Top 30 Movies of 2018
last year was the year of a LOT of good films, this year is about GREAT films.
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- DirectorLars von TrierStarsMatt DillonBruno GanzUma ThurmanIn five episodes, failed architect and vicious sociopath Jack recounts his elaborately orchestrated murders -- each, as he views them, a towering work of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest.this film is really about art and how people receive it, the kind that Jack made is the forbidden one, the sublime artwork hidden away in the old cathedral for only god to see. in an interview, Trier said that Jack's character is close to him except that he doesn't kill people, meaning that the kind of art that Trier made is something that the art police (my surname for critics and their politicaly correct issue) would dismiss, despite that, the real film critic loved this film, and i admire it not for being artsy-fartsy (it's not, but a lot of people think that it is just because of the symbolism and such) but as a pure expression of self, no politics, no propaganda, just a depiction and a detail of a man whom destined to hell.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsJohn HustonOja KodarPeter BogdanovichAt a media-swamped party to celebrate his 70th birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.with the fast paced shots (just like any welles's films) packed with dialogues that might be 90 percent improvised or added spontaneously, this elusive masterpiece described and parodied not only Orson himself but also the natural state of the film industry whether it's the 70's and even now. the movie buffs, critics, the directors, the midgets, and the young juices, played like a never ending dream sequence orchestrated by god himself, Welles.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsDogu DemirkolMurat CemcirBennu YildirimlarAn unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.the film depicted a cliche plot of life that happen everywhere in the world that nobody in hollywood would ever produce. it's a loser story, something that might not be "inspiring", "uplifting", and just plain depressing and plays at key minor at an instrument (even tho there's some note changes at the end). it's a taboo song that people often treat as a myth. it's like discovering Bicycle Thieves and Mouchette all over again.
- DirectorAlice RohrwacherStarsAdriano TardioloAgnese GrazianiAlba RohrwacherAn unceasingly kind Italian peasant and his family are blatantly exploited by a tobacco baroness.Happy as Lazzaro reminded me of old european films like Miracle in Milan, Au Hasard Balthazar, and more, it has it's pureness that no hollywood film can touch. the way logic works in this film didn't go in line with marvel films, Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man because a spider, Tony Stark becomes Iron Man because of money, and Lazzaro becomes Lazzaro because he is a good guy, i mean i would be surprised that with the level of virtue that he has (probably something that we would hear from the story of jesus and muhammad) that he can't grow a single carrot by miracle. Lazzaro is a miracle from a forgotten realm in Italy.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.probably Koreeda's best since Maborosi and After Life. he is comparable to Mike Leigh when it comes to making a family drama, it's started slow but always building up to something and towards the ending you just got kicked in the balls (maybe not so much with Leigh, but sometimes yes), and he was probably possessed by Ozu's holy ghost because nobody told family drama better than Ozu. and i also wished that this film won best foreign language at oscar rather than Roma (a bit overrated imo).
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPenélope CruzJavier BardemRicardo DarínLaura, a Spanish woman living in Buenos Aires, returns to her hometown outside Madrid with her two children to attend her sister's wedding. However, the trip is upset by unexpected events that bring secrets into the open.Farhadi is one of a very few director who's capable to make a premise about teen kidnaping story and then turned it into a beautifully layered drama. it's about family and it's dark secrets, it's about the setting and people who lives in it, but as broad as the film already is it's also about individuals, and every character in this film is meticulously written by Farhadi. it also proves Farhadi's universal language that his Iranian archetypal story worked with the spanish setting too. this film compared to The Past and The Salesman is closer to his magnum opus A Separation when it comes to perfection.
- DirectorCarlos López EstradaStarsDaveed DiggsRafael CasalJanina GavankarWhile on probation, a man begins to re-evaluate his relationship with his volatile best friend.when i say that this film is poetic doesn't mean that you're going to watch a rendition of shakespeare where everyone would talk like they're raised from the dead from how many centuries ago and began to talk one of those "thee" and "thou", the whole film is a poetry of an internal struggle that this african american guy have to go through. and the scene near the ending is so powerful that 8 Mile is SHOOK!
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsSteve CarellThe story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.i don't think that this is a satire as some people has said it to be, it didn't reach the level of War Machine, Oh What a Lovely War, and Dr. Strangelove exaggeration and not much comedic plots going on, all the crazy editing and somehow comedic vibe is just Adam McKay's style to tell a story of about a man of power works and how people and also life itself reaction could shape the world forever for the better or worse. the film could also be about WW1 and WW2 and any other big events that was created by people sitting in a damp cold room talking about big bombings.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsOlivia ColmanEmma StoneRachel WeiszIn early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.Finally we get to see when Yorgos Lanthimos don't make allegorical films, i love when he made them but i also know that he is more than just that. The screenplay is just extraordinarily superb (feeling a bit posh now) the casts are marvelous (Emma Stone upped her game especially with that posh accent) and the film will absolutely felt different if it weren't treated by Yorgos's direction.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.this film should be one of christmas film to watch as a tradition for generations to come, the characters and the story is very heartwarming and reminded you a lot of John Hughes films. this type of film could easily hit the wrong note and made the film just like every other cheesy road trip film, but it didn't, the writer and the casts always stay on track with the characters. and when the film ended, i was smiled throughout the credits.
- DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsAndrew GarfieldRiley KeoughTopher GraceSam, a disenchanted young man, finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre.Under the Silver Lake is a very absurd and strange film about hollywood and people who lives in it. focusing on one guy and his search of the one he loves, this film is really about people and their search of the meaning of life, about chasing their dream, and also the nihilistic point of view of it as well. this film is very rich of nuance that it could just be called "hollywood", but it still have one theme. usually, i hate film like this because it often goes wrong and ended up being pretentious, but this film is just flowed naturally without being a smartypants.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.an exploration of the first man who stepped his foot on the moon, more than that it's about Neil Armstrong, he was depicted as a person who knows what he's doing, calm, and yet quiet abstruse. we saw in the first scene that the lost of his daughter played a big part in his life, and then the lost a lot of his friends, and yet nothing really pinpoint his motivation on why he kept going, even though it could be very simple, nothing were exclamaied. the sound engineering on this film is "out of this world" as the wife would call it, the whole film is an experience not to be missed out.
- DirectorBoots RileyStarsLaKeith StanfieldTessa ThompsonJermaine FowlerIn an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.the kafka-esque film that represent middle class people living in a parody world that wasn't a far fetch from whatever the world we live in now, not only the film is clever but also avoided from being pretentious and refuse to make the film as a piece of propaganda, and instead just being funny and going overboard (white voice, horse breed)
- DirectorDebra GranikStarsThomasin McKenzieBen FosterJeffery RifflardA father and his seventeen-year-old daughter are living an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon when a small mistake derails their lives forever.it's a heartbreaking story about a father-daughter relationship that is bound to crash anytime soon. the father is a veteran with every wire connected to his realm of psyche entangled, the daughter is on her way to become a fully aware homo sapien. in the end, we just have to let everything that happen just happened for the sake of everybody.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYoo Ah-inSteven YeunJeon Jong-seoJong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.this film reminded me of Night Moves (the one from the 70s), Don't Look Now, and especially Picnic at Hanging Rock, where a lot of detail is there but never presented as an exclamation or as a breadcrumbs to lead you to a conclusion, Hae-mi could be killed or simply just disappeared, Ben towards the end has this tendency as a homosexual person (probably in love with Jong-su instead of hae-mi) or maybe he's just eccentric, everything is there and also not there yet those are the only tools to explain this puzzling situation. either way, we can't escape the inevitable fate that the character have to face in the end. it reminded you of a real-life case like that canadian girl that was found dead in a water tank in a hotel without any clue how she got there and who killed her. even though there are surveillance footage that confuse people even more. it's a tragedy, a mystery, it happened, and we are nothing but a witness.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsChadwick BosemanMichael B. JordanLupita Nyong'oT'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.this is my second favorite MCU film after Iron Man, this film's strength lies in the idea and the concept of Wakanda, this invisible and wealthy society within a society in Africa that has the potential to make the world better, yet has to be resurrected from the dead by a guy who has the opposite moral value than theirs yet the same skin color even has the Wakanda blood in his system. Wakanda represent peace, unity, freedom, power, and dare i say, cool gadgets (way cooler and more variants than Stark). i always thought that Asgard is the destination, but everything has changed thanks to Wakanda and of course Hela.
- DirectorMarielle HellerStarsMelissa McCarthyRichard E. GrantDolly WellsWhen Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.the story and plotting is simple, and always on the right track. the direction is also simple, elegant, and not pretentious at all. the classic soundtracks helped the film on putting the viewers in the mood of the era, and most of it to give the main character some personality. But what i love the most is the characters: Lee Israel and Jack Hock, both are troubled people on the street unleashed (especially Jack), through all the unsuccessful and depressing stories, troubling persona, and the stupidly played criminal thing that they did, they always made me laughs, and in the end it brings me joy, even optimism. a truly good piece of a film.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsAnders Danielsen LieJonas Strand GravliJon ØigardenA three-part story of Norway's worst terrorist attack in which over seventy people were killed. 22 July looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.what i admire about this film is that the film is trying to be very objective, they've shown many sides of the story: the survivor, the perpetrator, the far right, the government, the lawyer, and didn't make any opinion about the situation, instead, made the public form their own opinion, which is funny because it is a fiction film (even though it's based on a true story and rely on accuracy) but it's more reliable than a lot of journalist and media who are so biased and always ended up very subjective nowadays.
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenStarsSteve CarellMaura TierneyJack Dylan GrazerBased on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.A very good portrayal of a life of an addict and people surrounded him. the film is simple and straight to the point, there were no over explanation about the boy's life and childhood and what causes his addiction, it's simply an epidemic that could destroy everyone. the performances are pretty good too.
- DirectorBob PersichettiPeter RamseyRodney RothmanStarsShameik MooreJake JohnsonHailee SteinfeldTeen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
- DirectorGustav MöllerStarsJakob CedergrenJessica DinnageOmar ShargawiA police officer assigned alarm dispatch duty enters a race against time when he answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman.
- DirectorAneesh ChagantyStarsJohn ChoDebra MessingJoseph LeeAfter his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.
- DirectorJesse PeretzStarsChris O'DowdRose ByrneEthan HawkeAnnie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) has an unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan's musical obsession.
- DirectorSteve McLeanStarsHarris DickinsonJonah Hauer-KingAlessandro CimadamoreA stylish, sexy film about a young man's journey into an unusual form of escort work, set in an imaginary vision of London's Soho.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsEmily BluntLin-Manuel MirandaBen WhishawA few decades after her original visit, Mary Poppins, the magical nanny, returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives.