Yes, we’re already halfway through January, but it’s never too late to look at one more Best of 2018 list, right? Well, maybe this isn’t the best one to end on, as it’s clearly a list meant to enrage film fans and spark some debates about the merit of 2018’s best films. Especially because the list is quite obviously trying to bring a healthy dose of political conversation into a discussion about 2018’s films. Oh, joy.
In all seriousness, the National Review’s “Better-Than” list of 2018 films is meant to pit two films from the last year against each other to show why one is better than the other. Basically, it serves as a way for writer Armond White to, in essence, troll film fans and outrage them by calling “Roma” a “turdscape” or saying that the comedy “Uncle Drew” (albeit a decent film in its own right) is somehow a better film than “Black Panther.”
READ MORE: Rotten Tomatoes Names “Black Panther” & “Roma” Best Reviewed Films Of 2018
But perhaps his most egregious comparison comes when White attempts to knock “If Beale Street Could Talk” down a peg or two by saying that the film “Ray Meets Helen” is better. He calls ‘Ray’ a “seasoned love story,” while saying that ‘Beale Street’ is filled with “cornball racial sentiments.” Oof.
All that being said, the writer does get a couple comparisons pretty spot on, even if his reasons are a bit…skewed. First, he says that “The Mule,” Clint Eastwood’s odd late-season Oscar player, is better than “Green Book,” Peter Farrelly’s controversy-filled look at racism in the 1960s Deep South which is earning all sorts of awards love. Can’t argue that.
And his last comparison says that “At Eternity’s Gate” is better than “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Although I’ve never seen the former, the latter is so terrible that I would have to think there’s no way that Julian Schnabel’s film about Van Gogh is worse than Bryan Singer’s Freddy Mercury biopic.
Overall, this Better-Than 2018 list is good for a laugh and perhaps a fistfight if you know enough impassioned film fans. But always remember, this is meant to troll and outrage. So let’s try to be civil, okay?