The Worst of 2017
Before I go into detail on the best films of 2017, here are the absolute worst of 2017 in film.
10) Monster trucks
Someone must have been super high to come up with this story.
9) Geostorm
A look another terrible disaster movie with way too much CGI.
8) Just Getting Started
I have nothing to say about this film.
7) Underworld: Blood Wars
They should just stop making these films.
6) Snowman
The novel was brilliant, but this was so dull and boring. A waste of Micheal Fassbender's talent.
5) The Dark Tower
Not even remotely like the great King series. Basically just kept the title.
4) King Arthur
Felt like a 2004 film that had dated CGI for a 2004 film.
3) Flatliners
I sat through this film expecting it to be good at any moment. No such moment happened.
2) Birth of the Dragon
Very disrespectful of the great Bruce Lee. Walked out of the cinema and got my money back.
1) The Emoji Movie
Who thought that this would be a good film?
The Biggest Disappointments: Justice League and The Last Jedi
Films like these are why I don’t go in with high
expectations anymore. Now I don’t want to get butt hurt fans mad so I’ll say
that these films aren’t necessarily bad, but once the film ended I did find
myself saying out loud… “What?” Let me first delve into Justice League. My
uncle says that I am biased when it comes to all things Batman, which is very
true. I will defend BvS, Lego Batman, Batman Forever, etc. Then there’s this
mess and lets face it… it is a big ugly crowded mess. Okay the good bits of the film were Aquaman
and at times, yes you guessed it, Batman. The bad bits of the film was the fact
there was no story, the CGI, the villain, the CGI, superman’s CGI mouth, the
CGI, Joss Whedon taking over, and lastly the CGI. It felt as if I was watching
a superhero film directed by Roland Emmerich (Godzilla ‘98/ 2012/ White House
Down). Next is the newest installment of the Star Wars franchise. Let’s use a
quote from Jar Jar. Oh sorry I meant Rose, “This is how we’re going to win. Not
by killing those we hate, but by saving those we love.” That’s not how war
works dummy! The Last Jedi destroyed everything TFA tried to set up. No story.
The film is just ships chasing other ships. Snoke was useless as was Phasma
again. The Rose and Finn storyline was useless. He should have sacrificed
himself that would have been more powerful. Don’t get me started on Carrie
Poppins, badly animated yoda, Poe’s lesson on being a leader by not killing
your whole fleet, the awful humor, and Luke’s portrayal. It was like a badly
done mash up of Empire and Return. Over half the audience left the film before
it was over. Never experienced that before. The only thing I liked about the
film was Kylo Ren and I’m surprised to say that. I believe Disney will run Star
Wars into the ground.
The Best of 2017
20) Novitiate
“The church gave me my work, my community, even my identity,
and now the church is trying to invalidate all of that. Saying none of that
matters. So my question is what is it that really does still matter?”
Cathleen is madly in love, but it’s no one she can
physically touch. Her perfect partner is God and she wants to be a nun so that
she’ll become a “Bride of Christ”. This
idea takes its form when she attends a Catholic school where a nun/teacher
encourages her to follow the same path. Cathleen is a lonely and shy girl who
takes solace in the idea of being married to god. As she goes on her path to be
married to god, we meet the Reverend Mother who has been a nun almost her
entire adult life. She starts to struggle with faith and power when she
receives the Vatican II papers, which would change her whole life and what she
believed in. Cathleen too begins to struggle with the question “does he love me
as much as I love him?” She wonders if she can handle this one-sided love for
the rest of her life. The whole film is beautiful, but the last 20 minutes of
the film brings it down when they try to add a relationship with no chemistry into
the mix. I know what the director wanted to say that nuns get lonely, but if it
weren’t for that random relationship the film would be higher on my list. I’m
by no means a religious person and I’m definitely no fan of the Catholic
history, but I find the process the nuns went through to be beautiful. It’s
probably my favorite film about nuns other than Sister Act 2. There actually haven’t
been many films about nuns other than “Doubt”, but that was more focused on the
priest. All-in-all a pretty good film.
19) John Wick Chapter 2
“You stabbed the devil in the back and forced him back into
the life that he had just left.”
