Films of the Year 2019

For the seventeenth consecutive year, this is my annual list of films I've watched over the last 12 months. As ever, this means actual visits to the cinema, not films on DVD or on streaming services. As in previous years, I have rated them all in a largely arbitrary fashion.

In 2019, that meant 74 trips to the cinema (it was 73 in 2018) and according to Letterboxd, 144 hours watching the unmissable to the absolute pants. Compared to 2018, the last year has involved seeing far more decent enough films but very few that I’d want to see again.

You can find ratings for the last 16 years here.

Favourite films of 2019: Booksmart / Knives Out / Woman at War / Joker / The Day Shall Come

Documentaries of 2019: Apollo 11 / For Sana / Last Breath

Soundtracks of 2019: The Last Black Man in San Francisco / Motherless Brooklyn

Absolute Melon of 2019: Blinded By The Light

★★★★★: Unmissable!
★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing
★★★☆☆: Decent film
★★☆☆☆: Disappointing
★☆☆☆☆: Pants
☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?


Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ★★★☆☆
Harriet ★★★☆☆
The Two Popes ★★★★☆:
Motherless Brooklyn ★★★★☆:
Judy & Punch ★★★☆☆
Knives Out ★★★★☆
Lucy in the Sky ★★☆☆☆
I Lost My Body ★★★★☆
Honey Boy ★★★☆☆
Le Mans ‘66 ★★★★☆
The Aeronauts ★★★☆☆
Doctor Sleep ★★★★☆
The Last Black Man in San Francisco ★★★★☆
Official Secrets ★★★☆☆
To Kill a Mockingbird ★★★★★:
Gemini Man ★★☆☆☆
Joker ★★★★☆
The Last Tree ★★★★☆
The Day Shall Come ★★★★☆
Ad Astra ★★★★☆
Bait ★★★☆☆
For Sama ★★★★☆
Inna de Yard ★★★☆☆
Pain and Glory ★★★★☆
The Mustang ★★★★☆
Hail Satan? ★★★☆☆
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood ★★★☆☆
Blinded by the Light ★☆☆☆☆
Animals ★★★☆☆
Anna ★★☆☆☆
Support the Girls ★★★★☆
The Dead Don't Die ★★★☆☆
Midsommar ★★★★☆
Spider-Man: Far from Home ★★★☆☆
Vita & Virginia ★★★☆☆
Yesterday ★★★☆☆
Apollo 11 ★★★★★:
In Fabric ★★★☆☆
Men in Black: International ★★☆☆☆
Diego Maradona ★★★☆☆
Late Night ★★★★☆
Booksmart ★★★★★:
Rocketman ★★★☆☆
Sunset ★★★☆☆
Beats ★★★☆☆
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ★★★☆☆
Tolkien ★★★☆☆
Woman at War ★★★★★:
Avengers: Endgame ★★★★☆
Wild Rose ★★★☆☆
Loro ★★★☆☆
Last Breath ★★★★☆
Mid90s ★★★☆☆
Shazam! ★★★☆☆
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story ★★★★☆
Nae Pasaran ★★★★★:
Happy as Lazzaro ★★★☆☆
At Eternity's Gate ★★★☆☆
Us ★★★★☆
Captain Marvel ★★★☆☆
Capernaum ★★★★☆
Everybody Knows ★★★★☆
Happy Death Day 2U ★★★★☆
If Beale Street Could Talk
All Is True ★★★☆☆
Vice ★★★★☆
Burning ★★★★☆
The Favourite ★★★☆☆
Mary Queen of Scots ★★★☆☆
Stan & Ollie ★★★☆☆
Colette ★★★★☆
Mary Poppins Returns ★★★★☆
Green Book ★★★★☆

Films of the Year 2018

For the sixteenth consecutive year, this is my annual list of films I've watched over the last 12 months and in 2018, that meant 73 trips to the cinema (down from 83 in 2017).

Overwhelmingly, these visits were to my local Stratford Picturehouse and according to the stats on Letterboxd, overall this amounted to 138.6 hours of film watching.

This has been an exceptionally great year for film: there have been so many I have absolutely loved. The ten I have picked below are not necessarily the ones I admired the most but are my favourites. It was a tough choice. Others, like Roma, Cold War, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and I'm Sorry To Bother You just missed the cut.

As always, this does not include anything watched on DVD or BluRay and as in previous years, I've arbitrarily rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for the last 15 years here.

Ten favourite films of the year: A Quiet Place / Leave No Trace / Isle of Dogs / Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri / Lucky / The Post / The Breadwinner / First Man / Dogman / Black Panther

Worst films of 2018: American Animals / Downsizing / The Meg / Tomb Raider

Great documentaries in 2018: Nae Pasaran / Three Identical Strangers

Ratings:

★★★★★: Unmissable!

★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing

★★★☆☆: Decent film

★★☆☆☆: Disappointing

★☆☆☆☆: Pants

☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?

