I have seen 80 movies in the cinema this year, not counting repeat viewings. This is my list of the ten best. I stress: this is the best of those I have actually seen. There are undoubtedly some movies that deserve to be on the list that I didn’t manage to see on the big screen (Moonlight for example). And its my personal list – nothing fair or objective about it.
10. The Big Sick
Funny, touching, memorable. Family drives you crazy but family ties endure, regardless. A study in the racism of well-meaning white people that is on-point without being difficult to watch and a sweet romance at the heart of it..
9. Miss Sloane
Jessica Chastain gives a towering performance as a tough–as-nails lobbyist who crosses the line in pursuit of a cause she believes in.
8. Detroit
A powerful depiction of horrific true life events. Very real, and scarily relevant to the present times.
7. Their Finest
Eat your heart out, Christopher Nolan, this is the film to watch about the Dunkirk evacuation! Funny and tragic, the scene depicting the aftermath of a bombing is possibly the best depiction of war that I have seen in a PG-rated film.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
The opening, with baby Groot dancing to ELO while the Guardians do battle in the background, and that incredible funeral scene at the end… Simply wonderful.
5. Patti Cake$
If you had told me I would love a movie about rap, I would not have believed you. But I love this one. The characters and their lives are so real, the story so lovely without falling into the Hollywood trap. A revelation.
4. Get Out
I heard so much about Get Out before it reached the UK, I didn’t think it could possibly live up to the hype. But it does. A truly terrifying premise at its heart, but some laugh-out-loud moments, too. And scary, because anyone white who doesn’t recognise that garden party scene is probably lying to themselves.
4. Logan
It is hard to imagine a more perfect swan-song for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Finally, we see Wolverine as he is meant to be: savage and violent, unstoppable, loyal, protective, good and so much more. But it’s more than a good comic book adaption: it is an amazing movie. Sad, so sad, but uplifting as well. Beautiful.
2. The Lego Batman Movie
I have not laughed so much in a movie for years. It is just perfect in a way only a “Lego” movie could get away with, because the humour comes from the exaggeration. From Batman and his lonely microwaved lobster to the Joker/Batman romance-gone-wrong to the simply brilliant way they included just about every villain WB had the rights to…it was hilarious from start to finish.
1. Wonder Woman
The movie I didn’t know I needed until it was there. I know many people don’t like the CGI-heavy ending, but even there, I don’t think there’s a single beat wasted. It’s everything I could have hoped for from a Wonder Woman movie and that No Man’s Land crossing is easily the best movie moment of the year. I still can’t watch it without tearing up.