Straight up action with a hardcore Keanu Reeves… what’s not
to love? Lots of action movies have way too much CGI like the “FAST” franchise.
The film has nonstop on the edge of your seat action throughout the film. I was
never once bored with John Wick like I am with most Hollywood blockbusters. If
you enjoyed the original you’d love the sequel. It’s everything a sequel should
be and it most definitely doesn’t disappoint. It’s a full throttle thrill ride
that is unquestionably worth a watch. Plus who doesn’t want to watch Keanu
Reeves and Ruby Rose have a badass fight.
18) Thor: Ragnarok
“There was one time my brother transformed himself into a
snake because he knows how much I like snakes, and so I picked the snake up to
admire it, but then he turned back and went "AAHH! It's me!" And then
he stabbed me. We were 8 at the time.”
Who would have thought that a Thor film would be the most
hilarious entry in the Marvel cinematic universe? I never would have guessed
that. I enjoyed the first Thor, despised Thor 2, but this Thor is by far my
favorite. The Kiwi director Taika
Waititi’s humor is just what Thor needed. The film even has quite the
impressive cast from the ever so talented Jeff Goldblum, the divine Cate
Blanchett, the very underrated Karl Urban, and even some surprise cameos from
Sam Neill and Matt Damon. I’ve actually enjoyed a villain in a Marvel film!!
I’ve never really thought of Loki as a villain. This is actually the second
time a film from the MCU has made my top 20 films of the year. The first was “Captain
America: The Winter Soldier”
17) War for the Planet of the Apes
“I did not start this war. I offered you peace. I showed you
mercy. But now you’re here, to finish us off for good.”
Never in a million years did I think that I’d love every
single film in a Planet of the Apes series because lets face it a whole lot of
them are pretty darn bad. Then something wonderful happened when “Rise of the
Planet of the Apes” was released. I was pulled into something wonderful. Then
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” happened and it was even better than the
first. It had action, a story, and I was rooting for the apes the whole time.
Then I was extremely excited and it was one of my most anticipated films of the
year. I went into the marathon with so much anticipation and left with such
satisfaction, which is something that rarely happens anymore because most films
sort of let me down. It was such a perfect proper conclusion to Caesar’s
storyline.
16) A Ghost Story
“A writer writes a novel. A songwriter writes a song. A symphonist
writes a symphony, which is maybe the best example because all the best ones
were written for God. So, tell me what happens if Beethoven’s writing his
“Ninth Sympohony” and suddenly he wakes up one day and realizes God doesn’t
exist. So, suddenly all of these notes and chords and harmonies that were
intended to, you know, supersede the flesh, you realize, “oh that’s just
physics”. So Beethoven says, “shoot, god doesn’t exist so I guess I’m writing
this for other people. It’s just nuts and bolts now.” He didn’t have any
children that I can recall… But let’s leave love out of this and let’s wrap
this all up under the blanket of someone thinking, “This is something that
they’ll remember me for.” And they did and we do. And sure enough, we do what
we can do endure. We build our legacy piece by piece, and maybe the whole world
will remember you, or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to
make sure you’re still around after you’re gone.”
A Ghost Story won’t scare you, but it’ll haunt you. Whether
you love it or hate it you’ll still think about it. It’s a film about pain,
loss, how our death is unavoidable, and time. A24 really killed it this year.
15) After the Storm
“I wonder why it is that men can't love the present. Either
they just keep chasing whatever it is they've lost... or they keep dreaming
beyond their reach.”
Hirokazu Kore-eda is not a well-known director, but he
definitely should be. He’s one of my favorite directors working today. He’s
made amazing films like “Nobody Knows”, “Still Walking”, “Our Little Sister”,
and “After the Storm”. “After the Storm” is his best film to date. The film is
about Ryota who is a struggling novelist and deadbeat father. He is full of
guilt about the path he chose for his life and how he tore his family apart. He
strives to make amends with his wife and son. The film is full of emotional
dialogue and focuses on lot on parental selfishness. “After the Storm” is a
quiet yet beautiful honest melodrama. Criterion needs to release this film
immediately.
14) Darkest Hour
“When will the lesson be learned! You cannot reason with a
tiger when your head is in its mouth!”
