My top 15 films of 2017: 5-1

Previously, we had numbers 15 to 11 and then numbers 10 to 6 of the best of 2017. Just a quick recap:

15. A Ghost Story
14. Logan
13. The LEGO Batman Movie
12. Free Fire
11. Battle of the Sexes
10. Get Out
9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
8. War for the Planet of the Apes
7. Dunkirk
6. Detroit

So for one last time, here are my top five...

5. T2 Trainspotting

Back in 1996, we chose life. Now, we are doing it again and we've brought the old band back together.

20 years on from stealing a bag full on money and ditching his friends, Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) has returned to Edinburgh to reunite with them - Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Simon, formerly known as "Sick Boy" (Jonny Lee Miller), who has a business proposal lined up for him. Meanwhile, the psychotic maniac known as Begbie (Robert Carlyle), who Renton double-crossed, has escaped from prison.

20 years is a long time to wait for a sequel and there were a lot of high expectations for this, particularly because of Trainspotting's cult status. The follow-up to Irvine Welsh's original book was Porno, which was set ten years later, and a few years ago there was a draft by screenwriter John Hodge that was sent to everybody. Director Danny Boyle said it was faithful to the book, but did not really translate to the big screen, so the filmmakers went for a more original story; one more personal to Hodge. As I may have mentioned before, Irvine Welsh is not the most cinematic of authors; the only other work of his that has made a successful transition to the screen was Filth.

So, has it worked, waiting this long? Well if they had made it sooner, five or even ten years after the original, there would not have been the same nostalgia that was experienced, not only by the audience but also the filmmakers and actors. Modern-day films, if they are a hit, will get a sequel about two or three years after their release; it is a commercial pressure. Danny Boyle said that was not the case back in the late 90s...Sorry, going back to the question that was asked; of course it has worked. There are many themes addressed in this film, including nostalgia for the past, age and the consequences of getting older, friendship, trust, memories (both good and bad), betrayal, addiction, recovery and redemption. I am sure we can all relate to those in some sort of way.

We see that all the characters have aged sufficiently. They felt young, fearless and invincible in the first film, but a lot can happen in 20 years. This film is a reunion of sorts, seeing what it is these characters have got up to in that time and what is the state-of-play with their current situations, similarly with the actors who play them. Renton has swapped drugs for running, but he soon comes to the realisation that his life is not so rosy and the last time he was truly content was 20 years ago. He returns to Edinburgh with a lot of baggage after being diagnosed for ACS and feeling a certain amount of guilt for stealing that money. He is trying to rebuild old bridges with those he once called friends and also his own family; even since he left his mum has passed away. He is "a tourist in [his] own youth". Spud has continued to struggle with addiction and is possibly the worse for wear of all the characters as we are reacquainted with them. But then he becomes the centre of the film, using his nostalgia and memories as creative inspiration; he needs a purpose. Ewen Bremner does give the best performance in this film. I loved the little Raging Bull tribute when he tries going to a boxing gym for the first time. During his time in prison, Begbie has been estranged from his son and wants him to follow his example of crime and violence, rather than hotel management. Apart from that all he wants to do is kill Renton. Simon, who has still got his standout blonde hair, is unsuccessfully running a pub but also still living on the edge, notably attempting to blackmail well-respected members of society. And his big masterplan involves fraudulently applying for a business development loan from the European Union. As for other characters, remember Diane (Kelly MacDonald)? She is now a lawyer. And Mikey Forrester (Irvine Welsh) has also moved up in the world. We're also introduced to new ones, particularly Simon's Bulgarian girlfriend Veronika (Anjela Nadyalkova).

I like to think that Danny Boyle is the only one who has not changed slightly in those 20 years (apart from the fact that he won an Oscar for directing Slumdog Millionaire and won the hearts of the nation with the opening ceremony to the London 2012 Olympics). Only he could have brought all this together and allowed the cast to find these characters for themselves, giving them the occasional hint along the way. It certainly looks as if the conflict that once existed between him and Ewan McGregor is over, just because Boyle decided to go for Leonardo DiCaprio for The Beach instead of McGregor who had been in all of his previous feature films.

