This year, I keep saying it, has been an odd one for films, especially at the festivals. There has been notable ends to massive franchises, Avengers and now Star Wars, as well as some fantastic stories with women front and centre as well as films by women getting the praise they deserve. These are my films of the year, usually picked from what I've written about each month, but we all know I lapsed towards the end. I have included films from festivals as they were brilliant and I think count as a release in the UK. If you're wondering where Jojo Rabbit and Portrait of a Woman on Fire is, they come out next year so I'm afraid won't be included in this year.
This one crept up and made a huge impact on all comic book fans. Its the
best comic book film I've seen, maybe even better than my beloved
Guardians of the Galaxy. This Spider-Man film not only manages to side
step some of the terrible films that came out, it even pokes fun at
them. The fact that there are multiple universes and each one there is a
Spider-Person must mean that there are multiple versions of all the
Marvel characters. In this film, this is Miles' time to shine. The film
introduces a new Spider-Man, passes the baton, gives him a worthy story
to work with, gives him THE best mentor a would be hero could ask (Peter
B. Parker perfectly cast/voiced by Jake Johnson) for AND even has time
to introduce 4 other great Spider characters from multiple universes AND
bring villain King Pin back to his original place, fighting Spidey as
well make Dr Oct a woman voiced by the amazing Kathryn Hahn, literally
all my dreams came true with this film. Story and characters aside, the
film is brilliantly animated, making it look like a comic literally came
to life, with the voiceover, speech bubbles, the black lines of the
panels. This film is so brilliantly constructed, it shows up all the
previous efforts, this film is pure comic book heart.
I first saw the trailer late at night while clicking through various
posts and immediately regretted and was excited by it. Using a classic
hip hop song to lure you in to the hellscape that await you - genius. A
simple story at the core of the film, a family goes on vacation to the
beach and are then terrorised by their distorted doubles, leaves so much
room for the bigger issues being explored. Appreciating every aspect of
the film and how much actual detail in the film is actually enjoyable,
inbetween stuffing my mouth with my jacket to stop me yelling out in
fear of course. The fact that Jordan Peele's horror film(s) are grounded
in the horrific nature of human beings mkaes the horror feel much
closer to home, even if a little bit of sci-fi is used to enhance the
premise. With creepy twists and turns throughout as well as
forehsadowing galore, its much more than I expected.
So much has been said about Claire Denis' science fiction slightly
horror toned drama where Robert Pattinson looks after a baby, at least
that's putting it lightly. Death row inmates are given the chance to
serve science by journeying into space to extract energy from a black
hole. Aboard this particular ship is Dr Dibs, who is obsessed with
making babies. She collectes sperm from the willing male inmates and
tries to impregnate the female inmates. There is also the terrifyingly
shot 'fuck box' which the crew uses to masturbate, all except Monte,
nicknamed, the monk. Existence on the ship shifts from sedative induced
nights to bleak days, some of the crew finds solace in the ship's
garden, others stare into the vast space around them. The mystery
unfolds of how Monte comes to be the only crew member left, plus a baby
to care for but the true myteries are left unanswered. Such as why were
they sent there, what crimes brought them to the ship (only two inmates'
backgrounds are revealed) and are there more ships apart from the one
with stray dogs? It's a science fiction peice of art that you can dwell
on for days. Horror, is other people and the feeling that you're not in
control seeps into the cracks of the ship and story and never really
leaves you, as well as that damn 'fuck box'.
An ode to being in the 8th Grade or in the UK, I think this is first year of secondary school. Captures exactly how it feels to be this age. I wrote all about how much I loved this film and
everything its about
HERE.
Is it an origin story or is a slow burn thriller into the dark and dirty depressing side of comedy? Well maybe both. Its the film that caused the biggest discourse of the year. I wrote a long post on this one, so brace yourself, especially if you didn't like the film. Read it
HERE.
A brilliantly scripted
story about two best friends and one night where they want to prove they are
fun as well as smart. My post about the film is
HERE.
This was my favourite film from EIFF and its about a woman who really
can't be bothered to 'grow up', its superb. Really hoping this still gets a
release in the UK. My review is over at VultureHound
HERE.
Pedro Almodovar is back and he's back not with a vengence or comedy or
thriller but a story very close to his heart, or at least it feels that
way. Full review is over at Vulturehound
HERE.
Jean
Dujardin is Georges. He is obessesed with his deerskin jacket. What if
his jacket was the only one in the world? Armed with a video camera, a
plastic poncho and a ceiling fan blade, he can make that dream come true. The full review is over at Vulturehound and can be read HERE.
Two best friends, one writer, one party connoisseur, live in Dublin drinking
their way through life, until one starts to look at their live without the ‘fun’
filter. I wrote more about the film
HERE.
Based the novel 'The Sopranos' taking us back to the 90s, a group of
friends are let loose on the streets of Edinburgh before a school choir
competition, all with similar things in mind, booze, boys and having
fun. My full review can be read
HERE on Zavvi.
