What were your best films of 2017?

Sad Professor

We never had a thread for this this year, but better late than never.

My own top 25ish based mostly on Irish release dates and in no particular order are:

Moonlight, Baby Driver, Jackie, Manchester by the Sea, Dunkirk, La La Land, Raw, Personal Shopper, Thelma, The Last Jedi, Mother, Blade Runner 2049, 20th Century Women, Free Fire, The Love Witch, A Monster Calls, Elle, The Lost City of Z, A Ghost Story, Lady MacBeth, Under the Shadows, Always Shine, The Salesman, The Girl With All the Gifts, It Comes at Night, The Lure, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, Valerian

My joint favourite film of the year goes to Moonlight and Baby Driver. Moonlight for being utterly gorgeous and heartbreaking and Baby Driver for being so fun and inventive.

What were your best films of 2017?

Greyfox

A great year for films but only 1 film blew me away and that was Logan, very emotional and both Jackman and the little girl were amazing

buried

'Good Time' is the only one for me. I personally think 2017 may have been one of the worst years for films since the late 90's. People are equating a piece of works entire value solely on its political ideology or what sort of political message it is trying to smarm on out, the quality of storytelling and film making itself doesn't come in to it. IMO in 10 -15 years time, a lot of the films made lately will have aged really really badly

Tom Mann Centuria

Paddington 2. Looked fantastic, great cast, wonderful story with as much warmth as humour, and that humour appealed to all ages. Just a brilliant film.

johnny_ultimate

In no particular order, except for maybe the top couple:

The Florida Project - Sean Baker is like an Ozu for forgotten America, albeit an Ozu who is hooked on sugar and loves bold purple colour palettes.

Twin Peaks: The Return - Hey, if Sight & Sound can include it...

World of Tomorrow Episode 2: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts - god tier sequel TBH.

Faces Places - Agnes Varda: approaching her 90th birthday and still making films with the vigour and enthusiasm of a filmmaker a fraction of her age.

Moonlight - the rare awards darling that deserved the accolades. Poetic and probing.

Call Me By Your Name - intoxicating.

Right Now, Wrong Then - Hong Sang-soo keeps making the same basic masterpiece over and over, and yet the returns do not diminish?

Aquarius - a central performance so good it would carry the film on its own. Thankfully the film is pretty good too.

Lady Macbeth - ^^^ see above ^^^

Columbus - a masterclass in to how to make conversations and/or architecture leap off the screen.

I Am Not A Witch - bold, audacious debut that's equal parts funny and heartbreaking.

Certain Women - Kelly Reichardt back on flying form after the so-so Night Moves. This is one of her best.

The Handmaiden - the most deliciously vibrant, decadent film Park Chan-wook has made.

Paddington 2 - I dare you to not be utterly charmed.

By the Time It Gets Dark - a matryoshka doll of a film, revealing new forms and depths right up until its final moments

The Farthest - *drops everything, takes up science*

Good Time - a cinematic anxiety attack, in the nicest possible way.

Shin Godzilla - holy **** they finally made a great Godzilla movie again.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - holy **** they finally made a great Star Wars movie again.

Nocturama / The Fits - when the elusive arthouse oddities justify your Netflix subscription.

Song of Granite - why can't all Irish films have the formal ambitions of Pat Collins' latest piece of local loveliness?

La La Land - not winning an Oscar was the best thing to ever happen to this film.

Loveless - there's a single shot in this that justifies its inclusion.

And a few other highlights: I Am Not Madame Bovary, Get Out, A Ghost Story, Dunkirk, Okja, Baby Driver, My Life as a Courgette, Happy End, The Lost City of Z, The Love Witch, Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait, 20th Century Women, Cameraperson, Jackie.

Not a bad little year

NATLOR

Though is was a poor year

Highlights

Get Out
Florida Project
Logan Lucky
3 Billboards

MilesMorales1

I didn't see as much or some varied stuff like some of you lot did, but it would go (this isn't in order of preference)


Spider-Man Homecoming - Yeah a superhero film, fight me. I love spider-man, I always have, and it was so bursting with love for the character, some excellent performances, chose to distinguish itself from the Raimi trilogy to the extent that I just loved it. One of many reasons I'll always root for the MCU.

Lady Macbeth - Incredible central performance, incredible sound design, no need for endless exposition, dark story. Loved it.

