2018: The Best Films Of The Year..We've Already Seen

how-to-talk-to-girls-at-parties-2018 “How To Talk To Girls At Parties”
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Stephen Campbell Moore
Synopsis: An alien rock band touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon.
Verdict: An adaptation of a very short, 18-page story by Neil Gaiman, ‘Parties’ sounds fairly outrageous and considering we called it, “gloriously bananas,” it seems to fit the bill.  Elle Fanning plays a curious alien and Nicole Kidman, a nihilistic low priestess, Mitchell evidently adapts Gaiman’s story “like petroleum adapts to cloth in a Molotov cocktail: popping and exploding at every turn.” Sold.
Our Review: Nikola Grozdanovic gave it a B+ from Cannes, one of the few and rare positive reviews.
Release Date: A24 is distributing, but doesn’t have a date yet, but the film hits in May in the U.K.

journey's-end-2018“Journey’s End”
Director: Saul Dibb
Cast: Sam Claflin, Asa Butterfield, Paul Bettany
Synopsis:
Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, variously awaiting their fate.
Verdict:
After World War II dominated the screens in 2017 with “Dunkirk,”Their Finest” and “Darkest Hour,” World War I takes the focus her. The results are richly poetic in “Journey’s End,” directed by Saul Dibb which comes about as close as it can without ever ridding itself of that period piece, “prestige” sheen.  Adapted from the novel of the same name by R.C. Sheriff, the film possesses more warmth and humanity than it has any right to be as it shows the inner turmoil of war and the cruel loss of innocence that took the lives of many young men. The entire cast is strong with Sam Claflin being a particular stand out.
Our Review:
Oliver gave it a B+ at BFI
Release Date: TBD via Good Deed Entertainment

loveless-2018“Loveless”
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Director
Cast: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov
Synopsis: A couple going through a divorce must team up to find their son who has disappeared during one of their bitter arguments.
Verdict: A profound and morose take on contemporary Russia from the director of “Leviathan,” has. “Loveless” is about western civilization turning into a numb, unemotional populace, one in which it is a burden to take care of a child and that your own happiness becomes more important than that of your own baby cub. It sounds bleak, but unforgettable. “ This is the downer as an art form, a feelbad film of gargantuan reach and effect, and a brave, horrified commentary on a whole nation,” our review wrote.
Our Review: Jess gave it an A during Cannes.
Release Date: February 16th via Sony Pictures Classics

24-frames-2018“24 Frames”
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Synopsis: An experimental project and collection of 24 short four-and-a-half minutes films inspired by still images, including paintings and photographs.
Verdict:  Made by master filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in the last three years of his life and posthumously released following his death in 2016 and by all accounts its a masterwork of a swan song. “Surely Kiarostami’s spirit, if not necessarily his personage, hides in one (or more) of these 24 frames — perhaps in one of the numerous birds, flitting away before the next image flickers into view.”
Our Review:  Brad gave it an A- during Cannes.
Release Date: February 2nd via Janus Films

angels-wear-white-2018“Angels Wear White”
Director: Vivian Qu
Cast:  Vicky Chen, Meijun Zhou, Ke Shi
Synopsis: In a small seaside town, two schoolgirls are sexually assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. Mia, a teenager who was working on reception that night, is the only witness. For fear of losing her job, she chooses to keep silence.
Verdict: In the age of #MeToo, this blistering drama is extra relevant and heartbreaking. “Qu’s craft here is remarkably empathetic,” our review said. “Her camerawork, courtesy of cinematographer Benoit Dervaux, is deft, unobtrusive, and personal to the point of heartache.”
Our Review: Oli gave it a B from BFI
Release Date: KimStim releases the picture in April.

gentle-creature-2018A Gentle Creature
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Cast:  Liya Akhedzhakova, Vasilina Makovtseva, Valeriu Andriutã
Synopsis: A woman lives in a small village in Russia. One day she receives the parcel she sent to her husband, serving a sentence in prison. Confused and angered, she sets out to find why her package was returned to sender.
Verdict: Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa (“My Joy,” “Maidan“) has been primarily known as a documentarian, but has been killing it on every front in the last few years. He’s directed 22 films and shorts since 1996, but it’s only been since this decade that his name’s really picked up traction and he’s become a mainstay with an open invite at Cannes. “[The movie] ultimately stands as a devilishly symphonic piece of art that transcends cinema and politics to nestle itself in the back of your mind forever,” our review wrote.
Our Review:  Split, B+/A- Cannes grade from Jessica.
Release Date: No distribution yet for this picture.

