DaGaffer
Down With That Sorta Thing
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2003
- Messages
- 18,412
That time of year again. A subjective list based on what I've seen. I've not included kids' films, with one exception, and there's still a couple of films I might try to squeeze in this year (JLA, but I have low expectations, and Jumani, which seems to be getting rave reviews).
Alien: Covenant
2/10. Stupid in every way that matters
American Made
7/10 I didn’t love it (and the trailer made me want to) but it was enjoyable. I’m not sure how many more times I can watch someone play Pablo Escobar though; this is third (fourth?) in the last couple of years.
Atomic Blonde
6/10 A bit disappointing, but watchable. And I liked the late 80s timeframe.
Baby Driver
8/10 loved this. Did something that should be quite cliched really well, and will probably the last thing we ever see Kevin Spacey in.
The Big Sick
6/10. It had heart but its supposed to be a comedy and it wasn’t really funny.
Blade Runner 2049
8/10. Visually top two of the year, Ryan Gosling is brilliant in it, but it left me cold.
The Dark Tower
4/10. Thin.
Detroit
9/10. This is a powerful film, highly recommended.
Dunkirk
8/10. Ties with Blade Runner for the visuals but also for leaving me a bit cold. The time cut narrative was ultimately distracting, and I think I’d have preferred a wider “Bridge Too Far” treatment of the subject, but that wasn’t the film Nolan wanted to make.
The Fate of The Furious
3/10. I usually cut these a lot of slack, but…a submarine?
Free Fire
9/10. I didn’t know anything about this and I absolutely loved it. Reservoir Dogs for the 21st century. Nearly my favourite of the year.
Ghost in The Shell
4/10. I’m not invested in the original (I’m not a much of a manga fan), but even I could see this was doing it a disservice.
GotG2
6/10. It has its moments, but I didn’t love it the way I did the first one.
The Man With The Iron Heart
7/10. I preferred this (slightly) to the other Heydrich movie, Anthropoid.
John Wick 2
7/10 Still fun, and I still like the mythology they’re building.
King Arthur Legend of The Sword
2/10. Turd in every way.
Kingsman: Golden Circle
6/10. Got to be honest, a bit disappointed. I’m not sure the idea has much life left in it.
Kong: Skull Island
5/10. I liked bits of it (mainly John C. Reilly) but it suffers from the same “needs idiots to move the plot forward” issue as Alien.
Lego Batman
8/10. May be my favourite Batman of all.
Logan
7/10. Docking it points because I thought the end was a bit weak.
Logan Lucky
7/10 Pretty good and Daniel Craig is a bit of a revelation in it.
The Mummy
3/10. Kill it with fire...
PoTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales
2/10 ...But save some of the fire for this.
Spider-Man Homecoming
8/10 A pretty good year for the MCU and for once a villain that wasn’t just a one dimensional mirror of the hero.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
6/10 (and I’m being generous). It had some good spectacle (the fight in Snoke’s throne room, the warp kamikaze), but loads of stupid shit, and frankly a good hour of it was dull. But I did like the final battle.
Thor: Ragnarok
10/10 In a strong year for the MCU, my favourite, and probably my favourite of all the MCU movies (perhaps tied with Winter Soldier). Its not perfect (Hela doesn’t get enough to do) but I haven’t just enjoyed a movie so much in ages. Laugh out loud funny as well.
T2 Trainspotting
8/10. On first viewing I’d have given it a six and accused it of being a flabby excuse for Danny Boyle to get the band back together, but I watched it again and liked it a lot more. It speaks to men my age and very few films do that.
Valerian &The City of a Thousand Planets
5/10. Its got some amazing stuff and ideas in it, real originality. But there’s barely a plot, and what there was I didn’t really care about. I was hoping for a latter day 5th Element, but it doesn’t have a tenth of that film’s heart.
Wonder-Woman
6/10. I liked It a lot on first viewing but it didn’t really hold my interest for a second time.
Alien: Covenant
2/10. Stupid in every way that matters
American Made
7/10 I didn’t love it (and the trailer made me want to) but it was enjoyable. I’m not sure how many more times I can watch someone play Pablo Escobar though; this is third (fourth?) in the last couple of years.
Atomic Blonde
6/10 A bit disappointing, but watchable. And I liked the late 80s timeframe.
Baby Driver
8/10 loved this. Did something that should be quite cliched really well, and will probably the last thing we ever see Kevin Spacey in.
The Big Sick
6/10. It had heart but its supposed to be a comedy and it wasn’t really funny.
Blade Runner 2049
8/10. Visually top two of the year, Ryan Gosling is brilliant in it, but it left me cold.
The Dark Tower
4/10. Thin.
Detroit
9/10. This is a powerful film, highly recommended.
Dunkirk
8/10. Ties with Blade Runner for the visuals but also for leaving me a bit cold. The time cut narrative was ultimately distracting, and I think I’d have preferred a wider “Bridge Too Far” treatment of the subject, but that wasn’t the film Nolan wanted to make.
The Fate of The Furious
3/10. I usually cut these a lot of slack, but…a submarine?
Free Fire
9/10. I didn’t know anything about this and I absolutely loved it. Reservoir Dogs for the 21st century. Nearly my favourite of the year.
Ghost in The Shell
4/10. I’m not invested in the original (I’m not a much of a manga fan), but even I could see this was doing it a disservice.
GotG2
6/10. It has its moments, but I didn’t love it the way I did the first one.
The Man With The Iron Heart
7/10. I preferred this (slightly) to the other Heydrich movie, Anthropoid.
John Wick 2
7/10 Still fun, and I still like the mythology they’re building.
King Arthur Legend of The Sword
2/10. Turd in every way.
Kingsman: Golden Circle
6/10. Got to be honest, a bit disappointed. I’m not sure the idea has much life left in it.
Kong: Skull Island
5/10. I liked bits of it (mainly John C. Reilly) but it suffers from the same “needs idiots to move the plot forward” issue as Alien.
Lego Batman
8/10. May be my favourite Batman of all.
Logan
7/10. Docking it points because I thought the end was a bit weak.
Logan Lucky
7/10 Pretty good and Daniel Craig is a bit of a revelation in it.
The Mummy
3/10. Kill it with fire...
PoTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales
2/10 ...But save some of the fire for this.
Spider-Man Homecoming
8/10 A pretty good year for the MCU and for once a villain that wasn’t just a one dimensional mirror of the hero.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
6/10 (and I’m being generous). It had some good spectacle (the fight in Snoke’s throne room, the warp kamikaze), but loads of stupid shit, and frankly a good hour of it was dull. But I did like the final battle.
Thor: Ragnarok
10/10 In a strong year for the MCU, my favourite, and probably my favourite of all the MCU movies (perhaps tied with Winter Soldier). Its not perfect (Hela doesn’t get enough to do) but I haven’t just enjoyed a movie so much in ages. Laugh out loud funny as well.
T2 Trainspotting
8/10. On first viewing I’d have given it a six and accused it of being a flabby excuse for Danny Boyle to get the band back together, but I watched it again and liked it a lot more. It speaks to men my age and very few films do that.
Valerian &The City of a Thousand Planets
5/10. Its got some amazing stuff and ideas in it, real originality. But there’s barely a plot, and what there was I didn’t really care about. I was hoping for a latter day 5th Element, but it doesn’t have a tenth of that film’s heart.
Wonder-Woman
6/10. I liked It a lot on first viewing but it didn’t really hold my interest for a second time.
