Ten favorite films of 2017
It was a year in which Hollywood was rocked by scandal thanks to the fallout from the sexual harassment charges brought against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Brett Ratner, among others.
But there’s a good chance that 2017 might also be remembered as the year in which women finally got some of the attention they deserved both in front of – and behind – the camera.
Some of the year’s best films directed by male filmmakers just happened to focus on strong, toughminded women, including “The Post,” “The Shape Of Water,” “I, Tonya,” “A Quiet Passion” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
And if that wasn’t good enough news, 2017 also marked the mainstream emergence of talented female storytellers like Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Dee Rees (“Mudbound”), Robin Swicord (“Wakefield”) and Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Women.”)
Below a quick look at my ten favorite movies of the year:
THE POST: At a time when the press is continually under attack from President Trump, this enthralling celebration of the Washington Post’s decision to print the leaked Pentagon Papers proving the government was lying about Vietnam couldn’t be any more timely if it tried. Meryl Streep delivers a superb performance as publisher Katherine Graham who, in the midst of taking the Post public, is faced with a very tough decision: side with her editor (Tom Hanks) in defying President Nixon or listen to the money men (Bradley Whitford, Tracy Letts) and back off from printing the explosive report. Forcefully acted and paced like a thriller, “The Post” ranks with Steven Spielberg’s best. Opening in area theaters on Jan. 5
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI: Refusing to accept that her teen daughter’s murder will go unsolved, a working-class mother (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards on the outskirts of town in hopes of shaming members of the police force (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell) into action. Writer/director Martin McDonaugh (“In Bruges”) takes familiar plot points involving revenge, racism, violence and bad cops and swirls them together into something remarkably fresh, hilarious and heartbreaking. It takes nimble actors to navigate such tonal shifts and McDonaugh gets astonishing performances from his trio of titans. Now playing in area theaters.
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME: Swooningly romantic, this gorgeous love story tracks the coming-of-age of a 17-year-old teenager (Timothée Chalamet) who, over the course of a season in Northern Italy, falls hard for his father’s research assistant (Armie Hammer). Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino lingers over every detail of the pair’s magical summer from Hammer’s orange swim trunks and high-top sneakers to bike rides and swims in the crystal clear ocean. Boasting vivid performances and haunting songs by Sufjan Stevens, “Call Me By Your Name” captures the moment when a young romantic strides into adulthood. Now playing in area theaters.
LADY BIRD: Anyone who ever came of age in suburbia will identify with Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a Sacramento high-schooler who, when she’s not pursuing relationships with two boys (Timothee Chalamet, Lucas Hedges), spends every waking minute plotting her escape to New York. The heart of the saga is Lady Bird’s tempestuous relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalfe), a hard-working woman aptly described as both “warm” and “scary.” Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird” is the kind of modest gem that sneaks up on you. It’s often very funny but it also yields an enormous emotional payoff. Now playing in area theaters.
THE SHAPE OF WATER: The latest from Guillermo Del Toro (“Hellboy”) has many of the same plot devices as classic monster movies. But the filmmaker has turned those conventions inside out and upside down to create a stunning adventure that is part Cold War thriller and part inter-species romance. The film pivots on Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaning lady at a secret government facility who vows to rescue a much-abused Amazonian sea creature (Doug Jones) with whom she’s forged a connection. Not since 2006’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”
has Del Toro found such a stunning outlet for his visionary filmmaking. Aided by a fearless turn from Hawkins, “The Shape of War” is pure movie magic. Now playing in area theaters.
I, TONYA: The brilliance of Craig Gillespie’s darkly comic biopic about disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding is how it juggles the conflicting points-ofview of a handful of people, including Harding (Margot Robbie), her flaky husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan) and her sadistic mother Lavona (Allison Janney). The central event is, of course, the ill-conceived attack on Nancy Kerrigan, who was Harding’s Olympic rival. “I, Tonya” winds up being sympathetic to the hard-working Harding who had almost nothing to do with the assault but paid dearly for it nonetheless. Robbie is a major revelation while Janney steals every scene she’s in by somehow managing to endow a monster with flashes of humanity. Now playing in area theaters.
WONDER WOMAN: In a year of endless superhero movies, one stood headand-shoulders above the rest. Patty Jenkins (“Monster”) directed this actioner which chronicled the transformation of Princess Diana (Israeli actress Gal Gadot) from a young, compassionate woman living with her all-female family (Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright) on the island of Thermyscira into a ferocious warrior determined to put an end to all wars. Diana bonds with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), saves lives in battle, and lives up to her destiny in fiery fashion. From start to finish, “Wonder Woman” is wonderful. On Blu-ray, DVD and streaming.
THE FLORIDA PROJECT: Here’s proof that a movie can be both exhilarating and harrowing at the same time. An Orlando motel overseen by a kindly manager (Willem Dafoe) is the setting for this drama, which pivots on a youngster named Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) as she spends her days running around the complex and its neighboring facilities. There’s not much of a story but there’s plenty of tension thanks to the efforts of Moonee’s rebellious yet loving mom (Bria Vinaite) to raise money for the rent. As “The Florida Project” goes along, it not only grows more heartbreaking but it also becomes a sharp indictment of income inequality
For the Kids
The LEGO Ninjago Movie: Three movies into the “Lego” franchise and fatigue is already setting in. A feature-length adaption of the animated TV series “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu,” the movie revolves in America. In the end, writer/director Sean Baker has crafted a moving tribute to those souls in danger of falling through the cracks. Now playing in area theaters and on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 13
MAUDIE: Marked by yet another brilliant performance by Sally Hawkins, this biopic celebrates the little-known Canadian artist Maude Lewis who survived crippling arthritis, a cruel family and an initially-abusive husband (Ethan Hawke) to become a renowned folk artist. With considerable insight, filmmaker Aisling Walsh depicts how painting helped Lewis see the world differently, allowing her to cope with all of the challenges she faced. “Maudie” is a small movie but you can feel Lewis’ sprit alive in it. On DVD and streaming.
GET OUT: In 2017, some of the best films possessed around the teenaged Green Ninja (Dave Franco) and a bunch of his superpowerenhanced pals as they try to put an end to the dastardly Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux) who just happens to be Green Ninja’s dad. There’s an appearance by a healthy dose of commentary on Trump’s America. It was true of “Downsizing,” “Suburbicon,” “In The Fade” “Detroit” and this horror thriller that provided a chilling reminder of what white privilege looks like. Directed by Jordan Peele, “Get Out” follows an African-American photographer named Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) who reluctantly agrees to meet the parents (Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener) of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams). As soon as Chris arrives at their isolated estate, he’s weirded out not only by the way he’s treated by Williams’ family but also by the strange actions of the black members of their staff (Marcus Henderson, a scene-stealing Betty Gabriel). Unsettling, scary and funny, “Get Out” is as good as it gets. On Blu-ray, DVD and streaming. Jackie Chan and a few decent sequences but couldn’t the filmmakers have come up with another motivating factor besides “daddy issues”? On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu