2018 Superlatives
I love to hierarchize, but numbers are just that. If this were an actual awards ceremony with sconces and drinks and centerpieces and quality eats, it would be the best TV ever. Where such a thing exists, I've linked to my review of the specific film at hand.
FILM
01 ANNIHILATION/THE
ENDLESS/SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE
Protean shifts as
evolutionary breakthrough. We adapt. We rework. We fragment. We
reassemble. We live.
02 LAZZARO FELICE/PADDINGTON 2
Parables of the
kind. Teachable moments for a world that needs it.
An invitation to
dance. The stage as cosmic therapy. The danger behind the mask. A
grotesque and comforting refuge from established power structures.
Powerful works of liberation.
04 AMAZING
GRACE/GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI/THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND/PERSONAL PROBLEMS
Dialogues across
time. The Then and The Now not so absolute. Timeless works, extending
through modernity and beyond.
05 COLA DE
MONO/HEREDITARY/A STAR IS BORN/THUNDER ROAD/TUMBBAD
Family ties as
chains, or lifelines. Any of these films would work as Greek
tragedies. Big emotions all mixed together; the specific becomes the
universal.
06 BLACK
PANTHER/FATAL PULSE/THE FAVOURITE/ZERZURA
Visionary alternate
histories. Other paths telling surpressed stories and forbidden
tales. Inspired and effective works.
07 A BREAD FACTORY/FIRST
REFORMED/VOX LUX
Where we’re at and
how we got there.
08 MANDY/YOU WERE
NEVER REALLY HERE/WIDOWS
Exquisite
deconstructions of the genres we love, focusing past frippery to the
boundless emotions within. Deeply haunting efforts which slip past
the defenses of modern life and strike deep into the parts that feel,
hidden deep within the soul.
09 IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK/2.0
Deeply political
hearts expressing themselves with maximum visual pleasure.
Swoonworthy acheivements.
Genre-based
autocritique got no better than these.
ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio,
ROMA
Toni Collette,
HEREDITARY
Lana Condor, TO ALL
THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE
Viola Davis, WIDOWS
Trine Dyrholm, NICO
1988
Elsie Fisher, EIGHTH
GRADE
Helena Howard,
MADELINE’S MADELINE
Cate Jones, MICKEY
REECE’S ALIEN
Nicole Kidman,
DESTROYER
Lady Gaga, A STAR IS
BORN
Melissa McCarthy,
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Eva Melander, BORDER
Jeanne Voisin,
JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC
ACTOR
Nicolas Cage, MANDY
Jim Cummings,
THUNDER ROAD
Ben Dickey, BLAZE
Ben Dickey, BLAZE
Ethan Hawke, FIRST
REFORMED
John Huston, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND
Joaquin Phoenix, YOU
WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Adriano Tardiolo,
LAZZARO FELICE
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Raffey Cassidy, VOX
LUX
Aline & Elise
Charles, JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC
Elizabeth Debicki,
WIDOWS
Cynthia Erivo,
WIDOWS
Mia Goth, SUSPIRIA
Zoe Kazan, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Jennifer Jason
Leigh, ANNIHILATION
Teyonah Parris, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Millicent Simmonds,
A QUIET PLACE
Anya Taylor-Joy,
THOROUGHBREDS
Tessa Thompson,
ANNIHILATION
Michelle Yeoh, CRAZY
RICH ASIANS
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Colman Domingo, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Adam Driver,
BlackKklansman
Richard E. Grant,
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Bill Heck, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
Michael B. Jordan,
BLACK PANTHER
Akshay Kumar, 2.0
Cedric Antonio
Kyles, FIRST REFORMED
Antonio Marziale,
ALEX STRANGELOVE
Jesse Plemons, GAME
NIGHT
