Basically the premise is choose the top movie of every month(plus a wildcard). It’s the best out of the 75 movies I’ve watched this year.
Now, this top 13 isn’t just a straight up list of the top 13 movie. 12 of the 13 movies are the best releases from each month and #13 is a wildcard. This may not be 100% to what is the best movies of 2017 but this is still a pretty damn good list that will hopefully give folks something highly to look back on from 2017.
Biggest reason I do the special listing is cause I’m sick of seeing list where 80% of the movies on the list came out in the last two months of the year. I get that’s the time of the year where studios do an Oscar dump but I feel part of it also short term memory. For release dates, I use the widest release for US that IMDB has listed. This system gives more movies a chance that are forgotten due to their early releases potentially.
13. Patty Cake$ (August)
Wow, really surprised this movie won me over like it did. Remember Honey Boo Boo. This was essentially if she was a rapper... and actually talented. Patty Cake$ had plenty of heart. It did remind me of 8 Miles and Eminem's story. I know all white rappers are the same. Similar but Patty Cake$ definitely didn't itself so seriously. It's why I found it so enjoyable. It made her tremendously relatable. Killer P was a gal, who had a dream, but she had responsibilities but at the same time was a bum. It was just a pleasant experience of ghetto trash trying to become a star. Certainly an odd ball film on this list but still a pretty good comedy with strong characters. It even has a rapping grandma. erm not really.
12. Kong Skull Island [March]
Just loved this film. Now, I had no problem going into this that they had to make Kong bigger to make him able to fight Godzilla. My main concern was how they were going to twist the King Kong story. There’s a theme to Godzilla the character, so you can take him out of whatever Godzilla story and plug him in whereever without messing with the character’s integrity. King Kong I don’t feel this is the case. He’s not just a character but his story is the emphasis of man interrupting nature. It’s a milestone story. Kong is the emphasis of nature.
Kong Skull Island doesn’t give a damn for this integral story for the most part. Sure man is still invading the nature of skull island but Skull Island is out to give the audience, what the audience of Godzilla came to see and that’s MONSTER BATTLES with kooky characters. John C O’Reilly, Samuel Jackson and John Goodman gave us characters. They were dirty and interesting. The three became almost as much of a force of nature in the film, which is something Godzilla truly could’ve used. The fact it’s more entertaining than Godzilla isn’t the only reason it’s on the list but it certainly helps.
The movie was plenty happy to take it’s viewers on a tumultuous adventure. The tawdry action was wonderful, with a good cast of characters. I was smiling through most of it just appreciating how much of a badass Kong was. There wasn’t a story of Kong but Kong still stood strong. He’s a character that will always stand the test of time even in this alternate world. It’s similar to the idea of the show Gotham; there’s no way that show is the prequel to the Batman we have but if narrative is entertaining, who cares! Deserved to be on the list due to it’s entertainment but also on the lower side cause the story could’ve been much tighter also HipBrie Larson was a bit annoying when she wasn’t with Kong.
11. Gerald’s Game [September]
This film’s script is so amazing. When the inner monologue began I was won over. The dialogue was so smooth and smart. A couple things came off corny like the setups for later payoffs were super obvious but as information about Jessie became revealed things became more surreal but clearer when it came to her inner psyche's motivation. Never quite found myself scared at just endowed her dialogue and how she would imagine a conversation would go if others were there. Who doesn’t want to have a clear conversation with themselves? That aspect is what really hit home. Don’t worry this film does play greatly into the horror tropes that should make you go WTF but I’m so numb to much of that, that wasn’t the big hook for me. The premise is a a very shlocky horror movie idea but I didn’t get bogged down on that due to the main character being bigger than the concept.
10. SalesMan aka Forushande [Wild Card]
Great story It actually reminded me of Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. The acting in it was pretty solid and took a somewhat realistic approach to the revenge type storyline. There is definitely social context for how women are treated in Iran but the presentation of this commentary is pretty ground not slapping the audience in the face a black and white scenario. Now, I feel I would've got more possibly from the film if I’ve read or seen the play Death of a Salesman because the whole story of the film takes place while the main characters are performing in the Death of the Salesman. Really enjoyed how information was strolled out though slight deception from other characters. It makes it very difficult to tell the intentions of all the characters which makes the ending more engrossing. It’s a very subtle drama but I feel it’s very important to watch for it cultural prowess. Reason it’s on the lower it because of it’s subtlety. Not really a detriment to the film itself but just my personal taste that holds it back.