John Wick Chapter Two - It was more John Wick, its quantum baby.

Death of Stalin - Pitch black hilarious comedy from the writers of The Thick Of It!

Call Me By Your Name - Sweet, tender love story, absolutely beautiful, slightly nostalgic for those lost teenage years you always remember as being a little bit more exciting than they were, and the kind you always desperately yearn to recapture.

The Killing Of a Sacred Deer - An extremely odd, off-putting film that was incredibly gripping, tense, superb performances.

Paddington 2 - Not a cynical or campy bone in this films body, it was happy, delightful, reminded me of the goodness of others, the basic goodness of the world if we choose to look for it, a vision of a Britain that perhaps we'd all like to see, and how Colin Firth was ever thought of to be the voice of Paddington just seems ridiculous now.

Star Wars The Last Jedi - It's pretty meta, it smashes the foundations of the Star Wars series, it appears to provoke violent reactions from people who love it and people who hate it, but I loved it, both for its excellent performances, for being so different, for being unafraid to smash peoples expectations.

Logan - From the usually mediocre X-Men film series comes Logan, which chooses to be a dark end for the series, or at least for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, it finally gives an 18 rated version of the claw fights, but the theme of the whole film is about disappointment, the end of things, and the need to not follow in the footsteps of those who came before, and maybe its better not to, and it was magnificent.

Raw I had extremely low expectations for this film on hearing the premise, a French language film about vegetarians or whatever I heard, but the end result was probably my favourite film of the whole year apart from Spidey, about making you feel our main characters ferocious lust, the desire to fit in yet still retain a sense of self, the brilliant, lurid visuals, with outstanding performances.

Dunkirk - Intense, gripping, magnificent.

Colossal - It's a weird mash up of a story about a woman moving on from her demons, from her home town thats held her back her whole life, and it expresses this through of the mechanic of a giant monster, both literally and metaphorically. Fan ****ing tactic.

Wonder Woman - It's not perfect. But its a great mix of hopefulness, fierce women characters breaking the bonds of what we expect from male orientated superhero films, with some fantastic action scenes and humorous dialogue, with excellent performances from the central cast.

20th Century Women - It's a shame this flew so far under the radar, because its a delightful, meandering film that showcases every aspect of life we can imagine, and lets us revel in it, but specially joy. Also, it has Greta Gerwig.

The Florida Project - This doesn't follow a strict linear narrative, or even have a plot. It could also be considered documentary like, in that it just showcases to the magic and imagination of children no matter what the environment they find themselves in, or whatever degree of poverty life places them in. Despite all the negative things we see in the film, its a joyful wonderful film.

La La Land - I'm not sad this didn't win the Oscar, really. Despite the inevitable backlash this got, its an amazing tribute to classic Hollywood musicals, to the city in which it takes place, to films in general, and in the end we just want to step into that world and dance along.

The Love Witch - It's a trippy slightly subversive, yet ultimately seductive horror film with an outstanding central performance.

Jackie - Outstanding sound design, fantastic performance, slightly harsh, both in its look at Jackie and the slaying of the Camelot myth, yet also manages to lower its defences on its self, and its central character, yet never takes away from its utterly merciless gaze.

Decuc500

The Age of Shadows – Epic South Korean film about the resistance fighting against the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1920’s. Great action set pieces.

Donald Cried – I saw this at the Dublin Film Festival and haven’t heard from it since. Very funny American indie.

Personal Shopper – Olivier Assayas ghost story. Kristen Stewart riding a scooter around Paris. What’s not to love?

Blade Runner 2049 – As good as I expected a Denis Villeneuve Blade Runner sequel would be.

La La Land – I’m glad I saw this on a big screen. It was old fashioned fun escapism.

Hounds of Love – Intense Australian abduction drama. Some lazy reviews described it as torture porn but it’s so far from that awful sub genre of horror.
It’s a beautifully shot film with powerful performances and the ending is nail bitingly tense.

The Transfiguration – Another underappreciated horror film from last year. Shades of Abel Ferrara in its grimy depiction of a young black kid in the projects who thinks he’s a vampire.

The Lost City of Z –I think James Gray is one of the best directors working in America at the moment. This film only confirms that. Also, best final shot of the year.

Get Out – Fun movie. Was a perfect choice for the Surprise film at the DFF.

