Top 7- My Favourite Movies of 2017
We made it folks, we can now crawl out of the dumpster fire of 2017 into the brave new dumpster fire of 2018. In the midst of that mess though, we got an amazing amount of incredible films so it only seems fair to look back into that orangey haze and try to rescue from the flames the filmic gems of the year gone by. I never see every film in a year and that was sadly true this year so if one of your favourites is missing, I might not actually hate it, don't fret. With that said, it's time for honourable mentions (in no particular order).
Get Out
Get Out did the rare thing which was get me interested in horror this year. There ended up being horror films I loved more but Get Out remains special.
20th Century Women
One of the most charming films of the year, 20th Century Women has unfortunately been lost in the awards season haze but deserves rediscovery for it's heart and humour.
Hacksaw Ridge
The movie itself hasn't stuck as well in my mind over the year but there is a lot to be said for how impressive a cinematic experience Hacksaw Ridge gave me, one that was almost unparalleled.
A Monster Calls
Another lost Oscar movie, A Monster Calls would always make it onto this list for the accolade of making me cry harder and uglier than any other movie I have ever seen. It helps that the movie around that sob fest is beautiful too.
Manchester by the Sea
It came out at the start of the year but there has still not been a film that made me feel more emotionally drained this year. Manchester by the Sea isn't an easy watch but it's a film that needs to be seen, just to see how hard it will gut punch you.
T2: Trainspotting
Part of my love for this film may be that it was the first 18 I saw in cinemas but that T2 could stand up to the impressive legacy of the original and bring something new to the table is testament to the quality of Boyle's film.
War for the Planet of the Apes
In a weaker year, this would be easy top 7 material but regardless, War was a strong entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise and cemented the Caesar trilogy as one of the best in modern cinema.
The Lego Batman Movie
Legitimately, the best superhero film of the year. I laughed from start to finish, appreciated as many of the references as I was able to catch and was still in awe of the animation. Plus, Will Arnett remains one of the all time great Batmans.
It Comes at Night
For most of the year, It Comes at Night was the tensest, most uncomfortable movie experience I'd ever had. The tension is slow building but thick like tar, making it impossible to shake the film from your system, especially as you walk around your house at night.
Blade Runner 2049
I'll say it: I prefer 2049 to the original Blade Runner. Sure, the running time is lengthy but every scene is so deliberately paced, every shot is so stunningly calculated and I don't think there'll ever be a sex scene as emotionally affecting as the one at the midway point.
The Florida Project
As I was watching this movie, I was pleasantly enjoying myself but when the ending came and fit in so perfectly with my reading of the film, it elevated the entire movie. To give it a niche pitch, it's a little like if La Haine was set in Florida.
Brigsby Bear
One of two wonderful films this year about passionate weirdos making bizarre movies, Brigsby Bear won't be to everyone's tastes but to those attuned, there's plenty to love and it isn't hard to imagine this film getting its own cult behind it.
Dunkirk
Dunkirk is a powerful film in that it seems effortless. I saw it twice, once in IMAX, and as an action movie, it is instantly gripping. Stepping back and looking more analytically though, it is an astoundingly made film, designed to stretch you and cinema itself to the limits.
Now, time for the actual top 7. These are ranked and are probably the bits that will cause most anger so please be nice.
7. The Disaster Artist
The Room is a movie that, despite being the worst film I've ever seen, I have seen four times. It has this magnetic awfulness that keeps bringing it back and many have wondered what the truth behind this shitshow of a film could be. Enter The Disaster Artist, a film that proudly pitches itself as "The story behind the worst movie ever made". The story is fascinating in reality and on screen, it gets played out well, hitting all the notes it has to. There's an odd emotional core at the center but what you're really here for is the comedy and there's plenty of it. James Franco gives what may be the performance of his career as enigmatic maniac Tommy Wiseau, a man who can't possibly have existed despite being all too real. In my review, I said I wasn't sure how it would translate for people who haven't seen The Room but apparently, it does work well. It isn't the heaviest film of the year but it's a damn good time for sure.
