And now with the year winding down we’re ready to countdown our top 10 films of 2018:

10. Maui’s Hook

Heart-wrenching and powerful, this impressive documentary focuses on one of the most raw issues affecting contemporary society today: suicide. Clinical psychologist turned director Paora Joseph focuses his camera on an issue that has torn apart so many families and undertakes a hikoi wairua (spiritual journey) to help a group of six families to come to terms with their loss and find a sense of healing through a journey across New Zealand’s upper North Island. At every stage you are moved by the stories you witness and Joseph presents his film with a unique narrative and style that is all its own. We can’t think of more essential needed viewing than Maui’s Hook this year.

9. Mary Poppins Returns

If you were looking for a film that was practically perfect in everyway then you need not look further than Mary Poppins Returns. This big, bold and colourful musical entertained from its very first note and took audiences on a fantastic adventure courtesy of the world’s favourite nanny Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). Emily Blunt proved herself to be an eloquent song bird, and was the perfect choice to channel the magical enthusiasm of Mary Poppins, and add in an amazing collection of songs and a great message about the power of family and you had a film that was sure to enchant the whole family.

8. BlackKklansman

They say truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and it didn’t get much stranger than the incredible true life story of Detective Ron Stallwell in BlackKklansman. Director Spike Lee is a filmmaker who always likes to push the boundaries and he really pushed them here with a film that packed together a hysterical narrative with scathing political commentary. Stars John David Washington and Adam Driver made a great team as two mismatched police officers, and Topher Grace stole the show as a racist with delusions of grandeur. Add in a funkadelic score and great 1970s stylings and we had ourselves a truly remarkable piece of cinema with BlackKklansman.

7. Tully

Motherhood 2018 was the theme of Tully and director Jason Reitman and star Charlize Theron made incredible magic together on this one. On Theron’s part it was commitment over and above anything else she’s done before as she brought the pain, sorrows, struggles and joys out of Marlo Moreau, a mother caught up in modern life. Packing a thoroughly clever screenplay by Diablo Cody, Tully really took audiences for a ride and was a great piece of character exploration for Theron. Rising star Mackenzie Davis also made a great impression as night nurse Tully, and both she and Theron had great chemistry together. Unflinchingly raw and hysterically funny all at the same time, Tully was definitely a film to savor this year.

6. Upgrade

Things got intense with this full-on science-fiction ride of an artificial intelligence gone haywire in Upgrade, and it really delivered one hell of a snap along the way. Boasting one of the most original screenplays we’ve ever had the pleasure to witness, Upgrade was packed out with jagged twists that you could never see coming. Thrust into the middle of all of it was star Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace, a technophobe who gets in touch with his superior side thanks to the power of A.I. STEM. Delivering brutal action and captured with a masterful eye, Upgrade seriously got your adrenaline going.

5. Christopher Robin

It didn’t get more adorable this year than Disney’s Christopher Robin and this sweet tale of friendship and imagination most definitely warmed your heart. Featuring Ewan McGregor as a now grown Christopher Robin who has seemingly lost his way, the adult Christopher gets a chance to reconnect with his imagination and the joys of his life once again thanks to the belief and power of his friends Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl. The beauty of the Hundred Acre Woods shone through here and the film had a perfectly polished English countryside aesthetic. Beautiful and heartfelt at every turn, Christopher Robin was sure to fill your heart with joy and set your imagination free.

4. Ready Player One

If you wanted pure escapism then there was no better way to experience it than through director Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster adaptation of cult classic novel Ready Player One. This digital extravaganza was a thrill from beginning to end and its pop culture treasure hunt was certain to make any cinema fan’s mind sparkle with amazing references to everything we loved about the 1980s. With magnificent special effects and a hard charging soundtrack of powerful rock ballads, Ready Player One took us to a far away universe of digital imagination that truly made us go WOW!

3. A Star Is Born

The full breadth of love was felt by all with Bradley Cooper’s masterful epic re-telling of A Star Is Born, and all who watched it were sure to feel their emotions run high here. Every moment of this film was presented with perfection and star Lady Gaga gave the performance of a lifetime as sheltered singer-songwriter Alley, who through the love and trust of volatile rocker Jackson Maine (Cooper) is finally able to set her voice free. Narrative and character drove this cinematic experience, and with the addition of its rocking soundtrack you found yourself embraced in a film of extraordinary vision and soul.

2. First Man

What is it to chase the impossible? That’s where director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) took us in this incredible true story of one man’s dream to push through the stars and reach the moon in First Man. With grand scope and incredible realism, Chazelle fully visualizes the incredible push it took to reach the moon and the toll that was exacted on those who set foot on it. Both Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy gave the performances of their lives as Neil Armstrong and his wife Janet, and the boundaries of their relationship were certainly pushed to the limit with this incredible tale. Bound by breathtaking visuals and the incredible willpower of the human spirit, First Man was a testament to the power of man’s endeavour to reach the extraordinary.

