2018 Leaman Awards

One Sentence Summary: 2018, aside from Marvel and Mission Impossible's crowning achievements, is a year of mostly mediocrity. 

2018 Films Seen: 97

2018 Films Seen in the Theater: 16

Number of Films with A or A+ Grade: 0

2018 Ambassador's List
(Top 25 Films)

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

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

Top 10: 

10. Widows (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-)

Superlative Awards
(Winners Bolded)

Most Surprising Film of 2018

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

Most Disappointing Film of 2018

• Action Point
• First Reformed
• Ralph Breaks the Internet

Most Overlooked Film of 2018

• The Guilty
• Paddington 2
• A Prayer Before Dawn

Most Overwatched Film of 2018

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Most Underrated Film of 2018

• Beirut
• Bird Box
• Widows

Most Overrated Film of 2018

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Hereditary

Worst Film of the 2018

• The 15:17 to Paris
• Action Point
• Halloween
• Ralph Breaks the Internet
• Vice

-Technical Awards-
(Winners Bolded)

Best Make-Up and Hair Design 

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

Best Costume Design 

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

Best Sound Design 

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

Best Original Score 

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

Best Visual Effects 

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

Best Art Direction 

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

Best Cinematography 

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

Best Film Editing 

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

Major Awards
(Winners Bolded)

Best Documentary Feature 

• Free Solo
• They Shall Not Grow Old
• Three Identical Strangers

Best Animated Feature 

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

Best Adapted Screenplay 

• Avengers: Infinity War
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• BlacKkKlansmen
• Paddington 2
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Original Screenplay 

• Chappaquiddick
• Green Book
• The Guilty
• Roma
• Searching

Best Supporting Actress 

• Olivia Colman The Favourite
• Cynthia Erivo Bad Times at the El Royale
• Regina King If Beale Street Could Talk
• Emma Stone The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz The Favourite

Best Supporting Actor 

• Mahershala Ali Green Book
• Josh Brolin Avengers: Infinity War
• Colin Farrell Widows
• Hugh Grant Paddington 2
• Ron Livingston Tully

Best Actress 

• Yalitza Aparacio Roma
• Sandra Bullock Bird Box
• Toni Collette Hereditary
• Viola Davis Widows
• Elsie Fisher Eighth Grade

Best Actor 

• Christian Bale Vice
• Jakob Cedergren The Guilty
• John Cho Searching
• Joe Cole A Prayer Before Dawn
• Viggo Mortensen Green Book

Best Ensemble Acting 

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

Best Director 

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

Best Picture 

• Avengers: Infinity War
• Mission: Impossible - Fallout
• Paddington 2
• Searching
• They Shall Not Grow Old

Great Dramatic Sequences of 2018
(In Alphabetical Order by Movie & All-Time Great Sequences are Bolded)

• “The Snap & Enjoying a Sunrise Finale” -Avengers: Infinity War 
• “It’s Too Late to Turn Back Now Dance” -BlacKkKlansman 
• “The Climb – Boulder Problem” -Free Solo 

• “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 
• “Imagining Aunt Lucy in London’s Pop Up Book” -Paddington 2 
• “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 
• “Opening Family Computing Montage” -Searching 
• “Performing ’Shallows’ for the First Time” -A Star is Born 
• “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 

Top 10 Action Sequences of 2018

10. “Finale: Aquatic War Ends with a New King” -Aquaman 

9. “Ito & Laser Light Operator Fist-Fight” -The Night Comes For Us 

8. “White Colored Carnage: Fist-fight in the Bathroom” -Mission: Impossible - Fallout 

7. “Black Order vs Strange, Spider-Man, and Iron Man in New York” -Avengers: Infinity War 

6. “Armored Car Fight with Police & Ito” -The Night Comes for Us 

5. “Mountain Duel: Helicopters and Hand to Hand” -Mission: Impossible - Fallout 

4. “Finale: Fighting for the Lab in the Streets & Bay of San Francisco” -Ant-Man and the Wasp 

3. “Coaxium Train Heist” -Solo: A Star Wars Story 

2. “Paris Mayhem: Ambush, Chase, and Escape” -Mission: Impossible - Fallout 

1. “Finale: Thanos vs. the Avengers on Titan & War on the Wakandan Plains” -Avengers: Infinity War