Kevin Taft's Best Movies of 2018

Every year I'm unsure exactly how to go about writing my "best of" list. I see other critics and notables' lists and they seem to always hit the same usual suspects, with a few dips into the unexpected.

When I looked back on the year, the movies that jumped out at me weren't necessarily the "best" or something that was going to ever be nominated for any awards. But they were movies that moved me, excited me, or just allowed me to forget about life for a few hours and get lost in a different world.

So my "Best of" list isn't going to probably look like the lists you've been reading. These are my favorites of the year and the movies I'll go back and revisit in the future.

20-11 (in no particular order):

"A Star Is Born" - Gaga and Cooper are magic.
"Crazy Rich Asians" - phenomenally entertaining.
"Love, Simon" - the movie I wished I could have seen in high school.
"Bird Box" – a more psychological "A Quiet Place" with a great performance by Sandra Bullock.
"The Endless" - a challenging but wholly original sci-fi, horror tale from two super talented directors.
"Beast" - if not just for the astounding performance of Jessie Buckley.
"Summer of '84" - a fun throwback to 80s thrillers with a cast of thirteen year olds.
"Elizabeth Harvest" - a Brian DePalma-style thriller featuring a surprisingly potent performance by model Abbey Lee.
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" - Melissa McCarthy is fantastic and the story itself is compelling.
"What Keeps You Alive" - a highly effective contained thriller about a lesbian couple who go to a cabin in the woods only to find one of them is a nut-job.

10. "Anna and the Apocalypse"

Honestly, what can't you like about a comedy/horror/zombie Christmas musical? An import from Scotland, this fun romp has terrific songs (sorely overlooked by the Academy), great performances, and enough wit and heart to win over even non-horror fans. It doesn't rewrite the zombie movie or high school angst, but it combines them all into a zippy little confection that I adored.

9. (tie) "Overlord" / "Alpha"

That's right I've chosen two practically forgotten movies that were criminally underrated and underseen. "Overlord" is one I expected to hate, but director Julius Avery does something unexpected: he takes what could have just been a bloody, pulp horror film and gives it weight. The first hour is a straight-on war film with some truly visceral scenes that are stunning. (The opening sequence garnered applause when I saw it.) But it's the characters that make the difference here. They are interesting, different, and add so much to a story. Truly, this is also filmmaking at its best. The script is fun, the cast is excellent, and the direction is just really, really good. It was the first movie in a while that I walked out of on a little high because I enjoyed myself so much. "Alpha" - the story of the first friendship between a boy and his dog/wolf - is simple but pretty terrific. The best aspect is the stunning cinematography and special effects work. I really loved this movie and wished people would have seen it on the big screen.

8. "A Quiet Place"

While it might just seem like a clever horror thriller, John Krasinski has crafted a well-directed and well-acted film about a family trying to find meaning in a life that is lived through constant fear. Emily Blunt gives a stupendous performance (when does she not?) and Krasinski proves he's absolutely a director to watch. Not to mention deaf-actress Millicent Simmonds is heartbreakingly good. And yeah, it's suspenseful as hell.

7. "Leave No Trace"

A haunting look at a father who has brought up his daughter to live in on the outskirts of society, but is forced to move into the real world by the authorities. How the two handle their new world and start to address their needs is difficult and moving and Thomasin MacKenzie and Ben Foster act the hell out of it.

6. "First Reformed"

I wasn't sure I'd like director Paul Schrader's film about a minister (Ethan Hawke) dealing with a parishioner's tragedy, but I found myself endlessly fascinated by it. The mundane existence and the day to day work of this small New England town minister was engrossing, but the personal dilemmas he starts to face are what keeps you watching. The ending will be a love it or hate it sort of thing, but Hawke delivers a fierce career-best performance and Amanda Seyfried does some buttoned-down work we don't' often get to see from her. This film stayed with me long after the credits were over.

5. "The Hate U Give"

Criminally overlooked, George Tillman Jr. directs an adaptation of the popular YA novel to blistering effect. Starring a stunning Amandla Stenberg, this look at race in Atlanta, Georgia is eye-opening in its honesty (the first scene was a wake-up call) and powerful in what it has to say. The fact that this Oscar-worthy film is not getting the attention it deserves is upsetting because it's one of the very best of the year and one of the most important films of the decade, especially considering the state of our country.

4. "If Beale Street Could Talk"

I'll admit I wasn't a fan of Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight." While it had style, the script didn't work for me. But here, Jenkins signature poetic-style of storytelling really sucked me in. I loved the setting, the chemistry between the two leads, and I deeply felt the pull and the pain of what Tish and Fonny were going through. Regina King gives a fantastic performance as the mother of Tish and the cinematography by James Laxton is gorgeous.

3. "Eighth Grade"

Comedian Bo Burnham's writing and directorial debut is a stunner. With an Oscar-worthy performance by Elise Fisher, this look at what it means to be thirteen years old in the age of social media is compelling and on the nose. Much of this is thanks to Fisher's preternaturally pitch-perfect performance as Kayla Day - an awkward girl with low self-esteem who still has high hopes she can overcome it. Fisher will charm the hell out of you just as she is breaking your heart. She's that good. And so is the film.

2. "Annihilation"

An artsy sci-fi movie, Alex Garland's follow-up to his critically acclaimed "Ex Machina" is just as challenging and creative as his debut. Based on the first novel in a book series, Natalie Portman stars as a biologist who travels into a mysterious area of land taken over by an alien presence. What follows is weird, disturbing, beautiful, and completely mesmerizing. While some might not like (or understand) the final act, this is a near perfect film.

1. "We the Animals"

Graceful and poetic, Jeremiah Zagar's first narrative feature film is a stunning achievement and the movie I wished "Moonlight" would have been. Rather than mapping the course of a young boy's coming out through various painful stages of his life, Zagar captures one summer in the life of three brothers, one of whom begins to discover he is gay. Yet, while there is an LGBTQ element to the film, that isn't the main focus. The theme of the film is how we take in the experiences we endure, process them, and ultimately make sense of it all and move on. It's gorgeous and powerful and it's a shame that it hasn't gotten the notice it so very well deserves.