Throughout the year I keep a list of all the new release films I’ve seen, doing a rough ranking as I go. I started doing this in 2016 (and my 2017 list is available here). In late December I do a re-ranking, repositioning films that might not look as good months on or moving up others that benefit from some dwelling time. A dozen or so titles I needed to look up on IMDb because I’d completely forgotten ever seeing them.
If you’re seeking recommendations, the films I’m enthusiastic about are in the top 26: I’d consider the top 11 as must-sees and the others as pretty great. From 27 to 65 are films I considered good – that I enjoyed and are worth seeing if you have the time or inclination. 66 to 130 are the average and mediocre guff, many of which I’ve forgotten or which have merged together in a forgettable blur. From 131 on are the films that I actively hated and which I either napped through, walked out on, or continue to rage against months on.
These are films that I saw in cinemas in Australia or the US in the 2018 calendar year, alternatively were 2018 new releases on streaming services.
Enjoy and have an lovely 2019!
- Call Me by Your Name
- Tully
- The Tale
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- The Children Act
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Kindergarten Teacher
- I, Tonya
- Breath
- Boy Erased
- The Hate U Give
- Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
- A Star Is Born
- Paddington 2
- Life Itself
- Vox Lux
- Puzzle
- The Wife
- Searching
- The Vanishing of Sidney Hall
- Love, Simon
- Eighth Grade
- Green Book
- Indivisibili (Indivisible)
- Nancy
- Teströl és lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
- The Breaker Upperers
- The Post
- The Commuter
- How to Talk to Girls At Parties
- The Miss Education of Cameron Post
- Ben Is Back
- Freak Show
- RBG
- Humor Me
- Aus dem Nichts (In the Fade)
- Ghosthunter
- Flower
- Golden Exits
- The Land of Steady Habits
- Three Identical Strangers
- Dark Money
- Agnyaathavaasi
- I Think We’re Alone Now
- Coco
- Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Juliet, Naked
- Hearts Beat Loud
- Kodachrome
- Visages villages (Faces Places)
- The Quiet Place
- Plaire, aimer et courir vite (Sorry Angel)
- Disobedience
- Acute Misfortune
- The Favourite
- Instant Family
- The Mule
- Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows)
- Duck Butter
- Swimming With Men
- Permission
- On Chesil Beach
- Brad’s Status
- Who We Are Now
- The Bookshop
- Annihilation
- Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman)
- I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story
- Beast
- (Das Versprechen) Killing For Love
- Ideal Home
- Thoroughbreds
- Ocean’s Eight
- Boundaries
- Proud Mary
- Second Act
- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
- Father Figures
- The Endless
- Lizzie
- The Party
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
- Beirut
- A Simple Favor
- Gemini
- Vice
- Please Stand By
- American Animals
- Blade Runner 2049
- Private Life
- Welcome to Marwen
- Death Wish
- Crazy Rich Asians
- 120 battements par minute (BPM [Beats Per Minute])
- Backstabbing For Beginners
- Koly padayut dereva (When the Trees Fall)
- Breaking In
- The Front Runner
- The Clovehitch Killer
- Mary Queen of Scots
- Furlough
- Widows
- Red Sparrow
- Den of Thieves
- Peppermint
- The Spy Who Dumped Me
- Blockers
- Game Night
- Tag
- Sierra Burgess is a Loser
- Isle of Dogs
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bad Times at the El Royale
- In Darkness
- Love After Love
- Peter Rabbit
- Night School
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
- An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn
- Destination Wedding
- Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)
- Ôtez-moi d’un doute (Just to Be Sure)
- Life of the Party
- Final Portrait
- Chappaquiddick
- Fuga (Fugue)
- Permanent
- Gongjak (The Spy Gone North)
- The Girl in the Spider’s Web
- Ferdinand
- The Darkest Hour
- Ready Player One
- Beautiful Boy
- Book Club
- The Black Panther
- Mary Poppins Returns
- Phantom Thread
- Inori no maku ga oriru toki (The Crimes That Bind)
- The Happytime Murders
- Psiconautas, los niños olvidados (Bird Boy: The Forgotten Children)
- 7 Days in Entebbe
- Chao shi kong tong ju (How Long Will I Love U?)
- Unsane
- A Wrinkle in Time
- First Man
- Bad Samaritan
- I Feel Pretty
- Crooked House
- Menashe
- Sorry to Bother You
- Condorito: The Movie
- Félicité
- Holmes & Watson
- Sherlock Gnomes
- Padi Padi Leche Manasu