I also really enjoyed Split, Logan, Trespass Against Us, Mother!, Heal The Living, Dunkirk, Baby Driver, Kong: Skull Island, The Last Jedi, IT and the first half of Alien: Covenant.

razorblunt

Nothing fancy schmancy ... Thor: Ragnarok.

I don't think I've enjoyed any movie as much as that since I was a kid.

My too watch pile from last year is ridiculous, I have Mother, Blade Runner 2049, The Age of Shadows, Hounds of Love, Death of Stalin, Paddington 2, Raw, Jackie, Manchester by the Sea, La La Land, Personal Shopper, 20th Century Women, The Lure, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, The Killing Of a Sacred Deer, The Florida Project and a dozen others either piled up beside my TV or ordered on Amazon. This year I'm hoping to get to the cinema a little more often and have thus far managed two trips in January.

Couple of stragglers in here from the previous year and even one or two films which have never really had a wide release over here before last year.

Good Time - Robert Pattinson continues to be one of the best actors working today. His performance here is sublime and deserves serious award exposure as he delivers the performance of the year in this brillianly dark comedy that follows a small time criminal over one night in which he spirals out of control. It's a brilliantly subtle film with a fine cast of odd balls with heart. It's rare to find a film that stays with you long after the fact an leaves you eager to see it again but Good Time is that film. It's an perfect piece of cinema and the kind of risk-taking cinema that has become something of a dying breed.


The Lost City of Z - A stone cold classic, a lush and vivid old Hollywood style adventure film with breathtaking visuals and fine performances. The Lost City of Z is from a lost form of filmmaking, thematically interesting with the most beautiful visuals in years, it's the kind of film deserving of every award that rolls around.It's not just one of the best films of 2017 but one of the finest examples of filmmaking in cinema history.


Shot Caller - A brutal and unflinching prison drama with an exceptional cast that deserves to be seen.

Ares - Ares was made for the catering budget of The Avengers but you'd never know as it's a truly cinematic film. It's neon soaked world is a truly cinematic creation and while it has it's flaws it remains incredibly entertaining and far more adult and deserving of a big screen release than anything Marvel has assembled of late.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - A blistering descent into the pits of depraved 70s grindhouse cinema, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is an exceptional piece of cinema. Grotty, gritty, violent and laugh out loud funny in places. A wonderful piece of cinema which uses it's 130 minute run time to great effect, not a moment is wasted and it's one of those rare2 hour films that not only earns it but deserves more screen time. A truly unique and beautifully grotesque work of art .



Elle - Elle is a fascinating film, dark and adult in a manner few would dare, it takes on of society's most taboo subjects and manages to find the humor in it while never downplaying the act of rape. It's a startling film, bleak, unrelenting and thrilling, a modern classic that masterfully defies expectation to deliver a rape revenge tale that is as slight and witty, as the initial rape is grotesque and inhumane.


Death Note -Death Note is a great little film, with some dark undertones, gorgeous visuals, an inspired soundtrack and strong performances. As a film it's biggest downfall is that it is not a miniseries given that it tries to cover a lot of ground in it's 100 minutes. inspired ideas such as Kira cults are glossed over and there's so much in play here that I would happily spend hour after hour exploring this world.

The Witch - Less a film than a mood piece, The Witch is a beautifully haunting tale of the evil the lays just out of view. It's oppressive tone, ever swelling sense of unease and that out of nowhere ending make it one of the most original, shocking and down right great horror films in a long time. It's dark, intelligent and scary to boot.


My Father Die - Sean Brosnan's guttural grindhouse fable gut punch is a dark and adult tale that drips with atmosphere, opening with a wonderfully evocative black and white flashback narrated through the simply poetic prose of a child, offers a wonderful juxtaposition of beauty and brutality. Its intelligence and unexpected willingness to play with genre convention allows it to stand out from the crowd.


Train to Busan - Doing something new in a genre as oversaturated as the zombie horror is a hard thing to do and it's a credit to Train to Busan that it manages to do something rather interesting. The characters are stock, the script familiar but the willingness to just have fun is something few embrace. Grossly overrated upon release it is never the less a fine little zombi
e epic.

What Happened to Monday - Intelligent and fun science fiction cinema with superb central performances and some nice FX work. It's a little too long and there's not enough Willem Dafoe but overall it's entertaining as hell and the kind of fare that cinema needs more of.

