10. LOVE, SIMON tells a story that has been done countless times before, with an original DEAR EVAN HANSON story structure that makes for an honest teen-character driven must-see cinematic experience.
9. BLINDSPOTTING
The definition of BLINDSPOTTING — When a situation or an image can be interpreted in two different ways, but you can only see one of the interpretations. You have a blindspot to the second interpretation. Often used when referring to people seeing the wrong interpretation.
8. THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN is like your favorite nightcap that you don’t want to finish. It’s comforting, smooth and it may or may not lull you to sleep after you finish viewing it.
7. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT is the best Christopher Nolan film not directed by Christopher Nolan.
6. WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR is tear-inducing / crowd-pleasing documentary filmmaking at it’s finest.
It’s the best doc that personifies defying adversity with acts of kindness that I’ve seen since 2016’s GLEASON.
5. A STAR IS BORN
With an improvisational cinematic style clearly inspired by David R. Russell, A STAR IS BORN is a musical-therapy session for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper that you won’t want to end.
4. THE HATE U GIVE at times feels like a YA version of CRASH #JustSayNo2CrashHating.
It is not simply a contrived story with racial tension, it’s also a meaningful cinematic journey that sheds a much needed light on what is wrong in America today told through the singular POV of an African American teenage girl.
It is an emotional gut-wrenching experience that is simply one of the best of the year.
3. BLACKKKLAINSMAN Spike Lee’s DO THE RIGHT THING inspired me to move to Los Angeles.
BLACKKKLANSMAN inspires me to move back.
P.S. Prediction – Spike Lee will finally win his long overdue directing Oscar come award season next year.
2. SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is not only the best animated film of the year, it’s also the best super-hero movie in a long time that dares to be different. Oh, and did I mention that it miraculously captures the multi-verse in a way that is equally as clever as RICK AND MORTY?
1. A QUIET PLACE Five viewings later and A QUIET PLACE is still my top movie from 2018. The plot parallels with a family attempting to go outside feel oddly familiar…subbing an invisible enemy for one that can be seen.
The film pays brilliant homage to HUSH, BUFFY the VAMPIRE SLAYER’s best episode that wasn’t a musical while adding more empathy, characters and most importantly, the struggle to try keep you and your family alive during a pandemic.
Here’s hoping the sequel gets released in 2020…
