Eighth Grade

Among the many great things that makes Eighth Grade stand out is how effortlessly it delivers this period of our lives back to us in such a universal and immediately relevant way.

___________________________

14.



The Guilty

Hitchcock meets Searching meets The Lives of Others. First-time director Gustav Möller pairs his smart script with a fine performance, confident direction, tight editing, and a thought-provoking theme and character arc. The Guilty is the rare well-executed thriller that will stand the test of time.

___________________________

13.



Free Solo

"Nobody achieves anything great by being happy and cozy."

This Alex Honnold documentary from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin is a gripping meditation on mortality, personal passion, and mental discipline. I lost 5 liters of sweat just watching it. Not a dry palm in the theater.

___________________________

12.



Suspiria

A brilliant reimagining from Luca Guadagnino. So dense in composition, cinematography, choreography, lighting, color palette, even down to the sociopolitical setting, which grounds and enriches the atmosphere. The parallels between Susie, 1977 Berlin, and the central story are well done. Thom Yorke's score fits right in with the abstract dance and creepy aesthetic of the film. The first dance routine is exceptional cinema. And Lutz Ebersdorf—just wow! Did not see that coming.

___________________________

11.



The House That Jack Built

Another top-Trier addition to the director’s infamous body of work. As with the other films, the challenges pay off if you can stomach them. Matt Dillon also kills it in this role. From his mannerisms to the look in his eyes, it's just so damn believable that he's a psychopath. This is one of the movies I see climbing up my list over the years.

___________________________

10.



Happy As Lazzaro

A magical tale of Italian neorealism shot on beautiful 16mm film with crisp audio that brings to life its intimate settings. It’s an observational, challenging, and rewarding reflection on the human condition, rich with biblical allegory, like a less scathing Viridiana.

___________________________

9.



Hereditary

Hereditary's titled theme on fate was inspired by a three-year period in the director's own life when his family experienced bad luck. The film is both haunting in its build-up and truly horrific as it becomes unchained, from the nuanced terror on the faces of each actor to Toni Collette's outstanding dramatic performance. The score alone sounds like it is made of insects, blackboards, and screams. The cinematography adds its own layer of suspense, with tracking that brings us into the house and lighting that forces us to make sense out of its moving figures. It's well written, well directed, and genuinely frightening. An outstanding directorial debut and the best horror in recent memory.

___________________________

8.



Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

The perspective we all need, and one we’ve all had once. More of us need to take another stroll around Mr. Roger’s neighborhood.

___________________________

7.



Capernaum

At the end, I would ask these kids, "Are you happy to be alive? Are you happy to be here?" And most of the time, unfortunately, the answer was no. "I don't belong here. I don't belong in your world. I didn't ask to be here. Why am I punished?" - Writer/Director Nadine Labaki on her inspiration for Capernaum

Inspired by stories from real Lebanese children and refugee women, Capernaum takes a gut-wrenching, unapologetic look into impoverished hardship through the eyes of one boy within a culture less familiar to most of the world, offering a thought-provoking message on parenting. Zain Al Rafeea is extraordinary.

___________________________

6.



Shoplifters

Shoplifters truly feels like the natural culmination of Koreeda's finest work (and a live-action Tokyo Godfathers). An almost tangible magic is created between this family of characters. And after this, Burning, and The Favourite, 2018 is officially the year for exceptional endings as far as I’m concerned.

RIP Kirin Kiki ❤️

___________________________

5.



You Were Never Really Here

Brilliant film and one of the biggest surprises of the year. I love how the violence takes a backseat as John Wick Oldboy's his way through child abusers. The focus instead remains on the duality of regression & maturity—a man who is still a boy and a girl forced to be an adult.

___________________________

4.



The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos’ past cynical exercises have each been a bit too bleak for the general audience. The Favourite, however, takes on the same grim outlook but with less violence, more stunning visual and sound composition, and a polite, gentle exchange of madness exquisitely dressed in royal clothing. It’s a dark comedy full of wit, absurdity, fish eye lens, and the best ending since Burning.

___________________________

3.



Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Amazing animation, razor-sharp wit, culturally relevant, impeccably self-aware... Into the Spider-Verse is a genre-resurrecting dimensional paradox: it's from the future yet makes you feel like a 10-year-old kid again.

RIP Stan Lee ❤️

___________________________

2.



Burning
(Perfect Score)

Steven Yeun gives the best performance of the year and the three leads build a tension that keeps layering the pressure on. Memorable characters, excellent cinematography, and a slow burn neo-noir pace all come together for a masterful South Korean thriller. Adapted from Murakami’s/Faulkner’s short story, Burning will leave you thinking long after the credits roll.

___________________________

1.



Roma
(Perfect Score)

Ignore the hype. Ignore the awards. Hell, ignore this review. Just sit back and experience this film for yourself.

Simply put, Roma is among the richest examples of what cinema can offer.

Over the brief 134-minute runtime, we grow into a family in a patient and natural way as we live and breathe their day-to-day lives in 1970s Mexico City. The film is essentially a sequence of episodes, big or small in its impact on a family, affecting characters in different ways, and told primarily through the perspective of the housemaid, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio). We experience hardships, love, anger, tragedy, bliss, and even the smallest of human emotions, such as childhood naïveté. And like children, we once again embrace the details of life, from collecting hail from the ground by hand as it falls from the sky to sharing a hug as last night's rain can be heard still trickling down the gutters.

Written, directed, produced, filmed, and edited by Alfonso Cuarón, this is as much a personal work as it is a testament to an artist's vision and talent. It is a historically-grounded film that comes alive with Tati-esque significance reaching every corner of the frame, with camerawork so intentional that it fills our hearts with a mother's pain, an Ozu-like story that ranges from lighthearted to cathartic, and a brilliant pattern of recurring, cyclic, familiarizing setting elements that recognizes, appreciates, and brings into light the reality of everyday life.

Perhaps one of Roma’s strongest thematic undercurrents is the perseverance of women within the societal stronghold of men. With its unapologetic display of evil deeds at the expense of women going criminally unnoticed every day, Roma is, in a way, a love letter to say that Cuarón did not forget the multifaceted strength of the women in his life.

The film's end felt like awaking from a dream. As the lights turned on, I looked around the theater, as if we have all just transported back to our own lives. Cuarón has accomplished something extraordinary here. While much of Roma comes from the memories of childhood, it is also a film that will bring each one of us back to what movies are about. And that is the greatest mark of an exceptional film.

___________________________


Honorable Mentions (26-50)

Lists from past years:
2017
2016
2015

[blu blood]

1.Blackkklansman
2.Roma
3.Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
4.A Quiet Place
5.Sorry to Bother You
6.The Favourite
7.American Animals
8.Eighth Grade
9.Game Night
10.Can You Ever Forgive Me
11.The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
12.A Star is Born
13.Green Book
14.The Wife
15.Searching
16.First Man
17.Mission Impossible: Fall Out
18.Vice
19.Bad Times at the El Royale
20.Free Solo
21.Black Panther
22.Leave No Trace
23.The Death of Stalin
24.Of Fathers and Sons
25.Avengers Infinity War

[jacobsever]

YAY! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.



1. Blindspotting
2. Mid90s
3. Lean on Pete
4. Burning
5. If Beale Street Could Talk
6. Cold War
7. Let the Corpses Tan
8. Tyrel
9. Eighth Grade
10. The Favourite
11. Ben is Back
12. Wildlife
13. Skate Kitchen
14. Roma
15. The Endless
16. Game Night
17. The Rider
18. Bad Times at the El Royale
19. Boy Erased
20. Apostle
21. The House that Jack Built
22. A Prayer Before Dawn
23. First Reformed
24. Revenge
25. Leave No Trace

Will update with photos and formatting when I have more time.

[jacobsever]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

YAY! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.



1. Blindspotting
2. Mid90s
3. Lean on Pete
4. Burning
5. If Beale Street Could Talk

[Show spoiler]6. Cold War
7. Let the Corpses Tan
8. Tyrel
9. Eighth Grade
10. The Favourite
11. Ben is Back
12. Wildlife
13. Skate Kitchen
14. Roma
15. The Endless
16. Game Night
17. The Rider
18. Bad Times at the El Royale
19. Boy Erased
20. Apostle
21. The House that Jack Built
22. A Prayer Before Dawn
23. First Reformed
24. Revenge
25. Leave No Trace

Will update with photos and formatting when I have more time.