So, the title. Why 'T2'? Danny Boyle said he wanted to call it that if that would have been allowed by James Cameron as 'T2' was, and still is, the common abbreviation of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, Terminator 2 is not legally called that. Well the cast believe that the name they went with would have been chosen by the characters, particularly to annoy Cameron. That's fine by me.

...Oh, and the soundtrack is particularly good (see, I didn't forget one of the key elements to the first film), featuring Queen, Blondie, Wolf Alice, Young Fathers, Underworld, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and a remix of Lust For Life.

4. Blade Runner 2049

Caution – review may contain spoilers…and possibly a unicorn…or maybe not (it would if we were talking about the original)…

The one film I was most concerned about this year. Why make a sequel to one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made? Many believe that film is close to perfect. How can you come close to matching perfection? What is “more human than human”?

Once again set in a futuristic Los Angeles, 30 years after the events of Blade Runner, the Tyrell Corporation has gone bankrupt and been bought by Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), who is manufacturing replicants - bioengineered androids. Meanwhile, Officer K (Ryan Gosling) is one of the new generation of blade runners who hunt down and "retire" replicants. He discovers a long-buried secret which has huge implications for mankind and his search then leads him to the man who was in his shoes 30 years before - Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford).
I mentioned before that Ben Wheatley has been a regular contributor to my countdowns over the last few years. Another is Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. In 2013, he gave us Prisoners (which only just missed out on my top 10 that year, but received an honourable mention); 2015, Sicario; last year, Arrival. This is certainly his most ambitious film yet. He is obviously a fan of Blade Runner, to the extent that there was a Q&A that he took part in with Ridley Scott and they had a little disagreement as to whether or not Deckard was really a replicant. In fact, Harrison Ford distanced himself from that film and Ridley Scott because he [Ford] always believed that Deckard was human. Speaking of which, if you are going to watch Blade Runner before Blade Runner 2049 make sure it is the 'Final Cut' you watch...the one with the unicorn. I have mentioned previously going to see that version at the Tyneside Cinema just over two years ago; one of my favourite movie-going experiences and the Tyneside has quickly become my favourite cinema.

Anyway, back to reality, you could try to watch 2049 as a stand-alone piece and it would still work, but there are many concepts you will only fully comprehend if you have seen the original, especially in the final third. As a fan of the original, I gave a sigh of relief at the end. All the key themes from Blade Runner, including what it means to be human, can artificial intelligence ever evolve into something more and memories, had something new done to them. It is just shy of three hours long and when I saw it in a cinema it felt long. So it is a film that takes its time to tell its story as well as recap the original. In terms of its two main stars, they are both very good; Gosling is well-restrained (more so than some of his previous, memorable roles) and Ford is very sincere in his old age.

It is a visual masterpiece, thanks to cinematographer Roger Deakins. You can easily lose yourself in the vast world that has been created; it is breath-taking. The use of colour stands out: the bleak grey cities and rusty oranges/browns. The world that has been created looks endless. If you keep wandering through the fog, you have no idea what you will find next. The score for the original was an iconic piece from Greek composer Vangelis, combining electronic synth with noir jazz. This one began with Jóhann Jóhannsson as its composer, a previous collaborator with Villeneuve, before he left and was replaced by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer. Even that harks back to the original, if not a bit louder. It certainly matched the mood of the film at times, whether it was an action set piece, key dialogue between characters, establishing shot, etc.

It still beggars belief that this film was a commercial flop in the US. Some people have highlighted a fault with the film’s gender politics. With the possible exceptions of Robin Wright and Sylvia Hoeks, most of the female characters are treated like sex objects. Ryan Gosling has a virtual girlfriend that he has created and determined her setting depending on his mood and there are large naked statues. I understand these arguments and, yes, the plot is driven primarily by the male characters. But that is not the worst thing this film could have done. It could have destroyed all the great memories of the original Blade Runner, but thankfully it did not.

My one criticism - the dialogue in places was a bit soft. It will not last in time like the immortal "tears in rain" speech that Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) gave in the original.

3. The Disaster Artist

Did I ever doubt this film would not be good? "I did naaaht!...Oh, hi Mark." In fact, it exceeded my expectations.

