DVD Corner

Top 10 Films Of 2017

2017 was a strange year for cinema. There were great movies, there were good movies, there were overpraised movies, there were underrated movies, and, yes, there were plenty of bad movies. I suppose that is no different from any other year, but this year felt particularly split all over the place. That’s not to say it was a weak year for cinema because it wasn’t. There was much to admire about both blockbusters and art house fare. I think my personal top 10 reflects the odd year that 2017 was with a mix of comic book stories, an actor centric documentary, a movie about the making of a bad movie, and the story of a humanoid fish creature. Anyway, enough of my yammering, on with the list!

Note: As with every year, there a handful of titles I haven’t been able to see yet. If I happen to love any of these films after seeing them, I will adjust the list.

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming- While they each had their moments, the first 5 Spider-Man films didn’t work for me personally as they never fully captured the spirit of the character or comic books. With “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” we finally get that great feature length cinematic interpretation of the character. On top of that, it so cleverly ties itself into the MCU. Simply put, ‘Homecoming’ is pure joy from start to finish.

2. War For The Planet Of The Apes- The new Apes trilogy will go down as one of the greatest trilogies of all time and this third installment just might be the best of them all. Both ‘War’ and ‘Dawn’ are game changing cinematic achievements that don’t get the credit they deserve for their groundbreaking technical work alone.

3. Logan- After the dreadful “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “The Wolverine,” I didn’t have much hope for another Wolverine movie. Luckily, director James Mangold proved everyone wrong with an emotional and grounded swan song for Hugh Jackman’s run as the beloved comic book character.

4. Brigsby Bear- Forget about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Mark Hamill’s best movie this year was this surprising and touching indie movie that didn’t get nearly enough attention this year. The less you know about this movie in advance of seeing it the better.

5. The Disaster Artist- As a huge fan of the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, the bad movie gem “The Room,” and the novel the film is based on, I was already hyped for “The Disaster Artist,” but I wasn’t expecting it to be this funny or good. James Franco gives the acting performance of the year as Wiseau himself. Even if you have no knowledge of anything in this movie, it’s worth seeing just for Franco’s tour-de-force acting alone.

6. The Shape of Water- This moving dark fantasy was Guillermo Del Toro’s finest work to date.

7. Becoming Bond- Normally I’m not fond of reenactments in documentary films, but it works exceedingly well here (it also helps that they boast an impressive cast as well). Reenactments aside, however, this is just a deeply fascinating documentary about the life of the actor who portrayed James Bond once- George Lazenby.

8. Ingrid Goes West- A sharp and funny film about social media, self-esteem, friendship, stalkers, identity, and being someone you aren’t.

9. Wind River- Writer/director Taylor Sheridan delivers his best work yet with this dark (and I mean dark) neo-noir crime drama.

10. The Lego Batman Movie- A fun animated Lego/DC movie that sneaks up on you with a sophisticated deep dive into Batman and Bruce Wayne’s psyche.

Notables: “Wakefield,” “Professor Marston And The Wonder Women,” “Beware The Slenderman,” “Wonder Woman,” “Good Time,” “Patti Cake$,” “Coco,” “Get Out” “Goodbye Christopher Robin,” and “Jim And Andy.”

December 29, 2017 - Posted by nicklyons1 | News | Becoming Bond, Best Films Of 2017, Beware The Slenderman, Brigsby Bear, Get Out, Good Time, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Ingrid Goes West, Jim And Andy, Logan, Patti Cake$, Professor Marston And The Wonder Women, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Disaster Artist, The Lego Batman Movie, The Shape of Water, Top 10 Films Of 2017, Wakefield, War For The Planet Of The Apes, Wind River, Wonder Woman