Small Crimes - A low key crime thriller with an emphasis on story and performances. Like Cheap Thrills before it, Small Crimes is an evocative exploration of a broken man and the depths he will go to in order to keep on top. It's blackly comedic, shockingly violent and by far one of the years best releases.

I Am a Hero - A gory good time, this blood-soaked zombie film features grotesque deaths, some stomach-churning effects and a finale that literally raises the bar in terms of how much blood can be spilled. I Am a Hero is a smart and tight manga adaptation with a good script, a pitch-black sense of humor, over the top gore effects and a more grounded take on the end of the world.

Pornostar - With a title designed to grab your attention, Pornostar is Toshiaki Toyoda's brutally efficient nihilistic tale of one man's descent into the violent underbelly of the Japanese Yakuza. Opening with intent, the film is on the attack from the very first frame and never relents, with a pulsing Rock score, scenes of shocking violence and an antagonist who exists solely to kill those who aren't needed, Pornostar is a bloody gut punch that manages to subvert expectation to deliver a truly unique gangster film.

Arrival - An intelligent and humane science fiction film that poses some big questions. It's cast are on top form, the script tackles some big ideas and it all looks gorgeous. It's rare to find a piece of Science Fiction that finds the wonder in the mundane.


Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk - Tonally a mess, BLLHW is less a film than an experience, shot in ultra HD 3D at 120 frames per second it's a film designed to immerse the audience in a way never done before. The downgrade to a no 3D 4K version at 60 frames per second lessens the impact but when it works there is nothing like BLLHW. The war scenes has a viscercal feel that is as anyone need ever get to actual warfare. The films biggest moments are not the scenes of carnage but rather the intimate humane ones in which the soldiers simply talk.

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore - This is not a film that strives to be unique or defy expectation, instead, it's a confident film that knows the limitations of genre expectation and plays around with them.A dark and yet life-affirming tale that features grotesque violence, passive aggression taken to a whole nother lever and one of the most charming love stores in years. It's in a word, perfect.


Miss Sloane - Miss Sloane is a masterclass in adult cinema, it's intelligent, understated and full of surprises. The kind of simple story and perfromacne driven film that we rarely see these days.


Ghost in the Shell - Simply for those awesome shots of Takeshi Kitano being a bad ass.

Down Under - Down Under is a smart look at race relations, the kind of film that's distinctly Australian as it tackles racial tension without ever pandering to either side in a funny and at times


Get Out - Not quite the genre classic so many claim but a good film with some wonderful moments and a nice subversive streak. Performances are strong, the writing is good and it's a film of small moments. Go in expecting a game changer and you will leave disappointed, go in expecting a mature and dark thriller and you'll be greatly rew
arde
d.

T2 Trainspotting - A tender and beautiful film that features some of the best cinematic moments in years and one that is instantly re-watchable. It's a pitch perfect film that asks what the hell any of us having been doing for the past 2 decades as it sinks lower into squalor and depravity. As a film it's visually inventive and awe-inspiring but at heart it's a film about four friends and the screw ups they have continued to be.

The Fate of the Furious - The Fate of the Furious is everything you want in a blockbuster, it's kind of smart, it's thrilling, it looks great, the cast are damn good and the action is second to none. Go for the set pieces, stay for the genuine heart and be thrilled by some of the most wtf action beats imaginable.

Wild City - Complete and utter trash and somewhat all the better for it, as Ringo Lam's first film in over a decade, disappoints given the luck struck action and cheap CGI but the spark is still there and at times Wild City threatens to turn into a great film. Sadly it never does but it's better than many contemporary crime thrillers and a fine first dip back for Lam and some of the set pieces are exceptional.

Logan - The best comic book film since Blade, Logan is the genre finally recognising that you do not have to pander to a PG-13 rating and Happy Meal tie-ins. Logan is the Wolverine film we've been waiting for, an unashamedly violent, foul mouthed and mature tale that manages to pack in more fun than the entire Marvel cinematic universe has thus far. In a year that has seen the bland and boring Dr. Strange and the rather underwhelming Guardians of the Galaxy 2, it's Wolverine that will be remembered in years to come. It tells a timeless tale in an old fashioned manner and it just works, Logan is Shane for this century and while the film feels like a conclusion I would happily watch more of this adult Logan whereas the thought of another Iron Man or Avengers film just makes me feel a little dead inside.

