LET’S be real, there is no film industry in Guyana, and, perhaps, this may one of the reasons why many people continue to gravitate towards comedies and the torture-porn type movies all year round. There is no conversation, no reference point, no critical commentary being carried out about film in this country.

Therefore, it should be unsurprising that many Guyanese people go through each year without becoming aware of a vast number of films (both from Hollywood and beyond) that have much to say, particularly about the current affairs of the world in which we live. Of course, another reason why people’s tastes tend to be geared towards the more commercially-inclined films, has to do with the fact that good movies, worthy of critical thought and analysis, are not always available in Guyana.

For this reason, even I have found it immensely difficult to see good films this year and, sadly, what I saw in 2018 is not entirely reflective of all the good movies that the year had to offer. For example, I would love to see films like, “Mary, Queen of Scots,” “Suspiria,” “The Favourite,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and “Sorry to Bother You,” but these are the kinds of films that would be very difficult to find in the local theatres. That is not to say that I did not see good films this year. I saw quite a few, just not all of the ones I wanted to see. Below, in random order, are 10 of the best of the films I actually got to see in 2018.

1) “Black Panther” – There was nothing cooler than seeing Ryan Coogler’s excellent adaptation of the Marvel Comics story that relayed the tale of the king of Wakanda (a marvelous, technological world set in the heart of Africa). Action-packed, suave, and brimming with a bevy of brilliant black actors, “Black Panther” is the superhero movie people of colour have literally waited all their lives for. Chadwick Boseman leads the cast, followed closely by Michael B. Jordan who turns in a strong, ambiguous performance. Also, this movie is the breakout vehicle for Guyana-born actress, Letitia Wright. Wakanda forever!

2) “A Star is Born” – Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut is the third incarnation of the story about a talented young woman who meets the man who helps to make her a superstar, and as her star rises, his slowly falls, dragged down by jealousy and alcoholism. The plot was allegedly derived from the relationship of Hollywood actress, Barbara Stanwyck (of “Double Indemnity” fame) and her first husband, Frank Fay, and even though the duo married in the 1920s, Cooper’s story is set in the modern era and the tale of a girl who finds the stardom she has always craved while almost losing everything that really matters, including herself, is undoubtedly still relevant to the audience of today with its star-struck youths and fame monsters. The music is really good, but it is Lady Gaga in the title role who really captures our hearts and our attention.

3) “Annihilation” – Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and others form an all-female brigade of scientists and soldiers who plough through a mysterious, quarantined zone that has started to mutate on account of the strange “Shimmer” which encloses an area of land known as “Area X.” The team is hunting for answers, but in this excellent and weird science fiction adaptation, they find more than they bargain for – everything from a mutated alligator/shark hybrid, a strange humanoid, a zombie bear, and a woman who transforms into flowering plants. Sure, it’s strange, but it’s strange in a manner that is closely linked to reality, supported no doubt by its science-fiction trappings, which work because they are built on very real scientific concepts, such as evolution, hybridisation, and mutation.

4) “Padmaavat” – Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film is a sweeping epic, swirling with music and colour, unabashedly flaunting the director’s usual trademarks. It is truly a marvel, perfectly capturing the essence of a bygone era in India represented by wealth, excess, secrecy, violence, and the exotic. Deepika Padukone stars as the titular queen who is pursued by the ruthless Alauddin Khalji (Ranveer Kapoor). The film is dazzling and sensual, rippling with scenes of breathtaking beauty. However, like all good Bollywood films, it packs an unexpected emotional punch in its final moments that, unsurprisingly, is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. The lead performances are of the wonderful, showy kind, the production value is top-notch, and the soundtrack is gorgeous. “Padmaavat” also offers a rare character who seems to fall somewhere along the spectrum of sexuality that is not demarcated as “heterosexual,” and for such a mainstream Bollywood film, that is something definitely worth observing.

