Leigh Paatsch’s guide to the best movies (so far) of 2018
THE horror genre’s rebirth continues, a groundbreaking super hero makes his debut and Wes Anderson returns: there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2018 crop of movies. Leigh Paatsch picks his best of the year so far.
Leigh Paatsch
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THE horror genre’s rebirth continues. A groundbreaking super hero makes his debut. Wes Anderson returns.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2018 crop of movies.
Here are the best films (so far) of 2018.
WHAT TO WATCH: STREAMING GUIDE, MOVIE REVIEWS
HEREDITARY (MA15+)
IN the past 18 months, the horror genre has come alive once more after a long period of playing dead.
Two exemplary films have been particularly responsible for the surprise reanimation of the form: G et Out and A Quiet Place.
Both have now been trumped by the arrival of Hereditary, a sophisticated and artfully accomplished scare-fest which weaves familiar elements of the psychological thriller and the gut-wrenching shocker into something fresh, unworldly and utterly terrifying.
Verdict:
Five stars (5 out of 5)
Director: Ari Aster (feature debut)
Starring: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro.
SWEET COUNTRY (MA15+)
THE superb new Australian drama Sweet Country does not so much open as immediately close in all around you.
That in itself is remarkable, as much of this claustrophobically compelling yarn takes place upon the wide open scrublands on the wrong side of Alice Springs.
There is plenty of room to move about in this part of the outback, but there is no place to hide.
Verdict:
Five stars (5 out of 5)
Director: Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah)
Starring: Hamilton Morris, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Sam Neill, Natassia Gorey-Furber.
ISLE OF DOGS (PG)
A TRIUMPH to be treasured on multiple levels, Isle of Dogs just might the best thing Anderson has ever put his name to.
Everything this idiosyncratic talent is famous (and infamous) for comes together seamlessly and soulfully like never before.
Verdict:
Five stars (5 out of 5)
Director: Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Starring: the voices of Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Koyu Rankin, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, F. Murray Abraham, Kunichi Nomura, Frances McDormand, Yoko Ono.
LADY BIRD (M)
LADY Bird, one of the most graceful, funny, alert and alive coming-of-age pictures you will ever have the good fortune to see.
“I wish I could live through something,” says 17-year-old Christine McPherson on the eve of commencing her final year of high school.
Make no mistake, her wish will be granted by film’s end. And you will be living through it right along with “Lady Bird”, the name by which Christine prefers to be called by everyone she meets.
Verdict:
Five stars (5 out of 5)
Director: Greta Gerwig (Nights and Weekends)
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts.
A QUIET PLACE (M)
SHOULD you experience A Quiet Place with nothing more than your guard down, eyes up and ears open (trust me, this last condition is of the utmost importance), then you will have witnessed one of the most unforgettable and best movies of 2018.
Verdict:
4½ stars (out of 5)
Director: John Krasinski (The Hollars)
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (MA15+)
FUNNY, sad, wildly unpredictable and shrewdly insightful, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a movie that defiantly marches to the beat of its own drum.
Nevertheless, the performances are so emphatically strong — and the writing is so searingly sublime — that you will fall into line with its unusual rhythm without even realising it.
Verdict:
Four and a half stars (4.5 out of 5)
Director: Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage.
GURRUMUL (PG)
MOVING, mesmerising and genuinely from the heart, the extraordinary new Australian documentary holds a mirror to the unique life and music of the late indigenous singer-songwriter Gurrumul Yunupingu.
In his brief career, the enigmatic Gurrumul crafted a refined body of work that conveys emotions, feelings and spirits that are difficult to put into words.
Verdict:
Four and a half stars (4.5 out of 5)
Director: Paul Williams (documentary debut)
Starring: Gurrumul Yunupingu.
THE INCREDIBLES 2
THIS supercharged superhero sequel hits the ground running, hits the skies flying, and hits the audience with wave after wave of excitement, enjoyment and stirring storytelling.
Verdict:
Four and a half stars (4.5 out of 5)
Director: Brad Bird (The Incredibles)
Starring: the voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener.
BLACK PANTHER (M)
This movie doesn’tjust hit its marks. It leaves marks. Landmarks.
Black Panther, the first Marvel movie blockbuster to put a superhero of colour at the epicentre of the action, is a must-see for a myriad of great reasons.
Verdict:
Four stars (4 out of 5)
Director: Ryan Coogler (Creed)
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, Stan Lee, Sterling K. Brown, Winston Duke.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT (M)
YOUR cinematic mission, should you choose to accept it, should not be a matter of choice at all.
For Mission: Impossible — Fallout is not only the best film to carry the M: I badge in the 22-year-old history of the Tom Cruise-led franchise. It is also the most ferociously realised action picture to storm the big screen since Mad Max: Fury Road.
Verdict:
Four stars (4 out of 5)
Director: Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris.
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