Mary Poppins Returns ★★★★

Roma ★★★★

 Nae Pasaran ★★★★

1Sorry to Bother ★★★★

Disobedience ★★★★

The Girl in the Spider's Web ★★★

Three Identical Strangers ★★★★

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald ★★

Widows ★★★★

Overlord ★★★★

The Hate U Give ★★★★

Wildlife ★★★

Outlaw King ★★★

The Guilty ★★★

Bohemian Rhapsody ★★★

Dogman ★★★★

First Man ★★★★

The Wife ★★★

A Star Is Born ★★★★

Venom ★★★

Skate Kitchen ★★★★

A Simple Favor ★★★

The Rider ★★★★

Lucky ★★★★

American Animals ★

Yardie ★★★

BlacKkKlansman ★★★

The Miseducation of Cameron Post ★★★★

Apostasy★★★★

Cold War ★★★★

The Meg ★★

Ant-Man and the Wasp ★★★

The Apparition ★★★

Mission: Impossible – Fallout ★★★

First Reformed ★★★

Hotel Artemis ★★★

A Prayer Before Dawn ★★★★

Skyscraper ★★

Leave No Trace ★★★★

The Happy Prince ★★★

In the Fade ★★★★

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ★★★

My Friend Dahmer★★★

The Breadwinner ★★★★

Solo: A Star Wars Story ★★★

Tully ★★★

Deadpool 2 ★★★★

Avengers: Infinity War ★★★★

Lean on Pete ★★★★

The Wound ★★★

 The Deminer ★★★

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society ★★

A Quiet Place ★★★★

Ready Player One ★★★★

Isle of Dogs ★★★★

The Third Murder ★★★★

Tomb Raider ★★

You Were Never Really Here ★★★★

Sweet Country ★★★

I, Tonya ★★★

The Nile Hilton Incident ★★★

Red Sparrow ★★★★

V for Vendetta ★★★★★

Lady Bird ★★★

Black Panther ★★★★

The Shape of Water ★★★

Early Man ★★★★

Darkest Hour ★★★

Downsizing ★★

The Post ★★★★

Hostiles ★★★★

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ★★★★

Films of the Year 2017

Somewhat belatedly (because I am abroad), this is my annual list of films I've watched in 2017 and, in keeping with the close of every year since 2003, it's time to review the ones I've seen over the last twelve months.

In 2017, I made it to the cinema on 83 occasions - down from 96 in 2016. Overwhelmingly, these visits were to my local Stratford Picturehouse and according to the stats on Letterboxd, this amounted to 159.4 hours of cinema.

As always, this does not include anything watched on DVD or BluRay and as in previous years, I've arbitrarily rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for the last decade here.

Since I started going to the cinema regularly and keeping track of the numbers, I now make this 826 visits since 2003. Onward and upward.

Films of the year: Dunkirk / Moonlight / La La Land / 20th Century Women

Worst film of 2017: The Mummy

Great documentaries in 2017: 
LA 92
I Am Not Your Negro

Ratings:

★★★★★: Unmissable!
★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing
★★★☆☆: Decent film
★★☆☆☆: Disappointing
★☆☆☆☆: Pants
☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi ★★★☆☆

Stronger ★★★☆☆

Brigsby Bear ★★★☆☆

Dolores ★★★★☆

Wonder ★★★★☆

Battle of the Sexes ★★★☆☆

No Stone Unturned ★★★☆☆

The Florida Project ★★★★☆

Thelma ★★★★☆

Murder on the Orient Express ★★★★☆

Breathe ★★★☆☆

Thor: Ragnarok ★★★★☆

Happy Death Day ★★★★☆

Call Me by Your Name ★★★☆☆

The Death of Stalin ★★★★☆

The Snowman ★★☆☆☆

Blade Runner 2049 ★★★★☆

The Breakfast Club ★★★★★

Logan ★★★★☆

Borg vs McEnroe ★★★☆☆

It ★★★☆☆

The Ghoul ★★★☆☆

God's Own Country ★★★★☆

Wind River ★★★★☆

Patti Cake$ ★★★★☆

The Limehouse Golem ★★★★☆

Detroit ★★★☆☆

American Made ★★★☆☆

Logan Lucky ★★★★☆

A Ghost Story ★★☆☆☆

Atomic Blonde ★★★☆☆

Land of Mine ★★★★☆

Kedi ★★☆☆☆

England Is Mine ★★★☆☆

Clash ★★★★☆

Dunkirk ★★★★★

War for the Planet of the Apes ★★★★☆

Spider-Man: Homecoming ★★★☆☆

The Student ★★★☆☆

Baby Driver ★★★★☆

Risk ★★★☆☆

Gifted ★★★★☆

My Cousin Rachel ★★☆☆☆

The Mummy ★★☆☆☆

Manhattan ★★★☆☆

Wonder Woman ★★★☆☆

Graduation ★★★☆☆

Colossal ★★★★☆

Miss Sloane ★★★★☆

Alien: Covenant ★★☆☆☆

Neruda ★★★☆☆

Lady Macbeth ★★★☆☆

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ★★★☆☆

The Handmaiden ★★★☆☆

LA 92 ★★★★☆

Their Finest ★★★☆☆

Personal Shopper ★★★★☆

Free Fire ★★★★☆

Ghost in the Shell ★★★★☆

The Lost City of Z ★★★☆☆

Certain Women ★★★☆☆

Life ★★★☆☆

Elle ★★☆☆☆

Get Out ★★★★☆

I Am Not Your Negro ★★★★☆

Kong: Skull Island ★★☆☆☆

Logan ★★★★☆

Moonlight ★★★★★

Hidden Figures ★★★☆☆

Fences ★★★☆☆

The Lego Batman Movie ★★☆☆☆

20th Century Women ★★★★★

Loving ★★★★☆

T2 Trainspotting (again) ★★★★☆

T2 Trainspotting ★★★★☆

Hacksaw Ridge ★★★☆☆

Lion ★★★★☆

Jackie ★★★☆☆

A Monster Calls ★★★★☆

La La Land ★★★★☆

Manchester by the Sea ★★★★☆

Assassin's Creed ★★★☆☆

Sing ★★★★☆

Films of the Year 2016

We are drawing closer to the end of 2016, one of the worst years in living memory: the year of Trumpian fascism, Europe-wide xenophobia and the deaths of so many inspirational figures in music and cinema.