Gary Oldman has quite an impressive record in film and has
not won a single Oscar. He’s played Sid Vicious, Count Dracula, Lee Harvey
Oswald, Beethoven, Smiley, Sirius Black, Commissioner Gordon, and now he has
played one of my ultimate heroes Sir Winston Churchill. This may be the role
that’ll finally get him his well-deserved Oscar. The film is about Churchill
becoming prime minister leading up to the events of Dunkirk. It’s an excellent
film. I still can’t believe the people that try to justify their hate for
Churchill. I usually have to distance myself from such people. The man was
determined to keep fighting against the Nazis and it was a crucial point in
human history. He even had to fight against peers who wanted him to make peace
with the Nazis. It seemed like everyone was against him. Imagine if he had made
peace with Hitler, like some of the people wanted, the world would be a much
different place.
13) Lucky
“There's a difference between lonely and being alone.”
Lucky is an Ode to Harry Dean Stanton. When he passed away,
at the age of 91, I told my friends that there would be a Harry Dean Stanton
marathon at my place, but they’d have to pay rent because it’ll take months to
watch all his films. He’s starred in like 200 things. His character in this
film contemplates his own mortality. Lucky doesn’t believe in life after death
and he refuses to change his mind on the subject. The film really doesn’t focus
on the subject, but rather leaves the subject of life after death open to a
sense of mystery. Lucky accepts his mortality and says goodbye. It was one of
his best roles since “Paris, Texas”. David Lynch steals all the scenes though
with tortoises. The film is beyond transcendent and simply watching Harry Dean
Stanton singing with a mariachi band is something I didn’t know I needed in my
life. The film was a beautiful send off.
12) The Killing of a Sacred Deer
“You know not long after my dad died someone told me that I
eat spaghetti the exact same way he did. They said what an extraordinary
impression this fact had made on them. Look at the boy look how he eats the
spaghetti exactly the same way his father did. He sticks his fork in twirls it
around and around and around then he sticks it in his mouth. That time I
thought I was the only one who ate spaghetti that way… me and my dad. Later of
course I found out everyone eats spaghetti the exact same way... the exact same
way… the exact same way. This made me very upset… very upset. Maybe even more
upset when they told me he was dead, my dad. I don’t know if what is happening
is fair, but it’s the only thing I can think of that’s close to justice.”
Killing of a Sacred Deer is one of the most disturbing films
I’ve seen of 2017. It’s a pure psychological horror delight. This film is full
of symbolism, moral themes, and metaphors, which is what I really love to see
in a film. The first 45 minutes we try to figure out what the relationship is
between Steven and Martin. Are they friends or lovers? Turns out that Martin is
out for revenge. Martin is one of the best villains I’ve seen on film. I can’t
go into much detail without giving away major spoilers. Yorgos Lanthimos made a
modern day tale of “Iphigenia in Aulis”, which is about a man who is forced to
sacrifice his child to a vengeful god. Also the film teaches us that doctors
have really nice hands.
11) God’s Own Country
“It’s beautiful here, but lonely, no?”
My friend calls this film Brokeback UK, but it’s so much
better than that Brokeback Mountain film. Even though I love Ang Lee I didn’t
care for the film since it’s extremely depressing, but this film is so much
better. Yes it’s a romance, but it’s also a story of breaking from tradition
and actually has a happy ending. It’s good to see a happy ending in a romantic
drama. The film is deeply touching, gorgeously shot, and beautifully acted.
10) Logan Lucky
“Now I’m about to get naked back here, so no peaking. I said
no peaking!”
In a summer full of remakes, sequels, and gigantic
blockbusters it’s nice to see something that strays from the rest. My friend
called it “The Italian Job, but with rednecks”. Well she’s not totally wrong.
The film is about the Logan family, Jimmy Logan and Clyde Logan Logan (yeah his
middle name is Logan also) along with their sister Mellie Logan, who are known
for the bad-luck in their family. After Jimmy loses his job he decides to pull
off an elaborate heist and possibly break the family curse in the process. It’s
a funny film and has quite the impressive cast, but Daniel Craig as Joe Bang is
the scene-stealer. Also, I’m not a fan of Seth MacFarlane at all and him
getting beat up made the film even better in my opinion.
