Top Ten Films of 2017
The largest single day protest in american history happened on January 21st and I’m not sure why all those women felt the need to speak out and protest but I support it and I’m glad whatever it was is over and nothing bad happened after that day.
The best star wars movie came out this year. Weinstein got taken down. The Shape of Water was crowned the best film. Although I disagree, it is much better than some picks made soon after that.
I don’t have much to say here. I saw a ton of movies. I saw maybe 200 movies that year. I was (am) a maniac and would love to get back to that some day.
the movies
25. Only the Brave (Directed by Joseph Kosinski)
24. Most Beautiful Island (Directed by Ana Asensio) - Amazon Prime & Shudder
23. Brigsby Bear (Directed by Dave McCary)
22. The Square (Directed by Ruben Ostlund) - Hulu
21. Hagazussa (Directed by Lukas Feigelfeld) - Amazon Prime & Shudder
20. Foxtrot (Directed by Samuel Maoz)
19. Landline (Directed by Gillian Robespierre) - Amazon Prime
18. Logan Lucky (Directed by Steven Soderbergh) - Amazon Prime
17. The Beguiled (Directed by Sofia Coppola)
16. A Ghost Story (Directed by David Lowery) - Netflix
15. Dunkirk (Directed by Christopher Nolan)
14. It Comes at Night (Directed by Trey Edward Shults) - Netflix
13. Thoroughbreds (Directed by Cory Finley)
12. mother! (Directed by Darren Aronofsky)
11. Blade Runner 2049 (Directed by Denis Villeneuve)
top ten
10. Good Time (Directed by The Safdie Brothers) - Netflix
Before I reference Uncut Gems down there I will say here is the Safdie’s best movie. Uncut Gems got the acclaim and flash but this is the one. Pattinson disappears and the co-director Benny Safdie gives a touching performance as his brother. I love this anxiety riddled movie and can’t wait to see what they do next because I imagine they will be able to cast whoever they want.
9. The Meyerowitz Stories (Directed by Noah Baumbach) - Netflix
Baumbach is getting his movies made through Netflix and bless him for it. This is a mostly forgotten one now but it shouldn’t be. Sandler put in an equally good performance here as he did in Uncut Gems but it’s not as flashy. This is his second best one to me after Punch-Drunk. The whole cast is great, and it’s a family coming together movie. Can’t go wrong.
8. Columbus (Directed by Kogonada) - The Criterion Channel
Haley Lu Richardson. Watch anything she does. She is a star and always brings the movie up a tier. A bad movie called Five Feet Apart was raised to fine and almost made me cry because of her talent. She has an enormous heart and is such a deeply soulful performer. Here she is subtle and kind and plays everything slow. It’s a great debut by Kogonada and I hope his next one with her and Colin Farrell can come out in theaters with a vaccine next year.
7. Nathan for You: Finding Frances (Directed by Nathan Fielder)
Technically a TV movie but it played at a film festival so it counts and it is glorious. A series long joke paying off in cringe worthy ways that lift my joy to heights I didn’t know could be reached by faux-documentary television. Nathan Fielder is a true artist and I recommend this show and movie to anyone.
6. You Were Never Really Here (Directed by Lynne Ramsay) - Amazon Prime
A one man show of tenderness and trauma coming out in every frame. Joaquin is known now as JOKER but he is a tremendous actor with a larger range than most. He can channel things with his energy better than most actors. He is very different than most “great actors” but he is up there with them all. Ramsay is a powerhouse behind the camera. She should be getting 20-35 million every time she wants to make something.
5. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos) - Netflix
Another master doing top notch art. The cast is obviously great, but the standout of Barry Keoghan showing up and becoming an instant star was surprising. Raffey Cassidy and Sonny Suljic, who play the kids, also are stars now. Will hit parents hard, but really anyone with a pulse should be discomforted. A better horror movie than most horror movies and it isn’t even trying to be.
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Directed by Martin McDonagh)
This year is just now making me realize how great it was. Some incredible talents working at their peak, or close to it. Here is another great script that offends, pushes, shocks, and makes you laugh. Frances McDormand should have multiple Oscars (and maybe she will this year) and Rockwell is such a brilliant actor. Woody Harrelson gets forgotten about here but is putting up some great stuff. It’s a simple story and I love when europeans come to America and try to get to the bottom of what is going on or just show what they think of things. I think he created a great southern crime story.
3. Phantom Thread (Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson)
It’s hard to find a more stunningly gorgeous film than this one. PTA films it himself, in what was apparently a hard shoot in a big nice house not built for film equipment at all, and makes it look timeless but period correct. His obsession with taking down and interrogating the male ego is so welcome. Sometimes you have to make yourself vulnerable to be loved. I agree. But I’ll do my own cooking for now.
2. First Reformed (Directed by Paul Schrader) - Amazon Prime
My favorite movie of the following year comes in second here during its listed year of release. Ethan Hawke’s work here might be his best. That is saying something considering he has been so good for 30 years. Schrader became a favorite of mine after this and I revisited his work. I always knew his writing but his directing had not crossed my path and I’m so glad it has now. But nothing compares to this. Can god forgive us? Probably not.
1. Lady Bird (Directed by Greta Gerwig) - Netflix
Greta is my most recent favorite filmmaker. Baumbach credits her for making him a better writer and director and I agree. Her first solo effort here is filled with her generosity of spirit and her love of character. Just like in all the best things you could follow any character and see them be the center of their own films. She loves people and life and her observations are second to none.