Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (or MMHWGA as it will henceforth be called), is the film that you need in your life right now.

MMHWGA is not like other films. Other films can generally be categorised into various flavours of good and bad. MMHWGA defies such mortal definitions. It sneers in the face of quality, laughs at five-star (and one-star ratings).

You will laugh, you will cry, you will laugh again, and cry again, although not necessarily at the right parts.

Or perhaps it will be. With MMHWGA, it's impossible to discern the difference between a well-crafted joke and a failed joke that's failed so badly it becomes funny again.

If you don't walk out of MMHWGA with a smile on your face, then you should probably check your pulse and get a friend to phone an ambulance, or possibly a funeral director.

If you think MMHWGA is the best film that the universe could possibly deliver, then you may very well be correct.

If you think that MMHWGA is an attempt to shoehorn a plot out of a bunch of ABBA lyrics, that features hammy acting that wouldn't look out of place in amateur theatre, a group of A-list male actors who stand around looking awkward in the middle of musical scenes only just realising that their dad-dancing skills won't cut it, and some of the most poorly staged comedy sequences this side of 70s sketch shows, then you might also be right.

But if you don't see that as a good thing, then you are most definitely in the wrong.

In the future books will be written attempting to dissect the perfect storm that is Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.

Very few of them will come close to understanding the truth.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

I can understand why some people wouldn't like The Greatest Showman. It takes extreme liberties with history, its story is oft-told, and the songs throughout it are over-produced and clearly intended to appeal to a generation that cut its teeth on High School Musical.

Personally, I thought it was great.

It shares the same lyricist (although I don't believe the same composer) as LA LA Land, and the publicity for it has been making quite a few references to it. That set me up for potential disappointment - LA LA Land has a great opening number, but nothing else in the film lived up to that potential.

Fortunately, The Greatest Showman doesn't repeat the same mistakes. This is not a film that happens to have a couple of musical sequences in it, but a bona fide musical. It also doesn't make the same mistake off its best material (although The Greatest Show is arguably the best song (but only arguably, unlike LA LA Land where Another Day of Sun is most certainly the best number).

It also manages to populate the film with people with genuine musical talent - Hugh Jackman looks like he would have fit right at home in the classic films of Hollywood's Golden Years.

It's also one of the few films when a total stranger (an older lady (how much older it would be impolite of me to speculate)) turned to me after the end credits had finished rolling (yes, I  remained to hear Rewrite The Stars again) and said how much she enjoyed it.

Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)

In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character spends one of his time loops desperately trying to re-make Andie MacDowell's character fall in love with him, reaching shrill levels of rising desperation.

That's what Pitch Perfect 3 feels like.

Or to put it another way, if the original Pitch Perfect was a steak dinner, Pitch Perfect 3 would be a Big Mac and fries. With too much ketchup.

The film manages to be occasionally funny, and there are some decent musical pieces, but the story is far from aca-amazing, more like below aca-average. It's the Pitch Perfect version of Three Men and a Little Lady, or Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.

It's still watchable, but ultimately it was a Pitch Perfect too far.

Best Films of 2017 (So Far)

If it's good enough for Mark Kermode, it's good enough for me to offer my top ten favourite films of 2017. It isn't a halfway through the year list, as I have a couple of July releases on the list.

Starting off in January with the first film I saw in 2017 is A Monster Calls. Adapted from his own novel by Patrick Ness, it's a story about a boy coming to terms with his mother's cancer through the stories that are told to him by a giant tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson). It's a wonderfully told story and when viewing, a large box of hankies is strongly recommended.

Hidden Figures, which was my favourite of the Oscar Best Picture nominees, is about the contribution of African-American women to the space race. As well as covering an important issue, it's also a fun, entertaining movie.

Beauty and the Beast for my money was a much better musical than La La Land. Some outstanding performances from the likes of Kevin Kline, Luke Evans and Josh Gad - and decent enough jobs done by most of the others. It's difficult to see past the animated version, but there are some nice additions song-wise, a decent expansion of the Belle-Beast love story with a subplot side trip to a Parisian windmill, and I watched it seven times at the cinema, so I must have liked it.

The Handmaiden was a Korean retelling of Sarah Waters' novel The Fingersmith. A very cleverly mounted production with a nice twisty plot and some gorgeous design. Erotic scenes mean that it's probably one that you don't want to watch in the company of elderly relatives.

Their Finest - a Second World War dramedy set around the production of propaganda films by the British Ministry of Information. Funny and moving with Bill Nighy chewing the scenery like the professional scenery-chewer he is.

Wonder Woman - aside from the climactic battle, one of the best superhero movies made. Can hold its head up with the likes of Superman the Movies (which also has a bit of a ropy ending).

A Man Called Ove - if you still have that box of tissues from watching A Monster Calls, you might need it for this. Very funny and touching film.

Spider-Man: Homecoming - the Spider-Man remake that no one thought we wanted. Only it turned out (in my book) to be one of the best of the Spider-Man films, and certainly the best Spider-Man actor we've ever had (and I'm including Nicholas Hammond).

War for the Planet of the Apes - Andy Serkis is brilliant. The film is great. That's all I think I need to say.

Dunkirk - pure cinematic joy.