Jason St. Amand's 10 Best Films of 2018

This list may seem a few months late but I consider the movie season to stretch from January through February of the following year – or until after the Academy Awards ceremony is held. This usually overlaps with the slate of new films debuting at Sundance and other early festivals but that's just the way Hollywood works; awards season is truly never over.

Though movie studios are still focusing on superhero blockbusters and films based on existing intellectual property, 2018 offered a number of original gems among some bona fide hits. Films like the atmospheric sci-fi thriller "Annihilation" and Maggie Gyllenhaal's tour de force of a performance in "The Kindergarten Teacher" just missed my top 10 of 2018. While most of the movies in my list didn't make much of a splash at the box office, they each have a distinct point of view, tone and push the boundaries of what moviemaking can be. From a film shot entirely on an iPhone to a touching story about queer friendship, 2018 was a diverse and solid year for film.

Below are my top 10 favorite movies of 2018. But before that here are honorable mentions, number 11 through 20.

Honorable mentions: 11. "Annihilation," 12. "The Kindergarten Teacher," 13. "First Man" 14. "If Beale Street Could Talk" 15. "Shoplifters" 16. "Blackkklansman" 17. "Juliet, Naked" 18. "The House That Jack Built" 19. "Happy as Lazzaro" 20. "Burning"

10. "Unsane," Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Streaming: Amazon Prime

"Unsane" is Steven Soderbergh's first iPhone movie. He followed this psychological thriller with "High Flying Bird" on Netflix earlier this month, a snappy basketball movie about the behind the scenes action starring Andre Holland ("Moonlight, "The Knick"). For "Unsane," Soderbergh sets his iPhone 7 Plus on "The Crown" star Claire Foy, who plays Sawyer, a troubled woman who is involuntarily institutionalized. Soderbergh makes the best use of the iPhone, making "Unsane" feel claustrophobic and disorienting to match Sawyer's state of mind. Foy gives a great performance of a woman on the edge, making this little-seen flick so much better than it ought to be.

09. "Vox Lux," Directed by Brady Corbet
Streaming: N/A

"Vox Lux" is not a good movie. It's a fascinatingly bizarre one, though. It's the kind of strange concoction that has stuck with me since seeing it a few months ago. It's a twisted version of "A Star is Born" when a young singer Celest (played by Raffey Casssidy as a teen and Natalie Portman as an adult) survives a school shooting and is transformed into a mega pop star a la Lady Gaga. Every choice here is so strange – from a Willem Deafoe narration to having Cassidy play Celest's daughter. And then there's Portman's mind-boggling performance (The New York Times' film critic Manohla Dargis put it best, writing that Portman has an "accent that sounds like it's been lifted from a New York cabby in an old Hollywood comedy." The last musical number is terrible and the pop songs that we're to believe propelled Celest into stardom are quite bad (they were written by Sia but sound like tracks she never planned to release). Director Brady Corbet (an actor best known for his role in "Mysterious Skin" and his directorial debut "The Childhood of a Leader") makes a huge swing with "Vox Lux" and attempts to say something grand about our culture, pop music and tragedy but it's ultimately a can't-look-away-misfire. The kind of disaster I'll happily re-watch again and again.

08. "Suspiria," Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Streaming: Amazon Prime

Like "Vox Lux," Luca Guadagnino's take on the cult classic "Suspiria" aims high. But unlike Bradly Corbet's film, Guadagnino's remix of Dario Argento iconic 1977 giallo horror film is successful. With a running time of 153 minutes, the 2018 "Suspiria" is only spiritually connected to the original, expanding on Argento's "Three Mothers" trilogy. Guadagnino smartly ignores the original's Technicolor gore and its iconic soundtrack from Goblin, making his version of the movie dull grey and enlists Radiohead front man Thom Yorke for its spooky music. "Suspiria" also also features Dakota Johnson's best performance ever and another stellar turn from Tilda Swinton. Guadagnino channels Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adding texture to why "Suspiria" is set in 70s Germany and making great use of the political climate at the time and a coven of witches.

