2018 Leaman Awards

*Last Updated 6/8/2023

2018 Films Seen: 107

Number of Films with A or A+ Grade: 0

Key Films Still to See: The Great Battle

Brief Summary: n/a

Not a "best of" list or a "favorite" list - but a list of the films and sequences (action, drama, comedy, & musical) that I think represent the best the year had to offer. So think of it as a strange mixture of favorite, best, and defining. Once you get to the top ten films, it definitely becomes more defined as a Top Ten list of the year. The number one film is my favorite of the year. 

Honorable Mentions: God's Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, First Man, I Can Only Imagine, Incredibles 2, Three Identical Strangers

25. Eighth Grade (B)
24. Operation Finale (B)
23. American Animals (B)
22. Creed II (B)
21. Free Solo (B)
20. Prayer Before Dawn, A (B)
19. Isle of Dogs (B)
18. Death of Stalin, The (B)
17. Bird Box (B)
16. Green Book (B)
15. Chappaquiddick (B)
14. Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The (B)
13. A Quiet Place (B+)
12. Crazy Rich Asians (B+)

11. Widows (B+)

THE TOP TEN

10. Shoplifters (B+)

9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (B+) 

8. Roma (B+)

7. The Guilty (B+)

6. BlacKkKlansman (B+)

5. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (B+)

4. They Shall Not Grow Old (A-)

3. Searching (A-)

2. Paddington 2 (A-)

1. Avengers: Infinity War (A-)

Commentary: Infinity War kicked my butt and ticked off nearly everything I hoped it would be and thought it should/could be. This is the kind of story advancement, story-line threading, and cosmic scale I've been waiting for the Marvel universe to make good on. It's a blockbuster superhero/fantasy spectacle that felt intelligently plotted/structured and was willing to very courageously go places with the story that just made me giddy. A pleasure to see the end game begin!

FAVORITE ACTION SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR

The Very Good:

• "Apartment Fight: Ito vs. the Operator" -The Night Comes for Us
• "Aquatic Finale: Kingdoms at Battle" -Aquaman
• "Attack on Greenwich Village: Black Order vs. Strange, Spider-Man, & Iron Man" -Avengers: Infinity War (Commentary)
• "Bathroom Carnage: Fistfight with Lark" -Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Commentary)
• "Finale: Battle on Planet Doom" -Ready Player One
• "Ito vs. Warehouse Gang" -The Night Comes for Us
• "Mountain Duel: Helicopters & Hand to Hand" -Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Commentary)
• "Operator Finale: Taking Out the Gang & Lotus Lesbians" -The Night Comes For Us

The Great:

• "Finale: Fighting for the Lab in the Streets & Bay of San Francisco" -Ant-Man & the Wasp (Commentary)
• "Paris Mayhem: Ambush, Chase, Escape" -Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Commentary)
• "The Battle of Loudon Hill" -Outlaw King
• "Coaxium Train Heist" -Solo: A Star Wars Story (Commentary)

The Best: "Finale: Thanos vs. the Avengers on Titan & War on the Wakandan Plain" -Avengers: Infinity War (Commentary)