9) Wind River
“You don't catch wolves looking where they might be; you
look where they've been.”
This is probably the most depressing film on the list due to
its subject matter. Wind River is a murder mystery thriller by Taylor Sheridan.
The story is about a rookie FBI agent that teams up with Cory a tracker/hunter
in order to investigate a murder of a young local girl on a Native American
Reservation. The acting is beyond phenomenal in this film. Jeremy Renner gives
one of his greatest performances as Cory Lambert. He’s reserved and
charismatic, while concealing a deep emotional pain underneath. This role
proves that he is more than just a useless Marvel character. Gil Birmingham
(Into the West/ Hell or High Water) is probably the one who shines the most in
this film as a father unsure how to cope with the loss of his daughter. He
deserves an Oscar already. Two of the most powerful scenes in the film were
between him and Renner. The rest of the supporting cast is great. Julia Jones
(Winter in the Blood) plays Cory’s wife. You could feel the tension and the
grief she still has over the loss of their child. Graham Greene (The Green
Mile/ Into the West) was fantastic as the tribal police officer. I was
surprised to see Tokala Clifford in the film because I loved him in my favorite
mini-series Into the West and the film adaption of Bury my Heart at Wounded
Knee. I wish he were in the film longer. I hope Taylor Sheridan keeps directing
and writing. You should see Wind River at least once.
8) Dunkirk
“I told my dad I’ve, I’ve done nothing at school. But I know
I would do something one day. Maybe get in the local paper. Maybe my teachers
would see it.”
I consider this a sequel to Darkest Hour. Christopher Nolan
is a cinematic genius and always has a way of bringing you to the edge of your
seat right off the bat with the opening scene. The first thing we see in this
film is a young man, played by Fionn Whitehead, hearing gunshots and begins to
run with his fellow men with each one being taken out right next to him. He’s
finally made it to the beach, but he’s the only one. The film just keep going
nonstop as it moves to characters on the beach, on the boats, and in the air.
It has an impressive cast with Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and
Kenneth Branaugh (the one true Hamlet). All of them are great actors, but the
one who really stood out to me was Fionn Whitehead, who rarely even speaks in
the film. He says everything with his eyes and body language, which absolutely
speaks volumes. He has a bright future ahead of him. Dunkirk is a great film.
Is it the best war film? No, but it doesn’t stop me from loving it. After I saw
it in IMAX I was deaf for about 30 minutes it was that loud, but totally worth
it.
7) Lady Bird
“We’re afraid that we will never escape our past. We’re
afraid of what the future will bring. We’re afraid we won’t be loved, we won’t
be liked, and we won’t succeed.”
Greta Gerwig’s talent for dialogue alone immediately got
Ladybird in my top 10. Lady Bird is her second film she’s directed with “Nights
and Weekends” being her first (go check it out). This is the coming-of-age film
I wanted “Boyhood” to be. It’s a funny warm and wise film about growing up. It
captures all the ups and downs of high school to university from our
relationships with friends, family, and essentially ourselves. Lady Bird has
the desire to be unique compared to everyone else, which we all want to be
unique. The hilarious opening scene really sets the tone for the film. Ladybird
and her mother had just finished driving to college tours around California. On
their way back home an argument arises between the two because Ladybird doesn’t
want to spend all her life in Sacramento. She wants to be somewhere full of
life like the east coast where she will find her true self. She wants to be
better than some girl whose family is having financial struggles. Hopefully
this film will get Laurie Metcalf more recognition and more dramatic roles
because she really is a good actress. She shouldn’t just be remembered for
Roseanne and playing Sheldon’s mom on Big Bang.
6) The Disaster Artist
“It’s not going to happen for you. Not in a million years!”
“But after that?”
