Friday Five: Top 10 Films of 2023

On the back of last week's Friday Five, which was actually a top ten, I am doing another for the first Friday of the year. These are my favourite films I have seen in 2023 that were released in 2023 in the country in which I am living. The films are listed in alphabetical order.

1. Asteroid City: Wes Anderson creates another post-modern take on post-modern films. Full of sharp lines (visual and verbal), heightened realism, Brechtian (and other) alienations devices, and a stellar cast. "I still don't understand the play." "Doesn't matter. Just keep on telling the story".
2. Bank of Dave: A beautiful feel-good film about the power of a caring and cohesive community in 'a northern shithole taking on the entitled wankers of the financial institutions. There's a lot of north v south cliches, more than a passing nod to Local Hero, a cute background romance, and the ever-brilliant Rory Kinnear. I don think Sean Dyche should stick to his day job, though.
3. EO: I watched this on a plane and I absolutely adored it. Life as seen through the eyes of a donkey is full of kindness and cruelty, and the donkey is a creature of plodding wisdom who makes their own decisions. Gentle and delightful with moments of heartbreak and profound empathy. 
4. The Great Escaper: "If you want to flog chocolate, don't start a bloody World War". Michael Caine explains why he doesn't rate Cadbury's Black Forest in a wonderful Sir Michael caper about the futility of war and the restorative power of tolerance, understanding and kindness. Glenda Jackson is radiant in her last role, with a timeless compassion. Clearly a British film on account of the self-deprecating humour, the quiet smugness and the dodgy teeth. 
5. Leave the World Behind: When good holidays go bad. Eerie, tense, unsettling, stylishly directed and well acted. Shot with intriguing angles and heightened with a deeply disturbing score, it's as if Don't Look Up met Us with a dash of Killing a Sacred Deer. Part thriller, part examination of the human psyche, part absurdist drama, the film questions what it would take for humanity to destroy itself. Spoiler: we're almost there.



6. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One: Kitsch action fun - when you've got a formula that works, why would you change it? Great set pieces in stunning locations with superb stunts and some self-effacing references. Tom cruise is masterful at this stuff. 
7. Northern Comfort: Starts out being a film about a disparate foursome afraid of flying and turns into a black comedy in an Icelandic wellness hotel. Imagine Force Majeure crossed with Death at a Funeral and add an unhealthy dollop of Timothy Spall. Probably don't watch as in-flight entertainment.
8. The Old Oak: Ken Loach films may be grim, but he always finds the humanity. Life may be sh*te for those in the NE English village destroyed by post-industrialisation and the closure of the pit, but there are still some strong moral values at play. If the workers understood the power they have in unity, then they could take on the system, but on the verge of Brexit they turn their disenfranchised anger on the defenceless and vulnerable - in this case the Syrian refugees. Our shame is that in one of the wealthiest nations in the world, people have to make the choice between feeding their family or heating their home. Inequality is a disgrace. And that poor daft little dog!
9. Oppenheimer: Bringing in the sheets. So much symbolism and intelligent wordplay. 
10. Women Talking: But, as is so often the question, is anyone listening? Powerful subject; great cast; devastating dialogue well delivered. Would make a terrific play with the right direction.

Friday Five: Films on a Plane, The Return Leg

1. Aftersun: Daughter revisits camcorder memories of a teenage holiday with her young dad. Tender by Blur is on the soundtrack and sums up the film. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
2. Catherine Called Birdy: I've not seen many medieval comedies, but I'll bet this one is right up at the top of the list. Written and directed by Lena Dunham, based on a novel by Karen Cushman, and featuring Bella Ramsey (I've not seen her before but apparently she's known from Game of Thrones), Billie Piper, Andrew Scott, Joe Alwyn, Sophie Okonedo, Lesley Sharp, David Bradley, Russell Brand and Ralph Ineson (amongst many others), it is part touching coming-of-age tale; part deliberately anachronistic feminist take; complete and utter delight. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. To Leslie: Money doesn’t buy you happiness but it does buy you alcohol and that leads to everything but. Andrea Riseborough gives a sensational Oscar-nominated performance as the woman who won the lottery and drank away her winnings; Marc Maron as Sweeney is her knight in shining overalls who withholds judgment long enough for her to try to forgive herself and make a plan for the future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Wolfwalkers: Glorious animated fantasy adventure (An international co-productionled by Cartoon Saloon and Mélusine Productions) with folkloric, magical, supernatural, pagan and historical overtones about the destruction of the environment and the consequences for co-habitation with nature. Delightfully drawn with beauty and precision; perfectly voiced including the voices of Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Honor Kneafsey, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Tommy Tiernan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
5. Women Talking: But, as is so often the question, is anyone listening? Powerful subject; great cast; devastating dialogue well delivered. Would make a terrific play with the right direction. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Friday Five: Films on a plane

1. Emily: Still not my favourite Bronte, although Emma Mackey is brilliant and the moors look pretty.
2. EO: What with Banshees of Inisherin, this may be the Year of the Donkey.
3. The Fablemans: The making of an auteur. It's clearly very autobiographical and gives away a few secrets (putting pinholes in the film; allowing light through to simulate flashes from gun-shots). The personal and insular focus, with specific parental relationships, is the same kind of film-making therapy as demonstrated in Honeyboy.  Lock-downs clearly led to lot of navel gazing and subsequent oversharing. This is great if you want to know all about your directors/ actors/ film practitioners, but a bit self-indulgent if you don't.
4. Marcel the Shell with Shoes on: A cute and quirky animation in which a shell tries to find his family. As well as exploring the sense of identity and belonging to a community, the film also addresses the issue of on-line fandom and virtue-signalling activism. It's far more affecting than it has any right to be. 
5. M3GAN: Science-fiction horror, which is also funny and cine-literate with self-aware references to previous works in the AI-companion-goes-feral genre.

Friday Five: Films on a Plane

More from the intermittent series of Films on a Plane, from when I travel to places and desperately try to get through the journey somehow - the last month consisted of two forty-plus-hour 'days' of flying and waiting at airports.

Seven Films Watched on Planes:

1. The Duke - Feel-good vibes abound from helping others, fighting injustice and standing up to the establishment. Totally unrealistic but rather sweet and charming film to watch with a cup of tea and a ginger biscuit.
2. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain - The bizarre tale of Louis Wain is played out by Benedict Cumberbatch and narrated by Olivia Colman. He is awkward and intense with a remarkable talent for drawing and a tendency towards mental illness, having to look after his family (mother and five sisters) when his father dies. He falls for the unconventional governess, Emily (Clare Foy), to much gossip and condemnations: she is the wrong class, bohemian in outlook and ten years his senior. There's a star-studded class including Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Aimee Lou Wood, Taika Waiti and Nick Cave, lots of sickness, death and disappointment, and some very odd, whimsical moments. But Wain's drawings "change people' perceptions of cats, making them acceptable as house pets", and for that we are truly thankful.
3. Encanto - Disney film with songs about a magical family who all have a special talent apart from the one who doesn't, but of course she does after all because she restores the magic and proves your value is not in your gift but in who you are. The sentient house is fun but the story is schmaltzy and goes on too long. 