Commentary: This is a bit of a cheat in my opinion, but I don't think there's a better way to appropriately honor the last hour of action in Infinity War. Although it takes place in two distinct places and in several phases for each fight, it is clearly one well-integrated masterpiece of an action finale and every attempt I made at breaking it up into smaller pieces just lost sight of the whole. The last hour or so of the film takes place in two major places. At this point, Marvel set the standard for production quality. By 2018, there was no (for several years) doing large scale battles with settings, costumes, cinematography, direction, stunts, creative imagination, and storytelling quality like the teams at Marvel. The first place for the finale is on the planet Titan where one half of the Avengers are fighting Thanos and attempting to keep the time stone away from him. The other place is the Wakandan plains where the other half of the Avengers (along with the Wakandan army) are attempting to keep Thanos' army from acquiring the mind stone. The sequence on Titan is the first real time we get to see Thanos fight our beloved heroes. This fight can be broken into three major parts: first you have the action beats of different people taking shots at Thanos. There is a lot of creativity and fun here as we imagine how the strengths of our heroes could possibly take out such a bad guy and Thanos responds by absorbing the blow and giving some kind of counterattack (he literally throws a moon at one point). A note here on the creative use of the power stones and how the filmmakers did an excellent job making it clear how and when Thanos was using each stone. The visual clarity is much appreciated and only really noticed when a filmmaker gets it wrong. The second major portion of the fight is the major plan to subdue and hold down Thanos using every major character. This is of course famously undermined by Star Lord's ego. The final portion of the fight is Thanos taking down the members one by one as they try to give their final shot. The two standouts here are Doctor Strange who gets an extended imaginative sequence and Iron Man who is clearly giving it his all and coming short...with the filmmakers teasing the audience with his demise. This sequence is masterfully intercut with the war going on back in Wakanda where a forcefield is used temporarily to keep Thanos' army out. Eventually, his army breaks through and we get a full-on battle from each side. Everyone gets stand out moments here - Nakia, Okoye, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Rhodey all given memorable beats. The biggest crowd pleaser is easily the arrival of Thor with his new axe and the incredible damage he is able to do. It's a splendid moment. Of course, Thanos eventually wins on Titan and makes his arrival in Wakanda where we get the most memorable ending of the entire Marvel universe. I have to admit, I absolutely love the sequences on Titan (they are the epitome of fantasy action to me) and I really like the Wakandan war. I felt like every moment against Thanos was a surprise and I never knew what everyone was fully capable of, how they might work together, or what cool trick Thanos might respond with. The Dr. Strange/Thanos stuff just felt like they could do anything they wanted - while I always knew it was still going to be grounded in the logic of the stones that had been established. Glorious stuff. While I don't think this action sequence is the overall best Marvel ever produced, I think Infinity War is the best overall film Marvel has produced. A large part of that is the ability to keep so many characters and storylines balanced alongside of the action in this finale. The guts to end the finale as they did may not leave the audience with the emotional high of 2012's Avengers, but it certainly was remembered for the stomach punch instead.

FAVORITE DRAMATIC SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR

The Very Good:

• “Removing the Librarian” -American Animals 
• “The Girl Gets Rattled” -The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• “Who is Gonna Look at the Rapids?” -Bird Box 
• “Bob Macnamara and his Team Counsel Teddy on What to Do” -Chappaquiddick 
• “Landing on the Moon” -First Man 
• “Iben’s Snake Revelation” -The Guilty 
• “Finale: Windsor Gardens is Present for Lucy’s Birthday Present” -Paddington 2 
• “Finale: Paul Finishes His Race” -Paul, Apostle of Christ 
• "Billy vs. The World Punching Bag” -A Prayer Before Dawn 
• “I Love You” -A Quiet Place 
• “A Surprising Birth” -Roma 
• "Shopping for Clothes - Why They Hit You" -Shoplifters
• “Going Over the Top and Battle” -They Shall Not Grow Old 
• “Grey lets STEM takeover for the first time and win his first fight” -Upgrade 
• "Heist at the Mulligans” -Widows  

The Great:

• “The Climb – Boulder Problem” -Free Solo 
• “Imagining Aunt Lucy in London’s Pop Up Book” -Paddington 2 
• “Opening Family Computing Montage” -Searching 
• "Police Questioning: Family Revelations" -Shoplifters

The Best: “The Snap & Enjoying a Sunrise Finale” -Avengers: Infinity War 

Commentary: n/a

FAVORITE COMEDIC SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR

Not a category I kept good track of - One of the toughest TBH

The Very Good:

•  n/a

The Great:

• n/a

The Best: n/a

FAVORITE MUSICAL SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR

Not always a lot to choose from in this category

The Very Good:

• “Performing ’Shallows’ for the First Time” -A Star is Born 

The Great:

• n/a

The Best: “It’s Too Late to Turn Back Now Dance” -BlacKkKlansman 

Commentary: n/a

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:

• Aneesh Chaganty Searching
• Alfonso Cuaron Roma
• Joel Coen The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Christopher McQuarrie Mission: Impossible - Fallout
• Anthony & Joe Russo Avengers: Infinity War

Commentary: n/a

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING

Nominees:

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• BlacKkKlansmen
• The Favourite
• Roma
• Shoplifters
• Widows

