The Blu-ray Community Top 25 Films of 2017 (Please Read 1st Post)

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Hucksta G

[Show spoiler] I saw it as him liking that weakness and it reverted to like a nurturer (mother)/child relationship. Seemed like he had some mother issues.

Many layers to the film, can't wait to see it again. In PTA's catalogue I'd rank it just above Inherent Vice and Hard Eight, it would be hard to get to TWBB, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Master, Punch-Drunk Love levels for me.

Yes you nail the aspect of the film I still want to mine and explore.

[Show spoiler]His mom complex. Which is who I also think "Alma" alludes to (think the ghost / fever dream scene).

I honestly think it sits comfortably alongside those films, but I agree it didn't impact me as strongly because it's kind of a dry film. It lacks passionate scenes compared to his other films, and instead is more nuanced.

[The Debts]

Kicked off Free Fire but put Hostiles in its place. I think we can finally say I'm done making my list. It's pretty much the same but I fee like I'm actually done for once. Surprised even myself.

[DanTheMan]

2013-2015 were such strong years IMO, but the last two were pretty solid as well. I think both years suffered from underwhelming summers, but made up for it by finishing strong in the fall during awards season. Plus, horror has made a respectable comeback in recent years, so that's a good sign going forward.

[Troll2fan]

Originally Posted by dommie

1. Wind River

[Show spoiler]2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Wonder Woman
4. War For the Planet of the Apes
5. Darkest Hour
6. Molly's Game
7. Atomic Blonde
8. Blade Runner 2048
9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
10. Baby Driver
11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
12. The Post
13. The Big Sick
14. Logan
15. Only the Brave
16. All the Money in the World
17. Logan Lucky
18. Dunkirk
19. The Foreigner
20. Spider-man: Homecoming
21. Hostiles
22. John Wick: Chapter 2
23. It
24. The Shape of Water
25. Thor: Ragnarok

Nice to see Wind River high on another list.

[zorbonaut]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

That's what I understood that you meant too, but I guess I was just wondering why. I prefer TWBB as well but that is not par for PTA, that is his masterpiece! I'd say Phantom Thread is still top shelf PTA.

I haven't even seen my own favorite director's work for this list yet (Haneke's Happy End). It appeared in theaters for a few seconds sometime last October then has vanished since. Last I heard it should be coming out tomorrow to some small art house theaters, so I'm going to keep an eye out. My expectations are tempered from the little I've read, but Haneke's mediocre work will probably still be gold relatively speaking.

Why? Maybe it was the subject matter. Maybe it's that is that it is presented in a rather straightforward way compared to Magnolia/The Master? It just didn't feel exceptionally original which has become the norm for PTA. Maybe I will change my mind upon rewatch, but just didn't blow me away like many of his other films.

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Hucksta G

Here's how I'd rank the years of this decade in film (judged by how many 10s and 9s I have ranked) -

1. 2017: 20 [still a few big ones to see too!]
2. 2013: 18
3. 2016: 16
4. 2014: 15
5. 2010: 15
6. 2015: 14
7. 2012: 12
8. 2011: 11

Here is my decade thus far with my amount of 9s and 10s (or 4.5s and 5s as I go by)

2013: 28 (9 - 5 stars)
2010: 25 (9)
2012: 23 (5)
2016: 23 (5)
2015: 21 (6)
2014: 19 (4)
2017: 18 (5)
2011: 18 (5)

[Hucksta G]

Originally Posted by Jasonic

Here is my decade thus far with my amount of 9s and 10s (or 4.5s and 5s as I go by)

2013: 28 (9 - 5 stars)
2010: 25 (9)
2012: 23 (5)
2016: 23 (5)
2015: 21 (6)
2014: 19 (4)
2017: 18 (5)
2011: 18 (5)

seems we were both quite fond of 2013 and 2011 is at the bottom for both of us

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Hucksta G

seems we were both quite fond of 2013 and 2011 is at the bottom for both of us

Yeah, 2013 was great. I've seen 180 films from that year, more than any other by at least 30. Of course I wasn't actively avoiding the stinkers back than like I do now.

[thewerepuppygrr]

May as well add my list, though I've still got a lot to see...

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Baby Driver
3. War for the Planet of the Apes
4. Free Fire
5. Thor: Ragnarok
6. Super Dark Times
7. Darkest Hour
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
9. Wonder Woman
10. Prevenge
11. It
12. Get Out
13. Hostiles
14. Logan
15. Dunkirk
16. The Shape of Water
17. I, Tonya
18. Spider-Man: Homecoming
19. Kong: Skull Island
20. Annabelle: Creation
21. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
22. Ghost in the Shell
23. John Wick: Chapter 2
24. Life
25. Raw

[sandman slim]

Glad to see a few people listing Super Dark Times & Bushwick. Two excellent movies that deserve a much bigger audience.