Na-Kel Smith,
mid-90s
Alex Wolff,
HEREDITARY
DIRECTOR
Ali Abbasi, BORDER
Bo Burnham, EIGHTH
GRADE
Ryan Coogler, BLACK
PANTHER
Panos Cosmatos,
MANDY
Alex Gardner,
ANNIHILATION
Josephine Decker,
MADELINE’S MADELINE
Coralie Fargeat,
REVENGE
Luca Guadagnino,
SUSPIRIA
Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Kore-eda Hirokazu,
SHOPLIFTERS
Karyn Kusama,
DESTROYER
Yorgos Lanthimos,
THE FAVOURITE
Steve McQueen,
WIDOWS
Damon Packard, FATAL
PULSE/NIGHT PULSE/UNTITLED YUPPIE FEAR THRILLER
Lynne Ramsay, YOU
WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Alice Rohrwacher,
LAZZARO FELICE
Shankar, 2.0
Orson Welles, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lol Crawley, VOX LUX
Guillaume
Deffontaines, JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC
Gary Graver, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND
Julie Kirkwood,
DESTROYER
James Laxton, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Ben Loeb, MANDY
Aaron Moorhead, THE
ENDLESS
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom,
SUSPIRIA
Brian Sowell,
SEQUENCE BREAK
Thomas Townend, YOU
WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
EDITING
Harrison
Atkins/Josephine Decker/Elizabeth Rao, MADELINE’S MADELINE
Andy Canny, UPGRADE
Bob Murawski/Orson
Welles, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND
Joe Walker, WIDOWS
ANIMATED FILM
ISLE OF DOGS
RALPH BREAKS THE
INTERNET
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE
SPIDERVERSE
TEEN TITANS GO! TO
THE MOVIES
ORIGINAL SCORE
Geoff Barrow/Ben
Salisbury, ANNIHILATION
Keegan DeWitt,
GEMINI
Jonny Greenwood, YOU
WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Van Hughes, SEQUENCE BREAK
Anna Meredith,
EIGHTH GRADE
Thom Yorke, SUSPIRIA
DOCUMENTARY
AMAZING GRACE
BATHTUBS OVER
BROADWAY
KUSAMA INFINITY
MARIA BY CALLAS
McQUEEN
MINDING THE GAP
THE ROAD MOVIE
3D
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
THE MEG
THE NUTCRACKER AND
THE FOUR REALMS
2.0
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jahmin Assa, mid-90s
Amparo Baeza, COLA
DE MONO
Hannah Beachler, BLACK PANTHER
Hannah Beachler, BLACK PANTHER
Eugenio Caballero,
ROMA
Nelson Coates, CRAZY
RICH ASIANS
Mark Digby,
ANNIHILATION
Tracy Dishman,
GEMINI
Emita Frigato,
LAZZARO FELICE
DeAnne Millais,
SEQUENCE BREAK
Grant Montgomery,
GHOST STORIES
Hubert Pouille,
MANDY
Jennifer Spence, THE
NUN
Inbal Weinberg, SUSPIRIA
Grace Yun,
HEREDITARY
ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Bo Burnham, EIGHTH
GRADE
Josephine
Decker/Donna DiNovelli, MADELINE’S MADELINE
Craig Johnson, ALEX
STRANGELOVE
Boots Riley, SORRY
TO BOTHER YOU
Alice Rohrwacher,
LAZZARO FELICE
Paul Schrader, FIRST
REFORMED
Leigh Whannell,
UPGRADE
ADAPTED SCRIPT
Justin Benson, THE
ENDLESS
Peter
Chiarelli/Adele Lim, CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Jon Croker/Simon
Farnaby/Paul King, PADDINGTON 2
Jim Cummings,
THUNDER ROAD
Bruno Dumont,
JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC
Jeremy Dyson/Andy
Nyman, GHOST STORIES
Alex Gardner,
ANNIHILATION
Nicole
Holofcener/Jeff Whitty, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
VISUAL EFFECTS
ANNIHILATION
AQUAMAN
BLACK PANTHER
THE ENDLESS
PADDINGTON 2
2.0
COSTUMES
Ruth E. Carter,
BLACK PANTHER
Caroline Eselin, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Alice Eyssartier,
MANDY
Keri Langerman, VOX
LUX
McKenzie McAllister,
MICKEY REECE’S ALIEN
Giulia Piersanti,
SUSPIRIA
Sandy Powell, THE
FAVOURITE
uncredited, COLA DE
MONO
uncredited, DIRTY
COMPUTER
Mary E. Vogt, CRAZY
RICH ASIANS
25 FAVORITE SCENES
OF THE YEAR
01 Everything from
The Lighthouse through the end of the film, ANNIHILATION
02 CBS News
Interviews Gay Callas fans, MARIA BY CALLAS
03 Opening Scene,
THUNDER ROAD
04 “The Shallow,”
A STAR IS BORN
