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InCinemas Top 10 Movies of 2018!

By Flora / 28 Dec 2018 (Friday)

We’re down to the last few days of 2018!

It’s time to bid goodbye to your past and welcome the new year with a fresh start. For cinephiles, 2018 has been a bumpy ride with its peaks and dips.

We’ve seen a great crop of the superhero flicks and indie standouts this year, as well as a fair share of comedies and superb dramas from auteurs and promising newcomers.

In no particular order, here are our top 10 look-backs on our favourite movies this year!

10. Marvel Studios' Black Panther

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira

Amidst the superhero movie glut that we are - fortunately or unfortunately- currently suffering from, Marvel Studios' Black Panther stood out for its superb narrative that its central to its treatment, combining both action and fantasy into a heart-pounding blockbuster treat for both young and old.

(Read our review here)

Wakanda Forever!

9. A Star Is Born

Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

It’s courting death to remake a classic that is loved by millions of people around the world. To add to the pressure, Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born is the 4th iteration since 1937, and his directorial debut, no less. He roped in Lady Gaga to star as Ally, the aspiring talented singer whom his character, Jackson Maine eventually falls in love with. Performances from both lead actors were so sincere and irresistible, and when their vocals harmonised perfectly in the film’s power ballad ‘Shallow’, there’s this alluring factor that gives us the goosebumps we have been looking for.

(Read our review here)

8. Beautiful Boy

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney

The two male actors in Felix Van Groeningen’s ‘Beautiful Boy’ are worthy mentions and good enough reasons for it to be in our top 10 list. Based on a pair of memoirs by David Sheff and Nic Sheff, the film details the drug and alcohol addiction that pulled the father-son relationship apart. Told through the individual perspective, Beautiful Boy is a personal story about a real family that went through the struggles of addiction, and it doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of this dire epidemic.

(Read our review here)

7. Isle of Dogs

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldbum, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson

Fans of Wes Anderson couldn’t forget his animation hit film ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, and when he released Isle of Dogs, it’s safe to say that the wait was worth it. Over three thousand puppets were crafted to create the dystopian near-future setting in Japan, scattered with various species of dogs. The comic perfection and stop-motion animation sequences made this film a heart-warming, family-friendly picture that is filled with love.

via GIPHY

6. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Liev Schreiber, Brian Tyree, Henry Luna, Lauren Velez, Lily Tomlin

Another Spider-man movie? Yes, but this is probably one of the best Spider-Man films on the big screen. We promise that this Peter Parker is different from the ones we’ve seen before.

Perhaps is the humour, or that there are numerous Spider-people webslingers featured in the movie. Fans have said that this version is faithful to its comic book roots, and with animation, it allowed the characters to develop and create alternative grounds that live-action filmmaking would not be able to achieve. The movie is jam-packed with action sequences and tear-jerking scenes to create a universal fun-loving trip to the cinema.

(Read our review here)

5. Widows

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Brian Tyree Henry

Viola Davis leads a bereaved crew of women whose male partners died committing a robbery together. Saddled with their debts and pursued by leaders, the ladies decide to pull off the heist themselves in a stylised setting against the backdrop of Chicago. Trust McQueen to present a visually-enticing picture with this iconic long takes, and exploring the larger moral questions of race and class that he puts forth in this film.

(Read our review here)

4. Burning

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Lee Chang-dong
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo, Kim Soo-kyung

The mystery drama South Korean film explores the social commentary of the rich and poor people in Korea grappling with ennui and monetary problems. In director Lee’s adaption of a Haruki Murakami story, the movie highlights many elements that reflect our current society through dark humour and brilliantly-calibrated camerawork.

(Read our review here)

3. Shoplifters

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Lily Franky, Jyo Kairi, Sakura Andô, Kiki Kilin, Mayu Matsuoka, Sasaki Miyu

Family is at the heart of the matter in this Kore-eda film, which won the Palme d’Or at this Cannes film festival earlier this year. The Japanese director blew us away with his previous films like “I Wish” and “Like Father and Son”, and has once again dived deep into our hearts with this intricate and nuanced family drama. It portrayed the marginalised families in Tokyo where family members are victims of the country’s economic struggle. But in their moments of hardship, they share their joy through the little things in life as a family.

(Read our review here)

2. A Quiet Place

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: John Krasinski
Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe

A Quiet Place has to be one of the standouts this year. John Krasinski and real-life wife Emily Blunt star in the PG-13 horror film that managed to keep moviegoers at the edge of their seats throughout its 90-minute runtime and at times, caused us to hold our breaths and forget about our popcorn on our laps. The movie gave us a new level of sensory experience that even 4D movies couldn’t.

(Read our review here)

1. Roma

Photo Credit: IMDB

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey

We simply can’t count the number of elements we adored while watching Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma. The film, which is now streaming on Netflix, is a thrilling, moving, engrossing and personal piece which Cuaron reached back into his childhood to create this masterpiece. Shot in black and white, everything - from its setting of the 1970s Mexico City, to the wide shots and close-ups - are detailedly planned out. For those who have not caught it, be sure to look out for the long shot of the ‘ocean scene’ that left many in awe.

(Read our experience when Alfonso Cuaron was here in Singapore to share about "Roma"!)

Did your favourite film make the list? Share with us your top 10 movies in 2018 in the comments below!

Movies Marvel Studio's Black Panther Widows Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse A Star Is Born A Quiet Place Roma Shoplifters

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