If there was a theme that dominated global film this year it was the corruption of police and/or police brutality often involving minorities. In Blindspotting, a policeman unjustly guns down an unarmed black man. In Beauty and the Dogs, a Tunisian woman is raped but no one believes her because the assailant is a police officer. In If Beale Street Could Talk, the police are depicted as almost demonic and they are looking for any reason to put an African American man in jail. In In the Fade the police as ineffectual as the justice system and a fascist who kills a minority man suffers no legal penalty. Some of this seem to be influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement but there seems to be a worldwide sense of skepticism regarding the police and the legal justice system.
The year had its share of comic/graphic novel films which tended to be big block busters (Aquaman, Antman and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse ) but only two of them, Blade of the Immortal and Black Panther rose to the level of excellence or came close to the quality of high art. I am sorry I did not have room for them in my top 10 (it was a very good though not great year), but they are in my top 25. Although many comic films have been good it is sad to see big event films crowd superior Indy films out of the theatres.
Luckily Netflix and other streaming services are picking up some of the slack. There were many top notch Netflix films including Roma, As Happy as Lazaro, Ballad of Buster Scruggs (which was brilliant in parts but like many anthology films, very inconsistent), and Mohawk. A Futile and Stupid Gesture, Roxanne Roxanne and 6 Balloons. My favorite of the bunch was On Body and Soul was the most original of the bunch.
It was a superb year for nonfiction film. Some of the year’s top docs include (in order of quality) Three Identical Neighbors, Parallel Places, Faces Places, Won’t You be my Neighbor? McQueen, RPG, and Francis: A Man of His Word, directed by the German new wave master, Wim Wenders.
There was an unusual amount of significant features made by minority (especially African American) filmmakers including Blindspotting, If Beale Street could Talk, Sorry to Bother You, Widows, Black Panther and Blackkklansman. Two of them, Blindspotting and If Beale Street Could Talk actually made my top 10, but some of the rest could have made my top 10 in a lesser year. The days when Spike Lee was the only game in town are long gone.
I was almost tempted to include the controversial music video for the Childish Gambino song, This is America (which was directed by an Asian film maker on my list). It was as though provoking, brilliant and creative as any full length film on my list.
The film had its share of outstanding performances. Some of the ones that stood out included Ethan Hawke (in First Reformed), Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Toni Collete (Hereditary), Mariam Al Ferjani (Beauty and the Dogs), Glenn Close and Joe Castleman (The Wife), Juliette Binoche (Let the Sunshine In), Charlize Theron and McKenzie Davis (Tully), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate), Keira Knightlly (Collette), Sandrine Bonnaire (Catch the Wind), and the whole casts of If Beale Street Could Talk, Widows, and The Favourite. I also thought Justin Bateman and Rachel McAdams were a great comic duo/couple in Game Night.
Joaquin Phoenix gave two Oscar level performances in You Are Not Really Here and He Could Not Get Far on Foot. He is also scheduled to play The Joker in a feature film. Now that could be interesting.
Although I thought the film itself was a bit overrated by the press, I was surprised how good Lady GaGa was in A Star is Born, playing an unglamorous singer who is very different from her real life image (Madonna eat your heart out.)
Many of my favorite directors were out of action all year including Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Werner Herzog, Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky. But we did get worthwhile new films from Clint Eastwood (The Mule), Paul Schrader (First Reformed), Spike Lee (Blackkklansman, Hirokuzo Kor-eda ( Shoplifters), Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk), Julian Schnabel (At Eternity’s Gate), Takashi Miike (Blade of the Immortal) the Coen Brothers (Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Lynn Ramsey (You Were Never Really Here), Bruno Dumont (Jeannette or the Childhood of Joan of Arc) Gus Van Sandt (Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot), and Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 11-9).
Incredibly there was a new film from the person many consider the best filmmaker of all time, Orson Welles who died decades ago. A previously unreleased Welles film was scooped up by Netflix. For me The Other Side of the Wind (which was cut and assembled from over 50 hours of footage) did not measure up to his earlier films but how could it? Almost nothing this year could compare to Welles in his prime. I probably need to see it again before I can fully digest this 8 1/2 like film but it was good to see some long gone actors (like Susan Strasberg and Edmond O’Brien) onscreen again.
