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.
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
/
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.
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.
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