Good movies don’t wait for awards season, which means loving movies is a year-long gig. You’re probably used to seeing best-of lists pop up at the end of the year, but when you wait that long, too many good ones inevitably get lost in the shuffle. There are just too many good movies these days, and whether they land in theaters, head straight to video or pop up on your favorite streaming network, there’s always a new release to get excited about, no matter what time of year it is. With that in mind, we’re casting a wider net and kicking things off early with our best movies of 2018 so far, from big-hype blockbusters to indie horror, studio comedy, animated gems, and everything in between.
We’ll keep this list updated throughout the year – and goodness knows there’s plenty to look forward to as 2018 wears on – but for now, check out our recommendations for the must-watch movies of the year below. And if you’re looking for even more recent movies to tune into, be sure to check out ourBest Movies of 2017as well.
This movie could have gone horribly wrong and instead it comes out as one of the funniest movies of the year.Blockersteetered on being a patriarchal, sex-negtive, regressive comedy, and instead it cleverly uses its premise—parents trying to stop their kids from having sex—and makes it about parents’ fear of their kids growing up and leaving. Sex isn’t painted as the villain inBlockers, and once that’s out of the way and the motives are reframed, you have the room to just send out hilarious gag after hilarious gag. The movie is painfully funny from start to finish, and I’m still chuckling over a throwaway line fromHannibal Buress. You’ll know it when you see it. –Matt Goldberg
A brawling Giallo throwback by way of gender-bentTaxi Driver,Cold Hellis a kinetic, kickass crime thriller of the highest order with a thick sweaty sheen of underworld grime.Violetta Schurawlowdelivers a breakout performance as Özge, a bitter cabbie in Vienna, where she spends her nights picking up crass and cruel customers, fuelling her inner rage with each new pickup – rage she doles out daily in her Thai boxing club. When she comes home after another gruelling night at the wheel, she witnesses a gruesome murder, and when the murderer witnessess her too, he sets his sights on Özge as his next victim. Except, she is the last woman on earth you want to mess with. Rooted in racism, gender and religion,Cold Hellhas more to say than your average pulpy thriller, and directed by Oscar-winning filmmakerStephan Ruzowitzky(The Counterfeiters), it’s got style to spare, but the film never loses sight of the entertainment factor, delivering one propulsive, bone-breaking action set-piece after the next and spinning it all together in one lurid tale that feels pulled right from the pages of a dime store paperback. –Haleigh Foutch
Game Night
Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have a habit of churning out comedies with high concepts and big name casts to mixed results, butGame Nightis an absolute delight. The comedy marks the second directorial effort ofVacationhelmersJohn Francis DaleyandJonathan Goldstein, who were just coming off their work co-writingSpider-Man: Homecoming—an experience that clearly informed how they approached this particular film. The story follows a game night between friends gone wrong, and it plays out as a semi-comedic spin onDavid Fincher’sThe Game. It works really, really well as Daley and Goldstein are able to keep the plot compelling with various twists and turns, while the ensemble led byRachel McAdamsandJason Batemanrise to the occasion and mesh incredibly well. Then we haveJesse Plemonsgiving the ultimate “creep” performance of the decade. –Adam Chitwood
Isle of Dogs
There’s no denying the talent that six-time Oscar-nomineeWes Andersonhas put on display for more than 20 years. And neither is there any denying the capabilities of the A-list cast assembled for this stop-motion film, Anderson’s spiritual successor to 2009’sFantastic Mr. Fox. The artistry is on-point, the dialogue and delivery are vintage Anderson, and the musical selections are absolute crowd-pleasers. The story, on the surface, is straight-forward: A gang of rejected dogs roam Trash Island in order to find a lost member of the pack and reunite him with his human owner. But what makesIsle of Dogsa must-watch movie is not the laughs it generates, but the tough conversations it ignites thanks to Anderson’s misplaced cultural commentary.
