By, Sean Frank
FILM
1: Blade Runner 2049
Of all the films I saw in 2017, Blade Runner 2049 left the biggest impression. Its visuals are astonishing both in the careful cinematography and intricate set design. What really impresses me though is how a film following an android and his hologram girlfriend feels so human. Though a larger story looms in the background, the focus here is an intimate tale on family and what it means to be human.
2: Lady Bird
Lady Bird is a film following a teenager ready to leave her hometown for college. It perfectly captures the end of high school and the unease it creates for us and the unease we create for ourselves. The acting is great across the board but Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are superb. The way they express the many emotions of a mother daughter relationship give the film its strong emotional core. Thanks to Writer-Director Greta Gerwig’s script and direction the actors have room to breathe while the story never loses its sharp focus.
3: Dunkirk
Dunkirk is war film of pure experience. It follows the Dunkirk evacuation of allied soldiers during World War II. There is very little dialogue. Characters don’t talk about back home or plan their next move. They are just trying to survive. While the timeline of events can be confusing the filmmaking on display here is next-level. Director Christopher Nolan creates moments of harrowing beauty that are hard to shake. The film ends on a note of hope, which through the culmination of watching the soldiers’ ordeal, feels bittersweet but earned.
4: The Big Sick
The Big Sick is a great drama that also happens to be a comedy. For most of the film Kumail looks after Emily while she is in a medically-induced coma. The problem is they just broke up because he was keeping their relationship secret from his traditional family. During the course of the film he befriends Emily’s parents while challenging his own. The script here contains so many small and big moments that land with unexpected impact. This is a film about love, family, tradition, and how to smile through the tears and laugh through the pain.
5: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi is Rian Johnson’s Star Wars movie. I say it is his because he imbues it with an abundance of style and personality. There are some plotting missteps that halt the pace here and there. Overall though, I was enthralled by the drama-driven action and the visually striking way it is all captured; from Snoke’s bright red throne room to the cave scene with Rey’s row of reflections. This was the only film I saw twice in the theaters in 2017. I think I saw it the second time because I couldn’t believe there was a Star Wars film this bold, this unique, and this subversive.
6: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a messy film about loss, pain, and anger. Main character Mildred seeks justice for her daughter and puts up the three billboards to push the investigation along. Of course things go sideways from there. Frances McDormand inhabits Mildred with a fierceness and vulnerability that seem to coexist. Her performance is one for the ages. The film that surrounds it isn’t all that bad either. The cinematography, music, script, and supporting cast are extremely engaging as the film shifts from comedy to drama and back again without losing a step.
7: Phantom Thread
Phantom Thread is a peculiar film that is hard to settle into. It is worth the effort though. The performances are incredibly detailed. It is the looks between lines and during long stretches of silence that the characters really speak. Daniel Day-Lewis plays a dressmaker in 1950’s London who demands total control over his life. Vicky Krieps’s Alma enters his world and things change. Lesley Manville plays his sister Cyril, unsure but curious of Alma. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson is also the DP of the film and creates a texture through careful framing and lighting that looks deliberate but feels very natural.
8: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is a sequel that is rougher around the edges, a little too long, and a little too confident of itself. It is also a film where the drama between the characters outshines the special effects. I enjoyed spending time with them again and becoming entangled in their sibling rivalry, father issues, and self-doubt. The ending is also both over the top and unexpectedly touching.
9: Baby Driver
Baby Driver is an action film full of character. Director Edgar Wright keeps the focus on Baby, a getaway driver without much to say. The director does all the talking, using music and dynamic angles to convey his character’s frustration, desperation, and hope of a new life. The action scenes also convey the speed and thrill of the chase without losing the spatial geography of the scene.
10: Logan
Logan feels like a character study that happens to feature a superhero. Hugh Jackman portrays Logan as carrying the weight of his past actions in all the prior X-Men films and struggling to stand against it. Patrick Stewart also plays an ailing Professor X. The film is violent and at time somber. Dafne Keene does a great job with young mutant Laura who challenges Logan’s tough exterior.
MUSIC
Melodrama by Lorde
This album uses pop music and unique phrasings to convey emotions with a singular point of view. The production is intricate but not over produced. There is also great variety within the specific tone of the album, from the strings of “Sober II (Melodrama)” to the piano driving the chorus of “Green Light”. The lyrics are personal but just broad enough. The album doesn’t have filler tracks. It flows perfectly from first song to last. It is one I will listen to again and again.
Runner-Up
A Crow looked at Me by Mount Eerie
This album is intimate, raw, and full of details that are devastating in their specificity. It is about the loss of the Singer/Songwriter Phil Elverum’s wife. He struggles with his grief and the prospect of raising their young daughter alone. The album follows the struggle with minimal instrumentation. It is all about the lyrics, which are poetic and plain spoken at the same time. Lines such as, “…when I walk into the room where you were and look into the emptiness instead, all fails, my knees fail, my brain fails, words fail…” convey emotion without trying to be catchy or clever. This album is not an easy listen but it is a highly rewarding one.
VIDEO GAMES
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Zelda games have been largely fantastic. The majority of them haven’t strayed far from the basic formula of a series of dungeons in a linear order. Breath of the Wild though, allows total freedom. After clearing The Great Plateau you are free to complete all the shrines, climb all the towers and defeat the four Divine Beasts or you can go right for Gannon. It is up to the player to explore and conquer as little or as much of the map as they want. The excellent physics system, tight combat, and ability to climb just about anything make the gameplay behind the journey a joy. What makes the game a true masterpiece though, is that it is your journey, your story. Personally, I wasn’t ready to fight Gannon for a good thirty hours. For other players it might be 20 or even 200 hours. Nintendo has always had a laser focus on gameplay and in that regard, this is their crowning achievement.
Runner-Up
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
I have never completed a turn based game before this. I usually don’t have the patience for it. But the turn based combat in this game never frustrated me too much. There was always strategy to learn, weapons to purchase, and skills to unlock. The ability to fast-forward the enemy’s turn also helped with my patience a great deal. Overall, the art direction, irreverent comedy, and polished gameplay kept me hooked and turned a game in a genre I usually never touch into one of my favorites of 2017.