The Disaster Artist is a dramedy looking back at the making of what is considered to be “the Citizen Kane of bad films” – The Room. Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) wants to become an actor, but is struggling to emote and feels insecure. But then he sees the unforgettable enigma that is Tommy Wiseau (James Franco). The two of them move to Los Angeles to further pursue acting careers, fail and therefore decide to make their own film. It also accounts for the troubles making it and the aftermath.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, adapted for the screen by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. It accounts for Sestero’s experiences, not just of making The Room but also his friendship with Tommy Wiseau. They are two people with a similar dream, to be famous. The rights were published back in 2014 by Seth Rogan’s Point Grey Pictures and it was then announced that James Franco would direct.

I have never properly watched The Room, but I have seen numerous internet critics like the Nostalgia Critic and CinemaSins dissect it. I am aware of it having a cult following, in the same way as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (the midnight screenings and the audience participation) or Ed Wood movies. And that is The Disaster Artist’s closest comparison for many – Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (Johnny Depp plays the worst director of all time, at the time of making Plan 9 from Outer Space). Tommy Wiseau believes he is making a film worthy of Tennessee Williams, but it is in fact hillarious cinematic garbage. The writing is bad; the direction is bad; the acting is bad. And it is largely down to him. The film cost allegedly $6 million but only grossed $1800, and Wiseau supposedly paid to keep it in theatres so it would be eligible for the Academy Awards.

The real-life Tommy Wiseau was hoping to be portrayed by Johnny Depp, before agreeing on James Franco. In fact there is a moment in the film where Tommy wants Depp to play the role of Mark in The Room if not Greg. Anyway, Franco is amazing as this strange man who we never really learn anything about. Where is he from; how old is he and where is the money coming from to finance this film? Supposedly he is from New Orleans, but his voice is from another planet; his is the same age as Greg, despite looking twice as old, and money is no object. He wants brilliance and to play the hero, but is told by one acting coach that he should only stick to villains or monsters like Frankenstein or Dracula. He has a “malevolent presence” and we see that later on when he is being horrible to one of his co-stars.  He is a complete arse towards the others making the film at times; he compares himself to Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock.

This is without doubt Franco’s best performance since 127 Hours. One of my favourite scenes is when we are introduced to Tommy at the drama school; he is giving this performance of what we assume is meant to be Stanley from A Streetcar Named Desire, riving on the floor and continuously yelling “Stella!” You watch it and you are just like “Wow! This is terrible and yet amazing at the same time.” Supposedly Franco stayed in character whilst in the director’s chair.

And then there is Dave Franco as Greg. He is in awe of Tommy's fearlessness, making comparisons to James Dean and wants to learn from him. At times he wants to live his own life, such as move in with his girlfriend and maybe branch out his acting, but then he remembers he made a pact to Tommy. This is the first Dave Franco performance I have actually enjoyed and taken seriously. Another fun performance, I thought, was Seth Rogan as Sandy Schklair, the script supervisor, who must have been the most patient man in the world during the filming of the actual film. Other notable performances include Alison Brie, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, Sharon Stone and Bob Odenkirk. There are also numerous cameos – Kevin Smith, J. J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Keegan-Michael Key and Bryan Cranston, who offers Greg the opportunity of an appearance in Malcolm in the Middle.

New York Magazine summed this film up perfectly – “A tribute to those who dream so big and fail so spectacularly that they actually triumph.” The Tyneside Cinema was showing a double-bill screening of this and The Room together (sadly I was late to the party; they quickly sold out). And that is the main thing you will get from this film – you will want to go and watch The Room. You can finally tick it off your movie bucket-list.

2. Baby Driver

Before I go on with this review, let me address the elephant in the corner. There is one member of this film’s cast who has been in the news in the last couple of months regarding allegations of sexual harassment. This review will not deny or question the authenticity of these accusations; it is just concentrating on the film Baby Driver. All I will say is there is one quote in particular that this cast member says and at the time it was considered crude and many audience members sniggered at it, but now that moment feels more awkward. Please do not judge me on including this film.

Now, on with the review. Let’s take one of Britain’s top filmmakers, Edgar Wright, send him stateside and let him loose with an idea he has had for years. You could not have car chase sequences like these ones on the streets of London. It can only work in the US. The last film he made on the other side of the Atlantic was the underrated-at-the-time-but-now-cult-hit Scott Pilgrim vs The World. However, here is his first solo outing as a writer and director. Just don't be put off the title.

