The most impressive movies of the first half of 2018.
Can you believe we're already at the mid-point of 2018? That means it's time to reflect on the quality of cinematic offerings from the first half of the year. Here are the 25 movies that have most impressed TMW's editor so far in 2018.
25. My Friend Dahmer
We said: "My Friend Dahmer never makes excuses for the eponymous mass murderer, but its portrayal of the indifferent at best, hostile at worst environment of middle America that fostered Dahmer is subtly damning."
24. Cargo
We said: "Cargo may lay on its metaphor a little too thickly in parts, but learning to let go of your previously unchallenged position of power and trust in someone who may not look like you is a lesson many a white man could learn from."
23. Love, Simon
We said: "Love, Simon isn't quite that great love story, but it's good enough for now, and hopefully it will open a few doors, and closets, for more astute takes on this type of story."
22. The Strangers: Prey at Night
We said: "Slasher fans however should find enough thrills in director Johannes Roberts' creative staging of sequences - along with his nods to genre staples like Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes and Christine - to get their money's worth."
21. Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
We said: "Makes some daring observations on the struggles of women in second world societies while proving entertaining throughout."
20. A Fantastic Woman
We said: "It's a film that inspires outrage from its audience at the treatment of its protagonist, but it never asks us to pity her."
19. Sequence Break
We said: "While Ready Player One goes easy on its primary audience of pop culture obsessives, Sequence Break is far more scornful, like Rod Serling has come back from the grave to tell the young men of today to get a life, put the joypad down and call up that nice girl you like."
18. Revenge
We said: "To director Coralie Fargeat, the male audience for such seemingly regressive fare would seem akin to a sleeping bear, and she's determined to poke it with a stick until it growls in admission that yes, rape-revenge movies are sick and twisted in their concept, but (lowers voice to a whisper) they can also be a lot of fun."
17. Thoroughbreds
We said: "It's a movie that follows a tried and trusted formula - take two talented actresses, provide them with a worthwhile script, and find interesting but meaningful ways to shoot their interactions."
16. Funny Story
We said: "A comedy which approaches originality in its unflinching but warm exploration of betrayal and broken bonds."
15. Michael Inside
We said: "Following Michael as he negotiates the treacherous prison corridors is akin to watching some candle-wielding gothic horror heroine explore a haunted house, the threat of violence ready to pounce at any moment."
14. Pyewacket
We said: "One of the more intriguing American indie horror movies of recent years."
13. Wonderstruck
We said: "Go into Wonderstruck looking for a compelling story and you may find yourself frustrated. Go in for a sensory experience and you'll find yourself...well, the title says it all."
12. Beast
We said: "One of the most gripping dramas of 2018, and one hell of a calling card for its first time director."
11. Sweet Country
We said: "Sweet Country is so blunt in its depiction of racial bigotry that it hammers home just how safe most modern American movies depicting racism play their drama."
10. A Quiet Place
We said: "A Quiet Place may be headlined by one of Hollywood's biggest stars, but it's a b-movie of the best kind."
9. Outside In
We said: "Lynn Shelton's film concerns some very heavy dramatic themes, but her background in comedy, and her casting of actors best known for comic roles, prevents Outside In from descending into a misery fest."
8. You Were Never Really Here
We said: "Lynne Ramsay has managed to translate her singular vision into a complex, but compelling, feature film."
7. Western
We said: "A compelling tribute to our ability to find a soulful connection that transcends the obstacles of language and culture."
6. The Square
We said: "The Square is unlike anything you’ve ever seen, and you’ll feel both wiser and a little bit more pleasantly insane after watching it."
5. The Third Murder
We said: "There was a time when American directors like Sidney Lumet and Alan J. Pakula made movies like this, films that drew us in with the bait of a thriller plot and reeled us onto the shore with compelling characters and insightful subtext."
4. Golden Exits
We said: "Golden Exits is a film about ordinary people who don't really do anything, and watching their inaction is as beguiling as cinema gets."
3. Phantom Thread
We said: "An undeniably romantic yarn, one which never judges its protagonists for their extreme behaviour towards each other."
1. First Reformed
We said: "The contemporary audience for Paul Schrader's work may be a fraction of that of his '70s prime, but his words still affect us, perhaps now more than ever."