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

If you wanted blockbuster action than you need not look further than Mission: Impossible – Fallout and this colossal cinema experience was ready to give you the ride of your life! Tom Cruise once again returned to the role of intrepid superspy Ethan Hunt and this time it was go big or go home. With a narrative that cracked forward with a supercharged pace and action scenes which exploded with power, you found yourself pulled in every direction imaginable and the result was electrifying. And then there was the film’s epic third act extravaganza of a helicopter chase gone crazy which certainly left you needing a replacement adrenal gland after its wild thrills. To put it straight Mission: Impossible – Fallout was just AMAZING and this crazy rollercoaster of action was incredible to behold.

Images: Roadshow Films, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Studio Canal, Mad Man Films

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In 1930s London, Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) are now grown-up, with Michael still living in the house on Cherry Tree Lane. He lives there with his three children, Annabel, John, and George, and the housekeeper named Ellen. After Michael suffers a personal loss, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes back to the Banks family with street lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda ), and eccentric cousin Topsy (Meryl Streep).

Everyone knows of the magic of Mary Poppins, a fun-filled family adventure that is considered a timeless classic, and now director Rob Marshall (Chicago) is ready to take audiences back for another feel-good adventure with Mary Poppins Returns and there’s magic at every turn. Setting his film up as a continuation of the original story, Marshall places his audience in the dire circumstances of the Banks Family who on the verge of bankruptcy have seemed to have lost all hope in the middle of the Great Slump. That is until delightful magical nanny Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) arrives back on the scene to help balance out all accounts…along with a bit of pixie dust thrown in for good measure.

Taking up the magical umbrella of everyone’s favourite flying nanny Emily Blunt truly makes the role of Mary Poppins her own and she is practically perfect in every way as the character. Poised and polished, Blunt once again captures this classic characters eternal optimism and is the primer for the Banks family to rediscover ideas of imagination and wonder and ultimately leads them to discover that no matter what they can always count on each other as a family. Blunt also gets the opportunity to let her voice be heard and she proves herself a true songbird with the performance of a number of terrific tunes including the likes of ‘Can You Imagine That’ and ‘The Royal Doulton Music Hall’. It’s clear from her performance that she’s having a blast from beginning to end as the character and watching her you’ll find yourself smiling with happiness as she inspires your own imagination to set itself free.

Lending Blunt a hand in the film is the musically gifted Lin-Manuel Miranda in the role of go-getting lamplighter Jack who proves himself a great companion. Miranda’s Jack passionately believes in the wonder of Mary Poppins and his knowledge of London leads Mary and the children on a journey that takes them to many unexpected places. Then there’s his superb vocal range and dancing talents and they find themselves chanelled up onto the screen in remarkably inspiring songs such as ‘(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky’, and he’s also able to show off his characters spot-on cockney accent. Miranda complements Blunt’s performance perfectly and the pair have a great back and forth rhythm between the two of them that reminded me of the theatrics of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

As a feat of production Mary Poppins Returns is simply enormous and its reliance on both the practical and the digital leads the way for some truly striking visuals. Marshall and collaborating production designer John Myhre and costumer Sandy Powell fill the film out with a colourful candy coloured pallete that pulls you into the film’s fairytale narrative. The details really do shine through here and everything fits together perfectly from the falling cheery blossoms to the fantastical worlds that Mary, Jack and the children find themselves strolling through. It’s as if with Mary Poppins Returns that Marshall is not shooting his film with cameras and lenses, but rather painting it with bright strokes of watercolour. It’s most definitely a visual treat and every frame offers up another breathtaking sight to capture your attention and pull you into this magical, fantastical canvas.

It wouldn’t be Mary Poppins without a rousing musical score and the best of the best has been assembled for this production. Composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman offer up a treasure chest of soon to be instant classics with songs like ‘Trip A Little Light Fantastic’, ‘Turning Turtle’ and ‘Nowhere To Go But Up’ and in both musical composition and lyrical arrangement there’s a present feeling of unanimous joy. Shaiman and Wittman also experiment with a vast arrange of styles and themes from classical music to big brass jazz along with a sprinkling of modern hip-hop and rhythm and blues, and all of it will wrap you up inside the film’s marvellous story.

Filled to the brim with magic and imagination, Mary Poppins Returns is an utterly charming film that will warm your heart up with love and joy and is a perfect watch for the whole family this holiday season.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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