The 18 Best Movies I Saw In '18

MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF THE YEAR

Cold War (2018)

Personally, I think this was a stellar year for movies. I saw a lot of great stuff (and there's a ton I haven't seen yet), had a big list of favorites that released this year but whittled it down to 18 (geddit? cuz it's 2018?). I'll list 'em in a random order, although of course, I like some more than others. Ranking movies makes me want to tear my hair out to be honest, so I've written about the movies in a random order.
P.S.
I realised as I was writing about these movies that so many of the ones I liked were concerned with the effects and aftermath of authoritarianism. This only reminded me of the viability of this art form as a response to the pressing issues of the day.

CLIMAX 

Groove is in the art

Alright, I'll say it: this was the first Gaspar Noe film I ever saw. Call me a pleb all you want, I'm not ashamed. I will get round to watching his other stuff of course. Until then, I will spend my life praising Climax for the visceral experience that it is. The 'plot' is simple: A troupe of talented dancers are to have a celebration-cum-rehearsal when it all goes to hell after they find that their sangria has been spiked with LSD. There is a communal descent into a frenzied madness where pent up feelings of rage, sexuality and personal failings explode into unspeakable actions and sick dance moves. All the while the camera captures the kind of bad trip we (hopefully) only have to imagine. It is a dizzying, nauseating portrayal of debauchery that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

LA CASA LOBO (THE WOLF HOUSE)

In the year of Hereditary, I didn't expect anything else would be as creepy. This discomfiting stop-motion animated creepshow is stupendous. It warrants multiple watches for sure. There's a lot to take in here, from Chilean history to childhood trauma to German gentrification. And the visuals! The settings form in front of you, character models built from nothing and once their part is done, returning to nothing - and eerie paintings forming on the walls to depict any/all props in a scene. This is the best animated movie I've seen this year, a nightmarish experience that demands your full attention. 

BURNING

A slow burning... something. I really don't know what to label this movie. Mystery? Thriller? Romance tragedy? Environmental warning? Whatever it is, it works. It starts with our protagonist, Lee Jong-su,  an unassuming young man without a fixed job and little money. He meets an old classmate, Shin Haemi, who confesses her feelings toward him early on and subsequently goes on a trip abroad where she meets a Jay Gatsby-like mystery man (played by Steven Yeun). Various aspects of all of their lives seep into each other, and things become tense when Haemi goes missing.
This is probably the most layered movie of the year and nearly every aspect falls perfectly into place. Pure cinema.

LATHE JOSHI

Slow down brave new world

It's the story that has persisted since the Industrial Revolution. Man being replaced by Machine. Manual labor turned obsolete, humans reduced to redundancies. Only this subtle, simple approach is one that avoids the melodramatic ( see Naya Daur) or the satirical (Modern Times). Our protagonist, known by almost everyone as 'Lathe' Joshi, is an expert at operating - you guessed it - the lathe machine. And of course, automation swoops in and leaves him jobless. From the unchanging look of his wan face, it seems Mr. Joshi will throw in the towel early on. However, his is a quiet and understated resistance. We see him making several attempts at regaining his job, which he considers nothing less than fine artistry. All the while, we see his contemporaries who have accepted their fate, and his family members (his wife and son) who have embraced the speed of the new world and are adapting to it. The last steady shot of the film sums up the entire concept of the war on idealism and the proverbial tortoise that will lose to the hare in a realistic setting.

BLINDSPOTTING

It does matter if you're black or white

In a year of American movies that has had many stories that address the great Black/White divide (BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You et al.), Blindspotting comes out on top. It has humour and heart, and it never loses sight of the reality of the day which its characters are forced to confront eventually. Cultural identities, violence (involving guns and otherwise) and stereotypes are all explored throughout the 95 minutes of this movie. To write more about this movie is possible but seems unnecessary. The expression is trite, but I'll use it anyway: This movie is a must-watch. 

ROMA

What can be said about this movie that hasn't been said before? Bigwigs like Guillermo del Toro and Edgar Wright urged the public to watch it on the big screen, and that is what I was fortunate enough to do. A heartfelt and sensitive (culturally, historically and personally) masterpiece from Alfonso Cuaron, this is another one of those must-watch movies I talked about. The story mainly follows the trials and tribulations of Cleo, a housemaid of a middle class family. Her life, as it intertwines with those of her employers, is explored skilfully and provides a profound picture of everyday hardships and familial connections. These peoples' stories play out alongside important moments in Mexican history, and Cuaron takes us on a journey through the changing times and phases of Mexico. The picture above pretty much sums up the impact of the movie as it delivers emotional knockouts aplenty.
P.S.
It also features my favorite scene of the year, where a car enters a garage.

