Best film you saw in 2017

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:52 pm

No spoilers! What's the best film you watched this year? Doesn't necessarily need to be a film released this year, just the best one you watched for the first time in 2017.

I thought Dunkirk was incredible.

Other more general film recommendations also welcome!

FactualFrank · Post by **FactualFrank** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:56 pm

I went once this year to take my two nephews... Paddington 2

I'm not really a film/movie buff but I went to the Showcase in Leeds with the chairs and almost fell asleep they were that comfy!

Ric_C · Post by **Ric_C** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:03 pm

Bladerunner 2049
Dunkirk
Paddington 2
Thor Ragnarok
The last Jedi

All very good, but Bladerunner 2049 was just a sublime film and exceeded all my expecations

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:11 pm

Tale of tales.twice And Easy Rider.

John Johnson 1605 · Post by **John Johnson 1605** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:20 pm

Baby Driver.

69 WALLOP · Post by **69 WALLOP** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:20 pm

The Wizard of Oz

FactualFrank · Post by **FactualFrank** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:21 pm

69 WALLOP wrote:The Wizard of Oz

If I... was king... of the FORRRREEESSSTTT!

whiffa · Post by **whiffa** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:21 pm

Thor and Star Wars were great but although technically 2016 I'd say Hacksaw Ridge as I watched that this year.

69 WALLOP · Post by **69 WALLOP** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:21 pm

I haven’t seen the ending yet, so please don’t tell me what happens!

ayrshireclaret83 · Post by **ayrshireclaret83** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:25 pm

Jumanji

starting_11 · Post by **starting_11** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:29 pm

Bridge on the river kwai! Fantastic!

Tall Paul · Post by **Tall Paul** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:52 pm

John Johnson 1605 wrote:Baby Driver.

This.

Hozz · Post by **Hozz** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:57 pm

Dunkirk - quirky but thoroughly enjoyed it personally.

Blade Runner 2049 - being a child of the eighties and was mind blowed by the original, this just disappointed me on so many levels, visually and sonically I just felt it was generic pap.

CombatClaret · Post by **CombatClaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:07 am

Bladerunner 2049

Truly epic film, retained the world, style, visuals and philosophies of the original but added some excellent characters and expanded the world without cheapening. Pacing was far better too something the original had a lot of trouble with but sometimes is forgotten or glossed over with 'well it's film noir..."

I cant remember a more worthy revisit to a classic film in along time.
It didn't do as well at the box office as it could have, but in this case I think it's a good sign that they made the film they wanted to make instead of trying to please the mob.

CombatClaret · Post by **CombatClaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:18 am

Hozz wrote: Blade Runner 2049 - being a child of the eighties and was mind blowed by the original, this just disappointed me on so many levels, visually and sonically I just felt it was generic pap.

It's all subjective of course however compared to the recent Sci-Fi re-visits from the 80s (Robcop, Total Recall, Alien, Terminator etc) Blade Runner 2049 is Citizen Kane.
I'm amazed you sight two of it's strongest facets, visuals and soundtrack as poor considering they took so much inspiration from the original.

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:23 am

Denis Villeneuve is my absolute favourite director working today. (I think he's a genius.) Roger Deakins is my favourite cinematographer working today. Hans Zimmer is my favourite score composer working today. The original Blade Runner is one of my favourite films of all time.

Might just be a hunch, like, but I think I'm going to like this one!!! I'm planning on seeing it in the next few days.

CBT · Post by **CBT** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:36 am

The good the bad and the ugly in 4kuhd
Truly something to behold

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:40 am

Get Out was a great film. It felt in parts similar to Kubrick's The Shining in a way. Perhaps not in terms of composition and attention to detail, but in tone, at least.

gandhisflipflop · Post by **gandhisflipflop** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:55 am

Dunkirk was such a let down for me.

Bin Ont Turf · Post by **Bin Ont Turf** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:57 am

gandhisflipflop wrote:Dunkirk was such a let down for me.

Why?

I haven't seen it yet.

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:01 am

Yeah...why? (Seconded.)

There's nothing I can think of which I would change about that film. It's pure cinema.

Dunkirk, in my opinion, should be the blueprint of how to point a camera at a thing and tell a simple story. It isn't arthouse, to be sure, but it isn't a bull$hit blockbuster, either. I'd be intrigued as to what you found disappointing about it, ghandisflipflop. Everyone I've spoken to loves it.

bfccrazy · Post by **bfccrazy** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:16 am

Maybe not "the best film" of 2017 and won't win loads of awards and accolades but my favourite film I have watched this year was Going In Style - just a film to sit and not think too much about and smile at.

CombatClaret · Post by **CombatClaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:21 am

Bin Ont Turf wrote:Why?

I haven't seen it yet.