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Like John Wick only on a bigger canvas. Violent, flashy as hell and unrelentingly thrilling, John Wick 2 is a balls to the wall beast of a film. It's the kind of film the Raid promised we'd see more of and is up there amongst the best the genre has to offer.

Wind River - Like Longmire in the snow, Wind River is an intelligent and adult thriller the likes of which Hollywood almost seems frightened to do anymore. The cast delivers fine performances and the mystery is nicely subdued given that this is less a thriller as it is a character study.

Wonder Woman - A damn fine superhero film that shows the entire Marel universe up for being the cheap made for TV nonsense that it is. Story is king here and while the ending is a little tacked on, Wonder Woman succeeds because it doesn't try to fit in a neat little box.

Take Me - A dark comedy with two good central performances and a set up that's different. Funny, violent and out there Take Me is the kind of film that sneaks up on you.

We Are the Flesh - A dark and fucked up journey into the abyss, visually stunning with some brave performances We Are the Flesh is a one of a kind film. It's a film about incest, featuring real unsimulated sex, graphic full frontal nudity and one of cinemas most what the **** moments. It's almost impossible to recommend We Are the Flesh for it's a marmite film that will split audiences right down the middle.

I'm a Killer - Dreary based on fact serial killer thriller with strong performances, gorgeous muted visuals, and some striking imagery. It's not an easy watch and at times stratys a little too close to the expliitaitve for comfort.

Security - Security is hardly original but it's great fun with Banderas having a blast as he slides across floors pulling cool poses and shooting two guns at once. Security is solid genre fare and towers head and shoulders over most direct to disc action fare. Hell, it's got better action than any Marvel film in recent memory.

Savage Dog - Adkins proves once again that he is one of the finest action stars out there delivering some exceptional set pieces against a whos who of modern day martial arts stars. The fight scenes are brief, brutal and efficient, there's no fancy posing or showboating just brutal unrelenting violence and plenty of it. The political undertones work and give the film a context and subversive feel that makes a big change from what other DTV action films are doing.Savage Dog is a great action film, it's everything you could want from the genre and more. It has a dark and mature story, great atmosphere and while the budget is stretched to breaking the meat of the film is so well done that you don't care.

They're Watching - A great kind of found footage film in which the central idea of continuing to record a complete and utter clusterbomb of a situation actually makes narrative sense. They're Watching is a wonderfully demented and charming horror, one with likable leads, genuine laughs and that finale is up there with the most bat **** crazy around. Sure the film has its issues, some of the acting is a little amdram and the FX work isn't great but when a film is this fun who cares. They're Watching is a damn fine little genre film and destined for cultdom in the years to come.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Big, bright, bombastic and bold, Valerian is everything that Marvel is not. Sure it has issues, the leads have no chemistry, it's a little all over the place and it seems to hurtle from one set piece to the next with little time for characterization or anything else but by God is it fun. It's the very definition of what a summer blockbuster should be, it's fun and exists to entertain while all the time being jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Sure it has issues but no matter, the whole thing flies by on charm and it's own sense of adventure.

Pete's Dragon - A genuine out and out classic, Pete's Dragon is a studio taking a chance and it paid off. It's a wonderful tale of childhood innocence that happens to feature a fluffy dragon who looks and acts like a puppy. There's a lot of subtext in play, some weighty adult themes explored but at the end of the day Pete's Dragon is a film about embracing the extraordinary and it manages to be the most touching and human story this past year.

The BFG - A fine adaptation of Dahl wonderful book, the heart and warmth of the source material here and Spielberg captures that wonderful sense of childhood innocence that few others can. It's a pleasant and touching film well worth a watch.


Despicable Me 3 - With the emphasis firmly on Gru and the gurls, Despiciale Me 3 manages to be a warm and fun film with a wonderfully wacky sense of humour and a great villain voice by Trey Parker. The story is strong, it looks great, the humour is there and the end song Hug Me is fantastic. And even the Minions aren't that annoying.

It - A wonderful 80s infused slice of innocence lost. With a great cast, some gorgeous visuals and a nice sense of time, It is vintage King and a damn fine film to boot.

68 Kill - A blistering, balls to the wall feminist exploitation film with spirited performances and some of the best wtf moments in a long time. 68 Kill is an unexpected gem, the kind of no-nonsense female-led cinema we need more of.

