10. Black Panther
“Black Panther” is the most quietly radical entry in Marvel’s canon of films and perhaps of the entirety of the new millennium. In my favorite scene, two of the protagonists walk through a crowded market packed with technology and filled with hundreds of absolutely unique hipsters – a glimpse of an Africa that never suffered through wars and colonization. Director Ryan Coogler doesn’t rub our faces in it, but every moment of this amazing film is suffused with a radical vision of what a world of true equality could look like. There are not one or two but four strong roles for women of color. Coogler is fighting the patriarchy not by preaching or even mentioning it, but merely by showing us what a beautiful world we could have without it. The most important fact to note is that this all is subtext to a relentlessly entertaining film with a complex, interesting villain and a coherent place in the larger narrative. The action scenes are strong, especially a casino fight and subsequent car chase. The individual fights are choreographed well, and the CGI never overwhelms. “Black Panther” was the best superhero movie of the year, one of the top five of all time and one of the best overall films of the year. -Bill Foster
9. Molly’s Game
Aaron Sorkin is at it again. He’s written beautiful scripts for TV shows like “The West Wing,” “Sports Night” and “The Newsroom,” as well as for movies such as “A Few Good Men,” “Moneyball” and “The Social Network,” but he’s never stepped behind the camera to direct. Until now, that is.
This true story features Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, a brilliantly measured woman who owns every room into which she steps. She’s the ultimate show of female power in that she’s not afraid to use her beauty to gain attention, but she also is quick to shut down any unwanted advances. Bloom makes her way from a side-hustle as a cocktail waitress at a high-roller poker game to running the whole show before she finally gets caught up in someone else’s mistake. Idris Elba is cast perfectly as her hesitant lawyer, and the chemistry between the two makes for a memorable pairing. While this film technically came out in 2017, it didn’t make its way to Knoxville screens until 2018, so we would feel remiss if we didn’t include it in our list. -Rusty Odom
8. A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper did an excellent job directing this tale of a musician riding hard and always putting himself up wet. It’s certainly not the first time this story has been told, but it’s a great modern-day take on a musician’s journey and a good retelling of the theme that no matter what level of success a broken person has, they’ve still got their demons. Lady Gaga is phenomenal in her role as Ally, a wonderful talent without the right look to be successful or the support of a big team behind her. When Cooper’s character finds her performing in a bar, he’s immediately smitten, and the two embark on a beautiful and tragic journey to fame and fortune together. The soundtrack is great, and the live performances are even better.
In a year that featured several prominent music films (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Blaze”), this movie holds its own weight. It’s better than “Rhapsody” in some ways and doesn’t hit the mark in others, but “A Star is Born” is among the best of the year and among the best in a while within the genre. -RO
7. Support the Girls
In a time when most films can’t get made for under a million dollars, it’s hard to find too many carefree films like “Support the Girls.” Spiritually channeling the essence of early Richard Linklater films like “Slacker” and “Dazed and Confused,” the film follows a manager at a knockoff Hooters sports bar who is struggling to make each end of a day meet up. Juggling the needs of ambitious yet naive crop-topped waitresses, blue-collar line cooks and a total a-hole of a boss, Lisa puts out one fire after another in a brilliant film that ushers unsuspecting viewers into witnessing the obstacles women, especially those in the service industry, face on a daily basis: sexual harassment, underappreciation, condescension and undervaluing. It’s a therapeutic romp that is as fun as it is poignant. -Andy Vinson
6. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
There’s no real reason to use my few sentences explaining the importance and lasting impact that a single man, Fred Rogers, and his television show had on entire generations of young people. Most of our readers are familiar with his work, but those who aren’t should immediately watch “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” undoubtedly the finest documentary of the year. In keeping with the true spirit of how Rogers lived his life, this film shone as a beacon of love and positivity at a time when it seems we need it the most. The film is infinitely uplifting, reminding viewers that good exists in the world and that there is value in making it better on an individual level.
