Honorable Mentions:
Call Me By Your Name: This movie technically came out in late 2017, but I didn't get a chance to see it until January 2018. It's been a whole year since I've seen this movie, but I still remember it pretty clearly. It was different than anything else I've seen this year. It was a beautiful movie from the storytelling, pacing, cinematography, acting, to the writing. It all worked together to make a great slow paced romance between two characters that had great chemistry.
Thoroughbreds: A little movie that came out earlier this year. It was a really unique movie about two teen girls who are planning to kill one of their annoying step-fathers. The story is meant to be a dark comedy and it really worked thanks to the great performances and the acting. It goes to places you don't expect it to go.
Love, Simon: A movie about a high schooler coming out of the closet didn't sound like a very unique idea when I first heard about this movie. It actually ended up being a really good movie in the end. While the subject matter has been done before in other ways, this movie did it in a way that felt very honest and heartfelt.
Juliet, Naked: Judging by the title, I thought this going to be a raunchy adult comedy. It actually isn't anything close to that. What it actually is though, is a really great romantic comedy movie. It's the story of a married couple who are struggling in their marriage. The big reason why is because the husband is obsessed with a musician named Tucker Crowe who release only one album before disappearing. That album was named "Juliet, Naked". The wife happens to meet Tucker Crowe and she begins getting close to him. It ends up being a nice heartfelt story with memorable performances.
Hearts Beat Loud: I randomly stumbled upon this movie and ended up really enjoying it. It's about a father (who's played by Nick Offerman) and daughter who start an indie band together. Features some really good original music and it's a short and sweet movie about love, loss, and passion.
Won't You Be My Neighbor: One of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time. Fred Rogers was an amazing human being and his story is one of the most inspiring out there.
Three Identical Strangers: Speaking of great documentaries, this one was a nice surprise. The true story of three college kids who find out they were triplets separated at birth. What starts off a nice family reunion turns into a much darker story about experiments and secrets.
Roma: If you have a Netflix account give this movie a chance. It's a really beautifully made movie and it's worth a watch.
Sorry to Bother You: The less you know going into this movie the better your experience will be watching it. All I can say is that it went to places I would have never would have imagined. My jaw literally dropped at the places this movie went. Not everyone will like that aspect of the movie, but I really think it's worth a try.
I, Tonya: So I kept this movie out of my top ten mostly because it technically came out December 2017. This was the first movie I went out to see in 2018 and it's still one of the best movies I've seen this year. If it had come out in 2018 it would be on my list without question.
Crazy Rich Asians: A movie that I think a lot of people really loved, rightfully so. It was a full Asian cast movie that really paid respect to Chinese culture, while also poking some fun at it. It had some great performances by some new faces and some familiar ones. Awkwafina stole every scene she was in and hopefully gets bigger roles because of this.
Now for the ACTUAL top 10 list!
10. Blindspotting
I wasn't really sure what this was going to be when I started watching it. I knew that the story revolved around police violence against defenseless African-Americans, but I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to play out. It ended up being a really strong movie that was able to have moments of great humor that didn't take away from the strong emotional moments that hit throughout the movie. It tackles a subject that's still very relevant in the United States in a way that helped open my eyes to how people that are affected by it feel every day. The movie builds to a finale that has one of the most powerful scenes of the year.
9. A Star is Born
I thought this movie would be higher on the list, but over time I think its effect on my has simmered down a bit. I still really enjoyed watching this movie from start to finish though. It had a great performance by Lady Gaga, who I think deserves all the praise she's getting from it. Bradley Cooper was also great, but I think that's less of a surprise because he's an established actor. It had some great original music, which helped elevate the performance scenes. Overall a memorable movie with some really great moments and performances.
8. Infinity War
It's hard to put it much higher on the list since it's only one half of a movie and we still don't know how the rest of the story plays out. It has shocking moments that I still can't take too seriously since I don't think Marvel Studios is going to stick by most of them. Besides that though, this was everything that it needed to be as an introduction to Thanos and his master plan. It was had a very different tone compared to most other Marvel movies which was really cool to see. Every character got the perfect amount of screen time and it was really awesome to see some fire time meetups on screen. I can't wait to see how it all plays out in the finale in a few months.
7. Hereditary
It isn't too often that a horror movie makes this list, but this movie deserves to be up here. It was a truly creepy and uncomfortable experience. The acting was phenomenal, which isn't something you can say a lot in horror films. The best part was that the movie didn't rely on cheap tactics and jump scares to make you feel fear. It relied on its atmosphere and performances to really bring in the scares. It also has one of the most memorable scenes I've probably ever seen (the car scene, if you know it).
6. BlacKkKlansman
This was a really great movie with some awesome performances. It was uncomfortable sitting through a lot of the KKK scenes, but it was good that the movie didn't hold back from that part of the story. It also had a good sense of humor to relieve some of the tension that came from the those KKK meeting scenes. It felt oddly topical for a movie that takes place many decades ago.
5. Black Panther
This is one of the best Marvel movies ever made and that's really saying something when you see how great their catalog is. Ryan Coogler directed the crap out of this movie and made something really special, unique, and memorable. The performances were awesome, the visuals were awesome, the villain was awesome and the action was fun. It's also a really important movie that has inspired many people around the world.
4. Upgrade
I love sci-fi movies probably more than any other genre, so when a movie like this comes out of nowhere it always puts me in a great mood. This movie had a cool story, great action scenes, a cool atmosphere and a weird sense of humor that I really enjoyed. It was full of surprises as well, some that I didn't see coming at all. Probably the most surprisingly good movie of the year.
3. Mission Impossible: Fallout
Tom Cruise does it again. The Mission Impossible movies somehow keep getting better and better and it's kind of crazy considering how good the last few have been. This one was full of fantastic action sequences, cool performances, a really nice Henry Cavill mustache, and Tom Cruise putting his life on the line to get some great shots. It was non-stop fun with some cool character moments for Ethan Hunt. I'd never thought I'd be so excited to see two more of these movies, but I can't wait to see what else they can pull out of their crazy minds.
2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
It was a really tough choice between this one and the one that actually was my favorite movie of the year. Honestly, I'd probably put them in a tie but that wouldn't be as interesting. This movie got everything right though. The animation was the most interesting and unique animation all year long. The story was fantastic and the voice acting was perfect. The humor worked pretty much 100% of the movie, with lots of great references to other Spider-Man works. It had great attention to detail and it showed how much the creators cared about not only making a great movie but making a great SPIDER-MAN movie. The fact that this was the best comic movie the same year that Black Panther and Infinity War came out shows how awesome this movie truly was.
and the number one movie is...
1. Annihilation
This is the kind of movie that stays with you after you watch it. It's a highly detailed movie full of so much that it takes more than one watch to really get everything it has to offer. It leaves you wondering about its many bizarre scenes and themes way after it's over. The best part is that it's all presented in a beautiful sci-fi landscape full of wonder and terror mixed into one. It's a beautifully creepy movie with some the best visuals of the year. While a lot of people might not like what it has to offer, I'd say you should at least give it a chance.
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