Greatest Movies of 2017

 
NUTS4R2s Best
Movies of 2017

Unlike many years, I won’t make any apologies this time around for my top movies list being dominated by product made in the USA. Of my 26 favourite 2017 movies here, around 16 of them were made with American dollars and that’s absolutely fine by me when their contribution to cinema this year has been so great. In my Christmas Day post (here) I touched on the fact that this year has seen the poorest cinema box office since the 1980s. And yet, I find I’ve been to the cinema way more than I have on many previous years. Admittedly, there were a fair amount of bad movies too but even this list has some really great films left out.

What we have here are films which got a UK cinema release (of some kind) in 2017 but I’m pretty sure a couple of those may not get a general release over here until next year (if at all). Similarly, some of the films on this year’s list opened in some other countries in 2016 but this is the first time we’ve had a release of them over here. This does create the odd anomaly. For instance, Alice Lowe’s brilliant Prevenge (reviewed by me here) was released earlier in the year but I already had it pretty high up in my best films of 2016 list because I’d seen an early screening at the London Film Festival. So... yeah... I’m not putting the same movie in a list two years running.

Anyway, that’s enough of my caveats... here’s the list in ascending order with number 26 being the least of my best picks and number one being the absolute bees knees. Enjoy!

26. War For The Planet Of The Apes USA
The latest and possibly last in a trilogy of rebooted Planet Of The Apes films had an emotional storyline, some good action and a fine score by Michael Giacchino. My review for this one is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/war-for-planet-of-apes.html

25. Their Finest UK
Beautifully heart rending British movie about a lady screenwriter doing her bit for the propaganda of the Second World War on the home front. A real tear jerker, this is reviewed by me here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/their-finest.html

24. Wind River UK/Canada/USA
An FBI agent and a tracker try to solve a murder mystery on a snowy, Native American Indian Reservation. Harsh, bleak and somewhat beautiful with two of Marvel’s The Avengers team as the main protagonists. My review for this one is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/wind-river.html

23. Shin Godzilla Japan
Just like the latest Star Wars movie, this film is somewhat disappointing in places with long, dull stretches in between the good stuff. That being said, it’s nice seeing The Big G back on screen with a new Japanese incarnation and with a surprise arsenal up its scaly sleeve. It also has one of the best scores of the year so, even during the boring bits, you can tap your toes along with the on screen shenanigans. My review for this one should be out sometime in the next week.

22. Elle France/Germany/Belgium
This tale of slow burn revenge by a somewhat questionable character who comes from a background of deviant violence is a far cry from some of the other films I’ve seen from Paul Verhoeven. Isabelle Huppert is exceptional, as she generally is, in this interesting study of a powerful, female cat playing with her cornered mice. My review of this one here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/elle.html

21. The Handmaiden aka Ah-Ga-Ssi South Korea
This stylish and relocated adaptation of Sarah Walter’s Fingersmith was sexy and suspenseful, with all of the elegance in shot composition that you would expect from a director like Chan-wook Park. My review can be found here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/the-handmaiden-aka-ah-ga-ssi.html

20. Star Wars - Episode VIII - The Last Jedi USA
Much as I love the films of the director responsible for this, after viewing it a second time I can confirm, at least in my own mind, that this is a bit of a dull and disappointing misfire of a Star Wars movie. However, there is some really good stuff going on too and I enjoy watching this with an eye on what it might potentially have been, rather than what it is. It’s enjoyable enough, though, to warrant inclusion in this list, I feel. My review of this one is here...
https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/star-wars-episode-viii-last-jedi.html

19. Colossal Spain/Canada
One of those films that changes tone drastically about half way through, Colossal starts off with a wonderful idea about waking up to find that you’re manifesting as a giant monster in another part of the world before going into far more serious social commentary. My review of this little gem is here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/colossal.html

18. Most Beautiful Island USA
Wonderful film about a twisted ‘job offer’ given to an immigrant trying to survive in modern America, inspired by the writer/director/star’s own experiences. My review of this film, which I’m hoping will get a wider release sometime soon, is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/most-beautiful-island.html

17. Kong - Skull Island USA
For once, a modern made King Kong movie which manages to look beyond the admittedly fantastic origins of the character and do something different with it. Stay past the credits to see exactly where this franchise is going and for a clue as to why the opening credits here looked very similar to another monster movie that was released a few years ago. Reviewed by me here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/kong-skull-island.html

16. Daphne UK
Slice of life movie about a young woman dealing with the world around her, this is exactly the kind of film which British cinema does so well. I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/daphne.html

15. Personal Shopper France/Germany/Czech Republic/Belgium
Oliver Assayas’ take on ghosts with two mysteries at its heart - one a murder mystery and the other a metaphysical riddle, is definitely worth a look if you can do so without expecting the genre conventions of either of those kinds of movies to be given any play. I reviewed this quite recently here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/personal-shopper.html

