Top 10 albums of 2018

Justice Woman Worldwide

If you didn't get a chance to rock out to Justice's amazing live shows in 2018, you could enjoy it at home with the remix album "Woman Worldwide," in which Justice present their music as you would hear it live, but without the lower quality of a live recording. The remix has always been an integral part of electronic music going back to the 1980's, but French electro-funk hipsters Justice have made it an art, where they de-construct and assemble the music in ways you would never expect, making familiar sounds seem like brand new material. Although it mainly consists of versions of the material on their latest album "Woman," it's mashed up with stuff from their entire 10 year output, making for a rad compilation that perfectly demonstrates why we love these guys and will make your eardrums ache in a good way.

Nine Inch Nails Bad Witch

Five years since their last full-length release, NIN drops the best and most forward-thinking work they've produced since 2008's "Ghosts I-IV." "Bad Witch" is a more terse and sharpened work that also harks back to NIN's earliest work, in particular the 1992 ep "Broken", but also parts of "The Downward Spiral", in its meld of garage rock and industrial noise. And the additional touches of jazz perhaps deliberately brings David Bowie's swan song "Blackstar" to mind. Listen to "God Break Down the Door" in particular, even the lyrics and Trent Reznor's voice feels like an homage to Bowie. It's an exciting album which despite its spare length has a strong degree of purpose and intensity which it is truly inspiring to find in NIN after almost thirty years of creativity.

David Byrne American Utopia

David Byrne's first solo release in fourteen years is an art rock album crackling with playful inspiration, and although his singing voice may be a bit cracked with age, his knack for interesting lyrics and catchy, compelling pop tunes is still as remarkably fresh and sharp as it was forty years ago. That also goes for his co-creator Brian Eno's crisp and innovative production. Released in conjunction with the project "Reasons to be cheerful," which aims to spread optimism, "American Utopia" is also full of ambitious optimism, especially on "Every Day is a Miracle" and "Bullet," the prettiest song about getting shot you'll ever hear, and stands out as a new milestone for one of the greatest artists ever on the alternative music scene.

Juno Reactor The Mutant Theatre

18 years after the bombshell that was "Pistolero," Juno Reactor opens the new multicultural trancevaganza "The Mutant Theatre" with "The Return of Pistolero." It's not the sexiest of words, but Juno Reactor is and always has been a reliable music act and this release really delivers. On tour, Juno Reactor likes to people the stage with strobe light-equipped Predators and sci-fi samurais, but you don't need to be in the audience to appreciate the psychedelic spectacle. It will manifest in your imagination as the music pumps in your headphones because the music is that visionary and spectacular in itself. The opening track sets the bar pretty high, yet somehow the following 55 minutes manage to keep that dance groove at maximum momentum and serves as a vibrant reminder why Juno Reactor is still one of the absolute best.

Phosphorescent C'est la Vie

Phosphorescent's seventh album "C'est la Vie" is his first release in five years and it's five years well spent. After one of the most beautiful intros I've ever heard, Matthew Houck delivers a collection of songs that are both sad and sweet, dreamy and real, with his vulnerable voice and lush production quality making for an intimate and heartfelt listening experience. Although it may not register as traditional country, the slide guitar is ever present and it's got more of a country ballad feeling to it than most stuff out there, and puts you next to a cozy fire under a star-studded sky, to reflect on the toils and turmoils of the past while saddle sore from a long ride, tired and hurt, but happy. There should be more songwriting and storytelling of Phosphorescent's soft yet confident style.

The Prodigy No Tourists

When I was fifteen, The Prodigy was the coolest thing around and those who didn't get it were losers. I may have matured some since then, but that is otherwise kinda still the case. The Prodigy's sneakily released seventh album is also sneakily brilliant, like a perfectly contained, constructed and contaminated summary of the band's near thirty year existence. Besides being an energizing listening experience, impossible to sit still to, it has since put on some extra weight for being the last recorded appearance of one of the original members, Keith Flint, who passed away earlier this year. He can be proud to leave on this total bang!

Ezra Fuhrman Transangelic Exodus

As its title suggests, Ezra Fuhrman's sixth album "Transangelic Exodus" is sort of a concept album about angels in exile with a sound that hangs somewhere between Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Both campy and punky while also being soulful and melancholic. The intermitten touches of 1960s soul and pop is skewered with a very modern and hip artist's sensibilities. I'm very thankful for Netflix's "Sex Education" for bringing this inspired and inspirational alternative pop rock poet to my eager attention.

Confidence Man Confident Music for Confident People

"C - O - O - L, cool!" It's not hard to get smitten by the new Aussie band Confidence Man's award-winning debut. "Confident Music for Confident People" is pure fun. Part classic disco and part electro - at times even crossing over into indie pop; it's funny, cool, catchy and very groovy. It's also an apt title, for it is indeed a very confident debut, and Confidence Man comes across as a stylistically fully-fledged group with a defined sound.

