The Best Movies of 2018 as Chosen by PopCulture.com

A Star Is Born

I have never wept so in a movie theater, and it transformed me from someone who thought Bradley Cooper was NOT excellent to someone who thinks Bradley Cooper IS excellent.

Lady Gaga is my one true lord and savior, and I haven't stopped listening to "Hair Body Face" since I walked out of the theater, despite it definitely warping my brain. If it does not win an Oscar, I will undergo a second weeping.

(Anna Rumer)

I always knew Lady Gaga was a big talent, but that did not stop A Star Is Born from blowing me away.

Bradley Cooper and Gaga need to star in every movie for the rest of time and if she doesn't come out with at least one Oscar this awards season, I will never watch another movie again.

(Jose Bastidas)

Hereditary

Hereditary was one of many brilliant horror-esque films that peppered 2018 with unsettling themes and imagery. Movies like A Quiet Place, First Reformed, and Mandy offered a lot in the way of tense tones, shocking visuals, and uncomfortable ideas, but Hereditary stands out for its shameless invocation of the heart.

It follows the Graham family as they cope with loss and grief, and struggle with the ghosts of their heritage in a quite literal sense.

Toni Collette plays Annie, the mother, and there simply are not enough a great things to say about her performance. She is captivating in every scene and compels the audience to feel her emotional spiral with her.

Hereditary ends with a twist that almost entirely changes the perception of the rest of the film, but also feels like a way of comforting the viewer with the notion that everything they'd witnessed up to that point was all just fiction and they didn't really have to explore the pain that had been presented.

Even with that shift in direction — and in some ways because of it — Hereditary remains a haunting experience that lingers long after its ended, making it one of the best film-watching experiences of 2018.

(Stephen Andrew)

Eighth Grade

I don't think I've ever seen a movie that encapsulates modern youth as well as Eighth Grade.

Comedian-turned-director Bo Burnham is able to channel the anxieties of growing up in the online era masterfully.

A perfect, naturalistic performance by teen Elsie Fisher holds the film together and gives the audience a glimpse into the world of the modern teenager like no other film ever has.

(J.C. Coulston)

Sorry To Bother You

Sorry To Bother You is easily the most creative film of the year. Very early on it becomes apparent that the story takes place in an absurd alternate reality, and it never gets any less bizarre.

Starring Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out, Atlanta) and Tessa Thompson (Creed, Thor: Ragnarok), Sorry To Bother You is a dark comedy about an Oakland man trying to find his place in the work force, but it eventually becomes a sci-fi story that has some powerful and darkly comedic commentary on race and class.

Boasting a cast that also includes Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, and Armie Hammer, Sorry To Bother You stands out as one-of-a-kind film that could easily be the basis for entire film school class.

(Stephen Andrew)

Blindspotting

There were seriously a lot of movies to love this year and I think I would have had a very difficult time choosing a favorite had it not been for Blindspotting. For my money, this movie is nearly perfect from start to finish. Real life best friends Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal wrote and starred in the movie and they give some of the most astounding performances of the year.

What really makes this movie special though is its ability to be equal parts entertaining and poignant. There are a bunch of movies come awards season that are fantastic films in terms of their artistry, but can be a drawn-out, boring, or downright off-putting to moviegoers. On the other end of the spectrum are the entertaining blockbusters that don't offer much in the way of substance or technical ability.

Blindspotting brings the best of both worlds. This movie will make you laugh, cry, and connect with its characters, genuinely entertaining you the entire way through. At the same time, the social commentary on race relations and stereotypes makes it one of the most important movies all year. Rarely does such an impactful narrative come in such a fun, exciting package. It doesn't get better than Blindspotting in 2018.

Just for fun, some of my Honorable Mentions (movies I absolutely adored just not as much as Blindspotting): Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Isle of Dogs, The Death of Stalin, A Quiet Place, Black Panther, Minding the Gap.

(Charlie Ridgely, appearing courtesy of ComicBook.com)

The Favourite

A remake of All About Eve was never necessary, but Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film The Favourite proves that it is possible to re-do the classic, as long as everyone is wearing corsets and the story is transplanted to 18th Century England. Where All About Eve set the story of rivalries and clashing egos in the backstage of Broadway, The Favourite puts it in the ornate castles of English royalty while a war with France rages on.

Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz give remarkable performances as the cousins fighting for Queen Anne's favor, while the unfairly underrated Olivia Coleman gives an unconventional and commanding performance as Anne. With a brilliant, hilarious script by Tony McNamara and Deborah Davis, The Favourite proves anyone will do anything for — or to be adjacent to — power in any era.

(Dan Levine)

Damsel

Damsel makes the final spot on our list, if only because it's one of the most underrated movies of 2018 due to the overwhelming quantity of quality filmmaking this year.

It is a comedy Western starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska. It is co-written and co-directed by David Zellner (along with his brother Nathan Zellner), who also co-stars.

Pattinson plays Samuel Alabaster, "an affluent pioneer" who "ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Wasikowska)."

The dry wit and subtle humor of the film sneaks up on you, and makes way for Pattinson to deliver what is one of the most brilliant acting departures of the last decade.

Wasikowska fully enters the film around the half-way point, and serves up a strong and abrasive performance that commands the screen with survivalist determination.

From the very beginning to the very end, Damsel takes the audience through a quirky and unpredictable journey through the Old West full of a ridiculous characters and hearty laughs.

(Stephen Andrew)

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Three years after her unique debut The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller proves she is one to watch with Can You Ever Forgive Me? The story of disgraced author-turned-letter forger Lee Israel does not sound like the perfect subject for a film, but the script by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty proves otherwise.

Heller gets a truly fascinating performance out of Melissa McCarthy as Israel, showing the actress does not need to play bawdy, outrageous characters to find the humor in her material.

McCarthy's chemistry with the always-great Richard E. Grant is so overwhelming that you want a series of buddy comedies with the two to begin production immediately. What really is heartbreaking about the film though is how it shows anyone is ready to buy a story if it is told well enough, even if it is fraudulent.

(Dan Levine)