The Best Theatrical Releases of 2018
HomeThe Best Theatrical Releases of 2018
Posted December 28, 2018 12:00 AM by Brian Orndorf
The legacy of Fred Rogers, a racial quake in Oakland, the cult of Nicolas Cage, motherhood
split, German ache for Israeli cake, the trials of junior high, Wes Anderson's canine universe,
alien shimmer, Thanksgiving in Hell, and Steve McQueen's "Ocean's Eleven." Blu-ray.com's Brian Orndorf takes a look at his favorite films of 2018.
Eighth Grade
It's difficult to capture the essence of growing up, especially in today's world of media and screen saturation, but "Eighth Grade" manages to communicate universal pains of adolescence while making modern maturity comprehensible. Writer/director Bo Burnham skips John Hughes allegiance to dig into something more primal about the teen experience, capturing the highs and lows of adolescence with empathy and honesty, but still managing to sneak in some earned humor concerning pure awkwardness. It certainly isn't an easy sit, but "Eighth Grade" is miraculous in the way it works with emotional nuance and social horrors, offering a few lasting stings of reality along the way.
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
While a documentary about Fred Rogers could easily develop into a hagiography, director Morgan Neville avoids the treatment in "Won't You Be My Neighbor." It's a celebration of all things "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," but the picture slips past a basic highlight reel to understand Rogers and his life's mission to provide educational television for children, celebrating their needs and innate curiosity, and identifying personal worth. "Won't You Be My Neighbor" is deceptively simplistic. However, look beyond the irresistible warmth of the effort (with its blinding glow of nostalgia), and there's a complex study of focus, benevolence, and the personality of a man who helped change, and eventually save, children's television.
The Cakemaker
A German and Israeli co-production, "The Cakemaker" is a heartbreaking study of grief leading individuals into situations they don't fully understand. Writer/director Ofir Rual Graizer handles dramatics without slipping into sudsiness, while turns of plot emerge without manipulation, offering a smooth flow of character development and emotional expression to support a tale of personal awakening. It's a tender picture, but also suspenseful and surprising, with Graizer handling sensitivities and hostilities with real cinematic care.
Tully
While much has been made about the picture's knotted plotting and revelations, it's important to note how masterfully screenwriter Diablo Cody captures the essence of motherhood in "Tully." It's an amazing depiction of fatigue and anxiety, mixed in with profound fear concerning the loss of identity, forming the foundation of this engaging dramedy, with director Jason Reitman coming close to recreating the pure behavioral gold he unearthed with Cody in "Young Adult." "Tully" is funny, especially for people who've waged war with parenthood, but it's also sharply observed and, yes, surprising, as Cody doesn't head in anticipated directions with her depiction of a motherhood meltdown. Add in a layered lead performance from Charlize Theron, who gives herself to the part in full, and the movie scores with its lived-in appeal.
Isle of Dogs
Wes Anderson's return to stop-motion animation results in his strangest film yet. "Isle of Dogs" has enough idiosyncrasy for two movies, but Anderson's imagination remains on full display, cooking up a visual feast with defined melancholy, offering audiences a sublimely textured look at a scrappy canine universe sold with traditional Anderson wit and style. The feature's lack of cuddliness (especially when dealing with dogs) is a bit surprising, but the picture manages to appeal in other ways, offering a diverse voice cast and exquisite technical achievements.
Mandy
A deep-sea dive into the depths of psychotropic cinema, "Mandy" is a pure viewing experience from director Panos Cosmatos, who doesn't hold anything back with this nightmarish revenge story. It's enough to finally be enchanted by a Nicolas Cage performance, watching the drowsy actor finally reconnect with his nutball potential, but Cosmatos has a vision here, sinking into a full-scale nightmare with monsters, cults, and plenty of psychedelic imagery. It's a beautifully macabre effort, unforgettable in the way it weaves its darkness, making for one of the few singular viewing experiences of the year.