It was a good year for horror/suspense and sci fi films (many of the genres overlap). In order of preference I liked Hereditary, Ghost Stories, Unsane, Annihilation, Birdbox, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Upgrade, Tau, Ravenous, The Relic, Bus Ride to Hell, and Mrs. Hyde (not very good but nothing with Isabelle Huppert is totally without interest.)
I only included movies on my best films list that opened in Chicago (or Netflix) in 2018, but Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Lars Von Trier’s The House that Jack Built, Pawel Pawilkowski’s Cold War, Jean Luc Godard’s Image Book, Nuri Bilge Ceylon’s Wild Pear Tree, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Terry Gillliam’s long awaited The Man who Killed Don Quixote, Asghar Farhadi’s Everybody Knows, Jordan Peele’s Us, M. Night Shymalan’s Glass, and Roberto Rodriquez’s Alita: Battle Angel (some of them opened in other states earlier) might end up on next year’s list. Those are the upcoming films I am most excited about. I am also dying to see Clair Denis’s upcoming sci-fi epic, High Life which stars believe it or not Robert Pattinson (of Twilight) and Andre 3000 (of the hip-hop/funk duo, Outkast).
Now without further ado, here is my list. Although I added a few selections in this new version, my top 50 films is essentially the same.
Best Films of 2018 by Vittorio Carli
1.)Jeannette or the Childhood of Joan of Arc/Jeannette L’Enfance De Jeanne D’Arc (France/Italy) – -Bruno Dumont’s irreverent, subversive, and unusually surprising historical biopic/musical focuses on a young Joan before she went to battle (played by two capable actresses). It was based on “The Mystery of the Charity of Joan of Arc,” a dramatic text by a socialist mystical poet, Charles Péguy, and the background music is a jarring mixture of rock, rap, metal, synth pop and hip-hop. The film does an excellent job of combining the everyday with the divine, and has scenes of people praying or singing to God while doing banal things such as plucking chickens. It makes fine use of nonprofessional actors with ordinary voices who get by with their charisma and apparent sincerity (it’s the opposite approach used in the slick, professional Glee show.) Bruno Dumont, who also did the hard to categorize, Li’l Quinquin clearly is on a hot streak. He has developed into a weirdly wonderful, avant-garde film genius. Lars Von Trier and David Lynch may need to watch their backs. This was also John Waters’ favorite film of the year (the man has good taste.) In French with English subtitles.
Director-Bruno Dumont
2.) First Reformed-Shocking and emotionally volatile drama about a dedicated minister who goes through a crisis of faith after he counsels a traumatized ex-army person who just may be an eco-terrorist. The lead performances by Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried are magnificent and moving (perhaps too good and true for the Oscar voters) and the devastating ending is hard to shake off. Director/screenplay writer Paul Schrader reworks some thematic motifs from Taxi Driver and Robert Bresson’s films and comes up with his best film in decades. Like Bresson’’s films (Schrader devoted part of his best book, “Transcendental Style in Film” on him), the film masterfully explores the theme of gaining enlightenment through suffering. This also has one of the most erotic nonexpicit sex scenes in the history of cinema.
Director-Paul Schrader
3.) Blindspotting– An intense and challenging urban buddy comedy that shifts into a disturbing drama in the second half. It courageously deals with many serious social issues such as classism, police violence, and racism. The film’s talented stars, Rafael Casal (known for his performance poetry) and Daveed Diggs (known for his rapping) wrote the semi-autobiographical screenplay over a period of nine years. Daveed and Rafael grew up in the same vicinity in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they wrote the film as a corrective because they felt most cinematic portrayals of Oakland did not get it right.
Director-Carlos Lopez Estrada
4.) At Eternity’s Gate-The usually underrated Willem Dafoe shines in this melancholy biopic about the mentally unbalanced art genius Vincent Van Gogh. The film has marvelous direction by Julian Schnabel, a very successful and well-known painter (ironically, he has made infinitely more money for his neoexpressionist plate paintings than Van Gogh ever did). At Eternity’s Gate benefits greatly from the artist’s sensibility that Julian Schnabel (who is a painter in real life) brings to the film, and many individual shots look like paintings. The cinematographer, Benoît Delhomme often uses handheld cameras, and the roving tracking shots plus occasionally weird camera angles always kept my interest. Often Delhomme lets Van Gogh’s paintings speak for themselves.
