best of 2017
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- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
- DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.Gripping, timely, insightful. I can't remember a horror movie this good in I don't know how long.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsFionn WhiteheadBarry KeoghanMark RylanceAllied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.A film of quixotic pleasures and frustrations, Nolan's work is as daring as it is conventional. But that tension between strange and familiar, high art and pop art, has always given Nolan's films the charm that they sorely need, and in this case, something he has not yet achieved: deep emotional impact.
- DirectorSean BakerStarsBrooklynn PrinceBria VinaiteWillem DafoeSet over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsVicky KriepsDaniel Day-LewisLesley ManvilleSet in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsCasey AffleckRooney MaraMcColm Cephas Jr.In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsTimothée ChalametArmie HammerMichael StuhlbargIn 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
- DirectorMichael ShowalterStarsKumail NanjianiZoe KazanHolly HunterPakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsAbdelaziz AlhamzaMohamad AlmusariHamoud AlmousaA documentary that follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. With deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.It moves steadily forward with purpose and focus until an hour and six minutes in when the story moves from Syria to Germany and the film approaches greatness. After an hour of appalling footage of beheadings and executions, the film's heroes must flee to Germany to save their lives. Once there, they are confronted by nationalist, anti-immigrant protests that would see them return to the totalitarian regime they are fighting against. It is a genius bit of curation by the filmmakers and makes this one of the most vital films of the year. Or any year for that matter.
- DirectorLee UnkrichAdrian MolinaStarsAnthony GonzalezGael García BernalBenjamin BrattAspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsBryan FogelDave ZabriskieDon CatlinWhen Bryan sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsAndy SerkisWoody HarrelsonSteve ZahnAfter the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.Large sections of it don't work and at times it is oppressively dark. However, this series's calling card has been its ability to be both intensely ambiguous without losing its moral focus and War for the Planet of the Apes has that in spaces. That alone is nothing short of a minor miracle. At times, its constant references to biblical epics and prison pictures make it feel tired, whereas its allusions t War movies are more fully integrated and evocative. In the end, it is a troubled and troubling conclusion to one of the great parables of pop culture.
- DirectorJames GrayStarsCharlie HunnamRobert PattinsonSienna MillerA true-life drama, centering on British explorer Major Percival Fawcett, who disappeared whilst searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.A throwback to the epic films of the 1960's and 1970's. If it lacks Herzog's thematic richness, it makes up for it with accessibility. yes it has all the trappings of a period drama, and a dark, portentous tone, but there is also a lot to enjoy in this movies.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsAnsel ElgortJon BernthalJon HammAfter being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.This bubble-gum thriller is a better musical than La La Land. And I liked La La Land.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsDaisy RidleyJohn BoyegaMark HamillRey develops her abilities with the help of Luke Skywalker, as the Resistance prepares for battle against the First Order.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsHugh JackmanPatrick StewartDafne KeenIn a future where mutants are nearly extinct, an elderly and weary Logan leads a quiet life. But when Laura, a mutant child pursued by scientists, comes to him for help, he must get her to safety.The super-hero movie I always hoped for suffers a little due to poor execution of a strong premise. At times the brutality seems gratuitous and a little unearned which distracts it from its story, but this is probably the first comic book movie since the Dark Knight that seems to really warrant its existence.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsJake GyllenhaalTatiana MaslanyMiranda RichardsonStronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
- DirectorDavid FranceStarsKurt WolfeSue YackaCatherine Shugrue Dos SantosVictoria Cruz investigates the mysterious 1992 death of black gay rights activist and Stonewall veteran, Marsha P. Johnson. Using archival interviews with Johnson, and new interviews with Johnson's family, friends and fellow activists.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsAdam SandlerGrace Van PattenDustin HoffmanAn estranged family gathers together in New York City for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.Meanders for the first 80 minutes and is lovely for that time. Eventually however, it needs to wrap things up and have a climax that is utterly dull, contrived and nearly kills the movie dead. Fortunately, it has a brief epilogue that sticks the landing to send you out on a high note.