In cinematic terms, however, this hasn't been a bad year for watching films and so, in keeping with the close of every year since 2003, it's time to review the ones I've seen over the last twelve months.

In 2016, I made it to the cinema on 96 occasions - up from 81 in 2015. Overwhelmingly, these visits were to my local Stratford Picturehouse and according to the stats on Letterboxd, this amounted to 177.8 hours of cinema.

As always, this does not include anything watched on DVD or BluRay and as in previous years, I've arbitrarily rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for the last decade here. Since I started going to the cinema regularly and keeping track of the numbers, I now make this 743 visits since 2003.

I know. That's a lot.

Film of the year: Arrival

Worst film of 2016: The Legend of Tarzan

Great documentaries in 2016: 
The Eagle Huntress,
Life, Animated
Bobby Sands: 66 Days
Tickled
Notes on Blindness
Speed Sisters
The Fear of 13

Ratings:

★★★★★: Unmissable!
★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing
★★★☆☆: Decent film
★★☆☆☆: Disappointing
★☆☆☆☆: Pants
☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ★★★★☆
Life, Animated ★★★★☆
The Eagle Huntress ★★★★☆
The Birth of a Nation ★★☆☆☆
Snowden ★★★☆☆
Paterson ★★★☆☆
Sully ★★★☆☆
A United Kingdom ★★★★☆
Arrival ★★★★★ (and even better on second viewing)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ★★★☆☆
Arrival ★★★★★
Nocturnal Animals ★★★☆☆
The Accountant ★★★☆☆
In Pursuit of Silence ★★★☆☆
Doctor Strange ★★★☆☆
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ★★★☆☆
Queen of Katwe ★★★★☆
American Honey ★★★★☆
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World ★★★☆☆
Swiss Army Man ★★☆☆☆
The Magnificent Seven ★★★☆☆
I, Daniel Blake ★★★★☆
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ★★★☆☆
Deepwater Horizon ★★★☆☆
The Girl with All the Gifts ★★★★☆
Hunt for the Wilderpeople ★★★★☆
Hell or High Water ★★★★☆
Things to Come ★★★★☆
The Confession ★★★☆☆
Captain Fantastic ★★★★☆
Café Society ★★☆☆☆
Tickled ★★★★☆
Julieta ★★★☆☆
Wiener-Dog ★★★★☆
The Shallows ★★★☆☆
Bobby Sands: 66 Days ★★★★☆
Embrace of the Serpent ★★★★☆
Suicide Squad ★★☆☆☆
Maggie's Plan ★★★☆☆
Jason Bourne ★★★★☆
Couple in a Hole ★★★★☆
Star Trek Beyond ★★★★☆
The Legend of Tarzan ★☆☆☆☆
The Hard Stop ★★★☆☆
Notes on Blindness ★★★★☆
Elvis & Nixon ★★★☆☆
Independence Day: Resurgence ★★☆☆☆
Mile End ★★★☆☆
Adult Life Skills ★★★★☆
Tale of Tales ★★☆☆☆
The Keeping Room ★★★☆☆
Sing Street ★★★★☆
The Club ★★★☆☆
The Nice Guys ★★★☆☆
X-Men: Apocalypse ★★★☆☆
Money Monster ★★★☆☆
A Hologram for the King ★★★☆☆
Everybody Wants Some! ★★★☆☆
Mustang ★★★★☆
Son of Saul ★★★★☆
Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One ★☆☆☆☆
Demolition ★★★☆☆
Green Room ★★★★☆
Captain America: Civil War ★★★★☆
Jane Got a Gun ★★★☆☆
Miles Ahead ★★★☆☆
Eye in the Sky ★★★☆☆
The Absent One ★★★☆☆
Dheepan ★★★★☆
Midnight Special ★★★★☆
Speed Sisters ★★★★☆
Victoria ★★★☆☆
The Here After ★★★☆☆
10 Cloverfield Lane ★★★★☆
Disorder ★★★☆☆
High-Rise ★★☆☆☆
Allegiant ★★☆☆☆
Chronic ★★★☆☆
Hail, Caesar! ★★★★☆
Bone Tomahawk ★★★★☆
Triple 9 ★★★☆☆
The Survivalist ★★★★☆
Deadpool ★★★★☆
Trumbo ★★★★☆
The 33 ★★☆☆☆
Spotlight ★★★★☆
Creed ★★★☆☆
The Assassin ★★☆☆☆
The Revenant ★★★★☆
The Big Short ★★★★☆
Black Souls ★★★☆☆
Room ★★★★☆
The Hateful Eight ★★☆☆☆
Joy ★★★☆☆
The Fear of 13 ★★★★☆
In the Heart of the Sea ★★★☆☆

A Year in Film 2015

As 2015 draws to a close, I'm back for an increasingly rare update to this blog and, in keeping with the previous 12 years, to review the films I've seen over the last twelve months.

You can find more stats than you'll ever need and the occasional review  over at Letterboxd.

As always, I only count actual 81 trips I made to a cinema - not films on DVD or BluRay - and as usual I've arbitrarily rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for the last decade here.

