Top 10 Best Movies of 2018

I was able to watch around forty films back in 2017. For 2018, I manged to bump that number up to seventy. Not too shabby. Like the year before, there were a bunch of movies I missed out, so my  sincerest apologies to Creed II, The Favourite, Free Solo, Leave No Trace, 22 July, Shoplifters, Lean on Pete etc.

2018 marked an excellent year for black cinema with Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse, If Beale Street Could Talk, Sorry to Bother You, and The Hate U Give. Stumbling franchises like Transformers and DC Comics finally put out good movies with Bumblebee and Aquaman. Sony Animation known for making Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs and The Emoji Movie started to earn prestigious respect thanks to Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Long awaited sequels came in plenty with Mary Poppins Returns,  Incredibles 2, Halloween, and Avengers: Infinity War. Books like Ready Player One, The House With a Clock in its Wall, Mortal Engines, and The Hate U Give received the big-screen treatment. As for films no one seemed excited for, Star Wars faced its first flop with Solo: A Star Wars Story while Venom despite a negative reception made enough money to warrant a sequel. Netflix left its mark in cinema history with Roma, went interactive with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, and had everyone talking with Bird Box. Even religion found its way at the movies with characters trying to find purpose and meaning with First Reformed and The Rider. 

Actors Bradley Cooper, John Krasinki and Jonah Hill got a chance to flex their directing abilities with A Star Is Born, A Quiet Place and Mid-90's. Lady Gaga displayed her acting talent in A Star is Born, Rami Maleck went all out in Bohemian Rhapsody, and Tom Cruise brought out the best physical performance with his signature stunt work in Mission Impossible-Fallout.

On the other end of the spectrum, at least to what I haven't said in my worst list,  Jurassic World and Fantastic Beasts began with with promise but their second installments left us more concerned than eager.

In addition to seeing more movies than last year, there were more than ten great movies I saw, that made it hard to decide which ones I liked best. After hours and hours of rearranging my list, I finally narrowed it down.

But before we get started, a few.........

Honorable Mentions: 

• Ant-Man & the Wasp A nice break from Infinity War and the Marvel mass mayhem. The most fun I had with a superhero movie and not the only one to feature an insect-themed hero.
• Bad Times At the El Royale An ode to classic crime cinema that has you guessing on who, where, and what is unfolding. 
• Black Panther Took them long enough to have a black superhero take the center stage. Best solo outing for an MCU  movie since Doctor Strange with the best Marvel villain alongside Loki and Thanos. 
• First Reformed Paul Schrader's dark exploration on doubt and religion  Not for the faint of heart with its slow and somber tone but makes for an enthralling watch.
• Searching An absorbing drama strengthened on its unique presentation and John Cho's dedicated performance.
• Sorry to Bother You Boots Riley's surreal but brilliant satire. Picture it if Jordan Peele took over for Terry Gilliam with one unexpected turn after another. 
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse The best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2. Miles Morales finally gets his due proving that anyone can wear the mask and be a hero.
• Tully Charlize Theron faces her greatest challenge with motherhood in Jason Reitman's touching if bittersweet comedy on the hopes and pains of being a parent.

Now lets jump right into the countdown starting with.....

10). Christopher Robin 

"I wanted to balance a film that speaks to her [my daughter] and that kids can enjoy, but that I can enjoy and that my mother can enjoy. It's like this four-quadrant, classic Disney family movie. I felt that classic Disney family movies should speak to all of us. The humor doesn't have to be lowbrow. It can be absurd and funny, and those animals are so adorable and cute and sweet. And with certain Disney movies I grew up with, I felt there was a timelessness to them. I can watch them 20 years ago, or 20 years from now. 

-Marc Forster

There are more bad live-action adaptions based on cartoons than good, if any. I'm not talking about Disney's live-action retellings as those are based on feature length films. I'm talking about half-hour cartoons that you watch on television. Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Avatar: The Last Airbender; you get the picture. Christopher Robin does the impossible on translating an animated character into live-action and retain its timeless charm and wonderful appeal. A childhood favorite where I can finally say: a live-action iteration that respects its source martial and keeps intact on what made its animated counter-part great. Hearing Jim Cummings, who has been voicing Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger for over three decades in this this adaptation is a dream I never thought would come true.