4. The Eyes of Tammy Faye - Jessica Chastain is excellent in a complicated role of compassion, manipulation and self-delusion. Andrew Garfield seems weak in comparison. it features multiple levels of hypocrisy and superficiality from the make-up and minks to the partner pledges and religious condemnation of vulnerable minorities. The design is fantastic, capturing the tacky opulence with a hollow centre.
5. House of Gucci - Adam Driver Lady Gaga, Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons tell an intriguing tale of a privileged family cursed by secrets, cheating and greed. Jared Leto is in an entirely different film from the rest of the cast.
6. King Richard - Will Smith plays father to the Williams sisters (there are five of them), insisting that they do other things besides play tennis (schooling; languages; musical instruments etc.) and doesn't push them too hard through tournaments and competitions. It's an unconventional approach and looks like they lived the dream, although they very probably didn't. The young women who play Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) are very good (and the two sisters are both executive producers) but, as the title suggests, it's all about him.
7. The Lost City - Clever author (Sandra Bullock) has to write trashy romances because that's what sells. Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and (briefly) Brad Pitt are all just fine in this action/ adventure/ treasure-seekers romp with exotic locations. It's ludicrous, but it passes the time on a plane after 20+ hours of travel.

Friday Five: Films on a Plane

1. Delicious - Well, it looks beautiful - shot to make the mouth water (cinematography by Jean-Marie Dreujou). Sacked by his master, the Duke of Chamfort (Benjamin Lavernhe), for showing too much initiative as a chef, Manceron (Grégory Gadebois), gets his own back by setting up France's first restaurant on the eve of the fall of the Bastille and proving that not all service is servitude. He is assisted by Louise (Isabelle Carré) who turns up with a desire to be his apprentice. There is obviously more to her motivation than that, and it transpires that freedom to cook your own recipes is a revolutionary act. The dastardly duke believes that food is only for the rich as they have the exclusive ability to appreciate it. Ideas of setting out individual tables with tablecloths, writing up a menu, using fresh produce and not drowning it in heavy sauce were new; revenge as a dish best served cold was not.
2. The Green Knight - Green is the colour; denoting growth, renewal, mould and decay - it is cyclical and endless, like this legend. It's arty but beautiful with the perfect counterpoint of bleakness, and Dev Patel as Gawain is charming enough to carry the tale. One for the mythologists.
3. Jungle Cruise - I watched it on a plane, and it was good, mindless fun. The plot is negligible and the acting is all admirably sound with Emily and Dwayne being highly reliable as the  wholesome adventurous duo. Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons and Paul Giamatti are totally predictable as the camp brother, Teutonic baddie and avaricious business-owner respectively. If you want to watch a movie (and it is a movie rather than a film) based on a theme park ride; you pay your money and you get exactly what you order. 



4. Last Night in Soho - The multi-genre format of this film is what makes it so intriguing. It's part thriller; part horror; part social commentary; part fantasy/ sci-fi and part period drama. A young woman, Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) leaves her safe rural home to study fashion design in London because the lights are much brighter there. We learn that her grandmother worries about her mental health (her mother took her own life) and fears she might be out of her depth. With her fertile imagination, Eloise conjures up a world of SoHo in the swinging sixties where she believes all is glamorous, as epitomised by the characters of Sandy (Anna Taylor-Joy) and Jack (Matt Smith). As this fantasy world becomes more real, however, she discovers the seedy underside of the city where everyone is being exploited and love is never free. The ending may be a touch outré, but the film is definitely watchable and gripping, portraying the capital as a palimpsest of buried secrets.
5. My Son - It feels as though this was filmed during lock-down, with minimal sets, locations and cast. James McAvoy and Claire Foy are an estranged couple who have to communicate when their son goes missing form a holiday camp in Scotland (the scenery is spectacular). We soon suspect he has been kidnapped, but why, by whom and, most importantly, is he still alive? These two are great actors but the plot is really weak and sketchy. Apparently this is a remake of a 2017 French thriller, Mon Garçon, and the director (Christian Carion) both times requested that his lead actor perform without a script. James McAvoy is brilliant but he is an actor, and they tend to deliver lines. Without any, this by necessity falls down into a fairly pedestrian narrative, which seems a shame and a shocking waste of opportunity.
6. Spencer - Was the point of this film to reinforce the perception that Diana was a selfish, manipulative self-indulgent attention seeker? If so; job well done. With little consideration for anyone but herself (including her children), she sets out to make the traditional Christmas all about her by flouting the family like a spoilt child who suddenly realises she is not getting her own way at every opportunity. This would not be interesting if the family were not royal and she were not the vomit-inducing (yes, she does a lot of that) 'queen of hearts'. Kristen Stewart gives a credible performance as a portrait of a victim, but the whining is deafening and the sympathy short. Plaudits to the costumiers and the design team - the rest is overwrought hokum. Americans will love it.

Friday Five: Favourite Films of 2021

Normally, this post would cover my five favourite films of the year. But, as I think we can all agree, there is no such thing as 'normal' in 2021, so I'm having ten, even though it's a Friday Five. The films just have to have been released this year in Australia (where I live). So here they are, in alphabetical order:

1. De Gaulle: Has a strong vibe of Darkest Hour for French people, and Tim Hudson plays a wonderful Winston Churchill.
2. The Deep House: A couple exploring a haunted house with dark secrets is a familiar genre. He is controlling to the point of exploiting her fear and vulnerability for his own amusement. She craves his affection; he craves ‘likes’ on his social media pages (and we know that controversy generates more attention). Putting this claustrophobic setting and relationship underwater is inspired. The house is at the bottom of a lake and the couple dive deep into all sorts of metaphors and horror tropes as they run out of air, escape routes and plot credibility. The narrative holes and limited acting ability are mitigated by the underwater photography and the perspective-shifting concept. If you like budget horror that explores psychoses, then this is disturbingly good.
3. Don’t Look Up: It's an American satire: neither of those things are noted for their subtlety, indeed exaggeration is one of the defining features of the genre - 'satire: artistic form, chiefly literary and dramatic, in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, parody, caricature, or other methods, sometimes with an intent to inspire social reform'  - so I’m not sure why people are criticising it for that reason. In this story, a comet is hurtling towards earth and will wipe us out, but the conspiracy theorists think, 'That's what they want you to believe, sheeple'. Of course it's obvious, but like the man says, it's based on truly possible events. Oh, and it's got a star-studded cast playing up stereotypes to the max. 
4. Lapsis: Director, writer and editor, Noah Hutton, gives us an epic work about the exploitation of gig-economy workers and the evils of capitalism through a low-budget but high-concept sci-fi action thriller. Perhaps if we joined together and helped one another rather than constantly competing for individual success, we would all gain, rather than just the big bosses profiting from our labour. Oh, wait, that's socialism - it will never catch on; at least not in America.
5. News of the World: Travelling the country and reading snippets from the newspapers to illiterate communities sounds like my ideal job. The ever-reliable Tom Hanks is the ideal person to do it. Oh, and he also takes it upon himself to return an 'abducted' child (Helena Zengel) to her aunt and uncle on the other side of Texas. Paul Greengrass directs a solid Western which is almost a love letter to the genre, with all the usual tropes viewed from a different angle. The contemporary politics are a touch too obvious as there is a lot of colonial guilt for which to atone, but it's a generally uplifting film which attempts to sow some seeds of hope for the future.
6. Nobody: Incredibly violent and full of stylised toxic masculinity, but Bob Odenkirk is an extremely likable actor and his character is kind to a kitten in the first scene, so I've given him (and consequently the film) an extra star.



