Best and Worst of 2017

Alright bring it in, 2k17 let's have it. We're listing our highest and lowest rated movies of the year. Thought it was worth going back and seeing what we thought of a film on the first viewing experience and seeing if it's changed. Now just to be clear we only just started our blog this year! So we're not awful people for not including La La Land but we're just going through what we've already reviewed. 
So let's smash through them, our best and worst of 2017, ending with a couple of honourable mentions!

BEST 

Get Out (2017)
Widely appreciated by critics and audiences, bold social commentary and exceptional directorial debut by Jordan Peele. 
8/10

Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Surprisingly great adaptation, gorgeous set pieces and costumes, happy film.
Luke Evans is a dish
8 or 9/10 

Logan
Great acting, great story, great send of to an iconic character. 
Hugh is a dish. 
8/10

Baby Driver 
Edger Wright proves his style, Ansel Elgort excells and the soundtrack is one of the best of the year.
John Hamm is daddy af.
9/10

It (2017)
Incredible cast, incredible adaptation, actually scary.
8.5/10

WORST

The Mummy (2017)
A chaotic, and untidy film. A poor story, is met with a weak cast, a disappointing first installment to the Dark Universe series. 
4/10

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) 
An unorganised, plot hole-filled addition to the Star Wars Universe. They could have at least let Carrie Fisher go peacefully...
But, Adam Driver is a dish.
4/10



Emoji Movie 
Poo emoji, poo emoji, Sir Patrick Stewart.
2/10

Snatched 
Amy Schumer shouldn't be given more than 15 minute slots, massive plot holes, bad characters.
3/10

Transformers: The Last Knight 
Absolutely exhausting. Confusing, and boring. However, if I can make it through this film, I can make it through anything. 
3/10

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

2017 really was a great year for film, but some of them didn't seem to quite make the cut for our best of the year. There are a couple, that we personally feel deserve a special mention. They are brilliant in their own way, and incredibly memorable for us.  

First up, The Disaster Artist (2017) deserves its own place. I have not stopped thinking about this film since first seeing it. The Room has its own place in my heart. But The Disaster Artist just reminded me of how great this film really is, for a handful of reasons. The Franco brothers did Tommy Wiseau and his film a huge justice, and I recommend watching this if you have not already. This film also 100%, has one of THE most memorable scenes of the year for me. Brilliant tribute, brilliant film.
OH, AND JAMES AND DAVE FRANCO ARE DIIIIIIIIIISHY.
7/10.


So Call Me By Your Name (2017) I'm so pleased there has been so much positive feedback from so many different people. I think they handled love with such sincerity it was relatable and sexy and heartbreaking all at once. The cast were great and the shots were picturesque. Having not read the book I can only assume it's a wonderful adaptation, a gorgeous film, with a beautiful story. Timothée Chamlet is a stone cold cutie and Armie Hammer is a 6'5 dish.
7/10

And there we have it, it's a been a great year for film all round really, managed to watch 75 films in the cinema this year, so let's see what we can do with a full year! Bring on 2018 and let us know your favs of 2017!

CINEMATES 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

I just don’t know how I feel. 

I am certain that needing to see a film twice just to get a firm opinion means it wasn’t great, especially when you don’t feel much different after the second time of watching it.

SO, the story – in case you aren’t aware. Rey has discovered she has abilities, and now that she has found Luke Skywalker, she is able to begin training to develop her skills. She is also battling the relationship she has with Kylo Ren, who appears to be getting stronger under the rule of Supreme Leader Snoke. Meanwhile, the Resistance are preparing for battle with the First order, and Finn, Rose and Poe are doing everything they can to make sure everyone in the Resistance survives, alongside Princess Leia.

Do you want the actual plot now? The plot that does not use any words from the Star Wars universe, that make The Last Jedi sound like it’s going to be a SICK film… One ship follows the other at close proximity, but never quite catches up. Two people try and find a man who can help them but they dick around doing it, while one other person uses the force to talk to another person, and has wet hair a lot.

