Whew. It’s perhaps interesting to note that this was the least amount of films I saw in a cinema within a single year, since the beginning of these film journals. In other words, for the last 5 years, really. I suppose life gets in the way? Or is it the other way around?

Why do I feel the need to constantly question my life decisions? Regardless, 37 films is still a lot, but I did miss out on some stuff that I really wanted to catch up on for one reason or another (The Martian, Bridge of Spies, The Duke of Burgundy, Mommy, Eden, Beasts of No Nation, to name a few), but I’m sure I’ll get there eventually.

You’ll see a lot of B’s and A’s in this list: I guess that’s what happens when you have to already be very selective with what you pay money to see. If I had to fill a quota of something like 100 films, I’m sure there’d be a much more even spread. But oh well, life is short!

Perhaps not surprisingly, more of my time went into watching some of the incredible TV shows that are out there – sometimes I think it’s a shame that I don’t have a separate journal to talk about those, but then again, I’d probably never get to leave the house.

Some of those TV shows include Bojack Horseman, Fargo, Transparent, Master of None, Rick & Morty, Show Me A Hero, Silicon Valley, Girls, Louie, Mad Men – there was a lot of amazing TV. Storytelling is only getting richer, fuller and more exciting with each year that goes by.

But anyway, without further ado, my personal top 10 favourite films of the year.

Are there any themes linking these films? Guilt, ego, delusion and jealousy seem to pop up here or there – I don’t think they ever cease to be fascinating to me. Interestingly, as a contrast to last year, all of these films are quite dark – the closest thing we have to a romantic film is probably The Lobster, which says a lot.

But perhaps what connects these films to each other the strongest, is how they all give us a view into ourselves, and the state of the world we live in. What drives us, torments us, what prevents us to change and become better people. What these films might have in common is to say that all of us are simultaneously the victims and the perpetrators – we feel pain, and yet inflict it upon others – in our own stories, in our own lives. When it really comes down to it, do we have what it takes to accept it and move forward?

Thanks for reading – Happy New Year!

– Alex