Top Ten Movies of 2017

Below are my top ten movies of 2017. This list changed many times while I was putting together, and the version you see below reflects how memorable and stunning each film remains in my mind. The list begins with number ten at the top, Blade Runner 2049 and moves toward the film I believe is the best movie of 2017.

#10 Blade Runner 2049. 2017. Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright and Ana de Amas. Taking place thirty years after the events of the first film (Blade Runner, 1982) a new special police detective known only as “K” (Ryan Gosling), who helps keep the human-like replicates in line, discovers a secret that could bring about a chaotic end to civilization. Following leads, K seeks out retire detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who disappeared 30 years ago.

This film’s cinematography is beautiful as it depicts an earth this is on the edge of falling into a dystopian world. While this film is set in such an environment, that is just a place for this well written detective drama to take place. You do not have to be a fan of the original Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford as Detective Deckard, but it does tie up some loose ends and answers the question of Deckard’s origins.

#9 War for the Planet of the Apes. 2017. Directed by Matt Reeves. Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Amiah Miller and Steve Zahn. This film is the third in the recent reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise (Rise of the Planet of the Apes – 2011 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – 2014). Caesar (Andy Sekis), is forced to lead his fellow apes in to a conflict with an army of humans lead by a cruel and merciless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). Caesar is trying to work within his morals which he is trying to engrain into the other apes, but soon realizes that is impossible when the Colonel commits savage atrocities. These brutalities are brought to the screen and given more force through the elegant use of camera shots and editing. Motion capture technology has come a long way in the last few years and is able to show us not only the large movements of the actors as CGI avatars are superimposed upon their frames, but also the small movements of their facal features that give us the emotions the actors are actually conveying. We get to see the details of how the actors are playing their parts.

#8 Coco. 2017. Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina. Starring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Gael Garcia Bernal and Benjamin Bratt. Disney-Pixar Animated. This was by far the best animated film of the year. I wrote an extensive review on this film earlier in the year. On a second viewing, I am still struck by how the films follows Miguel into Land of the Dead, which is more stunning and colorful than the celebrations in the real world. Coco is beyond good – it is grand. As well as smart and vibrant. In total, this is a beautiful movie that has been cared for deeply in its creation and is worth seeing more than once.

#7 Wonder Woman. 2017. Directed by Patty Jenkins. Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen. The one-line description of this film on one of the top film review sites has this to say about Wonder Woman, “An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man to become the greatest of the female superheroes.” I take exception with that description. This film clearly shows us that Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, is one of the greatest female superheroes period. Gal Gadot brings a refined grace to this hero. Here we see a hero that is not confused by their personal and societal morals and ethics. Wonder Woman is a character of balance between humor and seriousness; anxiety and adventure; full-blown, unvarnished superhero fantasy and a huge dose of humanity. Wonder Woman as a film finds its philosophical footing from the conflict between her pure, untested idealism and the actual gruesome realities of war, and it finds rich ground in the gap between them.

#6 Baby Driver. 2017. Directed by Edgar Wright. Starring Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Lily James and Jamie Foxx. A young getaway driver, Baby, (Ansel Elgort) is coerced into working for a crime boss and finds himself in love and taking part of a heist against his better judgement because he feels it will fail due to the other team members. The film has several scenes where we hear the music the driver is listening to that helps him direct his actions, making large parts of the film music-in-the-moment. The car chases are fantastic to watch as we hear the music. Ansel Elgort plays one of the best anti-heroes ever. Yes, we know he is a criminal, but we want him to be successful. On the other-hand we have Bats, (Jamie Foxx) a character that we dislike from the first time we see him it only gets worse as he becomes more slimy a person each minute of the movie.

#5 The Shape of Water. 2017. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins. One of the best sci-fi/fantasy films released in the past four or five years. This is a story set in Cold War era America in the early 1960’s where an amphibious man (Doug Jones) is being held captive so to study him so military applications can discovered. Elisa is a mute cleaning woman hired to work in the laboratory and falls in love with the amphibious man and devises a plan to help him escape. Director Gullermo del Toro has created another great “monster movie” that brings much more to the screen than just fear, blood and gore. Saying anything more would involve spoilers.

#4 Mudbound. 2017. Directed by Dee Rees. Starring Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan and Jonathan Banks. Mudbound takes place in the south, post WWII where two families face battles on several fronts such as the ones at home and the ones still be fought abroad. In the beginning of the film, one family digs a grave for their father, finding this plot of land had previously been used to bury former slaves. While this family finds it an inconvenience, it becomes something much more. While this film is set around 70 years ago, its has so much to say to us today.

#3 Lady Bird. 2017. Directed by Greta Gerwig. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, and Lucas Hedges. A young lady (Saoirse Ronan) plans to escape her home in Californian small town by flying away to college in New York, she has even decided to change her name to Lady Bird. Longing for an opportunity to express her artistic talents, finding adventure and leaving behind what she sees as an oppressive private school as she experiences her first romance. Lady Bird makes friends with one of the more popular girls at school, which allows her to see and experience life a little differently. Director Greta Gerwig captures the feeling these characters have, both those on the surface and deeper down. It’s often hilarious, but also honest, as it follows Lady Bird through the life of an eighteen-year-old girl stuck between being teenager and an adult.

#2 Get Out. 2017. Directed by Jordan Peele. Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Marcus Henderson and Betty Gabriel. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) head upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, it seems like the family is just nervous and is showing overly accommodating behavior as they attempt to cope with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as time goes on several disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he would never have believe if he had not discovered it himself. Get Out is Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, and while has been marketed as mostly a horror/thriller, it is also funny. It can also be political. But it is still as scary as a film can be. If you have not yet seen this film, go into it as unspoiled as possible and let it surprise you.

#1 Dunkirk. 2017. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Hardy, and Mark Rylance. This is a film strongly based on the WWII story about the miraculous evacuation of Allied troops (Belgium, Britain, Canada and France) from the beach near the French city of Dunkirk as the Nazi army is closing in around them between May 26 – June 4, 1940. To convey how dire the situation was for hundreds of thousands of men and how hundreds of civilians came to their rescue disregarding their own safety, we are never give enough real information about any particular individual character. This is not the story about one person or a small group of people – this is a story about how many, many real people came together and persevered against terrible odds. Dunkirk is a beautiful yet sometimes difficult film to watch. One leaves this film feeling confident in the human spirit even when you have just witnessed the representation of the tragic and horrific acts humans can unleash on others. While most war films are about victory or loss, this is one that is simply about surviving – which is a part of war which we too often forget.