I really don’t want to be the one that won’t let it go that Disney have ruined Star Wars, and it because of this - doesn’t make sense that this film especially, has been getting such high ratings. But I am going to have to be that one person still, because Disney have ruined Star Wars, and the internet does not make sense in relation to this film

I’m going to put aside all the issues I have with this film, because I am a fan of the extended universe. I have wasted hours of my life reading the books, comics, all the pieces of the internet I never thought existed, and it is painful to watch anything to doesn’t run alongside this perfectly. There are issues with this as a Star Wars film yes, like technicalities. For example – Snoke should be a true Sith, so therefore a) his eyes should be a different colour, and b) he 100% would not die how he did. Next up, why on earth did Maz show up? ALSO, someone explain the lack of consistency with Luke’s lightsabers? Lastly, when are Rey and Ben going to realise that their names are wrong, and they are brother and sister so that this shitshow can start to make some logical sense…?

Ignoring all of that though, it was a bad film. Forget that it is Star Wars, just for a minute and think about how disjointed this film was! There was no consistency in the plot. We skipped from different perspectives CONSTANTLY, which was at times frustrating, because a moving ship is not a good transition when you’ve already used it 3 times in a row. For what could be considered an action film, the action was honestly, appalling. Tell me a time that we had one good battle, this didn’t make you feel dizzy. Similarly, the effects in The Last Jedi this weren’t fantastic, the action and the effects together were on occasion extremely messy, and these things made the film seem so much longer the second-time round. The pacing was just so off, we spend ages doing one thing that was really not interesting, which meant there were certain points that lacked attention – such as, the fight scenes.

On a positive note. The score was great. It really redeemed this slightly catastrophic film. It is not only something needed to set the mood, but where there are 2 different ‘settings’ its necessary, just so that you know where you are in the universe. Especially in a plot hole filled film.

I do, however, have some problems with the cast. I am going no further with members of the original cast that – Mark Hamill sucks. But I have extremely warmed to Adam Driver. I really think he is doing a great job as Kylo Ren now, and we are really getting both sides of him. There are occasions when he is a whiney baby, but that’s more just a character fault, than something that is Adam Driver’s problem. He’s doing it well is what I’m trying to say, and he’s made me crave more Kylo Ren on screen. I’ve never been a fan of Rey, or Daisy Ridley, (sorry internet) so for now, I still nothing our new Jedi. Do I need to say much about John Boyega? He’s John Boyega, he’s great at what he does, and he again, plays a character with flaws very well. I don’t care all that much for Finn, but he’s doing his thing and it’s not horrible to watch.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t as bad as The Force Awakens, and I am not just being bitter because this was another Star Wars Film, that was not a great Star Wars film. I genuinely believe there were a lot of faults in this as an actual film. If I wasn’t a Star Wars fan, I believe I would still find this problematic. I was positive I would rate this film lowly before I even saw it, but I just don’t understand how the average person, Star Wars fan or not, can watch this film and not leave with questions.

I sincerely hope this gets cleared up in the spin-offs, because watching it twice in the cinema has not done anything to change my opinion. As it stands… I still just don’t know how I feel.

Good luck with the Carrie Fisher CGI Disney. I hope you do it well.

4/10

CINEMATES - S

The Death of Stalin (2017)

The Death of Stalin is quite simply, a political comedy… if there even is such a thing. The story walks us through Stalin’s last moments alive, and the challenges the rest of his cabinet faced after his death, with a nice dose of comedy.

We caught the Death of Stalin before its release at an Oden Screen Unseen, and it has taken me until now to face writing this review. This isn’t because it was a bad film, it was enjoyable – but it was a bit of something and nothing at the same time. So, I can already tell it’s going to be a short review.

I really think this film will be appealing to certain audiences, while others may find this if not boring, perhaps offensive, but this genuinely depends on your sense of humour. This film takes a serious event, and basically takes the piss out it, which comes with strengths and weaknesses. The film jumps straight in and sets the scene, which is perfect because it’s something people shouldn’t really need much of a back story for. Which is emphasised right at the beginning when we see characters who seem to be incredibly paranoid that they are at risk and are being watched. If you are going into this film blind, not knowing anything about Stalin, you get the idea that there are some bad things going on…

The cast in this film were the redeeming quality. The performance of Steve Buscemi was probably the most noteworthy. This was the only person I distinctly remember being in this film. His character really brought across the fact that while we are dealing with something very dark, there is still room for a little chuckle. 

While I don’t want to comment on the historical accuracy of this film, it is obvious in certain scenes that events are painfully dramatized, and I do remember sighing because I got bored of the cheap satire. The only way I can describe some of the comedy, is by calling it ‘Dad comedy’.

