In 2018:
The XXIII Olympic Winter Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea;
Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School;
The last northern white rhinoceros died;
Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle;
France won the 21st World Cup in Russia;
Apple Inc, became the first public company to achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion;
The Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality;
US President Donald Trump met with the leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un in Singapore;
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson announced their engagement and subsequent breakup;
NASA’s InSight probe landed successful on the surface of Mars;
Prince Louis of Cambridge was born;
While Jerry Van Dyke, Keith Jackson, Dolores O’Riordan, Jo Jo White, Ursula K. Le Guin, Mort Walker, John Mahoney, Mickey Jones, Reg E. Cathey, Wally Moon, Billy Graham, Nanette Fabray, Lewis Gilbert, Roger Bannister, David Odgen Stiers, Stephen Hawking, Steven Bochco, Susan Anspach, Art Bell, Milos Forman, R. Lee Ermey, Harry Anderson, Barbara Bush, Bruno Sammartino, Verne Troyer, Margot Kidder, Tom Wolfe, Bernard Lewis, Phillip Roth, Dwight Clark, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, Big Van Vader, XXXTentacion, Koko, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Benjamin Harrison, Joe Jackson, Harlan Ellison, Steve Ditko, Claude Lanzamann, Tab Hunter, Charlotte Rae, V.S. Naipaul, Jim Neidhart, Aretha Franklin, Kofi Annan, Robin Leach, John McCain, Burt Reynolds, Mac Miller, Charles Aznavour, Tex Winter, Paul Allen, Whitey Bulger, Willie McCovey, Sondra Locke, Douglas Rain, Stan Lee, David Pearson, Roy Clark, William Goldman, Nicholas Roeg, Ricky Jay, Bernardo Bertolucci, George H. W. Bush, Ken Berry, and Penny Marshall died.
The following is is list of my ten favorite films of 2018:
10) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Teen Miles Morales idolizes Spider-man, while his policeman father has a dimmer view of the vigilante. When Uncle Aaron takes Miles to an abandoned subway station to paint graffiti, he’s bitten by a radioactive spider and develops super powers of his own.
After discovering his abilities, Miles returns to track the spider and discovers a particle accelerator built by Wilson Fisk to locate an alternate version of his deceased wife and son.
By opening portals to other dimensions, Fisk is tearing the fabric of the universe. The Peter Parker from Miles dimension is killed, but various spider heroes from other dimensions emerge, including a Peter Parker who’s stopped trying to be savior of the world, a Gwen Stacy who calls herself Spider-Woman, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Ham. Together they take down Fisk and restore order to the universe.
The voice cast is beyond excellent, especially Chris Pine as Spider-Man in our universe and Jake Johnson as the slobbier alternate version. Mahershala Ali is riding a huge wave and if he’s in a project, I’m interested. John Mulaney as Spider-Ham and Nic Cage as Spider-Noir are delightful.
I did not realize how happy it would make me to see Lily Tomlin in a super hero movie and her Aunt May is my favorite cinematic version of the character. Liev Schreiber is a fine Kingpin, although I’m partial to Vincent D’Onofrio’s version.
This is what superhero movies should be: exciting, funny, chaotic, and colorful.
In 1992, the Crain family moves into Hill House hoping to renovate the property and then resell it for a profit, but find their new, temporary home to be a series of terrifying encounters with ghosts from the great beyond. Their time in this hellish nightmare and the origin of their frequent tormentor, the Bent-Neck Lady, is an engaging take on ghost mythology, sharing much in common with David Yates excellent Ghost Story (2017).
Timothy Hutton started his career with a bang and remains the youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His later career has been less splashy, but dependably good.
I love that Henry Thomas (from ET fame) has traversed the trials of child stardom. and come out relatively unscathed on the other side.
The horror genre has undergone a critical reevaluation as more respected filmmakers turn toward it. The slasher romps of the 1980s have been replaced by the more nuanced films of Jordan Peele and Mike Flanagan.
This Netflix adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s ghost story shines when dealing with the unprocessed trauma the children experienced. As horrific as the supernatural elements were in their lives, it’s the shared shock of their mother’s death which lingers over the Crain brood, poisoning their relationships with each other and the outside world.