9). Paddington 2   

"Paddington is such a good natured soul and he looks for the good in people, he doesn’t judge books by covers or sees people as being rich or poor, or the colour of their skin, he greets us all as humans with immense kindness and politeness, assuming we all have good manners and decency deep down.That’s a pretty universal, timeless need that does feel very strong right now, but I don’t think there’s been a time in human history when we couldn’t have used quite a lot more Paddington-ness. "

-Paul King 

And you thought Christopher Robin was the only movie to star a talking bear. One loves honey, while the other loves marmalade, Paddington 2 does what every good sequel should do, that its been called The Godfather II of sequels. Expanding on the story and presenting a new challenge for the main character without rehashing any of its past plot threads. Unlike Pooh, Paddington is a bear with a brain but are both lovable characters who want to bring the best out of everyone. Even in the worst of times, Paddington still makes the most of it with his optimistic spirit that can softens even the hardest of hearts. It's a kid's movie that doesn't follow the trend of trying to be hip or resort to cheap jokes. Ben Wishaw continues to do a fantastic job voicing the titular character along with the rest of the returning cast. Hugh Grant makes for a scene-stealing villain by being a parody of himself and having fun with it.

8). BlacKkKlansman 

"I was grateful for the opportunity because I had never heard of [Ron] Stallworth. I didn’t know his story. People say, “That is too unbelievable to be true.” And that’s what makes it such a great story... This is someone’s life. This is a feature film, so we were telling Ron’s life. The hip thing I did, we found things in the past that will ring true today, and hopefully people will make the connection and see that this film is very much not a period piece, but is a contemporary piece about the crazy bananas world we live in today."

-Spike Lee 

It's not easy to incorporate comedy in a movie that has heavy subject matter like racism. Leave it to Spike Lee on finding a way. Based on the memoirs of Ron Stallworth, John David Washington takes after his father Denzel, as a cop who infiltrates the Klu Klux Klan, with the help of Adam Driver who plays a Jewish cop. BlacKkKlansman is shocking, funny, provocative, and relevant in its presentation of race, prejudice, and antisemitism as we bear witness the repugnance and abhorrence of racism, that sadly still continues today. To see such see such story that actually happened adds to the hope that something can be done. All in the eyes of a cop who is aware of the corruption that occurs in his job and how they are negatively perceived. 

7). The Hate U Give 

"Do the Right Thing — this pivotal film about race — was made back in '89. After that that, you had Boyz N the Hood, which deals with issues in the neighborhood and gangs and really opens our eyes to that culture. But then it goes away — it's a 20 year gap. Now it's changing because there are more woman and African America  men directing. These are individuals who have new ideas and new stories. And with all these different artists, you cannot contain them to tell the same generic stories.  They have things to say. And hopefully by backing that up with success and economics, its opening the doors."  

-George Tillman Jr.

The shooting of Oscar Grant served as the inspiration to Fruitvale Station. A modern masterpiece like no other that told his story and never to be forgotten. It served as one of the many inspirations to The Hate U Give as we follow sixteen-year old Starr Carter from before and after she witnesses her childhood friend shot by a police officer. Despite certain changes and omissions from the book, George Tillman Jr. does a magnificent job on translating Angie Thomas' novel for the big screen, thanks to a phenomenal cast including Amandla Stenberg as Starr Carter and Russel Hornsby as her father. In recent years, when it comes to adapting Young Adult novels, the genre is mostly regulated to romance and dystopia sci-fi. The Hate U Give may change all that.

6). Mission Impossible-Fallout 

"The reason Tom does these stunts himself is that it lets us put the cameras in ways that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to.Think about the skydiving sequence. If a stuntman was jumping out of a plane, the camera wouldn’t be able to be on his face. The shots that we have wouldn’t exist. With Tom, I get to put the camera right on him and the audience is suddenly having that experience with the character. That is the power of Mission Impossible."

-Christopher McQuarrie

In terms of entertainment, Mission Impossible-Fallout is the most fun I had at the movies. You think after six installments this franchise would run out of steam with its aging action star but nope. They may have the word impossible in the title but the meaning does not compute with Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie who continue to up the adrenaline. Already in his late fifties, Cruise is probably the most hard working actor working today, Doing his own stunts and risking life and limb from doing a HALO sky dive, hanging for dear life on both a helicopter and a cliff, and breaking a leg when jumping off building. Say what you want about Cruise, you have to admire his commitment.

5). Isle of Dogs  

"I’m drawn to stop-motion because I enjoy miniatures. I enjoy designing shots, sets, puppets, and all the things that you create, that people make by hand for a stop-motion movie. But the thing that is the most interesting to me about stop-motion is what each individual, the very best animators, can do with their hands. They can take this puppet made of metal, foam, and fabric, and make the thing seem to be alive. They can make it seem to breathe, have emotions, and they can even make it seem to think."