Greta Van Fleet Anthem of the Peaceful Army

The spirit of Led Zeppelin is alive and well in this young band. Though a somewhat uneven album - which is not a big deal for a debut record - when it sounds this great and makes you feel so good inside, what can you do other than surrender and embrace it warmly. You certainly can't fault their ambition, "Anthem of the Peaceful Army" has an epicness to it that's quite impressive. Like MGMT before them, Greta Van Fleet makes retrofitting musical genres look good. In the end it's heartening to see that an appreciation for this kind of musical drive is still flourishing regardless of generational differences.

Hen Ogledd Mogic

The breakout psychedelic and arty Welsh indie pop band Hen Ogledd's album "Mogic" is sparkling with ingenuity, mixing electronic music with a jazzy organic instrumentation. Listen closely and you can hear influences from Tom Waits, from Brian Eno, from Björk, even Primus, and of course Super Furry Animals. That's not to say they're merely imitators, they are an oddity all of their own that once heard is not simply forgotten. Both smooth and abrasive, beautiful, weird, wistful and mysterious, Hen Ogledd's sound is easy to love if you're that way inclined. A lot of music that is styled "dream pop" tends to be plainly boring, but their songs are truly dreamy, sometimes bordering on nightmarish, and throughout they maintain enough of an edge and a kind of experimental endeavor that keeps the whole thing interesting from the first honking horns to the last reverberating synth notes.

Top 10 horror films of 2018

HEREDITARY

There were fewer horror films in 2018 than ordinary, but amongst them were some truly unforgettable ones. Such as the top title on this list, Ari Aster's "Hereditary." Yes, a really great horror film, but it's also simply a great film. Great in the way it connects supernatural events and evil demonic possession to mental health issues and grief. But also great in the way it is made, with such sure footing with regards its visual, emotional and tonal impact, and with such strong acting, particularly from Toni Collette, giving us her best work in years. There are aspects of "Hereditary" that reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and Lars von Trier's "Antichrist," which is all the more impressive when you consider that those films were made by master filmmakers at the height of their careers and creative development, whereas this is Aster's debut. The question of whether he will be able to top this extraordinary accomplishment, which is frankly one of the best horror films I've ever seen (and I've seen them all), remains to be answered.

SUSPIRIA

Luca Guadagnino's loose remake of Dario Argento's (somewhat overrated) horror classic "Suspiria" is a perfect example of how to go about remaking movies, particularly movies that cannot really be much improved upon. In Guadagnino's very capable hands the story has been completely re-imagined and bears only the most basic similarities to the original. That's the right way to do a remake. Give it a personal twist, make it your own, make it into something new, don't just update or repeat what was already there. Proper fans of the original were likely disappointed, but some of us who are more open-minded got what we were hoping for, which is more of a version of "Suspiria" than a traditional remake. It helps that this version takes place in such a fascinating place and time period, i.e. Munich in the late 1970s, and Tilda Swinton's triple role is truly an inspired choice. Also, I always find it interesting to see what a filmmaker not usually associated with horror films can contribute to the genre. It's rare, but sometimes, those are the best ones.

A QUIET PLACE

Upon first going into John Krasinski's highly acclaimed monster movie "A Quiet Place," I was thoroughly intrigued by the concept of a world full of eyeless monsters that hunt by sound where you have to be absolutely quiet to survive. But my initial excitement was tinged with scepticism - could this novel concept be entertaining for more than ten minutes? Suddenly, ninety intense minutes had gone by without my noticing it. That's how excellent "A Quiet Place" is. Whereas a lesser script would, as is often the case, not use such an original idea in the right way, this is fortunately not the case. One of the best movies of the year, in all categories, "A Quiet Place" has at the time of this composition been extended into a sequel and we will have to wait until 2020 to see whether both Krasinski and the concept is strong enough to warrant a continuation of a story that kind of feels sufficient as is.

APOSTLE

Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans made a name for himself directing Indonesian martial art films, especially the international hit "The Raid" and its sequel, and in 2018 he brought us his first film in English, "Apostle." A horror film that owes a lot to "The Wicker Man," a classic in what some have called folk horror, "Apostle" stars Dan Stevens in one of the best roles of his career to date as a drug addict and soldier who is sent to a remote island ruled by a religious cult to rescue his sister in the early part of the 20th century. Evans brings his experience shooting martial arts scenes to bear on the action, which is sparsely doled out in a few incredibly tense and thrilling moments. Like the title above this one on the list, "Apostle" is not the scariest film of the year, but like the former, it's really great horror film making.   

