The must-watch movies of 2018

Horror movies, a Hollywood remake, a war documentary and even Australian cinema — these are the must-watch movies of 2018 to tick off your viewing bucket list.

Leigh Paatsch

2 min read

December 13, 2018 - 7:00AM

Leigh Paatsch reveals his must-watch movies of 2018.

Leigh Paatsch

Don't miss out on the headlines from Leigh Paatsch. Followed categories will be added to My News.

For the first time in a long time an Aussie movie tops the must-watch list of 2018, which also features a modern horror classic, Hollywood remake and war documentary.

These are the movies that had the world talking this year.

RELATED CONTENT:

ALL THE LATEST MOVIE REVIEWS

THE DEADPOOL MOVIE YOU CAN TAKE THE KIDS TO

1. SWEET COUNTRY

It might have closed the year by winning the AACTA Award for Best Australian Film, but this January release spent the whole year as 2018’s finest work. Never have the wide open expanses of the outback felt so claustrophobically menacing. Not a frame, sound, look or gesture is out of place in this brutal, beautiful and bitterly insightful experience. If you haven’t seen it already, track it down this summer.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Watching Sweet Country is a brutal, beautiful and bitterly insightful experience. Picture: Supplied

2. ISLE OF DOGS

An incredible feat of both stop-motion animation and refined screen aesthetics from the great Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel). A dream combo of adventurous storytelling, accessible humour and some of the finest vocal performances ever recorded for an animated production.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Isle of Dogs features vocal performances from stars including Bill Murrary, Edward Norton and Jeff Goldblum. Picture: Fox Searchlight Pictures

3. HEREDITARY

A modern horror masterpiece, slowly and sinisterly building a tower of cower from which there is no coming down. Luring you all the way up to intimidating heights is an incredible, career-best performance from Toni Collette, riskily reaching for notes clearly beyond most actors.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Hereditary is a modern horror masterpiece. Picture: AP

4. LADY BIRD

Clearly one of the most graceful, funny, alert and alive coming-of-age pictures ever made. The ultra-consistent Saoirse Ronan reached a dizzying new high as the precocious student perpetually at loggerheads with her home town, her mother and herself.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Lady Bird is one of the great coming-of-age movies. Picture: Universal Pictures

5. THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

This stunning documentary was a longtime passion project for decorated director Peter Jackson, who guided audiences on a deeply immersive, haunting and all-too-human journey across the battlefields of World War 1. In full colour and in 3D.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

A scene from director Peter Jackson's WWI documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old.

6. A STAR IS BORN

It might have been the fourth time Hollywood visited this familiar tale of triumph, tragedy and trusting in love when all else fails. Nevertheless, the innate filmmaking nous of Bradley Cooper and the instinctive acting of Lady Gaga found plenty that was fresh, relevant and moving.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

7. A QUIET PLACE

This brilliant apocalyptic thriller expanded one basic idea - make a single noise and you die - into a complex mental endurance course. Writer-director John Krasinski crafted an experience that was nerve-shredding, spellbinding and utterly impossible to turn away from.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

A Quiet Place is based around one simple idea — make a noise and you die. Pictures: AP

8. FIRST MAN

While it remains a mystery as to why Hollywood took so long to tell the story of the first successful expedition to the moon, the wait proved to be truly worth it. The bravely unorthodox visual style and skeletal storytelling structure both triumphed against the odds.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man.

9. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

Funny, sad, wildly unpredictable and shrewdly insightful, this gripping drama defiantly marched to the beat of its own drum. Leading from the front was an Oscar-winning Frances McDormand as an anguished mother seeking justice for her late daughter.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is funny, sad and wildly unpredictable.

10. BLACK PANTHER

The first Marvel movie blockbuster to put a superhero of colour at the epicentre of the action didn’t just hit its marks. It left marks. Landmarks. Not just in the interests of racial diversity on screen, but also gender equality. The most significant box-office hit of the year.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.