Retrospective 2017 – A Year in Film

August

Late Summer Selection

Image sources: Sony, Universal, StudioCanal & EOne

As usual the summer release season culminated with an eclectic mix of films of varying quality. There were the inevitable summer blockbuster duds, which this month came in the form of the maligned Stephen King adaptation ‘The Dark Tower‘ and Luc Besson’s forgettable CGI-fest comic-book adaptation ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets‘, as well as slightly more interesting fare like the Tom Cruise true story crime scandal ‘American Made‘ and the all-action Charlize Theron cold war comic-book spy romp ‘Atomic Blonde‘.

August also threw up some more memorable UK releases in the form of quintessential Steven Soderbergh southern ensemble heist romp ‘Logan Lucky‘, Kathryn Bigelow’s racially-charged biographical period drama ‘Detroit‘ and David Lowery’s existential indie meditation on loss and memory ‘A Ghost Story‘.

Those We Lost

Image source: Getty Images, MGM & 20th Century Fox

Among other losses during the month, August began with the passing of stage legend and occasional screen star Barbara Cook (89) (Hansel and Gretel, Thumbelina) as well as veteran American actor Joseph Bologna (82) (Blame it on Rio, Rags to Riches) and imposing 80s star Sonny Landham (76) (48 Hrs., Predator). We also lost Hollywood royalty and comedic legend Jerry Lewis (91) (The Nutty Professor, The King of Comedy) and groundbreaking horror director Tobe Hooper (74) (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist).

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