Flickering Myth’s writing team present our top ten movies of 2017…
With 2017 drawing to a close in just a few hours, the writers here at Flickering Myth have been voting on our favourite films of the past twelve months, in order to present our top ten movies of the year.
As with previous years, our writers each presented their own individual top tens, which we used to collate the overall list. We’ve gone by U.S. release dates, and as many of our writers are U.K. based, films such as The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri may well have featured much higher had we all had a chance to see them.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the Top Ten…
The Disaster Artist
Directed by James Franco.
Starring Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Zac Efron, Zoey Deutch, Josh Hutcherson, Sharon Stone, Ari Graynor, Dylan Minnette, Jacki Weaver, Megan Mullally, Eliza Coupe, Jason Mantzoukas, Hannibal Buress, Paul Scheer, Melanie Griffith, June Diane Raphael, Greg Sestero, and Tommy Wiseau.
Kicking off the list at #10 is The Disaster Artist, director James Franco’s comedy-drama about the making of Tommy Wiseau’s cult classic – and “best worst movie ever made” – The Room.
“As hilarious as The Disaster Artist is, its story of unlikely becoming a legend and friendship aids that triumph. It’s evident that The Disaster Artist carries deep love for The Room, but it’s also surprisingly a love letter to cinema as a whole…”
Read our reviews of The Disaster Artist here and here
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Directed by Jon Watts.
Starring Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Michael Barbieri, Abraham Attah, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Angourie Rice, Michael Chernus, Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green, Jennifer Connelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chris Evans.
Following his brief appearance in last year’s Captain America: Civil War, the wall-crawler made his triumphant solo Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with Spider-Man: Homecoming, in at #9 in our list.
“This truly feels like a film that sits within but also apart from the rest of the MCU, with the small parts of fan service handled well, without them ever detracting or turning off the casual cinema goer. Even the action is toned down compared to what we’ve seen previously, being more coherent and watchable for it. Marvel Studios have taken all the best parts of what they are known for, and brought together a perfect cast with a script that is full of energy, wit and peril to make for the best Spider-Man movie to date.”
Read our reviews of Spider-Man: Homecoming here, here, and here
8. Call Me By Your Name
Directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Starring Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg and Esther Garrel.
Topping two of our writers’ personal lists this year, and coming in at #8 overall, is director Luca Guadagnino’s romantic coming of age Oscar hopeful Call My By Your Name.
“This is pure, coming-of-age cinema magic with soul-stirringly intimate performances from Chalamet and Hammer. What they have is indeed special, and should not be relegated as an experience that only gay or bisexual people can relate, but rather a guide for all of us finding ourselves. There’s one more thing Call Me by Your Name has in common with Moonlight; both are deserving of Best Picture.”
Read our reviews of Call Me By Your Name here, here, and here
7. Baby Driver
Directed by Edgar Wright.
Starring Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez, CJ Jones and Jamie Foxx.
Fan favourite filmmaker Edgar Wright scored the biggest hit of his career to date with his sonically-charged action crime caper Baby Driver, which also topped two of our writers’ individual top tens.
“Baby Driver represents the kind of originality and creativity that Hollywood is desperately lacking at the moment. Edgar Wright may draw influence from Quentin Tarantino here, but this is 100% his own idea. Anyone else would probably fail at adapting a concept this complex, where Wright uses it to show why he’s one of the best working modern filmmakers. Even during the brief moments where it doesn’t come together, it’s impossible not to admire the ambition on display; every scene leaves an impression and simply is stylishly cool. Baby Driver is the killer movie for your killer track.”
Read our reviews of Baby Driver here, here, and here
6. Dunkirk
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, and Tom Glynn-Carney.
Since we started putting out our top tens in 2010, Christopher Nolan has twice topped the list (the only filmmaker to do so so far) but he has to settle for sixth this time around with his war epic Dunkirk. Two of our writers chose it as their personal favourite of the year though.
“Aside from being one of the most incredible and unique war films of the decade, Dunkirk is another masterful experimental piece of work from Christopher Nolan. He may be drawing influence from silent films and war epics of yesteryear, but the result here is a modernization of that style mixed with art-house ideas and edge-of-your-seat Hollywood spectacle… Dunkirk boosts suspense to heart-pounding levels due to its exceptional direction of action spectacle married with authentic and intensifying synchronized music.”
Read our reviews of Dunkirk here, here, and here
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