apostasy-2018“Apostasy”
Director: Daniel Kokotajlo
Cast:  Siobhan Finneran, Robert Emms, Molly Wright
Synopsis: A faithful Jehovah’s Witness is forced to shun her own sister because of a religious transgression. As the separation draws out, she starts to question the meaning of God’s love.
Verdict: It’s a deeply moving, stunner of a directorial debut and one that has landed its director squarely on the international map. “The small-scale, minor-key ‘Apostasy’ is remarkable for gently baring its teeth in its critique of the strictures of Jehovah’s Witness dogma, but displaying nothing but the deepest compassion for those who try to live by it.”
Our Review:  Jessica gave the movie an A- review from San Sebastian
Release Date: No distribution yet for this picture.

you-were-never-really-here-2018-joaquin-phoenix-lynn-ramsay“You Were Never Really Here”
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola
Synopsis: A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening.
Verdict: There was a huge hole in the heart of cinema in the years between 2002 and 2011. Nearly 10 years had passed between Lynn Ramsay films. She then returned (2011’s “We Need To Talk About Kevin“), but that comeback seemed in jeopardy when she was essentially fired from the disastrous Western “Jane’s Got A Gun.” Thankfully, she turned right around and not only delivered another film, but another titanic knockout with “You Were Never Really Here.” “It’s clear Ramsay has made something extraordinary,” our review wrote. “A film that’s both cruel and compassionate, composed of quick, stabbing slivers of insight about how childhood terror can be twisted up with adult compulsion.” Oh yeah, extra treat: Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood wrote the score.
Our Review: A solid A-grade from Jessica Kiang at Cannes.
Release Date: April 6th via Amazon Studios

let-the-sunshine-in-201840+ More 2018 Movies We’ve Already Seen
There’s plenty of other films coming out in 2018 we’ve already seen that either didn’t feel fit for “best,” our apologetic, “we didn’t love” section or just weren’t that good.

Two films we wanted to included, but didn’t pan out so well, at least in their initial reviews were Abdellatif Kechiche’s “Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno” which is anticipated enough that we’ll see it regardless of our so-so, keep-your-expectations-in-check review. And Claire Denis’ “Let The Sunshine In” with Juliette Binoche which sounds perfect right there, but was a major folly according to Brad in Cannes (he sadly called it an “unprecedented misfire”). Who knows, maybe they’re wrong? 😉

Additional pictures worth mentioning in some capacity include Josephine Decker’s “Flames,” Wim Wenders’ terrible Submergence,” with Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy, “Woman Walks Ahead” with Jessica Chastain, “Euphoria” with Alicia Vikander and Eva Green, “Kodachrome” starring Jason Sudeikis and Elizabeth Olsen, “Chappaquiddick” with Jason Clarke, Lynne Shelton’s “Outside In,” the “Papillion” remake with Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam, Elle Fanning in “Mary Shelley,” Joseph Kahn’s crazy rap battling movie “Bodied,” “Beast,” with musician turned actor Johnny Flynn and Weinstein’s “The Current War” with Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon,ismaels-ghosts-2018

Additionally, from San Sebastian, there’s the gripping “Custody,” South African Spaghetti Western “Five Fingers For Marseilles,” the excellent Sweet Country” with Sam Neill, plus from TIFF, the bonkers “Let The Corpses Tan,” “Gutland,” “Kissing Candice,” “High Fantasy,” “Porcupine Lake,” “Mademoiselle Paradis,” and “1%” with “Mad Max: Fury Road” star Abbey Lee, “Price Of Success.” At Cannes there was Michel Franco’s “April’s Daughter,” “Jeune Femme,” Bruno Dumont’s “The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc,” Michel Hazanavicius’ Jean-Luc Godard pic “Redoubtable,” Abel Ferrara’s “Alive In France,” Mathieu Amalric’s “Barbara,” “Jupiter’s Moon,” “Villainess,” the South Korean gangster flick “Merciless,” and “Ismaël’s Ghosts” starring Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsbourg from director Arnaud Desplechin.

There’s also the upcoming Obama doc, “The Final Year,” “A Fish Out Of Water,” Clio Barnard’s “Dark River,” Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead original horror pic, “The Endless,” Brazilian lesbian werewolf drama, “Good Manners,” “Journey’s End” with Sam Claflin, Roman Polanski’s “Based On A True Story,” with Eva Green and Emmanuelle Seigner, and “Kings,” Deniz Gamze Ergüven‘s much-anticipated follow-up to the much-celebrated “Mustang,” but unfortunately, by all accounts a terrible film starring Halle Berry and Daniel Craig. And lastly, there’s Louie C.K.’s comedy “I Love You, Daddy,” which was pulled and dropped by the Orchard and sold back to C.K. for an undisclosed amount. Will it come out in 2018, let alone ever? It seems as if the comedian’s career is dead in the water, but stranger things have happened in this crazy industry of ours.

What films of 2018 are you most looking to see? And oh yeah, we’ve already made a list of the 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2018, so between these two lists, we think we just might have the next 12 months fairly well covered.