Director-Julian Schnabel
5.) On Body and Soul/A Teströl és Lélekröl– A terrific, involving and decidedly odd film about a man and woman that dream they are romantically involved deer every night even though they never met. It turns out they have the same analysist, and he thinks it is all an elaborate joke. If you liked The Lobster (which was on my top 10 list a few years ago), you should love this quirky, surreal love story. In Hungarian with English subtitles (on Netflix)
Director-Idiko Enyedi
6.) Godard Mon Amour/Le Redoutable– -Hilarious and intellectual period piece about a subversive film maker who encourages his young disciples to rebel against everything until he is shocked when they turn against him ( a similar thing happened to the situationist professors in France when the students started destroying furniture during protests). This film which is based on the life of the cinematic Enfant Terrible. Jean-Luc Godard, also manages to expertly mimic and send up his unique directing style complete with his trademark jump cuts. The same director also made The Artist. I had such a good time watching this!! In French with English subtitles
Director-Michel Hazanavicius
7.) Hereditary-Well written and shocking horror film about a couple with a troubled family history who find out that they are part of a sinister supernatural conspiracy. This sharp, shocking, and suspenseful film had me on the edge of my seat until the final surprise twist. This terrifying Polanski influenced film is sort of a modern twist on Rosemary’s Baby with elements of The Seventh Victim thrown in. The intensity builds to a crescendo and the stuff the film suggests is much more horrific than anything they can show us on screen. Toni Collette is uncommonly good in the lead, and this may actually be superior to her earlier, Sixth Sense. The more I think about this film the higher it goes on my list. One of the best horror films of the decade.
Director-Ari Aster
8.) You Were Never Really Here-Joaquin Phoenix stars in this Taxi Driver influenced non-linear, experimental film about a troubled, emotionally scarred war veteran who goes on a mission to rescue captive underage prostitutes. The film scenes are sometimes out of order, and since it is narrated from the point of view of a PTSD narrator, we don’t always know if every scene is actually happening the way we see it, so this is sort of like the film equivalent of Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury novel.
Director-Lynne Ramsay
9.) The Favourite-A quirky, intellectual and often bawdy comedy about a female rivalry for power in the court of Queen Anne. This delightful romp does a superb job at exploring the connection between sexual politics and power as it wickedly mocks royal excess and eccentricity. The film has generated near unanimous critical acclaim and multiple Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz). Olivia Coleman’s performance in the film got the Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
10.) If Beale Street Could Talk-This film based on a James Baldwin novel (I taught his novel Giovanni’s Room but I never read this one) is about a couple in Harlem who seem slated to have a happy future until the man is accused of a crime by the police who just seem to be looking for a convenient minority man to pin it on. The director, Barry Jenkins (who also did Moonlight) convincingly uses great period detail to establish that we are we are watching a particular time and place. It effectively captures people fighting nobly against racial and class barriers and poverty. Uncommonly well written and acted. Regina King could get an Oscar for this, but the whole cast is perfect.
Director-Barry Jenkins
11.) Three Identical Strangers-The year’s most potent doc is about three identical men that discover they were secretly part of a government experiment. The films teaches us that the government often sees its citizens as less than human. This film is set to premiere on CNN in January but it had a limited run in the theatres.
Director: Tim Wardle
12.) Blade of the Immortal. –Takashi Miike’s ultra-violent action film about a warrior with eternal life who reluctantly agrees to avenge a murder has some of the most wonderfully staged ballet-like battle scenes in recent memory (since Kill Bill). Based on the great comic series by Hiroaki Smura (I believe the American reprints came out on Dark Horse.). Sorry Marvel fans, but this slightly edged out Black Panther for best comic based film of the year. Some of Miike’s previous films, including 13 Assassins and Audition are also genre masterpieces. In Japanese with English subtitles
Director-Takashi Miikie
13.) Tully-A nanny is hired to help a troubled woman who previously suffered from postpartum depression after she has a baby. The husband hires a mysterious house keeper who has an uncanny understanding of the mom. This is kind of like a feminist version of Fight Club. The relationship between the two main female characters is complex and multilayered; the script by Diablo Cody (one of the best of the year) is thought provoking; and the underrated Charlize Theron gives another deep, winning performance.