It Comes at night - Not quite the sum of its parts, It Comes at Night is a dark and unsettling thriller that really needs another 30 minutes so as to breath. The cast are great and it looks fantastic but at times it's too understated to have any lasting impact.

Last Rampage: The Escape of Gary Tison - The title may be a little Lifetime Movie of the week but Robert Patrick is electric in this rather great little genre film. Based on a grim true story it's a credit to the film that it never feels exploitive or over the top, the senseless violence is tastefully done and the charters are never celebrated or put on a pedestal. The low budget hurts a couple of scenes but overall Last Rampage is a damn fine film with a superb central performance.

The Blood on Satan’s Claw - An unnerving slice of folk horror with a wonderfully demented sense of the twisted. The story is strong and the characters well defined resulting in some truly shocking moments, the midpoint assualt scene is one of the most effective and unsettling ever put onscreen. Throw in a wonderfully evocative score and a demented depiction of Satan and you have a fine slice of genre cinema deserving to be counted amongst the greats.

Logan Lucky - A damn fine lil work of art, gorgeous to look at, well acted, funny, thrilling and with more wit than any Hollywood comedy in years. Logan Lucky is what happens when you give a great director free reign to create something of his own. Sure some of it is a little familiar and McFarlane is woeful but you'd be hard pressed to find a film a studio film as daring and fun as this is.

Gerald's Game - Perhaps the most faithful Stephen King yet given that for 90 minutes it is a tense and unnerving descent into madness only to be followed by 10 minutes so dumb and out of left field that they nearly derail the entire film. The performances from the two leads are great and the film slowly builds toward a truly shocking moment that is truly grotesque.

Atomic Blonde - So much more than a female spin on John Wick, Atomic Blonde is a no-nonsense slice of spectacle with gorgeous aesthetics, a pounding period soundtrack, a strong script, good acting and some truly impressive set pieces. It's cinema at it's purest, distilling down a ridiculously convoluted story into a simple to follow treat for the eyes. There's no big questions or answers here, instead what we have is a sheer unadulterated spectacle.


Acts of Vengeance - Banderas does Death Wish, only with less ickiness and more hand to hand combat. Acts of Vengeance is a B movie through and through, sure the script is a little on the nose and has a couple of moments that stretch credulity but the sheer simplicity of the script is actually a benefit to the story being told. This is simple old school cinema and a fine example of what happens when a good director works with a low budget. Sure, there are plenty of things in the film which could be improved but for what it is Acts of Vengeance does everything it sets out to with aplomb.

24 Hours to Live - Like a spiritual brother to John Wick, 24 Hours to Live is a streamlined chase film in which our hero plummets from one ridiculously over the top set piece to the next cultivating in a brilliant ballet of bloodshed. Hawke is good, the story strong and it's a hell of a lot of fun. Perfect Friday night cinema.


Spectral - Big budget science fiction done right, Spectral is what happens when you take a blockbuster budget and marry it to a genuinely interesting idea and script. It makes the likes of the Avengers look like the truly awful CGI nonsense it is.

Ohmeha

Thought 2017 was a terrific year for movies. Moonlight, Call Me by Your Name, The Florida Project and The Disaster Artist were my favorites

Gifted was one of the movies I missed out seeing during the year so I'm glad to see it listed here to remind myself to watch it. I actually feel I'm a bad person for missing Paddington 2 so another to the catch up list!

These are my 4*+ movies of the year in order I saw them at the cinema, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed despite a few not considered to be the critics cup of tea

La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
T2 Trainspotting
Hacksaw Ridge
Moonlight
Lion
The Founder
Logan
Fast & Furious 8
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Alien: Convenant
Gifted
Spiderman: Homecoming
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
Detroit
Wind River
Maze
It
Blade Runner 2049
Call Me by Your Name
Thor: Ragnorok
The Florida Project
The Disaster Artist
Better Watch Out
Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle

Fysh

I saw a lot of films I really liked last year, and was quite let down by a few as well. I need to get better at tracking this stuff as I found it quite hard to figure out what films were in fact released last year - bearing in mind that there's a tremendous amount of stuff from last year I haven't been able to see yet, this is my current list of favourites from 2017:

Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
Blade Runner 2049
Call Me By Your Name
Florida Project
Get Out
Thelma
mother!
Shin-Godzilla
Jawbone
The Love Witch
Valerian & The City Of A Thousand Planets
Death Of Stalin
The Party
The Beguiled
Red Turtle
My Life As A Courgette
Goodbye Berlin
My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea
Blade Of The Immortal
The Transfiguration
Raw
A Silent Voice

Amongst other things, 2017 offered a good few options on the horror front, between theatrical releases (I thought the new IT was good, alongside Happy Death Day and Double Date, but none of them were quite "best of year" good) and some direct to streaming offerings like 1922 or Gerald's Game.

pumpkin4life

If we're allowed include it, Twin Peaks The Return was the most exciting, original batshìt insane series of telly that I've ever seen and ranks up there with the big three, or the king kong pumpkin favorites: The Sopranos, The Simpsons pre season 9 and The Wire. Outstanding stuff, and the highlight of Lynch's output, amazingly enough. Episode 8 for the win lads.

That said, it's a T.V show and sight and sound are a big bunch of bastards, so it doesn't count.

Baby Driver is my choice for the best movie of 2017. Great craic, great soundtrack, great acting, incredibly rewatchable to boot. Hacksaw Ridge was Mental Mel at his best as well, fùcking class out film and one of the best war films to come out over the past few years. Those two tower above everything else I saw in 2017.

The Death of Stalin and The Disaster Artist did the dark comedy shìte pretty damn well too, they have to be up there for the pumpkin. Brawl in Cell Block 99 was a rock solid John Carpenter video nasty with an excellent Vince Vaughan performance and Dunkirk was another tip top Nolan film, if a bit less exciting when seen outside the cinema without all the special effects craic admittedly. Thor Ragnorak was one of the better superhero movies to come out in the past while; John Wick 2 was one of the better sequels to come out in the past while. The Handmaiden was twisted but class out, even though its a mile away from something like Oldboy in terms of quality, and Raw was just a clusterfùck that has a lot going on in it. Logan needs to be edited down, but its still pretty good. And Cardboard Gangsters, despite being marred by a non existent budget, works ok thanks to John Connors being great in the center role. Finally, Trainspotting 2, while inconsistent, was a decent enough sequel with a number of outstanding moments, in particular this bit, which is the best scene in a film in 2017.

Overall, a very good year for fun, entertainment films and a bad year for serious drama films. Also for sequels in general. Blade Runner 2049 was kind of shìt in all honesty and The Last Jedi was really really bad and just a giant pile of badly written crap from start to finish. Still though, that be that. Roll on 2018!

appledrop

Manchester by the Sea blew me away. An outstanding film. Heartbreaking. I enjoyed Dunkirk but it was over hyped so not as good as expected. Haven't got round to watching moonlight yet but that's next on list.

CrankyHaus

Dunkirk.
Moonlight.
The Death of Stalin.
The Disaster Artist.
Get Out.
The Big Sick.
Hacksaw Ridge.
Thor Ragnorok.
Wind River.
The Founder.
Logan Lucky.
Baby Driver - Brilliant in the Cinema. On re-watch some very weak elements drag down what is otherwise a great film.


A good year for comedy, and to a lesser extent war films. Not only were the comedies great but they were all a little odd and unique, like the kind of films its usually difficult to imagine getting made. A lot of disappointments with more serious fare, particularly from Scorsese, Villeneuve and Rian Johnson.

LincolnHawk

Thor: Ragnarok

Keplar240B

Blade Runner 2049

pixelburp

I presume there'll the Film Awards forum will be updated with new threads, asking this same question at some point?

johnny_ultimate

pixelburp wrote: »

I presume there'll the Film Awards forum will be updated with new threads, asking this same question at some point?

Probably March or April like last year, when all the awards films are out - given this is the age of screeners for many, it’s probably a more sensible time to do it rather than Christmas when there’s usually more of a divide in who has seen what.

Myself and Sad Prof spoke about pruning back the categories too during last years nominations jamboree, as there’s too many for the size of the forum we have. Will have a chat about it and get things rolling in a month or so

dublinman1990

I only watched 5 movies in the cinema for 2017. Here are my top 4 as one was not so good as expected.

My top 4 in any order were The Greatest Showman, Paddington 2, Wonder Woman & The Lego Batman Movie.

