Top 10 Films of 2017

Here we go again, you know the drill! 

The best movies I saw this year (imo).

I missed a bunch as usual.

Have a good new year! 

- Matt

HONORABLE MENTION

BAD BLACK
Dir. Nabwana I.G.G.

This year's honorable mention is a movie so unique in scale and style that it didn't make any sense to include it in the list proper. Bad Black is the most recent film from Wakaliwood, the flourishing film industry in Uganda. On a budget of only $65 USD (allegedly), Nabwana made one of the craziest exploitation films in recent memory. There's cheesy effects. There's kung fu. There's a kid named Wesley Snipes. Bad Black has an untrained naiveté that's really refreshing in a world of dull paint-by-numbers action films. 

***

10.

LADY BIRD

Dir. Greta Gerwig

/

THE BIG SICK

Dir. Michael Showalter

These movies kind of occupy the same space in my mind: dramedys based on the real life experience of 30-somethings (Greta Gerwig and Kumail Nanjiani). I couldn't decide which one to pick because they're both super heartfelt and well made. Great moms! Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird and Holly Hunter in The Big Sick just kill it!! Super entertaining, no dead space, these flicks are good for ya soul! 

9.

RAW

Dir. Julia Ducournau

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IT COMES AT NIGHT

Dir. Trey Edward Shults

Another two parter! I'm sorry, I couldn't decide!! Both of these films are great modern entries into the horror genre that represent two different approaches. Julia Ducournau's first feature Raw is nasty, icky, oozy. A tale of initiation and cannibalism that will make ur jaw drop. On the other hand It Comes At Night is a restrained slow burn that gets under your skin. Trey Edwards Shults, director of Krisha (my #1 film of 2016), truly understands suspense and mood, never fully revealing his hand or leaning on easy plot devices. A great movie to watch alone in the middle of the night with all the lights off. 

8.

GOOD TIME

Dir. The Safdie Brothers

Wanna see a bleach blonde Robert Pattinson break into an amusement park? Check out this Real New York crime movie by Real New Yorker directors Josh and Benny Safdie! A deliriously fun screwball of a film that flips from fraternal love to zany hijinks. A killer score by Oneohtrix Point Never and lovely song by Iggy Pop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzZ6-OqjoIg).

7.

MY HAPPY FAMILY

Dir. Nana Ekvtimishvili & Simon Groß 

If not for other top ten lists I would have missed this Georgian gem. Netflix did a pretty pitiful job of promoting My Happy Family, the second film by directors Nana and Simon (Meanwhile I can't get away from Bright...). Too bad cus it's a really fascinating drama about a woman who decides to leave her large family (who all live in the same house) and move into her own apartment. What does it mean to separate yourself from your loved ones?

6.

THE SHAPE OF WATER

Dir. Guillermo Del Toro

This one snuck up on me. While I'm a big fan of his older stuff, Guillermo Del Toro's has kind of lost me recently. Happy to say he's back in full form with The Shape of Water, a magical realist love story between Sally Hawkins and a fish man! What's not to love? It's Pans Labyrinth meets Singin' In The Rain. Truly gorgeous production design and cinematography. Plus you can tell Del Toro really cares about his characters, even the minor ones.

5.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Dir. Luca Guadagnino

Y'all like furtive glances??? Italian director Luca Guadagnino explores the budding sexuality of teen Elio and his brief love affair with Oliver, his father's research assistant. Spanning one languid summer, the film lets you inhabit its space and soak in the lush Italian countryside. Trading away standard conflict and plot structures, CMBYN indulges in developing atmosphere and character. Leisure. Shirtlessness. Sexual Tension. Heartbreak. Definitely one of the most emotionally honest films of the year. 

4.

GET OUT

Dir. Jordan Peele

Everything intelligent has already been written about Jordan Peele's debut feature so I'll keep it short. Get Out is a concise "social thriller" that perfectly captures the zeitgeist. The record box office numbers are no surprise. Peele's confidence as a director is beyond his years: cleverly playing with genre tropes, commenting on commodification of black bodies, making us revaluate our race politics etc. Peele considers the film a documentary, a horrific reality lurking beneath a smiling facade (who voted for Obama...twice). 

3.

A GHOST STORY

Dir. David Lowery

Who knew Charlie Brown's Halloween costume could inspire one of the year's most touching films? When C (Casey Affleck) dies, widowing M (Rooney Mara), he returns as a "ghost" to "haunt" the house they lived in. Lowery explores loss, time, and identity without feeling heavy-handed or cliche. It says everything Interstellar tried to say for 1,650x less budget. I saw the movie twice; the first time I thought Rooney Mara eating pie for 4 minutes straight was tedious, the second time I cried. Having experienced loss myself this year, A Ghost Story hit me personally. It's one for the ages.

2.

THE SQUARE

Dir. Ruben Östlund

"The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations"

Based on a real art installation by the director, The Square is an absurd romp through the world of modern art and its classist implications. The Square is a series of moral dilemmas that asks: What is our responsibility to each other? Ostlund strips away artifice to reveal his characters humanity, however ugly it may be. 