[LegacyCosts]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is doing better on the lists here than I thought it would. I watched it a second time. I was surprised how atmospheric it is for a dark comedy with a lot of dialogue, a really nice score too. It will be pretty high on the results I imagine.

[Lepidopterous]

Here are my best films of the year. Comments to follow at a later time.

25.

[Show spoiler]

BPM (Beats Per Minute)

Shot in a documentary-style, BPM takes us inside the Paris chapter of ACT UP in the early 90s during the height of the fight for AIDS advocacy. We're given a lens to see the passion, suffering, and struggles of young gay men living through the crisis for the nightmare that it was, at the time when HIV/AIDS felt as deadly and mysterious as the Black Plague.

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24.

[Show spoiler]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

A film elevated by its strong all-around performances, particularly from the unrest and rage of Frances McDormand.

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23.

[Show spoiler]

Faces Places

French New Wave filmmaker Agnes Varda teams up with French artist JR to give a face to the unappreciated and to explore individual humanity through life-sized displays.

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22.

[Show spoiler]

Get Out

Meticulously made and timely, Jordan Peele's directorial debut is precisely the manipulation we go to the theaters to experience. Everything comes together as spells of fear and paranoia slowly unravel into a reality beyond anything we expected.

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21.

[Show spoiler]

It

IT succeeds on the chemistry of its cast, its throwback feel, the cinematography, set and character design, and Bill Skarsgård's performance as Pennywise.

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20.

[Show spoiler]

A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story will creep under your skin with a stillness and patience that lets you feel the spiritual lingering of loss and grief, almost like the existential thoughts that arise each night once alone with your own thoughts.

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19.

[Show spoiler]

Baby Driver

Pure fun, popcorn action that oozes with personality and a particularly good taste in music.

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18.

[Show spoiler]

Dunkirk

More like Hans Zimmer featuring Dunkirk. My favorite Nolan film since Inception. Makes a good double feature with Darkest Hour.

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17.

[Show spoiler]

The Florida Project

A slice of life film that gives us a glimpse of the lives the underprivileged can lead, helps us connect with these communities a little better, and creates in us a greater capacity to understand and/or empathize the complexities of some of their lives. Brooklyn Prince gives a performance so organic, she will bring you back to being a six-year-old kid again.

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16.

[Show spoiler]

The Big Sick

One of the biggest surprises of last year for me. The direction the story went, the authenticity of the characters, and the cultural challenges explored all come together to make a new rom-com favorite of mine. The only down-side is how he treats the Pakistani women in the film, who are really in the same, if not worse, predicament than he is in.

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15.

[Show spoiler]

Okja

At once funny, sad, thrilling, depressing, and wonderfully bizarre, Okja personifies the food that we eat so powerfully that this stands as one of the most convincing ways I have seen the message communicated.

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14.

[Show spoiler]

On Body and Soul

A nuanced, wonderfully awkward, and introverted romance about soulmates that walks its own wavelength and delicately and respectfully handles autism spectrum disorder.

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13.

[Show spoiler]

A Fantastic Woman

An Almodóvar-esque portrait of a trans woman as she navigates her grief in an unaccepting world. The film is elevated by Daniela Vega's remarkable performance and portrayal of the suffocation transgender individuals experience on top of gender dysphoria. Nearly half of young transgender individuals attempt suicide, and nearly half are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. It could have been a much darker film, but instead focuses on the dignity and humanity that society does not allow her to have.

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12.

[Show spoiler]

Phantom Thread

A brilliant and fascinating performance by Mr. DDL about a man so cursed with the burdens he places on himself that he falls into regression through the respite of a woman who reminds him of his mother.

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11.

[Show spoiler]

The Square

The Square works less as a cohesive film than as a collection of some of the funniest, most absurd, and cringe-worthy satirical scenes that explore uncomfortable truths about ourselves.

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10.

[Show spoiler]

Coco

We only truly die when the last person we know says our name. It seems nothing is too great a challenge for Pixar, as they handle this theme of death beautifully and sensitively within the Mexican culture.

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9.

[Show spoiler]

Blade Runner 2049

2049 is a magnificent production of colors and sounds grounded in the philosophy and unique settings that made the original so great.

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8.

[Show spoiler]

Loveless

Zvyagintsev brilliantly constructs this cynical, complex, and multi-layered study of the perpetual cycle of emptiness, detachment, and selfishness that plague human relationships and childhood upbringings. The film is dense with symbolism, draws parallels to both society and government, and challenges us to consider love as a necessity. It is also probably the most honest film I have seen about how often people are on their cell phones.

