18

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

I didn’t think I would be tearing up at a climax involving a 12-year-old getting her period, but here we are.

17

The Killer

David Fincher’s work is a creative muse for me.

16

Anatomy Of A Fall

Some obvious metaphors cheapen the script, but the deliberation and in-depth character study save it. An especially great performance by Swann Arlaud.

15

How To Blow Up A Pipeline

I mean, they did it. Might sound wild, but I didn’t think They would let them do it but they did it.

14

May December

The real star of this movie is Marcelo Zarvos and Michel Legrand’s soundtrack.

13

Bottoms

Rachel Sennott is one of my favorite people working in movies right now.

12

Thanksgiving

The very reason I have a filmmaking degree was because of horror movies, and Eli Roth wrote Hostel. It’s not easy to make slasher films patently un-camp even with lines like, “There will be no leftovers.”

11

Maestro

Includes the second best scene of the year.

10

Ferrari

Includes one of the best monologues of the year. It begins with the cheesy line you’ve heard — “two objects cannot occupy the same space…” — but by the end, you’re ready to die in a Ferrari.

9

The Iron Claw

I knew nothing of this story going in, and the only thing I could think walking out was holy shit.

8

Killers Of The Flower Moon

Includes the best scene of the year when Lizzie Q passes on into the afterlife.

7

Talk To Me

A refreshing take on horror that is stylish.

6

Eileen

I don’t know why this wasn’t talked about more. I suspect it was not in a wide enough release and released too late in the year? Otessa Moshfegh’s novel was fantastic and the movie is probably one of the very few instances where the movie is better than the book.