Bonus: Score by Bobby McFerrin x Yo-Yo Ma!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1sSqIxY-k8) 

1.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT

Dir. Sean Baker

Two years ago, I was blown away by Tangerine, a film shot entirely on an iPhone by a director I had never heard of. In 2017, Sean Baker continues to prove why he's one of the great working American directors. Once again he turns his lens to a marginalized and unrepresented group: the residents of a defunct Disney lodge turned low-income housing in Orlando, FL. The Florida Project bursts with life from frame one. We experience this technicolor world through the childhood innocence of Moonee and her Little Rascals-esque pack of friends. Incredible central performances by Brooklyn Prince (7 Years Old!) and Willem Dafoe (the loyal hotel manager). Expert pacing, exquisite cinematography, and a fantastic ending. The world we live in is both terrifying and wonderful.            

My Two Cents: mother!

"Darren Aronofsky is a f**king genius. mother! is so goddamn subversive. The average moviegoer probably won't even get it, but I, an intellectual, can appreciate such a deep disturbing controversial piece of art. Honestly, I can't believe that a mainstream studio would release something so intense and uncompromising. But they must have just been like 'f**k it, I don't care if we lose money, this needs to exist'."

This seems to be one of the narratives circulating the internet re: mother! Darren Aronofsky's latest allegorical horror flick. Despite a poor opening weekend at the box office, many critics and moviegoers were really taken with it. Even Marina Abramovic seems to think mother! is a work ahead of its time.

Sorry Marina, there is nothing historic, groundbreaking, or even human about mother! I do concede that it's the most ambitious film to come out recently. After banging away at his keyboard for 6 straight days (apparently Aronofsky wrote the script in less than a week), he ended up with a psychological horror/thriller, relationship drama, absurdist comedy, religious allegory film. But mixed all together, the stew tastes like shit. All of the ingredients negate each other. Instead of the complex product Aronofsky was aiming for, he ended up with a hollow joyless assault on the senses with no moral other than maybe: God is a total dick.

Aronofsky has always traded in the difficult, disturbing, and edgy (See: Requiem For A Dream). For this reason his films don't have great rewatch value. So it's not a surprise that he pushes even further in this direction with mother! That's not my real issue with it. However, it’s a major problem when compounded with my next grievance: there are no characters in the film.

Let me clarify. Aronofsky casts a bunch of famous actors to portray symbolic characters in a Genesis allegory like God, Adam, Eve etc. We experience the narrative exclusively from the POV of the titular protagonist “Mother” (Jennifer Lawrence). And although she is center of attention for over 100 minutes, I could not tell you one thing about her character other than the fact that she loves “Him” (Javier Bardem) and wants their house to be perfect. Slowly a mob descends uninvited on their home, starting with “Man” and “Woman” (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfieiffer), and Mother’s idyllic life plunges into chaos and eventually annihilation. 

BUT there is something very off about these characters. At first I thought the acting was wooden but it really falls on Aronofsky’s writing/directing approach. Like his actor notes were “I like what you're doing, but maybe be more mysterious and have less personality?”. Sure they express anger, fear, anxiety, but they’re all missing a vital humanity. They feel like mannequins. I guess this achieves a general spookiness but it ends up alienating the audience. I felt totally detached the whole time and unable to empathize with anyone. By not giving his characters relatable qualities or even names, Aronofsky dehumanizes them. 

This is really problematic in a movie where we are forced to watch a woman get her space violated, get emotionally/physically abused, etc. Just because Jennifer Lawrence represents an idea, doesn’t mean its any less gruesome to watch her tortured brutally. I was actually shocked that at the end of the film, Mother is not given a voice or redeemed but reduced to an object. I know displaying something fucked up doesn’t necessarily mean you endorse it, but Aronofsky shows his hand at the end. The last scene is often a litmus test for a film’s ethics and Aronofsky doubles down on Mother's abusive treatment, all for a bookended finale that felt very film school (“It’s like a big loop, man!”).

Well then, if the movie is a masochistic experience with no real characters or plot to speak of, whats the point? We've covered “What is it?” but “Why is it?” 

Aronofsky’s justifies everything under the convenient umbrella of allegory. “It’s ok! Don’t worry it’s actually about the Bible like God and stuff!” Allegory is defined as a text that "can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one”. I think much of what makes a film great is its richness, its ability to contain multiple layers of meaning and interpretation. Unfortunately mother! is a vapid 1-to-1 allegory, devoid of any greater meaning or commentary. The whole movie becomes a paint by numbers picture where you just fill in the answers and end up with a pretty sailboat or something. Except instead of a pretty sailboat it's just pain. 

I could talk about the film’s weak entry into the horror genre—Aronofsky blatantly lifting elements from past horror films: the invasiveness and sadism of Haneke's Funny Games, the fear of maternity and conspiracy of Polanski's Rosemary's Baby—but I don’t have enough energy.  Horror movies speak to some primal fear in all of us. At best they immerse you in a feeling, they shake you to your core, they get you screaming "Don't go in there!!!” mother! didn't scare me it just depressed the hell out of me. It's "artistic abuse" masquerading as "artistic horror”. 

