My Favorite Films and Performances of 2017
Tomorrow: Oscar nominations
Today: the stuff that I loved
I hope you check out something on this list that you haven’t heard of, or reconsider something you didn’t intend to see. If it's not on here, I either didn't have the opportunity to see it or I didn't really care for it (and here’s 2016 and 2015 for your perusal).
1. TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, David Lynch
Without question, the greatest cinematic experience of my year was 18 hours of new David Lynch material, unfurling over four months. However, if we’re talking strictly about theatrical releases, my favorite film of 2017 is
2. PHANTOM THREAD, Paul Thomas Anderson
and the rest of the Top 25, in alphabetical order:
AFTER THE STORM, Hirokazu Kore-eda
THE BIG SICK, Michael Showalter
BPM, Robin Campillo
BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, S. Craig Zahler
BRIGSBY BEAR, Dave McCary
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, Luca Guadagnino
DUNKIRK, Christopher Nolan
FACES PLACES, Agnès Varda & JR
THE FLORIDA PROJECT, Sean Baker
GET OUT, Jordan Peele
GOOD TIME, Josh and Benny Safdie
IN THE FADE, Fatih Akin
THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, Yorgos Lanthimos
LADY BIRD, Greta Gerwig
THE LURE, Agnieszka Smoczynska
MOTHER!, Darren Aronofsky
PERSONAL SHOPPER, Olivier Assayas
RAW, Julia Ducournau
THE SHAPE OF WATER, Guillermo del Toro
THE SQUARE, Ruben Östlund
SUNTAN, Argyris Papadimitropoulos
THIRST STREET, Nathan Silver
THE WORK, Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
But that’s not all! I enjoyed so many more 2017 movies. Sometimes with reservations, but enjoyed nonetheless:
A Ciambra, Baby Driver, Battle of the Sexes, Beatriz at Dinner, The Beguiled, Blade Runner 2049, Brad’s Status, Colossal, The Commune, A Cure For Wellness, Darkest Hour, Detroit, The Disaster Artist, Donald Cried, A Fantastic Woman, Foxtrot, Free Fire, Gerald’s Game, The Ghoul, Girls Trip, Graduation, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, Happy End, The Hero, Hounds of Love, Hostiles, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Ingrid Goes West, It, John Wick: Chapter 2, Lady Macbeth, Landline, The Lego Batman Movie, Logan, Logan Lucky, The Lost City of Z, Lost in Paris, Loveless, Marjorie Prime, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), Nocturama, Okja, Patti Cake$, The Post, Prevenge, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Song to Song, Split, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Stronger, Super Dark Times, Thor: Ragnarok, T2 Trainspotting, Thelma, This Is Not What I Expected, The Trip To Spain, The Unknown Girl, Wind River, Wonderstruck, The World of Tomorrow Episode 2: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts
And these documentaries:
All These Sleepless Nights, Brimstone & Glory, City of Ghosts, Contemporary Color, David Lynch: The Art Life, Dawson City: Frozen Time, Icarus, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, Karl Marx City, Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, Risk
Small-Screen Wonders:
Atlanta, The Deuce, GLOW, Mindhunter, Nathan for You “Finding Frances,” Top of the Lake: China Girl, Vice Principals
My favorite performance of the year:
Michael Stuhlbarg as Mr. Perlman in Call Me By Your Name.
Dynamic Duos:
Fiona Gordon as Fiona & Dominique Abel as Dom, Lost in Paris
Armie Hammer as Oliver & Timothée Chalamet as Elio, Call Me by Your Name
John Hamm as Water & Lois Smith as Marjorie, Marjorie Prime
Vicky Krieps as Alma & Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, Phantom Thread
Favorite Ensembles:
Beatriz at Dinner, The Big Sick, Detroit, The Florida Project, Free Fire, Hostiles, It, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lady Bird, Okja, The Post, T2 Trainspotting, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
More memorable (and in many cases underrated) performances):
Lior Ashkenazi as Michael Feldmann, Foxtrot
Kris Avedisian as Donald, Donald Cried
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Sean, BPM
Emma Booth as Evelyn White, Hounds of Love
Rob Brydon as Rob, The Trip to Spain
Lindsay Burdge as Gina, Thirst Street
Bene Coopersmith as Bene, Person to Person
Siddharth Dhananjay as Jheri, Patti Cake$
Kirsten Dunst as Edwina, The Beguiled
Buddy Duress as Ray, Good Time
Betty Gabriel as Georgina, Get Out
Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, Thor: Ragnarok
Tiffany Haddish as Dina, Girls Trip
Adèle Haenel as Jenny Davin, The Unknown Girl
Fantine Harduin as Eve, Happy End
Harriet Sansom Harris as Barbara Rose, Phantom Thread
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Travis, It Comes at Night
Sally Hawkins as Elisa, The Shape of Water
Sylvia Hoeks as Luv, Blade Runner 2049
Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams, Get Out
O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Dan Pinto, Ingrid Goes West
Dafne Keen as Laura, Logan
Udo Kier as Placid Man, Brawl in Cell Block 99
Kirin Kiki as Shinoda Yoshiko, After The Storm
Kevin Kline as Maurice, Beauty and the Beast
Diane Kruger as Katja Sekerci, In The Fade
Jarkko Lahti as Olli Mäki, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
Alice Lowe as Ruth, Prevenge
Melanie Lynskey as Ruth, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Lesley Manville as Cyril, Phantom Thread
Garance Marillier as Justine, Raw
Elizabeth Marvel as Jean Meyerowitz, The Meyerowitz Stories
Tatiana Maslany as Erin Hurley, Stronger
James McAvoy as Dennis et al., Split
Kyle Mooney as James Pope, Brigsby Bear
Terry Notary as Oleg, The Square
Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman, mother!
Florence Pugh as Katherine, Lady Ma
Lance Reddick as Charon, John Wick: Chapter 2
Andrea Riseborough as Marilyn Barnett, Battle of the Sexes
Millicent Simmonds as Rose, Wonderstruck
Maryana Spivak as Zhenya, Loveless
John Turturro as Alan, Landline
Daniela Vega as Marina Vidal, A Fantastic Woman
Denzel Washington as Roman J. Israel, Esq., Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Michelle Williams as Gail Harris, All the Money in the World
Dwight Yoakam as Warden Burns, Logan Lucky
Favorite older films I saw for the first time in 2017:
MARRIED TO THE MOB, Jonathan Demme, 1988
THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972
PAPER MOON, Peter Bogdanovich, 1973
PIECES, Juan Piquer Simón, 1982
Fin!
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