Ratings:
★★★★★: Unmissable!
★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing
★★★☆☆: Decent film
★★☆☆☆: Disappointing
★☆☆☆☆: Pants
☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens ★★★☆☆
Sherpa ★★★★☆
Carol ★★★★☆
Bridge of Spies ★★★★☆
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 ★★★☆☆
Steve Jobs ★★★★☆
The Lady in the Van ★★★☆☆
The Lobster ★★☆☆☆
Listen to Me Marlon ★★★★☆
Spectre ★★★★☆
The Program ★★★☆☆
Suffragette ★★★★☆
Crimson Peak ★★★☆☆
The Walk ★★★☆☆
Sicario ★★★★☆
Red Army ★★★☆☆
The Martian ★★★★★
3½ Minutes, 10 Bullets ★★★☆☆
The Martian ★★★★★
Life ★★★☆☆
Cartel Land ★★★★☆
Everest ★★★☆☆
The Wolfpack ★★★☆☆
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ★★☆☆☆
The Salt of the Earth ★★★★☆
Legend ★★★☆☆
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ★★★★☆
Mistress America ★★★☆☆
Paper Towns ★★★☆☆
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ★★★★☆
Inside Out ★★★★★
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation ★★★★☆
Minions ★★★☆☆
Ant-Man ★★★★☆
Love & Mercy ★★★★☆
Slow West ★★★☆☆
Amy ★★★★☆
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief ★★★★☆
Jurassic World ★★☆☆☆
Mr. Holmes ★★★☆☆
The Dark Horse  ★★★☆☆
The Look of Silence ★★★★★
Timbuktu ★★★☆☆
The Connection ★★★★☆
San Andreas ★★☆☆☆
The New Girlfriend ★★☆☆☆
Tomorrowland ★★★☆☆
We Are Many ★★★★☆
Pitch Perfect 2 ★★★☆☆
Mad Max: Fury Road ★★★★★
The Beat Beneath My Feet ★★★★☆
The Falling ★★★☆☆
Avengers: Age of Ultron ★★★☆☆
A Little Chaos ★★★☆☆
The Salvation ★★★☆☆
John Wick ★★★★☆
Good Kill ★★★☆☆
Woman in Gold ★★★☆☆
While We're Young ★★☆☆☆
Blade Runner ★★★★★
Wild Tales ★★★★☆
Pride ★★★★★

Robot Overlords ★★☆☆☆
Insurgent ★★☆☆☆
Suite Française ★★★☆☆
A Brilliant Young Mind ★★★★☆
Still Alice ★★★★☆
Catch Me Daddy ★★★☆☆
Chappie ★★★☆☆
Blackhat ★★☆☆☆
Maidan ☆☆☆☆
Trash ★★★★☆
Kingsman: The Secret Service ★★★★☆
Ex Machina ★★★☆☆
Selma ★★★★☆
Wild ★★★☆☆
Foxcatcher ★★★☆☆
Whiplash ★★★☆☆
Exodus: Gods and Kings ★★☆☆☆
The Theory of Everything ★★★★☆
Unbroken ★★★☆☆

A Year in Film 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, it is time once again, in keeping with the previous eleven years, to review the films I've seen over the last twelve months.

According to my summary on the brilliant Letterboxd website, I've seen 93 films over 173 hours (not counting the trailers). Apparently, the infamous Sodastream sales-rep Scarlett Johansson is the actor I've seen most often and, in all honesty, have been the most disappointed with - 'Lucy', 'Her' and 'Under The Skin' were all two star films in my view, whilst 'Chef' and 'The Winter Soldier' won't make it onto my top five of the year. What will are:

1. Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Interstellar
3. Boyhood
4. Pride
5. Dallas Buyers Club.

These aren't necessarily the best films - '12 Years a Slave' is extraordinary - but the ones I've enjoyed most and look forward most to watching again.

Anyway, here's the 2014 list in full: in keeping with previous years, I only count actual trips to a cinema - not films on DVD or BluRay - and as usual I've arbitrarily rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for the last decade here.

Ratings:
★★★★★: Unmissable!
★★★★☆: Definitely worth seeing
★★★☆☆: Decent film
★★☆☆☆: Disappointing
★☆☆☆☆: Pants
☆☆☆☆☆: Why was this released?


