FILM: Hacksaw Ridge (dir:Mel Gibson, 2017)

"I'm a conscientious co-operator!"

This remarkable and humbling true story has been turned into an excellent film with an on-form Mel Gibson providing strong direction.  As the non-rifle-carrying Seventh Day Adventist soldier Desmond Doss, Andrew Garfield - easily one of Britain's strongest young actors - gives a performance of such clarity and honesty that it is a treat to watch, with strong support from Hugo Weaving and Rachel Griffiths as his parents and Teresa Palmer as his girlfriend/wife in particular, and Vince Vaughn effective in a straight role that plays well.  The battle scenes are visceral, repetitive, brutal and at times necessarily uncomfortable to watch, bolstered by a truly aggressive sound mix, which makes Doss's heroic deeds all the more admirable.  Garfield easily carries this powerful and well-crafted movie.

FILM: T2 Trainspotting (dir: Danny Boyle, 2017)

"Nostalgia - that's why you're here."

Even an average Danny Boyle film is a cut above most others, and T2 is, thankfully, very good Boyle.  The 'twenty years later' angle is vital here, as the sheer abandon and youthful vitality of the original movie here gives way to something that can be just as kinetic and violent but is also more contemplative about the passage of time and relationships, as the film has a beautiful vein of melancholy, pain and regret running through it.  Just as the four main characters have aged (but not all have necessarily developed), the four actors have each grown as immensely powerful performers who convey these people with sincerity and credibility, exemplified by McGregor's Choose Life speech in T2 which is less rage but brilliantly played as more poignant despair.  The Greatest Hits of the original are tactfully deployed to support the main themes, and whilst it could be argued that this is a fairly comfortable sequel that does not take too many risks to alienate the fans of the undeniably significant original, the shift in tone is wonderfully handled in a film that is strongly played and directed.

FILM: Sing (dir: Garth Jennings, 2017)

"I made you coffee!"
"You did?!........Where is it?"

After the somewhat lukewarm Minions and The Secret Life of Pets, Illumination bounces back with the exceptionally strong Sing.  This contemporary outing for the old let's-put-on-a-show-to-save-the-theatre story is told remarkably straight as befitting its main target audience, but it hits the ground running with a whipcrack sequence that introduces all the main players at their starting points in the story and does not let up with its warmth, wit and clever development of characters.  The mix of songs both new and old is joyous, from small snatches to the mini-gig at the end, and the rich colour palette and attention to detail (just look at some of the myriad of background characters in any given scene) all engage.  It is 'shot' like a real-life movie (and it is not difficult to imagine Sing as a live-action movie or stage adaptation), the voice cast is extremely strong, and it is an enjoyable movie from start to finish.

FILM: Split (dir: M Night Shyamalan, 2017)

"He's just trying to scare us."

Split mostly delivers on its effective trailers, providing a decent mid-league potboiler that is elevated hugely by the performances of James McAvoy in deploying his character's different identities; elsewhere, the acting is of wildly varying quality, but the writing is largely consistently purposeful.  What also makes the film interesting is its exploration of another big issue not hinted at in the publicity, bringing effective links between kidnapper and main victim.  It is a shame that the final parting shot creates more of an unexpected jolt than the preceding film, but nevertheless Split is an adequate thriller that is very much saved by its star. 

FILM: xXx - Return of Xander Cage 3D (dir: D.J. Caruso, 2017)

"I gotta call bulls**t on that!"

This preposterously daft actioner does literally everything you might expect it to, it is completely forgettable but is good fun while it lasts.  Caruso stages the big action sequences energetically - especially the opener - and keeps the lengthy film running briskly.  There is the feeling that this is a Fast & Furious film without the cars and The Rock, and with a liberal sprinkling of a Mission: Impossible thrown in, but as xXx3 does seem to have its tongue knowingly in its cheek it almost gets away with it.  Diesel does what Diesel does best, Toni Collette frowns so hard her face might fall off at any moment, and the magnificent Donnie Yen enlivens every fight sequence in which he appears.  By the time the completely bonkers final acts appears, give up all hope, surrender to the nonsense and just enjoy it for what it is.

FILM: La La Land (dir: Damien Chazelle, 2017)

"People love what other people are passionate about."

