Favourite Scenes of the Year- 2017

-Justice League. Infighting.
Stay with me here. One of the year’s most mediocre films is quite forgettable- save for one scene that reminds us how it’s possible to have moments of humour and transcendence in the off putting DC universe. Fake Spoiler Alert: When Superman is revived, he’s really grumpy, and attacks the rest of the league. While grappling with the group, the Flash also jumps into action- and then realizes that Superman not only can see him in lightning fast form, but can react to him appropriately. That Nano second when the Flash realizes he’s found his match is comedic gold, and exciting.

-Columbus. Building Explanation.
In director Kokonada’s clinical ode to architecture, Jin (John Cho) wants to know what his fast friend Cassie (Haley Lu Richardson) finds special about a building. She describes it, much like a city tour guide, and he asks again- this time what she likes about it. Her response, as framed by Kokonada, leaves her response to the viewers’ imagination while still celebrating the luminous spirit of the film.

-Lost City of Z. Initial Adventure Montage.

James Gray’s take on the adventures of Percy Fawcett in the previous century has his usual clinical formalism on display. But the first voyage to South America, told in a breathless montage, captures the spirit of Fawcett’s plight, and indeed, adventure itself. It’s sights and sounds are a tribute to cinema.

-Personal Shopper. Text Message.

It’s always dangerous to highlight technology in a film- could we watching the equivalent of pagers in 10 years? But director Oliver Ossayas’ European ode to the art house ghost story finds tension in a scene where Kristen Stewart’s medium character may be communicating with the dead via text message. In those ellipsis moments where it’s not clear whom is communicating with her, it’s difficult to say if we want it to be the paranormal- or not. Now that’s something call waiting could never capture…

-Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. The Throne Room.
Any talk about the current Disney mega machine not being able to deviate from the George Lucas originals templates (such as the case in Force Awakens) is eviscerated here. Director Rian Johnson’s original take on the series is announced quite firmly when Rey and Kylo Ren meet Supreme Leader Snoke in his chambers, complete with armoured guards. When the scene has played out, like some kind of grindhouse ballet taking place in the middle of a scorched “Neon Demon” set, it’s difficult not to get excited for what Johnson will bring to a potential trilogy in the future.

-T2: Trainspotting. Renton’s Return Home.

The worst named and most disappointing movie of the year wasn’t all lame. Renton returns to his childhood home, and director Danny Boyle brings to light a development in the family’s composition that is barely remarked on, but speaks volumes about the passage of time. Something eerie and haunting, that the cast refuses to speak about. Practically blink and you miss it, but it’s stuck with me like a ghost.

-The Shape of Water. Sing scene.

In Del Toro’s tribute to the movies themselves, Sally Hawkins plays a mute women who has an affair with a partner of the aquatic sort. She communicates in sign language throughout the film- except for one scene where she gets to communicate differently. The resulting tribute to musicals of yesteryear is graceful and weightless.