For the first time ever, I’m releasing a ranking of the best to worst movies of 2018! I decided to make this list because I was in the theater almost every weekend this year so I feel as if I got a wide range of experiences across different genres, and more importantly, I put my money where my mouth is. There will be a separate list for documentaries. Some movies may be listed on IMDb as 2017, but they only reached theaters near me in 2018. It may feel as if these movies were in theaters a long time ago because of the Oscars, but the award system in general does not reflect what it is like to see a theater in the audience, especially when movies get nominated before they are in theaters. If I saw a movie in the theater, and it is ranked lower than a movie that I saw at home, that could mean the movie in the theater was that bad or the movie at home was that good! You get demerits for being problematic or leaving a bad residual taste whereas a movie that is generally bad can redeem itself in the last quarter or if it stands out in some remarkable way. Finally if you were fun to watch, but crap, you will get ranked higher than most lists. Similarly you may be a great quality movie and hit all the artsy fartsy notes, but be a bore to watch. You will get lower marks. You get more points for audacity. I call it “going there!” If you don’t flinch and don’t care about marketability, you’ll get higher points, but if you do the same thing AND care about marketability, you suck, and you’ll plummet. Being substantially conventional & enjoyable will not get you ahead. Enjoy!
- Sorry to Bother You
- Black Panther
- Hereditary
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- At Eternity’s Gate
- Widows
- Overlord
- Mandy
- You Were Never Really Here
- Suspira
- Never Look Away
- Upgrade
- The Favourite
- Burning
- Loveless
- Revenge
- Oh Lucy!
- A Fantastic Woman
- Call Me By Your Name
- Vice
- Shoplifters
- Support the Girls
- A Private War
- Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Leave No Trace
- Avengers: Infinity War
- A Star Is Born
- Roma
- Saturday Church
- The Hate U Give
- BlacKkKlansman
- The First Purge
- The Oath
- Mom and Dad
- Climax
- Searching
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
- Venom
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Bad Times at the El Royale
- First Man
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Puzzle
- Juliet, Naked
- Tully
- Eighth Grade
- The Third Murder
- Claire’s Camera
- Phantom Thread
- The Cakemaker
- Chappaquiddick
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post
- What They Had
- The Wife
- Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
- Molly’s Game
- The Equalizer 2
- A Quiet Place
- Samson
- Breaking In
- Deadpool 2
- Love, Simon
- The Old Man & the Gun
- Crazy Rich Asians
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Post
- The Girl in the Spider’s Web
- Unsane
- Nancy
- Hearts Beat Loud
- Monsters and Men
- Paul, Apostle of Christ
- The Strangers: Prey at Night
- Woman Walks Ahead
- Annihilation
- Hotel Artemis
- Blindspotting
- A Wrinkle In Time
- Tomb Raider
- Gemini
- Kin
- Proud Mary
- Creed II
- The Catcher Was A Spy
- Green Book
- Adrift
- Colette
- Lizzie
- Ocean’s 8
- The Seagull
- Loving Pablo
- Mary Queen of Scots
- Gringo
- Operation Finale
- Halloween
- The Predator
- Peppermint
- Stree
- Destination Wedding
- The Little Stranger
- 12 Strong
- Assassination Nation
- The 15:17 to Paris
- Sicario: Day of the Soldado
- The Happy Prince
- Cold Skin
- The Children Act
- Little Pink House
- Pacific Rim: Uprising
- Aquaman
- The Meg
- Tag
- Rodin
- The Insult
- Skate Kitchen
- White Boy Rick
- Unbroken: The Path to Redemption
- All I Wish
- Summer of 84
- The Darkest Minds
- Patient Zero
- Slender Man
- Unfriended: Dark Web
- The Bookshop
- The Leisure Seeker
- Boundaries
- The Party
- Red Sparrow
- Kings
- Siberia
This list will be updated if and when I watch more 2018 movies.