2018 has been an outstanding year for films

This year has given audiences an array of high-quality movies, from the low-budget genre flick to the expensive, large-scale franchise faire - I rank my top ten.

'The Greatest Showman' (20th Century Fox)

by Jack Linsdell

I realised that having seen Universal/Comcast Corps. 'First Man' the other day, I had watched ten films at the cinema this year. Trust me, I have seen ten times more than that figure, at least, when counting DVD, TV and streaming. However, I thought at this point in the movie-going calendar that it would be a good time to review those ten I had paid money to see at the cinema. So, without further ado, here are my bottom five. 

10: The Darkest Hour

09: Ocean's 8

08: The Shape of Water

07: Johnny English Strikes Again

06: Deadpool 2

These bottom five are all still semi-decent to moderately-great films, which were on the whole entertaining and in the cases of 'The Shape of Water' and 'Deadpool 2' adopted some interesting and unique filmmaking styles to set them apart from their competition. The problem that prevents all of these going any higher, is that they aren't excellent-enough to warrant me being interested in a second viewing (with the odd exception being 'Johnny English Strikes Again' if I can bring myself to). Although multi-viewership possibilities doesn't lower the quality of a film, it does prevent it from beating those that you can repeatedly watch and still get the same things out of (if not more/new things). So, here are my top five.

05: First Man

This Damien Chazelle-directed biopic starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, is a very strong and well-crafted piece of filmmaking, combining elements of the family drama from 'Hidden Figures', the beauty and grandeur of space from 'Gravity' and the personal feel of 'Sully'. What got this into the top five was how un-expectantly well-made this flick was. Indeed, most of these award-contender dramas are filmed in a bland or extravagant style, either boring the audience or distracting them, Chazelle's direction is sublime here, as he seems to understand how best to make creative choices which enhance an already strong screenplay by Josh Singer and bring out the best in his leading actors. Talking of which, Gosling and Claire Foy's performances are real highlights, allowing the audience to see inside their heads and really believing the pressures acting on them both during that 8 year period. Although I would be less inclined to watch a second viewing, that isn't because it's not worthy of it, but just feels like I won't be able to get anymore from it. However, unlike the ones lower down that might be more re-watchable, this is a far superior film in terms of quality and for once, if chosen as 2018's awards winner, will be worthy winner.

04: The Equalizer 2

Denzel Washington's first ever sequel comes in at number four, and most surprising is that it's quality was not only better than expected, but a rare case when the sequel is far superior to the original. Antoine Fuqua's action-thriller is an example of a well-made but refreshingly different genre flick, that benefits from a slower-but-progressive narrative which allows time for immense amounts of characterisation. This film is led by character first, putting action (and even this is sparsely spread and when it comes mainly more drawn-out tension scenes) as a secondary focus - something so rare for this type of film that it really stood out from the pack. I really admire The Equalizer character, who isn't this energetic action hero, but instead a wiser, older and troubled man who just has his heart in the right place to help everyday folks restore balance to their lives again. As ever, Washington doesn't miss a beat in his performance and it was refreshing to watch a true action-thriller that has been missing from our cinema screens for a long time. 

03: Swimming with Men

Now, this might come as a surprise to many, but Oliver Parker's 'Swimming with Men' is a deeply entertaining and sincerely put together British comedy, even more impressive considering it's micro-budget and even smaller release. However, this "based on true story, but not" flick starring Rob Brydon had the feel good feeling that keeps you smiling from start to finish, with numerous genuinely funny moments and adult-humour making it richly entertaining. It took time to make you invested in all of the characters in the synchronised swimming group and benefited from a sophisticated and faultless screenplay. Unlike 'Johnny English Strikes Again' (ironic as Parker's 'Johnny English Reborn' was a better sequel than the recent third outing) which suffered from a non-existent plot and at times too child-like and over-the-top humour, this film is a high quality one that I could keep watching and still enjoy. It has the emotional punch as well to aid it, deepening its value.

02: Mission: Impossible Fallout

Christopher McQuarrie's sixth entry into the Mission Impossible franchise is a masterpiece, plain and simple. Although his job on 'Rogue Nation' was good, this took the franchise and his filmmaking abilities to new levels. Again, it was another refreshing action-thriller where it prioritised story and character over the action (although it more than impressed in that department too!) McQuarrie's screenplay is a really sophisticated thriller narrative, with so many twists and turns your entertained purely by the story itself. This is something which has also faded out of these genre and franchise flicks of recent, so to see this kind of top quality writing in a big-budget action spectacle was refreshing. Ethan Hunt's character was actually developed to be more than "Tom Cruise doing awesome stunts" hero, instead here having an emotional narrative arc and being drawn into morality conflicts. The action comprises of several, really well executed and thrilling action set pieces which are greatly enhanced by Lorne Balfe's score. Cruise's stunt work is his best yet here, and is just another brilliant element that boosts the films quality. 

01: The Greatest Showman

Yes, a commercially 'leggy' family-targeted musical is my best viewed film at the cinema this year. I had never been a massive fan of musicals until this came out in theatres. The Hugh Jackman-led partly fictionalised retelling of PT Barnum's life was an example of how, if a musical is really well made, can not only become box office gold, but can actually stand up proudly and say "I'm a high-quality film". For a directorial debut, Michael Gracey did a fantastic job capturing the amazingly-choregraphed musical numbers to the smaller-scale human interactions between characters. The screenplay actually doesn't work without the musical numbers (which is how a musical should be written) and the story has emotional punch and a sense of feel-good optimism all centred around adoration and care that the audience develops for all the participating characters. This film always brings me to tears in all the right places and has converted other people I know who weren't musical fans either, so everyone's a winner. The songs are catchy, uplifting and beautifully sung by the majority of the cast and they contain really associable lyrics which is always a bonus. This is my first place winner because it was the biggest surprise, in that I never expected it to be as higher quality and meaningful as it has been to me. I can keep watching this forever, and never once have enough. (See what I did there?!)