7. Nomadland: Frances McDormand plays Fern, a woman who is 'not homeless but houseless' as she travels the United States looking for work as if in a modern version of The Grapes of Wrath. She is seen cleaning toilets in truck stops, boxing up goods in the soulless Amazon warehouse, or sorting beets in Hardy-esque scenes, but there are also wide sweeping vistas of the incredible scenery of this beautiful country. There is only a finite space for self-made millionaires, capitalist growth and rampant individualism - the rest of us have to share the planet, and the conversations held at a closed dinosaur park are laden with metaphor.
8. The Power of the Dog: Excellent slow-burner with intense and toxic relationships against a stunning backdrop of Central Otago (standing in for Montana). Jane Campion knows how to bring out subtle nuances, which don’t stand out like dog’s balls, but reward the audience’s attention. It would be nice if women were given a little more agency (because Kisten Dunst deserves an equally dynamic role as Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons) but then I guess at least that’s probably true to life.
9. Promising Young Woman: Carey Mulligan is amazing and the treatment of this horrendous material is well-handled by director, Emerald Fennell. At times it has a graphic novel/ raunchy thriller vibe, because, like, how else are you going to get the entitled would-be rapist frat-boys to watch it, right? These are the boys that whine, ‘Why do you have to ruin everything?’ when a woman dares to stop their 'fun' with an accusation of abuse. Yes, we’re f*#^ing angry!
10. A Quiet Place Part II: In which the younger generation step up, Cillian Murphy learns some essential sign language, and the sound editing deserves all the awards.

Friday Five: Classic Films I 'Should' Have Watched

You know those films that you always feel you should  have watched, but you just haven't got round to it yet? Well, over the last week (we're in lockdown), I've been trying to catch up with some.

5 Classic Films I 'Should' Have Already Seen:

1. The Exorcist (1973 Horror/ Supernatural) - Lots of male doctors lecturing a woman about how to run her life and deal with her daughter; the keepers of the knowledge deciding females they can't understand must be hysterical... It might be almost 50 years old, but some aspects still resonate. I believe good horror stories are never 'just' about horror; they connect with our deepest fears, ignorance and insecurities to explore something psychological. I feel this films does that, and Ellen Burstyn is spectacular. In conclusion: worth watching as a classic of the genre (I know all the best lines anyway), but probably not scary to a modern audience.

2. The Godfather (1972 Crime/ Drama) - Men use their violence and strength to secure nepotistic deals and gain yet more wealth and power. How quaint. Again, all the best lines are familiar - offers you can't refuse; sleeping with the fishes etc. - the score is sumptuous, and Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan give brilliant performances. I understand that this film re-calibrated the notion of seeing gangsters as a response to a corrupt society and made them into good guys, but it really is all about the guys, isn't it - and the toxic masculinity and lack of female representation may have set the women's movement back as far as it advanced the film genre.

3. Sunset Boulevard (1950 Noir/ Drama) - Mavellous fun; full of dramatic tension, stunning design and black comedy, with a seminal central performance from Gloria Swanson as a previous silent screen star in a world of talking pictures. "There's nothing tragic about being 50. Not unless you're trying to be 25."

4. Battleship Potemkin (1926 Drama/ Silent) - I love me a good bit of revolutionary propaganda and I have particular views on borscht, so I thought I was ready for this. I wan't - it is outstanding! Those montages sequences and individual close-ups in the middle of mayhem are utterly groundbreaking, and the stirring score is thrilling. I appreciate the excellent moustache detail and I now understand the The Untouchables reference. 

5. Bonnie & Clyde (1967 Drama/ Crime) - Obviously the inspiration for The Dukes of Hazzard with a comedy-crime-committing duo who claim 'we rob banks' although there is nothing to rob because the people are so poor they've got nothing to save. I understand that life may be dull, but killing people is not the answer (although I agree with Ivan Moss's verdict on tattoos). Faye Dunaway has some fabulous outfits, Gene Wilder's screen debut is a highlight, and whatever charm and charisma Warren Beatty has (and with his reported womanising he must have some) it can only be off-screen rather than on. 

Friday Five: Oscar-Nominated Films in 2021

Chloe Zhao with her Oscars for best picture and best director

The 93rd Oscar ceremony was odd. It is a shame that it will be remembered for the fact that it was held in a train station and that half of the nominees weren't there. I would rather remember it as being the night that Chloe Zhao went home with the best director gong, making her only the second woman in the Academy Awards' history to do so. 

It was the night that the award for best picture was moved from its final glory spot to make way for the best actor picture because everyone expected Chadwick Boseman to win it, thus providing an emotional end to the ceremony. He didn't, and there wasn't. Anthony Hopkins won it for his role in The Father, and he wasn't even there - not even via Zoom - so everyone just shuffled awkwardly off-stage and anyone watching was left going, 'Wait, was that it?'

