2015 - Whiplash
2016 - The Hateful Eight
2017...
The following is my top 5 films of the year, all of which were 5 star recommended by my good self.
Disagree? Of course you will.
I wouldn't have it any other way but a few of you seem to enjoy/troll these so I'll keep doing them.
Also, this post should take the blog past 10,000 hits so thanks for that also.
Lets wrap this shit up! Starting with No.5
5.
Baby Driver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XMuUVw7TOM
I had the opportunity to go to one of the Odeon Screen Unseen events. For those not in the know, you pay a reduced admission to see a about to be released hotly buzzed about movie. It wasn't guaranteed to be Baby Driver but it ticked all of those boxes and the relief in the cinema when the titles ran was immense.
I knew the basic premise but what I didn't know was the concept of how it plays out and the opening scene linked above sets the tone as to whether you would find Baby Driver your kind of flick. Essentially the cinematography, the dialogue, the whole setting of the scene centres on the music which is pretty much the opposite of how cinema works. If Baby, the main character drops a cup of coffee for example, it fits the timing of the music because that came first and the coffee spill was inserted to sync to the track. Get it?
Above all else, Baby Driver is the coolest film of the year.
The music is cracking and there are plenty of tunes you knew and plenty that you will add to your play list once you finish watching. It's the film that Shazam was born to accommodate.
Add some fresh faces with established character actors surrounding them, polished car chases and a relentless third act and you have yourselves a good time.
Obviously none of us knew to what extent the Hollywood sex scandal would rock the industry and to some extent, Baby Driver suffers as it features a role performed by Kevin Spacey. Without getting too deep into it, this film shouldn't suffer because of what he did which should be the same for his other meatier roles (Se7en) although some (American Beauty) may take on a different context. Chinatown hasn't been banned simply because Roman Polanski directed it, Pulp Fiction continues to be screened on TV even though Weinstein paid for it and Baby Driver should be enjoyed despite its bad luck. At least they didn't have to reshoot a whole movie in a month like Ridley Scott did...
Rant over!
4.
Dunkirk
(Blind Watch)
This was very hard to resist but having closed my eyes to Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, I'm not going to stop now. Nolan's films among other things a visceral journey and why would I want to ruin that months prior in a trailer? As I sat in multiple screenings this year and had to listen to the pounding Hans Zimmer score with my head down, it was all worth it in the end.
The story of Dunkirk was unknown to me (before this came out, I assumed Dunkirk related to Ireland?!) so a history lesson was a welcome addition and for those expecting a Saving Private Ryan gorefest are to be disappointed. This is about survival, not death. The enemy are seldom seen in the flesh. Your attention is transfixed on the British and even though you may know how it turns out, you still find yourself willing for the cavalry to arrive and save the world.
Tom Hardy features in a pivotal but also minor role (his face covered with a fighter pilot mask similar to that of Bane) but the stars of the film are the faces you've never seen before and weirdly, Harry Styles of One Direction. If he wasn't Harry, we wouldn't be talking about him but ever since it was announced, the hysteria of his casting was similar to when a blond haired chap got the role of 007 and we all know how wrong the tabloids/internet was then. Styles escapes with his reputation intact in my opinion.
As with Baby Driver, sound is key but in a completely different way. The score is connected to time and that's because of Dunkirk's narrative structure. Each military assault (Air, Sea and Land) relates to a different period of time whether that be aerial dogfights (one hour), a risky channel crossing (one day) or in the instance of the 400,000 strong beach battalion unit, a week of uncertainty and nowhere to escape.
3.
La La Land
Back in January, this was doing the Oscar scene and all was well with the world. Then someone tripped a switch somewhere and a backlash was created. I have no idea why but typing this in December somehow seems more controversial then it would have done way back in the Spring.
La La Land is, as it turns out, a marmite film. There are people who love it and there are the 'other' people. The mole people who love shade and rainy days. They missed out on that job 12 years ago and take out their hate on things that people love like puppies, caramel and winning scratchcards. Obviously I love it because warm blood pumps through my veins and I have working eyes and ears. Emma Stone works her socks off and fully deserves the plaudits she received, the original songs are uplifting and will stay in your head months after you've heard them.
However the film doesn't stay with you for how it looks or how it sounds, although both most definitely do that. For me, it's how it makes you feel throughout. You are transported to a simpler time despite the film being set in present day. There is no hate, no Trump, no DC Extended Universe.
Only Sun.
2.
The Handmaiden
(Blind Watch)
According to Wikipedia, The Handmaiden is "a South Korean erotic psychological thriller film inspired from the novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule."
No you haven't been redirected to Sight and Sound's best films of the year list, it's still the same Adam who watches Die Hard every other month and only eats orange foods. Back in the day I used to watch foreign film like nobodies business but as the years roll on, I found myself with less hours to waste away and choices to either watch Robert Downey Jnr fly around in a metal suit or the best that world cinema had to offer. I usually chose the former.
Let me just say this. The Handmaiden is sexy as fuck! It's also very funny but its selling point is pure unadulterated eroticism. Luckily, its required to tell the story and not just tossed in for the sake of it. After the initial shock of what you're witnessing, you become accustomed to it and unclench the armrest. As I mentioned/pasted from Wiki, the setting of the story has moved entire continents and time periods. Whilst I cannot claim to have read Fingersmith, the author has said that this is not a literal adaptation but rather "inspired" by the novel and its central themes.
I find myself noticing the theme and use of time in this year's list (only Baby Driver in my top 5 tells a linear story with a straighforward plot ) and The Handmaiden is no different. Its narrative structure is told from varying perspectives and in flashbacks and sometimes out of order. It's a great device to tell a story of deception and romance.
1.
A Ghost Story
(Blind Watch)
It’s not a horror film.
It’s not a thriller.
It’s exactly what it says it is...A Ghost Story.
It’s a terribly simple premise but with themes of loss, loneliness and life that could have you debating for hours. A couple struggling through marriage suffer a sudden tragedy that changes their lives forever. I don’t wish to sell it much beyond that because I honestly don’t want to go beyond that initial plot point for fear of ruining the experience. If someone told me what it was about before I watched it, I feel like it would not be my film of the year. It’s unlikely you’ve seen a trailer so please, please, try to find it online or on DVD and give it a go without reading the synopsis.
To be honest, it would have been much easier to have picked The Handmaiden or La La Land as they can be described at length but it wouldn’t have been correct. This film has stayed with me ever since I saw it and it will not leave me alone. At times during the film, I failed to blink. It is mesmerising whilst also being very still and calm. 99% of the film takes place in the one location but even that takes you to places you could never have imagined going to.
It stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck and is directed by David Lowery, who I’ll admit I’ve never heard of. It has the sense (at least to me) that it was previously a short film concept expanded to a feature similar to Whiplash. It was made for only $100,000 which sickens me that someone thought of this premise and made it for next to nothing while I languish here with no ideas of my own.
I only know two people who have seen this film, one loved it and one hated it. I know plenty of people that would think this is a load of shit, my wife included but they would be missing out.
It is simply...
A Ghost Story.