A film based on the making of my favorite bad movie “The Room”. I remember the first time I saw “The Room”. It was in the early 2000s and the local cinema (that also played independent films from time to time) was showing some classic cult film that was barely in theatres during its original theatrical release. There was a line outside and I asked if the tickets for Episode II went on sale (people didn’t think it was going to be that bad) and they responded no we’re waiting to see “The Room”. They proceeded to tell me the plot and why it was a great film. I had to see it after their description, but then I questioned myself after my friend and I got our tickets once I saw the poster of Tommy Wiseau staring right at me. The movie was god-awful, but I loved every second of it. My chest hurt badly from laughing so hard at Tommy’s masterpiece. It’s easy to see why it’s a cult classic. It’s so bad it’s good. When I heard that there was going to be a film adaption of Greg Sestero’s memoir “The Disaster Artist” detailing Tommy Wiseau making “The Room”. I was in because Wiseau is this generation’s version of Ed Wood. The casting was prefect from James Franco playing the man Tommy and Josh Hutcherson who plays man-child Denny. Franco did great directing too. All those people complaining about him blocking Tommy from saying a few words at the golden globes, Franco knows Tommy and has been on plenty of interviews with him. Once Tommy starts talking there’s no stopping him.
5) Logan
“Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made
it last too long.”
The Dark Knight of the Marvel films. After some pretty bad
X-Men and solo Wolverine films, James Mangold and Hugh Jackman made the best
film out of the entire X-Men franchise. Logan isn’t your typical superhero film
because it’s more drama than action to be honest. The film is about an aging
Logan who’s abilities have slowed down with age. He’s taking care of Xavier who
is suffering from a degenerative brain disease. They’re one of the few mutants
still left. A mysterious easily angered girl named Laura crosses paths with
them and they embark on their final adventure. This is the Wolverine film that
fans have been asking for.
4) The Phantom Thread
“I'm incurable.”
I like the story of how Phantom Thread came about from the
words of Paul Thomas Anderson, “I was very, very sick in bed one night and my
wife looked at me with a love and an affection that I hadn’t seen in a long
time. So I called Daniel the next day. I said, ‘I think I have a good idea for
a movie’.” As soon as I saw the trailer I knew it was going to be something
truly spectacular and by George it was. I will watch anything with Daniel Day
Lewis in it because he’s a universal treasure. I will also watch anything
directed by Paul Thomas Anderson because he’s the new Kubrick or Hitchcock.
Every film he makes is groundbreaking. The film is about a troubled genius
Woodcock who lives with his sister Cyril. He designs dresses for members of
status around the world. He goes through muses left and right. They come and go
when he becomes bored with them. He discovers his new muse named Alma who is a
waitress. Her rawness intrigues him so, which results in him asking her to come
with him to his house to become his next muse. The film at first feels like a
beautiful love story, but then nearly turns into a psychological thriller.
Daniel Day Lewis was wonderful as Woodcock, who is so very dedicated to his
work and his craft that he ignores most everyone else. Sex to him is a
secondary concern because where most men would desire to undress women Woodcock
desires to dress them. His obsession could destroy him and Alma tries to find a
way to stop that from happening. I’ve been thinking about this film long after
viewing it. That final act in the Phantom Thread has been stuck in my head
longer than any other film besides BR2049 of course. Bright colors, wonderful
directing, phenomenal acting, and my god the music. Who would have thought
Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood could make such beautiful music. I want to live in
that score.
3) Call Me By Your Name
“When you least expect it, nature has cunning ways of
finding our weakest spot. Just…remember I’m here. Right now you may not want to
feel anything, maybe you never wanted to feel anything. And maybe its not to me
you wanna speak about these things, but feel something you obviously
did. You had a beautiful friendship, maybe more than a friendship. And I
envy you. In my place, most parents would hope the whole thing goes away, or
pray that their sons land on their feet, but I am not such a parent. We rip out
so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the
age of 30 and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to
make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste! Have I
spoken out of term? And I’ll say one more thing. It’ll clear the air. I may
have come close, but I never had what you two have. Something always held me
back or stood in the way. How you live your life is your business. Just
remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. And before you
know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point
when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now there’s
sorrow, pain. Don’t kill it. Embrace it with the joy you felt.”
This was the biggest surprise for me. It’s rare for a film
to improve on the novel, but Call Me By Your Name does that. I’m glad that they
took out old Elio looking back to the days when he was young. The film was
about Elio’s father has a man over named Oliver who is his intern. Elio has to
give up his bedroom for Oliver, but has to share a bathroom and the two of them
become close over time. The film simply blew me away with its cinematography
and acting. There is one thing that bothered me Elio’s family hide the fact they’re
Jewish for social position.