The Greatest Showman - This was a simply a fantastic musical movie for 2017. Even though I saw it in the cinema last week as a very birthday treat for me; I'm not really a big fan of musicals. But this was a great movie with a stunning cast, stunning music & great dance performances.

Paddington 2 - This was such a charming & heartwarming little film for all the family. The comedic scenes are just great fun. There are some great comedic performances from the cast like Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson & Hugh Bonneville. I did cry a small amount of tears at the end though with the end scene which wasn't too bad.

Wonder Woman - The tone of this comic book movie in the DCEU was just perfect. Gal Gadot plays an excellent role as Wonder Woman. When I saw first her entrance in BvS the year before saving Batman & Superman from Doomsday; her theme music in this movie had me hooked from the start. The visual FX from her solo movie looked beautiful. She also looked really beautiful in her costume as well.

The Lego Batman Movie - This was my first movie of 2017. This was a good & fun story built-in with terrific animation. You cannot beat Will Arnett in his role of Batman. He is just brilliant and good cráic with his voice acting. Robin was good in it too but I thought the flamboyance from him really showed in this movie.

Justice League - This was the only movie that did not exceed my expectations at all for 2017 as initially hoped. I did enjoy some moments in the movie but I thought it was a mess with very little tension coming from some parts at the end even with including Elfman's score in it.

.ak

1. Logan
2. Dunkirk
3. Arrival (2016?)
4. Moonlight (2016?)
5. Blade Runner 2049
6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Think Arrival/Moonlight are 2016 releases technically, albeit late 2016.

Logan and Dunkirk are the stand outs of the two. Blade Runner was a beautiful movie, really enjoyed it and looking forward to seeing it again. But ofcourse it just couldn't live up to the original.

TLJ as a Star Wars fan left me confused. There's a really good movie in there but so much bad too. Still, gets into my top list because so much of it was good and the production was just so epic.

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Probably March or April like last year, when all the awards films are out - given this is the age of screeners for many, it’s probably a more sensible time to do it rather than Christmas when there’s usually more of a divide in who has seen what.

Myself and Sad Prof spoke about pruning back the categories too during last years nominations jamboree, as there’s too many for the size of the forum we have. Will have a chat about it and get things rolling in a month or so

Makes sense with the pruning, maybe keep in some fun ones though to keep things interesting "Best david75, Tony EH bicker" that sort of thing

Tar.Aldarion

Moonlight, Okja, Bladerunner 2049, Personal Shopper, Baby Driver, Mother. I haven't seen some films that I think will be very good like Manchester By the Sea,
The Florida Project, The Handmaiden.


Quite liked things like Lost City of Z, Get Out, Dunkirk, La LA Land but they didn't wow me.
Special shout out to Star Wars: The Last Jedi for being so forgettable which was a pity, one or two nice ideas.

pixelburp

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Moonlight, Okja, Bladerunner 2049, Personal Shopper, Baby Driver, Mother, Get Out. I haven't seen some films that I think will be very good.


Special shout out to Star Wars: The Last Jedi for being so forgettable.

So you remembered to note it was forgettable?

Tar.Aldarion

Something forgettable has to be remembered or else it's just forgotten

It's like the new star treks now, all style no substance. A re-skinned action movie. Rogue One was quite good in comparison. I don't have much hope for the final installment with Abrams.

TheDoc

Some films I really enjoyed last year.

Logan
Hacksaw Ridge
Thor Ragnarok
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Alien: Covenant
John Wick 2
Arrival
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

John Wick Chapter 2 was the clear winner for me, absolutely right up my street. In love with that franchise, the two film thus far, and can't stop watching them spontaneously.
I loved Logan, as I just love that character and Hugh Jackman and was nice to finally have a film that felt right.
Thought Blade Runner was an incredible cinema experience.

kerplun k

1.)The Dark Tower
2.)Blade Runner 2049
3.)The Big Sick
4.)Wind River
5.)Get out
6.)Free fire
7.)IT
8.)Dunkirk
9.)Lost city of Z
10.)Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

al87987

1 The Handmaiden
2 Dunkirk
3 Disaster Artist
4 Good Time
5 La La Land
6 The Big Sick
7 Nathan for you: Finding Frances
8 Moonlight
9 Get Out
10 Wind River

steve66

my 10/10's

Steel rain
my happy family
the villainess
star wars:the last jedi
memoirs of a murderer
logan
Blade runner 2049
wonder woman