14. Ghost In The Shell USA
I enjoyed this live action version of the famous Manga much more than the original Anime (when I eventually saw it... a review I wrote for that will see the light of day soon, I hope). Riveting but with something of a rushed ending, the film was much closer, for me, to the beauty of Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner than the film which actually was a sequel to that classic (and which I certainly hadn’t expected to be absent from this list but... yeah, that one missed the mark for me). My review of this live action version is here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/ghost-in-shell.html

13. Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool UK
Absolutely first rate look, from Bond movie production company EON Films, of the last years of the life of famous noir actress Gloria Grahame. Annette Bening and Jamie Bell positively shine. I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/film-stars-dont-die-in-liverpool.html

12. Happy Death Day USA
This is basically a slasher movie remake of Groundhog Day, using the central idea of that film and grafting it onto the ‘teenager in peril’ genre. It even goes as far as to reference that film in its dialogue towards the end of this one. Way better than I thought it would be, the film is one of many this year to benefit from a score by Bear McCreary. My review can be found here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/happy-death-day.html

11. Blade Of The Immortal Japan/UK
Takashi Miike’s 100th feature film is a bloody ronin flavoured tale of revenge based on a manga with the levels of extreme violence you would expect from this director... especially when he occasionally dips his toes into chanbara. You can read my review of this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/blade-of-immortal.html

10. Patti Cake$ USA
All I will say is about this one is that I certainly wasn’t expecting to be inspired enough by a movie that I wrote my entire review as rap lyrics. My rap for this one can be vocalised by you here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/patti-cake.html

9. Ingrid Goes West USA
A funny but also concerning look at the lengths some people will go to, to be around those who are popular. If it isn’t on instagram then... did it really even happen? Only Ingrid would know. My review is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/ingrid-goes-west.html

8. The Love Witch USA
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as Ana Biller’s previous feature, VIVA but, it was still a pretty cool movie and aesthetically ‘right up there’ compared to many movies made this year with strong and colourful compositions to offset the near perfect levels of irony in the film. I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/the-love-witch.html

7. The Villainess aka Ak-Nyeo South Korea
I only saw this a few days ago but it’s pretty much this year’s best action spectacle (even beating out Atomic Blonde in the hand to hand combat stakes, as far as I’m concerned). It’s also a remake of Luc Besson’s phenomenal Nikita but, it’s certainly one of the more successful ones of that much remade classic. My review of this can be discovered here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/the-villainess-aka-ak-nyeo.html

6. La La Land USA
As my initial review would seem to indicate, I didn’t react that well to this movie the first time I saw it. Then, when I heard the music again, it caught up with me with a bang (luckily while I was still able to get a few more screenings in at the cinema before it left town). This one is a great modern musical which I intend to watch a fair few times more in my lifetime. That initial, somewhat downbeat review, is here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/la-la-land.html

5. Brigsby Bear USA
Well, there are two films in this list which starred Mark Hamill and, believe me, this is by far the better of the two. This film starts off a little like Dogtooth but then goes in its own, much different direction. Truly great movie which deserves to be seen more than it has so far... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/brigsby-bear.html

4. Miss Sloane USA
Wow. This is exactly the kind of movie that the Americans really know how to do right, It’s somewhat predictable but that journey to the ending is absolutely fantastic and, frankly, I wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way. Jessica Chastain should have won an Oscar for this performance. Truly astonishing work in this one from everybody. I reviewed this in awe here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/miss-sloane.html

3. A Ghost Story USA
This surprising movie about the afterlife of a silent ghost who is basically a walking sheet was truly entrancing, inventive and had an absolutely pitch perfect ending. My review of this one is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/a-ghost-story.html

2. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women USA
The story of the creator of both Wonder Woman and the lie detector, this tells of a man and two women in the 1920s - 1940s, living in a fetishistic threesome lifestyle with their various children (by the same father). It has an absolutely brilliant script, three amazing central performances and was written by a director who really knows what she is doing. The dialogue practically sings. I wrote about this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/professor-marston-and-wonder-women.html

1. Wonder Woman USA/China/Hong Kong
I can’t say enough good things about Patty Jenkin’s absolute masterpiece of modern super-hero cinema. This isn’t just the greatest super-hero movie ever made (which it certainly is), it’s also one of the 10 greatest films of the decade as far as I’m concerned. There’s so much going on in this movie on every level that, when I think about the coordination that must have gone on for this to happen, my head hurts a bit trying to figure out how Jenkins could have held all those juggled balls in motion without dropping any. Every time I revisit this, my tear drenched eyeballs see something new and the nuances of the performance and direction/editing/scoring/costume/set design just leave me in awe of this cast and crew. Absolutely phenomenal and all involved deserve Oscars for this artistic triumph. I am so going to be watching this pretty much once every year for the rest of my life, I suspect. My initial, “what did I just see” review is here where, frankly, I don’t gush enough... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/wonder-woman.html

And so that’s this years list. I realise there are some big omissions which people might get angry about (and which won’t do much for my credibility) but I hope I’ve been as uncompromising in my choices here as I try to be with everything else on this blog. I’m also encouraged that over half of them are pretty much about strong women and wonder if this is a trend which will continue. I hope you enjoyed reading this (if you made it this far) and I hope next year’s cinematic offerings are even half as rich as this years. Keep reading and watching.