The Best Movie Moments of 2018

The film sequences that moved me the most in 2018.

By: Josh McCormack

2018 has proven to be a great year in film, and we aren't even done with it yet. However, while I'm catching up and putting the finishing touches on my "Best of 2018" list, I thought now would be a good time to look on some of the most incredible movie moments I've experienced this year in no particular order.

Warning! Spoilers below!

*Susie's Revelation ('Suspiria')

Luca Guadagnino's interpretation of the 1978 Dario Argento classic is a divisive, but utterly unforgettable horror epic.

There are many jaw-dropping moments in the film, but the sequence that takes the cake for me comes in the climax of the film when Dakota Johnson's lead character, Susie, reveals herself to be the embodiment of the powerful witch, Mother Suspirium. What ensues is five minutes of pure head-exploding carnage, all set to an eerie red strobe light effect and the beautiful, yet haunting music of Thom Yorke's soundtrack.

It's hypnotic, psychedelic and stomach churning. Whenever I think of 'Suspiria' this is the sequence that first comes to mind.

*The Training Montage ('Creed II')

'Creed II's training montage isn't as strong as the first film's (neither is the entire movie for that matter), but as a hardcore 'Rocky'/'Creed' fan this scene still gets the adrenaline going.

Dramatically set in a remote desert with a powerful Ludwig Goransson score as the driving force, director Steven Caple Jr. edits the sequence wonderfully, having it fit in nicely with all the iconic montages of this franchise.

The second ASAP Rocky pops up on the soundtrack is a moment where it's literally impossible not get goosebumps from the pure badassery at hand.

*Ally's Star Is Born ('A Star Is Born')

Bradley Cooper's 'A Star Is Born' is a wonderfully made, yet pretty flawed directorial debut for the renowned movie star. However, one of the things that shines throughout the film is Lady Gaga's dynamite performance and the moment that sticks with me, as well as everyone who's seen it, is the moment her character takes the stage for the first time.

With the camera completely locked on her, Gaga belts her heart out with so much passion in a single take. Performing the now chart-topping song, "Shallow", the energy and raw emotions of this scene make for one of the most heart-stopping moments in any movie I've seen this past year, no matter how I feel about the rest of the product.

*The Bathroom Breakdown ('Mandy')

Nicolas Cage has been unfairly marked as a bad actor in his recent years. While, yes, his choices have been strange, Cage allows himself to go to places of intensity that no other actor will dare go. However, he sometimes does this for the wrong film.

With Panos Cosmatos' incredible horror-revenge picture, 'Mandy', Cage has found the perfect outlet for his form of acting. No moment is this better exemplified than in the wide-angle, one shot, bathroom sequence at the film's midpoint.

Bloodied, beaten, heartbroken and wearing only a baseball tee and tighty whities, Cage breaks down. Taking swigs of vodka, as well as pouring it on his fresh wounds, the  character of Red goes from physical pain to complete agony over losing the love of his life to wanting revenge all over the course of a two minute shot. 

It's incredible.

*"Happy Halloween, Michael" ('Halloween')

Perhaps this year's most satisfying moment as a filmgoer was seeing the 59-year old, Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode kick Michael Myers' ass, 40 years after the original 'Halloween'.

While less of a slugfest than 1998's 'H20: Halloween Twenty Years Later', the final confrontation between Laurie Strode and the Shape is much more "cat and mouse" with a lot of suspense on where Michael may be at any given moment. That all changes, however, in the last few minutes when Laurie, aided by her daughter and granddaughter, take down and trap Michael Myers in a brutal display of power.

It is an amazing moment for any horror movie fan, like myself, and I can still hear the theater crowd roaring in excitement from opening night.

*The Death of Killmonger (Black Panther)

MARVEL's 'Black Panther' will be remembered for many things, but what sticks in my mind every time I think back to the groundbreaking blockbuster is Michael B. Jordan's scene stealing performance as Eric Killmonger. 

While most villains in the MCU have a rather forgettable demise, Killmonger's death is a heartbreaking and fitting end to a character who proved themselves to be more than just a typical supervillain.

"Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors," he says. "Because they knew death was better than bondage."

*The Snap Heard Across the Galaxy (Avengers: Infinity War)

"What did it cost?"

"Everything."

We all know that the events of 'Avengers: Infinity War' will be reversed and all will be well in the end, but that doesn't change how haunting the final moments of MARVEL's 19th feature film are. 

More impactful than the loss of fan-favorite characters, to me, is the uncharacteristic silence of these final minutes. While most MCU films end with a bombardment of explosions and percussive theme music, 'Infinity War' feels more in line with a Fellini movie. And the final image of Josh Brolin's Thanos sitting on his porch, smiling to himself at the new Universe he has paved way for is both satisfying and heartbreaking.

*Magical Mystery Tour (First Reformed)

Paul Schrader's spiritual sequel to 'Taxi Driver' is an exploration of faith and how a man of faith deals with the problems of a post-9/11 world. It is a mostly naturalistic look at a man of faith facing a spiritual crisis, with the exception of one incredible three minute sequence.

Our two leads (Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried) share an intimate moment playing a game that Seyfried's character refers to as a "Magical Mystery Tour", a scenario in which one person lays on top of the other, sharing each breath. 

What begins as an awkward pseudo-sexual sequence soon turns into a artistic journey through the film's many heady themes in visual form. The two begin floating through some sort of metaphorical space passing images of the corrupted environment and an unfaithful world on their way. It is bizarre and transcendent sequence in one of this year's best movies.

*Dad's Speech (Eighth Grade)

In Bo Burnham's hilarious and heartbreaking look at the life of a 13-year old girl graduating middle school features one of the most incredible declarations of love from a father to a daughter I've ever seen in film.

Elsie Fisher is going to be earning a lot of love this awards season, but it's Josh Hamilton who is undoubtedly going to be forgotten in this year's Oscar talk. It'll be there loss though, because Hamilton infuses his character with an authenticity rarely seen in stay-at-home fathers on screen. He's trying his best and sometimes he fails spectacularly and sometimes he's able to say just the right thing.

Nowhere is this more apparent than when his daughter solemnly asks him if she makes him sad and he responds with one of the most loving parental speeches this side of 'Call Me By Your Name'. One of the most tear-jerking moments of 2018.