5) “Hereditary” – This is the scariest film I saw this year! It has everything one would need in a good horror movie. Toni Collette stars as a woman plagued by the supernatural after the death of her secretive mother. Collette’s performance is a thunderous, earth-shaking one, raw and terrifying because the plot calls for it, but also terrifying because the acting is so darn good. Alex Wolff as the son is equally brilliant, highlighting the terror and paranoia that cuts right through the family. There are possessed people climbing on the walls, creepy grinning men at funerals, a demon named Paimon, reincarnation, decaying bodies, summonings, murder, and more. This is not a movie for the faint-hearted. It is gruesome and chilling, likely to be the kind of film you would want to forget but will never be able to.

6) “Bohemian Rhapsody” – The British band called Queen has given the world some of the most iconic and enduring songs we know today. Hits such as “We Will Rock You,” “We are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love,” “Love of My Life,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “I Want to Break Free” are still played all over the world. However, it is still surprising how little people know of the glamorous and talented Freddie Mercury, the bisexual, coloured man who was the band’s lead singer. This exploration of Mercury’s life does have its flaws, but they are all somewhat negated through a fierce performance by Rami Malek as Mercury. Malek’s performance is so committed and so adept at representing Mercury that it is worth watching the movie just for this performance alone.

7) “Crazy Rich Asians” – Based on the book by Kevin Kwan, “Crazy Rich Asians” presents a rare cast made up entirely of Asian actors, and this, in 2018, is a wondrous act of representation in film that the world needed to see. The Cinderella story of a woman (Constance Wu) being swept off to Singapore to meet her fiance’ s ultra-rich family, headed by his formidable mother, the excellent Michelle Yeoh, “Crazy Rich Asians” is a straight up romantic comedy that is funny and heartfelt and cutesy all at the same time. In a year filled with news about climate change, Trump, the crisis in Venezuela, and Volda Lawrence’s recent alleged comments, it is clear that we all need some joy and comedy and romance in our lives, and “Crazy Rich Asians” supplies all of that and more. It is the kind of film you’ll want to curl up in bed and watch on a rainy day.

8) “Shadow” – Zhang Yimou is one of the most brilliant directors to come out of China. His newest film presents us with a curious situation where a commander in a young king’s army uses a healthy lookalike to masquerade before the king while pretending to be the ailing commander. It is a good narrative starting point that launches the audience into a tale set in historical China, where palace intrigue, forbidden love, and revenge are all a part of the plot. Yimou’s films are all known for having a distinctive colour palette – think of the sea of bright-green trees in “House of Flying Daggers” or the fight-scene amidst the falling, golden leaves in “Hero.” The director’s artistic vision is also represented in “Shadow” which is entirely mounted in tones of black, white and grey. This palette compliments the film’s rainy setting, as well as the stark balance between all of the opposites (man-woman, healthy-sick, etc.) set up in the film. At times, it is like watching poetry in motion.

9) “Love, Simon” – The great, gay, high school romance emerged this year with “Love, Simon” which is a simple but beautiful story of a boy finding himself and finding true love at the same time. Sure, Simon’s story is way too neat and happy to ever be entirely relatable to Guyanese gays, but a gay rom-com is more than welcome, and the sort of escapism it offers has been something urgently needed within the LGBT community for a while. The love story at the heart of the film is one that even straight people can get behind. It is sweet and tender, overflowing with all the nostalgia of being a high schooler battling homophobia and both the light and dark sides of social media.

10) “Widows” – Steve McQueen’s follow up to “12 Years a Slave” sees Viola Davis as the widow of a man who has been killed, along with his fellow conspirators, after robbing a bank. With mounting pressure building all around her, the widow must recruit the other women who were close to the robbers and complete one final heist. “Widows” is an action film, packed with adrenaline and style. However, it also offers biting commentaries on relevant themes such as race, class, and power. Furthermore, it also presents an astounding cast with everyone turning in thoroughly calculated, intense performances. Viola Davis is as good as always, but in this film, Elizabeth Debicki also manages to stand out, using minimal expressions to highlight the trauma and backstory of her character. “Widows” is a heist film with heart and soul and guns.