Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
★★★☆☆
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is S. Craig Zahler’s grindhousefest and a new departure for Vince Vaughn.
Americas
BFI LFF: The Florida Project (2017)
★★★☆☆
Sean Baker’s The Florida Project is a gorgeous sugar-rush adventure and a sobering study of poverty, though it leans too much on the former for the latter to leave its sting.
BFI LFF: You Were Never Really Here (2017)
★★★★☆
You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay’s latest film is a dark, disturbing odyssey into the mind of a brutal yet tender hitman.
BFI LFF: Downsizing (2017)
★★★☆☆
Alexander Payne’s Downsizing is a fantasy satire in microcosm on life, the universe and everything.
BFI LFF: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
★★★★★
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is Michael McDonagh’s five-star drama laced with humour featuring a gloriously Oscar-worthy performance by Frances McDormand.
BFI LFF: Golden Exits (2017)
★★★★★
A universal episodic epic disguised as a character drama, Golden Exits unravels into something special while its characters remain tight-lipped.
BFI LFF: The Shape of Water (2017)
★★★★☆
strong>Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a fairy tale, a story of love, loss and friendship, and a magical cinematic joy.
BFI LFF: Lucky (2017)
★★★★☆
A fitting sendoff for a fantastic actor, Harry Dean Stanton embodies Lucky in a funny and touching slice of life that’s nearing its expiry date.
Bitch (2017)
★★★★☆
Bitch is a satirical feminist parable about domestic nightmare directed by Marianna Palka, in which she plays the central character.
BFI LFF: Call Me By Your Name (2017)
★★★★☆
A delightfully nostalgic and evocative portrait of young love, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has all of the pleasure and only some of the pain.
BFI LFF: Last Flag Flying (2017)
★★★★☆
Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying is an elderly Last Detail-type road trip in search of the American military dream.
BFI LFF: GEMINI (2017)
★★★☆☆
Gemini is Aaron Katz’s pacy nouveau noir murder mystery set in the filmmaking community around Los Angeles.
BFI LFF: Battle of the Sexes (2017)
★★★★☆
Serving well-rounded feminist statements while expertly juggling three intertwining stories, Battle of the Sexes is an outwardly reaching argument encapsulated in a tennis match.
BFI LFF: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
★★★★☆
Noah Baumbach’s verbose comedy-drama The Meyerowitz Stories for Netflix is solid mainstream entertainment with a wry taste.