What do ex-President Obama and my pal DuCool have in common?
Well, along with being dapper style icons, they both enjoy producing a list of their favourites of the year. Barack has just published his on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10156393283416749?__tn__=-R
Here are his favourite films of the past year:
Annihilation,
Black Panther,
BlacKkKlansman,
Blindspotting,
Burning,
The Death of Stalin,
Eighth Grade,
If Beale Street Could Talk,
Leave No Trace,
Minding the Gap,
The Rider,
Roma,
Shoplifters,
Support the Girls,
Won’t You Be My Neighbor
I was very pleased to see he enjoyed Debra Graniks Leave no trace, which was one of my faves.
So what about you…
I have no doubt that the Trumpster is sitting in the White House at this very moment, listing the films he enjoyed most.
Mr President threw me there, as The Death of Stalin would have won mine, but it was released in the UK in 2017. As it was, I have mainly seen ‘okay’ films this year, like Black Panther and Bohemian Rhapsody. Yes, I know they played very loose with the facts in the latter and fell into quite a few rock biopic traps, but it was entertaining and the actors’ portrayals were fab, although I am still convinced that was actually Brian May.
But the best new film I’ve seen at the pictures this year was…Paddington 2. Yes, I know it was released in 2017 too, but the local independent cinema in our small town is usually a few weeks behind other cinemas and it holds back the kids films for school holidays, so we saw Paddington 2 just after new year and it was brill. The Paddington films are perfect family films. They are really good natured, very funny and manage to appeal to all the family without resorting to smutty innuendos that will go over the heads of the kids. I’m not really a fan of Hugh Grant, although I will admit that he is perfect for Four Weddings and a Funeral, but his cad in Paddington 2 is probably the best thing he’s ever done. Even if you don’t have kids, watch the Paddington films and you won’t be disappointed.
The best 2018 released films I have seen were shown as TV movies in the UK, and were both documentaries about recently departed comedy heroes. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and Robin WIlliams: Come Inside My Mind. I think the former was just a TV movie anyway, but both were excellent, although I thought the latter downplayed Williams’ friendship with Christopher Reeves a bit. The two were very close friends all their adult life, right up to Reeves’ death.
Paddington 2 is lovely and Hugh Grant is splendidly caddish as Phoenix Buchanan – I still laugh at his song and dance number over the closing credits.
Paddington 2 made me laugh a lot, and made me cry at the end. Few films manage this feat.
But it was released in Nov 2017.
Good point, excellent observation.
Not sure how the emotional resonance is affected by the year of release, but hey ho.
You disappoint me Paul. Only one film matters this year and you went to the Premiere!
Mary Poppins Returns. Wonderful!
I was impressed that Barack chose Shoplifting. It has just opened here and is doing very well.
Another family film that was top notch was Incredibles 2. Visually stunning and full of wit and panache.
Best film for me this year was the French film The Guardians set on a farm which is run by the women whilst the men are at the first World War front. Others on my not very long list would be Three Billboards, Ladybird, Shoplifters and Widows.
@dai agree Mary Poppins returns was wonderful.
However my favourites were Three billboards outside Ebbing Missouri and A Star is born.
My top 11, all of which I hugely enjoyed:
A Star is Born
Birds of Passage
Three Billboards…
Mamma Mia 2
They Shall Not Grow Old
Buster Scruggs
Tully
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Oceans 8
Sweet Country
Death of Stalin
Haven’t yet seen Roma or Cold War, but I’m planning to enjoy them hugely too.
@mikethep saw Roma last night. Very good indeed. Wonderful cinematography and a good depiction of Mexico.
Leave no trace is a gorgeous film; wonderful acting, striking cinematography and thoughtful script. There is a real chemistry between the actors playing father and daughter; so much so that I fond it a little overwhelming when the inevitable happens and they each choose their different paths.
Mission Impossible Fallout is a tremendous action movie – the best I’ve seen in years.