Last thought: 

Why make this film now? mother! seems to be completely unconcerned with the zeitgeist. In opposition, I can't help thinking of a film like Get Out that, in a similar/adjacent genre, that also came out this year and struck a chord with a wide audience. Get Out is A) culturally relevant B) has internal and external motivation C) is ABOUT SOMETHING. 

Ultimately, mother! is an exercise in ego. Like the exclamation point on the end of its title: very extra.  

1 star 

Top Ten Films of 2016 ;)

2016 sucked blah blah blah

So here's some movies that I liked! The ranking is arbitrary (sort-of). Missed a bunch this year like #SULLY. Sue me!

Honorable Mentions: She’s Allergic to Cats, I Am Not A Serial Killer, Love and Friendship, Don’t Think Twice, Sing Street, Certain Women 

(No Spoilers I Think)

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10 (Tie). Swiss Army Man / The Fits

I love watching first features because A) they motivate me as a filmmaker and B) they often represent the director's purest vision, unadulterated by money or studio influence. #10 is a 2-parter—Swiss Army Man by Daniels (yes its two guys both named Daniel) and The Fits by Anna Rose Holmer—both first features.

Swiss Army Man is a movie about a farting corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) who saves Hank (Paul Dano) from a desert island. And damn if it isn't an emotional trip! The Daniels have created this new genre I'd call "Body Humor" (as opposed to Cronenberg's Body Horror) which explores the strangeness of the human body. But Swiss Army Man is ultimately a movie about body positivity and self acceptance. Hank is very repressed and needs Manny, who's free from society's judgmental eye, to rescue him physically and emotionally. The film sort of undoes itself in the last act, but Daniels have created something silly and heartwarming and unique (If you want to see a short film by these guys watch "Interesting Ball", you won't be dissapointed). 

The Fits is an ethereal coming of age drama about Toni, a young tomboy. Toni decides to quit the boxing team (of which she is the lone female) and join the other girls on the dance team, embracing her womanhood. It reminds me a lot of Celine Sciamma's work but far more sinister. The Fits turns quasi-thriller when one by one the girls on Toni's dance team start to have convulsions. Not only is this a first film for Anna Rose Holmer, but a first performance for the lead Royalty Hightower. Killer stuff.

9. La La Land

Time to take a ride on the hype train! Damien Chazelle of Whiplash fame is back with a musical about...Hollywood!!! Before you roll your eyes, let me sell it a little better. Aside from its lush cinematography and excessive Hollywood nostalgia, La La Land is an ode to the star system of the 1940s. That's where it shines. When I saw Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the underrated rom-com Crazy Stupid Love, I noticed their chemistry. Here we are 5 years later. It's a pleasure to watch them interact, fall in and out of love. What the film lacks in conflict and character development, it makes up for in pure charm. 

8. Tower

I would be remiss if I didn't include a doc on my list this year. And boy did Keith Maitland deliver with Tower. The film documents the 1966 University of Texas Clock Tower shooting in a stunning animation style. Interviews with survivors of the shooting were re-enacted and rotoscoped to create a historical account that seems modern and alive. Tower is unfortunately all too relevant in the current climate of school shootings. I got to see the screening at Fantasia Film Festival introduced by a survivor of the 2006 Dawson College shooting. Very moving.  

7. The Handmaiden

Park Chan Wook has revived a genre that many though had died a painful death in the late 90s: The Erotic Thriller. Well...The Handmaiden is erotic. And it's thrilling. Sook-hee is hired to pose as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress. Little does she know she is caught in a complicated web of deception. The set and costume design of the film is almost as intricate as its plot. Gorgeous cinematography captures the opulence of Japanese-occupied Korea. What's so refreshing about The Handmaiden it's is whimsical nature, it's ability to jump from genre to genre without losing sight of itself. It's sexy and gripping, somehow both really disturbing and comical. 

6. Hunt For The Wilderpeople

New Zealand's Taika Waititi caught my attention in 2009, when he was raising money on Kickstarter for a film called Boy (which turned out to be an absolute blast). Next year he's directing the new Thor movie. I'm genuinely happy his career has flourished so much. He proved me right again this year with Hunt For The Wilderpeople, a wild buddy adventure film between a boy and his foster uncle through the New Zealand bush. This is maybe the funnest film I saw in theaters last year. The bond that Waititi develops between Ricky and Hector is truly touching. Wilderpeople fuckin rocks.

5. Moonlight

Wow this movie is gonna win a lot of Oscars...and it actually deserves it!!! Barry Jenkins' Moonlight is maybe the most powerful character study this year. In 3 parts, we float through the life of Chiron as he deals with a turbulent home life, loss, and incarceration. Moonlight is a contemplation on masculinity in the black community. Coming to terms with your identity while having to contend with your own survival. You can tell Jenkins is so confident with the material as the story takes place in his home town of Miami. The ensemble cast is also top notch. The scenes between Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland in the last act hit me especially hard. It's a tender movie and I think we need more like it these days.

4. Little Sister