If you’re a critic for a Hollywood trade like Variety, odds are you’re going to see just about every film that is going to be the in Best of 2018 conversation. And in consuming just the sheer amount of film content over the course of a year, you’re bound to come up with some interesting opinions. And this year, two critics for Variety, Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman definitely have some interesting opinions. Some might even call them “hot takes.”
Just as a general overview, the vast majority of these two top 10s feature the standard picks that seem to be dominating the year-end talks, such as “A Star is Born,” “Eighth Grade,” and “Green Book.” However, what makes these two lists so interesting is how they differ from each other, and how they differ from what many would consider a typical top 10.
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Over on Debruge’s list, he has the first major hot take – “Museo” is better than “Roma.” Boom! That’s right, the critic feels that even though Alfonso Cuaron hit it out of the park with his semi-autobiographical epic, the heist picture from director Alonso Ruizpalacios one-ups “Roma” and lands in his personal top 10. As for other potentially debate-worthy choices, he also ranks “Blindspotting” as his #1, while Gleiberman (as well as many others) don’t even have it in the top 10. Debruge does give some lesser-known films of 2018 some love, with “In Syria” and “Life and Nothing More” scoring spots on his year-end list.
On the other side of the coin, you have Gleiberman, whose personal top 10 is sure to raise a few eyebrows. No one will fault him for putting “A Star is Born,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “The Rider” at the top of the list, but it’s some of his lower choices that is sure to spark some spirited film nerd debate.
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Here are two films you won’t see on many top 10s that come in at #5 and #6, respectively, on Gleiberman’s list – “Chappaquiddick” and “Red Sparrow.” Both were fairly divisive when they were released, with the latter seen as a fairly sizable bomb for star Jennifer Lawrence. But even more than those films, the inclusion of Netflix’s “Wild, Wild Country” in his top 10 films list is a bit of a headscratcher. By calling it a “six-hour documentary,” the critic seems to bypass the comments calling it a series before they can even begin to pour in.
Overall, these two Best of 2018 lists are yet more examples of just how wildly critics can disagree, and also just proves yet again that this year was nothing short of amazing in the world of film.
Peter Debruge’s Top 10 Films of 2018:
1. “Blindspotting”
2. “A Star Is Born”
3. “Shoplifters”
4. “The Hate U Give”
5. “Eighth Grade”
6. “Museo”
7. “Life and Nothing More”
8. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
9. “Burning”
10. “In Syria”
Owen Gleiberman’s Top 10 Films of 2018:
1. “A Star Is Born”
2. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
3. “The Rider”
4. “Green Book”
5. “Chappaquiddick”
6. “Red Sparrow”
7. “If Beale Street Could Talk”
8. “First Man”
9. “Wild, Wild Country”
10. “Eighth Grade”
Click here for our complete coverage of the best and worst of 2018.