There is nothing unbelievable about the tools used in this film, the lighting in this film was consistently dull, which suited the atmosphere that was being displayed, which was great. The score… I know there was one, but it’s nothing to write home about. Honestly, the production was fairly average.

All I can really say is that this film is entertaining. It is definitely funny, but also serious. It uses classic British comedy to lighten a difficult subject, and that is something I enjoy.

However, I don’t think it’s everyone’s cup of tea, and I doubt I’d ever watch it again.

5.5/10

Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

Goodbye Christopher Robin is the story of English writer A.A. Milne and his life post WW1, and how he stumbled upon the idea of his later success which was of course – Winnie the Pooh. There isn’t anything else to this story…

THAT ISN’T A FAULT THOUGH!

The film begins and we jump straight in to Milne’s life right after he comes back from the war and meet his wife, and begin to gain insight into the private life of him and his wife, and how his time away affected them both, and off we go on their journey. They move out of London, as the hustle and bustle is badly affecting Milne mentally, and productively, meaning he is unable to write. His wife falls pregnant and we then meet the inspiration behind his most famous work – their son, Christopher Robin.

The issue I have with films of this nature as always, is how true are some of these events, and how much are they exaggerated for dramatic effect? We won’t know, no one experienced this other than the characters that are being portrayed. So, I suppose the most important thing for this film is, how good were the cast? Could I connect with these characters? OH, GOD YES. 

I cannot fault the cast, I really believed there was a difficult father/son relationship there between Milne and his son, and I really felt for them both in many scenes. I could relate to the idea that a childhood had been stolen, and a Father didn’t understand or appreciate this at the time, and that a child couldn’t explain this when it was happening to them. Domhnall Gleeson was the absolute star of the show, without a doubt. His performance was incredible. I believed his struggle with quite obvious PTSD, I believed he struggled to look after a child, when he was suddenly asked to do this, I believed that the success he had brought him both joy, and sadness. It was a convincing performance and it did the ‘character’ justice, in simple terms. The performance of Margot Robbie in this, though also convincing and enjoyable, somewhat average. 

It was a truly enchanting story, it made me laugh, cry and generally entertained me. It made me realise why I enjoyed Winnie the Pooh so much as a child, yet also made me remember why I didn’t so much as I got older. It was heart-warming, and beautifully made. I just hope that it was somewhat a true representation of these non-fictional characters.

Daphne (Robbie) appeared to be was sickening, she infuriated me, which is good, if that is what you are trying to be, right? But something about it I didn’t enjoy. I feel like the intention was for her to be more powerful and more controlling, and I feel like Olive, Christopher Robin’s Nanny was more powerful. It’s like she was almost there… and then though nah that’ll do I’ll calm down. She was portrayed as a very selfish character, but there was nothing to explain this. Nothing that Milne did seemed to spur these actions on, so in a way it’s like her character should have made much more sense. Now, Will Tilston. Let’s talk about little Will. What a gem, I love it when a child is better at acting than an adult, and all I can really say is not only was he cute as a button, but he made me cry, and this kid is going to go far. There’s not much to say other than he was perfectly casted, I was really impressed by him.

The score in this film was as to be expected, it fitted beautifully, and if memory serves me correctly we obviously had original music made for Winnie the Pooh. The location helped a great deal with making this film look good, but I honestly don’t think that this would have made a difference to the story. I mean it made sense, it was nice to look at but there is nothing much more to say about that.

7/10 

CINEMATES - S 

Flatliners (2017)

Flatliners is the story of 5 medical students, who all take part in an experiment, to find out what happens to us in the afterlife, or if there is even such a thing. To do this, they take it in turns to stop their hearts for long enough to have their own experiences, but come back and tell their stories. However, this isn’t as simple as they might have imagined when their ‘sins’ come back with them and start wreaking havoc in their everyday lives. Resulting in serious complications for some of them. This idea to me was still quite refreshing, and the aspect of supernatural beings and life experiences being brought into this is what really hooked me in, well… and Ellen Page… and the 4% Rotten Tomatoes rating (oh and I love giving remakes a go).

