It's our pleasure to present our annual Year-in-Review focusing on the highlights in feature films in the year of twenty-eighteen.
We managed to add another 600 titles to our library in 2018, but the road ahead continues to be tough, so stand by for "The AroVideo Survival Guide for 2019", which you can see as a work-in-progress on our Patreon page.
While we try to include something for everyone in our "Best of" list, it is admittedly skewed to festival goers and those that appreciate a range of savoury cinematic flavours, as opposed to the refined (or not-so-refined) sugars of Hollywood. We merit courageous or innovative film-making matched with exceptional craft, and also consider its impact on audiences (like you).
If some entries in the Top 50 seem like they belonged to the previous year, this is because it is specific to the DVD/Blu-Ray release in the calendar year. As it happens, the (visionary) films that occupy the top 2 places were released in January 2018, so they're indeed already a year old.
Always a bit of film-nerd fun, we hope it offers you some reliable guidance or at least stimulates some debate, so we encourage you to add your own star-rating and review/comment on any film to our website, or add any of those listed here to your personal wishlist when logged in to your My-Aro account.
AROVIDEO TOP 50 DVDS RELEASED IN 2018:
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1. Blade Runner 2049
A 35-year belated sequel of awe-inspiring beauty and intelligence
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2. Mother!
This WTF horror film is actually a thrillingly audacious theological allegory
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3. The Death of Stalin
Outrageous, incisive satire for these ludicrous politcal times
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4. Hereditary
A horror psychodrama directed with Kubrick-ian style and precision
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5. The Breaker-Upperers
A girl-powered Kiwi comedy crammed with confidence and charm
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11. A Fantastic Woman
Compassionate, smart trans-gender character study from Chile
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12. The Shape of Water
Guillermo Del Toro's Oscar-winning romantic fantasy
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13. I, Tonya
Shrewd black comedy biopic of Olympic ice-skating sabotage
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14. Lucky
Gorgeous late-life meditation with the late, great Harry Dean Stanton
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15. Disobedience
Sensual, layered tale of forbidden love in a London Jewish community
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16. Leave No Trace
Graceful gem from the dir. of WINTER'S BONE starring Kiwi Thomasin McKenzie
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17. Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Prodigious legal drama from the dir. of NIGHTCRAWLER
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18. The Wife
Gripping drama of patriarchal folly set in the elite literary world
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19. Call Me By Your Name
Exquisite gay romance set in 1980s Northern Italy
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20. The Post
Spielberg's "Pentagon Papers" media biopic made relevant for modern times
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21. Battle of the Sexes
Adorable comedy that parodies sexism in the world of 70s tennis
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22. Ingrid Goes West
Sharp, contemporary satire of obsession and Instagram culture
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23. Killing of a Sacred Deer
Cool and calculated thriller from the dir. of THE LOBSTER
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24. Mandy
Dark, demented, deftly-controlled horror starring Nicolas Cage
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25. The Handmaiden
Another astonishing psycho-sexual thriller from a Korean master
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26. Upgrade
Kick-ass thriller that dispatches a fresh, hi-tech twist on revenge
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27. The Square
Cannes-winning liberal satire set in the Swedish art world
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28. Waru
Powerful drama threading eight shorts by NZ Maori women
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29. Brigsby Bear
Delightful indie comedy about the power of naivety
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30. All The Money in the World
Ripping yarn on the Getty kidnapping scandal of the 1970s
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31. A Quiet Place
Highly effective horror built on a unique premise
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32. Isle of Dogs
Daringly eccentric 3D-animation from Wes Anderson
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33. Manifesto
Art installation edited as a dazzling feature film experience
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34. Thor: Ragnarok
Kiwi Taika Waititi's slam-dunk Marvel blockbuster
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35. Beatriz at Dinner
Ascerbic comedy-drama for the Trump era
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36. A Simple Favour
A delicately savage comic thriller w/ Anna Kendrick & Blake Lively
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37. Mom and Dad
Bonkers black comedy that ingeniously inverts a primal instinct
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38. The Darkest Hour
Churchill biopic feat. Gary Oldman's Oscar-winning performance
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39. Menashe
Vividly authentic tale of a hapless father in Hasidic New York
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40. City of Ghosts
Essential documentary dissection of the open wound that is Syria
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46. BlacKkKlansman
Spike Lee's 70s-set satiric thriller fuelled with contemporary rage
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47. Beirut
Tense, old-school espionage thriller
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48. Faces Places
Beguiling French road movie tour of art and friendship
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49. The Rider
Subtle and deeply felt portrait of an injured rodeo rider
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50. Searching
Unique cyber-thriller filmed entirely on "screens"
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These also made the not-so-short list for the Best (or at least notable) releases of 2018 ~
In Drama (UK/Ire): The Party, Goodbye Christopher Robin, God's Own Country, Lady Macbeth, The Bookshop, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Funny Cow, Edie, Crooked House, Mary Shelley, The Journey, The Escape, Ethel & Ernest, Loving Vincent.
