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Best of 2017 you may have missed! (10+1list)

4 January, 2018 Souranath Banerjee Leave a comment

Best of 2017 you may have missed!

written by Souranath Banerjee

Best of 2017 you may have missed: 2017 has been a year of some real good movies and a bliss for Cinema lovers like us!

But there is always a possibility that you may have overlooked a few, missed out the underrated ones which mind you are definitely worth your time.

So here is a list that will ensure that you have covered all the best of 2017. Thank me later!

10. Good Time

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrR-SbCRgCU

A heist gone wrong but that’s not the only thing that doesn’t go according to the plan. In order to save his mentally challenged brother a thug has the misadventure of his lifetime in one night span!

Directed by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, a rollercoaster ride of intense drama and Robert Pattinson breaks away from his Twilight zone and gives a super cool performance.

9. I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WBV7q_1DgQ

A woman burdened and bored by her life to the point of depression finds new purpose when she is robbed and vows to take revenge on the thugs. Her next-door neighbour becomes her partner in crime!

Written and directed by Macon Blair, with Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood giving their best – mostly a comedy and that too very well made, but I am sure the ending will surprise you!

8. Brawl in Cell Block 99

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfAExhHTMM

Vince Vaughn is back – not in some romcom but with a tough-guy-role in this cool and violent crime drama.

A drug dealer who goes to prison after a sore deal and realises that he has landed in the midst of a battleground!

Directed by S. Craig Zahler, this action drama has extreme violent scenes that can be disturbing for some people.

7. Lucky

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KLLkj84GAo

‘There’s a difference between lonely and being alone.’

A comedy drama centred around a ninety-year-old atheist who is forced to get out of his comfort zone and view life from a different perspective.

Directed by John Carroll Lynch and a performance of a lifetime by Harry Dean Stanton (his last role before he passed away). Also starring David Lynch!

6. Mudbound

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPRj3egUHb8

Adjusting to life after war is always tough and dealing with racism is even tougher. Two young men fresh from war zone had to deal with all this and much more!

Directed by Dee Rees, this is one brilliant movie, highly underrated but awesome acting and storytelling at its best.

Garrett Hedlund‘s performance is definitely an award winning one.

5. Molly’s Game

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu4UPet8Nyc

A former professional skier who ran world’s most exclusive high-stake poker-games in Los Angeles and New York and soon came into the radar of FBI.

A biography made on the life of Molly Bloom, brilliantly played by Jessica Chastain.

Directed by Aaron Sorkin, the story of the ultimate hustler and her mysterious and thrilling life!

4. Lady Bird

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839Wo

A coming of age drama of a senior high school girl, a young artistic mind who wants to go to the east coast and live her life to the fullest!

Written and directed by my favourite actor/director Greta Gerwig, the film is so realistic and well told that you instantly feel a connection to it.

Saoirse Ronan is superb in the central character – so natural and vulnerable and yet so perfect.

3. Buster’s Mal Heart

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL4WSUwqhho

Rami Malek (from Mr. Robot fame) has given a great performance as a mentally unstable man who keeps warning others about a certain mysterious upcoming ‘Inversion’!

Written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith, powerful visuals and a bizarre concept that unfortunately is a bit open-ended and often unexplained but surely this psychological thriller manages to hold your attention till the very end.

2. A Ghost Story

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLHP2IpBXw

A ghost shrouded in a white-sheet with two eyes cut out – this is the ghost of a recently expired man who returns to his home and tries to connect with his lonely wife.

Directed by David Lowery, this film is not to be taken as a typical horror/ghost movie. It is an arty type, slow, emotional, sad and yet beautifully poetic.

Brilliant performances by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit3YhGx5pU

In order to challenge the local authorities to find her daughter’s murderers a mother puts up three billboards by the side of the road to provoke and taunt the police!

A black comedy directed by Martin McDonagh, this is a brilliant movie with superb storytelling and awesome performances by top-rated actors like Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch)

+1. Gerald’s Game

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twbGU2CqqQU

At a remote lake house a girl finds herself in a terrifying situation when her husband handcuffs her as part of their sex game but unfortunately have a heart attack and dies leaving her chained!

Superbly directed by Mike Flanagan and Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood gives their best. One of the very rare Stephen King novel adaptations that is probably even better than the book!

Similar Interest: Best of World Cinema 2017

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com.

My favorite list

Best Lesbian Films ever made (10+1list)

16 April, 2016 Souranath Banerjee Leave a comment

Best Lesbian Films ever made

written by Souranath Banerjee

Best Lesbian Films ever made: In the year 2013 a brilliantly artistic film called Blue Is the Warmest Color won the Palme d’Or, the highest honor awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, it is (according to me) the most sexually graphic and emotionally potent cinema essentially based on a lesbian relationship.

