I’d be very keen to hear about the new films that you enjoyed most during 2017. I’m particularly interested in the “smaller” films: the ones without a large advertising budget. But I am equally enthusiastic to hear about anything else that floated your cinematic boat.
I have an ulterior motive. I’ve become involved in the Film Club at our local cinema and tomorrow evening we are going to meet to decide the spring programme. So. your favourite film of the year might be turning up at a Stockholm, suburban cinema in the next few months…
Off the top of my head, my favourites of the year include Baby Driver, Sami Blood, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Aquarius, The Other Side of Hope, La pazza gioa, Patterson and Paddington.
SteveT says
Call me by your name made a big impression on me – especially the fathers speech towards the end of the film.
Baby Driver was very good but don’t bother with Dunkirk – biggest piece of over hyped drivel I wasted my money on this year.
Think it was this year but Manchester by the Sea also excellent.
fishface says
Yeah, Manchester by the Sea is a cracking flick.
I, like I guess many others came to it thinking “Shane Meadows type film with oiks in trakkies” featuring pregnant teens on a rubbish strewn beach.
Clue…it’s not Manchester-England.
Kaisfatdad says
Call me by your name looks like it would be an excellent choice. Thanks!
Agree with you about Manchester by the Sea which was shown here a few months back and got a very positive response.
timtunes says
KFD, you might enjoy Mudbound
It’s having a cinema release alongside being on Netflix
Quality cast and an arresting story of poverty in Mississippi – with the the effects of returning home from the WW2 playing a key part
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xucHiOAa8Rs
Sewer Robot says
Not seen many films this year but I notice, perusing the mags, that The Handmaiden is widely considered a 2017 film (delayed U.K. release?) and it is very special..
duco01 says
Yes, the Handmaiden was released in 2017 in Sweden and the UK, certainly.
Beautiful film. A real cinematic treat. Amazing that it wasn’t South Korea’s official nomination for the Oscars.
slotbadger says
This is splendid. Yes, it was always going to basically be ‘The Thick of It’ set in Stalinist Russia, but the cast, script and gags are wonderful and that bleak, black Iannucci humour in full effect throughout
monsignorbonehead says
I haven’t seen many 2017 releases but The Handmaiden and Manchester By The Sea were both excellent. I haven’t seen The Death Of Stalin but will be surprised if I don’t love it.
Black Type says
Lowering the tone somewhat, I really liked La La Land and Thor: Ragnorok.
And I really loved Paddington 2.
Kaisfatdad says
No no no! You are raising the tone. All three are top notch films and extremely welcome on this thread.
I really liked this Guardian list because it includes the likes of Paddington and Spiderman as well as more obscure arthouse stuff.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/29/the-best-films-of-2017-so-far-la-la-land-get-out-lady-macbeth
I have no time for anyone who thinks that a film can’t really be a great film because, for example, it stars Tom Cruise and had a big budget. Edge of Tomorrow! Fabulous!
Paul Wad says
I saw a trailer for Paddington 2 recently and it tickled me. The wife took the kids to the first one, so I hadn’t seen it, but I sat down with my 7 year old lad and watched it the other day. It had us both laughing out loud, so we’re off to see number 2 when it reaches our local cinema in a fortnight. Can’t wait.
Kaisfatdad says
Mudbound does indeed look just perfect for our film club. And I can’t wait to see the Death of Stalin. To my astonishment though, it has no scheduled Swedish release date yet.
I’ve been browsing around about the films that are available to Swedish film clubs and was gob-smacked that a film I am really looking forward to seeing, Taika Waititi’s The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, went straight to DVD in Sweden. Quite inexplicable.
A sideline. The new digital technology has revolutionised life for small cinemas. In the old celluloid days, the small cinemas had to wait to get a copy of the popular new films. In 2017, a small local cinema can show a new release like Baby Driver, which we saw at the local cinema in Löttorp on Öland, the very weekend it is released. This means that the small cinemas benefit from TV or other advertising and get very healthily full houses.
I presume that UK cinemas are now also digitalised. Am I right?
Moose the Mooche says
Yes. And complete crap. One of the reasons I never go.
The other being the appalling behaviour of the patrons. Seriously, have you not eaten for days or something? Fuck sake, give it a rest…
davebigpicture says
I thought the argument of film over video was over. It certainly looks different but it’s hard to argue that film looks better than video any more.
I don’t miss the days of 35mm slides and film. They were a pain in the arse, inferior to modern video technology in quality and delivery.
