Year-End Lists

Katie Rife: Top 15 Films of 2018, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

1. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
2. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
3. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
4. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
   Marielle Heller
5. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
6. Support the Girls
   Andrew Bujalski
7. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
8. BlacKkKlansman
   Spike Lee
9. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
10. Border
    Ali Abbasi
11. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
12. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
13. Widows
    Steve McQueen
14. Revenge
    Coralie Fargeat
15. Leave No Trace
    Debra Granik

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best 25 Films of 2018

Sean Burns: Best Movies of 2018, as published by WBUR’s The ARTery

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2012 • 2011]

Honorable Mentions

• Blaze
  Ethan Hawke
• Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
  Gus Van Sant
• En el Séptimo Día
  Jim McKay
• Never Goin' Back
  Augustine Frizzell
• Nico, 1988
  Susanna Nicchiarelli
• A Star Is Born
  Bradley Cooper
• Zama
  Lucrecia Martel

• First Reformed
  Paul Schrader
• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  Joel & Ethan Coen
• Cold War
  Pawel Pawlikowski
• I Am Not a Witch
  Rungano Nyoni
• Shoplifters
  Hirokazu Kore-eda
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller
• Mandy
  Panos Cosmatos
• Vox Lux
  Brady Corbet

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky: Top 15 Films of 2018, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. The Other Side of the Wind
   Orson Welles
2. First Man
   Damien Chazelle
3. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
4. A Bread Factory
   Patrick Wang
5. Support the Girls
   Andrew Bujalski
6. The Night Comes for Us
   Timo Tjahjanto
7. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
8. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
   Christopher McQuarrie
9. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
10. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
11. You Were Never Really Here
    Lynne Ramsay
12. Leave No Trace
    Debra Granik
13. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
14. Bisbee '17
    Robert Greene
15. Isle of Dogs
    Wes Anderson

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best 25 Films of 2018

A.A. Dowd: Top 15 Films of 2018, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
2. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
3. Lean On Pete
   Andrew Haigh
4. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
5. First Man
   Damien Chazelle
6. Minding the Gap
   Bing Liu
7. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
8. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
9. Thoroughbreds
   Cory Finley
10. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
11. If Beale Street Could Talk
    Barry Jenkins
12. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
13. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
14. Isle of Dogs
    Wes Anderson
15. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
    Christopher McQuarrie

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best 25 Films of 2018

Women and Hollywood: 2018’s Best Films By and About Women

• The Favourite
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• I Am Not a Witch
  Rungano Nyoni
• On the Basis of Sex
  Mimi Leder
• Annihilation
  Alex Garland
• Blockers
  Kay Cannon
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik
• Support the Girls
  Andrew Bujalski
• The Wife
  Björn Runge
• The Hate U Give
  George Tillman Jr.
• Crazy Rich Asians
  Jon M. Chu
• Eighth Grade
  Bo Burnham
• The Rider
  Chloé Zhao
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller
• Mary Queen of Scots
  Josie Rourke
• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay

Much Ado About Cinema: Best Films of 2018

1. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
2. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
3. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
   Desiree Akhavan
5. Suspiria
   Luca Guadagnino
6. Annihilation
   Alex Garland
7. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
8. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
9. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
10. Skate Kitchen
    Crystal Moselle
11. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
12. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
13. Cold War
    Pawel Pawlikowski
14. Wildlife
    Paul Dano
15. Lean On Pete
    Andrew Haigh
16. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
    Morgan Neville
17. Thoroughbreds
    Cory Finley
18. Paddington 2
    Paul King
19. Tully
    Jason Reitman
20. The Tale
    Jennifer Fox
21. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan
22. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
23. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
    Ol Parker
24. Madeline’s Madeline
    Josephine Decker
25. Widows
    Steve McQueen

Little White Lies: 30 Best Films of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012]

1. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
2. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
3. The House That Jack Built
   Lars von Trier
4. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
5. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
6. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
7. The Wild Pear Tree
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
8. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
9. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
10. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
    Desiree Akhavan
11. The Other Side of the Wind
    Orson Welles
12. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Marielle Heller
13. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    Joel & Ethan Coen
14. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
15. Let the Sunshine In
    Claire Denis
16. Isle of Dogs
    Wes Anderson
17. Western
    Valeska Grisebach
18. BlacKkKlansman
    Spike Lee
19. Ex Libris: New York Public Library
    Frederick Wiseman
20. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
21. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
    RaMell Ross
22. Black Panther
    Ryan Coogler
23. The Old Man & the Gun
    David Lowery
24. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
25. Annihilation
    Alex Garland
26. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
    Christopher McQuarrie
27. Widows
    Steve McQueen
28. Have a Nice Day
    Liu Jian
29. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos
30. Shirkers
    Sandi Tan

