Zhang Yimou has a habit of making trash he doesn't care about, then world-beaters like this. think he's all about colours? he makes a monochrome film. think kungfu is long action choreography? he reduces it to bare minimum. the beauty, scale and gravity of this film ensures it's not merely a year-best, but an era masterpiece.
2. Shoplifters
Hirokazu Kore-eda's reinterpretation of family is difficult enough. he then made a flawless film out of the material. even ignoring the major revelation at the end, the entire thing is one perfectly-directed scene followed by another.
3. A Star Is Born
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are overrated; several times in this film I stopped caring. but the rest of it was pure magic and says a ton about Cooper.
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
I am biased. Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody and Lucy Boynton. I am sold. it certainly is flawed, especially the sense it's going through motions, but it also possesses some beautiful set pieces.
5. BlacKkKlansman
it is inherently difficult to judge a Spike Lee product. this is funny and heavy and incoherent and clear-minded. it is everything because you never know what Lee intends. but you always know he has something to say and he says it without being overbearing.
6. Ready Player One
the start-to-finish assembly of pop-culture references more than makes up for my antipathy to CGI. what's more, put Steven Spielberg behind any project and you're bound to get entertainment.
7. A Quiet Place
conjure a unique premise and even if the plot is basic, you've made a good film. one that has barely any dialogue yet keeps you at the edge of your seat deserves all the praise it gets.
8. 比悲伤更悲伤的故事
this is not an endorsement of the tacky bits, the B-movie elements and the lazy screenplay. still, to walk into a cinema scoffing at its tearjerking reputation and then be moved is testament to several immensely sensitive set pieces.
9. First Man
breathtaking. Damien Chazelle continues to do what no other American director can, shaking up two subject matters very familiar to audiences - Neil Armstrong and space exploration. if not for the hollowness at the heart of this film, it would be ranked higher.
10. Black Panther
written so brilliantly in step with the real world, this will live long for rallying and inspiring scores of Africans and African-Americans.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
released on the final days of the year, this sneaks in by virtue of how revolutionary it is. however, its merits as a traditional film are arguable, especially when the plot points are in the viewer's hands.
Most beautiful scene:
wedding at Chijmes - Crazy Rich Asians
for all the gaudiness in the film and everything money can buy, the wedding is exactly the opposite, staged and elevated by grace, class and perspective, all of which is priceless.
地球最后的夜晚
Most photogenic couple:
Jing Boran and Zhou Dongyu - 后来的我们
Best one-location film:
The Guilty
just one emergency call operator and one call that escalates.
Toughest scene to watch:
almost every scene in Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Most intriguing premise and worst payoff:
Bad Times at the El Royale
Most overshadowed lead:
Boyd Holbrook - The Predator
Sterling K Brown, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes and Jacob Tremblay all starred. Holbrook, on the other hand, looks out of his depth.
Best cameo:
everyone in Ocean's 8
Worst cameo:
Brad Pitt - Deadpool 2
Best fight:
Colossus vs Juggernaut - Deadpool 2
Worst fight:
Venom vs Riot - Venom
Best monster:
Karathen - Aquaman
Most dubious character:
Tobias Beckett - Solo: A Star Wars Story
Best sci-fi in a Chinese film:
幸福城市
Freakiest romance:
Asako I & II
Most conscious attempt to reboot:
The Predator
Worst drop-off:
Julian Dennison from Hunt for the Wilderpeople to Deadpool 2