9. Ruin Me [October]
This movie is not one that you could describe as subtle by any means. Quite frankly I just enjoyed the rollercoaster for as shlocky as it was. I’m sure if I sat down and thought about there’d be things to nitpick at. Really I don’t are cause I was entertained. This movie definitely had cliches drawn from Saw, Chainsaw Massacre and Scream but I love those cliches.
The premise is a couple attends a camp that places you into a horror movie scenario. Of course everything goes wrong. The story also gives the audience a great mystery on multiple different levels. Kind of a neat whodunnit with a little bit cheating. The whole time I knew there were twist so I was say I had enough fun just trying to guess.what the answer was but the film does not slow down too. One would assume since it’s at a camp that the theme would be Jason but it’s a hybrid of several fiction somewhat like Cabin in the Woods but that’s just background noise and not distracting.
As an audience we get also get thralled into the thriller the main gal is put in and feel the fear, anxiety and confusion, which itself turns into a helluva ride for the audience. Would certainly recommend if you enjoy your horror movies at the corniest. Things do get serious but I I feel like it’s earned. Definitely appreciate my cousin bringing me to this at the Twin Cities film festival. One I think a group of friends can certainly get behind for Halloween. Not sure about it’s accessibility since I saw it at a film fest but if you find a way to watch it; certainly do so.
8. Ghost Story [July]
Time capsule the movie! Honestly when I first watched this; I loved the visuals but was getting slightly thrown off by how slow the movie was. When it came full circle I was taken back. Just thought it was great how the dots were connected in the end. It truly set it apart. What I really enjoyed is how we get the point of view of the infamous ghost in this film. The reason the unknown is so scary to us is cause there’s never any reason put into why a ghost does what it does besides the extremely overdone. Really have to set yourself in the mood for this but the nuances are just brilliant for the time capsule this story brings to you. The wonderful thing about this film is that I feel one could just put it on loop and keep enjoying. I immediately had to just to catch up on what the ending was presenting to the audience. The slowness certainly holds it down but the ending is a must. I certainly recommend this as a must watch to get that inverted point of view.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 [May]
Just pure fun is what this is. James Gunn just kills it with not only the retro music but the visuals too. I actually enjoyed the B story with Rocket and Yandu than I did with Peter and friend. Rocket, Groot and Yandu actually got forced into an adventure while Peter Quill mostly just hung out. Even though I don’t think the story was as fulfilling as the first one for all characters, I just loved the themes that comes with them. Loyalty, family, and dancing. Between the visuals, character and fun music this certainly deserves to be on my list and a watch if you haven’t seen it yet. Also, how can anyone get over that dance from Baby Groot at the beginning?
6. Darkest Hour [December]
Such a charming feature. Not really what one would expect from a WW2 themed film. Gary Oldman just kills it as Winston Churchill. This movie was pretty enlightening into the politics of the UK during the harshest times of WW2.I thought I was well informed about WW2 but that was only the American, Japanese and German aspects. Did not know how much of a internal clash Britain has. Was super scary to see how close they were to possibly surrendering to the Germans. The movie did such a great job in going sharing to politics their parliament was dealing with.
One of the best character studies on this list. Gary Oldman found a means of making WInston a bold bumbling grump while at the same time a brave charming hero. The films doesn’t make the situation black and white even though that’s how Winston has to lie and lay it out to the public. In his point of view, the end justifies the means and in this circumstance it’s presented as the right answer. Historically glad he made the decision but making decisions like that can always lead to defeat.
The one aspect that made this feature standout was the eagle eye view we’d get of the map.of where the UK troops were. The way it was laid made one feel like they were a part of the war while being compelling to the eyes. Cannot praise the story enough. It’s truly the reason why Darkest Hour made its way on the list and to do that for the December month is pretty grand with all the Oscar drops that happen in the month.
5. Wonder Woman [June]
While a lot of these movies seemed to put a sour taste in my mouth(in a good way), Wonder Woman stands to inspire. Patty Jenkins was the perfect director for this film. Only detriment that Jenkin’s directing has is her action scene seem like they’re a ripoff of Zack Zyder. Really that was a minor fault. What Jenkins brought to Wonder Woman is the importance for these action scenes to take place. The No Man’s Land scene was the proper punch the audience needed to show what Wonder Woman stands for in such a complicated and messy war. Seeing Gal Gadot with those sliding kicks taking out the Germans was great. The biggest reason this film made the list was it’s approach to good and evil. That it’s not that simple. It’s a brilliant arc that Wonder Woman has to go through. The film would’ve made it higher on the list had Wonder Woman followed through on it’s message of ‘you can’t just win by just punching the bad guy in the face’ Besides Coco, I could mark this as the most inspirational film on my list.