I’ll give you the behaviour of the patrons though. They can shove their popcorn where the sun don’t shine.
mikethep says
You think that’s bad? Try “at-seat dining”, as the barbarous jargon has it. On top of everything else you have to put up with waitresses coming in and out.
https://www.eventcinemas.com.au/GoldClass
davebigpicture says
Jeez! That’s awful.
Paul Wad says
Blade Runner 2049, hands down. The original Blade Runner is one of my Top 5 of all time, so it was going to be difficult to live up to that, but whilst the sequel has it’s faults it did a ruddy great job. I usually find Gosling to be quite a dull and emotionless actor, but this role was perfect for him. I just wish they had kept Ford’s participation a secret, as that would have made a great surprise.
I watched it at the IMAX and it’s visually stunning. The soundtrack isn’t a patch on Vangelis’ soundtrack for the original (one of my favourite albums), but it worked perfectly in the context of the film. It was one of those films that stuck with me for days afterwards and I was hoping to catch it again when it came to our local independent cinema (a proper old cinema organ, intermissions for every film, a bar and the best popcorn I’ve tasted), as we get films a few weeks after everywhere else gets them, but we were away, so I am looking forward to seeing it again when the Blu Ray comes out.
Also enjoyed Thor: Ragnorak. We saw it at the IMAX in Times Square on the day it was released and that was an experience and a half. American audiences are crazy. Whooping, cheering, clapping, shouting and all sorts. The only downside was the smell. For some insane reason, Americans seem to like to smother their popcorn in liquid butter. It looked gross and once you smelled it you could just not rid yourself of the smell. Urgh!
Kaisfatdad says
Your cinema has a cinema organ! I am extremely envious. Cannot be many of those left.
Paul Wad says
We have regular shows as well, not that I’ve attended any, but there’s usually a lengthy queue of our local senior citizens every time they have a show. The cinema is used to put shows on too. It’s a very small town on the outskirts of Barnsley, but every time there’s an event people turn out in force.
Every now and again they put classic films on. I wish they’d do it more often. But it’s great watching double bills of old Hammer Horrors at the cinema.
At Christmas they are putting on a dozen Christmas films as usual, one of which is Trading Places, which I’ve seen a few times before, but watching it on the big screen appeals for a couple of reasons.
davebigpicture says
I was listening to Front Row tonight. A Matter of Life and Death is getting a cinema re run.
bricameron says
@Paul Wad. (Tittering) 😉
mikethep says
No, Tittering is just outside Stow-on-the-Wold.
hubert rawlinson says
This is the one I go to.
http://elland.nm-cinemas.co.uk/elland-history
Cinema organ too.
Oh and a volunteer run cinema in the next town.
Paul Wad says
This is ours:
http://www.penistoneparamount.co.uk/
So, er, even the name of the place has, er, an organ in it. Geddit.
It’s fab. As pubs in the town are shutting at an alarming rate (can’t be much more than a dozen in Penistone and the surrounding villages) the cinema keeps going strong. I watched Star Wars there back in 1977 (although we probably didn’t get it till 1978!).
bricameron says
Thanks @Paul Wad for acknowledging my getting your comment when others didn’t. Much appreciated.
Bri.🖕
Arthur Cowslip says
I always keep a running total of my top ten films each year for a film discussion group I’m in. Unless Star Wars manages to muscle in with a late entry, here it is for 2017, in order from the top:
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
La La Land
Toni Erdmann
Get Out
Mother!
The Ritual
T2 Trainspotting
The Death of Stalin
The Meyerowitz Stories
Lemonhope says
I watch few films (I’m not sure I’ve even been to the cinema this year – was ‘Arrival’ this year?) , but my friend who sees around two each week ( in the fucking cinema) ‘implores’ me to see The Disaster Artist.
Arthur Cowslip says
Don’t you like the cinema then? I can’t understand people’s antipathy for it.
I go about 40 or so times a year, using a monthly cinema pass. And I sit near the front where there are fewer people, so I don’t get annoyed by talking and slurping and crunching and phone screens. It helps to go alone as well, if that doesn’t sound too antisocial – nothing more distracting than sitting with friends who are clearly not enjoying the film as much as you.
Can I also recommend the new Odeon deluxe seats? Reclining! Foot rests! Tables! Luxury!
Bingo Little says
A good cinema is one of life’s great pleasures.
This Friday myself and a buddy are double billing the Disaster Artist and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation during the day at my absolute favourite movie emporium.
Several hours of uninterrupted movie watching in an environment where they kick you out if your phone lights up. Love the feeling of unplugging from all the nonsense of life and just focusing on one thing. Watching at home is no substitute.
I’d probably go to the movies every day, if I could.
Arthur Cowslip says
Same here!
