The Best Films That I Watched In 2018
In 2018, we covered a lot. I'd like to end the year and open the new one with a simple thank you. I hope you enjoy...
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017)
Lanthimos' name is engraved deeper into the stone of cinematic masters. A pleasure to witness.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
A new high for the light-hearted superhero film.
Secrets of a Soul (1926)
A re-introduction to G.W Pabst. I deeply disliked Pandora's Box, yet found myself in awe of Secrets of a Soul.
Black Panther (2018)
Whilst this doesn't hold too well over re-watches, this may be a new high for superhero films, full stop.
Project A (1983)
Nobody does it better than Jackie Chan.
Shutter Island (2010)
A film I have grown to see as an understated masterwork in the filmography of Scorsese.
Children of Heaven (1997)
I crumble at the sight of a great running shot; I'm still trying to pull myself together after Children of Heaven.
Charulata (1964)
Ray and Mukherjee define photogénie, once in The Big City, again in Charulata.
Kinetta (2005)
A rather difficult film to track down, but this completed my Lanthimos collection. A master.
Alps (2011)
I'll save you the comment and not risk sounding like an obsessive fan.
Andrei Rublev (1966)
It took me while to confront this behemoth and, as anticipated, it blew me out of my shoes.
Hereditary (2018)
A huge surprise; deeply disturbing and uncannily comprehensible.
Gerald's Game (2017)
Another surprise. A brilliantly conceived script executed well. I've changed the way I think of wrists.
A Serious Man (2009)
A gem from the Coen brothers; profoundly subtle in its comedic wit.
Dream Girls (2006)
A blast I didn't think would hit me so hard.
The Night Comes For Us (2018)
Blood? Bellows? Brutality? The Night Comes For Us delivers... well.
Creed II (2018)
My world fell into harmony during Creed II. Imperfect, but tremendous nonetheless.
The best of the shorts...
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
A classic that sent me further down my path of the history of Indian cinema.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jeyenge (1995)
Brilliantly silly. Formula defining.
Good Time (2017)
A genuine and whole movie that works from whatever angle you squint at it.
What Have I Done To Deserve This? (1987)
This is the year I became familiar with Almodóvar and this is the best films I've seen from him yet.
The Devils (1971)
It is hard to speak to the quality of this film, but it's harder to articulate just how it persists in my memory.
Ten (2002)
A brilliant encapsulation of all that is brilliant about subversive contemporary Iranian cinema.
Downsizing (2017)
Not great, but maybe the best sci-fi film I saw this year. I couldn't care less about what everyone else had to say about it.
Branded To Kill (1967)
Branded to Kill lingers about me like a memory of a fever. Tremendous.
Baahubali (2015-17)
As clunky as it is rewarding, both parts of Baahuballi combine to create an... experience.
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
As close to life-altering as a film can be.
You Were Never Really There (2017)
A film for the ages; a darkly contemplative masterwork.
Mr. India (1987)
I could never anticipate a film being so much--so brilliant in so many ways.
The Square (2017)
A boisterous introduction to the filmmaker of Ruben Östlund, The Square dizzied me twice this year.
Raw (2016)
A straight, Freudian tale told well--told without pulling punches.
Force Majeure (2014)
How intimately embarrassing Ostlund's world of failing heroes are - how brilliantly these are conceptualised in Force Majeure.
Ichi The Killer (2001)
So easily subject to dismissal and projected falsely to be driven by gory spectacle, Ichi The Killer is a scream of disguised logic from 90s/2000s Japanese horror.
The Beat My Heart Skipped (2005)
A beautiful story about a reconciliation with memory, so simple, to touching.
Dangal (2016)
Hard to not love. The sports movie executed brilliantly.
Summer With Monika (1953)
Bergman always has something to teach, even if an hour in you don't think so... it's coming.
PK (2014)
Suppressed, indeed, by the female lead. Nonetheless, PK is tremendous.
Veer-Zaara (2004)
I have grown far too vulnerable to sweeping melodrama. Veer-Zaara is partly to thank.
The Neon Demon (2016)
Brutally base and aggressive, Neon Demon pierces social machinery with ease.
The Wailing (2016)
'Haunting' would not do well to describe this... but it is all I have.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
A film that ruined me for an hour or so, I can't help but tip my hat to this.
Sheikh Jackson (2017)
The biggest surprise of the entire year.
The Pervert's Guide To Cinema (2006)
As interest as it is debatable, as Zizek is strange.
Devdas (2002)
If Veer-Zaara exposed my cinematic sensibilities to sweeping melodrama, Devdas conquered them entirely.
Police Story (1985)
Who can do it better than Chan?
Wu Kong (2017)
Ludicrously, infectiously enjoyable.
Borom Sarret (1963)
Welcome to an inconceivable well of pessimism.
Lagaan (2001)
A personal favourite and classic all should see whose triumph is undeniable.
A Star Is Born (2018)
I'm torn on this, but cannot deny its brilliance; Cooper's masterwork of characterisation.
Bad Times At The El Royal (2018)
Maybe the best film of 2018.