- DirectorJairus McLearyGethin AldousStarsRichard 'Rick' MisenerAlvin 'Bud' WheelerDante GranvilleSet inside a single room in Folsom Prison, three men from the outside participate in a four-day group-therapy retreat with a group of incarcerated men for a real look at the challenges of rehabilitation.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsJason MitchellCarey MulliganJason ClarkeTwo men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
- DirectorSusan LacyStarsSteven SpielbergMartin ScorseseRichard DreyfussA documentary on Steven Spielberg, filmmaker. Includes interviews with relatives, film critics, peers and people who have worked with him.Easy, comfortable, and nostalgic, it will make you want to revisit Close Encounters. Hell, it might even make you want to revisit 1941.
- DirectorChad StahelskiStarsKeanu ReevesRiccardo ScamarcioIan McShaneAfter returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.None of it means anything of course. But I have to give it credit: at this point I don't get very excited by action scenes any more, but these action scenes are breathtaking. When the bullets fly, this movie soars.
- DirectorS. Craig ZahlerStarsVince VaughnJennifer CarpenterDon JohnsonA former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.
- DirectorDavid LeitchStarsCharlize TheronJames McAvoyJohn GoodmanAn undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
- DirectorAlex ZammStarsRose McIverBen LambAlice KrigeWhen a reporter goes undercover as a tutor to get the inside scoop on a playboy prince, she gets tangled in some royal intrigue and ends up finding love - but will she be able to keep up her lie?
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsKatie LeungJackie ChanRufus JonesA humble businessman with a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official, whose past may hold clues to the killers' identities.
- DirectorMasaaki YuasaStarsGen HoshinoKana HanazawaHiroshi KamiyaIn this comedy about one epic night in Kyoto, a college sophomore goes on a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife, all the while unaware of the romantic longings of her classmate Senpai.
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsBill SkarsgårdJaeden MartellFinn WolfhardIn the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
- DirectorJRAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaJRJeannine CarpentierDirector Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMeryl StreepTom HanksSarah PaulsonA cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghPenélope CruzWillem DafoeWhen a murder occurs on the train on which he's travelling, celebrated detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsNicole KidmanKirsten DunstElle FanningThe unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.The whole thing is admirably assembled but Coppola's attention to form over narrative and character leads it to feel somewhat formless. It never feels to amount to much more than a series of occurrences.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseDomhnall GleesonSarah WrightThe story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHarrison FordRyan GoslingAna de ArmasYoung Blade Runner K's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsChanning TatumAdam DriverDaniel CraigTwo brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJohn BoyegaAnthony MackieAlgee SmithFact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.
- DirectorJon WattsStarsTom HollandMichael KeatonRobert Downey Jr.Peter Parker balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies of New York City.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsGal GadotChris PineRobin WrightWhen a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.
- DirectorDavid MichôdStarsBrad PittDaniel BettsJohn MagaroAn idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.Think Wag the Dog.... if Wag the Dog were stupid....and unfunny....
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsTilda SwintonPaul DanoAhn Seo-hyunA young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsEmma WatsonDan StevensLuke EvansA selfish Prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner.Struggles to justify its existence. Every scene works so hard to approximate the drama and exuberance of animation and fails so miserably every time, I kept wondering why they didn't make this an animated movie. And then I remembered: $$$$$$$$$
- DirectorTaylor SheridanStarsElizabeth OlsenJeremy RennerGraham GreeneA wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchAli FazalTim Pigott-SmithQueen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
- DirectorMacon BlairStarsMelanie LynskeyChris DoubekMarilyn Faith HickeyWhen a depressed woman is burgled, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves along with her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.It's almost great. And for the first half I thought it was pretty good. Then things got weird.
- DirectorJordan Vogt-RobertsStarsTom HiddlestonSamuel L. JacksonBrie LarsonAfter the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden.Promising premise quickly gives way to idiotic dialogue, mediocre CGI, and obvious contrivances.