It also didn't reach the heights many sold it at for me either. I thought the sense of scale was lacking, I'm very happy when film makers eschew the over use of CGI but in it's proper place it enhances things. Nolan wanted to use original boats that actually took part which is admirable but means when we finally see the approaching salvation of the soldiers instead of hundreds of merchenment, fishers, paddle steamers etc we get about a dozen boats on screen, wow... We see 3 planes total in the entire film, a couple hundred men. The film as a whole seems entirely empty.

I thought it was hampered by the 12A rating, men simply disappear in burst of sand or we cut away to an implied fate. I didn't come for war porn (I'm looking at you Hacksaw Ridge) but at least show the reality.

Was not a fan of the time jumping, I think it's a useful and interesting tool (Memento, Primer etc) but poorly executed in this instance. Would much rather have seen one character's arc start to finish then reliving it with the next character. Instead it all skips arbitrarily without any logic.

There were some nice visuals, score was good. It had merits but doesn't come close to breaking my top 10 WWII films.

NRC · Post by **NRC** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:28 am

CombatClaret wrote:It also didn't reach the heights many sold it at for me either. I thought the sense of scale was lacking, I'm very happy when film makers eschew the over use of CGI but in it's proper place it enhances things. Nolan wanted to use original boats that actually took part which is admirable but means when we finally see the approaching salvation of the soldiers instead of hundreds of merchenment, fishers, paddle steamers etc we get about a dozen boats on screen, wow... We see 3 planes total in the entire film, a couple hundred men. The film as a whole seems entirely empty.

I thought it was hampered by the 12A rating, men simply disappear in burst of sand or we cut away to an implied fate. I didn't come for war porn (I'm looking at you Hacksaw Ridge) but at least show the reality.

Was not a fan of the time jumping, I think it's a useful and interesting tool (Memento, Primer etc) but poorly executed in this instance. Would much rather have seen one character's arc start to finish then reliving it with the next character. Instead it all skips arbitrarily without any logic.

There were some nice visuals, score was good. It had merits but doesn't come close to breaking my top 10 WWII films.

Got to agree with this..... very clearly lacked scale and as a result totally undervalued the effort involved....... and I also have to agree regarding character arcs.... the “hero” pilot spent the entire film running out of fuel

Bin Ont Turf · Post by **Bin Ont Turf** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:29 am

I'm very happy when film makers eschew the over use of CGI

So am I.

I mostly hate CGI.

gandhisflipflop · Post by **gandhisflipflop** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:32 am

As I've said before on here I love my ww2 films as it's my favourite genre and subject as a whole and I agree with a lot of the posters above sentiments. There was an empty feel about it entirely and didn't capture me the way other ww2 films have done. Hacksaw ridge was a much better film than this for authenticity and if I ignored the hype about that I'd say good film. With the hype not so much.

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:40 am

The time jump was a little unnecessary, actually, yes. I'll revise my 'nothing I would change' comment to include this-I'd actually forgotten about it!

I didn't actually find the apparent dearth of rescue boats to be a negative, personally. I was more invested in the smaller stories. That said-that might have been a consequence of my conditioning going in to the film (I went in to the film expecting 'personal' cinema based on the limited promotion of the film I exposed myself to and the opinions of others I listened to), but the scale didn't disappoint me, personally. I thought it was a brilliantly romantic piece of cinema. On a technical level (which is where I'm prone to creaming myself) I thought it was awesome.

gandhisflipflop · Post by **gandhisflipflop** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:42 am

My favourite ww2 genre films are in no particular order.

Enemy at the gates
Das boot
The thin red line (great for action)
Unbroken (a massively underrated film)
Downfall.

All good for different reasons.

CombatClaret · Post by **CombatClaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:42 am

Bin Ont Turf wrote:So am I.
I mostly hate CGI.

Saving Private Ryan used CGI but to enhance and supplement the film without becoming the film, that's the difference.
Like editing the best CGI is the stuff you don't notice.

CombatClaret · Post by **CombatClaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:55 am

Spiral wrote: On a technical level (which is where I'm prone to creaming myself) I thought it was awesome.

I think as we strive for the technical we sometimes lose what story telling is, Nolan shot on 70mm iMax blah blah etc etc. The image is so clean it's almost sterile.

The Pvt Ryan landing scene was shot at a 45 degree shutter with 12 fps which they then doubled to make the standard cinema 24fps. This in effect brought it in line with the news reel footage of the time which is the only way we of this era has ever seen D-Day. They deliberately degraded the technical to serve the story and it's still is a beacon of film making.

I'm all for the technical but story first.

Spiral · Post by **Spiral** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:02 am

Fair point very well made, Combat.

but SPR didn't have any Spitfires!!!!!

ClaretCanada · Post by **ClaretCanada** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 6:53 am

3 Billboards in Ebbing Missouri fantastic acting

Inchy · Post by **Inchy** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:28 am

I have not seen many decent films this year but Get Out is probably the best.