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7.

[Show spoiler]

Logan

Simultaneously mutant mythology and western, Logan finally gives Wolverine the no-BS, R-rated action and heartfelt, sincere story he's always deserved.

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6.

[Show spoiler]

Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name breathes a care-free authenticity that brings us close to the sights and smells of its Italian summer setting, where the only internal conflict is accepting oneself. In this way, the film allows us to see summer love grow and develop unrestrained from the prejudices that so often define it for us, and in a way that is so pure, lasting, and unapologetically real.

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5.

[Show spoiler]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

A bizarre horror film provides a microscopic lens on the hypocrisy of living with the demons we accrue throughout our lives without having to answer to anyone—Perhaps we can only run so far to avoid the consequences of our actions.

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4.

[Show spoiler]

Lady Bird

Gerwig and cast cover the transition to college and familiar teenage struggles with a uniquely committed authenticity. Coming-of-age dramas do not get much better than this.

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3.

[Show spoiler]

The Shape of Water

"Unable to perceive the shape of you,
I find you all around me.
Your presence fills my eyes with your love,
It humbles my heart,
For you are everywhere."

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2.

[Show spoiler]

The Work
(Perfect Score)

Watching this film is subjecting oneself to an emotional catharsis. It's a documentary that beats down the facade of masculinity to unmask tough men, bare their souls, and humble the viewer with the chilling realization that not all that much separates us from these prisoners but our choices.

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1.

[Show spoiler]

mother!
(Perfect Score)

A challenging and divisive art piece that characterizes our respect for nature through biblical allegory and a home invasion.

Lists from past years:
2015
2016

[The Debts]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Here are my best films of the year. Comments to follow at a later time.

[Show spoiler]

25.

[Show spoiler]

Wind River

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24.

[Show spoiler]

The Disaster Artist

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23.

[Show spoiler]

The Florida Project

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22.

[Show spoiler]

Call Me By Your Name

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21.

[Show spoiler]

Good Time

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20.

[Show spoiler]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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19.

[Show spoiler]

Get Out

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18.

[Show spoiler]

It

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17.

[Show spoiler]

Dunkirk

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16.

[Show spoiler]

A Ghost Story

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15.

[Show spoiler]

Baby Driver

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14.

[Show spoiler]

The Big Sick

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13.

[Show spoiler]

Okja

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12.

[Show spoiler]

Phantom Thread

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11.

[Show spoiler]

A Fantastic Woman

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10.

[Show spoiler]

Coco

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9.

[Show spoiler]

The Square

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8.

[Show spoiler]

Blade Runner 2049

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7.

[Show spoiler]

Loveless

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6.

[Show spoiler]

On Body and Soul

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5.

[Show spoiler]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

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4.

[Show spoiler]

Logan

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3.

[Show spoiler]

Lady Bird

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2.

[Show spoiler]

The Shape of Water

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1.

[Show spoiler]

mother!
(Perfect Score)

Lists from past years:
2015
2016

No Your Name? You could cheat ya know!

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by The Debts

No Your Name? You could cheat ya know!

I had it on my 2016 list last year. It's right there in the link you quoted right above your comment.

[The Debts]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

I had it on my 2016 list last year. It's right there in the link you quoted right above your comment.

I know; I'm just sayin' you could count it as a 2017 release like I did. ; )

[cinemaphile]

I tried watching Your Name last week. Was already losing interest in the first 10 minutes but stuck it out until about the 40 minute mark when I finally gave up and turned it off.

[The Debts]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

I tried watching Your Name last week. Was already losing interest in the first 10 minutes but stuck it out until about the 40 minute mark when I finally gave up and turned it off.

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

I had it on my 2016 list last year. It's right there in the link you quoted right above your comment.

Yeah, I had it as my #3 last year. But since most didn’t have the chance to see it that early and a lot listing it this year, I decided to as well.

[LordoftheRings]

Just a simple observation about this very cool and fun thread.

Some films some of us we won't have the opportunity to see before February 24th.
And of course for simplicity it is for the North American's film industry, instead of International.
The 25 bests in North America for 2017 is challenging, even 20 bests.
Yes, we can find that number, and from number one spot to number 20 or 25, and because nobody saw all the films, spot number 20 or 25 is becoming relatively best @ best.

That's it.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

I tried watching Your Name last week. Was already losing interest in the first 10 minutes but stuck it out until about the 40 minute mark when I finally gave up and turned it off.

The movie became totally different in the last half. Not sure if that would have changed your opinion, but it wasn't all cutesy.

Well, at least you tried.