With the decision not to see the People’s Choice Award today (a musical), I ended up seeing 11 movies this year, a little bit lower than my average. As usual, I saw more good films than bad ones. Somewhat surprising was that there was no clear “great” film – I usually see at least one film that I will consider, in hindsight, to be one of the best movies of a given calendar year. Not this year (I don’t think). Anyway, without further delay, here is what I saw this year:
- ABACUS: Small Enough to Jail (8/10) – an affecting documentary about the only bank to be indicted for mortgage fraud as a result of the 2008 financial crisis
- City of Tiny Lights (8/10) – an ingenious translation of a classic film noir story into a Muslim neighbourhood in contemporary London
- Prevenge (8/10) – a darkly comic thriller about a pregnant woman possessed by her unborn child
- Apprentice (8/10) – a deliberate and affecting examination of capital punishment in Singapore from the point of view of the executioners
- 93Days (7/10) – a very traditional, yet gripping and affecting, docudrama about Nigeria’s struggle to prevent Ebola from spreading after its arrival in Lagos
- Mascots (7/10) -Christopher Guest’s latest mockumentary
- Unknown Girl (7/10) – an extremely deliberate but effective story of a doctor trying to find a name for a Jane Doe on the wrong side of the tracks
- The Limehouse Golem (7/10)- a quirky mixture of period mystery, police procedural and comic horror that struggles to find a balance but remains entertaining
- Okafor’s Law (6/10) – an amusing spin on a classic RomCom trope until it goes off the rails in the third act
- Just Not Married (4/10) – an extremely poorly made “Nigerian gangster film” film (seemingly without any post production polishing) that was nevertheless both somewhat entertaining an a revealing peak into the life of the poor in Lagos
- Catfight (4/10) – a tonally challenged dark comedy (with some very clunky, obvious satire) focused on a feud between two middle-aged women
So there you have it. 11 movies, only 2 duds. Not bad. I look forward to next year.