Shoplifters was good. Nice to see a film that doesn’t jump cut all over the place.
Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old
Three Billboards
Incredibles 2
Darkest Hour
I saw some of the others mentioned above and they were all ok. Not sure anything was exceptional, not even Shoplifters, despite winning at Cannes. I tend to avoid anything that looks iffy and wait for it to get to Netflix so I can bail on it.
The Death Of Stalin was the funniest. I don’t properly laugh out loud at movies often, but I did there. Possibly with Michael Palin’s speech being the very funniest.
Blackkkclansman shook and entertained.
Three Billboards likewise.
Think that would be my top three.
I’ve probably forgotten quite a few, but choosing from films released in Sweden in 2018, I’d go for (in rough order of preference)
1. Leave No Trace (brilliant, brilliant)
2. Cold War
3. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
4. Loveless
5. Shoplifters (saw it about 3 hours ago!)
6. The Florida Project
7. Blackkkclansman
8. The Death of Stalin
9. The Shape of Water
10. Lady Bird
11. On Chesil Beach
12. The Children Act
Still haven’t seen Roma, unfortunately
Biggest disappointment: Three Billboards, which I didn’t care for at all.
No one’s mentioned Spider-man:into the spider verse yet.
Yes, it’s a cartoon and yes it’s another super hero film but… It’s also a master piece that uses animation to create a living, breathing comic book. The script by Millar and Lord is perfectly told. (wtf were Disney thinking firing these guys from Solo?)
You have really piqued my interest, Arch. It does sound like something really out of the ordinary.
I wanted to know more about MIllar and Lord. This article was very useful.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/i-very-much-relate-to-that-peter-parker-he-wears-sweatpants-1.3726099
A good year I think. In no particular order:
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here
A Quiet Place
A Simple Favor
The Secret Of Marrowbone
Incredibles 2
Three Billboards…
Lady Bird
They Shall Not Grow Old
Isle Of Dogs
Shape Of Water
I watched A Star Is Born last night – not what I was expecting at all. The title and the inclusion of Lady Gaga led me to expect jazz hands, but the film was a wobblily shot and moving portrayal of addiction with some great songs and Gaga was incredible in it. She and Bradley Cooper deserve every gong going in my view. I was glad I watched it on a hooky DVD, in the privacy of my home, instead of at the cinema as the experience left me – as the millennials say – shook.
I’d also echo everything Arch Stanton says about Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
EDIT: Does the Black Mirror ‘film’ Bandersnatch count? I don’t know how I feel about it but it’s certainly an experience,
Into The Spider-Verse is da sheeet. Only tiny grumble is I would have liked a little more of Nic Cage, given that it’s his best role for years..
I am interested to hear about all sorts. so thanks for mentioning Bandersnatch. And for increasing my enthusiasm about seeing ASIB.
The Eternal Road, a Finnish film about the fate of Finnish communists in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, deserves a mention. A gripping account of a little/known chapter of modern history. Director Anti Jussi-Annila is one to watch. He also directed Finland’s first kung fu film!
Not many laughs!
Mandy, I, Tonya and Three Billboards for me.
It is very difficult to understand how decisions are made about film distribution in different countries.
As far as I can see Mandy has not been released in Sweden and there are no plans to release it either.
One film I forgot to mention because I think it came out right at the end of 2017/ beginning of 2018 is The Post, about the Washington Post’s publication of secret government reports on the Vietnam war in the early 1970s, in defiance of Nixon’s government. It’s very much in the mould of All the Presidents Men and other films in which journalists are heroes uncovering the truth, but it’s none the worse for that. Spielberg directs with his customary skill, and Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are brilliant and have the time of their lives as owner Katherine Graham and editor Ben Bradlee.
Enjoyed a lot of films including On Chesil Beach, The Post and Three Billboards. The ones which have really stayed with me are Leave No Trace and BlacKkKlansman.
