Film writers' individual top tens of the year 2018

You've probably read The Skinny's Top 25 Films of 2018 list, but our Film team is a broad church. Phantom Thread, The Skinny's Film of 2018, was ubiquitous on our pool of writers' ballots, but in total an eclectic selection of close to 100 movies were nominated. While we'd urge you to see all the films that made our top 25, it's also worth perusing our writers' individual lists to seek out the more idiosyncratic but no less interesting titles.

John Bleasdale

1. First Man (Damien Chazelle)
2. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
4. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
5. I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie)
6. Jeune Femme (Léonor Serraille)
7. Hereditary (Ari Aster)
8. Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)
9. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
10. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)

Honourable mentions: Mission Impossible: Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie), Dogman (Matteo Garrone), Lucky (John Carroll Lynch), The Vietnam War (Ken Burns, Lynn Novick), Blockers (Kay Cannon)

Re-releases of the year: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968 – Warner Bros)

Stinkers of the year: American Dharma (Errol Morris), Peterloo (Mike Leigh)

Eleanor Capaldi

1. Molly's Game (Aaron Sorkin)
2. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)
3. Skate Kitchen (Crystal Moselle)
4. Rafiki (Wanuri Kahiu)
5. I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie)
6. Coco (Lee Unkrich)
7. Mary Shelley (Haifaa al-Mansour)
8. Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird)
9. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)
10. The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey)

Philip Concannon

1. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
2. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)
4. Western (Valeska Grisebach)
5. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)
6. The Wild Boys (Bertrand Mandico)
7. Ex-Libris: The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)
8. Apostasy (Dan Kokotajlo)
9. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
10. Upgrade (Leigh Whannell)

Honourable Mentions: Black Mother (Khalik Allah), Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada), The House That Jack Built (Lars von Trier), The Rider (Chloé Zhao), Unsane (Steven Soderbergh),

Re-issues of the Year: Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988 – BFI), The Nun (Jacques Rivette, 1966 – StudioCanal/ICO), 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968 – Warner Bros)

Stinker: Proud Mary (Babak Najafi)

Barry Didcock

1. The Square (Ruben Östlund)
2. The Ciambra (Jonas Carpignano)
3. The Heiresses (Marcelo Martinessi)
4. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)
5. BlackKklansman (Spike Lee)
6. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)
7. Sicilian Ghost Story (Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza)
8. Whitney (Kevin Macdonald)
9. Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony Russo, Joe Russo)
10. Make Me Up (Rachel Maclean)

Honourable mentions: Dark River (Clio Barnard), Time Trial (Finlay Pretsell), The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)

Re-releases of the year: The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932 – Eureka), Vagabond (Agnes Varda, 1985 – Curzon), Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1988 – Arrow)

Stinker of the year: Ideal Home (Andrew Fleming)

Jamie Dunn

1. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)
2. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
3. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
4. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
5. Widows (Steve McQueen)
6. Columbus (Kogonada)
7. Faces Places (Agnès Varda, JR)
8. Hereditary (Ari Aster)
9. Game Night (John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein)
10. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)

Honourable mentions: Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev), Upgrade (Leigh Whannell), Let the Sunshine In (Claire Denis), Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg), Apostasy (Dan Kokotajlo)

Re-releases of the year: Orphée (Jean Cocteau, 1950 – BFI), The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932 – Eureka), La Pointe Courte (Agnès Varda, 1955 – Curzon)

Stinker of the Year: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)

Patrick Gamble

1. An Elephant Sitting Still (Hu Bo)
2. El mar la mar (Joshua Bonnetta, JP Sniadecki)
3. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
4. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
5. Extinction (Salomé Lamas)
6. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
7. One or Two Questions (Kristina Konrad)
8. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)
9. Dead Souls (Wang Bing)
10. The Wild Boys (Bertrand Mandico)

Honourable mentions: 120 BPM (Robin Campillo), Cocote (Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias), Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman), Glory (Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov), Make Me Up (Rachel Maclean)

Joe Goggins

1. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
2. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
3. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (Desiree Akhavan)
5. The Square (Ruben Östlund)
6. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
7. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)
8. Columbus (Kogonada)
9. The Tale (Jennifer Fox)
10. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)

Honourable mentions: Lek and the Dogs (Andrew Kötting), I, Tonya, (Craig Gillespie), Lucky (John Carroll Lynch), Zama (Lucrecia Martel), The Boy Downstairs (Sophie Brooks)

Re-releases of the year: Heathers: 30th Anniversary Special Edition (Michael Lehmann, 1988, Blu-Ray – Arrow), The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975, Blu-Ray – BFI), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2005, Criterion Blu-Ray)

Stinker of the year: Hereditary (Ari Aster)

Katie Goh

1. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
2. Shirkers (Sandi Tan)
3. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
4. Annihilation (Alex Garland)
5. Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Mouly Surya)
6. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
7. Widows (Steve McQueen)
8. 120 BPM (Robin Campillo)
9. Climax (Gaspar Noe)
10. Revenge (Coralie Fargeat)

Honourable mentions: Beast (Michael Pearce), Black Panther (Ryan Coogler), The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)

Stinker of the year: Solo: A Star Wars Movie (Ron Howard)

Tom Grieve

1. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
2. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)
3. Western (Valeska Grisebach)
4. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
5. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
6. 120 BPM (Robin Campillo)
7. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
8. Faces Places (Agnès Varda)
9. Princess Cyd (Stephen Cone)
10. Widows (Steve McQueen)

Honourable mentions: BlackKklansman (Spike Lee), If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen), The Commuter (Jaume Collet-Serra), Lover for a Day (Philippe Garrel)

Re-releases of the year: Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965 – Curzon), The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980 – StudioCanal), The Last Movie (Dennis Hopper, 1975 – Independent)

Stinker of the year: I didn't see anything that bad!

