- 20th Century Women
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dunkirk
- The Fits
- Free Fire
- A Ghost Story
- Good Time
- Jackie
- Jane
- La La Land
...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
December 31, 2017 at 06:50PM31 December 2017
Soundtracks 2017
Disappointments of 2017
The new films that disappointmented me the most, I did actually enjoy the majority of these but perhaps not as much as I thought I would.
- Alien: Covenant
I did enjoy this but it came dangerously close to ruining the entire franchise.
- Baby Driver
Another film I liked but failed to live up to my own high expectations. I think part of the problem was I didn't really 'get' the music and the music is a big part of it. Would like to watch it again and probably like it more but now we have to deal with Spacey so who knows.
- The Death of Stalin
I wished I'd liked this more.
- The Fits
I was really looking forward to this but it didn't live up to the hype.
- Justice League
So disappointingly reviewed I didn't even bother to go and see it.
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer
I thought I'd like this one more than I did as well.
- Okja
Not the film itself but the fact I couldn't get to see it in a cinema because it was released by Netflix. Some films like Mudbound and The Meyerowitz Stories are fine for TV but this and perhaps things like Bright feel like they should be shown in theatres.
- The Salesman
Didn't work for me.
- Silence
A disappointing start to the year.
- The Square
Great moments but too long. May enjoy it more on a second viewing but is it too long to sit down to watch again?
29 December 2017
I Am Not Your Negro, 2016 - ★★★★
Another film that should be historic but ends up being horribly relevant.
December 29, 2017 at 01:10PMThe Ghoul, 2016 - ★★★
Great debut that's likely to become a cult favourite. It's a little rough around the edges and perhaps more like a long short-film or TV episode but it ends in a way that makes you want to watch it all again and feels like it will stand up to multiple viewings.
December 29, 2017 at 01:05PMCameraperson, 2016 - ★★★★
The most moving collections of outtakes you're likely to see. I know it's more than that but it is surprising just how wonderfully this all comes together to provide a fascinating look at the world today
December 29, 2017 at 01:00PM28 December 2017
Supersonic, 2016 - ★★★
Well made but goes on for a bit too long without revealing anything I didn’t already know (Noel and Liam don’t always get on).
December 28, 2017 at 06:18PMBest films not yet released in the UK in 2017
The best films I saw in 2017 that have not yet been released in the UK
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
12 January 2018
- Journeyman
16 Feb 2018
- Bad Genius
TBA
- You Were Never Really Here
- The Breadwinner
- The Rider
- Wonderstruck
- The Cakemaker
- Western
- My Friend Dahmer
...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
December 28, 2017 at 05:09PMThe best films I'd already seen before their 2017 UK release
The best films that came out in the UK during 2017 that I had already seen before their UK release.
Unless I saw them again I have not included these films in my main 2017 list.
December 28, 2017 at 05:03PM
Shaun the Sheep Movie, 2015 - ★★★½
Beautifully shot with wonderful attention to detail (as it the usual case with Aardman) but I found it to be lacking something to make it great.
December 28, 2017 at 08:54AM24 December 2017
Elle, 2016 - ★★★★
Trying to catch up with some films before the end of the year and an unexpected bonus that this is a not-very-festive Christmas film. I really enjoyed the dark humour, performances and character interactions but though the plot got a bit lost along the way.
It failed to keep my full attention but that might just be because I'm too easily distracted at home and yet I would have happily liked to have spent more time with these characters.
December 24, 2017 at 12:02AM21 December 2017
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 2017 - ★★★★½
Magnificent seems like the best word to describe The Last Jedi. As the film ended I was left thinking it was a 5-star experience. The film had it's flaws but everything came together to form a whole greater than the sum of its parts. I genuinely can't understand how anyone other than J.J. Abrams (who not only has to follow this but whose characters and stories probably haven't ended up where he wanted them) can have a problem. The moments that jar are mostly down to character flaws rather than any missteps in the film making. It's the same things with the story points that feel like they don't work - they are a result of characters making mistakes.