Director-Ivan Reitman
14) Lover for a Day-A philosophy professor lives in hedonistic bliss with his much younger student/lover until his distraught daughter complicates things by moving in with them after a bad breakup. The two women’s adversarial relationship eventually becomes a friendship. This relationship based film has endlessly witty dialogue and it is almost as impressive as peak era Woody Allen or Eric Rohmer film from the 70’s. This was one of the highlights of the Philippe Garrel retrospective series at the Gene Siskel Center (I also greatly admired his Andy Warhol influenced Crystal Cradle with Nico). In French with English subtitles.
Director- Philippe Garrel
15.) The Phantom Thread-Coldly captivating film about a mentally off/perfectionist fashion designer who makes his much younger wife suffer countless indignities with his self-centered callousness. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a performance for the ages, but his co-star’s (Vicky Krieps from Gutland) fine supporting contributions should not be underestimated. The film’s look and style are far more important than the plot, and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s gorgeous shot compositions show once again that he has the eye of a master painter. The terrific, evocative soundtrack is by one of Radiohead’s resident rock guitar gods, Jonny Greenwood. This film did not immediately hit me quite as hard as some of Anderson’s other films (I loved Magnolia), but his movies always get better with multiple viewings (the same is also true of Kubrick’s works). This screened in LA. Last year, but I am pretty sure it opened in Chicago in 2018, so I am including it here.
Director-Paul Thomas Anderson
16.) Happy as Lazzaro– Haunting and atmospheric Netflix drama combines elements of Italian neo realism and magical realism. The films depicts tobacco farm hands tolling in slave like conditions for the selfish landowner (played by Roberto Benigni’s wife, Nicholette Braschi in one of her few unsympathetic roles.) Featuring wonderful naturalistic acting and a good use of scenery plus local color. In Italian with English sub-tiles
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
17.) The Other Side of Hope-Aki Kaurismaki’s bittersweet and topical film is about a restaurant owner who befriends and helps a Syrian refugee. A great antidote for the anti-immigrant hysteria that is gripping the globe. In Finnish with English subtitles
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
18.) Sorry to Bother You-wonderfully inventive socially conscious comedy about an African American man who gives up his ethnic identity in order to make it in a white dominated evil corporation. If it were not for the disappointing ending this would be in my top 10. The director (who also raps) Boots Riley is a promising talent to watch.
Director: Boots Riley
19.) Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot– Engaging biopic about a paralyzed artist who channels his sarcastic and biting wit into his cartoons. The characterization of curmudgeon like lead character make this reminiscent of American Splendor, the top notch Harvey Pekar biopic. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Director: Gus Van Sandt
20.) Parallel Planes -A fascinating, exciting, and informative documentary that played at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. This film which can also be seen as a visual mixtape takes us across the country and depicts participants in various American indie music milieus (many of the musicians were influenced by Noise music or no wave (not new wave). The struggling artists in the film come off like noble, tragic heroes because they preserve and they are stubbornly committed to their art even though they have little chance of commercial success. . Much more significant and memorable than the year’s big music films (such as A Star is Born, Mamma Mia 2 and Bohemian Rhapsody.)
Director: Nicole Weber
21.) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?-Inspirational and revelatory documentary about Mr. Rogers a popular PBS Children’s show whose influence went beyond his sphere. The film shows that the man was much more complex and influential than anyone thought.
Director: Morgan Neville
22.) Black Panther-Exciting afro futurist superhero film about the trials of T’challa, an African monarch who faces off against a very multi-dimensional and sympathetic villain. Believe it or not this actually improves on Lee’s and Kirby’s wondrous creation. The soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar (who wrote songs from the points of view of the characters) adds immeasurably to the film. Not just an action film but an exquisite celebration of African culture.
Director: Ryan Coogler
23.) Eighth Grade– An introverted and socially dysfunctional grade student does a podcast (get this) which gives listeners advice on how to interact better. This film does a better job of getting into a postmillennial person’s mindset than any other film in recent memory. A big theme in the film is how new technology often gets in the way of personal interaction. It is exasperating to see her dad try and fail repeatedly in actually communicating with her, and when she tries to make friends at school the other girls can’t even bother to put down their cell phones and give her their undivided attention.
Director: Bo Burham
24.) Can You Ever Forgive Me?-Well acted biopic about a woman forging letters attributed to famous people and her criminal, drug dealing buddy. Melissa McCarthy who has never impressed me that much has never given any indication she could be so brilliant, and Richard E. Grant (Hugh’s brother) is almost as good.