In the early 1980s, Rajneesh and his followers migrated from India to rural Oregon where their orgiastic, unconventional lifestyle initiated a years long conflict with the local residents.
This documentary casts the guru as a predator who manipulated women for his own sexual pleasure and persuaded others to fund his lifestyle.
His followers (led by Sheela Ambala Patel) devised increasingly nefarious schemes to accomplish their objectives: they bought land, organized (and rigged) votes, committed a mass poisoning, and attempted to assassinated a US federal prosecutor.
Filmmakers Maclain and Chapman Way do an incredible job detailing the extraordinary events too few American realized happened in their own backyard. They even got Sheela (now living in Switzerland and running a nursing home) to tell her side of the story.
Many of the former followers of Rajneesh seem to pine for their old way of life, looking back wistfully at the time they spent under his control. This is simultaneously frightening and fascinating.
It’s a mesmerizing look at the power of personality, the allure of mystery, and the need for a fundamental worldview.
7) The Zen Diaires of Garry Shandling
I have no idea how accurate The Larry Sanders Show was in its depiction of the backstage machinations of a major late night talk show, but I’d like to pretend it’s a documentary.
At any rate, this film about its creator is an immersive look at a mind which feels compelled to create and find humor in the nuances of his life.
Shandling’s extensive diary is a launching pad into the human experience. At times the comedian is morose and lonely, clearly struggling with the meaning of his enormous wealth and fame. We get the sense Garry was a deeply spiritual person, who saw comedy as his way of connecting to the grander things.
There’a fantastic segment highlighting the infamous Ricky Gervais interview. Shandling’s clear irritation flummoxed the usually unflappable Gervais.
The innovative DVD commentary track to his Larry Sanders Show allowed Garry to create another layer of meta humor and shape the show’s legacy.
God bless Judd Apatow for exposing Garry to new generations.
6) The Tale
When her mother discovers old letter written to a former boyfriend, Jennifer Fox’s life is turned upside down. Reexamining the artifact from her past causes Jennifer to rethink her experience. With the support of her fiance, she realizes what she had thought of as a mature, consensual relationship, was, in fact systematic sexual abuse.
This is a tough, eye opening film about the lies we tell ourselves to process the unimaginable horror of our lives, interpreting memories in order give our life the shape we want. Director Fox uses the details of her own experience to remind us this refusal to see the truth does not shield us from the pain.
Laura Dern rises to incredible heights as she channels Fox’s story. Late period Ellen Burstyn is one of the delights of cinema and her performance as Fox’s mother is heartbreaking.
Jason Ritter is horrific and committed to the sociopathic intensity of Fox’s abuser, while John Heard gives one last memorable performance as the older version, who seems to have forgotten the specifics of his past. That’s what’s even scarier about abuse, while the events are singular and searing for the abused, they are one of many such encounters for the abuser.
When the grown Banks children find themselves facing a similar predicament to their father, Mary Poppins returns to serve as nanny for Michael’s children.
She helps the Banks once again find their way, reminding Jane and Michael not to get so carried away with responsibility they forget to enjoy their lives.
The songs are great and I adored the extended animated sequence in a similar style to the first film. Emily Blunt is almost too perfect a Mary. Lin Manuel is a fine substitute for Dick Van Dyke. Angela Lansbury is a treasure. Julie Walters, Emily Mortimer, and Ben Whishaw are all top notch. Colin Firth is great chewing scenery as the arch villain banker.
My only complaint is Meryl Streep’s Topsy. Her segment had energy, but it felt disconnected from the rest of the film.
The very best part of the movie was Dick Van Dyke’s cameo. Seeing the nonagenarian Dyke dancing was pure joy.
I’m not sure why Julie Andrews didn’t make an appearance. She said it was to avoid distracting from Emily’s performance, but I think having her as the Balloon Lady would have been a nice touch.
My love of this film is informed by my love of the original. It won’t leave the same imprint in popular culture, but I think it holds up as a fine sequel and enhances the character’s legacy.
