Top Movies of the Year 2018

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During the Great Blog Burnout of 2018, I stopped keeping track of the movies I watched sometime in April. That means, not only do I not have any numbers to share with you, but I also don’t have great recall on what I actually did watch after April. I know that there weren’t a lot of movies that truly spoke to me this year. I remember feeling disappointed a lot, even by some of the year’s most popular movies (“Black Panther,” “A Star Is Born”). At one point, I basically stopped watching movies at all. I’m still watching more TV shows than movies right now.

Anyway, I’ve had to build my top 5 movies list from my incomplete “movies watched” list & my shaky memory, so there were probably better movies I watched last year that I’ve forgotten. (Or maybe not; if I forgot it, could it really have been that good?)

5. “I, Tonya” (2017), directed by Craig Gillespie

This biopic of controversial figure skater Tonya Harding features a lot of excellent performances. A friend (who turned the film off after 10 minutes) felt it was too sympathetic toward her, but I thought it did a good job of showcasing both the hardships of her life and how she created her own hardships.

4. “Coco” (2017), directed by Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina

An aspiring young musician, trying to understand his family’s ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead in search of his great-great-grandfather, who was a musician himself. This movie is visually stunning and deeply touching. Plus, the music is awesome. I think it could make even a stone cry.

3. “A Star is Born” (1954), directed by George Cukor

A famous actor helps a struggling singer hit the big time. I didn’t hate the 2018 version (both Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga were fantastic), but I think this version is so much better. The directing is far superior, and I feel like it just makes more sense, especially the “big thing” that happens toward the end. In this version, you could see the film leading to it. In the 2018 version, it kind of came out of nowhere. All comparisons aside, I LOVED this film.

2. “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957), directed by Billy Wilder

A sickly but prominent barrister attempts to save a charismatic man from a murder charge. This is one of the mostly masterfully played out stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. The twist ending completely blindsided me. Everyone is magnificent in this, but no one more so than Marlene Dietrich. Watch this and you’ll understand why she was a star.

1. “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

Superheroes saving the world from a bad guy, what’s so great about that? That’s pretty much every superhero movie. I guess I was living under a rock because I had no idea this was a 2-parter and I’ve never read the comics, so I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. Beyond that, this movie has action, great performances, humor, drama, stunning visual effects (I love how they do Dr. Strange’s magic), and a good soundtrack. It’s the only movie that I saw that came out in 2018 of which I can say, “I really loved that film!”