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 

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