Top Ten Movies of 2018

In putting together my list I use two basic guides. How much would I like to see it again, and how good did I think it was that first time.

1. A Quiet Place. Scary, mood, tense from wire to wire. What more could you want in a movie that was different and had really good acting.
2. Death to Stalin. Funny, scary, ironic, walks that edge between the ridiculous and the ridiculous cult of power. A real classic.
3. Three Identical Strangers. A most unusual documentary. Instead of building to make its case, it throws you into a whole other world part way through and it is every bit as good as a page turning novel.
4. Be My Neighbor. My second documentary. Mr. Rogers brings a smile to your face and it never leaves, except for the scenes of poignant connection with those children who visit with someone who sees people as people.
5. Leave No Trace. A story about a father and daughter off grid and the twists and turns in their lives. Straight ahead honest storytelling, every scene and word is believable, no heroes and villains just people finding their way. (This director’s last movie was the incredible “Winter Bones” introducing a young Jennifer Lawrence. She needs to make more movies more often for our sake)
6. Juliet Naked. A grizzled folk singer, a frustrated wife and a half baked husband make for a gentle but warm coming out party for Juliet.
7. Annihilation. What’s going on? What happens next? Sci Fi at its best, we don’t know where the story is going and maybe not when we get there. Look forward to seeing it again.
8. Searching. The first really intelligent look at how online has changed our lives wrapped in a mystery story that delivers.
9. Roma. A slice of life in Mexico in the 1970’s. It is told so well it grabs hold of you as you become engrossed in how these people try to find their way.
10. Black Panther. It has been so long since I saw it but I remember an exciting story that seemed fresh. Look forward to seeing it again.