Yes - La La Land does live up to the hype.  It is an unbridled love-letter to classic film musicals done with a wry contemporary twist, from its affectionately-retro opening screen and Fame-like musical number in a freeway traffic jam that first briefly connects our two protagonists to the big Hollywood production-number finale.   This film is designed to please, with its catchy ear-worm numbers, beautiful design and use of locations and some real creativity on show, throwing so many non-naturalistic musical tropes at the audience which amazingly land and work, and is driven by utterly charismatic performances from two of Hollywood's most talented and intelligent performers in Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.  It does follow the Hollywood romance musical arc to the letter, and the second half is slightly less tight and more unwieldy than the first, but make no mistake: La La Land is a big old warm-hearted delightful hug of a movie that should put a smile on anyone's face.

FILM: Manchester By The Sea (dir: Kenneth Lonergan, 2017)

"Great parenting!"

Manchester By The Sea is a superb film, which takes its characters - and the viewer - on one heck of an emotional journey.  With its exquisitely-shot wintry mise-en-scene and its chilly emotional bleakness, tonally it plays like a blue collar Ordinary People, similarly driven by adults with broken lives and a teenager caught in the middle of it all.  Casey Affleck gives an absolutely mesmerising character performance here, with his barely-contained rage at the world and himself juxtaposed with emotional lockdown, playing so well with Lucas Hedges as his unexpected teenage ward, who balances being a typical teenager and handling grief so well on screen.  Michelle Williams also gives another forensically strong supporting performance as the ex-wife.  Lonergan also treats his audience with respect, using short or silent scenes and just-off-screen action that does not need to be made explicit.  As we piece together the unspoken tragedy that brought the characters to this point through clever flashbacks, the pivotal reveal is absolutely devastating.  This is a powerful film, displaying excellent writing, directing and performances, with characters that have real impact.

FILM: A Monster Calls (dir: J.A. Bayona, 2017)

"Whoa!"
"Whoa indeed."

A Monster Calls is quite simply a breathtakingly wonderful and utterly heartbreaking film.  It becomes clear very early on that use of camera (especially framing) and sound are hugely enjoyable in their own right, let alone the story, writing and performances.  This is a very skillful screen adaptation of his own novel by Patrick Ness, just as much about storytelling and imagination as it is about loss of innocence and bereavement.  Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones both get right to the truth of their characters (grandmother and mother), but at the film's heart is a truly astonishing performance by 14-year-old Lewis MacDougall which puts to shame many higher-paid and older Hollywood actors.  This deceptively simple tale is bursting with visual creativity and has an emotional honesty that never resorts to melodrama, resulting in one of the best films of recent years.

FILM: Assassin's Creed 3D (dir: Justin Kurzel, 2017)

"Why so aggressive?"
"I'm an aggressive person."

Take away the distracting videogame-adaptation label, and what remains is a very serious, well-presented time-shift action thriller.  Once past the Nikita-with-added-sci-fi first act, the story becomes a fairly straightforward jumping between the modern-day 'facility' and 15th-Century Spain via the Animus (a DNA-reading time-shift machine) in the hunt for the Apple of Eden (the film's rather unconvincing MacGuffin).  Fassbender as always conveys his character very effectively and handles the action well, with Cotillard providing a strong scientific foil.  The four expansive and extended main action set-pieces are dynamic and enjoyable, packed with energy and detail.  Perhaps more stonily serious in tone than the material merits, Assassin's Creed nonetheless is a good solid action/sci-fi film.

FILM: Why Him? (dir: John Hamburg, 2016)

"I'm sorry?"

Why Him? is another in a long line of American comedies that has a great central idea, a top-notch cast and a woefully underdeveloped script that substitutes swearing for actual jokes.  The film does have some very funny moments (Megan Mullally's stoned attempt at seduction, Bryan Cranston battling a Japanese automated toilet), but these are largely wrought by the skill of the performers rather than the writing.  This film clearly had real potential, but it is not fully realised by what is on offer here.

FILM: Monster Trucks (dir: Chris Wedge, 2016)

"You're not dumb!"

This inexplicably high-budget movie more finally escapes than is released, and it turns out to be a rather simple but sweet-natured and enjoyable ride (sorry).  Think E.T. with trucks and an octopus/whale-type creature and you are pretty much there, and Monster Trucks does indeed look, sound and feel like an old Amblin film, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you want that kind of nostalgic hit.  Lucas Till gives an energetic (if at times unwieldy) performance that helps to sell the film enormously, and Jane Levy conveys her arc well.  It may be over-familiar and of little consequence overall, but Monster Trucks is amiable, affectionate and quite enjoyable.