Widows
Director Steve McQueen aims to create more mainstream entertainment with "Widows," sampling the thriller genre. Action is there, generating tremendous suspense while screenwriter Gillian Flynn creates an adaptation that's mindful of twists and turns, but also defines characters superbly. "Widows" isn't simple escapism offering candied heist cinema surprises, staying low to the ground, inspecting race, class, and politics while still tending to the violence and near-misses the subgenre is known for. It's nail-biting stuff, elevated by McQueen's focus on personal connections and hostile encounters.
The Oath
In a year filled with political documentaries nobody really cared about, "The Oath" uses comedy to express the pressures facing family gatherings during the Trump Presidency, finding the insanity of such contentious interactions with hilarious household anarchy. Writer/director/star Ike Barinholtz goes broad but thoughtfully so with the feature, which delivers a snowballing sense of violent escalation while maintaining a darkly comic spirit. While "The Oath" wasn't met with the warmest of receptions, Barinholtz taps into something primal concerning political divide, eerily reflecting the reality of American hostility, doing so with a pronounced sense of humor and love for the bitter details of familial resentment.
Annihilation
The premiere brain-bleeder of 2018, "Annihilation" goes freaky and mysterious with its depiction of the end of the world. Director Alex Garland takes sizable risks with tone and visual intensity, endeavoring to craft a puzzling odyssey that's worth the long storytelling journey. Helped along by a powerful lead performance from Natalie Portman, "Annihilation" isn't easily decoded, but it's frequently mesmerizing and, eventually, horrifying, and it's thrilling to watch Garland really dig into the possibilities of this enigmatic effort.
Blindspotting
Out of all the racially charged endeavors of the film year, "Blindspotting" provides the sharpest understanding of the personalities involved in discrimination and hate, doing so with something of a lighter touch, finding humor to help float above rising tides of pain. Stars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal hammer out a screenplay intended to give themselves meaty roles to play, and they end up with an honest assessment of the world's ills, punctuated with poetic fury that transforms urban passivity into primal scream therapy.
Also of note: If Beale Street Could Talk, Heavy Trip, A Prayer Before Dawn, Avengers: Infinity War, Summer 1993, Under the Tree, Tea with the Dames, The Guilty, Shoplifters, Filmworker, Destroyer, The Old Man & the Gun, Private Life, BlackKKlansman, and Paddington 2.
Please check out the Blu-ray.com community 2018 theatrical picks here
Eighth Grade
It's difficult to capture the essence of growing up, especially in today's world of media and screen saturation, but "Eighth Grade" manages to communicate universal pains of adolescence while making modern maturity comprehensible. Writer/director Bo Burnham skips John Hughes allegiance to dig into something more primal about the teen experience, capturing the highs and lows of adolescence with empathy and honesty, but still managing to sneak in some earned humor concerning pure awkwardness. It certainly isn't an easy sit, but "Eighth Grade" is miraculous in the way it works with emotional nuance and social horrors, offering a few lasting stings of reality along the way.
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
While a documentary about Fred Rogers could easily develop into a hagiography, director Morgan Neville avoids the treatment in "Won't You Be My Neighbor." It's a celebration of all things "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," but the picture slips past a basic highlight reel to understand Rogers and his life's mission to provide educational television for children, celebrating their needs and innate curiosity, and identifying personal worth. "Won't You Be My Neighbor" is deceptively simplistic. However, look beyond the irresistible warmth of the effort (with its blinding glow of nostalgia), and there's a complex study of focus, benevolence, and the personality of a man who helped change, and eventually save, children's television.
The Cakemaker
A German and Israeli co-production, "The Cakemaker" is a heartbreaking study of grief leading individuals into situations they don't fully understand. Writer/director Ofir Rual Graizer handles dramatics without slipping into sudsiness, while turns of plot emerge without manipulation, offering a smooth flow of character development and emotional expression to support a tale of personal awakening. It's a tender picture, but also suspenseful and surprising, with Graizer handling sensitivities and hostilities with real cinematic care.
