Best Movies of 2017 (January- April)

2017 may have begun very, very crappy in many ways, but it's been a spectacular year at the movies so far. The first few months of the year are usually when the worst pieces of cinematic garbage get released, so it was a pleasant surprise when so many quality films came out. In that spirit, I'll be doing best of lists all year. These aren't Top 10s or countdowns, just alphabetical lists of great movies that have come out and that I want you to check out.

So without further ado,


A Cure For Wellness

A lot of people passed this one by and it's their loss. Returning to his horror roots after the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Director Gore Verbinski made an extremely creepy gothic chiller. This movie had fantastic atmosphere, genuinely unsettling iconography, and more than a few squirm in your seat moments, all held together by a great villain performance by Jason Isaacs. It's a little too long and the plot is shaky on deeper inspection, but A Cure For Wellness was just too original to dismiss. Warning: It may make you vomit.

Colossal

This high-concept comedy is still in theaters in places and you should definitely check it out. While it probably could have coasted on the inherent laughs of Anne Hathaway being a 30-something drunk party girl inadvertently controlling a giant monster rampaging through Seoul, but wasn't afraid to go deeper into the emotional lives of it characters for drama. It's a balancing act, but the filmmakers pull it off. Hathaway gives a great performance but the VIP is Jason Sudeikis, showing off some acting skills I don't think anybody knew the for SNL funnyman had. The design of the monster and the effects bringing it to life are excellent for an independent production as well.

The Founder

Just a good-example of no nonsense filmmaking. Kind of a 50s-set, fast food spin on The Social Network, this biopic told the story of Ray Kroc and the founding of McDonald's and wasn't afraid to show what a bastard its main character was. The script was good as well, giving Kroc enough dimensions as a character that even though he was a huge bastard, he was still human. Headlined by Michael Keaton doing what he does best, The Founder had a great cast of character actors like Nick Offerman, John Caroll Lynch, Laura Dern, and Linda Cardellini. Good cast, effective filmmaking, strong script. The ingredients of a fine piece of cinema.

Get Out

Between this, A Cure For Wellness, and few of my honorable mentions, 2017 has been a great year for horror movies so far. But Get Out was the head of the pack and a hell of a debut film from director Jordan Peele. For a comedian, he is scarily effective as a horror filmmaker, turning the most mundane of awkward situations into spine-tingling terror. Of course the social consciousness of the film has been praised to high heaven already, but it really does add an extra dimension to the proceedings and elevate Get Out above other lesser horror flicks. I can't wait to see what Peele does next.

John Wick: Chapter 2

On the one hand, this was really more of the same from the first John Wick. But on the other hand, the first John Wick was fucking awesome. Keanu Reeves, who is really underrated as an actor and loving the opportunity he has to show off here, is back as the titular hitman and the action is as good as ever. Creative gunplay, car chases, gore and fistfights, all with the best editing any action movie has had in decades maybe still make this series a highlight. Shout-out to Ruby Rose as well for her role as the villain's main henchman, creating a memorable character despite communicating solely in sign language. Throw in a rogues' gallery of character actors in supporting parts and you can't go wrong.

Kong: Skull Island

I'll be the first to admit that this isn't the deepest or most thoughtful film to come out this year. It's a monster movie, a lark, but damn if it wasn't an extremely good monster movie. Sure, the cast is all made up of stock characters, but when you get people like Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, & John C. Reilly to play those stock characters it elevates the material. Importantly though, Kong himself is a character and not just a special effect. That way when the action scenes start up, you actually care about what's going on at an emotional level. Skull Island is a great example of a blockbuster made right. It's an exciting adventure with cool set pieces done very well. Sometimes, that's all you need.

The Lego Batman Movie

Fuck The Dark Knight. This is the best Batman movie. It would have been easy enough for this to be just a cheap cash-in on the success of both Batman and The Lego Movie, so it's not only surprising that this was a thoughtful and emotionally deep movie but absolutely delightful. Lego Batman is exactly the dressing down the over-exposed Caped Crusader has needed, stripping away the silly self-seriousness that's infected the character in recent years and bringing him back to his roots. It's freaking hilarious as well. You can tell that this was written by huge Batman fans, their love for the character seeps through and is delightful. Plus, Zach Galifianakis is probably the third best Joker of all time.

Logan

All right, so I wasn't as over the moon for Logan as everybody else seemed to be. The tone was just a bit too grim and the story just a little too downbeat for my taste. But damn if Hugh Jackman wasn't amazing in his final turn at the character. So much of this film falls on Jackman's shoulders and he carries it almost effortlessly. Wolverine is a more complex, more nuanced character in this movie than he's been in any of the other X-Men films. And the strong chemistry Jackman has with Dafne Keen as X-23 and Sir Patrick Stewart as Prof. X, who are turning in amazing performances of their own, and I can more than forgive the film's flaws. So long Jackman, thanks for the memories.

Special Mention: Your Name

I'm putting this under special mention because technically it came out last year in Japan. But Funimation was good enough to bring it over here for a limited release and I'm glad they did. Your Name starts off as a fun twist on the body-swap comedy, where a girl from the Japanese countryside switches bodies with a Tokyo city boy, but as it goes along evolves into so much more. I was amazed by how complex and heartfelt this movie became, especially by how each raising of the stakes was grounded in the emotional relationship of the characters as opposed to plot mechanics. It's just incredibly well-written and even more well animated, with stunning visuals and incredibly fluid movements. If you can find this playing anywhere near you, do yourself a favor and just go see it.

Honorable Mentions:
The Belko Experiment: A fun little horror flick from the makers of Guardians of the Galaxy, but not funny or gory enough to be great.
Free Fire: Great cast and smart filmmaking make this Boston-set crime comedy that plays out in near real-time make this a gem. Story and dialogue could have used another polish though.
Power Rangers: Actually just a so-so movie, held back by shoddy camera work and production design, but the cast and script are all giving their best help elevate it. Great hammy villain turn by Elizabeth Banks too.
Split: Who would have thought the first great movie of the year would come from M. Night Shyamalan? A tense, claustrophobic thriller held together by a brilliantly gonzo James McAvoy performance. Sure, the psychology is bullshit but Shyamalan plays to his strengths, reminding us why people liked him in the first place.