THE BEST OF THE BEST
By Lori Vernon
soldier Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) who finds
himself attempting to recover a kidnapped
girl amidst a sinister political conspiracy
involving human trafficking. Ekaterina
Samsonov, Alex Manette, and John Doman
also star.
If Beale Street Could Talk
In director Barry Jenkins's adaptation of
the 1974 James Baldwin novel of the same,
this film set in 1970s Harlem stars KiKi
Layne and Stephan James as two young
lovers named Tish and Fonny whose rela-
tionship is pulled apart when Fonny is false-
ly accused of rape. It was chosen by both the
National Board of Review and American
Film Institute as one of the Top 10 Films of
2018 and received several nominations at
the 76th Golden Globes Awards, including
Best
Motion
Picture-Drama,
Best
Supporting Actress (Regina King) and Best
Screenplay.
Black Panther
were hits right out of the gate, and a few
you may not have even heard of but are sure
to be showing in local theaters soon. Here is
our list of the “best of the best” of 2018, in no
particular order. Groundbreaking Superhero film direct-
ed by Ryan Cooler, who also co-wrote the
screenplay with Joe Robert Cole. Breakout
Chadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa/Black
Panther, who is crowned king of Wakanda
following his father's death. He finds his
sovereignty challenged by an adversary
who wants to abandon the country's isola-
tionist policies and begin a global revolu-
tion. The film is nominated for a Golden
Globe Best Picture-Drama, and a multitude
of others including SAG and Grammy
Awards.
You Were Never Really Here BlacKkKlansman
BlacKkKlansman
W
e’ve talked about many great
films in 2018, but now that the
new year is upon us and awards
season looms we are recapping some of the
best contenders for the upcoming awards
season. Many of these films have not seen a
wide release as yet, barely getting in their
qualifying runs for award consideration
before the end of the year deadline. Some
Director Lynne Ramsay’s crime story,
adapted from a novella by Bored to Death
writer Jonathan Ames, tells the story of ex-
14 illinoisentertainer.com january 2019
A Spike Lee joint co-written by Lee and
Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and
Kevin Willmott, based on the 2014 memoir
Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth. The film
stars John David Washington as Stallworth,
who becomes the first African-American
detective in the city’s history. He eventually
goes undercover to infiltrate and expose the
local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Adam
Driver plays Flip, a Jewish detective who
partners with Stallworth to infiltrate the
Klan. Nominated for a bunch of Golden
Globes, including Best Picture, Director,
Actor for Washington, and Supporting
Actor for Driver. Lee took the Grand Jury
Prize at Cannes, while Driver is nominated
for both a Gotham Award and an
Independent Spirit Award for his role as the
white Jewish man who serves as the face of
the investigation. It's also an AFI movie of
the year.
Roma
A hauntingly sad yet beautiful and
superbly filmed story about a year in the life
of a domestic worker, Cleo (non-profession-
al actress Yalitza Aparicio), in a middle-class
Mexico City home, taken from director
Alfonso Cuarón's own memories and set
against the backdrop of unrest in 1971. The
film has multiple award nominations.
The Favourite
Yorgos Lanthimos' wildly entertaining
and bracingly cynical comedy of royal man-
ners, set in the early 18th century as
England and France are at war. A frail
Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) maintains the
throne, but it is actually her close friend
Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) who
governs the country in her stead while tend-
ing to Anne's ill health and volatile temper.
When new servant Abigail Masham (Emma
Stone) arrives, Sarah takes Abigail under
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