This poignant, reflective film based on the life of bank robber Forest Tucker (Robert Redford), follows him as he falls in love with a woman, Jewel (Sissy Spacek), and develops a begrudging respect for the latest detective working his case, John Hunt (Casey Affleck).
I love Sissy Spacek and her later career has been a masterclass.
David Lowery has built an impressive resume. Ghost Story and Pete’s Dragon are both wonderful, understated films.
Redord announced this would be his swan song (although he would go on to appear in Avengers: Endgame) and the film carries an elegance because of the knowledge this is our last time to see him perform.
This is the kind of movie which was once prominent in American cinema in the 1970s, but has fallen out of favor in the last forty years. It’s nice to see one of the 1970s biggest stars finishing off his career with this throwback classic.
Too young in the 1980s to appreciate Springsteen, and only passingly familiar with Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A, I was unprepared for how poetic, charismatic and engaging Bruce could be. His ability as a storyteller is phenomenal, connecting his songs to his mother and father and his childhood. With his asides and explanations, his songs become laments, poems, and dirges. This is what we all want artists to be.
While I came into it with limited knowledge of Springsteen, I left with a deep appreciation for him and his artistry.
In 2045, people escape the drudgery of their lives through a virtual universe known as OASIS. When founder James Halliday dies, he announces a contest: the first player to find the Golden Easter Egg will be given control of the program.
Wade Watts (playing under the gamer ID Parzifal) attempts to find the egg, joined in his quest by Samantha Cook (Art3mis), Helen Harris (Aech), Zho (Sho), and Toshiro (Daito).
As the ‘High Five’ get closer to the egg, they’re hunted by Nolan Sorrento (IOI-655321), the founder and CEO of another company which wants to control OASIS.
The story feels like a real video game come to life and excels in its virtual world, constructed like a shared universe of 1980s pop culture which makes Steven Spielberg the perfect director: it’s another excellent film in his canon. Much Like AI, this will be reevaluated and later recognized as genius.
Nostalgia is a key source of the film’s appeal; it’s full of references my favorite childhood things. I especially loved the scenes in The Overlook Hotel which recreate The Shining. The novel source material featured Blade Runner, but the rights were an issue (precipitated by the 2018 film Blade Runner 2049), so Spielberg leaned on his friendship with Kubrick to acquire the rights to The Shining instead. Since The Shining is one of my favorite films, I approve of the change.
I love Mark Rylance as Halliday, and Simon Pegg is always awesome. Ben Mendelsohn has become the go to sci-fi bad guy and I’m okay with that. TJ Miller is his most sane and reminds us he has talent. The leads, Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke, are serviceable but not spectacular. However, the breakout star is Lena Waithe as Helen who’s fear of horror movies makes The Shining portion even better.
The movie ably explores the danger of anonymity and hiding behind an avatar in an online world and I love its dual messages celebrating the joy of gaming and decrying commercialization of every enjoyable pursuit. Mostly however, I loved being reminded of the things which made me fall in love with movies and video games as a kid.
1) Ray & Liz
Photographer Richard Billingham recreates his chaotic, poverty infused childhood with his chain-smoking mother Liz and alcoholic father Ray. Billingham steadfastly refuses to lionize his parents nor cast them as the enemy, instead choosing only to present them as he remembers them.
Early in his childhood, he learned to look at things from a remove, to distance himself from the painful agony of the present. This skill led him to photography, which became a way for him to observe what was going on around him without succumbing to the anxiety, anger, and fear it might otherwise instill. He continues perfecting those skills here.
The film hits close to home for me because I know too many people who grew up in situations not dissimilar to the one depicted here. It’s rare a film depicts this kind of ugliness without making someone (one of the parents) or something (welfare state, big pharma, alcohol) responsible for the misery. Billingham is defiantly uninterested in responsibility.
He creates a cinematic version of Tolstoy’s famed observation: every family is unhappy in their own way. However idyllic our memories may be, we identify parts of our own childhood in the film, unearthing the parts we had long ago forgotten. In this way, Billingham teaches a valuable lesson, seeing the bad parts of our own lives does not negate the good, refusing to acknowledge them does not make them go away.
I love this film for its unfiltered, uncompromising honesty. Billingham is determined to show the truth, whether he or we like it or not.