2018 is gone. Out of the movies / TV shows / music that I was able to find time and consume these were the ones that will remind me of 2018.
outside of it being a incredibly well executed story, I loved the ambiguity, baked into the main character. I don't think Spike was making this movie to tell us a solution, rather this movie illustrates W. E. B. De Bois concept of double conciousness
Another reason this movie sticks out so far in my mind is the range of emotions on display. This movie his hilarious at times, other times, horrifying. It's a tonal balancing act and this movie pulls it off almost flawlessly.
Gorgeous stop-motion, Wes Anderson Quirk, dogs; what else would you want from a movie?
Fuck, this movie kicked me right in the feels. Downright Oscar worthy performance from Elsie Fisher. Bo Burnham's humanistic approach to telling a story about a young girl going through middle school, floored me in every way. A lot of really smart camera and editing tricks to place the viewer in the eyes of a 13-year old. It's a movie that at the same time is about now and how things have always been. It's a fresh look on the stale genre of coming of age movies. If you haven't seen this I highly recommend seeing it.
It's strange that in one year we have 2 horror movies that are fixated on the idea of our senses. Bird box, while a decent movie, suffered from a formulaic plot and over reliance on horror genre clichés. A quiet place, while still very much being a genre film, was a better movie over all. One major difference is that sound itself is a character in a quiet place. The film makers used that tool far better in A Quiet Place then Bird Box used it's visuals. Bird Box wasn't an ugly movie but I didn't find the visuals to really be anything important.
A Quiet Place with it's visuals and use of sound and sharp editing stayed with me throughout the year.
These movies so far have not been in any particular order except this one. I can say without a shadow of regret this was the best movie I saw this year. No other movie this year was so sure footed in it's writing, direction and style. This movie explored themes of self destruction, transcendence, beauty and nature. There is so much I could say about this movie but I don't want to spoil it. This movie is far better if you go in blind. Just watch it you wont be disappointed.