Lemonhope says
I’m sure a good cinema is one of life’s great pleasures. When I find one I’ll let you know. I don’t want to yuk anyone’s yum, it’s just not for me. I can’t imagine there being 20 films worth watching in a year, never mind 40. My friend who goes twice a week recommends around ten a year to me. I like the sound of 4 of them. And watch 2. None of them at the cinema.
Having said all that, I’m going to the cinema on December 22nd. I have tickets for myself and my wife to see ‘Its A wonderful life’ at the Woolton. She’ll love it. And I’ll enjoy it too because it’ll make her happy
Arthur Cowslip says
I think what you’ve described there strangely encapsulates my feelings about music. I watch people compile their top 20 (or 50!) albums of the year with bafflement that they can find the time to listen to and appreciate that much music. My total count of new albums I’ve purchased in 2017 remains a fat zero!
Diddley Farquar says
Even when I most engaged with new music, I can’t say I had much more than half a dozen of the albums of the then current year. I’d often buy something a year or several years after release plus various oldies released longer ago. I would try a few things picked in music writers’ end of year lists with mixed results. Nowadays I am buying as much as ever but it’s mostly secondhand vinyl and that limits things to 60s, 70s, 80s. Nothing released in 2017 for me either. I listen to some 2017 music on Spotify and Youtube though. Lorde’s Green Light is probably the tune that most grabbed me and stuck. Fantastic.
Anyway, movies. Manchester By The Sea. Saw that. Yes it was very good I suppose. I’m just tired of these drab, gritty, slow moving studies of people and all their troubles. I want invention, imagination, style, visual poetry. It’s a visual medium after all. Not seen anything else from this year. Our film club is mostly last year’s films, or the year before that. I’ll have to do my list a year in arrears.
Arthur Cowslip says
If you want invention and imagination, I’d heartily recommend you go out and buy Baby Driver on Blu Ray immediately! And watch it loud! It’s a real thrill, a really good natured film – and a music lover’s dream. The main character listens to music constantly through headphones, and the rhythm of the film (things in the background, cuts…) synchronise to the music he listens to.
Diddley Farquar says
Sounds good. Worthy and meaningfull is all very well but entertain us!
minibreakfast says
Diddley, we ought to have a ‘New To You in 2017’ thread for those of us mining the past/playing catchup/scrabbling about in charity shops.
I’m sure someone will start one before December is out.
Diddley Farquar says
Yes. I’ve got 20 of those, no problem!
Lemonhope says
Oh minni, you are a wag 😆
minibreakfast says
??
I don’t get it, Lemon.
mikethep says
As ever, I’m mostly incapable of actually remembering what I’ve seen this year, beyond a couple of standouts. Looking through the various best-of lists shows an embarrassment of riches I’m going to have to catch up on sharpish. In no particular order, these are the films I’ve enjoyed enough to recommend to others this year. No annotations or links (sorry Bri) because I’m supposed to be working.
The Meyrowitz Stories, Dunkirk, Baby Driver, A Quiet Passion, Lion, Hidden Figures, Their Finest, Death of Stalin, I Am Not Your Negro, Mindhorn, The Handmaiden.
I also found time for my annual viewings of A Matter of Life and Death, The Big Lebowski, The Fisher King and Young Frankenstein.
Chrisf says
As usual I struggle to remember what we saw at the cinema through the year, but the three that come immediately to mind as standouts were Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk and Baby Driver. Saw Blade Runner and Dunkirk in IMAX and both were fantastic.
We actually haven’t been to the cinema as much this year – the kids are now at that age when they go with friends and we find that by the time we suggest going, they have seen already.
mikethep says
Which frees you to leave them out of the decision-making process!
Chrisf says
Very true and has meant we had seen more “low key” movies this year (which I’m still struggling to remember) rather than the blockbusters.
Junior Wells says
No love for Loving Vincent?
Just saw it last week. Remarkably ambitious. Animated with paintings on the style of the Irises hitmaker. Mainly colour oils but black and white for memory shots. Alternated between looking/admiring/assessing the paintings and following the plot.
Doubt there will ever be another film like it.
Marwood says
Bladerunner 2049 was magnificent. Sublime, in the Romantic sense of the word.
I found watching Dunkirk a draining experience – the tension begins from the first frame and barely lets up. And that soundtrack! A living, breathing thing designed to raise the stress levels.
Paddington 2 was beautiful, flawless family entertainment. I’ve heard it described as a warm hug of a film. Sums it up nicely.
