Best movies of 2017

SUMMING UP THE YEAR 2017

This year, 2017, was the most fruitful of all my years dealing with movies and new movie premieres in the cinema. I’ve watched 151 new movies released in the last twelve months. This year was creatively generous for good movies of all genres, and my top 2017 movies resemble this tendency. We have got both stunning and disappointing blockbusters. A couple of amazing, touching drama stories and several book adaptations. This rating does not include La La Land; it is considered a 2016 movie. I’ve watched twice every one of these 2017 premieres in a list.

7: DUNKIRK

Every new movie by Christopher Nolan is a piece of movie art (like David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve) and a great yearly event. The director has already proven that he can make significant projects in such genres as detective, thriller, and, of course, science fiction. Now he points our attention to a war drama called Dunkirk. It is now one of the most distinguished and uncommon stories of the Second World War in movie history, and one of the best movies of 2017. Nolan’s indirect storytelling in Dunkirk depicts a few days on the coast of France from different perspectives. Amazing visionary and sound in IMAX—second-best performance of the year 2017 after ‘Blade Runner 2049.’ The disturbing soundtrack causes a feeling of inconvenience and anxiety. In addition, we do not see a story plot in a general sense, and only allusions to German forces as an enemy. Dunkirk is the best war drama of 2017, and it gives a strong feeling that Christopher Nolan has made something ahead of time again.

6: GIFTED

As we have figured out this year, the mask of Captain America hides a sophisticated young drama actor, and his name is Chris Evans. A touching story of an indigo child with an extraordinarily brilliant mind in dealing with math. One would think—an everyday plot on custodial care and an issue: what is best for a child, charms, and touch from the very first scenes. Chris Evans and young actress McKenna Grace form an amazing movie duet. It is amazing to watch how this little girl can perform her role heartily. You can easily believe this story of the relationship of a child with the world of adults as if it were a sophisticatedly performed documentary. The line of your emotions will not pulse extremely, but it is gradually positive. ‘Gifted’ was the best family melodrama of 2017.

5: LOGAN

It was difficult to believe that a movie about superheroic characters who brutally kill people with claws and blow them out would become one of the most emotional movies of 2017. Marvel visionaries depict a strongly pessimistic future for their X-Men characters, who have become vulnerable and old. ‘LOGAN’ is now a limousine driver who is constantly drunk and has to take care of an old Professor X, who loses his brilliant mind as a result of age-related degeneration. Logan is an antipode to the generally bright, glaring superhero blockbusters of Marvel and DC as well. We have a two-hour road movie within the rural US instead of glamorous New York and Los Angeles. Hugh Jackman performs his best emotionally and physically, as he is in great shape at 48. Logan is the kind of movie you want to rewatch over and over as a swan song to the whole X-Men generation.

4: War of the Planet of the Apes

Andy Serkis has changed modern movie history once and for all with his share of motion-capture technology. And if Gollum was rather a source of jokes and memes, Caesar the ape has now become a thrilling, dramatic character. It sounds extraordinary, but you easily dive deep into the story of a long trip and the survival of digital apes. Andy Serkis performs a wide variety of emotions, and you start to believe in these fictional characters and their post-apocalyptic surroundings. The world is now drawing in green, and some military groups continue the war with intellectual apes and with each other. In War of the Planet of the Apes, we are presented with a touching, dramatic story more than a story of war, which is just a background to the main events, performed by two battles.

3: IT

Only a few weeks after an awful “Dark Tower,” another book adaptation of Stephen King, previously read to rags, positively drives me mad with emotions. The remake of “IT” simultaneously pays extreme attention to the 1990 TV series and tells a news-updated story, which also differs from King’s novel. It takes us to the era of the 1980s with its authentic jokes, atmosphere, music, and clothing. Children from Derry turned out to be vibrant, live beings who emotionally interact and reveal sarcasm and charisma. Pennywise is now shown as a real outcome of ultimate evil, who can frighten and, at the same time, attract with every one of his appearances in a frame. This movie is a creepy and even cliché screamer that works well enough here for two hours. Just take an amazingly performed opening scene with rain, a yellow raincoat, and Pennywise in the drainage. IT is the best horror movie of 2017, which alludes to coming back to its story more and more, and one of the best Stephen King adaptations.

2: ONLY THE BRAVE

This movie was released close to the end of 2017, with poor space within cinema schedules. A piece of testosterone movie about brave men who are ready to sacrifice their lives to save people. ONLY THE BRAVE combines concepts of mentor-apprentice stories, team spirit, and melodrama dealing with the conflict between work and family. It performs in contrast to opposition to blockbuster movies, which one can consider a boring story. “Only the Brave” is one of the best drama stories of the last few years, well-balanced and emotionally deep. The story depicts its characters with complete plot passion, and you start to believe what you see. When they finally face the real danger, they squeeze themselves into the cinema seats. Amazing panoramas of Arizona with an atmosphere of the rural United States. True events behind the plot intensify the emotional connection with a story. Only The Brave deserves the second-best movie of 2017.

1: BLADE RUNNER 2049

Dealing with some critics opposite to the adoring perception of the new Denis Villeneuve’s movie, we have to remember that the original Blade Runner (1982) has come a long way in its modern cultural status. Villeneuve is a gradual, constant visionary who gives us a brilliant movie every year (Sicario, Arrival). A stunning atmosphere of a new Blade Runner 2049 with its partially post-apocalyptic landscapes and realities, with its cold and rainy Los Angeles and foggy abandoned Las Vegas. Millions of people live within extremely overcrowded districts and find some satisfaction in sexually abusing holograms. Now, the Replicates live among the inhabitants of this pessimistic world with a kind of racist attitude. The majority of movie locations and sets were created not using CGI but by visual artists and decorators (behind-the-scenes videos impress). The strong visionary style of Villeneuve and Roger Deakins creates a banquet of emotions and emphasizes the atmosphere of sci-fi and cyberpunk. The very core of a story, performed by Ryan Gosling, is a noir detective who takes you deep into this world and its mysteries. Blade Runner 2049 is the most impressive IMAX premiere of 2017 with its visual and sound design. The best movie of 2017 leaves you with multiple questions about the story.

Movies of 2017 – Worth mentioning