2018's RISING STARS

With the wide and varied year we've had in cinemas, we thought we'd take a look back at the films which really resonated with SWITCH's contributors. We've put all the reviews that scored 4.5 and 5 stars in one handy article, to make sure you didn't miss any gems in 2018!

THE SQUARE

A dazzling piece of cinematic invention

'The Square' is a masterful piece of cinema, preposterously funny and endlessly strange, culminating in moments of genuine awe.

FACES PLACES

The empathy engine

Reinforcing the ability of art and artists to form connections and provide windows into the lives of people who are just like us, and also not at all, this is a moving tribute to the act of creation.

THE POST

Streep and Spielberg strike gold in portrait of a complex woman

There’s a brazen sort of electricity pulsing through the film that is hard to disregard; a boldness that is so intrinsic to its very nature that it becomes impossible to disentangle it from the film.

SWEET COUNTRY

A thunderous Australian masterpiece

Warwick Thornton has created a devastating, overwhelming masterpiece, the first truly great film of 2018. Moreso, 'Sweet Country' is easily one of the most important Australian films ever made.

THE SHAPE OF WATER

A modern fairytale for the adults

This may not be the kind of fairytale you should read to kids in bed at night, but it’ll still leave you with those long-lost childhood feelings of astonishment and reverence.

THE PARTY

One decadent evening

A wickedly dark, funny and thought-provoking ride. Not a moment out of place or not needed - it’s a masterpiece, and a party you'll gladly want to attend again.

BPM

Queer history, honoured and invigorated

This is a new queer classic which offers a hard-won opportunity to honour those who fought for change before us, and celebrate their humanity, their temerity, and their victories.

PHANTOM THREAD

An exquisite and delicious delight for the senses

Exquisite, meticulous, delicious, passionate and wickedly funny, it sweeps you up on its romanticism while moving with the precision of an animal of prey. 'Phantom Thread' is a classic.

LADY BIRD

This is the best version of herself

Filled with the kind of charm and empathy, writer/director Greta Gerwig thrives in telling that all-too-powerful, painful and empowering transition from adolescence to adulthood.

THAT'S NOT MY DOG!

A great laugh-a-minute Aussie night out

With almost 100 jokes told in just under 90 minutes, this is a non-stop laugh-fest. Featuring 30 comedians, it's sure to leave you in stitches and feeling a million bucks.

LOVE, SIMON

A joyous and important milestone in mainstream cinema

This is a celebration of the beauty of being young and queer and in love for the first time, a film that is wholly good and made for no other reason than to make the world that little bit better.

A QUIET PLACE

A smart, silent take on the horror genre

The story of ‘A Quiet Place’ at its core is family, and is the film’s biggest strength. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are wonderful, but young Millicent Simmonds is the breakaway star.

TULLY

It's a hat-trick of Cody and Reitman

With little to no dialogue, Reitman reveals the monotony of this thankless life of a mother of three. No great tragedy has befallen our protagonist, she’s just like all of us - overwhelmed by life.

THE SHAPE OF WATER

An Oscar-winning fairytale for the ages

The film is just so incredibly beautiful and deeply romantic. Few films are made with such love and passion as this one, and every frame sings as a consequence.

MY FRIEND DAHMER

A haunting portrait of a serial killer as a young man

It’s a portrait of the abyss of loneliness, and how that abyss can swallow you whole. It offers not shock and horror, but something all the more human, affecting and haunting.

INCREDIBLES 2

The spectacular sequel we've all been waiting for

It's is a rip-roaring action film, full of heart and electricity, boisterous and bombastic in all the right ways, and delivering in spades after many years of anticipation.

HEREDITARY

Nothing stays buried

'Hereditary' is not for the faint of heart. It's a stressful, intense ride through an escalating family tragedy with a supernatural horror twist. You have been warned.

LEAVE NO TRACE

Overflowing with hope and compassion

Simultaneously haunting and yet overflowing with hope, this is a beautiful film, telling a story of a daughter and her father that speaks truths.

THE INSULT

A brilliant examination of the nature of conflict

Using masculine aggression as an allegory for escalating conflict, ‘The Insult’ raises interesting (and timely) questions that resonate well beyond the Middle East.

LOVE, SIMON

A gay coming-of-age story we so sorely needed

‘Love, Simon’ has thrown down the gauntlet to mainstream cinema. Put us on your screens. Tell our stories. Not just white gay men, but every queer person of every sexuality, gender, culture and creed.

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

Triple the twists and turns

The story of these three men is remarkable and the film matches it, right until the last frame. It will have you hooked - it's simply unmissable.

McQUEEN

A stunning, meticulous vision of a conflicted artist

Like McQueen, this documentary isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of filmmaking, from its gripping storytelling to its lush visuals. This is one of the most impressive cinematic achievements of 2018.

HEREDITARY

An infernal masterclass in the art of trauma

A dark and thunderous vision of the one of the greatest fears we have - that our own minds may in the end not only betray and destroy us, but destroy those we love most.

FIRST MAN

An incredible and deeply moving journey into the impossible

A powerful and moving experience, it will leave you marvelling at the ability of our species to dream, to invent, to strive and to survive.

SUSPIRIA

An ecstatic dance to the edge of sanity

This is a film that will divide, and is certainly not for everyone. Luca Gadagnino has created a dark symphony in honour of the classic, in the process creating a work just as powerful and unsettling.

WIDOWS

A captivating thriller beyond measure

It's a film permeating with lofty themes with substance sharing equal billing with its thrills. ‘Widows’ is a gut-punch of a film but for all the best reasons, and one of the best films of the year.

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

Boots Riley's spectacular satire on race in America

A shockingly intelligent, insanely imaginative, totally unforgiving, endlessly entertaining, consistently surprising piece of satire. Boots Riley has created a film for the ages.

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Melissa McCarthy's finest performance to date

It's the perfect kind of biographical film - wholly entertaining, truly enlightening, and entirely fascinating. It’s a glimpse of the life of an unconventional woman, wonderfully told and portrayed.

INCREDIBLES 2

A thrilling sequel that defies expectations

‘Incredibles 2’ is just such a joy of a film. It not only lives up to expectations but exceeds them, refusing to play by the tired and safe sequel rule of just giving audiences the same again.

ROMA

A transcendent work of memory and cinema

Alfonso Cuarón has not just delivered a personal ode to a city he loves, to a time and a place that haunts him, to a figure who defined him, but given us the chance to see the same within ourselves.

CLIMAX

An all-dancing, drug-fuelled nightmare

Director Gaspar Noé captures the group's feverous plunge into brutality and psychotic inhumanity with an intimate, glazed immediacy, as the film unfolds in a series of long, gliding shots.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

An amazing love letter to our friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler

Its crowning achievement is just how beautifully it is a testament to the strange and enchanting lore of the Spider-Man lore. It’s the film Spidey fans will fall in love with.

THE FAVOURITE

A delicious work of magnificent insanity

There really is no way to prepare yourself for this film. It’s insane and sincere, vicious and heartfelt, thunderous and mournful. No one, including the audience, comes out of this without bruises.