Shout out to Captain Underpants as well. Properly funny, silly and often irreverent. But it also deftly examines the wonder that is childhood friendships.
mutikonka says
Get Out: an interesting thriller with an interesting and irreverent angle on white/black cultural clashes, with the added bonus of the Parking Pataweyo actor.
Gary says
Apart from films already mentioned, two of my favourites would be Better Watch Out and Detroit.
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks to you all for your very useful comments, all of which I have taken note of. Arthur and Mike, your lists were particularly useful.
That Aussie dining while you watch idea sounds ghastly. Our film club get a cup of coffee and one biscuit each and that’s their lot.
I admit I had a bit of a fallow period with my cinema going when our kids were younger but these days a visit to the cinema is one of the great treats of my life. And having one just round the corner which has excellent programming makes it all even pleasanter.
Arthur Cowslip says
As we’ve said elsewhere, lists are brilliant things. (But keep it to yourself, some people on here don’t appreciate them!)
Sewer Robot says
What did people think of Okja? I thought it was mostly good but lost it a couple of times and the usually reliable Jake Gyllenhaal’s broader-than-the-broad-majestic-Shannon performance seemed to be from an entirely different film*. More to like than an awful lot of films this year but disappointing coming from this writer/director..
(*Jake may have been directed to overact, of course – and I have seen this kind of thing work, like Bob Hoskins in Brazil, for example..)
Arthur Cowslip says
I didn’t see it but it intrigues me. I have no clue what it’s about but I didn’t know Jake G was in it. All I’ve seen is a promo picture with some big… sea lion thing??
mikethep says
Just finished watching it. The whole Tilda Swinton/Jake Gyllenhall cartoony thing was wildly overdone, but then again no film featuring a giant pig can be said to be realism, can it? (And Okja herself is a shoe-in for the Giant Pig Oscar.) I thought it was good fun, though Mrs thep wandered off about halfway through.
aging hippy says
Here’s my list for what it’s worth. No particular order apart from the first one being my favourite film of the year.
The Red Turtle
Dunkirk
Baby Driver
Trainspotting T2
Wind River
Maudie
The Limehouse Golem
Quite enjoyed Logan (despite not being particularly bothered with all the previous X-men movies) and Skull Island (despite Samuel L Jackson’s failure to deliver the potentially immortal line “I’ve had it up to here with that motherf***ing ape!!”).
Kaisfatdad says
Another excellent list, Mr Hippy. Wind River is definitely on my must-see list. Maudie got mentioned at our meting last night. And the Golem and the Turtle both sound very promising. The former I see is based on a Peter Ackroyd novel which definitely increases my interest.
Junglejim says
Hands down film of the year for me is ‘The Florida Project’ by Sean Baker, a terrific follow up to his feature debut ‘ Tangerine’, which was brilliantly filmed on iPhones.
It’s a great humanist movie, with a lot of non professional cast members & there’s talk of an Oscar nomination for Willem Defoe as the manager/caretaker of a grotty hotel on the doorstep of Disneyworld in Florida.
Also rated Manchester By The Sea and really enjoyed The Meyerowitz Stories – full of great performances ( & proof that Adam Sandler has proper acting chops).
I also enjoyed Okja – the first instance I can think of of a Netfix original that we sat & watched as a family like an actual cinema release.
Didn’t enjoy Dunkirk, despite really wanting to. I couldn’t believe that there were huge numbers on the beach & didn’t believe for a minute that the Narzis were just over the ridge. Some nice bits but I didn’t feel the tension that others experienced.
Kaisfatdad says
Read about the Florida Project in the Guardian and am now very keen to see it and get it on the repertoire at Bio Reflexen. Sounds excellent.
Netflix are becoming a major player and backing some quality projects. Forgive my ignorance but do none of their films get a cinematic release?
Arthur Cowslip says
I don’t think they do, no. It’s a shame, because something like The Meyerowitz Stories would be my ideal cinemagoing experience.
Sewer Robot says
Apparently the greater resistance to original Netflix films appearing on the big screen comes from the cinema end as they are not happy with Netflix’s M.O. which is to make the movies available for streaming simultaneously, destroying the age old industry practice of big screen to small screen delay. Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas!
Netflix would certainly want their films to get at least the minimum theatrical release required to be eligible for the big awards at the end of the year..
Kaisfatdad says
This article about new Netflix production, War Machine, covers several of the issues about eligibility for the big awards/
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/21/war-machine-netflix-home-movie-invasion-brad-pitt-david-michod
These are “interesting” times for film makers.
There’s a quote at the end where the director is asked whether he doesn’t mind about his film not being shown on a big screen. When he says he doesn’t, I’m not sure I completely believe him.
