20 Best Movies Of 2018

4. Eighth Grade

There are so few movies that truly understand the awkwardness, the anxiety and pain of the high school experience, but Bo Burnham's directorial debut is one such movie.

An intentionally cringe-worthy dramedy about an eighth grader (Elsie Fisher) preparing to graduate from middle to high school, Burnham's film is loaded with blunt-force emotional honesty about the pressures facing young kids of all persuasions today (but especially young women).

Elsie Fisher is a major find and gives one of the strongest performances of the year, one which absolutely should be courting Oscar consideration right now.

With its snappy 94-minute run-time and barrage of trenchant observations about the difficulties of growing up, Eighth Grade isn't just real: it's a damn-near noble use of the cinematic medium. It also features the best use of Enya you're ever likely to see in a movie (sorry, Deadpool 2).