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

I haven't watched all of the nominations for best picture, but I have watched five of them, and as it's a Friday, it seems appropriate to do this:

5 of 2021 Oscar-Nominated Films I've Seen:

1. Mank - I finally watched Citizen Kane in preparation for this film. That's probably the best thing about it. Writer, Jack Fincher, and director, David Fincher, have created an homage to what many critics consider the best film ever by celebrating the work of the disputed screenwriter, Herman J Mankiewicz. Black and white highly stylised cinematography, and a keep-your-eyes-on-the-prize performance from Gary Oldman make this an artistic exercise but not necessarily a great picture. Sure, if you're into Hollywood history and you care about William Randolph Hearst and the background to the film, it would be one to add to the bingo cards of name-dropping references, but it's all a bit smug and self-assured.  And I'm just a bit tired of watching men stand or sit around and shout at each other.
2. Nomadland - Frances McDormand plays Fern, a woman who is 'not homeless but houseless' as she travels the United States looking for work as if in a modern version of The Grapes of Wrath. She is seen cleaning toilets in truck stops, boxing up goods in the soulless Amazon warehouse, or sorting beets in Hardy-esque scenes, but there are also wide sweeping vistas of the incredible scenery of this beautiful country - the sunsets and dawn are breathtaking, despite the harsh bleakness of landscape, often boiling in summer and literally freezing in winter. She meets up with other itinerants (many playing versions of themselves as the characters of the original source material book) as they all traverse the land that doesn't belong to anyone, and they talk of seeing each other again 'down the road'. These people reject the American dream of home ownership and fixed roots; they do not claim exclusivity and nights spent in houses - that of her sister or companion, Dave (David Strathairn) - are claustrophobic and limiting. There is only a finite space for self-made millionaires, capitalist growth and rampant individualism - the rest of us have to share the planet, and the conversations held at a closed dinosaur park are laden with metaphor. At the awards ceremony, McDormand howled like the 'lone wolf' that Americans like to admire, calling on their romanticised visions of outlaws, cowboys and pioneers, but the reality is very different and isolation is often not chosen but due to circumstance. Many of these travellers have lost their position in life and society because they can't afford to pay for their medical needs, and the film is a searing indictment of the plight of older people and the truth of the health 'industry' in the States. Nothing is definite - friendship; parting; life itself - and humanity is found in home-made spas and campfire meals: they may travel alone but there is beauty when they come together. 



3. Promising Young Woman - Yes, we’re f*#^ing angry! I loved this film; not sure it was entirely suitable for date night! Carey Mulligan is amazing and the treatment of this horrendous material is sensitively handled by director, Emerald Fennell. At times it has a graphic novel/ raunchy thriller vibe, because, like, how else are you going to get the entitled would-be rapist frat-boys to watch it, right? These are the boys that whine, ‘Why do you have to ruin everything?’ when a woman dares to stop their 'fun' with an accusation of abuse.
4. Sound of Metal - If you're a drummer in a metal band who loses his hearing it must be very tough personally and professionally. Riz Ahmed portrays Ruben going through this nightmare, and we suffer through it all with him. His movements and facial expressions are simultaneously contained and eloquent, and he fully deserves his best actor nomination.  It seems to encompass the experiences of the deaf community, but what would I know? The film plays with sound in a way that enhances more than it limits and is a total shoo-in for the newly created 'sound' Oscar (which combines the previous sound editing and sound mixing awards). Our hero is also a recovering heroin addict, and his world is insular as a result, which is naturally self-obsessed and not appealing. This is doubtless a deliberate ploy by director Darius Marder, but it risks putting style over engagement.
5. The Trial of the Chicago 7 - We know what to expect from writer and director, Aaron Sorkin: lots of sharp dialogue and walking and talking down corridors. We know what to expect from a courtroom drama about Vietnam War protestors: disparate voices of Students for a Democratic Society; Youth International Party; National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam; Black Panthers; all of whom are charged with trying to incite a riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968. The lawyers, Schulz and Kuntsler battle it out in front of a prejudiced judge who is suspected of senility. We know what to expect from the outstanding ensemble of actors playing these parts including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Keaton: passionate dedication to a script and a compelling delivery. And the film produces the goods, right down to the mawkish Dead Poets Society ending scene. It's a history lesson served up as entertainment. Exactly as expected.

Friday Five: Best Films of 2020

In a year of closed cinemas, cancelled releases and straight-to-streaming services (I haven't got any of these), contemporary film-viewing was somewhat challenging. Nevertheless, I persisted, and watched 77 films this year, about a third of which (25) were released in 2020 in Australia. Once again the 'rules': I have to have seen the film; It has to have been released in 2020 in the country in which I was living; the films are listed in alphabetical order; I can have more than five if I want to; there will be honourable mentions.

 Best Films of 2020

1. 1917 - 'Do we really need another war film?', I thought to myself. The answer is yes, if it's directed by (Sir) Sam Mendes, a man who understands both acting and spectacle. He brings all the tricks of the stage to this brilliant drama. Part war story; part epic quest; part folk narrative; part natural cycle; part spiritual journey, with fantastic cameos (Colin Firth; Andrew Scott; Mark Strong; Benedict Cumberbatch; Jamie Parker) to complement the superb leads. And the single shot cinematography is sensational and works wonderfully to interpret the tension. Our heroes and saviours are not knights and generals but ordinary folk.
2. Jojo Rabbit - With moments of exquisite pathos and almost painful black humour, Taika Waititi has directed a piece of brilliance. Young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) tries to come to terms with the changing political events in Nazi Germany while trying to become a grown up, belong to a group, and retain humanity and empathy - not so very easy when your imaginary friend is Hitler (Taika Waititi) and your mother (Scarlett Johansson) is secretly sheltering a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in the attic. Sam Rockwell brings sensitivity and humour to the deeply flawed Captain Klenznedorf, with Rebel Wilson striking the only wrong note as her performance is tonally out of tune with the rest of the cast.  The film is amazing: funny and poignant and shocking and absurd. I loved it! 
3. The Lighthouse - A black and white masterpiece of acting (Robert Pattinson; Willem Defoe) and direction (Robert Eggers), as two men attempt to retain their sanity while living at a remote lighthouse in New England in the 1890s. The cinematography (Jarin Blashke) remains tight as the mentality unravels, and the soundscape (Damian Volpe) is exquisite and intense. Hallucinations and judicious editing (Louise Ford) nudge the picture towards horror, and thoughts of romantic getaways to lighthouse keepers' cottages are left far behind. 
4. Les Misérables - It’s so much better without the songs... Heart-racingly brilliant with such tension and angst, I’m not sure I breathed for the last hour. A gendarme from the provinces (Damien Bonnard) joins an established and corrupt duo of street-wise policemen (Alexis Maneti and Djebril Zonga) in the inner-city suburb of Paris where Victor Hugo wrote his famous novel. The divisions of race, class, and effects of poverty on perception of crime are as relevant now as then, and metaphors abound as we see things from different perspectives (drones above and staircases below). This began as a short film (also written and directed by Ladj Ly) from 2017, and has extended into this 104-minute picture. Not one of those minutes is wasted. 

5. Little Women - I used to think I was Jo; now I'm worried I may have been Amy. I didn't think I needed to see yet another version of Little Women, but this was a touching and heartfelt adaptation: beautifully acted (Saorise Ronan; Emma Watson; Florence Pugh; Eliza Scanlon; Laura Dern; Timothée Chalomet) and directed (Greta Gerwig). Yes, I read it as a child and am invested in the story, but I always felt the ending was a cop-out and it raised my emerging feminist ire; this adaptation reassigns motives and I am happier with it (although my thoughts on whether to create art or children probably remain controversial). Moving the timeline around brings a fresh perspective (many purist critics dislike it and that's understandable, but it is an adaptation not a slavish recreation); it makes the women more active in their own stories rather than being responsive to events that happen to them. On a totally related note: I love and miss my sisters so much.
6. The Personal History of David Copperfield - The novel is a mad caper and so is the film, full of joy and charm and picaresque moments. Again, as an adaptation, it cannot hope to cram everything in, but director Armando Iannucci certainly knows what he's doing. He is assisted by a spectacular cast including Dev Patel (as the titular character), Hugh Laurie, Daisy May Cooper, Peter Capaldi, Tilda Swinton, Ben Wishaw and Paul Whitehouse, who all bring zest and energy to their roles. Iannucci and co-writer Simon Blackwell handle the tale with respect and reverence, tweaking bits here and there for a contemporary audience while never losing sight of the importance of a boy growing into a young man through learning and education, which are not the same thing.

Special mentions: 

The Big Step (Il Grande Passo) - Beautiful and gentle story written and directed by Antonio Padovan about estranged brothers (Guiseppe Battiston and Stefano Fresi) who find a friendship and commonality while trying to deal with abandonment, rejection and an obsession with the moon. The storytelling is simple and improbable, encouraging us to dream big and aim high.

Blithe Spirit - The latest film adaptation (directed by Edward Hall) of Blithe Spirit is utterly delightful with alterations to bring in the artifice and essential distractions of the film world (including that obvious reference in the final scene). Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) and his wives (Isla Fisher and Leslie Mann) exhibit the arch and superficial perfection of the period piece rather marvellously, and design elements, set, costumes, hair and makeup are all glorious. Some won’t like the modifications to the script (I understand their reservations: I can be a bit like that with Shakespeare, where I don’t enjoy changes just for the hell of it, or to ‘engage new audiences’), but I felt the surface-charm-with-darker-edges aspect of this film is in keeping with the ‘spirit’ of Noel Coward’s original. As for Dame Judi’s performance, which some have dismissed as lazy, that seems churlish. Her characterisation displays warmth, enthusiasm, confusion, bravado, humility, sensitivity and a dash of eccentricity. She may not be the most sprightly Madame Arcati I’ve ever seen, but if I could turn out a performance like that when I’m 85 and legally blind, I would be happy.

Corpus Christi Despite being bookended by brutal acts, there are moments of deep reflection in this film. Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia) is a young man pretending to be a priest in a small Polish village rather than face his probationary position as a convicted criminal. As he soothes the sick and navigates toxic conflicts in the community, his actions raise questions of penance and punishment; reconciliation and redemption; atonement and absolution. The subtlety of acting, design and direction (Jan Komasa) allow the themes to shine through and the questions remain unanswered long after the film has finished.

Coyote Lake - In this highly-limited-release picture, Ester (Camila Mendes) and her overbearing mother, Theresa (Adriana Barraza) run a remote bed and breakfast near the US/Mexico border for desperate travellers. When two unwanted guests, Mario (Charlie Weber) and Dirk (Neil Sandilands) turn up with additional problems, things get frightening. Beguilingly seductive and chilling, this is a captivating debut thriller from writer/director Sara Seligman.

Eternal Beauty - Written and directed by Craig Roberts, this was billed as 'a comedy in which a woman recovers from a breakdown by finding love and life with surprising results'. This may be the worst description ever. I watched it as a Friday night light and fluffy entertainment option. Big mistake! It's a painfully sensitive depiction of schizophrenia and trying to make sense of a modern world when everyone else seems to think you're the mad one. Sally Hawkins, David Thewlis, Penelope Wilton and Billie Piper are all remarkable, and it left me sobbing on the sofa. Cheers, and you're welcome.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga - Disclaimer: I love Eurovision. I love the ridiculous outfits, terrible songs, barely disguised politics and blatant attempts to win/ lose votes with oversized props, wind machines and erotic dance moves, and so does director David Dobkin, obviously as now it’s more than just a drinking game: it’s a film! I missed Eurovision this year, and this film helps to make up for its loss: even Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, whom I usually find tedious and unfunny, are entertaining in this. I love all that cheesy ham, and if you do too, then this is your croque, Monsieur (et Madame).  

The Translators (Les Traducteurs) - Agatha Christie meets The Usual Suspects in a genre-bending piece that parodies every stereotype with guile and gaucherie in equal measure. It is thoroughly captivating for its hour and three quarters, never outstaying its welcome, and glibly forgettable once finished.

Friday Five(ish): Films Watched in October

1. The Big Step (Il Grande Passo) (2019) - Beautiful and gentle story about estranged brothers who find a friendship and commonality while trying to deal with abandonment, rejection and an obsession with the moon. The storytelling is simple and improbable, encouraging us to dream big and aim high.
2. Corpus Christi (2019) - Despite being bookended by brutal acts, there are moments of deep reflection in this film. A young man pretends to be a priest in a small Polish village rather than face his probationary position as a convicted criminal. As he soothes the sick and navigates toxic conflicts in the community, his actions raise questions of penance and punishment; reconciliation and redemption; atonement and absolution. The subtlety of acting, design and direction allow the themes to shine through and the questions remain unanswered long after the film has finished.
3. It Comes at Night (2017) - Some people in a house in the woods (including Joel Edgerton) are hiding out from a mystery illness and protecting their own little family unit. They are joined by another family unit (including Riley Keogh) and grief, guilt, suspicion and paranoia all ensue, leading to strange goings-on. It could well be a stage play with limited characters and settings, and an interesting sense of development, written and directed by Trey Edward Shults.
4. Love Sarah (2020) - At one point someone says, "London is the most multi-cultural city in the world", and then the film proceeds to be as stereotypically Anglocentric as possible. The mainstream middle-class (and mainly white) characters set up a cafe in a posh (litter-free) part of London (Notting Hill) and interact with the foreigners only to condescend and steal their native recipes. To suggest that the best Matcha Mille or baklava in town is made here is patronising in the extreme: cultural appropriation and colonial oppression at its zenith. The cast are good, but they have poor ingredients to work with (and any shade of realism has gone AWOL: those uncovered cakes are screaming Health and Safety risk). There are a couple of other sub-plots that go absolutely nowhere, and although it looks nice, it collapses in on itself like a failed souffle (and that simile is as tired and lazy as the film).