Bingo Little says
Okja had a limited theatrical release, in the UK at least. Very much the exception though (to date, anyway).
Smudger says
A few of my favourites of the year have already been mentioned (Manchester by the Sea, Death of Stalin, Dunkirk) but I also enjoyed Jackie, Certain Women, Personal Shopper, The Sense of an Ending, Their Finest, England is Mine, and The Party.
Hopefully fitting in with the description of @Kaisfatdad as being ‘smaller’ films, mention to The Levelling and Daphne, both of which I enjoyed, the former in particular being a great piece of cinema by first time director Hope Dickson Leach.
duco01 says
I read the British reviews of The Levelling when it first came out, and I thought “That sounds great. I must see it when it comes to Sweden.” It now appears as if the film will never play in cinemas in Sweden. So I’ve just ordered in on DVD…
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks @Smudger. Lots of promising movies on your list.
Oddly enough, having failed to get my film club to show Their Finest, I’ve just ordered it on DVD.
Hawkfall says
My favourite blockbusters were Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, which I think is the Marvel film that best captures the spirit of the comics so far and Paddington 2, for the same reasons as other folk.
As regards lesser known films, I agree with people on Wind River, which is not exactly a feel good film, but looks beautiful, with all that Wyoming backdrop. Something that is a feel good film is Kedi, which is a documentary about cats on the streets of Istanbul. It’s as much about the city and the people who care for the cats as the cats themselves and is funny and touching. I also enjoyed Bigsby Bear, which is a quirky, Afterword-friendly film about a young man who decides to recreate the cartoons of his childhood. there’s a big twist to this scenario, but it would be a kind of spoiler.
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks Hawk. I agree with you on Guardians 2 and Paddington 2: both enormously enjoyable.
I’d never heard of Brisgby Bear but it sounds right up my street. It was shown recently at the Stockholm Film Festival according to IMDB, so it may actually get released here.
Kaisfatdad says
That DVD of Their Finest arrived and we watched it last night. Definitely one of the my favourite films of the year. Hilarious, deeply moving, thought-provoking and a post-modern reflection on the art of film making. With this and An Education, Lone Scherfig has become one of my favourite directors. Here’s an interview about making the film.
https://seventh-row.com/2017/04/07/lone-scherfig-their-finest/
Another late edition to my favourites of the year: On Body and soul, a Hungarian film that was shown at the film club.
The title did not exactly get me excited and nor did the synopsis: Two employees at a slaughterhouse discover they are having the same dream. Boring!
But what a stupendous movie it is. Beautifully shot, stupendously acted by the two leads and both poetic and often very funny. The Hungarian and Finnish languages are related and this film reminded me of Kaurismäki. Understated, gentle, taking its time, completely lacking in bombast.
It’s on the shortlist for Oscar as best foreign film and would be a very worthy winner. Well worth making an effort to see.
Kaisfatdad says
I made this list so that I can keep an eye open for these films, if and when they arrive in Sweden.
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls027121566/
deramdaze says
“La La Land,” “Manchester By The Sea,” “The Florida Project” and “Jackie” stand out but the majority of films I’ve seen this year have had sub-titles, as I’ve deliberately opted for European cinema because of you-know-what.
“My Life as a Courgette,” “Toni Erdmann,” “The Olive Tree,” “Aquarius …” but my favourite was “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki,” a film about a Finnish boxer fighting for the World Championship in ’62, made even more memorable because I won a pair of Finnish winter socks in the raffle.
Mark Kermode was in our tiny local restaurant a few Saturdays ago.
Kaisfatdad says
We are definitely on the same page @deramdaze. A great list. My life as a courgette is a wonderful feelgood movie which ought to be far better known. Excellent on how cruel kids can be to each other.
I will look out for Olle Maki. Even if there are no socks to be won!
duco01 says
When I was younger, I can’t ever remember watching documentaries at the cinema. Documentaries were things you watched on television.
But now I seem to see mor and more documentaries at the cinema. Indeed, my two favourite films of 2017 were both documentaries:
I am Not Your Negro – on James Baldwin’s writings about Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. So good I saw it twice: once at the cinema and once on TV.
I called him Morgan – Kaper Collin’s brilliant film about Lee Morgan and his partner Helen Moore, who ended up murdering him. Beautifully constructed. Superb in every respect. Deserves to have wide international distribution. If you’re a jazz fan, you simply must see this one day.
Franco says
Shin Godzilla is worth a watch. Never has the big fella looked so awesome.
Kaisfatdad says
Gosh! No expense spared there! And no shortage of box office sales either. He is a local hero and no mistake!