-Wes Anderson

I haven't seen many Wes Anderson movies, but of the few I have, his animated projects are the best ones. His use of stop-motion adds more expression and freedom to his quirky set of characters and deadpan humor than it would in an live-action movie. An original, witty and simple tale that has so much going on but never deters from the heart of the story of boy trying to find his dog amidst the political climate. Not only is it the best animated movie of the year, it also has the best cast ensemble including Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand and Yoko Ono. Wes Anderson and Tim Burton should have coffee together and discuss on making more animated projects in the future. 

4). Blindspotting 

"Now with the political climate, being Mexican-American gives me a certain responsibility, I’m happy to be able to work on two projects where both the cast and crews are predominantly people of color, and each of them are just trying to do more work and represent the communities that they belong to, and just make sure that our voices are being heard.”

-Carlos Lopez Estrada

No other movie that dealt with racial issues was more potent and powerful than Blindspotting. Set in the streets of Oakland, about a convict trying to get his life back together while trying to stay out of trouble during his final days of probation. Lifelong friends in front and behind the camera, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casa display their full potential as both actors and screenwriters, in addition with applying their artistic rap talent that proves to be poignant in many ways that surprised me. First-time director Carlos Lopez Estrada, gives an outstanding debut; I'll definitely have my eye out for him in the future. A melting pot of a movie showing how cinema brings everyone together from various cultures and backgrounds on crafting a story that speaks volumes and the power of words.

3). Won't You Be My Neighbor? 

"From the beginning, I wanted to make a film about ideas. In fact, when I first went to Pittsburgh and met everybody including the family, when I met [Fred’s widow] Joanne Rogers, I said, “I don’t want to make a film about the biography of Fred. I want to make a film about the ideas of Fred Rogers.”And she smiled and said, “I love that, because Fred always said his own story would make the most boring film of all time.” I disagree! But I think the idea from the beginning was not to make a film about nostalgia, but to make a film about these ideas that are timeless, and in fact timely."

Morgan Neville

Mr. Rogers truly was a man like no other and Morgan Neville perfectly captures the life and legacy of such a man. A role model the world desperately needs today with his lessons on kindness and love continuing to ring true. He never hid behind a facade or involved in some sort of scandal. He was always a kind man in front and behind the of the camera who simply wanted to teach kids to love your neighbor and inspire others to do the same. Never afraid to discuss difficult questions like death or divorce, and explaining it in gentle manner like a wise grandfather who promised that the world may be filled with bad things but always has room for some good. Authentic and sincere to the very end.

2). Eighth Grade 

 "I just felt like I had seen a lot of stories in high school and I felt, for a long, long time, that our culture was just asking questions of kids much younger. By the time they get to high school, they’re a little bit blasé and over it. I felt like eighth grade was the true battleground for me. It’s a little more chaotic, insane, exciting, dangerous and terrifying. I’ve wanted to do a middle school story, in the back of my mind, for a little while."

 Bo Burnham

So many memories of my own awkward adolescence came to mind when watching Bo Burnham's realistic take on young adult anxiety. A great movie for this social media generation that captures the highs, lows, good, bad, funny and frustrating aspects that many of us from any generation can relate at that age. Elsie Fisher is genuine as Kayla Day going through her own juvenile journey that ventures into uncertainty and uneasiness but also heartfelt and reassuring. I doubt anyone would want to relive eighth grade again but if you do, this movie ain't a bad place to do so.

1). Roma 

"There are periods in history that scar societies and moments in life that transform us as individuals. Time and space constrain us, but they also define who we are, creating inexplicable bonds with others that flow with us at the same time and through the same places. Roma is an attempt to capture the memory of events that I experienced almost fifty years ago. It is an exploration of Mexico's social hierarchy, where class and ethnicity have been perversely interwoven to this date and, above all, it's an intimate portrait of the women who raised me in a recognition of love as a mystery that transcends space, memory and time."

-Alfonso Cuarón

No other movie stuck with me the most than Alfonso Cuaron's Roma. A true tour-de-fource that shows cinema at its finest. Roma encapsulates many themes from my top ten picks such as memory, nostalgia, expression, family, wonder, commitment and empathy. A magnificent portrait as we follow Cleo, played with grandiose by first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio, a maid living her life; ordinary yet captivating. Being a Mexican myself, it's a movie that struck a chord on many levels. Seeing the city and countryside transported me back to the land where my parents were born, not at the exact place but as Cleo say's it still feels like home. The fact that a movie directed by a Mexican is earning high praise than ever before from critics and filmmakers alike is a testament of the times we are living in. Una experiencia que nunca olvidaré. Es por eso que Roma es mi película favorita del año. ¡Felicidades Sr. Cuarón!