Nitty Gritty's Top 3 Films of 2017...
- Jan 1, 2018
- 5 min read
Greetings al! Ryan Charles from Nitty Gritty Studios here.
With 2018 freshly arrived I thought it'd be a nice time to take a look back at what I felt were the best 3 movies of 2017 (with some honorable mentions)!
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Let's get down to the Nitty Gritty...
Indie vs. Studio
It's always hard to do a best list of ANY kind and end of the year lists are no exception. This year was particularly strong with Indie releases with some great new fare from A24 (THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, IT COMES AT NIGHT, THE DISASTER ARTIST) and some interesting newcomers like NEON (COLLOSAL & I, TONYA) making a splash of their own.
All in all I felt it was one of the strongest years in a while for the quality of film all over-- even the larger blockbusters like DUNKIRK and THE LAST JEDI were top shelf tent-poles in my opinion-- and I am excited at what the continuingly changing landscape of content distribution brings in the coming years.
Disclosure
There's always gonna be some flicks one doesn't see and I want to volunteer that I have yet to see PHANTOM THREAD, FLORIDA PROJECT, THE POST or CALL ME BY YOUR NAME as these seem to be top contenders for most people. Don't worry, they're on my list.
Close But No Cigar
DUNKIRK and WAR FOR PLANET OF THE APES. These were welcome blockbuster alternatives to the Marvel/Superhero offerings but lacked the emotional punch required by this critic to make my best-of list for the year.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
LADY BIRD.
What more can be said that hasn't already? LADY BIRD is funny, charming, nostalgic, sharp, real and true like films can be every so often. Saoirse Ronan turns in yet another perfect performance (if you haven't seen BROOKLYN, you should) and writer/director Greta Gerwig has gotten a lot of well-deserved attention for this her directorial debut.
3 BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
This film delivers on everything you were hoping for-- a foul-mouthed Frances McDormand brilliantly digging into anyone and everyone in order to get to the bottom of her daughter's murder. But like with all great films it's what you weren't expecting that really adds that deeper layer to the experience. Writer/director Martin McDonagh has created a universe for his films to take place in that is just outside the realm of believability at times yet so firmly rooted in humanity and character that you can't help but go along on this wild, violent and unexpected ride where the line between hero and villain is always blurred. Watch out for Sam Rockwell to maybe get some award recognition for yet another brilliant character performance in a now well accomplished career.
TOP 3 FILMS OF 2017
#3: I ,TONYA
Mother/daughter relationships were a recurring theme this year at the cinema and I, TONYA-- along with our two honorable mentions-- makes it a hat trick (that's hockey-- not skating, I know).
Inspired by true events I, TONYA is the story of figure-skater Tonya Harding, her white-trash upbringing, rise to Olympic stardom and fall from grace told through fast-paced Scorsese-type sequences punctuated with voice over and docu-style recreations of interviews with the real characters from the film. If it sounds like a wild and crazy ride that's because IT IS! And definitely the kind of ride you want to go on. Margot Robbie gives everyone a run for their money (both in the film and at the awards shows I'm sure) as the titular star and Allison Janney steals each and every moment with her portrayal of Tonya's hard-as-nails, cigarette chain-smoking mom. Oh yea, and there's that whole bit with Nancy Kerrigan getting clubbed in the knee-cap in there too. I, TONYA delivers it all in a brash, slick and showy tour-de-force of Indie cinema!
#2 THE LOST CITY OF Z
I saw THE LOST CITY OF Z in 2016 actually, at the New York Film Festival. As the film ended and the lights came up there were two separate reactions. Some people simply got up and started walking out, griping about how the film was "just a tad bit long there in the middle". The rest of us stayed firmly planted in our seats, transfixed by what we had just saw. Based on the true story of a British explorer who spent the better part of his life's efforts trying to find a lost city of riches somewhere deep in the Amazon, Charlie Hunman and Robert Pattinson (in a nearly unrecognizable turn) star in what could best be described as LAURENCE OF ARABIA meets APOCOLYPSE NOW. THE LOST CITY OF Z is classic, epic cinema in the vein of David Lean and as such does not cater to the modern audience in many ways, leading some people to mistake the film for boring while it is anything but! Each scene and sequence is beautifully crafted and the film eventually floats towards a more existential tone and timbre in its final moments that left this viewer chilled to the bone. Fear not though, the film isn't total art-house fare. It opens with a thrilling stag hunt set-piece, there are several rousing scenes of great orations and ideological battles throughout and at least one action sequence on the river involving a school of piranhas that will surely leave you skin crawling.
#1: GOOD TIME
That's right, folks. Robert Pattinson was in 2 of my favorite 3 films of 2017! Let's get something out of the way: I have NEVER seen TWILIGHT. None of them. Ever. Now let's get something else out of the way: Robert Pattinson is an incredible actor. If you weren't convinced already, all you need to do is watch the Safdie Brothers Indie masterpiece, GOOD TIME. Pattinson is a young DeNiro-incarnate. He channels his inner-Pacino in a way I've not seen since, well.. Pacino. His dynamo-energy bursts off the screen as the Safdie's do their best to bottle it up like a drug that we all need to immediately get a fix off of again and again. GOOD TIME is a fairly clear-cut thriller about a young guy breaking his brother out of jail in the way that DOG DAY AFTERNOON is a fairly clear-cut movie about a bank robbery. It's a set-up you've seen a dozen times, delivered like you've never experienced before. The Safdie Brothers, along with Pattinson's brilliant talent have shaped a gritty, hard-hitting, NYC Indie film that feels like you are watching some new and exciting cinema birthed right in front of your eyes. This must have been what people felt like when they first saw MEAN STREETS. Not to be missed, folks!
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