In Drama (US): Chappaquiddick, Detroit, Ali's Wedding, Borg Vs. McEnroe, Brad's Status, Breath, Sweet Country, LBJ, Last Flag Flying, Mary Magdalene, Maudie, The Hero, Tully, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Certain Women, Novitiate, The Lovers.
In Comedy: Crazy Rich Asians, Blockers, Love, Simon, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, The Greatest Showman, Book Club, Tag, Downsizing, Ideal Home, The Happytime Murders, Finding Your Feet, Ladies in Black, That's Not Me, Ali's Wedding.
In Documentary: Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, McQueen, The Farthest, Tea With the Dames, Spitfire, Chicken People, Take Every Wave, Marina Abramovic in Brazil, The Gospel According to Andre, Whiteley, Plus doco imports (multizone player required): Leaning into the Wind, Human Flow, Dawson City: Frozen Time, Wizard Mode, The Land of the Enlightened, The Final Year, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, Dries, My Journey Through French Cinema.
In Foreign Language: Graduation, Pop Aye, Loveless, Foxtrot, The Other Side of Hope, I Am Not a Witch, The King's Choice, BPM, In the Fade, Blade of the Immortal, Le Redoutable, Sami Blood, The Teacher, Happy End, Kiki, Love to Love, The Death of Louis XIV, Frantz, See You Up There, Back to Burgundy, The Second Mother, The Midwife, C'est La Vie.
In Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Ready Player One, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, The Meg, Rampage, What Happened To Monday.
In Action/Crime: Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Ocean's 8, Sicario: Day Of The Soldado, Brothers' Nest, Hotel Artemis, Red Sparrow, Only the Brave, Den of Thieves, Shot Caller, Walking Out.
In Horror: Happy Death Day, Better Watch Out, The Monster, and stranger things: The Endless, A Dark Song, Good Manners, My Friend Dahmer, Dude Bro Party Massacre III, The Evil Within.
In Family: Paddington 2, Wonder, Christopher Robin, The House With the Clock in its Walls, Incredibles 2, Smallfoot, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, Swallows and Amazons, My Life as a Zucchini, Ferdinand, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Mary and the Witch's Flower, Early Man, Peter Rabbit.
In Music: Elvis Presley: The Searcher, Whitney, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, Midnight Oil 1984, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy, Gurrumul, The Go-Betweens: Right Here, Buena Vista Social Club: Adios, Rumble.
NZ connection: No Ordinary Sheila, Hibiscus & Ruthless, Kobi, Wellington Paranormal, The Free Man, 6 Days.
Outstanding TV Mini-series and series debuts (US): The Handmaid's Tale, Twin Peaks, Sharp Objects, The Path, StartUp, Tin Star, Cardinal, Mr. Mercedes, The Sinner, Search Party, (UK): Patrick Melrose, Broken, Hard Sun, Rellik, Keeping Faith, In the Dark, Fearless, Howards End, Little Women, The Crown, (Aus): Top of the Lake: China Girl, Mystery Road.
If all that's not enough, be sure to browse the Adopted Movies New to our Catalogue and also the AroVideo Top 50 Films of 2017 newsletter...