Finally posted mine.

[JWFORD]

1. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)



T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.


2. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)



A minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.


3. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)



Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.


4. Burning (Chang-dong Lee)



Jong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood as him, who asks him to look after her cat while on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.


5. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)



A family of small-time crooks take in a child they find outside in the cold.


6. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller)



When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.


7. Widows (Steve McQueen)



Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.


8. Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley)



In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.


9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti et al.)



Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.


10. Minding the Gap (Bing Liu)



Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust-Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.


11. Private Life (Tamara Jenkins)



An author is undergoing multiple fertility therapies to get pregnant, putting her relationship with her husband on edge.


12. Mandy (Panos Cosmatos)



The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.


13. The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.)



Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.


14. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)



A teenager gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.


15. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (Desiree Akhavan)



In 1993, a teenage girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.


16. Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton)



Australian western set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s, where justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self-defense and goes on the run as a posse gathers to hunt him down.


17. Wildlife (Paul Dano)



A teenage boy must deal with his mother's complicated response after his father temporarily abandons them to take a menial and dangerous job.


18. I Am Not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni)



Following a banal incident in her local village, 8-year old girl Shula is accused of witchcraft. After a short trial she is found guilty, taken into state custody and exiled to a witch camp.


19. We the Animals (Jeremiah Zagar)



Manny, Joel, and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah embraces an imagined world all on his own.


20. The Guilty (Gustav Möller)



A police officer assigned alarm dispatch duty enters a race against time when he answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman.


21. Custody (Xavier Legrand)



A broken marriage leads to a bitter custody battle with an embattled son at the centre.


22. Revenge (Coralie Fargeat)



Never take your mistress on an annual guys' getaway, especially one devoted to hunting - a violent lesson for three wealthy married men.


23. The Wife (Björn Runge)



A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.


24. A Prayer Before Dawn (Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire)



The true story of an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand's most notorious prisons as he fights in Muay Thai tournaments to earn his freedom.


25. The Kindergarten Teacher (Sara Colangelo)



A kindergarten teacher in New York becomes obsessed with one of her students whom she believes is a child prodigy.


Runners-Up

On the Seventh Day, The Sisters Brothers, Angels Wear White, Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, Border, Good Manners, Saturday Church

[DanTheMan]

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
A Star is Born
Incredibles 2
Blindspotting
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
If Beale Street Could Talk
Suspiria
A Quiet Place
Bohemian Rhapsody
Green Book
Avengers: Infinity War
The Favourite
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Ready Player One
Mid90s
The Rider
Creed II
Roma
Destroyer
You Were Never Really Here
Annihilation
Isle of Dogs
Burning
First Man
Revenge

[dunnbluray]

2018 - Top 25 (WIP)

1.) Upgrade
2.) Avengers: Infinity War
3.) Ready Player One
4.) Sicario: Day Of The Soldado
5.) Halloween (2018)
6.) The Night Comes For Us
7.) The Equalizer 2
8.) Mile 22
9.) Papillon (2018)
10.) Mandy
11.) Game Night
12.) Maze Runner: The Death Cure
13.) Pacific Rim: Uprising
14.) The Predator (2018)
15.) Den Of Thieves
16.) Let The Corpses Tan
17.) Incredibles 2
18.) Mission: Impossible - Fallout
19.) Ant-Man And The Wasp
20.) The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
21.) Death Wish (2018)
22.) The Commuter
23.) A Quiet Place
24.) Bohemian Rhapsody
25.) Venom

[AKORIS]

I know there are several films that would alter this list if I had seen them in time but oh well.. this is all I got!

01]Hereditary
02]Mission Impossible: Fallout
03]Avengers: Infinity War
04]Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
05]Annihilation
06]Ghost Stories
07]Halloween (2018)
08]A Quiet Place
09]Bird Box
10] The Meg
11] The Nun

[sandman slim]

Originally Posted by dunnbluray

1.) Upgrade

One of us, one of us...