Big Eyes ★★★☆☆:
Birdman ★★★★☆:
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ★★★☆☆
Black Sea ★★★☆☆
St. Vincent ★★★★☆
The Homesman ★★★☆☆
Kajaki ★★★☆☆
What We Do in the Shadows ★★★★☆
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 ★★★★☆
Mr. Turner ★★☆☆☆
The Imitation Game ★★★☆☆
Interstellar ★★★★★☆
Nightcrawler ★★★★☆
Fury ★★★☆☆
Citizenfour ★★★★☆
The Maze Runner ★★☆☆☆
'71 ★★★★☆
Still The Enemy Within ★★★★☆
Gone Girl ★★★★☆
Ida ★★★☆☆
Dracula Untold ★★☆☆☆
Tony Benn: Will and Testament ★★★★☆
Maps to the Stars ★★★★☆
Smart Ass ★★☆☆☆
A Walk Among the Tombstones ★★★☆☆
A Most Wanted Man ★★★★☆
Pride ★★★★★
The Keeper of Lost Causes ★★★☆☆
Finding Fela ★★★☆☆
Dinosaur 13 ★★★★☆
Night Moves ★★★★☆
The Congress ★★☆☆☆
Lucy ★★☆☆☆
Two Days, One Night ★★★★☆
Into the Storm ★★☆☆☆
God’s Pocket ★★★☆☆
Finding Vivian Maier ★★★★☆
Guardians of the Galaxy ★★★★☆
The Search For Simon ★★☆☆☆
Joe ★★★☆☆
Camille Claudel 1915 ★★☆☆☆
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ★★★★☆
Boyhood ★★★★★
Begin Again ★★★★☆
The Breakfast Club ★★★★★
Ilo Ilo ★★☆☆☆
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ★★☆☆☆
Cold in July ★★★☆☆
Chef ★★★☆☆
The Fault in Our Stars ★★★★☆
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet ★★★☆☆
12 Angry Men ★★★★★
Edge of Tomorrow ★★★★☆
Fruitvale Station ★★☆☆☆
X-Men: Days of Future Past ★★★☆☆
Jimmy’s Hall ★★★★☆
The Lunchbox ★★★☆☆
Blue Ruin ★★★★☆
Godzilla ★★★☆☆
Tom at the Farm ★★★★☆
Frank ★★★☆☆
Tracks ★★★★☆
Chronicle of a Disappearance ★★★☆☆
Locke ★★★★☆
A Matter of Life and Death ★★★★★
Calvary ★★★★★
The Past ★★★☆☆
The Raid 2 ★★★★★
20 Feet from Stardom ★★★★☆
Noah ★★★☆☆
Divergent ★★★☆☆
Captain America: The Winter Soldier ★★★☆☆
Starred Up ★★★★☆
The Double ★★★☆
Under the Skin ★★☆☆☆
The Zero Theorem ★★★☆☆
The Book Thief ★★★☆☆
Stranger by the Lake ★★☆☆☆
The Armstrong Lie ★★★★☆
Her ★★☆☆☆
Only Lovers Left Alive ★★★★☆
The Patience Stone ★★★★☆
The Monuments Men ★★☆☆☆
The Lego Movie ★★★★☆
RoboCop ★★☆☆☆
Dallas Buyers Club ★★★★★
August: Osage County ★★☆☆☆
The Missing Picture ★★★☆☆
The Wolf of Wall Street ★★★★☆
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit ★★★☆☆
American Hustle ★★★☆☆
12 Years a Slave ★★★★★

How the FBI Tried to Destroy Progressive Movements

Screening of COINTELPRO 101, hosted by Newham Monitoring Project and Stratford Picturehouse - Thursday 21 June 2012, 8pm

On 8 March 1971, activists from a group called 'Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI' broke into an FBI field office in Pennsylvania and stole over 1000 classified documents, which they sent anonymously to a number of American newspapers. Most refused to publish what these documents revealed: the existence of COINTELPRO (an acronym for Counter Intelligence Program), a series of covert and often illegal projects conducted by the FBI, who had spied on, infiltrated, discredited and disrupted a huge range of US political organisations included anti-Vietnam war protesters, Native American groups and especially the Black Panther Party.

But by 1976, what had been initially ignored by the mainstream media had been investigated by the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (the 'Church Commission'), which concluded:

Many of the techniques used would be intolerable in a democratic society even if all of the targets had been involved in violent activity, but COINTELPRO went far beyond that...the Bureau conducted a sophisticated vigilante operation aimed squarely at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech and association, on the theory that preventing the growth of dangerous groups and the propagation of dangerous ideas would protect the national security and deter violence.

The exposure of COINTELPRO revealed, in the words of Noam Chomsky, "a program of subversion carried out not by a couple of petty crooks but by the national political police, the FBI, under four administrations... aimed at the entire new left, at the women's movement, at the whole black movement, it was extremely broad. Its actions went as far as political assassination." US government counter-intelligence agencies had sought to deliberately destroy these movements for self-determination and liberation for Black, Asian, and Indigenous struggles, as well as attack the allies of these movements and other progressive organisations. 

Although the programme was 'officially' terminated in 1971, widespread surveillance and 'intolerable techniques' have continued, both in the US and in Britain and especially since the start of the ‘War on Terror’. So too have tactics designed to disrupt the right to protest, such as the use of agents provocateurs, entrapment, the misuse of stop and search powers and the creation of secret databases on known activists.

On Thursday 21 June, Newham Monitoring Project is hosting the screening of a documentary at Stratford Picturehouse, which examines the history of COINTELPRO and its legacy. Claud Marks, the director of 'COINTELPRO 101,' is over from San Francisco and will join a panel to discuss the experiences of the 60s and 70s and what lessons we can learn for the present - particularly the intensive surveillance of campaigners and activists as part of the massive security crackdown planned for east London during this summer’s Olympics.

Tickets are available directly from Stratford Picturehouse, Salway Road, E15 1BX - box office number: 0871 902 5740

Films Of The Year 2011

For the eighth year running, it's time to reflect on the films I've seen over the last 12 months. During 2011, I've managed to make it to the cinema on 47 occasions, significantly more than last year. I put this down to the surgery I had in February: to avoid remaining stuck at home, bored out of my mind, there really aren't that many options available apart from the cinema during recovery from a horrible operation

In keeping with previous years, I only count actual trips to a cinema - not films on DVD - and as usual I've rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for previous years here.

Ratings:
5 stars: Unmissable!
4 stars: Definitely worth seeing
3 stars: Decent film
2 stars: Disappointing
1 star: Pants
No stars: Why was this released?