Director: Marielle Heller
25.) Mary and the Witch’s Flower -Terrific and colorful Asian animated film based on folklore is about a quest for a magical plant. Not as good as a Miyazacki film but it comes close. Available In Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed in English.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
26.) Faces Places– Agnès Varda goes on a trip with a muralist and revisits parts of her life through film clips, interviews, and recent footage. The eighty something Varda, (one of the last surviving members of the French New Wave) shows she still has the magic touch. The planned meeting scene with Godard is classic. In French with English subtitles
Director: Agnes Varda
27.) A Hustler’s Diary-Riotous dramedy is about a common thug in a bad neighborhood who wants to be an actor. He writes about his criminal misadventures in a diary which gets into the hands of a book publisher who wants to make a book out if it. The thug is horrified because the thinks that if it gets in the wrong hands everyone he knows will get arrested. Many laughs are generated when the thug tries to get his delinquent younger brother to act respectable. The shaky handheld camerawork and characterization was obviously influenced by Martin Scorsese’s and Spike Lee’s works. Many of these characters are so brutish and violent that they make the characters in Trailer Park Boys look like high society people. In Swedish with English subtitles.
28.) Messi and / La Holandesa (Netherlands) Maude, a forty something wife who can’t have children, argues with her husband over the issue while they are on holiday. She runs off and gets picked up by an out of control father and his boy, Messi. When the man tries to rape her, she accidentally kills him (or maybe she just knocks him unconscious) when she is defending herself. She leaves with Messi and gradually develops a deep emotional bond with him. The oddly paired couple travel through Chile and are dazzled by the country’s intoxicating beauty, and the child’s presence fills a void in Maude’s life. This film in the great tradition of Lost in America, Alice in the Cities, and my personal favorite, Two Lane Blacktop, and it is one of the better recent road films I have seen. Like all those films it is about how a physical trip helps people find themselves. In Dutch with English subtitles. Playing Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 in the Chicago European Union Film Festival.
29.) Beauty and the Dogs-Powerful film about a Tunisian woman who cannot get anyone to believe her after she gets raped by a police officer. Mariam Al Ferjani (also playing a character named Mariam) gives a riveting performance. In Tunisian with English subtitles
30.) A Fantastic Woman– Oscar winning film (it won best foreign language film) about a Transgender woman who must deal with the death of her long time life partner as well as the homophobic bias of that man’s family. A Chilean film In Spanish with English subtitles
31.) Blackkklansman
32.)Roma-In Spanish with English subtitles on Netflix
33.) Sweet Country-An Australian film in English and Arrernte with English subtitles
34.) Game Night
35.) Widows
36.) Hate U Give
37.) Revenge-In French with English Subtitles
38.) Ghost Stories (U.K.)
39.) The Death of Stalin (U.K.)
40.) Catch the Wind/Prendire Le Large-In French with English subtitles
41.) Let the Sunshine In– in French with English subtitles
42.) The Villainess (in Korean with English subtitles)
43.) Worthington 2
44.) November (in Estonian with English subtitles)
45.) Thoroughbreds
46.) Who We are Now
47.) Green Book
48.) Don’t Talk to Irene
49.) Shoplifters (in Japanese with English subtitles)
50.) Gutland-In Luxembourgish and German
51.) The Mule
52.) Ballad of Buster Scruggs
53.) Mohawk (on Netflix)
54.) Leave No Trace
55.) Crazy Rich Asians
56.) A Futile and Stupid Gesture
57.) Lean On Pete
58.)Ali’s Wedding (Netflix) In Arabic, English and Persian
59.) Isle of Dogs
60.) Love Simon
61.) RPG
62.) 6 Balloons (Netflix)
63.) Cargo (Netflix)
64.) Zama-(Argentina) In Spanish with English subtitles
65 )The Crystal Cradle (French) no dialogue, premiered in 1976?