Tully
While much has been made about the picture's knotted plotting and revelations, it's important to note how masterfully screenwriter Diablo Cody captures the essence of motherhood in "Tully." It's an amazing depiction of fatigue and anxiety, mixed in with profound fear concerning the loss of identity, forming the foundation of this engaging dramedy, with director Jason Reitman coming close to recreating the pure behavioral gold he unearthed with Cody in "Young Adult." "Tully" is funny, especially for people who've waged war with parenthood, but it's also sharply observed and, yes, surprising, as Cody doesn't head in anticipated directions with her depiction of a motherhood meltdown. Add in a layered lead performance from Charlize Theron, who gives herself to the part in full, and the movie scores with its lived-in appeal.
Isle of Dogs
Wes Anderson's return to stop-motion animation results in his strangest film yet. "Isle of Dogs" has enough idiosyncrasy for two movies, but Anderson's imagination remains on full display, cooking up a visual feast with defined melancholy, offering audiences a sublimely textured look at a scrappy canine universe sold with traditional Anderson wit and style. The feature's lack of cuddliness (especially when dealing with dogs) is a bit surprising, but the picture manages to appeal in other ways, offering a diverse voice cast and exquisite technical achievements.
Mandy
A deep-sea dive into the depths of psychotropic cinema, "Mandy" is a pure viewing experience from director Panos Cosmatos, who doesn't hold anything back with this nightmarish revenge story. It's enough to finally be enchanted by a Nicolas Cage performance, watching the drowsy actor finally reconnect with his nutball potential, but Cosmatos has a vision here, sinking into a full-scale nightmare with monsters, cults, and plenty of psychedelic imagery. It's a beautifully macabre effort, unforgettable in the way it weaves its darkness, making for one of the few singular viewing experiences of the year.
Widows
Director Steve McQueen aims to create more mainstream entertainment with "Widows," sampling the thriller genre. Action is there, generating tremendous suspense while screenwriter Gillian Flynn creates an adaptation that's mindful of twists and turns, but also defines characters superbly. "Widows" isn't simple escapism offering candied heist cinema surprises, staying low to the ground, inspecting race, class, and politics while still tending to the violence and near-misses the subgenre is known for. It's nail-biting stuff, elevated by McQueen's focus on personal connections and hostile encounters.
The Oath
In a year filled with political documentaries nobody really cared about, "The Oath" uses comedy to express the pressures facing family gatherings during the Trump Presidency, finding the insanity of such contentious interactions with hilarious household anarchy. Writer/director/star Ike Barinholtz goes broad but thoughtfully so with the feature, which delivers a snowballing sense of violent escalation while maintaining a darkly comic spirit. While "The Oath" wasn't met with the warmest of receptions, Barinholtz taps into something primal concerning political divide, eerily reflecting the reality of American hostility, doing so with a pronounced sense of humor and love for the bitter details of familial resentment.
Annihilation
The premiere brain-bleeder of 2018, "Annihilation" goes freaky and mysterious with its depiction of the end of the world. Director Alex Garland takes sizable risks with tone and visual intensity, endeavoring to craft a puzzling odyssey that's worth the long storytelling journey. Helped along by a powerful lead performance from Natalie Portman, "Annihilation" isn't easily decoded, but it's frequently mesmerizing and, eventually, horrifying, and it's thrilling to watch Garland really dig into the possibilities of this enigmatic effort.
Blindspotting
Out of all the racially charged endeavors of the film year, "Blindspotting" provides the sharpest understanding of the personalities involved in discrimination and hate, doing so with something of a lighter touch, finding humor to help float above rising tides of pain. Stars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal hammer out a screenplay intended to give themselves meaty roles to play, and they end up with an honest assessment of the world's ills, punctuated with poetic fury that transforms urban passivity into primal scream therapy.
Also of note: If Beale Street Could Talk, Heavy Trip, A Prayer Before Dawn, Avengers: Infinity War, Summer 1993, Under the Tree, Tea with the Dames, The Guilty, Shoplifters, Filmworker, Destroyer, The Old Man & the Gun, Private Life, BlackKKlansman, and Paddington 2.