Yes, I still share a few things from time to time, but only on my Facebook page. I don't know why that is... a mix of being incredibly busy and equally lazy. Having said that, I still think its important to share our views on what impressed us over the year, which will hopefully provoke others to do the same, leading us to evolve on higher grounds.
The power of art, be it in any shape or form, can really strike powerful impact...
It has done so for me over the course of my life and it will - preferably with your help - continue to do so!
Now, before I share my list I will state something in the same lines as I've done in the past years.
There's a lot of great stuff which is coming out that I haven't seen... Eight Grade, The Hate U Give, Dogman, The Rider, If Beale Street Could Talk, Destroyer... are just some of the films I haven't had the chance to see... be it because they haven't been released in the UK or purely because I couldn't get the time to see it. Those are all films that I will hope to watch at some point early next year.
Meanwhile, there are other movies that I have seen this year, such as You Were Never Really Here or The Wife, that despite only being released in the wider markets in 2018, they had selected viewings at some festivals around the world in 2017, which draws the line for me in terms of not making eligible to make the list, despite the fact that it was only made available in 2018.
I know its unfair and it sucks... nonetheless, I hereby make a special mention to those two in particular, as they would make my list EASILY!
As with any list, it was difficult to leave some names out... Disobedience, Game Night, Mission: Impossible - Fallout are just some of the movies (tapping into genres, such as comedy or action, that often don't make these lists), while John Coltrane's Both Directions at Once
or Courtney Barnett's Tell Me How You Really Feel were top album contenders for this year's Top 10.
And now, with no further ado, here are my chosen ones for 2018:
MOVIES
Manbiki kazoku (Shoplifters)
First Reformed
Won't You Be My Neighbor
Zimna wojna (Cold War)
Roma
Leave No Trace
Hereditary
Upgrade
Sorry To Bother You
A Star is Born
BEST ALBUMS
J Cole - KOD
Drake - Scorpion*
Pusha T - Daytona
Blood Orange - Negro Swan
Snail Mall - Lush
The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
Meek Mill - ChampionshipsBlack Panther OST
A Star is Born OST
Parcels - Parcels
*Worth noting that Scorpion is a very long album with many tracks that are just not that good... the reason why I feel I need to include it on my list is because there are plenty of hits that could have made it into my top 10 tracks of the year. In essence, If I was to remove all the unnecessary tracks, i could still build an album with - at least - 12 amazing songs. People will have different views on this matter, but I opted to include it on my list.
SONGS
Meek Mill - Oodles and Noodles Babies
J Cole - ATM
Vince Staples - Tweakin'
Twin Shadow - Littlest Things
Twin Shadow - Littlest Things
Pusha T - If You Know, You Know
Drake - Emotionless
Thom Yorke - Suspirium
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - Shallow
Rhye - Song For You