DEN SKYLDIGE (THE GUILTY)

You're all out of order

I don't like to be algorithm-esque here, but if you liked Locke (2014), you'll love Den skyldige. An intense real-time, single location thriller, this one had me biting my nails. The movie concerns Asger, who we see operating the phone lines at en Emergency Services call center. We come to know that he used to be an 'on the streets' cop and has an upcoming court case the next day to add to his stress levels as he handles a particularly tense emergency call. He goes above and beyond his call of duty and matters keep escalating at the other end(s) of the line(s). This one's an anxiety inducing ride and telling more about it will only spoil the plot. I will say, however, that the payoff is well worth the perspiration.

HIGH LIFE

The great Claire Denis gives us a unique misadventure of a space story that is at various times thrilling, majestic and perverted. While most movies set in space have ambitious characters at their core with a lofty mission to carry out, High Life presents a much murkier world. In the near future, a group of criminals is sent on a mission to harness energy surrounding a black hole. They are accompanied by the authoritative Dr. Dibs (played by Juliette Binoche), who is shady herself and has some deviant plans of her own. This movie has tender, violent moments and moments of wonder as well (it's set in space after all). A welcome change from all the solemn space movies we are accustomed to. 

TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES

YOU get a movie, and YOU get a movie...

My favorite superhero movie of the year, one that lands so many punches but never overstays its welcome. Almost everything DC-related is ridiculed, so is the deluge of superhero movies itself. It leaves Deadpool 2 far behind in the constant mockery and inside jokes that superhero fans would enjoy. Maybe it seems so fresh to me since I haven't watched a single episode of the Teen Titans Go! television show, but one cannot deny how much unbridled fun this 84 minute movie packs. The art and animation are gorgeous, the gags endless...this is a refreshingly fun ride for all ages 😃

TRANSIT

You’ve been in hell since you got here

Transit is a smart, enigmatic movie that is set in a time unknown, with the constant factors of oppression and (neo?)fascism present. Georg, the protagonist, assumes the identity of another man to escape Nazi-ridden France but is stuck in Marseille, where he gets involved with a bunch of characters including a boy and his deaf mother and a young woman and her alleged lover. Refugees and immigrants all, they lack a concrete plan to rise above their adversity, and are restless in their seemingly futile attempts at deliverance and happiness. A moving and timely Kafkaesque story, Transit stayed with me long after I exited the theatre.

DI QIU ZUI HOU DE YE WAN (LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT)

Waking Life

Director Gan Bi is a contemporary king of long takes. He follows up his masterpiece Kaili Blues (2015) with a similarly paced,  similarly mystifying movie that concerns relationships and memories that cannot be tied up in a neat little bow. We find ourselves along with the characters in the movie in a dream state, where every aspect of the protagonist's life seems connected somehow. All the memories of the past, near present and the events of the present intermingle in a neo noir environment, inspiring countless moments that fascinate and enthrall. An ineffable journey into the recesses of a mind.

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT

I'm a sucker for serial killer movies and dark comedies and impending descents into hellfire and madness, so of course THTJB is one of my favorites this year. Lars von Trier the edgelord returns and this time he's in for some introspection, even if it seems egotistic, like Jack the protagonist who is played with a sickly relish by Matt Dillon. Jack recounts the stories behind his grisly and heartless murders to the voice of Bruno Ganz throughout the movie and elaborates on his outlook and philosophy. Oh yeah and he's simultaneously building an actual house during the murders. That's pretty much it. If twisted flicks with 'artistic' gore is your thing, then this one's for you. 

ZIMNA WOJNA (COLD WAR)

The director of Ida brings another heartbreaking, beautifully shot B&W movie that is concerned with characters living in times of national and international hardships. The movie follows the lives of a musical director and a singer, whose love story is temporally simultaneous with the Cold War in the 1950s. It really struck me how much substance was covered in so little time (about 80 minutes). As a result, every frame is utilised immaculately, and the melancholic portrayal of love in the time of suppression is searing, to put it mildly. 

