- Get Out: There’s little to say about Jordan Peele’s exemplary directorial debut that hasn’t been said already. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
- Phantom Thread: Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth film, Phantom Thread, is a post-war period piece centered around London’s high fashion scene. Dressmaker and household authoritarian Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) runs a tight, regimented ship. That all changes when a young woman (Vicky Krieps) enters his life. Anderson’s movies are soundly made from top to bottom. Phantom Thread is no exception.
- Lady Bird: One of the best coming-of-age stories on film.
- Lady Macbeth: Breakout star Florence Pugh exhibits sovereignty over her household and empowers herself during an era in which women were not empowered. Lady Macbeth is a contained, controlled, and precise film.
- Good Time: Following a thief (Robert Pattinson) on the run, Good Time is a pulse-pounding 99-minutes of pure adrenaline.
- The Florida Project: Set a few miles from Disney World, The Florida Project is a movie about growing up in poverty. Its subjects are seldom spotlighted in fiction, but this movie is proof that perhaps they should be.
- Blade Runner 2049: Denis Villeneuve’s cyberpunk epic gives me hope for the director’s upcoming Dune adaptation.
- Wind River: The final installation of Taylor Sheridan’s Frontier trilogy, Wind River follows U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) and FBI investigator Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) as they attempt to solve the rape and murder of a Native American teen. The other movies in Sheridan’s trilogy (Sicario and Hell or High Water) are both excellent, but neither reaches the highs of Wind River.
- The Lost City of Z: Based on a biographical book, James Gray’s movie about a British explorer on the search for a lost, ancient city in the Amazon serves as a cautionary tale about the effects of obsession.
- Thor: Ragnarok: Marvel Studios finally realized that Thor is one of Marvel’s most entertaining characters. The Studios’ unconventional hire of Taika Waititi paid dividends.
Honorable mention: The Killing of a Sacred Deer
A Mixed Review 