GHOSTLAND

French filmmaker Pascal Laugier, having been an integral part of the New French Extremity movement (look it up!) with his masterpiece "Martyrs" from 2008, finally gave us another great piece, his second film in the US, "Ghostland." Seeing as how his first English-language film "The Tall Man" from 2012 was a dud, this was a truly welcome surprise that shows he's still got it. Although the film it surrounded by a tragic accident that disfigured one of its actors, "Ghostland" is a thoroughly enjoyable chiller. How can you not love a film that actually features H P Lovecraft himself? Well, not the actual man, but you get it. Our heroine Beth is a young woman who dreams of becoming a horror author, and her idol is Lovecraft, and after surviving a terrifying home invasion in her mother's new house, she grows up to become a successful writer and finally gets to meet her idol ... at which point we start to realize that there is something wrong here. Like "Martyrs," "Ghostland" may not be for all tastes, but if you like suspense, horror films with a European tinge or Lovecraft, you should dig it as much as we did.

HALLOWEEN

Forty years on, John Carpenter's slasher classic finally gets the sequel it deserves. There is much to be happy about in David Gordon Green's "Halloween," where Michael Myers is alive and well and looking to finish the job he started back in 1978 and finally getting to kill Laurie Strode, who it turns out is pretty well prepared, having turned into quite the prepper. Here's a further example of a director who usually makes indie dramas and comedies turning in a very stylish and all-round top notch horror film without any previous experience in the subject matter. Also, it seems that in his long comedy career, Danny McBride, contributing on the screenplay, has harbored a secret talent for horror. I'm not embarrassed to say I was a fan of Rob Zombie's version of "Halloween" from 2007, but I have to admit that this is the best update, true in every respect to Carpenter's vision and both seriously retro and very 2018, which is perfect for horror.

WINCHESTER

Nothing's better for horror than a creepy house, except perhaps for a creepy forest. The house in the Spierig Brothers' latest "Winchester" is a great house, made even more so by the fact that it exists for real in San Jose, California, where the widow of the owner of the Winchester rifle company lived and went insane, so to speak, remodeling the house in an intently bizarre way to confuse the ghosts she claimed were haunting her. In the film, as in reality, Sarah Winchester has builders working on the house all day and all night, every day. Maybe she just didn't want to be alone in that big mansion? The Winchester house is such a great concept for a horror film, in which the widow is visited by a psychologist sent there by the Winchester company to ascertain if she is unfit to run her company, that the film's many shortcomings hardly matter. "Winchester," like the following title on this list, is proof that a great location is often enough for an enjoyable horror flick.   

THE NUN

The setting is also the USP of Corin Hardy's spin-off of James Wan's "The Conjuring" series, "The Nun." Although the story and characters are as thin as thin can get, the setting carries most of the weight because it is really creepy and atmospheric in that old gothic cathedral and the misty Romanian grounds and forests surrounding it. But the main reason "The Nun" works and became such a hit at the box office is not the location but the eponymous nun, who will surely go down in horror history as one of the creepiest and most unforgettable movie demons since Pazazu (that's from "The Exorcist," fyi). Exorcism movies are not my favorite horror subgenre, but when done well, they can be really scary. Despite all of its faults, "The Nun" does fullfil that criterion in the end, and that's the main thing.  

OVERLORD

For someone who played "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" incessantly back in 2001, it's always fun to see Nazis dabble in the occult on film, and Julius Avery's "Overlord" reminds me both of said video game and 2013's "Frankenstein's Army," albeit with a bigger budget, better actors and one of the coolest opening scenes in a WWII movie since "Saving Private Ryan," in which the movie's protagonists gets shot down over the French countryside, a scene that had me on the edge of my seat and made me want to watch it again instantly. With an outlandish story, great visual effects and make-up effects, a healthy dose of humor and a pace and editing that manages to maintain the intensity and fun of that opener, "Overlord" is a blast. That shouldn't have been a surprise though, considering it's a J. J. Abrams production.    

MALEVOLENT

An unexpected surprise of the year was this British ghost movie on Netflix that is somewhat similar to the masterpiece "Ouija: Origin of Evil," amongst other things. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson's indie horror, about a con artist medium who suddenly comes across a proper haunting while on a routine case, is good both in style and story. It helps that it stars Florence Pugh, one of the hottest young British actresses out there at the moment with the miniseries "The Little Drummer Girl" and the before-mentioned Ari Aster's latest film "Midsommar," and Celia Imrie, one of the top acting dames of the UK as the malevolent older lady that is seeking the medium's services. Anything with these two geniuses in it would be watchable, but "Malevolent" is actually a very good and quite scary movie, though it doesn't make the most noise on the market and runs the risk of being lost in the surplus of content out there on the streaming services, which is why it deserves to be recommended whenever possible.  

  

    

Top 10 new TV series of 2018

KILLING EVE

It's so exciting when something like "Killing Eve" comes along. A TV show as cool, smart and funny as this doesn't come around very often. Its brilliance is in no small part thanks to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of the acclaimed comedy series "Fleabag," who has helped turn all the familiar old tropes and clichés in spy thrillers on their head. But it's also due to the wonderfully committed and crackling performances from the two leads, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer (or three leads if you include Fiona Walsh), but especially Comer, who has created one of the best and most entertaining portrayals of a psychopath since Hannibal Lecter. "Killing Eve" arrived on our screens almost entirely under the radar, and didn't sound like anything special on paper, but its originality lies in its darkly comedic mix of dangerous thriller and overtones of lesbian psycho-drama that always stays too sly and stylish (and weird) to lose its bearings. These days we often have to sit through TV shows with too many episodes that are too long and too short on ideas, but in the case of "Killing Eve," it's the opposite: once the eight forty minute episodes are up, we're starving for more. Fortunately, it appears that this cup of joy isn't going to run out any time soon. Easily the best TV show of the year, and a strong contender for one of the best shows of the entire decade.  