Christopher Machell

1. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)
2. Widows (Steve McQueen)
3. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)
4. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
5. Hereditary (Ari Aster)
6. Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley)
7. BlackKklansman (Spike Lee)
8. Faces Places (Agnes Varda, JR)
9. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
10. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

Honourable Mentions: Beast (Michael Pearce), Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Mouly Sourya), Leave No Trace (Debra Granik), Annihilation (Alex Garland), Halloween (David Gordon Green)

Re-releases: Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1980), Yi Yi (Edward Yang 2000), Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968)

Stinker of the year: Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug)

Ian Mantgani

1. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
2. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. El mar la mar (Joshua Bonnetta, JP Sniadecki)
4. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)
5. Black Mother (Khalik Allah)
6. Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman)
7. Lucky (John Carroll Lynch)
8. Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater)
9. The Post (Steven Spielberg)
10. Western (Valeska Grisebach)

Honourable mentions: Zama (Lucrecia Martel), Den of Thieves (Christian Gudegast), Downsizing (Alexander Payne)

Ross McIndoe

1. Annihilation (Alex Garland)
2. Lucky (John Carroll Lynch)
3. A Futile and Stupid Gesture (David Wain)
4. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
5. The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey)
6. The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro)
7. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
8. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
9. The Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird)
10. The Party's Just Beginning (Karen Gillan)

Honourable mentions: Black Panther (Ryan Coogler), Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard), The Third Murder (Hirokazu Kore-eda), Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson), A Quiet Place (Josh Krasinski)

Stinker of the year: The Predator (Shane Black)

Iana Murray

1. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
2. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)
4. Columbus (Kogonada)
5. Skate Kitchen (Crystal Moselle)
6. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)
7. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
8. Mirai (Mamoru Hosoda)
9. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)
10. Shirkers (Sandi Tan)

Honourable mentions: First Reformed (Paul Schrader), 120 BPM (Robin Campillo), Wildlife (Paul Dano), Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson), Wonderstruck (Todd Haynes)

Re-releases of the year: Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1988 – Arrow)

Stinker of the year: Mute (Duncan Jones)

Ben Nicholson

1. Make Me Up (Rachel Maclean)
2. Lek and the Dogs (Andrew Kötting)
3. Columbus (Kogonada)
4. Extinction (Salomé Lamas)
5. Becoming Animal (Emma Davie, Peter Mettler)
6. Tempestad (Tatiana Huezo)
7. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
8. Ex-Liberia: The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)
9. One or Two Questions (Kristina Konrad)
10. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)

Honourable mentions: Arcadia (Paul Wright), Black Mother (Khalik Allah), Cocote (Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias), Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Mouly Surya), Meteors (Gurcan Keltek).

Stinker of the year: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)

Carmen Paddock

1. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)
2. BlackKklansman (Spike Lee)
3. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)
4. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)
5. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (Ol Parker)
6. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
7. Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard)
8. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
9. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
10. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)

Honourable mentions: Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M Chu), I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie), Searching (Aneesh Chaganty), Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley), The Miseducation of Cameron Post (Desiree Akhavan)

Re-releases of the year: Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959 – Park Circus)

Stinker of the year: Pacific Rim: Uprising (Steven S DeKnight)

Josh Slater-Williams

1. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Columbus (Kogonada)
3. 120 BPM (Robin Campillo)
4. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
5. Shirkers (Sandi Tan)
6. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay)
7. Mandy (Panos Cosmatos)
8. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda)
9. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
10. First Man (Damien Chazelle)

Honourable mentions: Mirai (Mamoru Hosoda), Jeune Femme (Léonor Serraille), A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper), Calibre (Matt Palmer), Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)

Re-release of the year: Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter, 1987 – StudioCanal)

Stinker of the year: Terminal (Vaughn Stein)

Adam Stafford

1. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
2. Faces Places (Agnès Varda, JR)
3. Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton)
4. Western (Valeska Grisebach)
5. The Dreamed Path (Angela Schanelec)
6. Lek and The Dogs (Andrew Kötting)
7. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)
8. Lucky (John Carroll Lynch)
9. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
10. Hereditary (Ari Aster)

Honourable mentions: Mandy (Panos Cosmatos), A Gentle Creature (Sergei Loznitsa), You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay), Sharp Objects (Jean-Marc Vallée, Mini-series), Super Dark Times (Kevin Phillip)

Re-releases of the year: Orphée (Jean Cocteau, 1950 – BFI), True Stories (David Byrne, 1986 – Criterion), Intimate Lighting (Ivan Passer, 1967 – Second Run)

Stinker of the year: A Quiet Place (John Krasinski)

Joseph Walsh

1. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne RamsaFdrey)
2. The Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. The Rider (Chloe Zhao)
4. Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)
5. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)
6. Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
7. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)
8. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)
9. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)
10. Dogman (Matteo Garrone)

Honourable mentions: Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig), Apostasy (Daniel Kokotajilo), Disobedience (Sebastian Lelio), Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)

Re-Releases of the year: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968 – BFI), Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958 – Park Circus), The Nun (Jacques Rivette, 1966 – BFI)

Stinker of the year: Venom (Ruben Fleischer)

Kelli Weston

1. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Hale County This Morning This Evening (RaMell Ross)
3. Widows (Steve McQueen)
4. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)
5. Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham)
6. Minding the Gap (Bing Liu)
7. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)
8. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
9. Shirkers (Sandi Tan)
10. A Quiet Place (John Krasinski)

Honourable mentions: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Ol Parker), Crazy Rich Asians (Jon Chu)