As the year is coming to an end, it’s time to look back at the movies released in 2018! Here’s a list of my personal favorites:
14. Paddington 2
Released in January in the US, Paddington 2 is one of those feel-good movies that just make you leave the theater smiling (and wishing you could visit London as soon as possible). This sequel is even more adorable than its predecessor, with the bonus of having Hugh Grant deliciously playing the villain what wants to steal the gift Paddington (Ben Whishaw) bought for his aunt Lucy. Paddington’s feelings and attitude towards everyone are so genuine that you will wish he could be your friend too.
13. Game Night
It seems like it gets harder every year to see a comedy that is actually funny without being completely raunchy. Thankfully, not only did Game Night succeed in that, but it is also a hilarious spoof on David Fincher’s The Game. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams have great chemistry as the couple who hosts weekly game nights. The scene stealer, however, is Jesse Plemons, the weird neighbor who wishes he was invited but is forced to watch them from afar. Full review here.
Probably the most difficult film to watch this year, with countless cringeworthy moments, is also one of the best movies to display the reality of growing up in a world where being “cool” on social media is the norm and showing life through perfect filtered photos disguise how life really is. Kayla (Elsie Fisher) is an incredibly shy girl at school, with no friends. Online, however, she has a YouTube channel where she gives tips of how to behave successfully. Ironically, no one actually watches her videos, which just makes the audience emphasize even more with her. There are also inevitable questions about discovering sexuality, trying to please everyone to fit in, and feeling lost while growing up – everything potentialized by social media, of course (not to mention an intense #metoo moment that is the hardest scene to watch).
Short and to the point, A Quiet Place made a huge noise at the box office and was able to please both audiences and critics. Set in a dystopian future where unknown creatures kill anything that makes a sound, A Quiet Place is John Krasinski’s best work so far, not to mention his first on-screen collaboration with his wife Emily Blunt (who gives a brilliant performance in this movie). Full review here.
With an ending that divided opinions, Tully follows the story of Marlo (Charlize Theron) as she had her third child and is struggling to be able to take care of the house and of the children. Her husband (Ron Livingston) doesn’t help much, but he convinces her to hire a baby-sitter named Tully (Mackenzie Davis). It is a beautiful story about mental health and it was sadly overlooked this year. See full review here.
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut has been a big hit at the box office, even if the story is not new or innovative (it is, after all, the 4th version made for theaters). Still, it managed to captivate audiences, especially with the original songs and with Lady Gaga as Ally. Full review here.
Very intense and with a gripping performance by Rosamund Pike, A Private War tells the real life story of Marie Colvin, a journalist who covered war zones for many years. In doing so, she lost her sight on her left eye and got addicted to alcohol (and to the adrenaline the war causes). See full review here.
At the beginning of the year, I thought the best (and only) heist movie starring women I would see was going to be Ocean’s Eight. To my great surprise, Widows is much better and more thrilling. Directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), who co-wrote it with Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), Widows is based on the British TV show that aired in the 1980s, but is now set in modern day Chicago. A group of four women who don’t know each other are forced to work together after their husbands got killed in a robbery that went wrong. The widows now have to pull off one last heist to pay the money back to the criminal to whom it belonged. Viola Davis leads an amazing cast and the story has enough twists to make the audience pay attention until the end, while talking about politics, violence, racism, and sexism at the same time.
It is a breath of fresh air to see Melissa McCarthy doing something completely different than most roles she’s done in the last years. Here she is Lee Israel, an author who stopped getting published and got fired from her day job because of her drinking problem. As she tries to make ends meet, she starts forging letters from prominent authors and sells them as if they were originals. Based on a true story, Can You Ever Forgive Me? combines sadness and humor, thanks to the friendship between Lee and Jack (Richard E. Grant).
4. The Favourite
Possibly the most innovative and bold movie of the year, The Favourite is director’s Yorgos Lanthimos’ more commercial film (which is not a bad thing!). Based on real events, it focuses on the rivalry existing between Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and her cousin Abigail Masham (Emma Stone). Sarah had always been Queen Anne’s (Olivia Colman) protégée and the de facto decision maker in the kingdom. That ended after Abigail’s arrival, who ascended from maid to Lady very quickly. The cast is superb, especially Olivia Colman, who manages to convey the utter sadness, loneliness, and ridiculousness of the Queen. The costumes and set designs also impress, but it is the dialogue that makes all the difference, with a mix of rudeness and nonsense. The Favourite has a lot of dark humor and rawness, but it is also very interesting as it shows how far someone is willing to go for their ambition.
As I grew up outside the U.S., I was not familiar with Mr. Rogers and his long-running TV show. This documentary, however, was able to show me just how much I missed: for years he was able to keep an educational and lovely show targeting young children. His kindness was contagious and genuine, which is getting rare to see on TV. Definitely the most heart-warming movie of the year.
Creating a sequel to a classic is a big challenge, especially 54 years after the original. Nonetheless, Disney decided to take the risk and release a sequel to Mary Poppins, with the difficult task to cast someone to play the iconic role that will always belong to Julie Andrews. To everyone’s delight, Emily Blunt was chosen to take on the part and she does not disappoint! Mary Poppins Returns takes place 25 years after the original and we now find a grown-up Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) struggling to make ends meet after the war, in addition to the grief of losing his wife. Now he by himself trying to raise 3 children, along with his sister Jane (Emily Mortimer). No wonder, then, that Mary Poppins comes back to help them all. Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) is a lamplighter who has a role similar to the one played by Dick Van Dyke in the original film. Actually, almost all aspects of the first movie are reprised here, even though it is strictly not a remake. “Step In Time” is now “Trip a Little Light Fantastic”, “Feed the Birds” is “Where the Lost Things Go”, “Fly a Kite” is “Nowhere to Go But Up”, etc. There are even instrumental parts of the songs from Mary Poppins that appear here, for example, when Michael argues with Mary Poppins, you can hear parts of “The Life I Lead” in the background, which was Mr. Banks’ theme in the first movie. It is obviously not better than the original, but is charming and heart-warming and a great way to continue that story. Also, be on the look-out for cameos of the original cast!
Possibly the best installment of the franchise, Mission Impossible: Fallout gets everything right: the humor, the action, the twists, the breathtaking locations, with the bonus of seeing Tom Cruise performing his own stunts and Henry Cavill playing a rough CIA agent. Full review here.
Have a great 2019 and see you at the movies!
