The 10 Best Movies of 2018!

Halloween

Horror is a tricky genre. More often than not horror movies are either pure trash or so good they leave you feeling like trash afterward. Halloween though manages the impossible though and created one of the best entries in the genre that I’ve seen in years. I would dare say that it comes dangerously close to surpassing even the original, but realistically comes in at a close second in the series overall. I was never a big Michael Myers fan growing up, but this take on the character made him one of the most chilling villains of the year. More importantly, though Jamie Lee Curtis is back and this new version of Laurie Strode is nothing short of a badass. It managed to embrace all the elements we love about horror while also featuring an incredibly strong female lead that spat in the face of the ankle twisting cliches we know so well from the genre.

The Old Man & The Gun

There were quite a few movies in 2018 that were based on true stories that were stranger than fiction, including BlacKkKlansman, White Boy Rick, and Tag. However, none of them had quite the same impact on me as The Old Man & The Gun. Robert Redford was born to play Forrest Tucker, a charismatic bank robber and escape artist who stole purely for the joy of it. It brought back a longing for the days of films like The Sting which were just fun, feel-good films that also happened to masterfully crafted stories. Redford proves that he hasn’t lost a step when it comes to his boyish charm and it’s a fitting final role as he retires from acting. The film is a wonderful character study filled with great performances making it not just one of the best movies of 2018, but one of the best feel-good films I’ve seen in a long time.

Bad Times at the El Royale

There were more than a few amazing thrillers that hit theaters this summer, including Searching and A Simple Favor. However, Bad Times at the El Royale is easily one of the best movies of 2018 thanks to its incredible star-studded ensemble cast. It features such talent as Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, and Dakota Johnson,  all of whom come together to create vibrant and memorable characters thanks to writer/director Drew Goddard. The film weaves an intricate web of tales that sets all the characters on a collision course as it becomes clear that no one in the hotel is what they first seemed. Despite being over 2 hours long, Bad Times at the El Royale never drags and makes the most out of every second. That’s probably why I left the theater with my mind absolutely blown.

Green Book

A late release this year, Green Book is a film that’s all about patience and understanding when it comes to those who might be a little “different” from you. At the center of the movie are Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali (who also appears in another movie to make this list), who play a blue-collar Italian-American bouncer and a brilliantly gifted concert pianist/genius. Needless to day these two seem like oil and water at first. However, the chemistry between this on-screen duo creates one of the most heartwarming friendships to appear on the big screen. Green Book embraces the age-old bit of wisdom that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but does so in such a way that will renew your faith in humanity. Then again, relationships are probably Peter Farrelly’ greatest strength as a director and this is the perfect movie to showcase just that.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

When I sat down to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse I had high expectations for this animated superhero movie. Every single one of them was met or exceeded by the end of it. Movies like Isle of Dogs and Incredibles 2 will probably be all the rage at the Oscars, but Spider-Verse was by far and away my favorite animated movie. I would go so far as to say that it gives a number of the live-action superhero flicks, like Avengers: Infinity War and Aquaman a run for their money. The film brings minority hero Miles Morales to the big screen and sets Sony up to go a whole new direction with the Spider-Man franchise now that Marvel is using the wall-crawling in their movies. If 2018 was a pretty good year at the movies then Spider-Verse was the perfect cherry on top.

It was tough narrowing it down to just 10 films to honor as the best movies of 2018, but this is a list that really embodies a lot of the good we got from cinema this year. As always, I’d love to hear what some of your favorite movies were. So, be sure to leave a comment below. Oh, and in case you’re interested, I also managed to compile a list of the 10 worst movies of 2018 as well. So you might want to check that out first just to make sure I didn’t diss your favorite movie of the year. Join Stars & Popcorn next year though, because once the clock hits midnight you can bet that I’ll be raring to go to find out what the best movies of 2019 will be!