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Little White Lies: Caitlin Quinlan: Top 10 Films of 2018
• Little White Lies: Elena Lazic: Top 10 Films of 2018

John Beifuss: 10 Best Movies of 2018, as published by Memphis Commercial Appeal

1. Support the Girls
   Andrew Bujalski
2. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
3. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Faces Places
   Agnès Varda and JR
5. Hereditary
   Ari Aster
6. Sorry to Bother You
   Boots Riley
6. BlacKkKlansman
   Spike Lee
7. Madeline’s Madeline
   Josephine Decker
8. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
9. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
9. Mandy
   Panos Cosmatos
10. I Am Not a Witch
    Rungano Nyoni

The Second 10 (in alphabetical order)

1. Black Panther
   Ryan Coogler
2. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
   Marielle Heller
3. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
4. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
5. Isle of Dogs
   Wes Anderson
6. Let the Sunshine In
   Claire Denis
7. Minding the Gap
   Bing Liu
8. Mr. SOUL!
   Melissa Haizlip & Sam Pollard
8. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
   Morgan Neville
9. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
   RaMell Ross
9. Wrestle
   Suzannah Herbert
9. Free Solo
   Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
9. The Gospel of Eureka
   Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri
10. Upgrade
    Leigh Whannell
10. Annihilation
    Alex Garland

Also worth seeing

• Ant-Man and the Wasp
  Peyton Reed
• Avengers: Infinity Wars
  Anthony and Joe Russo
• Blockers
  Kay Cannon
• Call Me by Your Name
  Luca Guadagnino
• The Death of Stalin
  Armando Iannucci
• Eighth Grade
  Bo Burnham
• A Fantastic Woman
  Sebastián Lelio
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
  J.A. Bayona
• Lean On Pete
  Andrew Haigh
• The Little Stranger
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Mirai
  Mamoru Hosoda
• The Old Man & the Gun
  David Lowery
• Overlord
  Julius Avery
• Paddington 2
  Paul King
• The Post
  Steven Spielberg
• Ready Player One
  Steven Spielberg
• The Rider
  Chloé Zhao
• Rodents of Unusual Size
  Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler & Jeff Springer
• Rukus
  Brett Hanover
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
• A Star Is Born
  Bradley Cooper
• Three Identical Strangers
  Tim Wardle
• Unsane
  Steven Soderbergh
• Vox Lux
  Brady Corbet

Noel Murray: Top 15 Films of 2018, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also The 10 Best Documentaries of 2022 • The 10 (or 11) Best Documentaries of 2021 • The Best Films of 2021 • The Best Films of 2020 • The Best Films of 2019 • Best Films of 2017 • The Best Films of 2016 • The Best Films of 2015 • Top 15 Films of 2014 • 15 Best Films of 2012 • Best Films of 2011]

1. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
2. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
   Joel & Ethan Coen
3. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
4. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
5. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
6. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
7. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
8. BlacKkKlansman
   Spike Lee
9. A Star Is Born
   Bradley Cooper
10. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
11. First Man
    Damien Chazelle
12. Support the Girls
    Andrew Bujalski
13. Widows
    Steve McQueen
14. The Old Man & the Gun
    David Lowery
15. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos

This list contributes to:

• A.V. Club: Best 25 Films of 2018

Megan Christopher: Best Films of 2018, as published by Much Ado About Cinema

1. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
2. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
3. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
4. Blindspotting
   Carlos López Estrada
5. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
   Desiree Akhavan
6. Thoroughbreds
   Cory Finley
7. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
8. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
9. Suspiria
   Luca Guadagnino
10. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
11. Lean On Pete
    Andrew Haigh
12. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
13. A Star Is Born
    Bradley Cooper
14. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
15. Tully
    Jason Reitman
16. Assassination Nation
    Sam Levinson
17. Isle of Dogs
    Wes Anderson
18. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
19. Revenge
    Coralie Fargeat
20. Utøya: July 22
    Erik Poppe