Top Ten Motion Pictures of 2018: Power, Identity, Belonging

It’s that time of the year for me to share my (seventh) annual Top Ten Motion Pictures list. Over the past thirteen months or so, I had the opportunity of witnessing 76 feature length movies with a 2018 release date. The following ten either impacted me in an emotional or intellectual way, they brought back memories, they made me question human behavior, and they reminded me why I love the movies and this industry so much. As I’ve done in the past, I come up with a theme for each year based on the types of movies I listed; this year was all about power, identity, and belonging.

Honorable Mention: Green Book and Shoplifters

10. At Eternity’s Gate (Dir. Julian Schnabel)

Hands down, the best male performance of the year. I’m so glad Dafoe is nominated for an Academy Award. This movie is a reminder why The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is one of my favorite foreign films. There’s beauty in even the most tragic moments. What a treat of a character study.

9. Thoroughbreds (Dir. Cory Finley)

A fun, sexy psychological thriller where sounds, stings, and music stand out.

8. Widows (Dir. Steve McQueen)

Discussion after conclusion is art, and there was a lot of discussion.

7. If Beale StreetCould Talk (Dir. Barry Jenkins)

Woah! This movie is elegant, bold, poetic. It is superior than Moonlight. Scored by the ever talented Nicholas Britell.

6. Love, Simon (Dir. Greg Berlanti)

The gay studio rom-com we’ve all been waiting for. A fresh take on coming out and everything in between.

5. A Star is Born (Dir. Bradley Cooper)

A treat of a movie. From the magnitude of feeling like you’re at a rock concert, to the intimacy of feeling like you’re watching a documentary about a couple in love. Also my favorite music album of the year.

4. Vice (Dir.  Adam McKay)

Funny, sad, tragic, and important. A prequel to "The Big Short."

3. Generation Wealth (Dir. Lauren Greenfield)

I waited over a year for this documentary from one of my favorites, Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles). This is the movie America and the world are in need of right now. You'll laugh, cry, wonder, and question humanity in what I dare say, is one of the best documentaries ever made about human behavior. Support women in film.

2. The Favourite (Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)

So precise and screwed up. You know a movie is great when your dreams are framed the same way as the movie for the following nights after watching it.

1. Roma (Dir. Alfonso Cuarón)

Mexico is seen and felt in this movie; the good and not so good. Family, the traffic, the music, inequality, the people, the human... There’s grandiosity in this simple love letter to Mexico. It is perhaps this is the best film by the maestro Cuarón, and simply the best of 2018.