Now, the word ‘lesbian’ refers to women who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to other women; a female homosexual.

And in spite of homosexuality being a taboo for years, excellent queer films have been made on lesbianism (even on gay or bisexual relationships) throughout the history of world cinema that respects and honestly portrays the love between two human beings regardless of their gender.

So, here are some of the Best Lesbian Films ever made that successfully represents lesbian relationships on celluloid.

10. Bound (1996)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kA0K66yQxo

Before venturing into the world of The Matrix, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) debuted in filmmaking with this gritty lesbian sex crime drama!

A suitcase stashed with money ready to be stolen, a master plan that needs to be executed to perfection and two girls who seem to be madly in love – but can they trust each other till the end?

9. My Summer of Love (2004)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1L45nP7FOo

From the Oscar Winning director Pawel Pawlikowski, this is the tale of two young women who over the summer season gives company to each other and soon starts a passionate lesbian love affair!

A delicately shot film that tip toes on the trust factor of the relationship, and explores so many facets of women. Though the ending is not exactly what you expect it to be!

8. Margarita, with a Straw (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zy3F0WVDK0

Directed by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar, a film that largely revolves around a lesbian relationship of a young girl with cerebral palsy.

(Click for review)

Finally, an Indian film that dares to explore the sexual urges of a disabled person and also makes us realize that their attractions and infatuations are in no ways different from any of us.

7. Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ2yZjnPwQc

One of Peter Jackson‘s earlier films, this is a biographical account of two young girls, deeply attached to each other and living in their own fantasy world.

But things turn unfortunate as their parents sensing their friendship to be too intimate than desired, tried to separate them.

The debut film of Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey.

6. Show Me Love (1998)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtpXpFylSn0

Two cute teenage girls in a small town and their love story – well the film is exactly that and fortunately much more.

Directed by Lukas Moodysson, this is a film that touches the depths of so many emotions and depicts love, friendship and teenage infatuations from a very simple yet realistic point of view.

A film that makes you laugh and cry at the same time.

5. Aimee & Jaguar (1999)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DdmtmVvCBg

Directed by Max Färberböck, the film is about the courageous lesbian relationship between a Jewish girl (disguised under a German name) and a German housewife during the time when Jews were being mercilessly hunted down from all around Europe.

Historically significant as well since it’s a biographical account and it’s captured on screen with such brilliance.

4. Carol (2015)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4z7Px68ywk

A young girl attracted to a married older woman who openly seduces her, an impulsive spark of romance that makes their lives both volatile and euphoric.

(Click for review)

Directed by Todd Haynes, a perfect lesbian love affair beautifully put on screen, a liaison between two people most unexpected of falling in love!

3. The Killing of Sister George (1968)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clqfsd7sYJU

A superb black comedy and a somewhat unusual way of portraying a lesbian relationship.

Brilliantly directed by Robert Aldrich, this film is all about elderly Sister George and her young girlfriend and then the various twists and turns in their relationship.

Excellent characterizations and superlative performances that ensures the film’s brilliance.

2. Fire (1996)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnshN0wqiCo

Directed by Deepa Mehta, this is one powerful Indian film that tells the story of two wives from a middle class family who being frustrated by their loneliness and dissatisfied sex-life ignites a lesbian relationship among themselves.

Bold and thought provoking – though globally appreciated and well received but was predictably banned in India right after its release!

Persona (1966)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amxvetvKfho

A nurse is assigned to take care of an actress who doesn’t want to speak anymore, and soon the two women find themselves curiously attached, and their personas seem to mysteriously coincide with each other.

Though any direct lesbian relationship is never implied in this Swedish classic, but then acclaimed director Ingmar Bergman masterfully plays with the complexity of the women’s psychology and their instincts. A treat to watch for Cinema lovers!

Even in the films like David Lynch‘s Mulholland Drive and Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan, the lesbian theme is only a layered part of the main plot.

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most unique one. A must watch).

+1. Mädchen in Uniform (1931)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnlAS-hMtic

A classic lesbian drama (probably the first of its kind), and not surprisingly the film achieved a cult status.

Directed by Leontine Sagan and Carl Froelich, this is the story of a young girl falling in love with her (lady) teacher within the strict restrictions of a boarding school.

The German film though initially had great success was later banned and prints destroyed during the Hitler regime.

A few other Lesbian films which didn’t make the list are:

Club de femmes (1936), The Children’s Hour (1961), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Another Way (1982), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Saving Face (2004), I Can’t Think Straight (2008), Room in Rome (2010), High Art (1998), Desert Hearts (1985), The Fox (1967), The Secrets (2007), The Duke of Burgundy (2014), Monster (2003), Dyketactics (1974) (Short), The Runaways (2010), and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972).