The 5 Best Movies of the Year So Far: Reviews and Oscar prospects

1. ISLE OF DOGS

Director: Wes Anderson

I'm not a big animated feature films fan, but Isle of Dogs dry humour and detail just amazed me. Full of beautiful details which reflects what a brilliant director Anderson is, the movie also works as a piece of social commentary and an essay about humans losing their humanity. Remarkable voice performances and a simple yet really fine work from Alexander Desplat in the original score department, Dogs can be considered (one of) the year's most unique cinematic pieces. And the dialogue? Oh! I loved the dialogue! Another small masterpiece from Wes Anderson.

OSCAR POTENTIAL

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Director (Wes Anderson)
• Best Original Screenplay

2. A QUIET PLACE
Director: John Krasinsky

Silence has never been so loud as it is in A Quiet Place. Suspense, an original plot, elevating the monster movie to a whole new level, the movie succeeds because of its uniqueness. You are not used to truly brilliant movies in the terror genre. Emily Blunt proves to be a cinematic magnet (she's terrific!) and Millicent Simmonds also gets the spotlight in a movie that relies mostly on its sound design/editing/mixing work. In A Quiet Place, the leading star is the absence of sound and how it plays with everything else. Congrats to John Krasinsky!

OSCAR POTENTIAL

• Best Picture
• Best Director (John Krasinsky)
• Best Actress (Emily Blunt)
• Best Supporting Actress (Millicent Simmonds)
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Sound Editing

3. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Director: Lynne Ramsay

This movie is not everyone's cup of tea. From a non-straightfoward narrative, to [some] violence and a big couple of perversions, Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here is not a movie made to "like it" but a movie made to "taste". Leaded by a masterclass commanding performance from Joaquin Phoenix, this arthouse action movie might have a Taxi Driver + Driver + Taken flavour, but then you understand it has its own voice, its own brutality and its own beauty. Long live Lynne Ramsay!

OSCAR POTENTIAL

• Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)

4. BLACK PANTHER
Director: Ryan Coogler

Hiring an indie auteur to write and direct a Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster? Well,it doesn't seem obvious, but Ryan Coogler proved to be an excellent choice! Black Panther is the best MCU ever made: smart narrative (and a nice essay about globalization), full of heart, plenty of stellar action scenes and the best ensemble acting ever seen in a superhero movie after Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. But Black Panther is not only a good movie in the most straight meaning of "a good movie" - it also features great achievements in sound, costume design and production design. And let's not forget THE CINEMATIC LINE OF THE YEAR SO FAR: "Wakanda Forever!".

OSCAR POTENTIAL

• Best Picture
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Production Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Visual Effects
• Best Original Song ("Pray For Me")

5. LOVE, SIMON
Director: Greg Berlanti

An unexpected brilliant movie. Love, Simon defies the coming-of-age comedy standards and presents something that feels really fresh! The secret ingredient of the movie's uniqueness is its screenplay... and you can understand that by watching the movie. Nick Robinson proves to be a major promise in Hollywood and he makes for a charming lead. A sweet movie that surprises by the down-to-earth way it portrays the confusion of a teenage mind. We are not used to watch LGBT-themed movies as tender, funny and heart-warming like this one.

OSCAR POTENTIAL

• Best Adapted Screenplay