'Baby' (Ansel Elgort) is a talented getaway driver working for a crime boss known as 'Doc' (Kevin Spacey). What is different about Baby is that he has permanent tinnitus (ever since a car accident in his childhood) and he blocks it out using music, which can heighten his focus and reflexes and provide the perfect soundtrack for a heist/getaway. Before he is able to have an ordinary life, he must help a group of bank robbers, including impulsive gunslinger 'Bats' (Jamie Foxx), scandalous 'Darling' (Eiza González) and former Wall Street trader 'Buddy' (Jon Hamm).

Wright originally came up with the idea twenty-two years ago when he was living in North London, listening to Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and thinking that it would make a great car-chase song. There is also the influence of great car movies (or films with significant car scenes in them) such as Bullitt, The French Connection (featuring the greatest car chase ever in film), the original Italian Job, Vanishing Point, Smokey and the Bandit, The Driver, The Blues Brothers etc.(just remember this is Edgar Wright we are talking about; think about all those films that Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were influenced by). It is that combination of visuals - high speeds, sharp cornering, handbrake turns - and sounds – loud revving engines and tortured tyre squealing. Then there is the heist element to it, inspired by the likes of The Getaway, Thunderbold and Lightfoot, Heat and Point Break (a film very close to Edgar Wright's heart (if you didn't know that already)).

With regards to the action sequences, the music motivates what is happening, very similar to the fight in the pub scene from Shaun of the Dead when they are playing Don't Stop Me Now. This was also the case in Scott Pilgrim and going back as far as Spaced. A good example in this film is when Baby won't let Bats and his gang out of the car for their heist until he reaches the right point in the track he is listening to. That scene also provided a good laugh particularly the fact that Bats wanted masks like Michael Myers from Halloween (I'll let you work out what the other guy has bought):

• Eddie (Flea): Doc said Michael Myers!
• JD (Lanny Joon): This IS Mike Myers.
• Bats: It should be the Halloween mask.
• JD: This is a Halloween mask!
• Bats: No, the killer dude from Halloween.
• JD: Oh, you mean Jason.
• Eddie and Bats: No!

The music and action dominate the set-pieces and so there is very little dialogue to them, like the car chase in Bullitt (although you would not have been able to hear a word from Steve McQueen over the sound of that Ford Mustang). The stunts were coordinated by Darrin Prescott who also worked as a stunt driver on the car chase through the streets of Moscow in The Bourne Supremacy. The Fast & Furious franchise wished they could have stunts like these.

These aren't just a random selection of tracks. A lot of thought must have gone into this selection, finding ones that would work best in a car film. Wright said he would not write a scene until he found the right track, so the writing accompanies it. So the choice of songs dictates the scenes; the action sequences; the dialogue to some extent; the camerawork; the editing. It is almost like a musical; yep, I am comparing Baby Driver to La La Land. And it is also good that Edgar Wright did pick a variety of tracks, some that I was unfamiliar with, rather than just the driving anthems everyone expects to hear. I already mentioned Bellbottoms, but here are some more notable inclusions:

• Hocus Pocus - Focus
• Tequila - Button Down Brass
• Radar Love - Golden Earring
• Brighton Rock - Queen
• Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
• Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas
• The Edge - David McCallum
• Harlem Shuffle – Bob & Earl
• Egyptian Reggae – Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

The way he uses the tinnitus is rather interesting too, particularly with the movie beginning with the sound of it playing over the studio logos and it going away when the music begins. We see the film through the eyes of Baby, but also hear it through the ears. It is almost non-stop.

Ansel Elgort does come of age in this film, perfectly depicting a young man with good intentions but has been forced into this life of crime. We see him have chance encounters with innocent members of the public when he is caught up in the heat of the moment and he wants to get them out of harm's way. He also has this heartfelt relationship with his deaf foster father and looks to catch the attention of a waitress called Debora (Lily James). He does have some tense moments with Doc reminding him who he works for, to which Baby replies with a reference to Monsters, Inc. (wow, an R-rated film quoting Disney...to witty effect it has to be said). I can relate to Baby in some ways, mainly because like him I spend too much time listening to my iPod. The other performances are good too, particularly Jon Hamm. Long gone are the days of suave, sophisticated Don Draper.