2) The Shape of Water
“When I think of her, the only thing that comes to mind is a
poem, whispered by someone in love, hundreds of years ago, unable to perceive
the shape of you, I find you all around me, your presence fills my eyes with
your love. It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere.”
Guillermo del Toro is back with his best film since Pan’s
Labyrinth. The Shape of Water is like if Beauty and the Beast and Creature from
the Black Lagoon had a gorgeous yet very weird baby. The story is about a mute
janitor who works at a laboratory and she eventually develops a relationship
with a creature trapped there that’s being used for research. She makes it her
mission to help him escape. It’s one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing
films of 2017. The film has great music, incredible cinematography, a lovely
atmosphere, perfect directing, and wonderful acting. Sally Hawkins gives the
best performance of the year and she doesn’t utter a word. The spectacular
supporting cast that includes the always perfect Octavia Spencer, an angry
Michael Shannon, Doug Jones as the dancing creature, the pie loving Richard
Jenkins, and Michael Stuhlberg as the caring scientist. Guillermo del Toro has
created one of the most unique and captivating love stories. I like what del
Toro said about love, “I think love is the greatest force in the universe. It’s
shapeless like water. It only takes the shape of things it becomes.” This film
is perfection.
Honorable Mentions: Your Name/ Lego Batman/ Good Time/
Florida Project
“Edgy, scary music that would make a parent or studio
executive nervous and logos really long and dramatic logos. Warner Bros, why
not Warner Brothers? I don't know. DC, the house that Batman built. Yeah, what,
Superman? Come at me, bro. I'm your Kryptonite.”
Your Name is one of the best anime films I’ve seen in a long
while. Actually it’s one of the best anime films period. I absolutely love
everything about this film. The story is wonderful and so is the voice acting.
Makoto Shinkai really knows how to play with the viewer’s emotions. I won’t go
too much into the plot because I believe you should go into the film knowing
nothing at all. It’s best that way and you won’t be disappointed. You’ll love
the film I promise. Then there’s the romantic comedy The Lego Batman Movie.
Joker feels like he’s in an one sided relationship and wants Batman to admit
that there could be no Batman without the Joker. Joker just wants to be noticed
by his Bats. Then there’s another film about love, but it’s not romantic love
it’s brotherly love gone wrong. Lastly, there’s The Florida Project. The
trailer of the film didn’t initially blow me away, but it was directed by Sean
Baker (Tangerine) so I knew it would be good. The film was really good.
Brooklyn Kimberly Prince and Willem Dafoe blew me away. All-in-All these films
were pretty good.
1) Blade Runner 2049
“I can see it. As clear as dreaming. He loves her.”
Saying that Blade Runner 2049 is a masterpiece isn’t doing
the film justice. I wasn’t worried when they announced that Denis Villeneuve
was set to direct the sequel, which is definitely saying something. He’s one of
the great directors working today. Since his directorial debut way back in ’98 he’s
been killing it in the film industry. He’s not afraid to make adult films that
ask the bigger questions and makes us truly think. Each film he directs
continues to get better and better. Blade Runner 2049 is by far his best film. The
sequel actually improves and deepens on the source material. In the original
they state “more human than human”, but in BR2049 they ponder, “What does make
one human”. There is a lot of symbolism along with philosophical and moral
questions in this film as I stated in my review. It makes me mad that hardly
anyone saw this film making it a box-office bomb compared to “The Last Jedi”,
which was mediocre at best. I’m glad that I am one of the few who were able to
see it in the cinema as many times as I did. It was a rare cinematic experience
that I’ll always cherish like those who saw “A New Hope” back in 1977.
Everything from the acting, directing, score, writing, and cinematography is
perfection. It truly is my favorite film. The last six minutes of the Blade
Runner 2049 has more emotion than most of the overrated Oscar nominated films
over the years. Warner Bros you have
redeemed yourself with this film. Lastly, let us take a moment to appreciate cinematographer Roger Deakins.
