The 20 best movies of 2018 that should win Oscars (but won't)

Before the film debuted at last August’s Venice Film Festival, “The Other Side of the Wind” was a sentimental Oscar favorite if only for the irresistible notion of Orson Welles winning a Best Director trophy 32 years after his death and 42 years after wrapping principal photography on what wound up being his final work as a filmmaker. Alas, the movie’s frenetic editing — in keeping with the style Welles employed late in his directing career — proved too inscrutable for many critics and voters. Orson’s still ahead of his time.

This ingeniously crafted crowd-pleaser about a group of game-playing friends thrust into a real-life murder mystery should be in consideration for Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams) and Best Original Screenplay (Mark Perez). But commercial comedies are historically a tough sell with Academy voters, and the studio that released “Game Night," Universal, ain’t sellin’. 

Boots Riley caused a righteous stir this summer with his absurdist provocation about an ambitious young black man who becomes a massively successful telemarketer through the use of his “white voice." Though a hit with critics, this brilliant film mustered only two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which indicates it might be too prickly for the more conservative Academy. We’d love to see at least a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Riley, but it’s an exceptionally competitive year. 

This wilderness adventure thriller is Jeremy Saulnier’s most ambitious, Academy-friendly feature to date, but the graphic violence that unjustly relegated “Blue Ruin” and “Green Room” to a niche audience is still very much in evidence here. Saulnier’s is just too unapologetically pulpy for Oscar voters, who tend to like their genre flicks presented with a veneer of prestige. It’s a shame because Jeffrey Wright, Riley Keough, Alexander Skarsgård and production designer Ryan Warren Smith very much belong in awards consideration.

Amazon inexplicably buried Spike Lee’s film of Danya Taymor’s Steppenwolf Theatre production of Antoinette Nwandu’s spellbinding inner-city riff on “Waiting for Godot." Perhaps the confusing pedigree (does the movie belong to Lee or Taymor) and its brisk 74-minute length made it seem like a one-off, but Lee’s incisively shot presentation does for the “filmed play” genre what Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” did for the concert film. Then again, that classic was completely ignored by the Academy as well.

Paramount gave up early on Alex Garland’s adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s acclaimed science fiction novel, consigning the film to obscurity with a brief, barely promoted theatrical release before zipping it off to Netflix. In a just world, this heartbreaking and occasionally horrific gem — easily one of the best films of 2018 — would be in the running for Best Picture, Director and multiple performance Oscars.

The romantic comedy came roaring back in 2018 with hits like “Crazy Rich Asians," “Set It Up” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before." So it’s mystifying that this charming Judd Apatow-produced adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel about a woman (Rose Byrne) who falls in love with the reclusive rock star (Ethan Hawke) adored by her ex-boyfriend (Chris Dowd) was dumped into theaters with little fanfare. Hawke is a sure-fire Best Actor nominee for “First Reformed," but Byrne should be in the Best Actress running for giving yet another winningly textured comedic performance.

It was an impossibly tall order for a film featuring a full-on chainsaw fight to get nominated for any Oscars, but Panos Cosmatos’ waking nightmare of a revenge film was the most mesmerizing cinematic experience of 2018. The hauntingly immersive sound design from the team of François Dumont, Jérémy Hassid and Marc Engles and the dreamy score by Jóhann Jóhannsson deserve serious consideration. But again, chainsaw fights.

Paul Feig threw a deliciously nasty curveball with this immensely clever thriller starring Anna Kendrick as a mommy blogger who investigates the disappearance of her best friend (Blake Lively). It’s not as elegantly directed as the classic thrillers (primarily those from Hitchcock and Clouzot) it gleefully emulates, but the script by Jessica Sharzer is an expertly constructed twist machine that’s always a step ahead of the viewer.

This was a no-hoper from jump, but if ever a slasher film deserved serious awards consideration it’s this clever direct sequel to John Carpenter’s horror classic — principally for Jamie Lee Curtis’ emotionally raw portrayal of Laurie Strode as a victim who can’t move on with her life until the man who tried to kill her is wiped clean off the planet. Add it to the list of unconscionable Curtis snubs along with “A Fish Called Wanda” and “Freaky Friday." 