As I mentioned, the cast was mostly what hooked me in with this remake, Ellen Page is a gem, and I was excited to see her in this because she takes on different characters and plays them well. This role for her, was no exception. You did understand the determination possessed by Page’s character from the beginning, and by the end you genuinely did fear for her, and in some parts empathise with what she was having to deal with as a consequence of her experiment. This hooked me when the film began. This part of the story was complimented wonderfully by Diego Luna’s character, who was concerned about what was going on because it was such a stupid thing to do, and frequently raised the incredibly real point that getting into a good medical school, and training to be a doctor is hard, don’t ruin all your hard work. Oh and, living is great, why are you all essentially committing suicide?

I don’t want to focus on the fact that this is a remake too much, so I don’t want to say the reason this film got bad is due to the choice of cast, the cast weren’t bad, it’s just the performances aren’t exactly memorable, but I guess this is possibly due to the writing. This was extremely poor in some areas, and I got a few eye-rolls in. The story was reasonably strong up until the point of shoving 2 new romances into an already busy film, it wasn’t needed, and took away some of the potential for originality. Similarly, the end is basically given away at the start. You are made aware of what is going to haunt Ellen Page’s character within the first 3 minutes, which again got a massive eye-roll.

There is really nothing much to say about it, and this seems to be the general consensus from those that have seen it. It was fine, it was well made from the point of view that it encorporated some comedy, some drama, it was a thriller, and possibly could be at a huge push a horror, and I would recommend that it is something you watch if you have either seen the original, and want to laugh at the attempt to make another average film from an already reasonably average film, or if you just want to see it, because it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great. I mean, I would watch it again, just maybe don’t get too excited about it.

5.5/10

The Dark Tower (2017)

I just don’t know where to begin…

The Dark Tower is a story about young boy Jake Chambers who realises he is different from others in his life, whilst battling constantly being told he’s crazy, whilst trying to battle the mystery of his abilities and ‘shine’. He finally encounters the Gunslinger, and the villain of this series – Walter. Jake ends up being stuck in the middle of their battle and all are trying to keep the universe stable by protecting the Dark Tower that stands in the middle of our universe(s).

This sounds like a simple film with a straight forward story, right? It’s not, and this wasn’t what is portrayed in this film. My main struggle here is to not write a book review, or explain how much I adore the mind of Stephen King, because this should be emphasised as not something that represents King’s body of work, and should be viewed as something independent.

The film starts, and we’re straight in which as all film viewers know, comes with both successes and failures. We quickly come to understand the struggles Jake is going through, and are given the chance early on to empathise with him, and his mother. However, due to the length of the film, the only character development we are allowed is his – surprising as there are two main characters we honestly don’t know much about.  

The way the story is presented to us isn’t the only problem this film has. Firstly, the cinematography is consistently poor in this production. I mean, take into consideration the fact that not only are we shown that a lot is happening in a whole different part of the universe, we are also filming in New York. It felt like we were on the same part of planet when flicking between these two worlds, this really took away from the main points in the plot. This could have such a greater impact if even the small things such as the lighting were altered. I understand where the creators were trying to go with this, to emphasise the dark, but come on… no lighting at all? REALLY!? EVEN IN NEW YORK?!

As well as this, the score… it was in no way memorable, this could have helped create an impact by being used as a transition from actions of one character to the next, it’s surprising how noticeable it is that the sound in a film is important when there is almost none.

This film did lack. It wasn’t all bad, it would be unfair to claim that it was terrible, because it wasn’t. The cast was chosen well, they did the job, and Idris Elba was well suited for his role as the Gunslinger, but I don’t know that I can say that is a solid across the entire cast. When we are introduced to the Gunslinger and Jake working together you do understand that there is a connection, but you are left wanting more from them. Matthew McConaughey as Walter… I’m not so sure. As I said, he did the job, of course, and it was fine, but he wasn’t convincing it was an average representation of a character that I remember expecting more from prior to the release of the film.

The only area this film didn’t lack – which I expected, was some okay action. But again, we just needed more! As it began to get good, and we began to see something happen the film switched to a new event because it was just too short for what it tried to do.

Honestly, I just don’t know how I feel about this as a film, let alone something that is part of a serious cult following. Don’t get me wrong, it was entertaining, but there is nothing about it that stands out very well. In comparison to the trailer, I feel disappointed because it set us up for a chunk of Stephen King’s universe. There were some very subtle references to other key parts of his universe in this film, and they just weren’t explained at all. But again, am I making a bigger deal about this because I know about the universe we’re in?
If you are a fan of King’s writing, and are ready to watch this expecting some juicy King greatness, you aren’t going to get it. You will leave wanting more.