5. The Meg (2018) - It’s like Jaws turned up to eleventy-stupid but without any of the subplots or subtlety. The Stath doesn’t quite get to punch a giant shark, but he does stab one in the eye. The special effects are pretty good and far more convincing than the so-called ‘love interest’, which has about as much appeal as a damp squib.
6. Ready or Not (2019) - With this film, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have done for the humorous horror genre what Knives Out did recently for the comedy thriller. It self-knowingly exposes every trope, yet still remains fresh, fun, and highly entertaining. Samara Weaving is great as the vengeful bride who is forced to protect herself from her in-laws on her explosive wedding night, and the ending manages to be unexpected.
7. A Street Cat Named Bob (2016) - Starring Luke Treadaway and Bob the cat, this is a delightful film. Roger Spottiswoode directs an adaptation of the true story of James Bowen, who manages to rehabilitate his life of drugs with the help of a cat. No longer homeless due to the proceeds of his book, Bowen now dedicates his time to helping numerous charities that involve homelessness, literacy and animal welfare. The film is a highly-sanitised version of life on the streets of London, but it is remarkably feel-good (SPOILER ALERT: Nothing bad happens to the cat) and clearly a lot of people wanted to be involved as the minor credits are full of British regulars (Joanne Frogatt, Anthony Head, Ruth Sheen, John Henshaw, Nina Wadia).

Friday Five: 'World' Films on My Sofa

Recently one of the television channels here has been showing a series of 'World Movies'. While we cannot explore the world in person, we can make do with viewing it through a screen and visiting destinations in our imaginations instead of aeroplanes. 

5 'World' Films I have seen recently:

1. 127 Hours (2011, UK/ USA) - the premise is very simple; a young man goes off hiking by himself in Utah and falls into a canyon, trapping his arm. With no one else around, he must attempt to free himself, or die there of starvation and exposure. As with many of these boys-own adventures, the central character seems arrogant and unlikable, although there is a suggestion that he learns humility through his ordeal. James Franco plays Aron Ralson (on whose auto-biography the film is based) with decreasing levels of bombast as the film progresses. Of course, having to spend so much time in one person's company could be challenging, but director and co-writer, Danny Boyle (co-written with Simon Beaufoy), include several flashbacks and hallucinogenic montages to maintain interest. And the soundtrack (original music by A.R. Rahman) is great. Described by Boyle as 'an action movie about a guy who can't move', the film was nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, and best actor for Franco.
2. Black Sea (2015, UK/ Russia/ USA) - Once again the plot is fairly straight-forward. 'In order to make good with his former employers, a submarine captain (played by Jude Law) takes a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a submarine rumoured to be loaded with gold.' Half of the crew are Russian and divisions soon open up between 'us' and 'them'. It contains all the cliches one would expect with a bunch of testosterone-fuelled men trapped in a hostile environment, exploration sequences of deep sea diving and salvage retrieval, and the standard disaster tropes of scuttled and sinking submarines. Jude Law relishes his role as captain-not-always-in-charge, and there are some solid performances from the rest of the cast (including Michael Smiley, Ben Mendelsohn, Tobias Menzies, David Threlfall and   Bobby Schofield). Director Kevin MacDonald (of The Last King of Scotland and State of Play fame) ratchets up the tension and raises the film from the depths to become a treatise on the nature of greed and obsession. 
3. Hanna (2011, USA/ UK/ Germany) - The fantastic cast of this action drama makes it more than just another teen-takes-on-the-world picture. A sixteen-year-old girl (-played by Saoirse Ronan) is raised by her father (Eric Bana) to be the perfect assassin (cue scenes of physical prowess and manual dexterity in snowy surroundings). She is then dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent (Cate Blanchett) and her henchmen and -women (Tom Hollander; Jessica Barden; Michelle Docherty; Olivia Williams; Jason Flemyng). The stock scenes of interrogation; chase in a container park; spookiness of a disused theme park and a house in the woods are all given fresh direction by Joe Wright. Theme of the grimmer versions of fairytales are explored as children emerge into adulthood, and the score by The Chemical Brothers adds panache. Well-paced with energy and reflection moments; it's like a Bourne film but with a kid.

4. The Lunchbox (2013, India/ France/ Germany/ USA/ Canada) - This is a gentle tale and a cinematic window to a way of life in India. Ila (Nimrat Kaur as seen in Homeland and Wayward Pines) is an unhappy housewife who makes the lunches for her husband and packs them into his tiffin carrier, to be delivered by the Dabbawalas (lunchbox service) of Mumbai. A mix-up leads to the lunch being inadvertently delivered to Saajan Fernandes, a lonely widower close to retirement (Irrfan Khan, probably most recognised to Western audiences as the police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire). The two communicate through notes in the lunchbox and they open up to new possibilities beyond their narrow lives. Director Ritesh Batra (The Sense of an Ending) uses precisely-framed shots and a rich soundscape to communicate claustrophobia and loneliness in one of the busiest cities in the world. It is an outstandingly intimate portrayal of two people without physical indulgence.  
5. L'Odyssée (2016, France/ Belgium) - Jacques-Yves Costeau changed the way we see the world, especially the parts that are underwater, literally by co-developing the aqua-lung. Jérome Salle co-wrote the screenplay and directs with a vivid colour palette, keen to show us the wonders of marine life and the importance of protecting it. The narrative is a little glib and basic (he also wrote The Tourist and it's better than that, for what it's worth), as we follow the journey (or, in fact, odyssey) of the great explorer, innovator, scientist, photographer, filmmaker and researcher (played by Lambert Wilson: The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions; The Hollow Crown) who initially seeks to conquer but later learns to conserve. The stunning scenery is interspersed with character drama between father and son - Philippe Cousteau played by Pierre Niney - and husband and wife - Simone Cousteau played by Audrey Tautou. It's rather lush and incredibly French; comme il faut. 

Friday Five: Musical Biopics

We watched Rocketman last night. I thought the film was excellent, despite not really liking the music of Elton John. The more I think about it; the more I realise that the reason I like the film so much is because it is not a straightforward biopic, which follows a chronological line of singer - and then he did this; and then he did that - but which explores themes of isolation, loneliness, addiction, desire to be loved and need for self-discovery.

The narrative is explored through the music, and Dexter Fletcher's direction is sharp from the forlorn childhood experiences through the magical realism of the dances of character development to the drug-addled performance scenes and the clinical frustration of the rehab clinic. Both Taron Egerton as Elton John and Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin are excellent in their studied depiction of emotion rather than mimicry of artists, and, with the supporting cast, they create a cracker of a film.