One of these days, the Academy is going to wake up to the incontrovertible fact that Leslie Mann is one of the finest comedic actors of her generation. She deserved serious consideration for her work in “Knocked Up” and “This Is 40," and should be in the running again this year for her portrayal of a single mother clinging too tightly to her college-bound only daughter. Also worthy of consideration: Ike Barinholtz as a ne’er-do-well dad desperate to play a significant role in his daughter’s life.

Hugh Grant earned a Best Supporting Actor from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts last winter for his hilarious turn as a caddish villain (it was a 2017 release in the U.K.), which gave admirers of this superior sequel hope that he’d make the final five at the 2019 Oscars. Unfortunately, this under-the-radar Weinstein Company orphan isn’t getting much of an awards push. “Paddington 2” is just too good for the Oscars — and the world in general.

Debra Granik’s first film in eight years received rave reviews, but the drama about a PTSD-suffering father (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter (Thomasin McKenzie) is starting to look like an also-ran in the categories where Granik scored with 2010’s “Winter’s Bone” (Picture, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay). It could be that the movie is too understated for Oscar voters compared to the more conventionally compelling Ozark-noir that launched Jennifer Lawrence’s career.

This Sundance hit from first-time-filmmaker Bo Burnham has been considered a major awards contender since its Sundance 2018 debut. But the painfully vulnerable performance from 15-year-old Elsie Fisher is now considered a major long shot in the Best Actress category. This was unthinkable six months ago, but thems the vicissitudes of awards season for you. There’s still a chance Burnham cracks the top five for Original Screenplay.

Helena Howard’s fearless portrayal of a young actress caught in a psychological tug-of-war between her mother (Miranda July) and acting teacher (Molly Parker) belongs at or near the top of everyone’s 2018 Best Actress list. Unfortunately, Josephine Decker’s fiercely original film is too bewilderingly experimental for a large swath of the Academy. We’ll remember this awards injustice when Howard wins Best Actress for an unremarkable prestige drama.

Lynne Ramsay put on a filmmaking master class with this adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ book about a PTSD-addled Gulf War veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) who becomes the vengeful protector of a missing 13-year-old girl (Ekaterina Samsonov). Ramsay’s first film since 2011’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” isn’t the most accessible movie, which will cost it richly deserving nominations for Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Director and Editing.

“Veep” creator Armando Iannucci cracked the Original Screenplay category in 2009 with his savage political satire “In the Loop." But his adaptation of Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin’s graphic novel detailing the backstabbing power vacuum created by the expiration of Joseph Stalin might be a tad too vicious for the Academy. Steve Buscemi’s scheming portrayal of Nikita Khrushchev faces long odds for a Supporting Actor nomination, but we’d love to see him make the cut.

Tamara Jenkins racked up two Oscar nominations for “The Savages” in 2007 (Actress for Laura Linney and Original Screenplay for herself). But her long-awaited follow-up about a pair of middle-aged New Yorkers (Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti) desperately trying to conceive a child is looking like an underdog in every single category where it was believed it would contend. Original Screenplay is probably its best bet, but we’re pulling for an out-of-nowhere stunner in the Best Actress category for Hahn.

George Tillman’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Angie Thomas’ bestseller about a young woman (Amandla Stenberg) thrust into a community crisis after she witnesses a cop shoot her best friend is gaining steam during screener season, particularly for Russell Hornsby in the Best Supporting Actor race. The sentimental favorite is a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for the recently departed Audrey Wells. It would be a well-deserved sendoff to a truly underrated screenwriter.

Luca Guadagnino was an awards season favorite last year with “Call Me By Your Name," but he’s way on the outside looking in with his bonkers remake of Dario Argento’s supernatural horror classic “Suspiria." Tilda Swinton’s double-duty performance as a dance instructor and an elderly Holocaust survivor is the most likely candidate for a breakthrough. But the love-it-or-loathe-it response from critics and voters portends a nomination shutout.