In surveying all that 2018 has given and taken from us so far, at least one patch of blue sky hangs overhead: It has been a dynamite year for movies.
This list of the best includes every genre and mode of filmmaking. It has blockbusters, a rollicking comedy, a documentary, an avant-garde race satire, a few horror and sci-fi thrill rides, melancholy indies and lots of horses. (Truly. So many horses!)
July is as good a time as any to take stock of the must-see gems that have graced our screens, a few of which could still have legs come Oscar season. If American life is as alarming in the second half of the year as it was in the first, at least we have these respites to help us escape the horrific headlines.
Spanning January through the first week of July, these are my favorite movies so far.
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15
“Blockers” -
14
“Tully”
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13
“Black Panther”![Marvel and DC aren't always known for prizing their directors' visions, but the former let Ryan Coogler's acumen blaze a]()
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12
“Where Is Kyra?”
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11
“A Quiet Place”![By a small miracle, "A Quiet Place" marched loudly into the cultural zeitgeist in a way that few nonfranchise flicks manage t]()
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10
“Hereditary”
9
“The Rider”![]()
8
“Thoroughbreds”
7
“Leave No Trace”![Debra Granik makes some of Hollywood's <a href=]()
6
“Three Identical Strangers”
5
“Paddington 2”![No movie this year is as lovely as]()
4
“Lean on Pete”
3
“Annihiliation”![Paramount Pictures botched the release of "Annihilation," worried the movie was too cerebral and angry that director Ale]()
2
“The Tale”
1
“Sorry to Bother You”![Nestled in a nondescript Oakland telemarketing agency is — what else? — a dystopian corporate labyrinth where the]()
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