Top Ten Movies of 2017
1. Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villeneuve's slow burn, existential detective tec noir, returns us to the grimy, stifling, corporate ruled dystopia of Ridley Scott's classic and is immensely satisfying. It leaves us with plenty of questions and dazzles the eyeballs in doing so. It's strange and obtuse and proved to be - financially at least – not what people were expecting from a Ryan Gosling sci-fi blockbuster. It plays like 70s sci-fi in that we have to figure out a lot of it ourselves, but this is intelligent, challenging, beautiful and everything I want from modern science fiction. Extraordinary.
2. Downsizing
Alexander Payne's wonderful science fiction movie is funny and thoughtful and has a bunch of considered points to make. As Matt Damon shrinks down to an environmentally friendly miniature, the combination of inspired concept and expert characterisation makes for an intelligent, amusing and heartwarming experience.
3. I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore
Macon Blair’s darkly comedic directorial debut rails against societal ills and is deeply identifiable to your cranky inner self. Melanie Lynskey is always incredible but this might be her finest hour so far. Exasperated and alienated by the self-obsession and selfishness of more or less everybody, the last straw arrives in the form of a burglary. The cops could care less, so she takes it upon herself to solve the crime, reclaim her stuff and exact vengeance upon the home invaders. Part violent wish fulfillment, part angry rant at the state of Trump America, IDFAHITWA articulates the frustrations of many. On top of all that it’s a compelling tale of wannabe revenge reaction, plus David Yow from the Jesus Lizard plays the villain, and Elijah Wood is a New-Wave-Of-British-Heavy-Metal obsessed neighbour, jamming Judas Priest and sporting a killer Saxon T-Shirt! Just brilliant.
4. Revenge
Coralie Fargeat's dark, but satisfying tale of violent retribution is a stylishly constructed, viscerally executed middle finger to toxic masculinity. A massively entertaining horror movie hitched onto a classic revenge template.
5. Kong: Skull Island
If you know me even slightly then you will know of my unhealthy fondness and heroic tolerance for the giant-creature-runs-amok genre and Kong: Skull Island ticks all my boxes. Jordan Vogts-Roberts gives us Apocalypse Now with a giant gorilla. Helicopters get thrown around like water balloons, there's a boatload of napalm explosions and a slo-mo Stooges training montage. In other words, it’s got everything and Vogts-Roberts makes it look cooler than ten Fonzies. Famously derided by the likes of Honest Trailers, the criticism feels a lot like snobbery from people not willing to get on board with a b-movie dressed up as a blockbuster (see also: Pacific Rim). I hope I don't have to defend this movie for years to come, but if I must, then I will defend it ferociously. Kong: Skull Island is cinema as pure fun, and what fun it is.
6. Logan
James Mangold's gritty, layered western is the violent, untethered take on Wolverine we've always longed for. It's a slice and dice action movie stitched into a melancholy rumination on age and responsibility. Patrick Stewart gives us the most complex Charles Xavier yet – confused and irritable, kind and parental, but inadvertently a weapon of mass destruction. Jackman has never been better. He plays Wolverine deflated and clapped out and dealing with mortality. Repeated viewings make Logan even more rewarding.
7. The Belko Experiment
The
ultimate toxic work environment sees the employees of the Belko
Corporation forced to murder each other in a deadly game of survival. To
be the last person standing is the only way to win. As upper management
try to justify murder in the same way they might justify a restructure,
it's homicide as corporate pragmatism. Greg McLean slathers on the gore
and Belko puts its mangled hand up as one 2017s best horror movies.
8. Thor: Ragnarok / Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Cheating a bit here and counting both of Marvel's 2017 big guns as one. Both Taika Waititi and James Gunn's movies (star) lord it up in outer space and run hog wild with the kind of berzerk imagination and universe design that could fill ten movies. Each one reminding me of an updated Flash Gordon in its own different way. Stunning to look at and individual enough to bring a freshness to the tried and tested Marvel formula.
9. Get Out
Jordan Peele's meet-the-parents horror yarn spirals from social awkwardness into bodysnatch nightmare. It felt original and intriguing and combined with an oddball, strangely off kilter vibe to transcend the hype.
10. Hounds of Love
Ben Young's simultaneously magnetic and repellent debut combined stylish visuals with an ugly subject matter, as a young girl is kidnapped and tortured by a deranged suburban couple. Although undeniably nasty, Hounds of Love is more than just an exploitation film. There is a complexity and depth to the characters that belies the sordid premise, as we explore the strange power dynamics at work. With a trio of dynamite performances from Emma Booth, Ashleigh Cummings and Stephen Curry it is an uncomfortable yet riveting watch.
Bonus film. The Florida Project
Because I only just saw it and loved it but can't figure out where it fits in the Top 10 yet. Sean Baker's absorbing, marvellously acted character piece contrasts the disparity between ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, and those that live in poverty just down the street. It's got a lot of heart and the ability to gut punch you at a moment's notice.
The Other Best Movies of 2017
Ben Wheatley's Boston set (yet Brighton filmed)
Free Fire was very enjoyable, as was Astron 6's Stuart Gordon and John Carpenter love letter
The Void. I thought Jeremy Rush's Netflix getaway driver movie
Wheelman with Frank Grillo, was better than Edgar Wright's more popular getaway driver film, and Mike Mills’ Beginners follow up,
20th Century Women was heart-warming and
Linklater-y in its characterisation, with added punk content.
Worst movies of 2017
The Meyerowitz Stories
Noah Baumbach's uncharacteristically dreadful tale of a New York artist's dysfunctional family. Adam Sandler's decent and restrained performance seemed to blind most people to the fact that this is simply about a bunch of hugely unlikeable characters who I rapidly stopped caring about.
Alien: Covenant
With Prometheus, Ridley Scott put his Alien legacy straight into the bin. With Covenant, he set that bin on fire. A creature that thrived in the darkness and mystery that surrounded it, placed directly in the glare of the harsh spotlight and given the origin story none of us wanted. Cinema's greatest monster declawed and rendered inept by dreadful CGI.
Did not see, but wanted to see
Dunkirk
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Big Sick
Mother
War For The Planet Of The Apes
The Disaster Artist
The much-delayed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle finally arrives on our screens via Netflix and a limited cinema release. With a host of diverse filmmakers – from Ron Howard to Alejandro González Iñárritu – attached to the film at various times, the long-gestating project heralds Andy Serkis’ second feature as director following Andrew Garfield-starring biopic Breathe.