By the way, there is sadly no Cornetto in this film.

1. The Death of Stalin

"In Soviet Russia, comedy satires you..."

Sorry to the other fourteen films on this list. You were good – some were even great – but you weren’t this. Any complaints, you know where I am.

1953, leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin is dead following a stroke and the regime has descended into chaos. Who is to take control and who has a say in this?

• His son Vasily (Rupert Friend)
• His daughter Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough)
• His deputy Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor)
• Chief of security and NKVD (Soviet secret police) Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale)
• Politician Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi)
• Foreign Secretary Vyacheslav Molotov (Michael Palin)
• War hero Marshal Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs)

"Loosely based on the true story", The Death of Stalin was originally a French graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robins. It has been adapted for the screen by Armando Iannucci, the mastermind behind the character of Alan Partridge, Veep and, of course, The Thick of It. And that is essentially what this is, albeit in the Kremlin rather than Downing Street or the White House. Alongside Iannucci to help adapt this are The Thick of It’s co-writer Ian Martin, Peter Fellows and comedian David Schneider. Even though it is set in 1953, it is very much with the times. As Iannucci himself said:

• “It was made in the spirit of “My God, this happened!” and it’s now released in the spirit of “God help us, please don’t let this happen again!””

There is the right mixture of humour and darkness to the film. You have the same childish and inventive insults, awkward moments of silence and people running around like headless chickens from The Thick of It. Everyone has to do the right thing – they are terrified of a wrong decision or action –  and every motion needs to be carried unanimously. The comedy starts early on. A Radio Moscow producer (Paddy Considine) is commanded to provide a recording of that night’s performance for Stalin, but it does not exist. So he locks the doors, keeps the orchestra on stage, brides the pianist to stay, drags in people off the streets and has to find another conductor – “This is just a musical emergency.” But at the same time as this going on, there are people getting thrown into prison, mass shootings, child abuse, torture, etc. The comedy does not undermine the seriousness and honesty of what actually happened. It is as much a tragedy as it is a comedy.

One of my biggest gripes sometimes in films is actors putting on fake accents, thinking that it is easy to sound like a foreigner. Some of the worst Russian accents ever in films – Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Heat, Harrison Ford in K-19: The Widowmaker, Bob Hoskins in Enemy at the Gates (playing Nikita Khrushchev) and, of course, Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October. Here though, the cast are not doing fake Russian accents; everyone, even the extras, is using their own voices. Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) and Anastas Mikoyan (Paul Whitehouse) sound from Hackney; Nikita Khrushchev from Brooklyn (Steve Buscemi must have been relieved that he did not have to do a Russian accent); Georgy Malenkov from San Francisco and General Zhukov sounds like a relative of Sean Bean’s from Yorkshire.

As for performances, Simon Russell Beale was magnificent as Beria, the man in charge of security and deciding goes on the death lists or to the gulags. This is one of his first major film performances; he is mostly known for cameos in film/TV and appearing on stage. Steve Buscemi is great as Khrushchev; he [Buscemi] is the complete opposite of Russell Beale and and Khrushchev the complete opposite of Beria. And stuck in the middle of them is Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov, who has no idea what is going on and thinks that image is a greater concern. It is great to see Michael Palin doing a film once again, his first proper appearance in what feels like ages, adding shades of Life of Brian when giving a speech to the committee. And without doubt Jason Isaacs gives the best performance as the no-nonsense, decorated war hero. And finally on this blog I have a genuine reason to carry on the great tradition of Wittertainment and say the immortal words: “Jason Isaacs, hello!” I mentioned the voice before, he said that the “bluntest” people he has ever met are all from Yorkshire and Brian Glover (the PE teacher from Kes) was an inspiration.

Back in September the Russian Ministry of Culture considered banning the film; it could, allegedly, be part of a “western plot to destabilise Russia by causing rifts in society”. And according to Jason Isaacs, it hit a bit too close to home for former Prime Minister David Cameron; apparently the film is “exactly like what was going on in Downing Street”...And before you all get any ideas, this was made pre-Brexit.

When I saw the first trailers, my initial reaction was: “It’s a Russian version of The Thick of It. That’s good enough for me.” And it did not disappoint. Now, what is the Russian for “omnishambles”?