6. Wind River
Taylor Sheridan is most known as a screenwriter for (excellent) films like Sicario and Hell or High Water but he steps into directing for Wind River, a really hard watch that is best described as the serious and downbeat plot of Sicario with the style of Hell or High Water. The tone is oppressive and you will come out feeling like absolute shit but man if Sheridan doesn't work to get you there. In the lead roles are a career best Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olson (due a later appearance on the list). Renner especially translates the absolutely broken nature of his character and his subtle character cues allowed me to pick up some plot beats a few scenes before their revelation. The plot is gripping, many moments are sweat inducingly tense and it brings me joy to see how Sheridan has ripped this film out of the hands of the Weinstein company in order to try and give this film the awards buzz it deserves.
5. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Despite not technically being a horror film, this was the most terrifying film I saw all year at the cinema. That may make me sound like a pretentious snob that I went with something like this over IT or whatever but I know you didn't see this, you don't get it. Yorgos Lanthimos' last film The Lobster was one I appreciated more than I liked but this film is on a whole other level. Sure, there's that deliberate awkwardness here as in The Lobster but it's played for a much more sinister effect. In fact, everything in this film is played to absolutely twist your stomach into knots, from the huge amount of vertical space, a camera always tracking in or out or deliberate plot ambiguities. Maybe it was just that I was in a bit of a rough place when I saw the film (for more info, become my therapist) but it gave me physical discomfort to sit in the cinema and watch this. It may not sound like it but that is a huge compliment as no film has ever made me so viscerally uncomfortable. You won't enjoy this film exactly but it's an astounding achievement and an experience that you'll have trouble shaking.
4. Moonlight
I saw Moonlight for the first time when it came out earlier this year (a few days before the whole Best Picture fiasco) and I thought it was a wonderful film and while I didn't love it as much as everyone else, it was a deserved Best Picture and would probably have made it onto my honourable mentions. Then, on the first week of my film studies course, we started with Moonlight and I got the chance to watch it again. I loved it. Moonlight is my new example of why films need to be rewatched, to allow them to properly sit with you and to appreciate. Sure, some of the love may come from the fact that I got two great essays out of it but it cannot be overstated how powerful a film this is. My list from here on out goes entirely into personal taste so before we get into the top 3, I want to point out that from an objective standpoint, this is probably the best film of the year. Anything further than here only made it because of how it appealed to me personally. What I'm trying to say is that if you watch only one film from this list, make it Moonlight.
3. Ingrid Goes West
I don't know why but Ingrid Goes West hit every note for me. Maybe it was a perfect storm of watching it at a film festival, with a beer, while visiting a friend but looking back, I'm genuinely convinced that this really is just an excellent film. At the core, it's a dark comedy about a social media obsessed woman who stalks an Instagram celeb to the point where things rapidly escalate. As a comedy, the film works perfectly, making me laugh out loud constantly and definitely too loudly (one particular scene with a Batman obsessed character was amazing) but there's a real message here for the social media obsessed world we now occupy. More than making me laugh, what is impressive is that it made me delete Facebook off my phone and I felt physically unable to use Instagram for days afterwards, even when boredom struck on the train home. Plus, Aubrey Plaza gives the performance of her career, somehow even better than her work earlier in the year on Legion. It won't be for everyone but if this film clicks with you, it'll click hard.
2. La La Land
Shame me all you want, I love La La Land and I have still never seen any film more in cinemas. In terms of sheer viewing numbers, La La Land should top this list as I have seen it five times and it was an absolute delight every single time. The thing is, La La Land shouldn't be a shoo in for my favourite film of the year because it's a musical. Sure, the director Damien Chazelle is responsible for Whiplash, one of my very favourite films of all time, but musicals have never appealed to me. That makes it all the more impressive that La La Land infected me so badly. The songs are a delight, the visuals are astonishing and the story takes unexpected risks that pay off in spades. I'm not going to waste anymore time justifying my choice because you are either fully on board with my love for this film or I'm a cuck with bad film taste. Whichever party you fall into, my undying love for this film remains.
1. Baby Driver
For all the love I have for La La Land, Baby Driver has to come out on top. It's Edgar Wright's biggest movie to date and while nothing he does will ever top Hot Fuzz (admittedly, largely for nostalgia) this is one of his best films yet. Being an Edgar Wright film, Baby Driver was always going to have a lot in its favour but the fact that it's an action film where everything is slickly executed to the pumping soundtrack certainly didn't hurt. Speaking of that soundtrack, the film could make a best of the year list just on that as it's one that I frequently have on just as I walk around, making me feel absolutely amazing. There's also the typical Wright flourishes like a healthy dose of graphic matches and minor visual gags for the eagle eyed (or frequent rewatchers) to check out. If I can boil it down to one sentence, I had no more fun this year than I did in Baby Driver and sometimes, that's exactly what a film has to be.
