While 2018 wasn’t a fantastic year in general, we still got some darn good movies. Films from first-time directors and actors, and returning directors and actors made 2018 an interesting year for movies. This list recognizes the best of the best, in no particular order because this year was impossible for me to rank them (they’re that good). So here are the top ten movies of 2018.

Eighth Grade

Directed and written by comedian and musician Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade chronicles the last week of eighth grade for teenager Kayla Day. Kayla is a very quiet, shy girl, but she can riff on her insecurities through her YouTube channel. While dealing with boy troubles and making new friends, Kayla strives to fix herself in order to make it through high school. This movie triumphs in it’s realism. It’s like looking into the mirror of your eighth grade-self. Anybody can watch this movie and instantly relate. Maybe it works so well because Bo Burnham got his start riffing on HIS insecurities on YouTube. It’s a great story with a great heart and message, with an incredible performance by Elsie Fisher.

The Favourite

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), The Favorite takes place in the early 18th Century England, where a frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail (Emma Stone), arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah and Queen Anne becomes more fond of Abigail. Filled with plenty of darkly-comedic moments, loads of great editing and music, and phenomenal performances by Emma Stone and Olivia Colman, The Favourite is definitely worth a watch.

Sorry To Bother You

Directed and written by musician Boots Riley, Sorry To Bother You takes place in an alternate present-day version of Oakland Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, using his “white voice,” propelling him into a universe of greed. This movie has great social commentary and excellent comedy with a premise that doesn’t go to waste, plus a twist that will leave you speechless. This movie is one you’re going to want to watch again and again.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is undoubtedly the best animated movie of the year and quite possibly the best Spider-Man movie to date. Spider-Verse is about teen Miles Morales becoming Spider-Man of his reality, crossing paths with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities. This movie has great writing and excellent acting, plus a soundtrack that puts Suicide Squad to shame, not to mention a beautiful animation style that makes Pixar look like stick drawings. This film is as true to the Spider-Verse as it can be and I highly recommend it.

Ready Player One

Directed by long-time filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Jaws, E.T., Close Encounters), Ready Player One is a visual spectacle celebrating the wonderful world of pop-culture. When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Personally, this is my favorite movie of the year. While some of it is a little corny and some of the acting is a little off-kilter, that’s kind of like what those movies of the old days were like. Plus it was by a director who made some classic movies back then too. This movie is great and I love watching it and spotting all those Easter Eggs I’ve missed before.

A Quiet Place

Directed by Office star John Krasinski, A Quiet Place is about a post-apocalyptic world, where a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. This movie redefined the horror genre, with almost all the performances through expressions and no dialogue. This could be difficult to master, but thankfully, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Krasinski himself pulled it off without a hitch. This film is one of the best horror movies in decades and I can’t recommend it enough.

A Simple Favor

Directed by Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids, The Heat), A Simple Favor is about Stephanie, a single mother with a parenting vlog. She befriends Emily, a secretive upper-class woman who has a child at the same elementary school as Stephanie’s son. When Emily goes missing, Stephanie takes it upon herself to investigate. This movie is campy, but it’s a kind of campy that gets you invested, keeps you on your toes, and actually pretty darn sexy. Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, and Andrew Rannells give the best performances of their careers. And let’s not forget the twist that no one was able to predict. If you like smart, sexy, mystery thrillers, this movie is perfect for you.

First Man

Directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land), First Man is another masterpiece from Chazelle himself. First Man takes a look at the life of astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Once again, Chazelle gives us another film which strives to keep itself visually and dramatically entertaining. Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong are so perfect in these roles that it’s like watching the actual Neil and Janet Armstrong. Let’s hope Chazelle can keep his winning streak for many years to come.

Roma

Directed and written by Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men), Roma is the story of Cleo, a maid of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. While the story may seem simple, the way it’s carried out is very real, and intense. Every minute of the movie has something important. It may seem long and drawn-out, but it has characters that you can root for and characters you can despise. The performances in this film do not shy away from being real. Roma is an incredible experience, and is the pinnacle of foreign language films.

Avengers: Infinity War

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Infinity War is the superhero movie that we’ve been waiting for, a movie that took over 10 years of build-up. The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his reign of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe. The best parts of this movie are up to you to decide, as there are so many. Filled with twists, turns, and a villain who actually has a REASON to destroy the world, Infinity War is just the beginning of the end for the Avengers.

Conclusion

With 2018 having been over, we still have plenty of movies to look forward to. But we can’t forget the awesome year of movies we had. Here’s to another great year for movies!