For my own interest, I did an IMDB list of Baracks list as there were several I had never heard of and I wanted to know more. It is an impressively varied selection, both in terms of genres and countries of origin. Burning and Shoplifting were pleasant surprises.
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls041585059/
I have now done an IMDB list of the films that you have all mentioned.
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls041756180/
A useful too as I could then find out more about the movies I had not heard of and fill in a few gaps.
The Guardians is directed by Xavier Beauvois who did Of Gods and Men.
A Simple Favour is by Paul Feig who directed Spy and has a great feel for comedies.
A Quiet Place is directed by and stars John Krasinski who is La Blunt’s husband.
If you remember any more gems from 2018, do share them with us. The also rans are as interesting as the movies which win a barrowload of Oscars.
Great work KFD – that’s my 2019 viewing sorted….
(Don’t forget Shoplifters though – it’s worth it!)
The Favourite was my, ahem. favourite movie of the year. Wonderful performance from Olivia Colman.
Also enjoyed Widows, A Quiet Place, You Were Never Really There, Three Identical Strangers.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, where I rate every film I watch, I’ve seen 276 films in 2018 (plus a few where for some reason it doesn’t allow a rating) – these were not all new films obviously, but the following are my favourites from the films I saw that were released in 2018.
1. Phantom Thread – Paul Thomas Anderson’s best since “There Will Be Blood” – brilliant filmmaking, great acting from all including Daniel Day-Lewis’ last film performance (apparently), plus Jonny Greenwood’s gorgeous score.
2. Dogman – Matteo “Dogman” Garrone’s fantastic character study about a dog groomer and his disasterous relationship with a local thug is genuinely heartbreaking, with an extraordinary performance from Marcello Fonte.
3. Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski’s episodic Eastern European 50’s love story is a lean 85 minutes with not a second wasted. Joanna Kulig is something else.
4. Mandy – Nicolas Cage (no, come back!) in an extraordinary, hallucinatory revenge horror movie – on this basis director Panos Cosmatos has a very bright future. Worth it for Linus “son of Ken Barlow” Roache’s performance alone.
5. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again – no irony here – this is the most fun I’ve had in the cinema this year, and I didn’t like the first film (watched it again since, still don’t). A new director, a couple of great cameos and those songs keep the film moving along joyously – you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sing along!
6. Widows – Steve McQueen continues his perfect run with his fourth film, this superbly-scripted remake of the Lynda La Plante TV show – over 2 hours long, but you wouldn’t take anything out.
6. You Were Never Really Here – nothing Lynne Ramsey does is every ordinary, and that’s the case here in this tight 90 minute story with Joaquin Phoenix as a hired killer.
7. Loveless – Leviathan director Andrey Zvyagintsev returned with this crushing missing child story that is gut-wrenching but never sentimental.
8. Suspiria – well I liked it, though not all the reviews were kind– a truly fresh interpretation of Dario Argento’s masterpiece, this retains the basic story of the original, but takes off in numerous other directions. The grand guignol climax is something to see.
10. Climax – haven’t seen Lars Von Trier’s new movie yet, so have made do with the other great enfant terrible of European Cinema Gaspar Noé. If I had to criticise it, for me, after the amazing opening sequences, the horror of the situation (group of dancers on a very bad trip after drinking LSD-infused sangria) doesn’t quite go far enough – still Noé on great rather than staggering form is better than most directors today.
Honourable mentions:
Filmworker (favourite documentary of the year)
Studio 54
78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene
Shoplifters
The Square
Western
Zama
Sicario: Day Of The Soldado
Mission Impossible: Fallout
Bad Times At The El Royale
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Post
BlacKkKlansman
Worst film – I manage to avoid most bad films by using selected critic reviews and Rotten Tomatoes, but I did not get on at all with Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In” – it would have been entirely unwatchable without Juliette Binoche.
2019 has got off to a great start with The Favourite, which I saw on New Year’s Day.
I take my hat off to you @KDH. You are a serious filmgoer.