Last two years in a row my top pick has finished in 12th place (Nocturnal Animals, The Last Jedi). Better not happen this year...

[DanTheMan]

Finished with my list.

Originally Posted by DanTheMan

[Show spoiler]1.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

2.
A Star is Born

3.
Incredibles 2

4.
Blindspotting

5.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

6.
If Beale Street Could Talk

7.
Suspiria

8.
A Quiet Place

9.
Bohemian Rhapsody

10.
Green Book

11.
Avengers: Infinity War

12.
The Favourite

13.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout

14.
Ready Player One

15.
Mid90s

16.
The Rider

17.
Creed II

18.
Roma

19.
Destroyer

20.
You Were Never Really Here

21.
Annihilation

22.
Isle of Dogs

23.
Burning

24.
First Man

25.
Revenge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlmxh2Ad1Q

[Himmel]

1.Hold the Dark
2.Searching
3.Aquaman
4.A Quiet Place
5.First Man
6.Upgrade
7.Blackkklansman
8.Suspiria
9.Blindspotting
10.Widows
11.In Darkness
12.Puzzle
13.Samson
14.The Guilty
15.The Cure
16.Peppermint
17.The Front Runner
18.Vice
19.A Simple Favor
20.Indivisible
21.Juliet, Naked
22.Slender Man
23.Fifty Shades Freed
24.The 15:17 to Paris
25.Second Act

[The Debts]

Decided to start sprucing it up with some images, Descriptions to come after I see Suspiria.

[Leonidas King]

Don't think I've done a list here before but here goes (sorry for not being fancier):

1. Roma
2. Eighth Grade
3. Hereditary
4. Isle of Dogs
5. A Quiet Place
6. Blindspotting
7. Avengers: Infinity War
8. A Star is Born
9. The Hate U Give
10. First Man
11. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
12. Annihilation
13. First Reformed
14. Bad Times at the El Royale
15. Game Night
16. Love, Simon
18. Ready Player One
19. Lean on Pete
20. Ralph Breaks the Internet
21. Widows
22. Wildlife
23. The Night Comes For Us
24. Searching
25. BlacKkKlansman

[Hoke Moseley]

1. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
2. BlacKkKlansman
3. Bad Times at the El Royale
4. Halloween
5. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling
6. Annihilation
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
8. First Reformed
9. Chappaquiddick
10. The Mule
11. Upgrade
12. Ready Player One
13. Game Night
14. American Animals
15. Avengers: Infinity War
16. A Star is Born
17. Den of Thieves
18. The Favourite
19. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
20. Minding the Gap
21. Ocean's 8
22. Searching
23. The Old Man & the Gun
24. Unsane
25. Deadpool 2

[Jasonic]

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1. Roma
2. First Man
3. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
4. Mirai
5. The Favourite
6. Ready Player One
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
8. Incredibles 2
9. Upgrade
10. Avengers: Infinity War
11. Annihilation
12. Burning
13. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
14. Hereditary
15. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
16. Mary, Queen of Scots
17. Black Panther
18. Love Simon
19. Widows
20. Maze Runner: The Death Cure
21. American Animals
22. Mary Poppins Returns
23. Leave No Trace
24. The Old Man and the Gun
25. A Simple Favor

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Jasonic

[Show spoiler]

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I think this is my final list. Updated with title graphics. The only major one (that I think has the possibility of making my list) that I missed is If Beale Street Could Talk. Won't be able to see it until it hits digital. Otherwise, I'm satisfied.

[The Debts]

Originally Posted by Jasonic

I think this is my final list. Updated with title graphics. The only major one (that I think has the possibility of making my list) that I missed is If Beale Street Could Talk. Won't be able to see it until it hits digital. Otherwise, I'm satisfied.

Tomorrow Never Dies - Carver says "Delicious" - YouTube

[noapologies]

Kind of a meh year in film for me. Disappointed in the lack of quality drama. Great year for superhero flicks though.

