My top films of the decade: 2010 – 2019

It seems to be the thing to do – as we enter a new decade, a list of favourite films from the one which is just ending appears to be de rigueur. So here we are. I’ve seen other lists where the writers have selected one film from each year of the decade to provide …

My favourite films of 2017

Compiling this list of 2017 films has been an interesting task. There are usually a couple of films which miss the previous year's deadline due to UK release dates, but it's not often that so many of them make my 'best of' list. This year, some of my favourite films on this list may seem …

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Sooooo much good in this sequel, and yet so much troublesome stuff too. Let's start with the good, shall we? Blade Runner 2049 is an excellent sequel. It picks up, runs with, and explores further the themes raised in its predecessor; what does it mean to be human?, what are memories?, even issues of slavery and …

Podcast episode: Who am I, I am me?

If someone invites you to talk with them about film on their podcast, and says you can choose the movies which are discussed, then why pick just one Jake Gyllenhaal when you can have two?! In part one of a two-part series on identity crises, The B-Movie Podcast's Adam and I chat insecurity, infidelity and spiders …

Dolan Directs: Adele – Hello (2015)

If you've been reading the past posts in this series, you'll know how happy I am to be able to report that there is tea in china cups! It may seem like this is becoming something of an obsession for me, but now that I've noticed it, I need to see tea in china cups …

My favourite films of 2016

Being very strict with myself this year and definitely sticking to a top 10. It hasn't been easy, and you can see a ranking of my 2016 film viewing here. The top 12 and bottom 5 are in order, but the stuff in between is more of a general reflection than anything precise. One note - …

Arrival

A linguist is one of the first ports of call when aliens stop by for a visit. I've studied and had an interest in language my whole life, so this was guaranteed to have my curiosity from the outset. Pleasingly, this aspect continues to play a part throughout the picture - but there's so much …

Sicario

What drew me to this film? Two things - Emily Blunt and director Denis Villeneuve. For two-thirds of the film, Blunt is great. Then she more or less disappears in a strange point-of-view shift, presumably at the request of the director. And while I'm used to Villeneuve introducing twists (see Incendies, Prisoners and Enemy) this effective …