Anderson’s provisioning of his own skewed take on foreign cultures in his films is not a new trend; seeThe Darjeeling Limitedand, to a lesser extent,The Grand Budapest Hotel. But in this age of cultural awareness and social media presence, it’s hard to hide behind cute talking dogs and silly animated sequences. WatchingIsle of Dogswith this in mind raises some interesting questions about cultural appropriation, the pervasive appearance of the Great White Savior, and just who or what exactly the dogs themselves are supposed to be stand-ins for, ie The Other. There’s a lot of conversational topics that can be sparked up from this film, whether Anderson intended all of them or not.– Dave Trumbore
Love, Simon
Between the source material,Greg Berlanti, and that rock solid ensemble, it was clear thatLove, Simonhad loads of potential, but the end result far exceeded my expectations. Berlanti brilliantly blends very familiar high school dramedy qualities with Simon’s (Nick Robinson) more unique situation - a perspective and experience we haven’t seen enough of on the big screen. By doing that, he allows the viewer to get comfortable so that by the time we’re firmly connected to and rooting for Simon, it further highlights how challenging and important it can be to embrace who you are when some of your qualities aren’t considered social norm. Further amplifying Simon’s journey throughout the film is every single supporting player around him. Every supporting character in this movie is memorable, serves a purpose, and enhances the big picture.Love, Simonis a highly enjoyable and moving story that’s a pleasure to watch and rewatch, and has a lasting effect that’ll keep your heart full between viewings. –Perri Nemiroff
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
As of this writing, Studio Ghibli co-founderIsao Takahatahad recently passed away. Though often outshined by the slightly more prolificHayao Miyazaki, Takahata’s contributions to the famed film studio have influenced generations of artists, filmmakers, and creators alike. One such influence can be seen in the spin-off production company Studio Ponoc, whose first animated featureMary and The Witch’s Flowerpromises big things ahead for the heir apparent.
Adapted fromMary Stewart’s novel “The Little Broomstick”,Mary and The Witch’s Flowercaptures all of that story’s magical elements and theme of self-discovery in a way that only an anime-styled movie can. Studio Ghibli’s style is very apparent here and it will take some time to see how Ponoc differentiates itself to stand on their own, but it’s clear that their grasp of story and eye for iconic creature creations is a strength. Seek outMary and The Witch’s Flowerto acclimate yourself with Studio Ponoc and get a jump on the next Ghibli-esque obsession.– Dave Trumbore
Mom and Dad
Taylor, who co-directedGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Cage is clearly having the time of his life in the anarchic horror movie, which follows a suburbia gone to hell when a mysterious mass hysteria descends on the parents of the population, giving them an unquenchable desire to murder their own children. It’s a perfect perversion of the natural order, and everyone on board has a blast with the concept, hamming it up and leaning into the tastelessness with giddy glee. Taylor knows exactly what kind of movie he’s making, keeping the run time trim and delivering a number of camp-horror sequences that keep the audience grinning and squirming throughout, including a doozy of a cameo fromLance Henriksonand the best use ofSelma Blair’s talents in a decade.Mom and Dadis a midnight movie to boot and it works so well because it never tries to be anything else. –Haleigh Foutch
Ready Player One
It’s a little weird thatSteven Spielberg’s ode to the 80s became one of the most divisive films of the year, but here we are. Whether you love or hateReady Player One, the craft and technical wizardy on display are undeniably terrific. It feels like Spielberg’s a kid in a candy store when he’s untethered to the laws of physics, as he creates unique and exciting shot compositions inside the OASIS, resulting in jaw-dropping set pieces like the chase sequence and the [SPOILER] set piece. Thematically it feels like Spielberg’s intent gets a little muddled, but ultimately the film works as a piece of pure popcorn entertainment. It’s a silly movie filled with silly fun, aimed at a younger demographic. It’s nowhere near as substantial asLincolnor evenBridge of Spies, butReady Player Onestill maintains the high level of craft we’ve come to expect from The Master. –Adam Chitwood
The Ritual
Not all of the best movies of the year made their way into theaters. Case in point, Netflix’s original horror feature,The Ritual. On the surface, this is a pretty standard horror script: A bunch of dude-friends get together for a camping getaway only to stumble onto an ancient ritual site and get killed, one by one, by a monstrous creature. But dig a little deeper and this story becomes much more harrowing.
The real horrifying part of this tale is the backstory that frames the friends’ journey; without going into spoilery details, it suffices to say thatThe Ritualhits you with some real-world horror when you least expect it.The rest of the telling, specifically focusing onRafe Spall’s character Luke, is colored by these earlier events and every choice the men make is cast in the shadow of those shared experiences. That’s a level of meaning that your average horror script fails to deliver. Add in the fact that themovie’s monster designis one of the creepiest and most original terrors in years and you have yourself a bona fide, contemporary horror classic.– Dave Trumbore
The Zen Diaries of Gary Shandling
WhileThe Zen Diaries of Garry Shandlingpremiered on HBO, it’s still technically a movie released in 2018—and it’s great! Directed byJudd Apatow, the four-hour doc chronicles the life of the comedian who passed away suddenly in 2016. The film doesn’t simply go through Shandling’s life step by step, but is instead focused on contextualizing who Garry was and why he did what he did through personal diaries he kept for decades. Apatow interviews close friends, collaborators, and family members to get inside Garry’s head, along the way charting the massive impact he had on the world throughIt’s Garry Shandling’s Show,The Larry Sanders Show, and his penchant for mentoring up-and-coming comedians. In analyzing some of Garry’s shortcomings, the film strikes upon profound life lessons in tactful and extremely emotional ways, and in this regard it stands as one of Apatow’s best directorial efforts yet. –Adam Chitwood