ANG PANAHON NG HALIMAW (SEASON OF THE DEVIL)

An excruciating journey into the heart of Filipino totalitarianism in the '70s, SOTD doesn't shy away from criticising martial law and the violence and suffering it entails, and the long running length made me feel like a part of the film's setting. It evoked in me a sense of duty to become involved in a (political) struggle against the authorities that chain us everyday, in either quotidian or extreme ways. Although I'm not well versed in the current political climate of the Philippines, I am aware that their current leader is quite happy to embrace violence to overcome the problems of the country as his administration perceives them. The fact that the protagonist is a poet-activist is perfect for the audience to get an almost first-hand look at the troubles of the era. This is probably the most compelling movie I saw this year, one that has dug into my skull and will remain there for a long time.

YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

I'm not sure whether this is a 2017 or 2018 movie, but I haven't seen violence handled so beautifully - all the while maintaining the intensity of the situation - in a very long time. To find some semblance of tenderness in a violent act is a giant feat. Lynne Ramsay crafts a harrowing tale of crime seen through the eyes of our pensive protagonist, played by one of the most versatile actors of all time: Joaquin Phoenix. This is one of those films where one must never take their eyes away from the screen, because the exposition is not done through Sorkinesque dialogue, but in a visual manner. Masterful in every way.

LOS SILENCIOS

Los Silencios is a poignant tale of families, tradition, loss and the plight of the refugee. The supernatural aspect of the film caught me by surprise, and is a wonderful way to depict the detrimental changes happening in the film's setting. A mother and her two children flee from the violence they faced in Colombia to the place her husband is holed up, who (allegedly) died due to the negligence of a mining company, and hope to receive compensation for his death. The lives of the people they encounter here are not much better than their own since they too face dire consequences of an unfair world. This poetic movie builds up to an emotionally hard-hitting ending and manages to create a grim yet wondrous world of its own.

UPGRADE

It's not right to compare these two movies, but Upgrade is the movie you'd get if you made Venom cool (i.e. upgrade it). They share a significant plot point: a voice in the protagonist's head that causes them to gain superhuman abilities. Venom has a symbiote, and Upgrade has an insertable chip that allows our hero to gain the ability to walk again after a terrible run-in with some high tech goons due to which his wife is killed and he loses his motor skills. Upgrade is unpredictable, dark, with gorgeous action scenes and dashes of comedy that result in a superhero movie we need but perhaps don't deserve. 

WILDLIFE

The Brinson family is thrust into crisis as Jerry, the breadwinner of the house loses his job. He becomes detached and disillusioned of his position and decides to take up a job putting out the raging wildfire away from home. The son and his mother are left alone and the relationships between all of them become strained, to say the least, as they all try to pull their weight somehow and navigate the grounds of impending alienation and sorrow. The movie is crafted in a simple and elegant manner  and the placid story of a disintegrating family chugs along hitting all the right stops along the way. The performances are captivating, the composition is subtly brilliant and I am running out of words to describe my intangible love for this movie, so I'll stop here. 

There are other movies that I liked this year as well, but haven't 'waxed eloquent' about:

A QUIET PLACE

A STAR IS BORN

ANDHADHUN

ANI…DR. KASHINATH GHANEKAR

ANNIHILATION

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
AQUAMAN

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

BHAVESH JOSHI SUPERHERO

BIRDS OF PASSAGE

BLACK PANTHER

BLACKKKLANSMAN
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

DEADPOOL 2

DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT

EARLY MAN

FIRST MAN

GODZILLA: CITY ON THE EDGE OF BATTLE

GULABJAAM

HEREDITARY

INCREDIBLES 2

ISLE OF DOGS

JONAKI

KONA FER I STRIO (WOMAN AT WAR)

KUSAMA – INFINITY

LE LIVRE D’IMAGE

MADELINE’S MADELINE

MANDY

MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

MOWGLI

MY DINNER WITH HERVE

NUESTRO TIEMPO (OUR TIME)

OCTOBER

PREDATOR

PRIVATE LIFE

PSYCHOKINESIS

RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR
SEARCHING

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO

SMALLFOOT

SONI

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER VERSE

SUPA MODO

TARDA PARA MORIR JOVEN (TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG)

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

THE ENDLESS

THE EYES OF ORSON WELLES

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

TUMBBAD

UNSANE

VADA CHENNAI

VENOM

YING (SHADOW)