Get Out
Get Out did the rare thing which was get me interested in horror this year. There ended up being horror films I loved more but Get Out remains special.
20th Century Women
One of the most charming films of the year, 20th Century Women has unfortunately been lost in the awards season haze but deserves rediscovery for it's heart and humour.
Hacksaw Ridge
The movie itself hasn't stuck as well in my mind over the year but there is a lot to be said for how impressive a cinematic experience Hacksaw Ridge gave me, one that was almost unparalleled.
A Monster Calls
Another lost Oscar movie, A Monster Calls would always make it onto this list for the accolade of making me cry harder and uglier than any other movie I have ever seen. It helps that the movie around that sob fest is beautiful too.
Manchester by the Sea
It came out at the start of the year but there has still not been a film that made me feel more emotionally drained this year. Manchester by the Sea isn't an easy watch but it's a film that needs to be seen, just to see how hard it will gut punch you.
T2: Trainspotting
Part of my love for this film may be that it was the first 18 I saw in cinemas but that T2 could stand up to the impressive legacy of the original and bring something new to the table is testament to the quality of Boyle's film.
War for the Planet of the Apes
In a weaker year, this would be easy top 7 material but regardless, War was a strong entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise and cemented the Caesar trilogy as one of the best in modern cinema.
The Lego Batman Movie
Legitimately, the best superhero film of the year. I laughed from start to finish, appreciated as many of the references as I was able to catch and was still in awe of the animation. Plus, Will Arnett remains one of the all time great Batmans.
It Comes at Night
For most of the year, It Comes at Night was the tensest, most uncomfortable movie experience I'd ever had. The tension is slow building but thick like tar, making it impossible to shake the film from your system, especially as you walk around your house at night.
Blade Runner 2049
I'll say it: I prefer 2049 to the original Blade Runner. Sure, the running time is lengthy but every scene is so deliberately paced, every shot is so stunningly calculated and I don't think there'll ever be a sex scene as emotionally affecting as the one at the midway point.
The Florida Project
As I was watching this movie, I was pleasantly enjoying myself but when the ending came and fit in so perfectly with my reading of the film, it elevated the entire movie. To give it a niche pitch, it's a little like if La Haine was set in Florida.
Brigsby Bear
One of two wonderful films this year about passionate weirdos making bizarre movies, Brigsby Bear won't be to everyone's tastes but to those attuned, there's plenty to love and it isn't hard to imagine this film getting its own cult behind it.
Dunkirk
Dunkirk is a powerful film in that it seems effortless. I saw it twice, once in IMAX, and as an action movie, it is instantly gripping. Stepping back and looking more analytically though, it is an astoundingly made film, designed to stretch you and cinema itself to the limits.
Now, time for the actual top 7. These are ranked and are probably the bits that will cause most anger so please be nice.
7. The Disaster Artist
The Room is a movie that, despite being the worst film I've ever seen, I have seen four times. It has this magnetic awfulness that keeps bringing it back and many have wondered what the truth behind this shitshow of a film could be. Enter The Disaster Artist, a film that proudly pitches itself as "The story behind the worst movie ever made". The story is fascinating in reality and on screen, it gets played out well, hitting all the notes it has to. There's an odd emotional core at the center but what you're really here for is the comedy and there's plenty of it. James Franco gives what may be the performance of his career as enigmatic maniac Tommy Wiseau, a man who can't possibly have existed despite being all too real. In my review, I said I wasn't sure how it would translate for people who haven't seen The Room but apparently, it does work well. It isn't the heaviest film of the year but it's a damn good time for sure.
6. Wind River
Taylor Sheridan is most known as a screenwriter for (excellent) films like Sicario and Hell or High Water but he steps into directing for Wind River, a really hard watch that is best described as the serious and downbeat plot of Sicario with the style of Hell or High Water. The tone is oppressive and you will come out feeling like absolute shit but man if Sheridan doesn't work to get you there. In the lead roles are a career best Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olson (due a later appearance on the list). Renner especially translates the absolutely broken nature of his character and his subtle character cues allowed me to pick up some plot beats a few scenes before their revelation. The plot is gripping, many moments are sweat inducingly tense and it brings me joy to see how Sheridan has ripped this film out of the hands of the Weinstein company in order to try and give this film the awards buzz it deserves.
5. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Despite not technically being a horror film, this was the most terrifying film I saw all year at the cinema. That may make me sound like a pretentious snob that I went with something like this over IT or whatever but I know you didn't see this, you don't get it. Yorgos Lanthimos' last film The Lobster was one I appreciated more than I liked but this film is on a whole other level. Sure, there's that deliberate awkwardness here as in The Lobster but it's played for a much more sinister effect. In fact, everything in this film is played to absolutely twist your stomach into knots, from the huge amount of vertical space, a camera always tracking in or out or deliberate plot ambiguities. Maybe it was just that I was in a bit of a rough place when I saw the film (for more info, become my therapist) but it gave me physical discomfort to sit in the cinema and watch this. It may not sound like it but that is a huge compliment as no film has ever made me so viscerally uncomfortable. You won't enjoy this film exactly but it's an astounding achievement and an experience that you'll have trouble shaking.
I saw Moonlight for the first time when it came out earlier this year (a few days before the whole Best Picture fiasco) and I thought it was a wonderful film and while I didn't love it as much as everyone else, it was a deserved Best Picture and would probably have made it onto my honourable mentions. Then, on the first week of my film studies course, we started with Moonlight and I got the chance to watch it again. I loved it. Moonlight is my new example of why films need to be rewatched, to allow them to properly sit with you and to appreciate. Sure, some of the love may come from the fact that I got two great essays out of it but it cannot be overstated how powerful a film this is. My list from here on out goes entirely into personal taste so before we get into the top 3, I want to point out that from an objective standpoint, this is probably the best film of the year. Anything further than here only made it because of how it appealed to me personally. What I'm trying to say is that if you watch only one film from this list, make it Moonlight.
3. Ingrid Goes West
I don't know why but Ingrid Goes West hit every note for me. Maybe it was a perfect storm of watching it at a film festival, with a beer, while visiting a friend but looking back, I'm genuinely convinced that this really is just an excellent film. At the core, it's a dark comedy about a social media obsessed woman who stalks an Instagram celeb to the point where things rapidly escalate. As a comedy, the film works perfectly, making me laugh out loud constantly and definitely too loudly (one particular scene with a Batman obsessed character was amazing) but there's a real message here for the social media obsessed world we now occupy. More than making me laugh, what is impressive is that it made me delete Facebook off my phone and I felt physically unable to use Instagram for days afterwards, even when boredom struck on the train home. Plus, Aubrey Plaza gives the performance of her career, somehow even better than her work earlier in the year on Legion. It won't be for everyone but if this film clicks with you, it'll click hard.
2. La La Land
Shame me all you want, I love La La Land and I have still never seen any film more in cinemas. In terms of sheer viewing numbers, La La Land should top this list as I have seen it five times and it was an absolute delight every single time. The thing is, La La Land shouldn't be a shoo in for my favourite film of the year because it's a musical. Sure, the director Damien Chazelle is responsible for Whiplash, one of my very favourite films of all time, but musicals have never appealed to me. That makes it all the more impressive that La La Land infected me so badly. The songs are a delight, the visuals are astonishing and the story takes unexpected risks that pay off in spades. I'm not going to waste anymore time justifying my choice because you are either fully on board with my love for this film or I'm a cuck with bad film taste. Whichever party you fall into, my undying love for this film remains.
1. Baby Driver
For all the love I have for La La Land, Baby Driver has to come out on top. It's Edgar Wright's biggest movie to date and while nothing he does will ever top Hot Fuzz (admittedly, largely for nostalgia) this is one of his best films yet. Being an Edgar Wright film, Baby Driver was always going to have a lot in its favour but the fact that it's an action film where everything is slickly executed to the pumping soundtrack certainly didn't hurt. Speaking of that soundtrack, the film could make a best of the year list just on that as it's one that I frequently have on just as I walk around, making me feel absolutely amazing. There's also the typical Wright flourishes like a healthy dose of graphic matches and minor visual gags for the eagle eyed (or frequent rewatchers) to check out. If I can boil it down to one sentence, I had no more fun this year than I did in Baby Driver and sometimes, that's exactly what a film has to be.
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