My top movies of 2018

I watched 76 movies in 2018. Here are my 8 favorites.

RBG — This documentary provides a compelling, inspiring portrait of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her consistent fight for equal opportunities.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor — Fred Rogers was also a warrior for the good, albeit working in a very different medium. This document was beautiful and moving. I watched his show faithfully as a child and still learned a great deal.

I want to be either RBG or Fred Rogers when I grow up. But if I can’t pull that off, at least I can re-watch these excellent movies about them.

The Great Buster: A Celebration — Buster Keaton is best known for a series of silent comedy films that he created in the 1920s. But he worked right up until his death in the 1960s. This is a hilarious retrospective of this amazing filmmaker.

Leave No Trace — Beautiful movie about a father and daughter who seek to live completely off the grid in the woods of Oregon.

I Am Not a Witch — This is a powerful film about the exploitation of a vulnerable group — accused witches — in Zambia.

Border — A Swedish border guard seems to have a supernatural sense of smell, allowing her to smell fear and more. She meets one man who confounds her ability, and very strange events unfold. The less you know, the better. I love it when a movie swings big on the surprising and pulls it off (even mostly).

Paddington — This was a re-watch, but such a delight! Sally Hawkins is one of my favorite actors, and she’s part of a wonderful ensemble here.

Paddington 2 — This film will envelop you in good feelings. The title character is sweet but not syrupy, and Hugh Grant — as a washed-up actor — plays a delightful villain.

Here are some other movies that I loved (albeit a little less).

And here are some movies that I really enjoyed — just, you know, a little less. 

Lest you think I like everything, here are some movies that I thought were actively bad. (I’m skipping a bunch of movies that I enjoyed just a bit.)