SEX EDUCATION

Another British comedy that is bound to become a modern classic is Netflix's "Sex Education," which has all the ingredients needed for a super good viewing time - a great premise and a superbly well-rounded cast, all the way from the top down to even the smallest parts. "Sex Education" boasts some truly inspired writing, which is as touching and sincere as it is awkward and whimsical. It is also anchored by the presence of Gillian Anderson, in all honesty one of the greatest actresses ever, as Dr. Jean Milburn, sex therapist and mother to teenager Otis, who finds he has inherited some of her therapy skills and puts them to good use on his sexually confused school mates. "Sex Education" is a show that never fails to surprise you in the way it constantly reinvents itself and always finds new ways to charm you even further. It won't take long before Otis, Maeve and Eric are your new favorite characters on TV.  

SUCCESSION

The perfect drama series for 2018, "Succession" is Shakespeare's "King Lear" for the Trump era, partly made in the style of Aaron Sorkin and in the style of "The Big Short" and "Vice," which is no surprise as it is co-produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. It's quite amazing how a show with such despicably avaricious and/or moronic characters speaking such absurdly smutty and rude dialogue can be so engaging and engrossing, but underneath the veneer of something like "Veep" on Wall Street, it is sneakily intelligent and quite sharp in its satiric skewering of the 1%. Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Mcfadyen are always good actors, but they have truly surpassed themselves here, especially Mcfadyen, giving perhaps the best performance of his long television career. Which of course isn't to say that the rest of the cast isn't tops as well, and I must not omit to praise Nicholas Brittell's beautiful score along with the most memorable opening credits of 2018. In short, I can barely contain myself in anticipation of season two.   

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

I'm sure everyone remembers "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," like I do, by which I mean the sitcom with Melissa Joan Heart that pestered the TV landscape back in the late 1990s. But Netflix's new hit show is not a remake of that, but an adaptation of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's darker, more adult reimagining of the old Archie comics character Sabrina Spellman in a story where witchcraft, demons and the supernatural in general has more heft and consequence to them. It doesn't hurt that the series features such experienced and talented actresses as Miranda Otto (from "The Lord of the Rings") in the role of Sabrina's aunt Zelda, Lucy Davis (from the original "The Office") as Sabrina's other aunt Hilda and Michelle Gomez (from "Doctor Who") as the demon Lilith in the form of Sabrina's high school principal. With strong feminist themes and a lot of references to classic and contemporary horror film and literature, "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" is outrageously appealing. All in all, a very well-made show, with some highly relatable teenage problems and with some episodes that are properly creepy and others that are quite touching. However, though I know it's silly of me, it takes me a while to get used to seeing Kiernan Shipka in the leading role because every time she's on, I can't help seeing little Sally Draper from "Mad Men." But I guess that's often the case with child actors.

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND

One of the most talked about book series of the last couple of years became one of the most aniticapted TV series of the year. And thank goodness it is made in Italy, in Italian, because it sure wouldn't have worked any other way. Naturally, novels as masterfully written as Elena Ferrante's will in some way disappoint when they're adapted for TV, partly because of the limited format, but also because so much of the pleasure is in the reading and so much of the beauty is in the prose. But I can't for the life of me see how it could be any better than Saverio Costanzo's adaptation for HBO, not only when it comes to the cast and the production values, but in its look and how it feels, how it captures a time when Naples wasn't yet completely taken over by the Camorra. At times it almost feels like watching an old neo-realist film from the 1940s or 50s, but in color and with higher resolution, and that is high praise indeed. I think one of the things that makes Ferrante's novels so great is that you can basically put any two girls in the shoes of Lila and Lenù and it'll work, because there is something so universal and something so relevant for everyone about these two best of amicas. 

LOST IN SPACE

The cult classic original from the 1960s was quite before my time, but even so, the legendary line "Danger, Will Robinson!" is as familiar to me as "Beam me up, Scotty!" or "You will be exterminated!" As a sci-fi lover, all I had to do with for many years was the below average film version from 1998, but now we've got a high quality and more up-to-date long format version to fill our long winter evenings. This time around, it takes a little while for the line to come, but by the time it does, Netflix's "Lost in Space" has already won me over with its sweet charm, its cool design and its affable cast. And the little gender reverse casting of the always reliable Parker Posey in the previously male role of Dr. Smith is a stroke of genius. In this age of remakes and reboots and shows based on existing content, this is a remake that doesn't feel forced or gratuitous. Maybe the time is just right for a new "Lost in Space," a show where kids get to be as smart as adults, and grown-ups of all types and appearances get to work together (or plotting against each other) in a visually stunning, interstellar sci-fi world that is as intriguing as it is tastefully grounded. Here's hoping the showrunners will keep this level of quality going for hopefully at least a couple more seasons.   

