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.

I exist

Would anyone be surprised if I said that 2017 was depressing?
Perhaps not.
But it feels like I've been lost a bit sad for some time over the past few years.

I shan't say that's not the case anymore, specifically that lost feeling. My general life trajectory still remains somewhat aimless and a little bit unwieldy but I continue to exist. For the most part, and this is a warm and reassuring surprise, I feel good.

The most important thing, and perhaps it's due to pure dumb luck rather than bravery or motivation, is that I've made a supreme effort to fix what ails me. There have been many things I've done which I didn't think I would. Getting out there, following through and making an effort.

Can't say it's all sunshine and roses but for the first time in a very long time I can genuinely see something close to progress. Some clarity instead of a fog of fear and confusion. I'm not afraid of my own company or the company of others.

Sure, it's a struggle getting by sometimes but rather than that being another obstacle in which I fail to succeed, I feel just about okay with where I and who I am. If one day everything seems more difficult than usual, deep down I can feel somewhat safe in the knowledge that it will pass and I'll find myself feeling okay soon enough.

This is essentially a message in a bottle in which I will come back to this place and see that at one point... for a moment in time, I was content within myself. I am perfectly happy just living life and enjoying what good I can find. A wistful and wonderful scream into the void.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Star Wars

I am enticed by the love Star Wars inspires, watching people who are inspired and excited by the films is wonderful. Something which spreads joy and adoration, I think that's what makes it all the more enjoyable.

Most die hard fans are brought into this world at a young age, it doesn't really work if you're a grown up and watch it for the first time. The reason people love Star Wars is because they watched it as a child, their parents showed them it or it was there from a young age. A fairytale, except instead of starting with 'Once Upon a Time...' this begins with 'A long time ago in a galaxy far away...' There are villains and heroes and princesses, wise men and magic. The stories are about conquering anger and fear and fighting the good fight. It's a story that's been told a thousand times but it's structured and created in way that feels unique and magical in it's own right.

I just wanted to say that I love how people feel so connected to this world which has been created. It's pure entertainment but it appeals to a deeper nature in people, it burrows inside and inspires so much thought and love. It's a fun film, it's exciting and thrilling and hurtles forward without a moments thought, but there is a love and affection which reflects the people who have grown up being inspired by this world.

I find myself not so much bothered that it's a rehash of A New Hope. I enjoyed it for what it was, a fairytale telling the same story but with new and old faces. I enjoy it so much more because it's glorious seeing the world embrace their wonder and joy and just have a good time...

The Fall

So Doctor Who finished and another show I had a great interest in started up again, The Fall. It's a BBC Drama, their highest rated which finished it's first series 18 months ago to rapturous applause for all those who love their crime dramas sinister and dark with an intelligent edge. So I thought, why not write about the second series. The quality TV show I watched and loved many months ago is now disintegrating before my very eyes and these reviews will reveal my growing frustration.

Episode One

Episode Two

Episode Three

Doctor Who Series 8

I offered to help an old friend out by writing about Doctor Who for his website. He was going to, but I pulled his ear by convincing him I was a massive Doctor Who fan and had lots of interesting things to say. It started as a preview of what I thought would happen in the new series with the new Doctor, this then grew into weekly reviews. Anyways, that kind of fits my modus operandi round here, so I'll post the links on here for anyone who wants to see. It feels exciting though, someone other than myself posting my ramblings into the world wide web. The reviews are written over the weekend and posted on Wednesdays, I think. They were on the front page of the site for a while which was kind of exciting; that's worn off now but the episodes keep improving so I'm very much enjoying myself.

Preview for Season 8

Deep Breath

Into the Dalek

Robot of Sherwood

Listen

Time Heist 

I was off on my holidays during the week they showed The Caretaker so I did not get to review that episode. Gutted, because it was a good one too.

Kill the Moon

Mummy on the Orient Express

Flatline

In the Forest of the Night

Dark Water

Death in Heaven

Boyhood

I love this, I love it so much, I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. Oddly enough I will from this point it would seem I can only speak in clichés. I have also apparently stared at this screen two days since seeing the film and still can't construct anything coherent or worthwhile saying apart from endless platitudes about it's magnificence, that's dull, I'm trying to be more critical. Well, in saying critical, I will endeavour to at least define why I like this film, that's where I'll start I reckon.

The very core of Boyhood is that it's a film which took 12 years to make, Richard Linklater gathered up his team and actors when he could at one point for a couple of weeks each year and shot some scenes and then cobbled together this film, the premise being that of following a young boy from the age of 6 through to graduating at 18 and going to college. We essentially drop in on moments in his life and watch him grow and develop and become a young man which is... it's the most intimate experience I've had at a cinema in a while. Perhaps intimate isn't the right word, but with these snapshots into this kid's life you see him and learn about him and how his experiences have shaped him, it feels like you understand him, but as with any other human being, he still surprises you. I feel like I'm using the word intimate wrong but I can't think of anything other which would fit what I'm trying to say and using a thesaurus would feel cheap. Seeing a young boy grow into a man, watching him adjust to his hairstyles, his acne, his limbs stretching out, his voice changing, his behaviour and style grow and finding himself over the years, how is that not intimate?

What feels really magical about Boyhood is that it's essentially a time capsule, starting from 2001 and running through to 2013 - the film doesn't actually tell you when any of it is set but uses signifier like presidents, phones, certain cultural phenomena to keep you pegged into what time it is, but no one ever explicitly says when any of this is going on (obviously it doesn't really feed into natural conversation and that's not what the film was going for.) Anyway the first real indication of when we start the film would be older sister of the main character singing Britney Spears - Oops I did it Again, this is mirrored at a later point when another girl will be singing something from High School Musical in the future which was sweet. They also play tracks popular at the time to give you a feel of the time. Also the fashion is a bit of an indication - the whole gypsy peasant blouse his mum wears at the start was a thing at the turn of the millennium... Coming back to the film in the future it would basically stand as a kind of reminder of what this period was like, not just for the family involved but for everyone, it draws on nostalgia as much as anything else, kind of like a historical novel set in a time just gone by.

The film follows Mason Jr, a kid who by the grace of God actually turned out to be a very convincing actor, but then that could spark a debate of nature/nurture, having spent nearly all of his life acting in this film was it predestined that he would be a good actor or was it the time spent chronicling his existence which made him into a good actor? Could be either but I would guess at the latter to be perfectly honest. The film drew on the lead's experiences and his own growth as a driving force and you could say the character and the actor are inextricably linked, but of course the actor didn't have the same experiences as the character to define him. The film made me think so hard about all this stuff, and to be honest anything that makes my brain whir with activity like this is due my respect. Sticking with the acting, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play the kid's parents. Ms Arquette has definitely grown as an actor over the years and by the end of the film she is yanking at my heartstrings and stamping them on the floor, I was so deeply affected by her performance in those later years (early on it's pretty rough going...).

I really can't express how different an experience this film is. What we learn about the main character is subtly expressed, and then as he grows before our eyes and becomes more aware he articulates how his experiences have shaped him, and we know because we've seen them happen, it's just wonderful and rewarding for me at least.

At this point I would just highly recommend and it and tell anyone to see it because it's a worthwhile experience and I loved it.