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My 2017 film highlights
My annual film round-up, in which, as usual, I pick out 20 films to highlight, the only requirement being that I saw the film during 2017, regardless of when it was released. →
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Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was unexpectedly excellent, revitalising a franchise that had been worn into the ground with a great blend of story, character and action. Matt Reeves' sequel is enjoyable but doesn't expand enough away from Rise to feel like anything more than an extended epilogue, focusing exclusively on a single group of surviving humans bumping up against the ape society. While this keeps the film tightly focused, it also doesn't tell the audience anything we couldn't have assumed for ourselves. There's some solid direction, a great score, and great performances from the ape cast, but the end result feels a little inessential. →
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Review of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
I never read Tintin as a child as Tintin was quite obviously for the squares, for children whose parents made you take your shoes off at the door, who wouldn't let you watch Your Mother Wouldn't Like It and who owned a BBC Micro. I read Asterix instead. I was pretty uncool, but at least I knew it and was making an effort to improve myself. →
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Review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The endless slew of remakes, reboots and prequels only gets more complicated with every year. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is, as far as I can tell, a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, a prequel to an as-yet unmade remake of the original Planet of the Apes (or perhaps an as-yet unmade remake of the remake of the original Planet of the Apes) and a reboot of the entire Apes series, all of which was based on a book. We live in confusing times. →
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The Prestige
Along with Aronofsky, Raimi and Singer, Christopher Nolan is one of the very few directors who I can really rely upon. A film with one of those names attached is, to me, a guarantee that I'll be enjoying myself. →
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King Kong
There's a moment very early on in King Kong that's worth noting. Film director Carl Denham (ably played by Jack Black) is showing some safari footage to a group of producers. As the footage plays out, one of the producers wearily asks "how much more of this is there?", and grimaces when the answer is 'five more reels'. It's worth noting because, after an hour of the film has been and gone and the protaganists are still on their boat, yet to discover Skull Island, that's exactly the question you'll find yourself asking. →