2018 was a year that saw substantial changes in the film business. It was a year in which Netflix became a major player, Marvel unleashed a black superhero and Spike Lee a black Klansman. It was a year documentaries (Monrovia, Indiana) did very well and the story of Robin Hood was the universal flop of the year. I guess that in the age of Trump the poor stealing from the rich does not resonate with the youth of the 21st century.
- Roma
Director Alfonso Cuaron’s family drama from Mexico is a game changer - You Were Never Really Here
Director Lynne Ramsay’s striking and powerful sex trafficking noir - Black Panther
Black superhero in a real deal franchise that works! - Green Book
Director/screenwriter Peter Farrelly’s poignant trip through the Jim Crow South vicariously reexamines racism - Beast
Director/writer Michael Pearce captures emotional truth with a colorful and gripping tale of love, lies and deceit - The Rider
Chinese director/writer Chloe Zhao creates a lyrical tale of a rising rodeo star who sustains a head injury - The Favorite
18th Century in the palace of Queen Anne where improprieties abound - Shoplifters
Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for this riveting examination of a family living on the edge of criminal enterprise - First Reformed
Sin and redemption have always fascinated director/writer/theorist Paul Schrader, and this is his best in years - Eighth Grade
Bo Burnham’s film is unique and wonderful!