I await the next addition to the world of Stephen King, with the upcoming re-release of It, with seriously baited breath. I hope significant attention has been paid to the details in comparison to this production.

It was average, and definitely not for the King super-fan likely to get irritated by missed details.

4.5/10

CINEMATES - S 

The Mummy (2017)

After the masses of bad reviews following the release of The Mummy, Universal’s first instalment to its Dark Universe series… I really was not looking forward to watching this film. I mean we’d seen the trailers for months, and I’d begun to just get sick of seeing anything to do with this film, bit the bullet and caught a showing.

The story is what you’d expect from what we’ve already been given, but it is really nicely set out right at the beginning of the film, because we don't really know much about Ahmanet’s (Sophia Boutella) character, or history. So the film was really set up well, and honestly, the story just went downhill from there. Considering the film is called The Mummy, suggesting it is likely to be about a mummy, it’s almost quite the opposite. The main theme of this film was lost in some parts of he film, and it wasn’t so much a film about the villain, or the main character of the film it was more of a series of events surrounding the leading actor.

This was a problem for a couple of reasons. For starters, I’m not a massive fan of Tom Cruise anyway, and I know that isn't a popular opinion, and I cant always justify my reason for that statement, but I just don't always quite connect with him as an actor. This was something that i really noticed in this film, I just didn't quite understand what he was trying to do with his character. Secondly, it was a problem because its The Mummy! We want more of the Mummy! The rest of the cast really were nothing to write home about, I feel horrible saying it, but - they did the job but the actors did not stand out as the new ‘someone to watch’, because they starred in this film.

The actual film itself was really quite messy in parts, and I found myself sat there feeling exhausted, because it was pure on screen chaos. We jumped from one dilemma to the next, without much transition, or in some cases closure. It felt like during filming they were like RIGHT, WE NEED A BUNCH OF DISASTER, EDITING TEAM… SMUSH IT ALL IN. The result was not a positive one, and ended up with the film not only being a bit all over the place, but a little bit too long. It really felt like it was 2 hours long.



Not all was bad though, there were some interesting bits of action that I hadn't expected, and a lot of Cruise falling of buildings, dodging explosions and showing us some new creatures, which did on occasion look different to most others that we have seen before. The comedy however, was truly awful, corny, and eye-roll worthy. When i wasn’t that, it was jus funny because some scenes almost ripped off Shaun of the Dead… Which is great, if you’re watching Shaun of the Dead.

Honestly, this film for me was a hot mess, and like myself, I wouldn't rush to see it. It’s not the worst film by all means, but is it better than the 1999 original? No, of course not. Is it worth buying? No. Is it even worth recommending? Probably not. For a 2 hour film there is not a lot to say that isn't really mean, but I was no more impressed with this after watching than I was before release.

4/10. Sorry Cruise, I still won’t be joining a fan club.

CINEMATES - S 

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

You might have seen the tweets about this a few weeks ago, and thought… well, is a review coming? It was, it is, it’s here. I was lucky enough to catch an early showing of King Arthur two weeks ago now, and unfortunately couldn’t get my thoughts out sooner due to an embargo.

But that time is up and I can finally talk about it!

As I said, on April 27^th I managed to catch a sneaky preview of the film, with thanks to ShowFilmFirst. I had seen the trailers once or twice, but was never gripped, and I don’t think I would have bothered with seeing this film had I not had this chance.

The trailer gives no indication of what the story is about, or how it develops and so on, so I did have no idea how this film was going to play out once I’d headed in and the film began. King Arthur is about Arthur (funny that…), played by the wonderful Charlie Hunnam, and how he lost his right as heir when he was a young boy, and was essentially left in the streets to fend for himself, and with the help of his friends, or workers, having no idea who he was, and he got on – obviously, just not with what should have been set out for him. Eventually we see the big scene where Arthur removed the sword from stone and it then becomes his duty to accept the hand he was dealt and overthrow the already ruling, King Vortigern (Jude Law).

I mean that seems straight forward, right? Not at all surprising for a film called King Arthur? Well, correct, nothing about this story was surprising, but at the same time it was. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie the traditional medieval story was adapted to fit a modern audience (in terms of language use most noticeably), I think very well. In addition to this, it took on the responsibility of including an element of fantasy. 

