The Best Movies Of 2018

I talk about movies a lot. I talk about the ones I’ve seen, the ones I want to see, the ones I know I’ll hate, that one scene I’m obsessed with, a moment I need to dissect, a line of dialogue that has to be parsed, and the scores I can’t stop humming.

Fortunately for me, I found a job that pays me to do just that. But the downside is that I often find myself the only one in my friend group/family/relationship to have seen whatever movie I feel the urgent need to discuss at any given time. I get it — there are a lot of movies, and most people have limited time to devote to them. And so, with awards season just around the corner, and even more insanely good releases on the horizon, it seems like a good time to round up some of the best ones so far.

There’s something for everyone.

Love rom-coms and Ethan Hawke? Check out Juliet, Naked. Gritty movies about hitmen in the middle of an existential crisis? Try Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here. Directorial debuts? How about Eighth Grade, Sorry To Bother You, Wildlife, Night Comes On, A Star Is Born (and there’s more). Female directors? Debra Granik, Marielle Heller, and Chloe Zhao are names to bookmark.

There’s no particular order — movies are great because they’re great, not because they’re better than one another — and I’ll be updating the list as awards season hits full swing.

Given the trash year we’ve had, it’s only healthy to step back and take stock of the good things. And when it comes to movies, we’ve had a pretty amazing run.

Happy viewing!