10 Best Films of 2018

I know I'm late to the game on this one, but 2018 snowballed into an avalanche pretty quickly. Before I'd even realized it, June turned to October turned to December. Now here we are, in the year of our lord 2019, and there are still plenty of movies from last year I didn't get a chance to see. But oh well. I'm not sure many people check in on eyecatchingearcandy these days. Which is fine, I guess. It's become more of a scrapbook than anything else - the books I read, the albums I enjoy, the movies I see. Speaking of which, here are, in my opinion, the 10 best movies of 2018. If you're here reading this, thanks for stopping by. Feel free to poke around the site and check out my other stuff.

Honorable Mentions: Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Deadpool 2, Halloween, Incredibles 2  

10.) Upgrade: Yeah, we've all seen our fair share of action movies. Yeah, we understand the tropes and archetypes and story beats. But no, you haven't seen an action movie like this one. Upgrade has some of the wackiest, most inventive fight choreography I've seen in a mainstream movie. It's also ripe with some of the most brutal screen moments of recent memory.

9.) Game Night: Bolstered by an amazing ensemble cast and a surprisingly sharp script, Game Night is easily the best comedy of 2018. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, and by the end you'll question the whole thing and want to watch it immediately all over again. I'm totally surprised that this movie wasn't a bigger hit with general audiences, but I'm happy I sought it out anyway.

8.) Mission: Impossible - Fallout: I've been a moderate fan of the Mission: Impossible franchise for some time - I think the 3rd and 4th installments are particularly great. But here, when the series should be jumping the shark, it's just as fresh and relevant as ever. With a terrific villain, a twisty plot, and peerless special effects, Fallout might be the best of the bunch. Can't wait to see where Ethan Hunt and the IMF go next.

7.) A Quiet Place: I've always been a fan of movies like this - ones that feel like an old episode of The Twilight Zone but beefed up and fleshed out to the length of a feature film. If you're one of the eight or nine people on the planet who didn't see this movie, do yourself a favor and remedy the situation. A Quiet Place is a gutpunch of pure catharsis, one of the most visceral and emotionally impactful horror films of the last decade.

6.) Widows: Written by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave), Widows is a barbed crime drama with arguably the best ensemble cast of the year (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Collin Ferrell, Cynthia Erivo, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Carrie Coon, Jackie Weaver, Robert Duvall, Lukas Haas, Jon Bernthal, Liam Neeson). Somehow, the movie juggles all these incredible performers and manages to deliver a cracking narrative that piles on the intrigue, the mystery, and plenty of thrills.

5.) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: This very well could be the best Spider-Man movie yet, and is probably the best superhero flick since The Dark Knight. It's pure pop insanity brought to life with characters, moments, and storylines ripped straight from the pulpy pages of Marvel Comics. The visuals alone are stellar, with the most bombastic color palette I've ever seen on the big screen. Thankfully, the story and characters are just as colorful as the world they inhabit.

4.) The Ritual: I run into this problem a lot, but here it is anyway: the less I say about this, the better. Just know that The Ritual is a surreal, cutthroat horror flick from Netflix, completely overshadowed by the popularity of Birdbox and Bandersnatch. Trust me - watch this one, too. It's the best rare gem Netflix has to offer, and if you go in with an open mind, you will not be disappointed. In the lead is Rafe Spall, a British actor who I always knew as one of the Andy's from Hot Fuzz. His performance is absolutely incredible, and anchors you to the outlandish horror premise that gets weirder and weirder as the plot progresses.

3.) Roma: Alfonso Cuaron is one of the best filmmakers alive today, and while his movies are always somewhat fantastical, in Roma he delves into the beauties and tragedies of the real world. Drawn heavily upon his own childhood, the film swirls around housekeeper Cleo and her life in Mexico in 1970. It's a character study of the highest order, one that takes its protagonist and spins the plot, tone, and sometimes even cinematography out of her life and experiences. This is one of the most gorgeous movies of last year, with black and white photography that is simply exquisite.

2.) Searching: Wow. I just...wow. In an era of overblown filmmaking, it's surprisingly refreshing to watch a movie with such simple efficiency. Searching is the best thriller of 2018, and was damn near my #1 pick for this list. The premise might be cliche (missing daughter), and the storytelling device is a tad gimmicky (the whole thing plays out on computers, with Skype, FaceTime, and even local news channels framing the narrative), but it's all pulled off with such intensity and dedication that you can't help but be sucked in. The mystery is a real corker, and by the end you'll be gasping for air. John Cho absolutely carries the film, and his portrayal of anguished father David Kim is one of the most honest, soulful performances of the year. Check this one out. And soon.

1.) Annihilation: Transcendentally surreal, shockingly emotional, and expertly filmed - these are the phrases that perfectly encapsulate Annihilation, my pick for the best film of 2018. Alex Garland, known for directing Ex Machina and writing 28 Weeks Later, adapts Jeff VanderMeer's ponderous novel for the big screen. The entire cast is exceptional, perhaps none more so than Natalie Portman, whose character grapples with both herself and the unknown. It's difficult to find the right words to describe this trippy sci-fi experience, but if I had to boil it all down, I'd say watching it felt a lot like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey for the very first time. It is strange, sometimes upsetting, yet nonetheless mandatory viewing.