In date order - five star films highlighted in bold:

127 Hours (****)
The King's Speech (****)
Black Swan (*)
Hereafter (**)
The Fighter (***)
Never Let Me Go (***)
True Grit (*****)
Paul (***)
The Adjustment Bureau (****)
Route Irish (***)
The Eagle (**)
Source Code (*****)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (****)
Oranges and Sunshine (***)
Hanna (***)
Fire in Babylon (****)
Attack the Block (***)
X-Men: First Class (**)
Senna (*****)
Incendies (****)
Just Do It (***)
The First Avenger: Capitan America (***)
Super 8 (****)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (****)
Sarah's Key (***)
Cowboys & Aliens (****)
The Guard (*****)
The Skin That I Live In (*)
Troll Hunter (*****)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (*****)
Memento (*****) - part of the BMW Origins Season
Drive (*****)
We Need To Talk About Kevin (*****)
The Ides of March (**)
The Help (***)
Contagion (***)
The Awakening (***)
The Rum Diary (***)
In Time (***)
The Adventures of Tintin (***)
Hugo (****)
Another Earth (***)
The Deep Blue Sea (***)
Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows (****)
Dreams of a Life (****)
Moneyball (***)
Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (***)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [2011] (***)

FILM REVIEW: 'Just Do It'

At the Rio in Dalston on Sunday, I admit I had severe misgivings at the start of a screening of Just Do It, a film that describes itself as "a tale of modern-day outlaws" and focuses on the experiences of some of the campaigners who took part in environmental direct action during 2009 and 2010. During its first ten minutes, director Emily James' documentary seemed likely to reinforce the cynical, stereotypical portrayal of climate activists as essentially rather lovable English eccentrics, people who are privileged enough to pursue their unconventional activism full-time but are concerned more with the appearance of doing good than really changing anything. My heart sank at the agonisingly long silence that followed a question put to one of the film's main protagonists, Marina Pepper, about whether her actions really make any difference.

But then appeared the images that I have seen so many times through my involvement in the Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign that I can hardly bear to watch them now: the footage of Ian as he is pushed violently to the floor and of G20 protesters battered and corralled by riot police. It was a reminder that the low-level policing of the Camp for Climate Action on Blackheath in August 2009 was a surprising exception, the result of huge pressure upon the Metropolitan police following its brutal tactics three months earlier. Far more often, climate activists engaged in direct action choose to risk the possibility of violent policing, the likelihood of arrest and the realistic prospect of conviction. Eccentric some may well be, but it's far from a game: everyone who appeared in the film are also incredibly brave individuals.

This willingness to get stuck in, to forcefully but peaceably disrupt the companies contributing to climate change and the police and security guards that defend them, really came to life as the film moved on to the Great Climate Swoop at Ratcliffe on Soar power station in October 2009, focusing on the tactics adopted by the protesters, how affinity groups are organised and how carry out a 'de-arrest'. Sadly, recent developments involving the unmasking of the undercover police spy Mark Kennedy came too late for the film's final cut and its most powerful section therefore focused on what became a turning point for many climate activists: the UN's COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, when the world's governments came together to try and thrash out a deal to cut global carbon emissions.

Billed in advance as a 'last chance' to tackle climate change, Denmark's government brought in sweeping new police powers to try and prevent protesters from causing disruption and almost 1000 arrests were made during demonstrations. The film documents the deplorable treatment of activists by the Danish police, including the prolonged detention without charge in cages, and how little police officers understood the powers they had been handed (something they have in common with their counterparts in the UK). But in spite of the protesters' efforts and the huge anticipation that had proceeded it, the conference failed to deliver. Some activists returned disheartened and many questioned where the climate justice movement should go next but for others, including Sophie Nathan who appeared in the film, the experience was radicalising and led to a more openly anti-capitalist viewpoint that has been strengthened by the election of a new government in Britain. Climate Camp activists have gone on to provide the driving force for the emergence of UKUncut.

Just Do It does have its weaknesses: it would have benefited from spending more time explaining the grassroots campaigning by Plane Stupid in support of residents fighting the planned third runway at Heathrow and how this campaign, with a clearly defined objective, led to eventual victory. It is also difficult to see what its target audience really is - in the question-and-answer session that followed the film, Emily James told a sympathetic Hackney audience, surely its core demographic, that it isn't aimed at activists but at those who are thinking of becoming more active. I'm not entirely convinced.

Another weakness is that in many ways the Q&A was almost more enlightening than elements of the film itself, providing answers to some of the unresolved questions about the purpose of direct action (disappointingly, the focus was more on its individualistic value in offering 'personal transformation' than on movement-building). It also addressed the dilemma posed by heavy handed policing, which helps to draw people together as it did in Copenhagen and at Kingsnorth in 2008, which Marina Pepper said was "the making of the movement", but can drown out the issues. The debate on Sunday allowed the director to talk about the the difficulties of not "engaging in riot porn" but never backing away from material simply because it might scare new people away.

Overall, however, Just Do It is an absorbing, illuminating and at times very funny film that opens up what is the necessarily secretive world of planning and executing direct action. It also highlights how climate activism's initially peculiar 'flappy hands' consensus decision-making, although far from perfect, has ensured that women are central to its planning and participation, which can't always be said for other movements of the anti-capitalist left.

Equally, as a means of documenting the work of activists, the film is also a model for others to follow: the process of talking to campaigners, gaining their trust and working through potential legal implications with lawyers, for six months before filming began, is an object lesson in preparation that the Guardian's proposed new crowd-sourced book on undercover policing could really learn a great deal from.

'Just Do It' is screening again tomorrow (Tuesday 26 July) at Picturehouse Greenwich at 6.30pm. See here for more details

Remembering Pete Postlethwaite

One of my favourite actors, Pete Postlethwaite, died of cancer yesterday aged 64.

A passionate campaigner, he starred as The Archivist in the climate change film The Age Of Stupid and threatened to return the OBE he was awarded in 2004 in protest at the government's plan to build a coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent. He had a small role in my favourite film of last year, Inception, and had just completed Killing Bono, due for release in April. But the following clip, from Brassed Off, is how most people will remember Postlethwaite: as Danny, the bandleader of the Grimley Colliery brass band.