The documentary gathers seen and unseen footage along with new interviews with family, co-workers, celebrities and others who were both directly and indirectly affected by Rogers’ presence in their lives. Taken as a whole, the collected material tells an amazing story of a unique and visionary man, someone we all knew but needed to know better. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is a fantastic tribute to Rogers’ legacy and one of the best films of the year. -Matt Miller
5. Isle of Dogs
What does it say about Wes Anderson that his independent vision is so spectacular that nothing is a surprise anymore? “Isle of Dogs” is the culmination of all of the work that has come before it, a stop-motion masterclass that tells the old story of a boy and his dog in a new and wildly creative way. In an imagined Japanese province in the future, all canines have been banished to an island made of trash as part of secret pro-cat government conspiracy led by a corrupt and miserable bunch of old-class hags. There are tons of metaphors to be drawn to the current political climate, but if the synopsis alone isn’t going to drag you in, I don’t know what else will. -AV
4. Eighth Grade
Recent comedian-turned-filmmaker/director/writer Bo Burnham makes a splash with “Eighth Grade,” setting high expectations for the future of the 28-year-old wunderkind. Burnham excels at telling stories differently than his Hollywood counterparts by writing authentic and compelling stories and evoking empathy at every turn. However, this film truly thrives because of Elsie Fisher’s performance as Kayla, who is simply trying to survive the last week of a tough eighth-grade year. Fisher pulls you in and holds the grip throughout the film, guiding viewers through moments of happiness, sadness, struggle and hope as she tries her best to figure out an awkward time that we’ve all experienced. “Eighth Grade” is an honest coming-of-age film that finds the beauty in difficulty. -MM
3. Annihilation
The film industry has been attempting to solve what makes something film and feel “alien” since its inception. The view has morphed dramatically with each passing decade, and technology certainly dictates its potency, but its hard to think of a movie (other than 2016’s “Under the Skin,” which was certainly an inspiration) in the history of film that feels as nonhuman as “Annihilation.” The bio-horror takes the concept of cell duplication and evolves it into a heart-pounding thriller more existentially spooky than from any onscreen scares. The piece is thoughtful in its execution from the top down, and it is filled with moments that have remained lodged in my brain months after the first screening. -AV
2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The seventh Spider-Man film in a decade and a half is a crowning achievement in the history of both animation and comic-book filmography. Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Shedding the tired routine of the typical origin story in the franchise, the film reboots the entire character core, focusing on the charming Afro-Hispanic Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. Playing off the strengths of the comic-book medium instead of swerving around it, the film explores multiple strands of the superhero from different realities forced into Miles’ home-plane, incorporating a fascinating variety of animation styles that elevate an already genius cell-shade/stop-motion hybrid unlike anything ever seen in a feature-length film. Technical features aside, the film manages mixing the wildly different personalities and motivations of the variety of characters with deft precision that results in as much slack-jawed, open-mouthed fun as any animated feature in the history of the whole genre. It’s surprising, moving, utterly entertaining storytelling that begs to be seen a dozen times or more. -AV
1. Blaze
Sick and tired of the manufactured, bubblegum pop-country churned out of the Nashville machine and onto radio waves 24/7? Have I got a solution for you: Meet Blaze Foley, the legend you never knew you loved.
Buried deep down on the list of country stories that fell apart lies that of Foley, a psychedelic-country crooner from a corner of Arkansas. An eternally roving hippie playing the blues and singing songs about social injustice and pretty women, his legacy has only briefly been unfurled by the genre’s historians despite being a legendary musician’s musician and spinning tales of his carefree 39 years on the earth.
“Blaze” presents a colorful reimagining of the man’s life through the caring eyes of those who surrounded him. Pivoting between the years he was married to his wife Sybil and the end of his life, the film can feel like pages of a scrapbook torn apart and hastily reassembled, but there’s a sound method to the madness. Tackling the director role for the first time is veteran actor Ethan Hawke, who is absolute in his ideas for the movement of the story and who ably depicts the events that both positively and negatively informed Foley’s music.
Mostly told as a recollection through a fictional radio interview with longtime buddy Townes Van Zandt and Blaze’s longer-time compadre/harmonica player Zee, “Blaze” does a formidable job touching on the boundless joy and energy that built the man’s larger-than-life persona, as well as his vicious demons that steered clear of recognition every chance they got.
Starting on the polar ends of the storyline, the film builds between the halcyon days of his early love and the washed-out haze of his last. First-time actor Ben Dickey and “Arrested Development” alum Alia Shawkat portray one of the sweetest love stories you’ll ever see in film. Holed up in a treehouse deep in the woods of Georgia with fellow flower children, the two are head over heels for each other in a surrounding that can’t provide distractions to their love. Their combined existence is incredibly appealing, even when doomed by their drive to get more out of life than the nothing they enjoyed stewing in. The actors’ chemistry is pure, which pays off doubly when trouble starts to arise in their starry-eyed lives.
On the other spectrum, Dickey’s portrayal of an older Foley carries the same whimsy of his earlier life but with a much dimmer glow. Constantly duct-taping together his only jacket and collecting beers like dust on a shelf, Blaze is a bleeding heart that no one cares to listen to, literally recording his “Live at the Austin Outhouse” record to a loose pile of impatient barflies anxiously awaiting an appearance from Van Zandt that ends up happening much later in the night at a different venue.
The film culminates somewhere in the middle of the time periods when you can track the specific events that tied the extremes of Blaze’s life together. One particularly brutal but telling scene features a cameo from Blaze’s father, played by Kris Kristofferson (a country music troubadour himself who chose to make an appearance in this film instead of “A Star is Born,” even though he starred in a previous version of that film). It’s as heartbreaking as it is poignant, and it illuminates the human condition for geniuses cursed with unhinged power and talent and difficult upbringings. Like always, Foley attempts to reinvigorate himself mid-film after a peek into from where his demons came – not because of his longing for fame, but because he doesn’t know what else to do. “Sometimes rivers dry up,” he says. “Still have a direction, but there’s no more flow”.
At another point in the film, Blaze calmly growls, “I don’t wanna be a star. I wanna be a legend … Stars burn up because they shine for themselves. Legends last forever.”
Cowboys existed for a long time after their utility faded into the annals of history because their imagery was revived in country music of the 1960s, ‘70s and even the ‘80s. Although their livelihoods disappeared somewhere around the turn of the century, their legends will never die. And now, due in no small part to this brilliant piece of work, Blaze Foley lives on, forever. -AV
We enjoyed “BLAZE” so much, we decided to bring it back to town as it was only at Regal Downtown West for a week or two after our review came out. So, for the first time ever, BLANK is sponsoring a film. You’ll be able to catch “Blaze” at Central Cinema for one weekend only. Click on the image below for tickets and info.