4. Graduation aka Bacalaureat [April]
Very similar to Stephen Knight’s Locke except we’re not trapped in a car this whole movie. This Romanian drama delves deeply into a situation a father is attempting to balance to ensure that his daughter graduates properly. Things just spiral out control. At the beginning it seems like a simple although scary event that the family have to deal with. We discover the father has a whole domino pile of things that he has to fix. Adrian Titieni brings a really subtle performance as the father. He is going through such high pressures but operating in such a calm demeanor. One can see the reason he’s taking these blow in such a calm demeanor is due to him carrying these heavy burdens way before the initial event that initiates the film occurs. It really is scarily relateble not to the extreme that the father is dealing with but in the fact that when we deal with problems of when it rains it pours. This movie asks over and over does the ends justify the means.
3. Split [January]
Yay! M Night is back! This film was pretty incredible. Not quite his best but it seems like he’s having fun. For some reason I went into this expecting a realistice flick of a kidnapper with multiple personality disorder. Really not sure why. Up there with Gary Oldman, James McAvoy put on one of the best perfomances of the year. Just like Shaymalan he is having plenty of fun too. What I also admired for McAvoy’s performance is that a costume change wasn’t needed for one to tell the differences between personality. Even just the facial expression and I could tell that a different personality has taken ahold of him. The film had a great mystery as to what the deal was with McAvoy, an intense thriller of if the girls were going to survive and I caught myself chuckling a bit when it came to how off the wall the personalities were going. This film gets a higher rating just at the amount of intrigue I had in my investment of the whole film.
2. I Don’t Feel At Home in this World Anymore [February]
Fantastic film that went off the rails so fast. It starts as a film about a corky nurse, whose having a bad day to the ultimate mcguffin carnage. I caught myself laughing at events that there’s no way I could laugh at in real life. All the character standout for their eccentric demeanor and that what makes this world so exciting especially how these are done in such a droll way. The nice things even though all the characters are unconventional they don’t simply lay down for the others. There’s plenty of good face-offs. Not all of them end in bloodshed but the ones are likely the most satistfying. That’s the wonderful aspect of this film is that it’s very difficult to stick a genre on it. Really don’t mind cause the whole thing was unpredictable but the story still continued and had a fulfilling ending. Really can’t get enough from this crew. Macon Blair wrote and directed this but also co produced Jeremy Saulnier’s other films of Green Room and Blue Ruins. So if you liked those, this should be your alley in a much lighter sense.
It’s automatic that when someone from this crew puts together a film it makes it in the top 5 of my list.
1. Coco [November]
I really feel like a smuck for making a Disner Pixar flick #1 but I can’t help. In Coco I was pulled into this alluring fantasy that delves in Mexican culture. Can’t say I learned much as far as information but I learned something far more important of the emotional connection these families had with their relatives who have past.
The themes of love, inspiration, hope, fighting what you believe in, boldness, heart, family, letting go, not letting go are super strong and well thought out. The visuals were breathtaking. Before the film there was a clip about what the directors had to do to create the landscape of the city Miguel visits. It took layer upon layer to put them together. The attention to detail is incredible and very much appreciated. Every scene had something appealing in the background that I always enjoyed examining.
So great themes, great visuals and there’s also the characters. I love how the shoe company was created by a woman who had to hold the family together despite the lack of father. The grandma was great how she was ready with her chanclas anytime someone tried poisoning her family with music. Then there’s Miguel who really sold the story as a stubborn child who has great intentions but doesn’t know how to solve the roadblock his families has had for decades. Really family issues like that are very easy to connect it to. The film dumbs it down a little but I enjoyed the process of solving it so much the finale didn’t wreck that by any means.
Lastly the music is another aspect that is top notch. Pixar when involving music usually do a great job. Feel like they went about and beyond. Had the music running through my head for awhile after seeing it. Made me immediately want to watch a Robert Rodriguez film. :P
Coco beomes #1 since I was so inviested, intrigued and excited during the whole viewing.
Thanks for reading. Hope these are films you’d be willing to check out if you haven’t to make ensure you did’t miss the best 2017 had to offer. If you need help finding these flicks, let me know and I can likely hook you up. Would love to see your list and what you think I am missing or what you feel I may have overrated. These list are a blast to make and hopefully they portray the best of 2017 despite my odd format.