CASTLE ROCK

How familiar are you with the works and the artificial worlds of horror author extraordinaire Stephen King? I mean, when a character goes by the name of Jackie Torrance, does that make you tingle a little? When you see an old cop named Pangborn, does that make you go, where do I know that name from? Or simply the setting and title Castle Rock? Surely, Shawshank Penitentiary will ring some bells, but everyone knows that one. And do you see the connections between Stephen King and "Castle Rock" co-stars Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgård and Frances Conroy? If the answer to all above is yes, then check it out. "Castle Rock" is in part produced by King himself, and J.J. Abrams, and that collaboration behind the whole production should tell you all about what you can expect from Hulu's very atmospheric drama. The series adheres more to mystery than outright horror, although there are a couple of jump scares and creepy moments, even a little dip into sci-fi. But it's the moments of genuine tragedy and just real life issues that are most memorable, such as Spacek's Ruth Deaver struggling with dementia, portrayed in one of the most gripping and imaginative ways I've seen on TV. Impressive how it manages to feel entirely like its own thing, despite being so heavily influenced by the King's style. Decidedly, a very strong premiere. 

DISENCHANTMENT

2018 saw a strong return to form for Matt Groening, legendary creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama," and it's truly a welcome return. "Disenchantment" is basically to fantasy what "Futurama" was to sci-fi, and if you love those genres both, then that's not a bad thing. The similarities to "Futurama" is pretty much due to the fact that it features much of the same voice cast, but with some great new voices adding some freshness, including Abbi Jacobson of "Broad City" in the lead as the princess who'd rather party than live a courtly life, Eric Andre as a cute little demon and Nat Faxon as the often abused elf aptly called Elfo (top Groening humor there). That is a trio at the centre of this hilarious world that you simply cannot get enough of, and by the looks of it, a lot of people would agree. "Disenchantment" has already been approved for two more years, and there is a lot of fun to fill all those episodes with. It's a little bit ruder than "Futurama," and the animation is a little bit sharper, but we'll just have to see if it will stand the test of time the way "Futurama," which is one of if not the best animated comedy series ever made, has. Based on the first ten episodes, it has a bright future.  

THE ALIENIST

When Netflix first released "The Alienist," a period drama crime mystery based on a novel by Caleb Carr, it was released as a limited series. It has since then gone on to receive a follow-up season, and I'm thrilled about that, because "The Alienist" (a late nineteenth century term for a psychiatrist) hits all the right spots for a viewer like me. It's set in an endlessly fascinating time of history, and New York is always the best setting for anything, but even more so at that particular period - a combination of time and setting that has not exactly been overused in film and TV. On top of that you have macabre murders, well-written characters portrayed by Daniel Brühl, Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans and some excellent cinematography. It's one of those TV series that definitely feels like a film, through and through, and the fact that there is already a series of books with these characters and in this place available for adaptation is a sign that it will bear further mystery adventures. A crime show where the police is not the primary investigator or protagonist (à la Sherlock Holmes) is always an interesting conceit. "The Alienist" is also quite historically rich, with a lot of details based on historical facts, that will leave you feeling like you learned a couple of things here and there, which is always an added bonus. 

ALTERED CARBON

In Netflix's 2018 output of new sci-fi material, we were also gifted with this cyberpunk series starring Joel Kinnaman as a former soldier put into the body of a cop in a future world where such things, and many other fantastical things, are possible. Cyberpunk is a subgenre of sci-fi that, when done right, is unbeatable. "Altered Carbon," based on a novel by Richard K. Morgan, is not a masterpiece on the same level as William Gibson's "Neuromancer" or Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner," but that would be a tall order by any means. No, what "Altered Carbon" lacks in plot or originality it more than makes up for in its great premise, in looks and in the world it creates. Plus, though it may be flawed, it does contain some truly unforgettable moments, such as a hotel run by a hologram Edgar Allan Poe and a fight scene with an army of naked clones. 

Top 10 limited series of 2018

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

I hit the roof when I first learned that the great horror film maker Mike Flanagan, whose Netflix horror films "Hush" and "Gerald's Game," as well as his indie gems "Oculus" and "Ouija: Origin of Evil," are all some of the best in the genre these past five years, had been hired to adapt Shirley Jackson's classic gothic horror novel "The Haunting of Hill House." That film maker working with that source material would surely be something phenomenal. And it was. Actually the best thing on TV the whole year. Horror is a genre that doesn't usually work over a season of, for instance, ten episodes. But "The Haunting" works. The pace of the horror is perfect, but what it has going for it most of all is simply just a great story (which differs almost completely from the story in the novel). A good adaptation should always be a personal interpretation, I think. It is always better to take a great story, give it a unique spin or a different approach while staying true to the spirit of the original story, rather than just putting what's on the page up there on the screen, word for word. "The Haunting of Hill House," which works best when binged, made me cry several times, which I think is proof that really good horror is very close to tragedy.