25. Hereditary
24. Bird Box
23. A Star Is Born
22. First Man
21. Vice
20. Searching
19. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
18. Ant-Man and the Wasp
17. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
16. Beautiful Boy
15. A Simple Favor
14. BlacKkKlansman
13. Bohemian Rhapsody
12. Solo: A Star Wars Story
11. Three Identical Strangers
10. Black Panther
9. Deadpool 2
8. The Wife
7. Eighth Grade
6. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Roma
4. The Favourite
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
2. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
1. A Quiet Place

[Mothravka]

While I'm not fond of the unfair and strange rules, I'm posting a top 15 list and the thread creator can choose to do whatever they want with it. While the final list will probably be predictable, I think it's important to at least shed some light on some of the best films I've seen from 2018 that have hardly or maybe never even been mentioned on this site (a couple of them included on my list) or will maybe never even be eligible according to the current rules of this yearly poll. Either way, here it is:

1. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (dir. Bi Gan)

It’s hard to not mention the insane and almost one hour long take (in 3D) when talking about Bi Gan’s second feature length film, a pure continuation of his style. This is a mystery noir that plays with form and rests heavily on atmosphere and mood, culminating into a hypnotizing dreamlike state and challenging cinematic conventions.




2. Dead Souls (dir. Wang Bing)

A powerful behemoth of a testament that documents the survivors of the hard-labor camp in the Gobi Desert in Gansu, China. Clocking in at over 8 hours, it's really uncompromising and exhaustive in ways that perfectly benefit the experience with the equally moving, rewarding and important content.




3. The Abscence of Apricots (dir. Daniel Asadi Faezi)

Working inside the documentary field, Daniel Asadi Faezi's work from last year extends it scope to myth and fantasy and weaving it together with daily life and current conditions in a flooded and destroyed village area of Northern Pakistan.




4. A Árvore (dir. André Gil Mata)

Patiently going forth in what almost feels like real time, metaphysical poetry unfolds in the midst of the cold winter landscapes with the Bosnian war always present in the background.




5. Djamilia (dir. Aminatou Echard)

What connection will women in today’s Kyrgyzstan have to the title character of Chinghiz Aitmatov’s novel from 1958? A portrait that gives us a look, making the intimacy even more significant by the warm Super 8 footage.




6. An Elephant Sitting Still (dir. Bo Hu)

Modern day existentialism about the quest of escaping the hopelessness of mankind. The director’s suicide after the film was finished makes everything even more real and striking.




7. Água Forte (dir. Mónica Baptista)

A visual curiosity that starts with a mythological text on the origin of the world to reflect on the primary elements and their coexistence with indigenous people, only to explode into something else and unexpected, closing the circle of cinema itself. More manually developed 16mm film to the people!




8. Trees Down Here (dir. Ben Rivers)

Images of architecture, animals and nature form an unusual relationship and a juxtaposition of the contructed world and the natural one. All hail brutalism!




9. Optimism (dir. Deborah Stratman)

A collage of people full of life and curiosity, pictures full of grain and a place lacking sunshine. The hunt for gold still continues in Dawson City.




10. Altiplano (dir. Malena Szlam)

Superimposed landscapes in league with light and change, rewarding the viewer with both mental and visual textures.




11. Grass (dir. Hong Sang-soo)

Characters, meetings and conversations unveil in an observational little spin on Hong Sang-soo's traditional style, which is always familiar, but always bringing something new to keep up the interested.




12. Shoplifters (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)

Koreeda is back in form and does what he does best, a mosaic of characters in contemporary Japanese society, this being specifically an understated family study rich in warmth, showcasing the details of human and social behaviour. Even if it wasn’t her last film, it ties a somewhat bittersweet farewell to Kirin Kiki.




13. Vever (dir. Deborah Stratman)

Rare and reflective in how it goes beyond time and brings together three generations of female filmmakers.




14. Your Face (dir. Tsai Ming-liang)

Probably Tsai Ming-liang's most humane film so far. A challenge in how we look at faces, as well as an exercise in the art of listening and the calmness of silence.




15. Ada Kaleh (dir. Helena Wittmann)

Time and space make up the desires of young anonymous adults in a domestic formalist work. Soothing and relaxing.