We’re about to pig out on the NZ International Film Festival, but before seeing dozens of other potential contenders for best films of the year, it seemed a good time to check in with our writers about their favourites of 2018 so far.
Each contributed a top 5, which we tallied up to get the following top ten – accompanied with a quote from our review at the time of release, and options to watch at home or in the cinema for most entries. “Who’s picking this guff?” you ask. Paul Casserly, Dominic Corry, Adam Fresco, Matt Glasby, Liam Maguren, Steve Newall, Katie Parker, Amanda Jane Robinson, Daniel Rutledge, Tony Stamp, Sarah Voon and Aaron Yap contributed to this collective top ten – with a number one pick that topped more than half of their individual lists.
Stay tuned for next week, when we’ll also count down our top 10 most anticipated films for the year to come.
Loving Vincent
Animated drama about the life and mysterious death of Vincent Van Gogh, with each frame painstakingly hand-painted by around 100 artists.
“Transforms something seemingly basic into a burning, sincere reflection of the artist’s undying passion – to walk away thinking it’s just a gimmick would be a woeful mistake.” -Liam Maguren (full review)
Find it on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand
Avengers: Infinity War
Torn apart after the events of Captain America: Civil War, the Avengers reunite and join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to confront Thanos.
“Infinity War certainly isn’t totally perfect, but it’s a damn fun time that rises to its challenge. And what about THAT ENDING.” -Steve Newall (full review)
Available on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand mid-August
The Death of Stalin
Blistering satire from In the Loop filmmaker Armando Iannucci chronicling the aftermath of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953.
“Historically speaking, you might say the dossier has been sexed up but I totally wallowed in the thing like a pig in muck, all the way from the weaponized language to the Weekend at Bernie’s dead body LOLs.” -Paul Casserly (full review)
Find it on DVD & On Demand early August
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin and writer Taylor Sheridan return for the follow-up to the 2015 cartel crime thriller.
“Blessed with smart writing, strong central performances and a rich seam of nihilism, it’s far better than could have been expected.” -Matt Glasby (full review)
Now playing in cinemas – find times and tickets
A Quiet Place
John Krasinski (The Office) directs, co-writes and stars alongside Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow) in this horror in which a family must stay silent to hide from deadly creatures that hunt by sound.
“As a cinematic experience, A Quiet Place is more a physical than an intellectual one and, as is often the case with such things, once the tension wears off it is easy to nit-pick.” -Katie Parker (full review)
Find it on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand
Incredibles 2
Oscar-winning writer-director Brad Bird returns to helm this sequel to Disney/Pixar’s 2004 box office crushing CGI action-adventure.
“All of Brad Bird’s dexterous action sequences blow his live-action peers out of the water.” -Aaron Yap (full review)
Now playing in cinemas – find times and tickets
Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman reprises his titular role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 18th film, directed by Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner Ryan Coogler (Creed).
“There’s so much creativity displayed in the makeup, costuming, sets, and sci-fi designs that a single watch cannot absorb it all.” -Liam Maguren (full review)
Find it on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand
Annihilation
Natalie Portman is a biologist who signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don’t apply. From writer-director Alex Garland (Ex Machina). Does it count as a film if it was only on Netflix (dammit)? Feel free to substitute something of your own in here if not.
“The director also makes his own mind-bending contribution to the third act, playing Kubrick to Vandermeer’s Clarke as Annihilation defiantly declares “so what if we can’t show that, try writing this.” -Steve Newall (full review)
Phantom Thread
Director Paul Thomas Anderson and star Daniel Day-Lewis reteam, after 2007’s brilliant There Will Be Blood, for this Best Picture Academy Award nominee set in the fashion world of 1950s post-war London.
“As the mincing mansplainer-in-chief, Day-Lewis is predictably committed in his Last Ever Role™, an angry vein in his forehead working overtime.” -Matt Glasby (full review)
Find it on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand
Hereditary
The spirit of a recently deceased matriarch haunts her surviving family in filmmaker Ari Aster’s debut, starring the great Toni Collette.
“One long, paralyzing, highly unsettling psycho-drama, suffused with awful, exhausting dread, and disrupted by discombobulating detours into the occult.” -Aaron Yap (full review)
Available on Blu-ray, DVD & On Demand late September
