Best of 2018 (So Far)

The Oscars race is on! We're officially less than 6 months away from Oscars Sunday. With the start of the Venice Film Festival this week and the Toronto International Film Festival next week, almost all of the major awards contenders will have made their world premiere by then. I can't wait to watch those films when they hit the theaters later in the fall, but before I do that, I'm going to recap the films that have already premiered in 2018.

Somehow I keep watching more and more movies every year. So far I've seen 46 movies that premiered in 2018, way more than my previous high of 33 movies seen in the 1st half of a given year. That being said, there are a couple of highly regarded films that I didn't get to see, including: Eighth Grade, Leave No Trace, Searching, Madeline's Madeline, Hearts Beat Loud, Three Identical Strangers, and others. I'll get to those later in the year for sure, but for now I can only write about all the great films that I have seen.

As I always do in this mid-year recap, I'm cutting my year-end lists in half, doing a Top 5 Movies list instead of a Top 10, and doing 8 Top 4 Lists, instead of 8 Top 8 Lists. Those include: Best Moments, Funniest Moments, Best Quotes, Best Performances, Best Death Scenes, Best Action Set-Pieces, Best Fights, and Best Parent & Son/Daughter Moments. Before I get to those, let's get started with the Top 5 Movies of 2018 (So Far).

*WARNING : SPOILERS*

Top 5 Movies of 2018 (So Far)

5) Sorry to Bother You

An inventive tale of an alternate present day Oakland, where main character Cassius Green, played brilliantly by future star Lakeith Stanfield, has to learn to use his "white voice" in order to get a promotion in his new telemarketing job. Sounds simple enough, but nothing could be further from the truth. This movie took many twists and turns that I could never see coming, while also dealing with many timely issues in society. You won't find many films out there as risk-taking as this one, so for that reason alone I highly recommend it.

4) American Animals

Speaking of taking risks, this film is based on the true story of four college students who attempted to steal some very valuable antique books from their university's Special Collections Library. The film works as half fiction/half documentary, as the four real life perpetrators of the crime appear in interviews throughout the movie. When they don't appear as themselves, they're played by a cast of up-and-coming young stars, led by great performances from Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan. If you love heist movies, then you're probably going to enjoy this one. Just remember that even though it may look cool in the movies, stealing is bad.

3) Hereditary

An instant horror classic from first time director Ari Aster. This one is in the mold of other psychological/spiritual horror classics such as Rosemary's Baby and Don't Look Now, where the tension builds and builds until the signs you've seen throughout the film finally make sense in the end. The other strength the film has is its two lead performances from Toni Collette and Alex Wolff as a mother and son in an extremely strained relationship that only gets worse as the film goes along. If you love horror, this one is a must watch!

2) The Death of Stalin

Armando Iannucci does it again! This is easily the funniest movie of 2018 so far. It deals with the immediate aftermath of the death of Stalin (duh), specifically how the senior members of the Council of Ministers plotted against each other to see who would end up in power. They are all played by British and American actors talking in their normal accents, making it tough sometimes to distinguish between the scenario in the movie and the real world chaos we're seeing in politics today. That combination of timeliness with non-stop laughs from beginning to end makes this one the most fun moviegoing experience I've had in 2018.

1) Won't You be My Neighbor?

Death of Stalin might've been more fun, but Mr. Rogers made me cry, making Won't You be My Neighbor the best movie I've seen in 2018 so far. There's nothing flashy in this one, but the message is crystal clear: love unites us all. Learning to love yourself and to love others is the most important thing any of us could ever do. It's a shame that so many people today still can't understand that. At least we have this documentary out there now to spread Mr. Rogers's message all over the world.

8 Top 4 Lists

I Best Moments (So Far)

4) Pizza Dinner in Set it Up

   - Zoey Deutch should be in all the movies.

3) White Voice in Sorry to Bother You

   - The first sign that this movie isn't going to play it safe

2) Bathtub Scene in A Quiet Place

1) "Think of someone that has helped you" in Won't You be My Neighbor?

   - Everyone in the theater was crying, including me.

II Funniest Moments (So Far)

4) "Meeting Peik Lin's family" in Crazy Rich Asians

   - The moment Rachel finds out just how crazy rich her boyfriend is.

3) "Interrupting the National Anthem" in Love, Simon

   - It's a miracle they pulled this scene off without having half the country boycott the movie.

2) "Coaching the hockey team" in The Death of Stalin

   - Stalin's clueless son tries to coach a team of replacement players by yelling "Play better!"

1) Jack Jack vs the raccoon in The Incredibles 2

III Best Fight Scenes (So Far)

4) "Funeral Food Fight" in A Futile and Stupid Gesture

3) Thanos vs Avengers/Guardians in Avengers: Infinity War

   - The only scene that totally worked in this one for me.

2) T'Challa vs Killmonger in Black Panther

   - Michael B. Jordan absolutely owns this movie

1) Bathroom Fight in Mission Impossible: Fallout

   - Awesome action here.

IV Best Action Set-Pieces (So Far)

4) First Key Race in Ready Player One

   - Classic Spielberg here.

3) Elastigirl saves the train in The Incredibles 2

2) Car Chase in Black Panther

   - Great Lexus commercial!

1) HALO Jump and Paris Chase and Helicopter Chase in Mission Impossible: Fallout

   - All hail Tom Cruise!

V Best Death Scenes (So Far)

4) Killmonger's Death in Black Panther

   - "They knew death was better than bondage." 

3) "Charlie's Death" in Hereditary

2) Bear Attack in Annihilation

   - Creepy AF

1) "The Death of Stalin" in The Death of Stalin

VI Best Parent & Son/Daughter Moments (So Far)

4) Dad's Sacrifice in A Quiet Place

3) "Father and Daughter talks" in Blockers

2) "Father and Daughter diner talk" in To All the Boys I've Loved Before

1) Heart to Heart with Dad and Mom in Love, Simon

   - "You get to exhale now, Simon." Beautiful scene.

VII Best Quotes (So Far)

4) "If it's any consolation, years from now people really like Caddyshack. They're kind of annoying about it, actually."

   - A Futile and Stupid Gesture

3) "Can God forgive us for what we've done to this world?"

   - First Reformed

2) "With the right white man we can do anything"

   - BlacKkKlansman

1) "3 for 1? How can that be profitable for Frito Lay?"

   - Game Night

VIII Best Performances (So Far)

4) Alia Shawkat in Duck Butter

3) Evan Peters in American Animals

2) Charlize Theron in Tully

1) Toni Collette in Hereditary

   - Adds another classic horror performance to her resume, after receiving her only Academy Award nomination almost 20 years ago for The Sixth Sense.