To recap, so far:
Honourable mentions: Boss Level, The Mitchells Vs the Machines, Promising Young Woman, Army of Thieves.
15. Palm Springs
14. Love and Monster
13. West Side Story
12. Black Widow
11. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Hitting my number 10 slot is:
10. Petite Maman
This is on my list for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's an amazing film. Secondly, I saw it at Odeon's 'Screen Unseen'. You go along to a screening of an upcoming film, but have no idea what you are going to see. As a film fan, let me tell you, it's an exhilarating, stressful and anxiety inducing experience which I would highly recommend to everyone! Until the BBFC card shows, you don't know what it will be. If it hadn't been for this screening, I may not have had the pleasure to see this at the cinema, which would have been a dreadful shame. It reminded me of the importance of being open to different genres as it is rare you will be disappointed. I was very pleased that I wasn't one of the few who got up and left because it wasn't Ghostbusters. I won't spoil it for you as I would imagine a lot of you reading this haven't seen it. Yes, it is slow to start but there are good reasons for that and it will all become clear in the end. An emotional, clever and unexpected journey.
9. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Ghostbusters means a lot to many people. It was a big part of growing up for many of us and such a moment in cinema history that it's just part of who we are. I don't want to touch on any of the 2016 controversy as that's not who I am or what my blog is about, but I enjoyed it and have watched a few times. To say I'd been looking forward to Afterlife though is an understatement and what with one thing and another it was actually hard to believe I was in the cinema waiting for the titles to roll. I had a smile on my face from beginning to end - apart from when there were tears of course! The new mini, gremlin like Mr Stay Pufts caused a lovely lot of chaos and the terror dogs were back, being a clever mix of practical effects and CGI. A very strong cast with Paul Rudd adding his perfect kind of quirky comedy. The stand outs have to be the two youngest in the cast. Logan Kim as Podcast, who would have been right at home on the set of Goonies or The Lost Boys and the amazing McKenna Grace who as Phoebe, granddaughter of Egon was the stand out performance. A fine slice of nostalgia and a fitting and emotional tribute to the late, great Harold Ramis.
8. Free Guy
At the time I saw this it became one of my top films of the year immediately. It is an absolute joy from beginning to end and so much better than you would expect it to be. 'Guy' is a guy who works at the bank in Free City. But he's not. He's a NPC (non player character) in a video game. He's background, a filler, not real. Only it turns out he is. Some code to create the first AI has been stolen and still exists in the game! The owner owner of the game company, played brilliantly by Taika Waititi, in a role which will make you want to audibly shout 'boooo' at the screen. Reynolds is, as always, great in the role of 'Guy' with some extremely funny and touching moments. Adding in Jodie Comer as one of the gamers and you have a great on-screen duo. Plus Joe Keery (from Stranger Things) is really good as the other gamer 'Key's. There is a cameo which nearly made me hit the roof of the Odeon. If you don't know, please watch it. I left the cinema bouncing off the rafters!
7. Censor
I'm a regular follower of The Church and the Good Doctors. No? Wittertainment on Five Live? The movie review show with Kermode and Mayo, my absolute favourite. This film had been discussed a lot and the director Prano Bailey-Bond interviewed on the show, so it was without saying that I was going to see this when it popped up at my local Odeon. I was a bit young in the 80s to experience the video nasty but we all know about them. The film centres around Enid, a film censor, who when reviewing one particular film finds the content familiar. From here we go on a journey with her as she tries to piece together memories of her sister's disappearance and, without any spoilers, descends into a video nasty of her own with dream-like sequences where you question what is reality. Well worth a watch. Take a cushion!
6. tick, tick....Boom!
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Andrew Garfield and whilst I love musicals, it's surprising that two have made it onto my list. I saw Jonathan Larson's 'Rent' in the West End in 1998 so I was intrigued to find out the story behind the creator. Such an emotional story, fantastic songs and an absolutely stunning performance by Garfield. Some of the earlier scenes are copies of videos of Larson and Garfield's portrayal is just spot on. I've read some interviews where Garfield hadn't sung in public before this film - what a talent and I hope he doesn't keep it hidden in the future! I unexpectedly loved this, as whilst I liked Miranda's previous musical 'In the Heights', it didn't grab me as much as this (I haven't actually seen Hamilton!). Looking forward to watching this again.
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