Thank you again for reading--this post, any other post from 2018 and everything to come.
Previous post:
End Of The Week Shorts #90
Next post:
The Favourite - The Lanthimos Film?
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
Lanthimos' name is engraved deeper into the stone of cinematic masters. A pleasure to witness.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
A new high for the light-hearted superhero film.
A re-introduction to G.W Pabst. I deeply disliked Pandora's Box, yet found myself in awe of Secrets of a Soul.
Whilst this doesn't hold too well over re-watches, this may be a new high for superhero films, full stop.
Nobody does it better than Jackie Chan.
Shutter Island (2010)
A film I have grown to see as an understated masterwork in the filmography of Scorsese.
Children of Heaven (1997)
I crumble at the sight of a great running shot; I'm still trying to pull myself together after Children of Heaven.
Charulata (1964)
Ray and Mukherjee define photogénie, once in The Big City, again in Charulata.
Kinetta (2005)
A rather difficult film to track down, but this completed my Lanthimos collection. A master.
Alps (2011)
I'll save you the comment and not risk sounding like an obsessive fan.
Andrei Rublev (1966)
It took me while to confront this behemoth and, as anticipated, it blew me out of my shoes.
Hereditary (2018)
A huge surprise; deeply disturbing and uncannily comprehensible.
Another surprise. A brilliantly conceived script executed well. I've changed the way I think of wrists.
A Serious Man (2009)
A gem from the Coen brothers; profoundly subtle in its comedic wit.
Dream Girls (2006)
A blast I didn't think would hit me so hard.
The Night Comes For Us (2018)
Blood? Bellows? Brutality? The Night Comes For Us delivers... well.
Creed II (2018)
My world fell into harmony during Creed II. Imperfect, but tremendous nonetheless.
The best of the shorts...
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
A classic that sent me further down my path of the history of Indian cinema.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jeyenge (1995)
Brilliantly silly. Formula defining.
Good Time (2017)
A genuine and whole movie that works from whatever angle you squint at it.
What Have I Done To Deserve This? (1987)
This is the year I became familiar with Almodóvar and this is the best films I've seen from him yet.
The Devils (1971)
It is hard to speak to the quality of this film, but it's harder to articulate just how it persists in my memory.
Ten (2002)
A brilliant encapsulation of all that is brilliant about subversive contemporary Iranian cinema.
Downsizing (2017)
Not great, but maybe the best sci-fi film I saw this year. I couldn't care less about what everyone else had to say about it.
Branded To Kill (1967)
Branded to Kill lingers about me like a memory of a fever. Tremendous.
Baahubali (2015-17)
As clunky as it is rewarding, both parts of Baahuballi combine to create an... experience.
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
As close to life-altering as a film can be.
You Were Never Really There (2017)
A film for the ages; a darkly contemplative masterwork.
Mr. India (1987)
I could never anticipate a film being so much--so brilliant in so many ways.
The Square (2017)
A boisterous introduction to the filmmaker of Ruben Östlund, The Square dizzied me twice this year.
Raw (2016)
A straight, Freudian tale told well--told without pulling punches.
Force Majeure (2014)
How intimately embarrassing Ostlund's world of failing heroes are - how brilliantly these are conceptualised in Force Majeure.
Ichi The Killer (2001)
So easily subject to dismissal and projected falsely to be driven by gory spectacle, Ichi The Killer is a scream of disguised logic from 90s/2000s Japanese horror.
A beautiful story about a reconciliation with memory, so simple, to touching.
Dangal (2016)
Hard to not love. The sports movie executed brilliantly.
Summer With Monika (1953)
Bergman always has something to teach, even if an hour in you don't think so... it's coming.
PK (2014)
Suppressed, indeed, by the female lead. Nonetheless, PK is tremendous.
Veer-Zaara (2004)
I have grown far too vulnerable to sweeping melodrama. Veer-Zaara is partly to thank.
The Neon Demon (2016)
Brutally base and aggressive, Neon Demon pierces social machinery with ease.
The Wailing (2016)
'Haunting' would not do well to describe this... but it is all I have.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
A film that ruined me for an hour or so, I can't help but tip my hat to this.
Sheikh Jackson (2017)
The biggest surprise of the entire year.
The Pervert's Guide To Cinema (2006)
As interest as it is debatable, as Zizek is strange.
Devdas (2002)
If Veer-Zaara exposed my cinematic sensibilities to sweeping melodrama, Devdas conquered them entirely.
Police Story (1985)
Who can do it better than Chan?
Wu Kong (2017)
Ludicrously, infectiously enjoyable.
Borom Sarret (1963)
Welcome to an inconceivable well of pessimism.
Lagaan (2001)
A personal favourite and classic all should see whose triumph is undeniable.
A Star Is Born (2018)
I'm torn on this, but cannot deny its brilliance; Cooper's masterwork of characterisation.
Bad Times At The El Royal (2018)
Maybe the best film of 2018.
Thank you again for reading--this post, any other post from 2018 and everything to come.
Previous post:
End Of The Week Shorts #90
Next post:
The Favourite - The Lanthimos Film?
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
