Between taking advantage of the rise and fall of MoviePass, the subsequent transition (for myself and many others) to AMC Stubs A-List, and me keeping track of the movies I watched via Letterboxd for the first time, 2018 was a pretty big movie year for me. Here is a list of my top ten movies of the year. 10. Mission: Impossible - FalloutWatching Mission: Impossible - Fallout in 3D after watching through the entire franchise in the weeks leading up to its release was my most enjoyable moviegoing experience in recent years. Christopher McQuarrie manages to string together several unforgettable action set pieces with a plot that moves forward relentlessly, but isn't difficult to follow. It's full of twists and turns, most of which I probably could have figured out ahead of time if I bothered to try, but I was having too much fun to do that. I threw my hands up in gleeful shock several times, thinking (and sometimes saying out loud), "Wow, I love movies!" 9. BlacKkKlansmanBlacKkKlansman is a buddy cop movie about a black man infiltrating the KKK in the 1970's. John David Washington and Adam Driver have a great onscreen chemistry that made this film a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be, while also adding to the gravity of this true story. Terence Blanchard enhances the movie with one of my favorite original scores of the year, featuring Hendrix-esque electric guitar as well as sweeping orchestral swells. The film has received some criticism for how accurate it is to its source material and how it handles some of the heavy topics it attempts to tackle. While these criticisms are valid and quite possibly accurate, BlacKkKlansman was still helpful for me as a white man in understanding the dynamics of what was happening with racism in the 1970's, and how much of that has carried forward to the modern age. 8. A Star is BornWhen I first saw the trailer for A Star is Born, I thought it looked like stinky doodoo garbage juice. I then proceeded to log onto the world wide web to find the universe ooh-ing and ah-ing about how wonderful it looked, and was dumbfounded. Eventually, I came around to the hype, understanding the film for what it is supposed to be. I was charmed by my first viewing, and absolutely enthralled by my second. I love rock and roll. A Star is Born portrays rock and roll, and live music in general, better than any movie I've ever seen (except maybe School of Rock, which is a flawless film, don't @ me). There was pretty much no hope of me getting much enjoyment out of this year's other live-music flick Bohemian Rhapsody after being captivated by the lifelike energy that this film puts forth in its concert sequences. Of course, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are both amazing in their chemistry and in their individual performances. This fourth incarnation of A Star is Born is predictable, cheesy, and not particularly original, but it also completely works for me 100% of the time. 7. Paddington 2Okay, I know, I know, but listen... Paddington 2 really is as good as everyone is telling you it is. I promise. Paddington is a kind little bear who just wants to get his Aunt Lucy a pop-up book for her birthday. And you know what? That's pretty much it. Sure, hijinks ensue, and he ends up getting thrown in jail for a crime he didn't commit, but the plot of this adorable and moving little story is remarkably simple. I could talk about the beautiful cinematography, the perfectly whimsical set and costume designs, or Hugh Grant's wonderfully hilarious performance as the villain, but I don't really want to. I just want to say that Paddington 2 is a very nice movie, and we need more nice movies. 6. First ManI'm a sucker for any story about a person who's grieving and is terrible at expressing his/her emotions (Manchester by the Sea was another one of these that spoke my language). I had no clue that’s what I was walking into when I bought a ticket for First Man.
The breathtaking rocket launch and moon landing sequences are just icing on the cake that is Ryan Gosling's perfectly subtle performance as the socially inept weirdo that was Neil Armstrong. But the moment I would find myself laughing at him for being such a big dumb dork, he’d do something that felt like a punch in the gut. It was like he was leaning out of the screen, poking me in the chest, and yelling, “THIS IS YOOOOUUUU, DON’T YOU GET IT? I’M YOU! WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED OF YOUR FEELINGS? WHY ARE YOU SO COLD TO YOUR LOVED ONES?” Maybe I need to go to the moon.
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