Jason Lithgo’s 10 Best Films 2018
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review
Well, this came out of nowhere.
Quite simply one of the best animated films of all time, one of the best superhero movies ever and definitely the best Spider-Man movie ever. Sony have managed to avoid some of the problems that plagued their previous Spider-Man movies and create a singular artistic vision which manages to rival Pixar’s very best. They had 140 animators work on this, the most for any animation they have ever done, and the craftsmanship shines through. Not only from the technical side but plotting, pacing, characters and soundtrack all manage to shine. Some might dismiss or overlook this because it’s animated but you’d be doing yourself a massive disservice to miss this one.
Recommended for you: Spider-Man Movies Ranked
7. The House That Jack Built
Lars Von Trier’s scathing takedown of Trump’s America (or an endorsement of it depending on who you ask), through the eyes of a serial killer called Jack, is simply the most grimly nihilistic, misanthropic movie of the year. You feel guilty about enjoying any part of it but the firmly tongue in cheek manor in which it presents itself only serves to endear if you’re willing to look past its grizzly exterior. It was much derided at Cannes and prompted many people to walk out of the premiere citing the movie’s violence against women, children and animals. It’s either saying a lot, or nothing at all, it’s hard to tell. All I know is that I haven’t stopped thinking about it since the moment I left the cinema.
6. Cold War
Cold War has some of the best cinematography of the year. It’s slightly cliche to say that films look like photographs but there’s no simpler way to put how Cold War’s black and white shots look and feel. The camera is given time to be still and breathe. It also helps that this is really unlike any other Polish cinema I’ve seen and its chapter based narrative showing star crossed lovers felt like a breath of fresh air.