MANIAC

2018 was the year I officially changed my mind about Jonah Hill, and that is largely thanks to Netflix's limited series "Maniac," in which he stars as a man in a somewhat alternate universe who may or may not suffer from some form of schizophrenia and volunteers to participate in a pharmaceutical trial where a tailored cure for people with mental health issues by way of a very moody computer program results in some rather surreal experiences. "Maniac" is bonkers in the best possible sense of the word, and wears its influences openly - one can recognize a lot of Terry Gilliam in it, and even more Michel Gondry (particularly his "Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind"), but I also think there are subtle parallels to some of the ideas of Philip K. Dick and a lot of similarities to the dark humor of Charlie Brooker's "Black Mirror." Like a ten-hour movie, "Maniac" should be watched from start to finish to be fully appreciated and can definitely hold up for more than one viewing. 

THE TERROR

The great writer Dan Simmons' re-imagining of what actually happened to the British polar expedition that vanished in the mid-1800s was turned into an amazing horror drama by AMC, otherwise mostly known for "The Walking Dead" and "Preacher." Although "The Terror" is technically a monster movie for TV, with some terrific scares and excellent visual effects, this is a much more serious and somewhat minimalist story than what AMC is mostly known for, yet it's that slow burn that makes it stand out, or rather slow chill, for it's a story that is more interested in the mental toll of being trapped in a place where the sun doesn't shine and surrounded by ice than fighting the vengeful beast that lurks out there in the darkness. To convey such a challenging story, the right actors are required, and "The Terror" includes some top performers working with great scripts to make for something as rare as a top-notch period horror show.  

VANITY FAIR

You can always count on British television adaptations of classic literature to be fulfilling pieces of entertainment if you're a friend of period drama. But Gwyneth Hughes' "Vanity Fair" for ITV and Amazon is a remarkable work and perhaps even the best adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's great novel ever made. A lot of that is down to its somewhat moden touch, with music and cinematography that you normally don't get in these types of shows, but it is even more so thanks to the casting choice of the marvelous Olivia Cooke, who has already had quite an interesting career for her young age, as the non-heroic protagonist, the unscrupulous Becky Sharp. She perfectly combines the charm and intelligence with the cold-heartedness and self-serving bitchiness of Becky Sharp and still manages to come off as a fun character whose company you would thoroughly enjoy and who you surprisingly enough even root for. Another small bonus is Michael Palin as Thackeray himself, presenting each episode like a omniscient circus manager. All period drama should be this rewarding to watch.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

Yet another brilliant TV adaptation in 2018 was the Australian re-imagining of "Picnic at Hanging Rock," originally a novel by Joan Lindsay in the late 1960s, but more famously a 1975 mystery film by Peter Weir. Thanks to the explosion of material on TV and in film made by women, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" features an all-female cast led by Natalie Dormer as the headmistress of Appleyard College, where a group of students go missing after the titular picnic in the year 1900. The all-female crew have taken the hypnotic and creepy quality of Weir's 1975 adaptation, but which is also inherent in the story, and turned it up maximum. As a fan, it's exciting that the weird story of "Picnic at Hanging Rock" has now been both expanded upon and improved upon.  

WILD WILD COUNTRY

Netflix's "Wild Wild Country" surpassed all the most popular true crime documentary shows on TV combined, and a lot of that is not just due to the fact that it is incredibly well made but that the real events that took place in Oregon in the early 1980s are rather unknown, which gives you as a viewer a wonderful sense of discovery and originality. There is also something inherently fascinating about cults and particularly its members. The focus tends to be on the cult leaders, but not here. There have been a lot of good documentaries produced lately about cults, including great programs about Jonestown and the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, plus a very watchable dramatization of the infamous events in Waco, and "Wild Wild Country" is the cream of the crop. The failed attempt by the guru Osho's followers to establish a commune in the U.S. is so full of drama and shocking plot twists that it's amazing that it's all real, and although it's not about a cult per se, it has some interesting things to say about fanaticism.

PATRICK MELROSE

Showtime's adaptation of Edward St. Aubyn's celebrated novels is, compared to "The Haunting" on the top of this list, a very traditional and literal adaptation, where a lot of great material from the books are lost in translation. But the Patrick Melrose quintet is such a rich piece of work that even if the five episodes exclude a lot they still manage to cover the important parts and capture the cynical wit that is so vital to the story. Benedict Cumberbatch gives another magnificent performance in a role that is an example of perfect casting, as the recovering addict with a mind as sharp as his tongue and a past that is dark beyond your worst nightmares. Often today, in this golden age of television, we have to sit through TV series where a story more suitable in shorter form has been fleshed out (or in some cases, watered down) to make up more episodes. But with "Patrick Melrose," it's the opposite. In this case, five episodes are barely enough - although each episode is as strong as a movie, we would have been happy with at least twice that amount. 

ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA

That Ben Stiller is a competent director is nothing new, being in fact his primary vocation - he was a director as far back as 1994, in other words longer than he has been an actor. But he is primarily known for comedies, and "Escape at Dannemora," a kinda funny, kinda silly but mostly sad depiction of an actual prison break that occurred in upstate New York in 2015, feels sophisticated, genuine and cinematic to the point that I wouldn't blame you for thinking it was made by a big shot director of more prestigious reputation than the man behind, say, "Zoolander." With Paul Dano and Patricia Arquette in two leading roles, one would expect nothing but the best, but it is also noticeably the best acting Benicio del Toro has done in years. 

BODYGUARD

It's a concept we've seen before, a hard-nosed bodyguard and the high-profile woman he's hired to protect falling in love with each other as she ends up in the line of fire, but never on the level of Jed Mercurio's six-part series featuring a career-defining performance from Scottish eyebrows Richard Madden (long ago best known as Robb Stark in "Game of Thrones"). "Bodyguard" has the same gritty, realistic and intense suspense that one would expect if one has seen its creator's previous hit show "Line of Duty," with a highly detailed and fascinating insight into the world of personal security. It is also a terrifically and tightly scripted mystery show with plot twists that do not feel as contrived as they normally do in detective shows and a gripping character study.

CAMPING

I'm probably the only person in the world who's never seen "Girls," the now legendary dramedy created by all-around maverick producer Lena Dunham. Not because I've intentionally avoided it, it's just strangely enough passed me by. Still, I was quite excited to see her American update of the British series "Camping," and not just because it features a groovy cast (including one of my favorites, David Tennant) but because seeing a bunch of neurotic, middle-aged control freaks and super-awkward immature middle-class city slickers go glamping together sounds like a minefield for hilarity. Then there's Juliette Lewis as the most infuriating hippie ever, adding extra spice to this tasty broth of cringeworthy comedy and, to some extent, social commentary.  

Top 10 movies of 2018

Annihilation

President Barack Obama and I are so far the only ones I've seen to include Alex Garland's sophomore picture on our best-of-the-year lists. I'm going one step further and putting it on the top of mine. "Annihilation" is nothing short of a masterpiece, one that it feels like Garland has been working toward for a while. I've been a fan of his since he first made a name for himself as a screenwriter in collaboration with Danny Boyle in "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine," even loving the underrated comic book adaption "Dredd." With "Ex-Machina," Garland proved himself as capable a film maker as writer, and after "Annihilation" I'm tempted to brandish that often overused and sometimes misused epithet genius. Netflix has gotten into the habit of releasing some interesting works of sci-fi and horror over the past couple of years, but this outshines them all. Amongst many other things, "Annihilation" feels like a modern take on Tarkovsky's psychological and trippy sci-fi classic "Stalker," only creepier and amazingly enough, even trippier. The fact that it also contains such profound conceptual layers doesn't hurt either.    

Aquaman

Marvel's "Black Panther" rightly got the most attention in 2018, and it was our favorite of the year also, until "Aquaman" was released and knocked it off the list. Like the previous year's "Wonder Woman," James Wan's "Aquaman" benefits from a healthy dose of humor and an appetite for globetrotting adventure and otherworldly thrills. It is also helped along by having Jason Momoa as its hero, the most charismatic action movie star in the world right now, perfectly suited for the role, inhabiting Arthur Curry with a twinkle in the eye and graceful strength. Along with a great supporting cast, some truly eye-popping visuals and a richness to the worlds the story presents to us (just consider that a spin-off is already in the works) also help to make this the superhero movie of the year. If DC keeps this up, their cinematic universe is in danger of surpassing the Marvel cinematic universe and become our new preference.   

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

A new Coen brothers picture is always a highlight for film nerds, and when that also happens to be a Western, that's even more of a treat. The second Netflix movie on this list, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" is an anthology movie that covers all aspects of that most classic of American film genres. There is music, comedy, the darker side of humanity, thought-provoking tragedy and even room for poetry. I usually don't like anthology movies, but this is how they would all be in a perfect world, where even though some episodes do not make as much of an impression as others do, they all feel like they belong and contribute someting worthwhile in the end. To speak truthfully, this is sort of a return to form for the Coen brothers, the kind of smart and funny film they used to make back in the day. It may even be their best film since "O Brother, Where Are Thou?".

Widows

After the incredibly dull and overrated "12 Years a Slave" five years ago it was quite a joyous surprise to see Steve McQueen once again show what a master film maker he really is with the wonderful heist drama "Widows". Of course, he has something quite remarkable to work from with Gillian Flynn's plot and dialogue that is as strong as iron, as tough as nails and as endlessly charismatic as its leading ladies Viola Davies, Michelle Rodrigues and Elizabeth Debicki. The film has been lauded enough without needing my praise for its blend of smart plot points, thrilling heist elements, depiction of crime and corruption in all its intricacies and its many funny aspects, and it should be viewed again for it has so much to offer besides all that in McQueen's assured direction and the juicy acting contributions (for example, what Daniel Kaluuya ("Get Out") does with his bad guy role is amazing to watch).  

