Added by MaxL on 31 Dec 2017 04:19

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My Top 10 Favourite Movies of 2017

Sort by: Showing 10 items

Decade: Rating: List Type:

7.3

The Drummer and the Keeper

If you haven't heard of this one, it's an Irish drama about a bipolar drummer and an autistic teenager who develop an unlikely friendship. As with any drama of this nature, its strength comes from the characters and how their personalities compliment each other. I like how their relationship is mutually beneficial: they both try to help each other stand on their feet and overcome their difficulties. But of particular interest to me was the film's depiction of Asperger's syndrome, as I'm on the autism spectrum myself, and I was most impressed with how true Jacob McCarthy's performance rang: he's very detail-orientated, but not emotionless.

MaxL's rating:

493

6.8

7.4

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

This movie maintains all the heart, intelligence and social commentary that the Apes franchise is known for. I think the overall theme is what it means to be, for lack of a better word, human. As is pointed out in the film, Caesar is being consumed by vengeance, which is an ostensibly human emotion. Not to mention, the CGI is just perfect; this is easily in my top three most convincing CG spectacles ever, along with Jurassic Park and The Jungle Book 2016. While Rise might still be my favourite of the Apes reboot trilogy, this is nevertheless a smart, thrilling conclusion to the series.

MaxL's rating:

1062

7.5

8.1

Logan (2017)

If I can make a bold claim, this could well be Marvel's The Dark Knight. It's probably the most poignant story to ever involve Wolverine, showing him at the end of his rope and finding one last purpose in life, all building up to a wonderfully bittersweet ending. There's very little in the way of over-the-top comic book visuals; it's basically a road trip movie, a dark, grounded, minimalist drama. The performances are all excellent, particularly newcomer Dafne Keen as Laura. It's the perfect swan song for my favourite X-Men member, and easily one of the best instalments in the entire X-Men franchise.

MaxL's rating:

358

7.4

7.7

Wind River

I've heard this film described as a neo-western, and I can only hope for more examples like this to make the classic genre relevant again. :) This is, at its most fundamental level, a murder mystery, with a fascinating troubled hero at the centre. But it also confronts some very real issues that make for a truly hard-hitting experience, all backed up by exceptional music. Whenever violence breaks out, it feels genuinely harrowing, a sudden and desperate fight for life. I especially love one deceptive piece of editing in the third act. Upon repeat viewings, this one could climb even higher up the list.

MaxL's rating:

102

6.1

7.1

Justice League Dark (2017)

Once again, DC and Warner Bros. prove that whatever aptitude they've lost for live-action movies is more than made up for in their animation department. :) The story is tightly written, perfectly setting up each character while constantly moving things forward. The cast consists largely of characters I was previously unfamiliar with, including John Constantine, and all of them serve a purpose in the narrative. Even Batman proves his worth, serving as more than just an analogue for the audience. It also provides a fascinating display of how magic works in the DC Universe, with a massive magical battle being one of the film's many highlights.

MaxL's rating:

994

6.7

7.4

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Hands down, my favourite of the three MCU movies this year. True, it does have its problems – the sloppily shot and edited action scenes are very hard to forgive – but its strength comes from its treatment of the character. This is easily the best depiction of Spider-Man we've ever seen in a movie: Tom Holland perfectly captures both the humble high school geek and the wisecracking hero. The overall theme is of a lowly hero trying to prove he's good enough for the big leagues. That working-class mentality also extends to the Vulture, who's one of the absolute best villains of the MCU so far.

MaxL's rating:

236

7.2

7.9

Wonder

I loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky's debut feature based on his own novel, so I was curious to see how he'd handle someone else's work. The story follows a boy with a facial deformity through his first year at school, as he deals with bullies with the help of his family and friends. It's told from a very sentimental angle, which could so easily have come across as overly sappy, but for some reason, under Stephen Chbosky's direction, it just doesn't. He magnificently blends recognisable situations with characters you genuinely want to be around, and he makes it all look easy.

MaxL's rating:

838

7.2

7.6

Baby Driver

It's an Edgar Wright movie, and it's every bit as brilliant as I was expecting. :) He's simply one of the best directors working today, and his flawless eye for camerawork and editing is once again on full display here. It's a heist movie, but it's not really the details of the heist that hold your attention: it's the characters. They're all so brilliantly written and realised that you remember and grow attached to every single one. The performances are all top-notch, especially Ansel Elgort as the eponymous Baby, who's equal parts funny, aloof and vulnerable, and his chemistry with Lily James is superb.

MaxL's rating:

558

6.3

6.6

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

This was the surprise of the year for me. All I expected was a generic monster flick, but I underestimated just how well this one would do its job. It absolutely succeeds in making Kong and the other creatures seem gigantic – the camerawork captures their size and weight perfectly – which makes the movie utterly thrilling, and it never stops being entertaining, not even for a second. The human characters are nothing to write home about, but I don't care; they fill their roles just fine, and at least none of them are blatantly stupid. This is my go-to example of mindless entertainment done correctly.

MaxL's rating:

980

6.3

6.9

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

After the reassuring but overly derivative The Force Awakens, I was looking forward to seeing a fully original story in this new Star Wars series, and I was more than satisfied with what I got. :) It delivers in spades everything I love about Star Wars: not just spectacular action and a sweeping narrative, but compelling characters to support it all. Rey continues to be my new favourite Star Wars character, and Kylo Ren is just as fascinating as before. But what makes this story special is the inclusion of a bit of moral ambiguity. Without spoiling anything, let's just say some characters' motivations are unique and riveting, often blurring the line between good and evil. I know the public reactions have been very mixed; it's getting even more of a backlash than Force Awakens. Well, keep in mind, Empire Strikes Back also got mixed reactions at first, and now look where we are. :) Part of me suspects (perhaps even hopes) that Last Jedi will eventually become the next Empire Strikes Back. For now, one thing's absolutely certain: it's my favourite movie of the year.

MaxL's rating:

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Welcome to the second of my pair of lists rounding up my own personal high and low points watching movies in 2017. If you haven't seen my top ten worst list, check it out here: www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-least-favourite-4814 Now let's stop wallowing in misery and get to the movies of 2017 that I liked! :) And let me tell you, every movie that ended up on my top ten list this year was so good that I really struggled with the order in which to place them! Any of them could easily have ended up in the top five, but obviously they couldn't all be so lucky.
Now, again, there are a few movies I missed of which I've heard generally high praise, including Detroit, Raw, The Levelling, A Ghost Story and The Foreigner. There are also a few that unfortunately missed their chance to be on the list simply because they haven't come out yet on my shores. Examples include Lady Bird, The Shape of Water and Molly's Game (the directorial debut of one of my favourite writers, Aaron Sorkin). But the big one is Pixar's Coco, which, by all accounts, could very easily have topped the list if it had only been released in the British Isles a little earlier.
So, without further ado, here goes – my top ten favourite movies of 2017.

Runners-up:
The Disaster Artist
Get Out
Gifted
Paddington 2
Split
T2 Trainspotting
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract