On Film

Guest critics pick best films of 2017

Newcomer Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris Washington in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, one of the year’s best critically received movies.
Newcomer Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris Washington in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, one of the year’s best critically received movies.

Every year we get through the coldest part of winter by remembering the best films of the past year. Today we're presenting the first installment of our annual lists from critics and film buffs. There will likely be more next week and maybe the week after.

Karen Martin, Movie Style founding editor, Home Movies columnist, member of the Alliance for Women Film Journalists (awfj.org) and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (sefca.net):

Top 10 Movies

1.Get Out 2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 3. The Post 4. Dunkirk 5. Wind River 6. Lady Bird 7. Wonder Wheel 8. Super Dark Times 9. I, Tonya 10. Wonder Woman

Sam Blair, Armchair Critic, frequent blood, dirt & angels contributor, beloved Arkansan:

My Best Dozen for 2017

1. Dunkirk -- England's massive military rescue of a quarter million trapped British & French troops early in WWII -- virtually unknown to a generation of younger Americans -- seen up close and in panorama from land, air and sea. Stirring epic, while eschewing most of the gore of Saving Pvt Ryan.

2.Lady Bird -- Greta Gerwig's semi-autobiographical dramedy about turbulent family ties that bind is this year's indie champ. The "best mother-daughter movie since Terms of Endearment"? Possibly. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf deserve every accolade they get.

3.The Post -- Timely Spielberg newspaper thriller; if not quite at the All the President's Men and Spotlight level, it's close enough. Streep and Hanks are masterful; Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) as a tenacious Washington Post reporter leads a strong supporting cast. Exciting and relevant.

4.Get Out -- Biting satire that's creepy-good -- Manchurian Candidate meets The Stepford Wives. Can't say more without spoilers, but Jordan Peele's early year release goes from surface sunniness to slowly building menace to explosive catharsis. Newcomer Daniel Kaluuya shines. (Streaming now)

5.The Shape of Water -- "If I spoke about it -- if I did -- what would I tell you?" So begins Guillermo del Toro's strange, compelling fairy tale. Its princess (Sally Hawkins) is a mute cleaning woman at a secret lab. Her monster -- or is he a prince?-- a captive creature from the black lagoon. Fine ensemble acting.

6.Call Me By Your Name -- Dreamlike scenes of early '80s Italy in summertime frame an aching story of first love and loss. Great breakout performance by young Timothee Chalamet, with Armie Hammer as a cocky American grad student and Michael Stuhlbarg as an empathetic father.

7.The Big Sick -- Smart comedy laced with a tear or two, based on the real courtship of the film's writer and its star, a second-generation Pakistani-American. Highlight: watching strong-willed Holly Hunter as a mother hen, by turn angry, compassionate, and funny -- so natural you forget she's acting. (Streaming now)

8.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri -- Frances McDormand's furious performance as a grieving, revenge-obsessed mother anchors Martin McDonagh's movie. She's pitted against lawmen Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell. They're on the same side, but you'd never guess it.

9.Good Time -- A heart-pounding urban thriller about a two-brother bank heist in Queens that goes wrong. Who knew ex-vampire Robert Pattinson was such a talent -- he's like Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon. An under-the-radar gem.

10.Darkest Hour -- A prequel to Dunkirk -- and come to think of it, a sequel to The King's Speech. Never mind the subway scene hokum; this piece of recent history covering Winston Churchill's first turbulent weeks as prime minister is a showcase for actor Gary Oldman. He's magnificent.

10A.The Florida Project -- At a string of pastel flophouse motels on the outskirts of Disney World, poverty hovers, but for some, glorious summertime freedom reigns. The young kids who carry this movie are funny and heart-wrenching, and Willem Dafoe's benevolent motel manager is perfection.

10B.I, Tonya -- Why hardscrabble Tonya Harding never stood a chance against America's ice princess, even before "the incident." Cheeky backstory of the train wreck we couldn't turn away from at the time. Margot Robbie as Harding and Allison Janney as a stage mother from hell are astonishing.

Runner-up: Wonder -- Another kid-centric picture with Jacob Tremblay (of Room) and Julia Roberts, dealing with bullying and being different. I'd like to see it on a double bill with The Florida Project.

Honorable mention: Lucky, Mudbound, Wind River, In the Fade, Beach Rats, Hero

(Haven't seen Phantom Thread)

Best Documentary: Jane (as in Woodall)

Keith Garlington, critic, keithandthemovies.com:

10.Maudie -- Sally Hawkins vanishes into her role as folk artist Maud Lewis, whose irrepressible positive spirit couldn't be quenched by her frail body or oppressive circumstances.

9.1922 -- Slow-boiling and surprisingly effective psychological horror that gets under your skin. Also features a terrific Thomas Jane lead performance.

8.The Unknown Girl -- With a near Bressonian quietness, Adele Haenel navigates this Dardenne brothers personal journey veiled as a murder mystery.

7.A Ghost Story -- A meditative supernatural drama from David Lowery unlike anything else released in 2017. It's unconventional, audacious and strikingly impressionistic.

6.First They Killed My Father -- A heart-wrenching true story of a young girl growing up during the Khmer Rouge reign in 1970s Cambodia. Superbly directed by Angelina Jolie.

5.The Lost City of Z -- James Gray's handsome and nuanced biographical adventure brings thoughts of Herzog and Huston yet sports a uniqueness all its own.

4.Mudbound -- A devastating movie with a bold, authentic perspective and a confident young filmmaker with an incredible grasp of her material.

3.Wonder Woman -- Director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot team up to give the superhero genre a refreshing and much-needed jolt of life.

2.Columbus -- Kogonada delivers an intensely soulful movie and one of the best feature filmmaking debuts in decades. And actress Haley Lu Richardson is a revelation.

1.Dunkirk -- An unforgettable cinematic experience from Christopher Nolan, who not only reverently tells this amazing true story but makes us feel a part of it. Immersive, intense and emotional.

Tanner Smith, filmmaker:

Top 10 Favorite Films of 2017

Get Out -- If I thought 2016 was a great year for horror, I hadn't seen anything yet. Jordan Peele's directorial debut is at times scary, at times funny, at times insightful and always a thrill to watch from beginning to end. It's everything I look for in suspenseful entertainment. And more. For that reason, it's my favorite film of the year, and nothing came close to moving it from that position.

The Disaster Artist -- OK, maybe this one came a little close. I had a blast watching this passionate, hilarious and even moving portrait about the making of one of the most laughably bad movies ever made, The Room. James Franco, who directed and starred in the film, knows the merits behind such a travesty and uses them to the film's advantage. "I did not hit her! I did naaaaht! Oh hi Mark."

Spielberg -- Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg rarely does interviews, and so it's very nice to see this HBO-released two-and-a-half-hour long documentary in which he talks about his career and his personal life. Just when you think you know so much about the man ...

It --In 2017, Stephen King has had a banner year for his film adaptations, and the best of them is undoubtedly It. Very rarely do the scares work as effectively as the coming-of-age aspects in the same movie. Additionally, the young actors are all excellent as a group of kids terrorized by a shape-shifting clown that knows their deepest fears. This was labeled as Chapter One; I highly anticipate Chapter Two.

Lady Bird -- I tried describing this film to a friend soon after I saw it; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make it sound remotely like a film that hadn't been seen before. Even though Lady Bird is about a rebellious schoolgirl wanting to break out of her shell and get away from her overbearing mother while undergoing teenage hormones in the process, describing it like that doesn't do it justice. Writer-director Greta Gerwig took familiar elements and made them feel so fresh and new that they feel special here. As a result, it's one of the very best films of this or any year.

The Big Sick -- My favorite romantic comedy to come around in a long time. Based on a truly bizarre series of circumstances surrounding the screenwriters' real-life courtship, it's an effectively made fictional portrayal of events that made me laugh and feel at the same time. Also a career breakthrough for comedian-writer Kumail Nanjiani, as far as I'm concerned.

War for the Planet of the Apes -- I did not see this coming. I expected an action-packed war between man and ape (and a step down from its predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). What I got instead was a powerful, emotional, gripping mainstream blockbuster that denied conventions and provided plenty more substance. This series saved the best for last.

Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi -- The film that reminds us of what we love about Star Wars. It not only entertains but also challenges viewers, whether they're affiliated with the franchise or not.

Spider-Man: Homecoming -- A pretty good year for mass-market entertainment! I know Logan or Wonder Woman could've fit into this slot, but this was the Spider-Man movie I was waiting for, with Peter Parker's coming-of-age story (developing Spider-Boy to Spider-Man) portrayed stronger than any of his other screen adaptations. It's also a nice entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a great development for Iron Man.

Last Flag Flying --Richard Linklater's "spiritual sequel" to The Last Detail (one of my favorite films) is a fascinating road-trip drama about veterans contemplating the meaning of war, from Vietnam to Iraq. With carefully chosen dialogue and three engaging performances from top-notch actors Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell, Last Flag Flying is a film that is the equivalent of taking a nice trip with good company.

Honorable Mentions: Baby Driver, Split, Stronger, Dunkirk, Logan, Coco, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Wonder, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Blake Woodson, friend of the program, former theater manager, radio film critic:

The Greatest Showman, Wind River, Get Out, John Wick 2, Beauty and The Beast, It, Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi, Murder on the Orient Express, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,

Best Horror: Get Out, It, Happy Death Day, Annabelle Creation, Split

Best Comedy: Thor: Ragarok, Logan Lucky, The Hitman's Bodyguard, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Going in Style, Daddy's Home 2

More next week.

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photo

Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins are an unlikely couple in Guillermo Del Toro’s Cold War-era sci-fi romance The Shape of Water.

MovieStyle on 01/05/2018

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