66.) Vice
67.) Mary Shelley
68.) Fahrenheit 11-9
69.) Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
70.). Francis: A Man of His Word-In English, Italian and , Spanish with English subtitles
71 Indivisible/Indivisibl (Italy)-In Italian with English
72) The Rider
73 .) The Wilding
74.) The Workshop (In French)
75.) Ismael’s Ghosts (in French)
76 .) A Star is Born
77.) I am Not an Easy Man (French/Netflix)
78) Unsane
79.) Seeing Alfred (Netflix)
80.) My Friend Dahmer
81.) Annihilation
82.) Incredibles 2
83.) Hostiles
84.) Souvenir (Belgium/Luxembourg/France–In French with English subtitles
85.) Deadpool 2
86.) Antman and the Wasp
85.) First Match (on Netflix)
87.) Nico 1988
88.) Psychokinesis (North Korean film on Netflix)
89.) Wild Mouse/Wilde Mause (Austria) – In Austrian with English subtitles.
90.) A Quiet Place
91.) Roxanne Roxanne (Netflix)
92.) There is a Light-In Italian with English subtitles
93.) Lizzy
94.) Chappequitic
95.) Suspiria
96.) Avengers: Infinity War
97.) Journey’s End
98.) Please Stand By
99.) Upgrade
100.) Blockers
101.) Tau (Netflix)
102) Birdbox (Netflix)
103.) The Mid 90s
104.) The Cloverfield Paradox (Netflix)
105 ) Ravenous/Les Amantes (Netflix)
106.) Happy End (France/Germany/Austria)-In English and French with English subtitles
107). Solo: A Star Wars Story
108.) Submergence (Germany/France/U.S.A/Spain)
109.) Beirut
110.) Bohemian Rhapsody
111.) Set it Up (Netflix)
112.) Ready Player One
113.) The Relic (Netflix)
114.)27 El Club De Los Malditos (Argentina) in Spanish with English subtitles -on Netflix
115.) The Competition (Netflix)
116.) God’s Own Country (UK)
117.) Kodachrome (Netflix)
118.) A Heart of Love /Serce miłośc (Poland), In Polish with English subtitles
119.) Bus Ride to Hell
120.) Green Fog
121.) Dude (Netflix)
122.) Candy Jar (Netflix)
123.) Lots of Kids a Monkey and a Castle (In Spanish)
124.) Mrs. Hyde/Madame Hyde
125.) The Last Processo / Finche C’e Prosecco Speranza (In Italian with English subtitles
126.) Young Karl Marx-In English, German and French with English subtitles.
Best directors-Bruno Dumont for Jeannette or the Childhood of Joan of Arc/Jeannette L’Enfance De Jeanne D’Arc, Paul Schrader for First Reformed, and Lynne Ramsey for You Were Never Really Here
Best cinematographer-Warwick Thornton for Sweet Country
Best actresses– Melissa McCarthy for Will You Ever Forgive Me?-Charlize Theron for Tully, Julianne Nicholson for Who Are We Now, Toni Collette for Hereditary, Mariam Al Ferjani for Beauty and the Dogs
Best actor– Ethan Hawke for First Reformed, Joaquin Phoenix for You were Never Really Here and He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Daniel Day Lewis for The Phantom Thread, Ethan Hawke for First Reformed, Willem Dafoe for At Eternity’s Gate
Best supporting actresses – MacKenzie Davis for Tully, Emma Roberts for Who Are We Now, Amanda Seyfried for First Reformed
Most promising actresses – Vicky Krieps for Phantom Thread and Gutland, Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke for Thoroughbreds, Zoey Deutch for The Set Up
Most promising new director – Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You
Best script – Diablo Cody for Tully, Ari Aster for Hereditary. Idiko Enyedi for On Body and Soul, Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You, Bo Burham for Eighth Grade
Best soundtrack – Green Fog (Kronos Quartet), Kendrick Lamar (Black Panther), Suspiria (Tom Yorke of Radiohead)
Most delightful unexpected cameos : Nora Dunn in Dude and Leah Thompson in Who Are We Now?
Best rappers turned actors – Childish Gambino, Common and Boots Riley
Best DVD release -Twin Peaks The Return- Season 3 of the Twin Peaks (the Return) was the only second best season of the three which probably means that the series is still the best thing that has ever been seen on television.
Best videos: Childish Gambino This is America Runner Ups: Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet and, Gorillaz
Best documentaries – Three Identical Strangers, Parallel Planes, Won’t You be My Neighbor? McQueen, RPG, Faces Places, Francis: A Man of his Word
Best comic based film – Blade of the immortal
Best superhero film – Black Panther
Best horror film – Hereditary
Best music documentary – Parallel Places
Best animated/family film – Worthington 2
Best pure comedy – Game Night
