STN January 2020 write up.

By Adam Ray Palmer

It’s the end of another decade people, and that’s a pretty big deal when it comes to one difficult decision… what’s been your film of the last 10 years?

Well, in a few paragraphs time, I’ll give you mine – tell me yours on Cineroom’s Facebook or Twitter if you wish! But first, here’s a few films to catch over the December and January months.

Jojo Rabbit
Let’s cut to the chase. Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a lonely German boy who discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend -- Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi – also director) -- Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on.

​Now it may read crazy, and you are forgiven to think that, it is an outlandish movie. It has its tender moments, with plenty of belly-laughs too. It arrives with festival praise in abundance, but also a little padding of controversy too. In a nutshell, Jojo Rabbit has everything.
In cinemas: Now

1917
Skyfall and American Beauty director, Sam Mendes, is set to be back on top with his latest feature hitting the cinema screens in January. 1917 had by far one of the best trailers in 2019 with two minutes of pure cinematic joy (go check it out if you haven’t already).

​The narrative centres on two young British privates during the First World War who are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldier's brothers, from walking straight into a deadly trap. Starring an array of talent including Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, George MacKay and Colin Firth; 1917 is a Sunday afternoon cinema trip waiting to happen.
In cinemas: Now

The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is just one of those movies that you need to see. It’s a hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. It stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as the two keepers drawn together in a battle of minds, more so with the audience to keep up!

​It received rapturous applause at both the Toronto and London festival galas and I’m certain it’ll become a little cult film of 2020 too. Be there or miss out.
In cinemas: 31st January 2020

Pick of the decade: La La Land
If you know me, this is no shock. There were a few close calls including Coco, Interstellar, Arrival and perhaps even this year’s Joker deserves a mention for being a masterpiece. Foreign-language movies have also had an incredible ten years with Victoria, Dheepan and this year’s Parasite to name a few…But only one film prevailed on a number of counts. La La Land is a ten out of ten across the board.

​The writing, cinematography, acting, score, editing, direction – it’s just all mesmerising. If you haven’t seen this yet, what have you been doing the last three years?! Get on your phone, download Netflix, pay your subscription, clear your diary for the next two hours and then come talk to me. I’ll be waiting @CineroomTweets…
On Netflix now

Get in touch on our Facebook or Twitter if you want to share any feedback or leave us your favourite movie of the last decade!