Through the film this idea grew on me, and eventually paid off, but at the start I felt a bit lost in regards to some of the creatures… why is that elephant so big? Who’s that spooky guy they keep showing? Then it all wrapped up, the story began to unfold and it all settled down and ended up making (somewhat) perfect sense. 

The locations that were selected, or created for this film were taken advantage of in some scenes, and parts were shot great. Alongside the musical score that was popped in it gave the film a certain ‘feel’, a sense of almost… uniqueness. I didn’t feel like I was watching something I had seen before because the nitty gritty aspects were quite individual. From reading other reviews, I have seen the Guy Ritchie has repeatedly been named the best thing about this film, and everyone is right. He is, and did we expect anything less? I am a fan of his work, and I think if nothing else – the fact that he is involved in this film is reason enough to watch it.

If you didn’t guess already from me calling Charlie Hunnam wonderful…. I thought he was wonderful. I was excited to see him in this, and he didn’t bloody let me down did he! He was casted perfectly to be honest, and it was a memorable performance, for which credit is due. The rest of the cast… it did its job, Jude Law is Jude Law, we don’t expect a bad performance, and we don’t get one. Did I believe he was the baddie? Yes, sure, the performance was fine. But other performances weren’t as particularly favourable as that of Hunnam, and some were even expected... of course we're going to have Aidan Gillen helping the lads out in a medieval themed film!

The issue King Arthur had, wasn’t necessarily the acting, it was more the pacing. Don’t get me wrong we had some great fight scenes, they packed them out, and they were great… but at the same time some were long. In fact, some scenes were really long, and I felt like I was in the cinema for ages.

This film wasn’t bad in the slightest, and now that I’ve had that time to digest what I’d seen before writing up, and being surprised with the trailers popping up everywhere again, I’d like to see it again. I think I would buy this, and would watch it (if I could dedicate to the what felt like 5 hours, again).

If you’re on the fence about this film, watch it. You never know – you might unexpectedly enjoy it. Overall, I’d give it a solid 6/10. It had its flaws, but had its fair share of redeeming qualities too. Not a bad film after all!

CINEMATES - S 

Going in Style (2017)

I almost forgot this film was being released until an advert appeared on my telly, and I was hooked from the second I saw Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine together.

In more recent years it seems that Freeman has taken any role that he has been asked to just because he can, and it hasn’t always paid off. I was ready to go into this with an open mind.

Going in Style is about 3 friends Joey (Caine), Willie (Freeman) and Albert (Arkin). The film starts of with Joey witnessing a bank robbery after being told he may be receiving a default letter, and having his house repossessed due to missing mortgage payments. He leaves and we discover that all 3 of them are having their pension stopped, so basically - they are all broke. Joey suggests to his friends that they should rob a bank, and with some training, and advice, they eventually get round to doing this.

I mean, really… there isn't too much that I can spoil, but there are some parts of this film that are pure gold due to how the story plays out. It keeps you hooked.

It seems like forever since I sat down and watched a film that was genuinely funny,   and a large reason for that is the cast.

In case you didn't guess already, I was really excited to see this cast working together, and they really did that, their acting styles complimented each other so well, and i honestly couldn’t imagine an alternative bunch of older dudes trying to rob a bank. You really felt for the characters, and believed how much they cared for each other and their families. Honestly, it made me think of my Grandad and his best friend and some of the mischief they may have gotten up to when left unattended, and it felt like that idea was in mind whilst making this.

Admittedly, i was surprised to see that Zach Braff was the producer of this film, but he pulled it off. I had no idea this was a remake until i was actually in the cinema, so i cannot make any comparisons to the way in which the original film was shot, acted, or paced, so i am taking this film at face value.

Visually, this film was nice,,, it wasn’t phenomenal, but it suited the type of film that was being show it was easy to look at. This was the same for the soundtrack, it was nice, and it again matched what was being shown.

This is definitely a film that I would buy, and watch again, and honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was nominated for, or even won an award.

If you like dry, classic humour, and think Freeman, Caine and Arkin are all top dogs, i highly highly recommend this film.

I would give Going in Style a solid 7/10. It was a great film, and I’m so glad I watched it.

Get Out (2017)

So. Get Out. I will say now, without a doubt, it this film will be different depending on who's watching it. Yes, there are clear messages but there is a line open for interpretation to the individual watching. But we'll get to that.

