It was a stacked year in films. So many great works of art for us movie nerds to enjoy. I can’t remember the last time I had this much trouble putting a list together. Without further ado, here are my Top 12 Films of the year. Why 12? One great film for each month of the calendar year.
Revenge... whoa. Powerhouse movie with a starmaker role for Matilda Lutz. This is the Lara Croft movie we deserve. She’s Rambo, Ripley & Croft rolled into one. Beautiful cinematography with a lead that’s infinitely easy on the eyes. The sound design is top notch. This film completely subverts the male gaze with a brutally satisfying ending. Loved it. Wowza.
A QUIET PLACE is a horror masterpiece & master class in building tension. Can’t remember the last time I was so stressed during a film. Ironically the sound went out in the last 5 minutes at our screening. Thought it was a bold move showing the final moments from the deaf girl’s POV. Turns out I was wrong. But it made for a Trippy viewing experience.
10) SPIDERMAN into the Spiderverse is the most ambitious deep dive comicbook film ever made. Stunning animation. Resonant, emotional story about how anyone can wear the mask and be the hero the world needs. It’s about a group of misfit outcasts that come together to save each other & the world (or in this case, multiple worlds). It’s so complicated that it shouldn’t work and yet it does... like gangbusters. Nicholas Cage is hilarious & a standout as Spiderman Noir. Aunt May is a badass & Miles Morales is a fantastic Spidey for the new generation. Dad-Bod Spidey played by Jake Johnson might be my favorite Web slinger of all time. Deserves the Oscar for best animated film of the year by leaps & bounds. Saw it in MX4D & it was a thrilling experience.
One of the most important films of the year. A groundbreaking experience that shows how much representation matters. Loved this film so much. Someone needs to arrest Michael B. Jordan for grand larceny because he straight- up stole the Black Panther! Badass James Bond meets the Lion King mixed in the Marvel hit blender. Great time at the movies. Loved the beautiful world of Wakanda.
Avengers Infinity War did something that no other Marvel movie ever did. It made me weep uncontrollably. These were not happy nerd tears. It was profound nerd sadness at the loss of a favorite character. A big popcorn film with heartbreaking stakes & shattering consequences. Go in knowing nothing & see on the biggest screen. Approaches masterpiece level. Brolin’s mocap work as Thanos is staggering. He’s majestic, regal, brutal, cold, logical. Best Marvel villain EVER. The VFX on Thanos are bleeding edge. Floored. Spiderman, IronMan & DrStrange dynamic was perfect. The ending is outstanding. Such a great big summer film.
Green Book is one of the very best films of the year. Viggo is fantastic as a gumba who learns to see the world in a whole new light. Mahershala is dignity personified. Watching their uneasy friendship blossom during a road trip thru the racist south was funny, poignant & delightful. We adored this film & didn’t want it to end.
Bohemian Rhapsody is wildly entertaining with an Academy Award Level performance by Rami Malek. It’s a wonderfully directed film with HUGE showstopping moments & a strong emotional core. Freddy Mercury is legend & this film does him justice. One of the best times you’ll have at the movies this year. See it in IMAX if possible. Wowza!
Aquaman is outstanding! Eye-popping world-building with never before seen images that will forever be burned in my mind. Mamoa owns the screen. He’s a muscular comic book drawing come to life. Kidman is the film’s beating heart & secret weapon. It’s like Tron underwater meets Raiders of the Lost Ark with a touch of Pacific Rim Kaiju action. Visually stunning & one of the best films of the year. It’s a billion dollar beast that deserves every damn penny it’s earning at the box office.
READY PLAYER ONE is astonishing. One of the rare times where you can say the film is significantly better than the book. This is classic Spielberg magic. Don’t want to get too spoilerish but it was nice seeing Kubrick on the big screen again. Instantly iconic scene. Wowza! I haven’t felt a magical cinematic experience like this since seeing AVATAR. ReadyPlayerOne is bursting at the seams with emotion & eye popping visuals. See it on the biggest screen possible
3) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT
Mission Impossible Fallout was freakin Incredible. Best pure action film of the past 5 years. Tom Cruise is a GOD. Cavill a force of nature. The nightclub scene & subsequent bathroom burly brawl was bone-crunchingly awesome. The Halo jump is legendary. I don’t know how Cruise tops this. I feel like we are going to see him die onscreen one day. But I hope not. Huge recommend. WOWZA.
Upgrade is my favorite Sci-fi film of the year & came damn close to being my number one choice. The best true portrayal of cyberpunk I’ve ever seen. Great direction. Great writing. Top notch, brutal action. Pitch black ending. Logan Marshall Green is a star. I need a sequel.
A Star is Born is flat-out stunning. An emotional wallop, in which Lady Gaga gives the performance of a lifetime. It’s almost not fair how talented Bradley Cooper is. As a First time director, he sings, plays guitar and speaks French (unrelated but cool). No movie made me feel as much as ASIB. I love how Lady Gaga has Bradley’s back throughout the film, no matter how much of an asshole he becomes. She stands firmly beside him. Reminded me so much of my Wife. Competition is closed. It will win everything at the Oscars. Went with my Girls and we adored every damn minute.
SEARCHING: A fantastic thriller filled with twists & turns. Best use of screenlife filmmaking I’ve ever seen.
GAME NIGHT: Best comedy of the year. Tightly written & directed with a slickness that elevates it into the upper echelon of the genre.
HEREDITARY: A film that blends satanism, mental health issues & a ghost story to terrifying effect. Toni Collette gives an astonishing performance.
FIRST MAN: Damian Chazelle puts us on the moon from a harrowing first person perspective. Gosling is fantastic in a quiet role about a man who pushes himself to great lengths and to the moon in order to conquer his grief.
MANDY: Heavy Metal meets Mad Max in Hell. Nicholas Cage gives another otherworldly Performance for the ages.
A SIMPLE FAVOR: Blake Lively is the Joker & Anna Kendrick is Batman in this Gone Girl for Millenials. Brilliant film with twists you’ll never see coming.
THE HATE YOU GIVE: This film joins the pantheon of classic movies about the African American Experience like BOYS IN THE HOOD, MENACE 2 SOCIETY & Straight outta Compton. Powerful, harrowing, timely. One of the very best films of the year. Amandla Stenberg is a bonafide Star.
ROMA: Beautifully shot slice of life film that made me feel like I was walking through Mexico in 1971.
VICE: Christian Bale gives a positively satanic performance in VICE by playing a man who is literally heartless. Loved the fakout moment in the middle. Felt like I was watching the birth of evil. Dick & his mercenary wife, played deliciously by Amy Adams, did so much damage to this country. This is horror film disguised as a genial comedy.
Be good to one another. Be kind. Be driven.
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