10 Favourite Films of 2017

10 Favourite Films of 2017

1. Good Time (Safdie Brothers)

2. Split (M. Night Shyamalan)

3. The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro)

4. Get Out (Jordan Peele) 

5. Mother! (Darren Aronofsky)

6. War for the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves)

7. Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd)

8. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

9. Five Came Back (Laurent Bouzereau)

10. The Beguiled (Sofia Coppola) 

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) Review

Title: The Last Jedi
Year: 2017
Director: Rian Johnson
Country: US
Language: English

To say that The Last Jedi is polarizing is an understatement. Many fans were disappointed by how this film continued several of the plot threads started in The Force Awakens. Writer/Director Rian Johnson claims that he and J.J Abrams never shared any long term plans and were given full creative freedom to develop the story as each individual saw fit. Mark Hamill himself. after reading the scrip, told Johnson "I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you've made for this character."

Rey (Daisy Ridley) develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares for battle with the First Order.

The Last Jedi is perhaps the most politically aware picture in the Star Wars franchise. Rian Johnson questions the authority of heritage, he condemns war profiteers, he censures slavery and child labour. He even condemns meat eating as Chewbacca thinks twice before eating a porg (cute bird-like create) and becomes friends with the unique island species. The film also does a great job at deconstructing myths and "killing the past" by straying from typical Star Wars' cliches. 

Perhaps The Last Jedi gets a tremendous amount of criticism because it's not the easiest picture to digest. It's primarily about failure; individual failure, the failure of our mentors and heroes, and the failure of our hopes and dreams. Every character ends up making a poor choice and suffers consequences for it. It's not easy to see heroes fail, but as Yoda tells Luke "Pass on what you have learned, including your failures. Failure, the best teacher is."

Luke Skywalker, in this particular picture, reminds me of Rooster Cogburn from True Grit. In The Last Jedi Hamill's character is given great depth and proves to be the actor's most challenging work to date. Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren, also gives an impactful performance. The director gets the best out of his cast, his script and his camera. Last Jedi is a fine film, even when compared to cinema outside the mediocre franchise. 

I, Tonya (2017) Review

Title: I,Tonya
Year: 2017
Director: Craig Gillespie
Country: US
Language: English

Tonya Harding is a disgraced American figure skater who, in the 1990's, achieved global infamy after being blamed for the knee-capping of her Olympic rival Nancy Kerrigan. Her story made headlines everywhere; the media warped her character into that of a cold hearted villain. Presently, because of this picture showing the event in a different light, Harding is demanding an apology from the media for turning her life topsy turvey. 

In this film competitive ice skater Tonya Harding  (Margot Robbie) rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

Based on actual interviews, the film begins with a series of faux docu-style testimonials to establish the cast. Set 20 years after the 1994 attack on Kerrigan, the interviews find Tonya long since forgotten. We see the abuse, torment and aggressive treatment Tonya receives from her loved ones and, as the running time goes on, we slowly sympathize with a character we had once thought to be unredeemable.  The picture does have a nice balance of drama and comedy to keep it from being too preachy and/or too depressing.

Considering how little trust the public has for the media, along with the President in Fat constantly claiming everything is "fake news", I'd say this redemption story came out at the right time. It's a damning criticism of the press; an institution that didn't care if Harding's life was ruined, just as long as they could make millions of the story. We've known about the troubling nature of the Press since...well, at least Ace in the Hole (1950) but it's important to be reminded every couple of years. 

Tonya Harding herself is critical of I, Tonya stating the she was bothered by the Scorsese' like amount of swearing in the picture. Many people will argue whether it's right to make Tonya into a sympathetic victim character, as Nancy Kerrigan was literally the victim of the attack, but I enjoyed the film and would certainly recommend it.