07. "Lean on Pete," Directed by Andrew Haigh
Streaming: Amazon Prime, Kanopy

Out filmmaker Andrew Haigh's follow up to "45 Years" is a quiet road trip movie about a boy and his horse. Charlie Plummer gives one of the best performances of the year as Charley – a dirt poor teen who finds solace in taking care of an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete. The film shifts major gears after Charley is hit with tragedy in the first third of the film, sparking him to run away with his new animal friend in search of his aunt across the country. "Lean on Pete" isn't as sentimental as one may assume; it's a dark film that rests on Plummer's shoulders, proving he's one of the strongest young actors of his generation.

06. "Eighth Grade," Directed by Bo Burnham
Streaming: Amazon Prime

Comedian and YouTube star Bo Burnham's directorial debut "Eighth Grade" is a horror movie. Starring the sensational Elsie Fisher as middle school student Kayla, "Eighth Grade" puts the experience of a young teen under a magnifying class, amplifying every awkward moment and pump those tense scenes with the kind of intense energy one would feel while watching slasher flick. But "Eighth Grade" is ultimately beautiful movie that tracks 13-year-old Kayla as she navigates her last year before entering high school. Burnham captures the essence of being a middle schooler and not for once plays Kayla's experience for cheap laughs. The things she's interested in – especially vlogging – are treated with respect and dignity, making "Eighth Grade" a lovely and felt experience

05. "A Star is Born," Directed by Bradley Cooper
Streaming: iTunes

Bradley Cooper's remake of a "A Star is Born" was one of the most exciting cultural moments of 2018. From the memes to the actual film – when the moment hits that Cooper is actually pulling it off – this tragic Hollywood story, starring a marvelous Lady Gaga, was one of the best movies to think and talk about. It also happens to be very good.

04. "Roma," Directed by Alfonso Cuar�n
Streaming: Netflix

For how technically impressive "Roma" is (that cinematography! The sound!) Alfonso Cuar�n's memory piece packs an emotional punch. Cuar�n focuses on Cleo (breakout star Yalitza Aparicio), a nanny for a family in 70s Mexico City. Based on Cuar�n's real life nanny from that time, the filmmaker puts Cleo's experience and story on a huge scale. Her small story is treated like a war epic. "Roma" is why movies exist, an achievement in storytelling and cinematic scope.

03. "The Favourite," Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Streaming: iTunes

Yorgos Lanthimos pulls of a feat with "The Favourite" a wickedly funny movie about power, women and sex. Its three stars Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz give incredible performances each on a different wavelength. Lanthimos's touch makes "The Favourite" slightly off kilter, thanks to fisheye lenses, modern music and dance. There hasn't been such a twisted period piece since Sofia Coppola's 2006 masterpiece "Marie Antoinette."

02. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Directed by Marielle Heller
Streaming: iTunes

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" probably has one of the worst trailers of 2018. It suggests is a run-of-the-mill Oscar bait movie with comedic genius Melissa McCarthy making a blatant attempt to Get Serious. But Marielle Heller's film is anything but that, considering it earned just three Academy Award nominations (McCarthy for Best Actress, Richard E. Grant for Best Supporting Actor and Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty for Best Adapted Screenplay) and isn't expected to take home any. Nevertheless, the story about biographer-turned-scammer Lee Israel turns out to be a touching story about queer friendship. It's a specific New York City 90s story that's heartfelt and beautiful. Indeed, McCarthy as Israel is wonderful as is Grant, who plays gay British smooth talker Jack Hock. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is the kind of movie that is currently overlooked but will go on to become a cult favorite.

01. "Hereditary," Directed by Ari Aster
Streaming: Amazon Prime

"Hereditary" is hands down the scariest movie of 2018. It's hardly a horror movie, although it's classified as such since supernatural moments occur. But it's the most stressful, intense and twisted family drama in some time. At the center of this film is Toni Collette's masterful performance as Annie Graham, a mother dealing with the loss of her own mother and how that sets off a chain of events that uproots her reality. The rabbit hole she goes down is – well there's really no other way to put this – extremely fucked up. She's put through the ringer and Collette is fully committed here as "Heredity" explores what it's like to be a mother, deals with loss, grief, tragedy and familial bounds that we've been taught to be unbreakable. "Heredity" asks what if those bonds somehow did snap? The answer is that all hell breaks loose.