2018 has already proved to be a blockbusting and crowdpleasing year at the movies.

While Marvel has packed in the punters like never before, Kiwis have also flocked to see homegrown comedy like The Breaker Upperers, Hugh Jackman star as The Greatest Showman, a plethora of Oscar-nominated dramas and the anarchic antics of Peter Rabbit.

As we reach the halfway point of the year, Stuff decided to look back at the last six months and come up with a list of our favourites from the year so far.

READ MORE:
* The five best movies of 2017 (so far)
* The dozen movies you must-see this blockbuster season

​AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Avengers: Infinity War brought together all your favourite Marvel characters for an adventure that was far better than it had any right to be.

A two-and-a-half-hour thrillride, with plenty of action, laughs and potential for tearing-up, directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo did an amazing job of shoehorning Marvel's myriad of superheroes into a coherent tale.

Josh Brolin's Thanos is at the heart of an rollicking, heart-rending roller-coaster of a movie that doesn't stint on spectacle or enthralling drama.

C'EST LA VIE 

C'est La Vie offers up French farce baked to perfection.

Olivier Nakache and Eric Toleando (the French duo who gave the world 2012's much-loved The Intouchables) have crafted another outstanding crowdpleaser with this hilarious ensemble comedy about Gallic wedding planner Max Angely's (Jean-Paul Bacri) very challenging workday.

A Robert Altman-esque roam, encompassing everyone from Max's employees to some truly garrulous guests, this is French farce baked to perfection.

CHAPPAQUIDDICK

Jason Clarke is excellent as Ted Kennedy in historical drama Chappaquiddick.

Coming out in a time of US President facing allegations of criminal behaviour and the rise of the #MeToo movement, John Curran's drama is a fascinating look at an under-examined, key moment in American history. 

Australian actor Jason Clarke  delivers a superb performance as Edward Kennedy, doing much to leave the viewer in a conundrum over the US Senator's actions or inactions after a car crash leaves a young woman dead. 

THE DEATH OF STALIN

With The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannucci delivered a delicious Soviet-set black comedy.

From the creative mind of The Thick of It and Veep comes this superbly eclectically cast (everyone from Paul Whitehouse to Steve Buscemi and Michael Palin) black comedy focusing on the grab for power that took place in the wake of the Soviet dictator's demise.

If you thought Armando Iannucci's takes on modern British and American politics were entertaining, just wait till you get a load of this hilarious and horrifying spin on a key moment in Russian history.

I, TONYA

Margot Robbie showcased her starpower and acting ability in I, Tonya.

Based, as Aussie director Craig Gillespie's movie so elegantly puts it, "irony free, totally contradictory interviews", this aims to explore the troubled backstories of all the major players in one of US sport's greatest scandals, while also allowing them to have their say.

Coupled with quite brilliant performances from both Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, what could have been a straight-forward documentary or a conventional biopic, is instead a hilarious, confronting and compelling black comedy. 

LOVING VINCENT

Saoirse Ronan was one of the stars repainted for the gorgeous-looking Loving Vincent.

Entirely hand-painted by a team of more than 100 specially-trained artists, this Oscar-nominated, animated historical mystery is a breathtaking achievement. 

Saoirse Ronan, Chris O'Dowd provide the vocals and visages as Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman attempt to unravel the last days of troubled artist Vincent van Gogh.

SWEET COUNTRY

Sam Neill stars in Sweet Country.

From a beautiful, lyrical opening scene simply involving a dark bubbling pot and evocative audio to its devastating denouement, Warwick Thornton's Aussie western is a triumph of taut storytelling and visual flair. 

Inspired by a real-life incident in the late 1920s, this is a tale that draws you in with its colourful characters and grips, haunts and outrages with its scenarios and injustice 

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

Frances McDormand fully deserved her Oscar for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Built around grieving mother Mildred Hayes' (a quite brilliant Frances McDormand) quest for justice in a small town, Martin McDonagh brings all his playwrighting and film-making skills to bear in creating a simply stunning, subversive tale.

This is a movie that will leave you exhilarated, exhausted and entertained as you experience a vast-range of emotions during its near two-hour running time.

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 - Stuff