Films of 2017

Ha, I know! It's almost the end of January. Like most normal people, I was lazy in this most depressing of months and chose to spend my time ignoring whatever resolutions I made, ignoring whatever plans I made and eating the remainder of my Christmas chocolate.

Maybe this the year where I will finally prove to be productive?

I watched a lot of films in 2017 but, as ever, I forgot to write them down. Now here's the part where I try to remember which ones I really liked. Well... liked is probably a strong word.

Star Wars - The Last Jedi

So this provoked a big sensation across the internet. Upon viewing it for the first time I spent the whole run time waiting desperately to see what happens next. This is not a mature or edifying way to watch a film. The run time crawled by and characters consistently failed or fell apart and I was left feeling bewildered and a little bit underwhelmed upon leaving the cinema. So, as is tradition, I went to see the Star Wars film at the cinema again. This time alone with no one to side eye to ensure they were still watching and being entertained.

On my second viewing time just slowed down, the characters suddenly made sense. As it turned out, the film was quite an intense character study for all involved. The film was not only a deconstruction of what I expected from not only a Star Wars movie, but what I expected of a big overblown Hollywood extravaganza. They took my money and left me confused that first time, but that was all because of the story they were telling.

To create a film with such complexity and for it to appear on the surface as popcorn fodder was quite impressive. Love is a strong word, admire seems more accurate. Through that admiration, after my third viewing I was very much enamoured. That's probably because anything which inspires hatred immediately wins my fascination.

Mother!

That reminds me! I saw Mother! That certainly provoked a reaction.

The film seemed to take everything that was Aaronofsky has pretty much been obsessed with throughout his career and mix them into an allegory. The guy has an interest in religion, idolisation of women, indelible imagery, the curse/pain of the artist and... well trying to be as opaque as can be within a cinematic world. He really doesn't care if you don't get it, he relishes it.
So, to the uninitiated, or the uninterested, the film was about Jennifer Lawrence with her perfectly smooth face playing Mother Nature whilst married to Javier Bardem who lets all those messy humans into their shared home and the place essentially gets totally wrecked.
All I can honestly say is that the film was experience. Having sat through Aaronofsky oeuvre, it felt like I had to know what he had done next because, without a doubt, his films are gorgeous and knotty. I can safely say, the guy has serious issues and should seek help. I also have no intention of watching that again.

The Square

A Swedish film about a myopic museum curator with some questionable morals. The film repeatedly presents you with a quandary, 'What would you do?' and you spend most of it thinking, the absolute opposite of that guy. Also the centre piece in which a fella who is pretty much aping a room full of rich people at an elaborate dinner went on for an uncomfortable long time and presented the same question again and again. Are these people insane? Should we continue to laugh at them or just pity the state of the world?

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

This is sweeping up around awards season and it's probably due to the prescience of the subject matter rather than the quality of the film itself.

I feel like I can safely say in my heart of hearts, In Bruges is Martin McDonagh's best film and it's his first. Everything since has felt ever-so slightly derivative of the initial spark which made Bruges so good. There's a brutal reality in his stories which I like. He also seems to acknowledge that people's stories and how their stories are perceived by those around them can be quite compelling.

In Seven Psychopaths he stretched this as far as it would go for what felt like his own amusement. But he tried to have his cake and eat it to by acknowledging the plight of the female characters in such films and then failing to present a remotely compelling female character. So to fix this he made 3 Billboards which plays out as a morality play involving deeply damaged people.

I love Frances McDormand and her role as Marge in Fargo is not only delightful but it's a powerful example of how a female character can be compelling and smart without losing any of her femininity or identity.

Frances McDormand's character in 3 Billboards could be gender-swapped without a bat of an eyelid. Perhaps I shouldn't complain and I should be happy with such roles in which a 'badass' flawed female character takes centre stage but to be perfectly honest, it didn't sit right. The rest of the female characters were an embarrassment or underutilised. It didn't fix the problem, it just highlighted how few genuinely good roles there are for women.

Don't get me started on racist Sam Rockwell.

Killing of a Sacred Deer

Oh Colin Farrell... I missed you. Apparently this film was based on the tale of Agamemnon. I know I spelt that wrong.

It's a Greek tragedy told with gorgeous camera angles, stilted dialogue and bizarre human interactions. I don't think I can say much about this one but it made me laugh far more than it should have done.

Baby Driver

Without a doubt quite possibly the most perfectly edited constructed film I've ever seen with an absolutely banging soundtrack. And that's just the first 6 minutes. Might have lagged a little after that...

Proselytising about Edgar Wright seems redundant, especially after all the mean things I said about the World's End... The guy is the definition of auteur and has a specific vision and talent which can drive his work beyond what a viewer can expect. Ha I said drive.

Perhaps the characters were one note and their motivations were one dimensional, there was a distinct lag in the story when there wasn't any music playing or cars belting around but to be honest, it was fun and classy and well worth my time.

Get Out

Laugh out loud, horror, social commentary, Daniel Kaluuya!! (hey Skins alumni!)

It all just worked. It was funny, it was spooky, it was thrilling. I wish I could remember more than just sensations but I'd just recite the plot and ruin the fun of it.

American Assassin 

Dylan O'Brien, the kid from Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner trilogy of films, he's growing up to wear tight shirts and be an international assassin. Plus he got his top off.

My intentions were distinctly dishonourable in seeing that particularly film... But it was a serviceable action film with contemporary villains and a decent stupid plot to move things along. The kid has talent and he had Michael Keaton busting his balls the whole journey. Much stupid fun had by all and a surprisingly decent action flick.

American Made

I felt like throwing old Cruisey a bone and it was the least rubbish film at the cinema when I was bored. Also, I could have, but did not, see American Assassin again.

Domnhall Gleeson turned up with a natty American accent. Tom smuggled just about everything on a plane to South America in the times of Pablo Escobar and the like. It made me appreciate how truly disturbed the US foreign policy can be - it was based on a true story.

It was long but surprisingly not totally rubbish and Tom Cruise's shit-eating grin didn't quite irk me as much as it usually would. It's nice to see a film where he doesn't have psychic powers and manages to predict everything before it happens with an eye roll and knowing smile. I liked him skidding around on a kids bike covered in cocaine.

And that's all I can remember presently.