Written by Tom
‘Tis the time of year to look back at everything you’ve done over the past 12 months and then mercilessly segment them into a series of ranked lists. As this is (somewhat) a film blog, here are all the films that I’ve watched this year organised from my most loved to my most hated.
Please Note: Films which were technically released in 2017 but that I saw in cinemas during 2018 are included in this list. Films released in 2017 which I caught up on via other means (BluRay, streaming, etc) are not.
The Top Ten
1. I, Tonya
There’s no one single thing that makes this film brilliant to me, it’s just that everything it does is exactly how I like things to be done. I love the actors; I love the script; I love the visuals; I love the directing style; I love the themes; I love the subtexts. It’s the only film where I’ve been in constant awe of the expressions the actors keep pulling; I keep wanting to pause the film and make the latest shot my desktop background. It’s basically perfect. I love it.
2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
This year’s equivalent of mother! in the contentiousness stakes. I deeply respect this film: it builds a collection of working class characters and treats their issues, concerns and actions with dignity, even while mildly mocking them. We don’t have to necessarily agree with them but we do come to understand them. It’s a film of genuine complexity which asks us to draw our own moral boundaries, and I’ve been thinking about it constantly since watching it in January.
3. Isle of Dogs
This is just a really satisfying film to look at. I can’t understand why more directors don’t design their shots like Wes Anderson does here; the visual style deserves to be the new pallbearer for what animation can do. It’s better than A Dog’s Purpose at any rate. (more…)
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