From this, I deduce that the music of the artist is not necessarily what draws me to a biopic; it is more in the way the story is presented and the acting of the participants. No, I have not seen Bohemian Rhapsody, because the reviews I've read and the trailers I've seen do not interest me - but I will, because it won the best male actor Oscar and was nominated for the best picture. Meanwhile, here are some other musical biopics I have enjoyed (and yes, there are more than five):

24 Hour Party People

12 Musical Biopics:

1. 8 Mile (2002) - A film about a young man pushing boundaries and finding his voice, literally and metaphorically; Curtis Hanson directs Eminem playing a version of himself with some tightly-choreographed rap battles and strategically-placed moments of tension and explosion.
2. 24 Hour Party People (2002) - Manchester: my music; my era; my city; my club. With writing by Frank Cotterell Boyce and direction by Michael Winterbottom, it is as sharp and cutting a depiction of the Manchester music scene as you could hope to see. Steve Coogan captures the essence of Tony Wilson with wry bitchiness and straight-to-camera monolgues. The film is as irreverent as it is incisive as it rides the music train from punk to New Wave to acid house and the rave scene. 
3. 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) - Not only a fascinating insight into the more-than-mildly-bonkers mind of Nick Cave, but also a discourse on the transformative power of performance. Confidently directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the fusion of documentary and drama with talking heads and concert footage is absolutely excellent. It won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival; it deserved to win many more at many more.





4. Amadeus (1984) - I don't know a lot about Mozart, but I know what I like, and I like this film. It's got humour, passion, and pathos - all embodied in Peter Shaffer's adaptation of his original play and the art with which Tom Hulce (Mozart) and F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) enact the rivalry between the great composers. In an interview, Hulce claimed that he used John McEnroes's mood swings as a source of inspiration for his portrayal of Mozart's unpredictable genius. Director Milos Forman uses flashbacks, juxtapositions and anachronisms in a way that was revolutionary to me at the time (I was 13).  
5. La Bamba (1987) - The film that introduced the world to the star that shone so brightly as Lou Diamond Phillips, playing Ritchie Valens. Although I knew the music of Buddy Holly, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran and The Big Bopper (thanks, mum and dad), I didn't really know anything about their background or their tragically shortened futures. Written and directed by Luis Valdez, the film is very straightforward and borders on bland, but it provides just the right level of detail for a teen learning about musical influences and has enough energy and emphasis on camaraderie to appeal to a young adult audience. 
6. Behind the Candelabra (2013) - one of my favourite films of the year. Yes, it really is as good as everyone says it is. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are excellent. The flamboyance and excess are neatly captured with gentle ridicule but evident empathy, and confirm Liberace’s own conviction that ‘too much of a good thing is wonderful’.
7. Control (2007) - Great music; great acting (even from Samantha ‘yes, it-would-kill-me-to-smile' Morton); great directing; great city – what more can I say?
8. I'm Not There (2007) - Bob Dylan biopic with the shaggy haired folk-singer played by six different actors, to represent different aspects of his career and personality, most notably Cate Blanchett, whose performance earned her an Oscar nomination. Bits of it are inspired but it is also rather rambling and goes on too long.



9. The Pianist (2002) - Adrien Brody is spellbinding in this adaptation based on the autobiography of Polish-Jewish pianist, composer, and Holocaust-survivor, Wladyslaw Szpilman. The film was a co-production of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland, and is directed by Roman Polanski in what may be his best ever work. It is harrowing, as is to be expected with its WWII setting where concentration camps and death are ever-present, but it is also hopeful and even peculiarly uplifting. And it feels authentic. Since Polanski wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, any scene showing Brody playing was actually his playing overdubbed by recordings performed by Olejniczak. In order for Brody's playing to look like it was at the level of Szpilman's, he spent many months prior to and during the filming practising so that his keystrokes on the piano would convince viewers that Brody himself was playing
10. Shine (1996) - Directed by Scott Hicks and starring Geoffrey Rush, this film examines that fine line between musical creativity and mental illness in the person of concert pianist, David Helfgott. The device of three actors playing the pianist at different times of his life emphasises the deep and lasting effects that parental pressures can cause. There are a few mawkish moments, but overall it is sensitively handled and touching. 
11. Sid & Nancy (1986) - In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I love Gary Oldman. Even when he is playing the whiny, narcissistic, petulant punk-boy, Sid Vicious. The film, directed by Alex Cox, has a fantastic soundtrack (including Joe Strummer and The Pogues alongside The Sex Pistols, of course) and a spectacularly bleak outlook. And yet, from the filth and the futility, Oldman and Chloe Webb (as Nancy Spungen) manage to unearth a love story, which is battered into a sublime submission. This is what happens when hype overtakes talent; nobody wins but the marketing moguls. 
12. La Vie en Rose (2007) - Absolutely brilliant: great acting; great singing; great cinematography; great film. End of.

Yes, I am fully aware that only one in twelve of these focuses on a female artist; I'd be keen to hear recommendations for decent musical biopics that do. I have not yet seen The Runaways, although I intend to. I am also aware that there is a fine line between documentary and biopic (the Nick Cave one especially straddles fences, but that shouldn't come as any surprise), and that it seems people are often more interested in the 'madness' than the music. 

Friday Five: Date Nights

Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! by Capital Brewing Co.

We're very busy. Other than working full-time jobs, he does brewing and I do theatre. We are on committees for these things. We also try to fit in exercise. It can be tough to find the time to spend together without just sitting on the sofa in a state of exhaustion. So we have instigated a night a week where we go out and do a thing together. It doesn't have to be a big thing - but it is our thing. We enjoy each other's company and need to make time for us, rather than letting all our other concerns take priority. We alternate between who gets to choose the activity/ venue; sometimes we are more creative than at others. You can probably guess who chooses which. We are having fun.

5 Recent 'Date Nights':

1. Capital Brewing launch of Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! - Capital is a great summer after-work spot, with lots of space to sit outside and relax. It's very casual and welcoming to all - cyclists; families; dogs; drinkers... it's very inclusive. Handily located near not a lot of anything else, it is a true destination venue. We went for launch of their latest beer: the Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! It's a kettle-soured collaboration with Ona coffee and, at less than 3% abv, it's a perfect drink for a summer afternoon, and you can still drive home. Or stay and have a session.
2. Vice at Palace Electric - We went to our favourite cinema to see this film written and directed by Adam McKay about the crucial years in the life of Dick Cheney. It that made me angry. The film is well-acted (Christian Bale is notable as the former U.S. vice president) and the direction excellent; the politics are despicable. It took all of my self restraint not to boo most of the characters. Now I just have to try and unclench my jaw. I disliked the very end (please stop insulting my intelligence; I can draw my own comparisons without them being spelled out to me) but the fly-fishing lures at the end credits were a nice touch.
3. The Brindabella half-price pizza - It's a golf-club watering-hole, with beautiful views over the greens (is that what they're called?). There are parrots in the trees, there is good beer on tap, the pizzas are half-price on Wednesdays, and it's within easy walking distance of our house (downhill on the way home). What more could you want?



Chilli Prawns Pizza at The Brindabella

4. Permanent O-course, Weston Park - So much more fun than I remember this being as a child. I may have finally overcome my pathological aversion to orange and white triangles. Him Outdoors and I took turns in navigating around a lovely park in the soft light of the evening with kangaroos for company, and finished it off with bubbles by the lake and fish and chips. 