Commentary: n/a

FAVORITE MALE PERFORMANCES

Nominees:

• Mahershala Ali Green Book
• Christian Bale Vice
• Josh Brolin Avengers: Infinity War
• Jakob Cedergren The Guilty
• John Cho Searching
• Joe Cole A Prayer Before Dawn
• Colin Farrell Widows
• Hugh Grant Paddington 2
• Ron Livingston Tully
• Viggo Mortensen Green Book
• Jesse Plemons Game Night

Commentary: n/a

FAVORITE FEMALE PERFORMANCES

Nominees:

• Sakura Ando Shoplifters
• Yalitza Aparacio Roma
• Sandra Bullock Bird Box
• Toni Collette Hereditary
• Olivia Colman The Favourite
• Viola Davis Widows
• Cynthia Erivo Bad Times at the El Royale
• Elsie Fisher Eighth Grade
• Regina King If Beale Street Could Talk
• Emma Stone The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz The Favourite

Commentary: n/a

FAVORITE SCREENPLAY

(original or adapted)

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• BlacKkKlansmen
• Chappaquiddick
• Green Book
• The Guilty
• Paddington 2
• Roma
• Searching
• Shoplifters
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Commentary: n/a

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:

• The Biggest Little Farm
• Free Solo
• They Shall Not Grow Old
• Three Identical Strangers

Commentary: n/a

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:

• The Incredibles 2
• Isle of Dogs
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Commentary: n/a

BEST FILM EDITING

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout
• Searching
• Widows

Commentary: n/a

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• The Favourite
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout
• Roma

Commentary: n/a

BEST ART DIRECTION

Nominees:

• Isle of Dogs
• The Favourite
• Outlaw King
• Paddington 2
• Roma

Commentary: n/a

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Nominees:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• Aquaman
• Avengers: Infinity War
• First Man
• Solo: A Star Wars Story

Commentary: n/a

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Nominees:

• First Man
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• Isle of Dogs
• Paddington 2
• Widows

Commentary: n/a

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• First Man
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout
• Sicario: Day of the Soldado
• Roma

Commentary: n/a

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Black Panther
• The Favourite
• Ocean's Eight

Commentary: n/a

BEST MAKE-UP & HAIR DESIGN

Nominees:

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Black Panther
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Vice

Commentary: n/a

BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE

Nominees:

• Debt Collector
• The Night Comes For Us
• Rampage

Commentary: n/a

MOST SURPRISING FILM

Nominees:

• BlacKkKlansmen
• Searching
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Commentary: n/a

MOST DISAPPOINTING FILM

Nominees:

• Action Point
• First Reformed
• Ralph Breaks the Internet

Commentary: n/a

MOST UNDERRATED FILM

Nominees:

• Bird Box
• Death of Stalin
• God's Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness

Commentary: n/a

MOST OVERRATED FILM

Nominees:

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Hereditary

Commentary: n/a

WORST FILM

Nominees:

• The 15:17 to Paris
• Action Point
• Big Brother
• Halloween
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
• Ralph Breaks the Internet
• Vice

Commentary: This has got to be Eastwood's worst film right? Just fifteen minutes into the film and the child actors are so awful that I'm started to wonder if Eastwood did this on purpose to pay us all back for making fun of the baby in American Sniper, "You think that was bad? Wait until..." As an example of how much padding is in this 90 min. film about a real life hero stopping a terrorist attack on a train, there's a full fifteen minute backpacking in Europe sequence of the main characters walking around European locations taking pictures and eating food. This should not have been a feature film and instead a great segment on 60 Minutes with Eastwood filming the "re-creation" sequences.

BEST COMPILATION OF WORK

Nominees:

• n/a

Commentary: n/a

ERIC BANA AWARD

*Given for the best performance in a bad film (See 2004's Troy)

Nominees:

• Woody Harrelson Solo: A Star Wars Story
• Mark Rylance Ready Player One

Commentary: n/a

THE END!

"Fred Rogers: Love is at the root of everything - all learning, all parenting, all relationships. Love or the lack of it. And what we see and hear on the screen is part of who we become." -Won't You Be My Neighbor

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