Reel and Roll Awards (3): Best Sound Editing/Mixing 2018

Best Sound Editing

1. First Man
2. Roma
3. Mission Impossible - Fallout 
4. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 
5. Leave No Trace
6. Hereditary 
7. A Quiet Place
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 
9. Blindspotting
10. Burning

This is one category that Academy did a pretty good job in to begin with just in terms of nominating the best two sounding films of the year. In terms of Roma and First Man I'll give the former the slight edge just in terms of how it manages to mine so much impact from its use of essentially any sound in any setting to contribute to the visual and audio storytelling, though First Man does this too in a different, more grand, no less impressive way. Other highlights: the fantastic action sound editing in the likes of the latest Mission Impossible and likewise in an animated format in Into the Spider-Verse, the brilliant use of it for horror effects and sounds (or lack thereof in the latter) in Hereditary and A Quiet Place, the pitch-perfect if understated work of Blindspotting and Burning, the unquestionable technical aptitude of Buster Scruggs extending to capturing every sound of the Wild West beautifully particularly in the Tom Waits section, and last but not least Leave No Trace, which in an incredibly subdued fashion uses sound and silence, both in the wilderness and in the 'real' world, to create such great contrasting tones, and in that downright brilliant final sequence the use of nature sounds to make for a rather startling, somewhat unexpected emotional impact. 

Best Sound Mixing

1. First Man
2. Roma 
3. Burning
4. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 
5. A Quiet Place 
6. Mission Impossible - Fallout
7. Mandy 
8. The Favourite
9. Isle of Dogs 
10. Cold War 

The sound mixing in A Quiet Place and Burning are particularly remarkable works of art in themselves, as both contribute so much to the respective atmospheres of their films, 'creepy' for sure but in the case of the latter in particular, going so much further beyond just that. Mandy is a great instance of using the mix of jarring sounds and ethereal music, and sometimes the other way around, to create an atmosphere all of its own, same with The Favourite and to an extent, Isle of Dogs, while Cold War combines song and sounds to impeccable effect, and Mission Impossible fisticuffs, bangs, crashes, everything galore to equally evocative effect. Buster Scruggs once again is an impeccable concoction of score and sound, particular mention must go to any of the Comanche attacks, and the Buster Scruggs songs, which all feel as if they're just playing right in front of you while the score feels very much in place. My top two are again a great top two, but I'll go with First Man here pretty easily, it's been awhile since I've seen such an incredible combination of score and sound throughout the film, not just in the big scenes, but I love touches like to the press conference scenes, and that incredible finale I just cannot talk enough about.