My Top Ten Movies for 2018

Sadly due to ongoing career and family crises, I just barely got to ten movies this year...but I got there all the same. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, great documentary about the world's only pinup beauty who held a legit patent on a electronic invention whose principle is still very much in use today. The Death of Stalin, Its an odd thing but the 20th Century's A-List "Tyrannical Trio" (Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin), lavish film depictions of the death of the two fascists are a common thing, but Stalin, who had the bad form to die in bad has gone a-begging until now. Besides any film willing to cast Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev and Michael Palin as Molotov, deserves an Academy Award for sheer chutzpah. Isle of Dogs, I love Wes Anderson, he was clearly drawing on the legacy of Czech filmmaker Karel Zemen for this stop motion puppet feature...the man can do no wrong in my books. Eighth Grade, Bo Turnham has a future he knows how to extract evocative realistic performances from youth players...its a useful talent. Given her strong performance, I'm not sure where Elsie Fisher goes after this, but then I once said that about Chloe Grace-Moritz. "Sorry to Bother You", Every year, America needs a good parable on racial politics and the intricacies of sheer identity, and we'll need it annually until we finally all get past some stuff. "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" Remember what I said about Chloe Grace Moritz earlier? Here is a good sign she can perpetuate a career in Hollywood, of the odious process of "praying away the gay" I will pass over in silence. The BlacKkKlansman This might be, Spike Lee's First (and likely last) film with a happy ending. The enormity of the deed was such, that he had to tack on a depressing contemporary epilogue to hold onto his prophecy props. "Operation Finale"..."Eichmann had it coming, he made enemies!" "Bathtubs over Broadway" a long overdue documentary about the lost genre of "Industrial Musicals", Letterman show alum Steve Young scours the world for the composers, scores and recordings that make up these elaborate trade show extravaganzas. But its the human dimension here that enchants, Young makes friends, revives long lost music, becomes a genre activist...the guy is so "Channel Zero" it hurts. "The Favourite" Who knew that Emma Stone's breakthrough movie would be as an ambitious lady in waiting to the sexually ambiguous Queen Anne of England? Seriously who knew???