2018 Rewind: The Movies That Defined a Year

Picture this: it’s 2018, and you’re losing your mind over Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s eye-popping animation that made every other superhero flick feel like it was playing catch-up. Or maybe you’re still haunted by Hereditary’s dinner-table scene that had you texting your friends, “WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?” That was the vibe of 2018—a year where movies didn’t just entertain, they rewrote the rules. From Roma’s breathtaking black-and-white love letter to family to BlacKkKlansman’s razor-sharp take on race that had us cheering and thinking, filmmakers like Alfonso Cuarón, Spike Lee, and Ari Aster brought their A-game. This was the year theaters felt like portals to new worlds, whether you were dodging explosions with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Fallout or crying over Eighth Grade’s painfully real teen awkwardness.  

Our handpicked list of 2018’s best flicks is your guide to the year’s heavy hitters. These are the movies that had us quoting lines at brunch, from The Favourite’s deliciously savage one-liners to Shoplifters’ quiet gut-punches that snuck up on you. Whether you’re chasing high-octane thrills, indie vibes, or stories that make you call your mom, these films deliver. So fire up your streaming queue or dust off that Blu-ray collection—2018’s cinematic gems are calling, and they’re as electric now as they were then.  
 
 
Note: The order is completely random—every show here is equally unmissable!