So the story, black boyfriend anxiously meeting white girlfriend's parents for the first time. Or shall I say, African American boyfriend. Because there's a difference as Samuel L Jackson has recently pointed out. That's it, it a simple set up with some mystery involved. Now I watched the trailer for this a good while ago and I couldn't tell how satire it was meant to be, how much of a horror it was meant to be. But I'll be honest, I didn't think it looked great, I knew I was gonna watch it but I didn't have any expectations. Then the reviews started coming in, steam rolling in and I thought, what is this film, what has happened, I need to see this as soon as I can. Now I've seen it it's what I expected and more.

Now we've got Daniel Kaluuya, playing protagonist Chris, who is captivating. I feel like I'm watching a friend, I believe him and I want what's best for him. Granted I might be a little bias, as I am with most British actors (you did it mate!) but I was thinking about it, is it because he's closest person to me for relate to? Race is of course a huge deal in America, now more than the past few years, and people are aware of it. People that don't experience it personally are still aware of it, even if not the bigger picture. Kaluuya brings to life the dulled frustrations of the day to day prejudice Chris has to deal with, with a sad respect. He jumps through the social hoops that he's given because it's easier than not, he almost doesn't register the offence personally now. The character was a great mix of highly controlled yet in some scenes so raw. He's the audience's eye, not just because he's a photographer but because, bar his comedy relief friend, he's the only person we see and trust. I think this builds understanding with the stereotypes as well as his reaction to them. You get why he's tired, you get why he's cautious, yes he's dealt with it before but what if he hasn't and what if the unknown is worse? Well it is.

Among the parents manor we meet a total of 3 black characters, all stemming so far from the stereotypes they've been pigeon holed to, that Chris finds it uneasy. There's the absence of them, not just of any remnant of culture but of a person being present at all. Now Chris doesn't actively seek out answers to this, why you ask? Partly because it's a horror and he's a black man, he's not gonna search out the danger, don't you know how films tend to go? But on a more real note, why search for what's likely to be conflict, he just wanted to escape it. Because it can't help but find him. He's frequently reminded of his background and a range of attitudes towards it. Now there aren't too many overtly racist things, just the ignorant ones. Now these add up, don't let that slip, but they're all calculated. No word is an accident with those comments. Reading into the film a bit more, a lot of the scenes had the opportunity for the actors to improvise. But some had lines of clear purpose.

The cast was great, Allison Williams, who played the girlfriend, Rose, has some humour. If you've ever seen Girls, then you'll probably go into this not liking her due to only knowing her in that. But she has won Chris over so we're inclined to do the same. The parents, do well in playing exactly that, oddly caring mother and poor joke telling father. Rose's brother, a little more on the nose with his classic race statements, is more uneasy to watch, and that doesn't let up. Chris' friend Rod, who acts as the spectator for the most part, has some great scenes. Most of the actual jokes come from him, theres the odd few from Rose, in the form of teasing girlfriend, but any other laughter is nervous. The collection of white family members and friends that visit for the weekend event all have the same singularity. They're faceless and their comments about race and Chris all line up to make them a single entity. The unity of this group of characters emphasises the Us vs We mentality held by many that have issues with race.

Visually the film was crisp and clean. Had a great use of colour as well as the lack there of. One of my favourite shots was Chris sneaking out of the house to smoke standing in the garden in moonlight. Kaluuya unsaturated against the white building comes very close to being entirely black and white, a subtle image within the film. Peele chose a very artistic way to portray Chris' interaction with his mother-in-law. She hypnotises him and he wakes up the next day with a foggy understanding on the night before. Great cinematography in these scenes, a really interesting perception of how the character feels.

The sound was great, opening song from Childish Gambino, 'Redbone', is perfectly fitting, singing the words, 'stay woke'. The score was highly strung as expected from a thriller/horror, there was a particularly jolting moment which relied more on sound than visuals. And it worked wonderfully.

Now I want this to keep this spoiler free. It's a great film and it unravels naturally. You put things together yourself, even encouraged to so by some characters as well. After getting to climax of the narrative you're able to think back and put together many things. All of which I wish for you to learn yourself. Parts regarding Chris' past, as well as Rose and her family's. Hints towards divulging the real intentions of the family become clear and fitting. As I said before, there's no accident. This film has such purpose and it does everything on purpose.

8/10 Solid social commentary, incredibly well put together, wonderfully paced and 100% needs another viewing. Must watch.

CINEMATES - A