05 “Dance This
Mess Around,” ALEX STRANGELOVE
06 Mme Gervaise,
JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC
07 Final Recording
Session, LA FLOR: EPISODE II
08 Bathroom
Freakout, MANDY
09 Olga in the
Mirror Room, SUSPIRIA
10 Flooded Wedding,
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
11 Teen Titans Time
Travel, TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES
12 Grief Support
Group, HEREDITARY
13 Ending Tracking
Shot and Montage, BLACKkKLANSMAN
14 Smilin’ Dave
and The Rope, THE ENDLESS
15 “I’ve Never
Been To Me,” YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
16 Nicole Kidman
delivers Amphibious Kung Fu Beatdown, AQUAMAN
17 Crane Shot on
Lenox, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
18 Roadside Attack,
2.0
19 “A Place Called
Slaughter Race,” RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
20 Grace and Robbie
on the phone, GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI
21 Cheddar Goblin,
MANDY
22 Shifting
Perspectives, TERRIFIED (ATERRADOS)
23 “Wrapped Up”
Vigil Version, VOX LUX
24 A Secret
Revealed, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
25 Dance Party, THE FAVOURITE
SONGS OF 2018
01 Janelle Monáe
– Make Me Feel
02 Lady Gaga and
Bradley Cooper – The Shallow
03 Holy Ghost! -
Anxious (A Tom Moulton Mix)
04 Robyn – Send to
Robin Immediately
05 Rostam - In a
River
06 Billy Porter and
MJ Rodriguez and Our Lady J - Home
07 Jake Shears –
Sad Song Backwards
08 “Celeste” -
Wrapped Up
09 St. Vincent –
Fast Slow Disco
10 Estiva - Bloom
11 John Grant –
Preppy Boy
12 Carly Rae Jepsen
– Party for One (Otto Benson Remix)
13 Totally Enormous
Extinct Dinosaurs – Body Move
14 Robyn – Missing
You
15 Thom Yorke -
Suspirium
16
Carpenter/Carpenter/Dawes – The Shape Hunts Allyson
17 Namika featuring
Black M – Je Ne Parle Pas Français
(Beatgees Remix)
18 Jonny Greenwood –
Tree Synthesisers
19 Tracey Thorn –
Dancefloor (Pearson and Lindblad Italomix)
20 Dario G - Cry
21 Pusha T – The
Games We Play
22 Juliana Hatfield
– Suspended in Time
23 Phantoms
featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Lay With Me (VIP Remix)
24 Kylie Minogue -
Dancing
25 Mø
and Jack Antonoff – Never Fall In Love
26 Celine Dion –
Ashes (Dark Intensity Remix)
27 Troye Sivan –
Bloom
28 Azealia Banks –
Anna Wintour
29 Stasney Mav - Bullet
30 Jay Rock - Win
31 Jake Shears –
Mississippi Delta (I’m Your Man)
32 Ariana Grande -
Breathin’
33 Lil’ Xan’s
Dad – I’m Your Dad
34 Thom Yorke –
Has Ended
35 Joe Crepúsculo
– Todo Lo Bello Es Gratis
36 Ice Cube –
Arrest The President
37 Rufus Wainwright
– Ziggy (Un Garçon Pas
Comme Les Autres)
38 Punx Soundcheck –
House Arrest
39 Bleachers –
Keeping a Secret
40 Bhad Bhabie –
Famous
For a continuous
club mix of the best dance mixes and tracks of the year, please
visit:
ALBUMS OF 2018
01 Janelle
Monáe/Dirty Computer
02 Robyn/Honey
03 John Grant/Love
is Magic
04 Jake Shears
05 Tracey
Thorn/Record
06 Pusha T/Daytona
07 Me’Shell
NdegéOcello/Ventriloquism
08 Jóhann
Jóhansson/Mandy
09 CupcaKke/Ephorize
10 Cardi B/Invasion
of Privacy
TV OF 2018
01 Talk Show The
Game Show
02 Pose
03 Nailed It!
04 Big Mouth
05 Legion
06 The Haunting of
Hill House
07 Mystery Science
Theatre 3000: The Gauntlet
08 Channel Zero: The
Dream Door
09
Disenchantment/G.L.O.W.
10 The Chilling
Adventures of Sabrina
11 At Home with Amy
Sedaris/The Shivering Truth
12 Claws
13 Star Trek:
Discovery/The Orville
14 Deadwax
15 Nightflyers
PODCASTS OF 2018
(Alphabetically)
Attack of the
Queerwolf
The Boogie Monster
Gaylords of Darkness
Homophilia
How Did This Get
Made?
Just the Discs
Keep It!
Linoleum Knife (and
its sibling series LKTV, Linoleum Knife + Fork, and Linoleum Nights)
Pure Cinema Podcast
Shock Waves
The Sour Hour
The Todd Glass Show
Unspooled