Films Of The Year 2010

Another year passes and it's time to reflect on the films I've seen in 2010.

I became a regular film-goer in 2003, when I agreed to try and see one film every week and post a review of each one online. After stubbornly succeeding in winning this particular bet I stopped reviewed every film, which is just as well: I've seen loads of movies and this year, I've managed to make it to the cinema on 32 33 occasions. Totting up the numbers, this came as something of a surprise considering the serious injuries I sustained in a traffic accident in March.

But probably because of my limited mobility, the majority of these films (29 in all) have been seen at my local Stratford Picturehouse. Maybe I should be given my own seat in the bar...

In keeping with previous years, I only count actual trips to a cinema - not films on DVD - and as usual I've rated the films I've seen. You can find ratings for previous years here

Ratings:
5 stars: Unmissable!
4 stars: Definitely worth seeing
3 stars: Decent film
2 stars: Disappointing
1 star: Pants
No stars: Why was this released?

In date order - five star films highlighted in bold

Sherlock Holmes (****) - review
The Book of Eli (***)
Daybreakers (***)
Avatar 3D (****)
Up In The Air (****)
The Wolfman (**)
The Lovely Bones (**)
MicMacs (****)
Invictus (****)
Green Zone (***)
A Single Man (*****)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (*****)
The Ghost (***)
Erasing David (**)
Iron Man 2 (***)
The Bill Hicks Story (***) - review
Bronco Bullfrog (***)
Twilight - Eclipse (***)
Inception (*****)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (****)
Scott Pilgrim v The World (**)
Made in Dagenham (*****)
The First Movie (****) - review
Restrepo (**) - review
Let Me In (***)
Skyline (**)
Unstoppable (**)
Monsters (*****)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (***)
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest (****)
The Tourist (*)
Tron: Legacy (**)
The Way Back (****)

POSTSCRIPT

I'd like to make a plea for wider circulation of the "Code of Conduct" for film-goers (see below - click to enlarge) devised by film critic Mark Kermode and his Radio 5 Live sidekick Simon Mayo. I'm sure we've all witnessed these flagrant breaches of simple cinema etiquette. Oh, before I forget, hello to Jason Issacs... obviously.

The Golden Globe Goes To... Hell

The Golden Globe nominations are out and how, asks Mark Kermode, is it even possible to take the Hollywood Foreign Press Association seriously?

REVIEW: Restrepo

Depending on your world-view, there's two ways to approach a documentary like Restrepo, a Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize winner this year. Either there is something heroic about the camaraderie of a company of American soldiers stuck for a year in Korangal Valley in Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous deployments in the US Army, or it's a damning indictment of just how pointless the war really now is after nine years.

The film captures a series of moments involving a bunch of young, gung-ho and fairly unsympathetic men with no clue what they are stepping into, who are completely cut off not only from the outside world but from the Afghans villagers they are surrounded by and who rarely even see the people who are shooting at them. They take casualties, friends are killed, their outpost is named after one of their dead compatriots, PFC Juan Restrepo, and many end up suffering nightmares they can hardly describe. Their utterly moronic Captain Kearney has no clue why the actions of his men are deeply resented and seems to believe that the construction of Outpost Restrepo was some kind of major achievement of their tour, although their mission to improve security along a road through the valley has clearly failed. Then in April 2010 the Americans pull out of Korangal, having lost 50 men in total. There's not much that seems heroic about any of that.

Restrepo has been compared to The Hurt Locker with its suggestion that war can become a drug, but its a very different film, far more depressing and and far less contrived. I can also see why the Sundance jury praised it and there's no doubting the courage of the two filmmakers who shared the terrifying experiences of the men they lived with. And yet...

I still didn't really enjoy it. It was just too impersonal to enjoy.

REVIEW: The First Movie

Although director Mark Cousins introduced this evening’s screening of The First Movie at Stratford Picturehouse, it was s a real shame that he was unable to stay to answer questions. As he apologetically explained, the strain of touring his new documentary around cinemas had made him ill. I’m sure it would have been fascinating – Cousins’ rhythmic Belfast drawl is such an essential part of the film, as is his personal motivation for making it.

Captivated by cinema as a child growing up in the north of Ireland in the 1970s, Cousins travelled to another beautiful place, Iraqi Kurdistan, where people have lived under the shadow of war. He spend 20 days in the village of Goptapa that was bombed with chemical weapons during Saddam Hussain’s genocidal Anfal campaign in 1988. His mission was to take films to the children of the village, including ET, the rather disturbing fairy-tale The Singing Ringing Tree and Palle Alone in the World, a Danish film about a child whose world becomes a playground when all the adults disappear. These were the first films Goptapa's kids had ever seen.

The real stars of The First Movie, if they can be described as such, were the children: playing with balloons, jumping around excitedly at their first glimpse of cinema and telling stories. But they were far more than the passive subjects of the documentary. Cousins also gave groups of children mini digital cameras to make their own short films and the result was the kind of access into the world of the village, from interviews with mothers explaining the loss of so many members of their families to father breaking their fast during Ramadan, that probably would have been impossible for an outsider. It also helped to turn the children, who had none of the experience of cinema that their European counterparts develop from an early age, into filmmakers themselves, whose imagination has the potential in Cousins' view to become more real than the wars fought around them.

It was immensely enjoyable and repeatedly very moving, with a superb and surprising choice of score, the gentle unravelling of Cousins’ personal reflections on the role of filmmakers and his attachment to one little boy, Mohammed, who filmed a friend playing by an irrigation channel because there was nowhere else to play, “giving his dreams to the mud”.

