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Beginners - Mike Mills (2016) I missed this first time around but watched it on the strength of the director's 20th Century Women, which I thought was great. This is another excellent film. I especially liked the quite original directorial quirks and flourishes peppered through the film. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer very good as son and father. Thought Melanie Laurent was a bit iffy, the relationship didn't convince me. Although Plummer won accolades, for me it was Ewan McGregor's film. La Fille Inconnue/ The Unknown Girl - Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne (2016) Low powered tale of a doctor looking for the identity of a dead girl. Reasonably interesting but I'm afraid it had quite a high ' so what' factor for me. Can't compare with their previous Two Days, One Night.

Rip Torn Brigadier General Jack D Ripper Greg Stillson

Muffin The Mule Donkey Kong Pony Express Rider

Ang Lee James Angleton Mirror Man

Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but Annette Bening not getting a look in for an Oscar for such a fine, nuanced performance is truly mind boggling. Nominating the leads from the grossly overrated La La Land just rubs salt in the wound.

Roy Cohn Rather Dead Than Red Brigade The Orange Peril

20th Century Women - Mike Mills (2016) Excellent, I really enjoyed it. The cast, especially Bening, perform very well and the '70's backdrop of punk, feminism and social change is convincing.

Edwin Starr Kay Starr Richard Starkey

I'd add Amazing Grace, Spirit In The Dark and Young, Gifted & Black.

Apart from some sleet yesterday, we've been enjoying a mild winter with blue skies almost every day. It's about 8c at the moment.

Cameraperson - Kirsten Johnson (2016) A very personal, narrative free collage of short snippets for various documentaries, arranged in seemingly random order. Gradually pieces from previously featured films appear giving some kind of coherence. It was visually very interesting and one I'll rewatch. I'd like to see some of the documentaries featured in full.

Tower - Keith Maitland (2016) The mixture of animation, real time footage and occasional appearances by the people involved sounds like a mess but it works well. I was impressed and found it very involving with a genuine sense of what it must have been like. Very good.

Mrs mills John Mills Millie Small

Roy Castle Pawnbroker Joey Bishop

Fiona Apple Bananarama Moby Grape

Percy Mayfield - Stranger In My Hometown

The Founder - Robert Siegel (2016) A cautionary tale of predatory capitalism. Ray Kroc stumbled upon the McDonald Brothers fledgling hamburger restaurant and systematically robbed them of almost everything. Michael Keaton perfectly cast as the obsessive,rapacious Ray. I'd not heard of the film and was sceptical but really enjoyed it. Recommended.

Wee Willie Harris Bomber Harris Curtis Le May

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - Ang Lee (2016) An odd misfire. The whole film felt badly judged and out of whack. I couldn't relate to or sympathise with any of the characters. The returning soldiers seemed weird and childish, the entire Texas football scene bizarre, tasteless and brashly full of itself. The various officials utterly loathsome. I really like and respect Ang Lee but this one is an almost complete dud.

Passengers - Morton Tyldum (2016) Silly, highly implausible story someone wrote on the back of a cigarette packet. Some nice visuals of the star ship and moderately entertaining but quickly forgotten.

Bay City Rollers Ike Turner The Spinners

Carol Drinkwater Superfly Louisville Slugger

Bulldog Drummond Barbara Boxer Ken Collier

Alexander Dubcek Prague Firemen Jerry Springer

Endeavour So now we know the back story to Morse's George Medal. Good to see Fred and his missus smiling again. Look forward to the next series. Apple Tree Yard Pretty good little thriller with Emily Watson.