It probably is too long but I didn't mind and I nearly always have a problem with long films. I really enjoyed the Canto Bight scenes and they feel like an important addition to the universe (and perhaps Johnson's new trilogy) although the set up about getting there was entirely unnecessary. The humour does sometimes feels out of place but it's also very funny and as Taika Waititi said in defence of Thor: Ragnarok there really isn't enough laughter in the world at the moment.
I nearly didn't see this in 3D but I thought there might be some Imax scenes (I didn't notice if there were). The 3D is quite effective in a lot of places but the ghosting and lack of focus in other parts was an unnecessary distraction.
December 21, 2017 at 12:51PM19 December 2017
Showdown: Bad Santas
For the final Showdown of the year, list your top holiday movies… with a twist! We’re talking non-traditional seasonal films: bad Santas, Hanukkah horrors, festive freak-shows, Krampus kitsch, Yuletide action. If it’s on your naughty list, or simply a very merry indie alternative to cheesy holiday blockbusters, we want to know about it. P.S. We want this to be professional, efficient, adult, cooperative. Not a lot to ask.
December 19, 2017 at 02:13PM18 December 2017
The Child in Time, 2017 - ★★★
It's fine, didn't really do too much for me though.
December 18, 2017 at 08:33PMThe Disaster Artist, 2017 - ★★★★
A week later than planned but really glad I didn't give up trying to see this hugely entertaining and amazingly bizarre story. I've not seen The Room (this did make me want to but only a little) and whilst some moments obviously have more significance if you are already familiar it didn't really matter for me.
December 18, 2017 at 08:32PMMudbound, 2017 - ★★★
A different look at lives in Jim Crow era America, The story seems does seem to meander around different characters and times without saying much before it gets to an impactful climax.
It's also depressing how very relevant the film still feels in 2017.
December 18, 2017 at 08:27PMStar Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015 - ★★★★
Third viewing and the smaller screen and prior knowledge do lessen the impact somewhat. It's still a great experience which I think is really made by all of the fantastic smaller moments.
December 18, 2017 at 08:18PMFargo, 1996 - ★★★★★
Still great and interesting to watch it again now after the TV series.
December 18, 2017 at 08:13PM16 December 2017
07 December 2017
Gremlins, 1984 - ★★★★
Plus Q&A with Zach Galligan
Probably more than any of the other Spielberg produced 80s films it's Gremlins that I remember the most fondly. I don't actually know when I first saw the film but I had the toys and audio books and perhaps most memorably the text adventure game (take sword, behead gremlin).
Largely because of fantastic animatronics the film still stands up today and their are only a few moments that feel their age. As Galligan mentioned after the film it's the constant battle between Spielberg's wholesomeness and Dante's mischievousness that makes the film so effective. That both sides of the film work as well as they do is quite remarkable. It's a slight shame that it never quite reaches a truly magically place but it's still a great piece of entertainment.
December 07, 2017 at 09:05PM04 December 2017
Blood Simple, 1984 - ★★★★
Amazingly I hadn't seen Blood Simple before this, I always assumed I had. It still works 30+ years later and seems like a typical Coen Brothers film (if there can be such a thing). Impressively put together by a group of first time filmmakers it's a wonderfully enjoyable tale of mistaken revenge.
December 04, 2017 at 09:48PMAquarius, 2016 - ★★★
As much as I liked Clara and was intrigued to find out what would happen I found the pacing and excessive running time hard work. A great ending made it worthwhile. Despite complaining about the length I did keep thinking how I may have preferred to see more of this family in a TV series.
The introduction and Q&A with the director made several references to the Brazilian politics and Cannes protest of which I knew nothing so perhaps a lot of the film was wasted on me. The rest of the audience certainly seemed to appreciate it more.
December 04, 2017 at 09:40PMThe Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), 2017 - ★★★½
Unlike Okja this feels like it is better suited to home viewing although I can't help wonder if I had seen it in the cinema if I would have found it more engaging (I still struggle to not be distracted at home). Despite liking all the characters, performances, stories and filmmaking (the editing is particularly fun) it somehow never quite came together for me.
December 04, 2017 at 09:28PM
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