The First Movie is about as far away from the output of the Hollywood blockbuster machine as it is possible to be – and yet it is undoubtedly one of the best films I have seen this year. Kudos to my local cinema for screening it (rather than something pointlessly terrible like Vampires Suck).

Winter's Bone

It has been a long time - a couple of months at least - since there's been a must-see film in cinemas. Scott Pilgrim v The World was a disappointment, but at last the movie drought is over with the release of this film, which opened last Friday:

And The Choir Sang Creep

Now I know this is seriously random, even for me. There's a film out In October called The Social Network, which is about the staggeringly dull subject of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. It's directed by Fight Club's David Fincher and Zuckerberg is played by Jesse Eisenberg, who was the lead in Zombieland.

The trailer, though, has one saving grace: a version of the Radiohead song 'Creep', sung by a Belgian girls' choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, with his brother Steven Kolacny on the piano. There's another (non-sanitised, 'fucking special' instead of 'very special') choral version here, but by far the best (and saddest) video is this, a different cover by Sweden's Vega Choir.

Apparently choral versions of pop songs are a musical genre in their own right - who knew? But anyway, more proof that even an atheist like me can sometimes recognise that the religious (in this case the Lutherans) can take something great and make it sound amazingly beautiful. Enjoy.

REVIEW: American - The Bill Hicks Story

I was amazed when the friend who came with me last night to see the documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story told me he had never heard of Bill Hicks. How could that even be remotely possible? Hicks is a legend, is routinely placed near the top of any list of greatest ever stand-up comics and was also far more popular in the UK than in the US. That is certainly how it seemed in the early 1990s when I was a student and Hicks was playing to 2000 capacity crowds at the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road, crashing around inside the American psyche with a chainsaw and a bag of mushrooms. Furthermore, his reputation has only grown over the years that followed his early death from pancreatic cancer, aged just 32 and at the peak of his career.

Admittedly, I'm a long-time fan and having recently re-read Cynthia True's biography American Scream, much of the story of Hicks' early life and career was familiar. British film-makers Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas are clearly fans too, but they do not shy away from the picture of Hicks as a comic who became an angry, bitter alcoholic and who only found his true voice when he finally kicked the booze. But what makes this film really stand apart is the revolutionary animation technique Harlock and Thomas employ, using photographs provided by Hicks' friends and family. It took a while to get used to, but alongside the candid contributions and some very shaky VHS stage recordings, it brought the story to life in a way that most documentaries, dependent on a series of talking heads, have often been unable to do.

What this excellent film also managed to convey was Hicks' energy, both on-stage, in his relentless touring and in the desire to convey his message as he realised that death was drawing nearer. It was a one that had become an increasingly political rebuke to America, over the storming by the FBI of the Branch Davidian cult's Waco complex in 1993 and particularly the first Gulf war. And a decade after Hicks' death, when we had another Bush in the White House and more US troops back in Iraq, much of his material was as fresh as ever. Here he is in full effect, on stage in London:

Weekend Takings For Canning Town's "Finest" Just £205

Canning Town's finest export Danny Dyer (how grateful many must feel that he's decamped to Loughton) can't have been happy with the news about the opening weekend flop of his new film Pimp.

Clearly the roasting the film received from Dyer's arch-nemesis, the respected film critic Mark Kermode, didn't help matters as only 24 people bothered to watch it and box office returns amounted to just £205.

As many will know, in early May Dyer's 'advice' column in Zoo suggested that a heartbroken boyfriend should "cut his ex's face, so no one will want her". After a storm of protest, the magazine apologised and blamed a "regrettable production error".

Kermode described Pimp as "casually misogynist" and "worthless trash from beginning to end" - here's the hilarious review in full:

To add to Dyer's humiliation, an online fundraising page was set up today on Justgiving by Liam Barrington-Bush, which is raising money for Solace Women's Aid. It is attempting to see whether more people were prepared to "support the women who have experienced the kinds of violence that Dyer thinks it's funny to joke about, than are willing to see his films". Already it has overtaken the film's weekend takings and raised £220 (and rising).

As Kermode mentions in his review, Danny Dyer has threatened to "beat him up" because of critic's mocking impersonation of the talentless loud-mouth. What Dyer actually said was, "if I come across yer, I'll put something right across yer fucking canister" - an expression that neither Kermode or co-presenter Simon Mayo has apparently heard before. For the benefit of others living in the Southampton area, your "canister" is your head, as any fool knows. In Dyer's case, it's almost certainly an empty canister.


Postscript

Hello to Jason Issacs...

Podcasts of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film reviews are available here. Kermode's blog can be found here.

Made in Dagenham

I've just seen the trailer for the film Made in Dagenham, which is about the 1968 strike for equal pay at the Ford Dagenham car plant by women working as sewing machinists.

It looks really good and it has both Happy Go Lucky's excellent Sally Hawkins and Richard Schiff of the West Wing in it. The film is due for release in October.

Mark Kermode Invokes Class War In Sex and the City 2 Review

There have been a couple of vitriolic reviews of the appalling gender politics in the latest, apparently awful outing of the Sex and the City franchise - check out Laurie Penny and the astonishing review by Lindy West. I think I may be giving this film a miss.

But I also really enjoyed Mark Kermode's magnificent rant on Radio Five Live, in which he invokes class war politics in describing the film as "consumerist pornography" and the characters as "imperialist American pig dogs" - and sings the opening line of The Internationale.

Here's the review - the podcast in MP3 can be downloaded here.