We have just enjoyed Mamma Mia 2 on DVD. Good to see a film which shamelessly intends to entertain getting a mention here. The set pieces are a joy.
I do my ratings on IMDB. How does Rotten Tomatoes compare?
Thanks @Kaisfatdad
I may start using IMDb for this – Rotten Tomatoes does much the same, allows you to rate (out of 5, but allows half-marks) and lets you write a review, but frustratingly (very) occasionally the box for the rating doesn’t appear, sometimes on quite mainstream movies (Cold War & Widows being two examples, though both now fixed) – I’ve emailed them when this occurs – sometimes they fix it, sometimes not. It is a free service, so I probably shouldn’t complain too much, and when you view the list of your ratings it’s one line – poster, title and rating, with no synopsis, which is easier, I think, to view. It also allows you to share your ratings with friends on Facebook (though IMDb may also allow this).
Here is a piece on IMDB vs Rotten Toms.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/which-film-ranking-site-should-i-trust-rotten-tomatoes-imdb-metacritic
I am not registered for Toms but as I know IMDB so well and enjoy the richness of information it offers. I probably will not be in a hurry to change.
RT seems not quite as good on non-Anglophone films but that may be incorrect.
I’ve only seen one film made in 2018, and I was an executive producer, Daydream Believers
https://daydream-believers.co.uk
Executive producer! That is very impressive. The film looks well worth watching too.
Top 3 for me would be:
The Wife – brilliantly acted by Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce
Leave No Trace – beautifully understated performances which just felt very real
Avengers, Infinity war – a blast, possibly the best Marvel film to date
Other goodies were:
First Man
Black Panther
Phantom Thread (everyone else in my party hated it!)
The Post
Quiet Place
Sicario 2
Hearts Beat Loud
The Children Act
Some marvellous new additions to your list there.
The Phantom Tread does seem to a rather Marmite film.
Glad to see Marvel getting a mention. I saw the two sequels, Ant Man and the Wasp and Deadpool 2, with my 15 year old son and we both enjoyed them enormously. Lots of action but also a great deal of humour and playfulness.
I had never heard of Hearts Beat Loud. It sounds very promising.
HBL is a low budget feel good film which on one level was a bit corny but you came out with a smile on your face. Its about an old muso down on his luck who now runs a record shop thats on the verge of closing. Daughter is also a musician, together they write and record a song that gets into the charts. Brief cameo from Jeff Tweedy. Its all about the relationship between the father and daughter. Not ground breaking but worth catching if you get the chance.
Low-budget feelgood is one of my favourite genres. It all hangs on a good script and fine acting.
I am going to mention a few more films that I have seen recently. (I am recycling the text from my Arthouse thread a month ago).
In Syria – Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium, France, Lebanon
A family in Damascus try, as best they can, to get by, as the war goes on around them. I was expecting this movie which was shown by our film club to be a gruelling experience. There were no laughs , but superb acting and delicacy and restraint made this postcard from hell a very moving experience that did not wallow in the horrors.
The Silent Revolution – Lars Kraume, Germany
East German in the 1950s. A school class make a protest about the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising by having two minutes of silence. Excellent cast, fine storytelling and an important story about courage in the face of oppression. Top notch stuff!
And now, two absolutely hilarious films from France. Our neighbours across La Manche proved that they can produce comedies that give the UK a serious run for their money.
Interestingly, Jean-Pierre Bacri has a major role in both. He is a curmudgeon of the first water and a National Treasure in France.
Place Publique – Agnes Jaoui, France
The In-Crowd from Paris descend on a country house in a small village for a sophisticated garden party. Things go pear-shaped. Wonderfully satirical. Bacri plays a chat show host whose ratings are in free fall.
Les Sens de la fete – Olivier Lakache and Eric Toledano , France
“From the team behind Untouchable”. I loved that film and I honestly did not think that they could do it again. I was wrong! Comedy is difficult but this had some scenes that had me crying with laughter. Once again, waspish, satirical and marvellously acted.