Him Outdoors finds the prize!

5. Tim Minchin at The Canberra Theatre Centre - The gig was amazing. The man is phenomenal: talented; witty; angry; edgy; passionate; funny; charismatic; good-looking; intelligent; mischievous; sensitive... Shall I go on? (Him Outdoors says 'no'.)

Friday Five: Favourite Films of 2018

Once again the 'rules': I have to have seen the film; It has to have been released in 2018 in the country in which I was living; the films are listed in alphabetical order; I can have more than five if I want to; there will be honourable mentions.

7 Favourite Films of 2018:

1. The Death of Stalin – What a brilliant concept to have all the lead players in a drama about the death of Stalin talk with their natural regional accents. Armando Iannucci is arguably the greatest writer and director of black comedy, and this is a highlight among many of his career. With a plethora of character actors, he turns fear into farce with one of the most sophisticated screenplays likely to grace the screen this year.
2. The Favourite – Acting; direction (Yorgos Lanthimos); screenplay; storytelling; plot; dialogue; cinematography; musical score; costumes; hair & make-up; locations – all superb. The juxtaposition of courtly early-18^th-century speech with more modern vernacular creates moments of great humour, also applicable to manners and that ballroom dance, which is just sublime. The cinematography and camera angles enhance the feeling of disorientation, as does the score which, while a bit unsettling in his previous The Lobster and completely irritating in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, is entirely appropriate here as it ratchets up the tension and highlights the drama. Too often directors patronise audiences, but Lanthimos credits us with enough intelligence not to have to provide tedious backstory or exposition. Everything we need to know about these characters is self-contained within the film, and what characters they are! Olivia Coleman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone are all excellent, and how refreshing it is to see a film where women for once are front and centre and the men, no matter how good they are (and they are good), are peripheral to the action. My only quibble is that the font used for the end credits is very difficult to read.
3. I, Tonya – This is a gripping ‘based-on-the-true-story’ tale of the famous ice-skating stoush between Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) and Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver). But in director Craig Gillespie’s vision it becomes more of a story of adversity of class and parentage with the forceful character of Tonya’s mother (Allison Janney) pushing her down as much as she hauls her up. There are multiple versions of the same ‘incident’, which makes this more interesting than a straightforward biopic, but also creates a few tonal inconsistencies (domestic violence is never a laughing matter).
4. Lady Bird  – This is a wonderful film directed by Greta Gerwig about a young woman (Saoirse Ronan), wanting to escape the metaphorical maternal straitjacket enforced upon her by mother (Laurie Metcalf). After watching the characters develop individually and into a respectful understanding of how to handle the world around them through art and adventure, relationships and romance, I was saddened to hear comments that this was a woman’s film, with the director only Oscar-nominated due to gender inclusion and that it would not appeal to men at all. And that is why we need more films like this. 
5. Leave No Trace – Moments of tenderness nestle alongside no-nonsense survival techniques in this examination of what it means to care for someone else when you’re struggling to care for yourself. Director Debra Granik mines every nuance from the formidable setting of the forests of Portland, Oregon and the performances of the father (Ben Foster as Will) and daughter (Thomasin McKenzie) duo. Post-traumatic stress disorder has rarely been handled so sensitively.
6. Peterloo – I've wanted to see this film since I first heard about it. Mike Leigh directs a stellar cast of Northerners (including Rory Kinnear and Maxine Peake) in the lead-up to and consequences of this Manchester massacre, saying only they could feel it in their soul. Films like this make me miss Pete Postlethwaite more than ever. It's epic in a good way with well-placed silences and heartfelt speeches. From a time when the desire for universal suffrage seemed radical, the ruling class treated the workers as scum, and rights to habeas corpus were removed at will... haven't we come a long way?
7. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri – I saw this film on New Year’s Day 2018 (release date in Australia) and joked that it was the best film I had seen all year. On New Year’s Eve, it still is. Witty script and dialogue combine with the black humour and subtle acerbic tone we’ve come to expect from Martin McDonagh. Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones, and Samara Weaving are excellent (in fact only Abbie Cornish stands out as a weak link). The switches from laugh out loud to bleak tragedy are whip-smart and heart-wrenching. Nothing is expected; nothing is resolved in this superb example of letting an audience make up their own mind without being spoonfed a solution.

Honourable Mentions:

The Happy Prince – Well, I liked it! I found the performances powerful (Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde, Colin Morgan as Lord Alfred, Edwin Thomas as Robbie Ross, and Emily Watson as Constance), the direction astute (also Rupert Everett), and the writing sensitive and poignant (once again, our Rupert). My companions found it 'dull', 'annoying' and 'full of people eating food in expensive restaurants and whining about not having any money'. I guess it takes all sorts.

Madame Hyde – If you wanted to make a film about the mind-altering, personality-changing effects of menopause complete with hot flushes and flashes of uncontrollable rage, you could do worse than apply the fantasy elements of the Jekyll and Hyde narrative in a low budget film about a chemistry teacher. Especially if you’re French (director: Serge Bozon) and Isabelle Huppert is your titular character.

Molly's Game – Jessica Chastain can do anything. Here she does gambling for increasingly higher stakes (with clients including actors, sports stars, business tycoons and mobsters) until she is arrested by the FBI. As Molly Bloom, an ex-Olympic skier whose career was cut short in a freakishly bad wipe-out, she relishes competition and she understands risk. Her performance is thoughtful and compelling, no matter what your attitude toward the moralities of betting. She narrates her story in all its flashback detail to her defence lawyer played with similar lack of hyperbole by Idris Elba. It also contains some great dialogue, as one would expect from a film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, including this: ‘This courthouse is located within spitting distance of Wall Street. I know this from my personal experience trying to spit at it. The men and women who work there will commit more serious crimes by lunchtime today than the defendant has committed in this indictment.’

Phantom Thread – Daniel Day Lewis is never anything less than completely imposing. His OCD tailor with control issues, Reynolds Woodcock, is forceful, but so is his imperious sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville). When he invites fresh-faced young model Alma (Vicky Krieps) into their house to become his muse and lover, it appears as though she doesn’t stand a chance. She is, however, able to give as good as she gets, as all the characters prove to be contemptible but compelling. Paul Thomas Anderson directs a silence beautifully – the breakfast table becomes a battlefield – and the break-out from the obedient woman-as-dummy role attests that one size does not fit all.

A Quiet Place – Despite the number of problematic elements (If you know that noise is going to kill you; why would you get pregnant?), this was an enjoyable thriller/ horror, mainly down to the characterisation – the audience gets to care about the individuals (even the children!) – and the acting. Emily Blunt is always exceptional and her on-screen (and real life) husband, John Krasinski also directed and co-wrote the film. Finding moments of tenderness in the midst of tension is difficult but dramatized well here.