Solo: A Star Wars Story

I've often heard that the ambition George Lucas had with "Star Wars" back in the day was to create a space Western for the ages. Han Solo has to me always been the prime example of that notion (with his futuristic six shooter and his frontiersman sensibility) and in the experienced hands of Ron Howard, "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is the first time a Star Wars movie really lives up to that potential. There is even a thrilling train robbery to meet your Western standards. Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han is quite a masterstroke of casting, there are moments when I temporarily forget that I'm not looking at a younger, shorter Harrison Ford. It's been fun to see Disney expand the Star Wars experience into other stories and since Han was always the best character, this feels like a given. Unfortunately, the outcome was less than expected, financially speaking, which I guess means we will have to make do with this one standalone feature.

The Favourite

The bizarre and somewhat true story of two noble women's catty battle for the affection of 18th century regent Queen Anne may be Yorgos Lanthimos' most accessible feature to date, but not to worry, "The Favourite" is still all a fan of the macabre greek auteur could want. The creepiness and cringe factor has been toned down, the acting is a little looser and more natural, but "The Favourite" nevertheless delivers absurdity in abundance, in everything from characters to music to costume design to camera work. It may be a period drama peopled with actual historical characters, but it should not be viewed as a serious attempt at a history lesson or a biopic. It may not be an idea that originated with Lanthimos, which is a first, but it can definitely be viewed as a legitimate Lanthimos picture. It's also that rare thing, both a crowd-pleaser, scooping up multiple awards, and a critical success that is as artistically satisfying as it is entertaining.

Stan & Ollie

I've always had a soft spot for Laurel & Hardy, and judging by the love and admiration that Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly imbue their dramatization of the comedy duo's final years of performing during their legendary stage tour of Britain, I'd say everyone involved in the making of "Stan & Ollie" do too. Usually, biopics are uninteresting or sometimes downright infuriating, but even if one is as familiar with the real thing as I am, one quickly overcomes the differences and just submits to the sheer pleasure that it obviously took in bringing this story to life. On a side note, keeping his role in the little masterpiece Western "The Sisters Brothers" in mind, Reilly has had a great film year, but then again being one half of a talented acting team has always been his forte. 2018 was a year full of biopics, but whereas the underwhelming "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Vice" got most of the attention, "Stan & Ollie" (along with Damien Chazelle's wonderful film about Neil Armstrong, "First Man" and Julian Schnabel's beautiful "At Eternity's Gate" about van Gogh) should have been the winners.   

Mid90s

After his small part in "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" and the excellent Netflix show "Maniac," Jonah Hill has really made me do a one-eighty in regards to my opinion about him. Then he goes and fulfills a lifelong ambition to direct an indie movie and the end result was one of the biggest surprises of the year. I may have nothing in common with the young teen Stevie at the center of the story and his day-to-day life in L.A., but I am the same age as Jonah Hill and his sweetly sensitive coming-of-age story looks exactly like the kind of indie drama that I would have seen at some point in the mid-1990s. It may not be a towering intellectual colossus, but I don't think that's the point of "Mid90s," which I think is more about creating a little time capsule that is also timeless because there will always been boys growing up kind of lonely and scared like Stevie, and there will always been a gang of older boys like Ray, Fuckshit and Fourth Grade that will make a huge impact on a young malleable man's life. I'm on tenterhooks to see where Jonah Hill ventures next.

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón's eighth feature film is an amazing combination of a very personal, domestic and intimate story done with the epic quality of a big budget arty drama by a world-renowned film master. Based in part on his own childhood in Mexico City during the 1970s, "Roma" is made as a tribute to the unsung heroes of the middle classes, the housemaids, who at their best are integral members of the family they work for. Cuarón at times also intriguingly hints at larger political turmoil and world events at the periphery of the story, details that bolster the viewing experience and gives it the feel of a documentary, or like looking through a living, moving family photo album. Every great director has that movie which will eventually be regarded as their crowning achievement, and "Roma" is Alfonso Cuarón's.

The Death of Stalin

The panic and paranoia that surely (or at least, presumably) must have erupted at the death of Josef Stalin in 1953 amongst his own ranks is a perfect set-up for Scottish political satirist Armando Iannucci, mastermind behind BBC's "The Thick of It" and HBO's "Veep." The highly fictionalized "The Death of Stalin" is full of funny actors (I never thought I'd get to see Michael Palin and Steve Buscemi share the same screen, for instance) and a lot of outrageously entertaining "walking-and-plotting" (that's a reference to Aaron Sorkin and "The West Wing," fyi). A must for fans of shows just like "Veep," but also for viewers who simply appreciate properly intelligent, cultured and provocative comedy.