I was disappointed by Dunkirk. There was a lot of hype so I was expecting it to be amazing. I watched it at home on a HD stream and kept thinking, this would be amazing at the cinema in IMAX. Some films need to be seen at the cinema and I think Dunkirk falls into that category. Was still an enjoyable watch

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:13 am

gandhisflipflop wrote:My favourite ww2 genre films are in no particular order.

Enemy at the gates
Das boot
The thin red line (great for action)
Unbroken (a massively underrated film)
Downfall.

All good for different reasons.

Just recently watched Das Boot on blu ray via a 4k TV...
Well worth doing if you get a chance.

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:16 am

Manchester By The Sea is the best film I've seen that was released this year.
I've seen a lot of films at the cinema thanks to my cineworld pass and on TV etc, but this one is the one that's stuck with me the most.

Thought provoking, emotional and very nearly made me cry.
Well worth seeing and in my opinion deserved Best Film Oscar more than the other film.

IndigoLake · Post by **IndigoLake** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:43 am

It's hard for me to choose one. I also really enjoyed Dunkirk (the soundtrack and sound effects were fantastic) and Manchester by the Sea.

However, my favourite film I've seen this year is probably Insomnia. It's a 2002 psychological thriller directed by Christopher Nolan. Features Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Not suggesting it's a classic by any means but I liked it and tend to enjoy films set in Alaska.

IndigoLake · Post by **IndigoLake** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:09 am

Inchy wrote:I have not seen many decent films this year but Get Out is probably the best.

I was disappointed by Dunkirk. There was a lot of hype so I was expecting it to be amazing. I watched it at home on a HD stream and kept thinking, this would be amazing at the cinema in IMAX. Some films need to be seen at the cinema and I think Dunkirk falls into that category. Was still an enjoyable watch

I definitely agree that Dunkirk falls into the category of needing to be seen at the cinema. Unless you spend a lot of money on a sound system, there's just no replicating the sound effects. The initial gunshots in the first scene made me jump out of my seat!

Cirrus_Minor · Post by **Cirrus_Minor** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:27 am

Dunkirk

ablueclaret · Post by **ablueclaret** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:30 am

Being eligible for the silver screen at £3 a go saw me return to the cinema after years of absence.
Certainly the picture quality has improved a lot and of course the animation gone up several notches, but somehow the big screen highlights the artificiality of much of it, one isn't drawn in.
Thought Dunkirk was interesting from the perspective of Churchills vulnerability and declining powers.
The Christopher Robin film again was interesting from the perspective of financial gain over a child's well- being and how that child overcame the lack of motherly care to forge their own path in the world.
Poirot was disappointing albeit the scenery spectacular, no character development, too many celebs, needed a completely fresh cast to give it some zing.
My wife liked Paddington,and it had its moments, but again for me littered with stars and Paddington lacked authenticity not beary enough.
My Cousin Rachel, again beautifully presented, an air of mystery but difficult to engage with any of the characters, a little too glossy.
Although not on the screen , the White Princess appeared on TV and was able to see the action parts filmed at Lacock, an interesting historical epic.

aclaretinstevenage · Post by **aclaretinstevenage** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:33 am

Hidden Figures

The Accountant

Watched both on the flight back from Cuba. Both excellent.

Dyched · Post by **Dyched** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:35 am

tim_noone wrote:Tale of tales.twice And Easy Rider.

If you're a fan of Dennis Hopper theres a newish documentary out called Along for the ride. Also The American Dreamer is well worth a watch

Imploding Turtle · Post by **Imploding Turtle** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:59 am

About Time is probably the best film i've watched for the first time this year. It came out in 2013.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/about_time/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Garnerssoap · Post by **Garnerssoap** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:17 am

Dunkirk on the imax
As good as cinema can get

Garnerssoap · Post by **Garnerssoap** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:20 am

If you like das boot - try getting hold of the boxset series of which the film is an edited highlights version. Worth the effort

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:43 am

Garnerssoap wrote:If you like das boot - try getting hold of the boxset series of which the film is an edited highlights version. Worth the effort

Are you referring to when it was shown on TV as a series instead of a full length film?
I originally watched it as a series as a kid.

CaptJohn · Post by **CaptJohn** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 11:03 am

Dunkirk was good but I have to say I enjoyed "Murder on the Orient Express" the most with "Paddington 2" coming a close 2nd.

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 11:06 am

I watched very few films this year.

Lars and the Real Girl.

Belgiumburnley · Post by **Belgiumburnley** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:45 pm

Based on a true story : Joyeux Noel (Merry Xmas)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRrr-CDXijs

John Johnson 1605 · Post by **John Johnson 1605** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:02 pm

I was also one of the few who loved mother!

dermotdermot · Post by **dermotdermot** » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:10 pm

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.