Best Movies of 2017 (September-December)

2017 has gone and like the rest of the year, there were plenty of great and interesting movies worth seeking out. Fall is usually when we get the quality movies and would-be Oscar contenders, so it's not surprising we got some rich cinematic experiences in the final third. Unfortunately, because of that same Oscar race, I wasn't able to see all the best-reviewed stuff before the end of the year. Like The Shape of Water would definitely have been on this list if I'd seen it in time. Nevertheless, here's the alphabetical list of 2017's last few great movies.

Drumroll please,



Coco

Pixar seems determined to make me cry, because this is the third film of there's in a row that's made me. I went into Coco without a lot of expectations but found myself surprised by how heartfelt and emotional it was. The themes and story, revolving around death, family, and memory, were handled deeply and maturely but in a way that didn't stop the movie from being fun either. It's a visually stunning movie as well, with a magnificent use of vivid color that makes the Land of the Dead feel vibrant and, ironically, alive. The music was all spectacular as well. We may have doubted them for a while, but Coco is a reminder of why we all fell in love with Pixar.

The Disaster Artist

Everyone knew The Disaster Artist was going to be funny. A movie about the making of The Room, one of the worst movies ever made, starring James Franco as Tommy Wiseau, one of the strangest men to ever walk the planet? How could that not be funny? What no one expected though is that The Disaster Artist would also be a touching and almost inspiring story about creating art, the hardships of doing so, and the egos of people who try to achieve greatness. Especially if they don't have the talent to see those ambitions through. Director and Star James Franco may steal the show as Wiseau, but it's his brother Dave as Wiseau's best friend Greg Sestero (whose book the movie is based on) that keeps the often insane story grounded in human terms. The two both give great performances and work off each other perfectly. It would have been easy to make a movie that makes us laugh at Tommy Wiseau, but The Disaster Artist also makes us empathize with him.

Ingrid Goes West

In a similar vein, Ingrid Goes West took a deeply deconstructive look at the relationship between the masses and the famous in the age of the social media star. Starring Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid, a nobody from the midwest who takes her mom's life insurance payout and moves to LA to stalk and copycat Elizabeth Olsen' Instagram lifestyle darling, this was a harsh but not unsympathetic take on both sides of that equation. Ingrid is a terrible person, no doubt, and the script lets Plaza flex her acting ability in ways she often doesn't get to, but it's easy to see what made her that way and how we could do the same thing. Really, it's a movie about finding authenticity in a world built on artifice. Besides Plaza, the cast is great too. Elizabeth Olsen finds the layers in a character built on shallow vapidity and O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s Batman loving landlord is the heart of the movie. Ingrid Goes West is a critique of our current culture, but not a condemnation. A hard watch at times, but worth it.

It: Chapter One

The year's good Stephen King adaptation. It, later subtitled Chapter One in anticipation of the sequel, became the phenomenon of Fall. Legitimately Scary, with an atmosphere that perfectly captured the feeling of King's novel while cutting a lot of the fat in terms of narrative, this movie was a lean, mean monster of a horror flick. That narrative compaction was to its advantage as well, putting the focus on the film's greatest strengths, the kids and Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise. The young actors that make up the film's Losers Club were all on the top of their game, embodying the frightening and often too-adult feelings and fears of King's characters. But Skarsgard is the MVP, nearly pushing aside Tim Curry's iconic take on the killer clown with a Pennywise who is both scary and darkly funny. There hasn't been a movie monster with as much personality in years. Here's looking forward to the sequel where they'll get into the crazier parts of King's book.

mother!

If nothing else, you have to respect the balls it took for Darren Aronofsky to put this thing in theaters. mother! is a strange movie and I can't really tell you much about it without giving away the ghost. It's a movie best seen knowing as little about it as possible, so when the realization of what's going on hits you it has the most impact. Just know that the main cast, Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, are both excellent, the cinematography is great, and it is suitably horrifying to qualify as a horror movie. I can't say you'll like mother!, in fact you may hate it, but that's just part of what makes it so great.

Murder on the Orient Express

Sometimes the formula for a good movie isn't hard to figure out. Get a bunch of good actors, put them in a visually interesting locale, give them a good story to play out, and go. That's basically what Murder on the Orient Express does, gathering a host of rising stars and old pros to stage a new retelling of Agatha Christie's famous murder mystery. Connected through Director and Star Kenneth Branagh's unique 21st century take on master detective Hercule Poirot, the cast is uniform excellent but in particular it's nice to see Daisy Ridley take on something so non-Star Wars and succeed. The mystery is enough to keep you hooked and guessing, even if you know who did it like I did, and Branagh's direction never makes the audience feel like they're trapped on a train like the characters. Nothing experimental or extraordinary to why Murder on the Orient Express is good, it's just a solid movie built on a strong foundation. It's not flashy, but it gets the job done.

Thor: Ragnarok

I've said before that Thor is my favorite Avenger, so it's nice that he finally has a legit great movie in his franchise. Ragnarok succeeded for many reasons beyond its more comedic take on the material. Whether it was embracing the bright colors and designs of the original Jack Kirby comics, utilizing Chris Hemsworth's talent for comic timing, or inspired casting choices (Seriously, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster was incredible), this felt new not just for Thor but for a Marvel Cinematic Universe many feel is getting stale. What really made Ragnarok great though was its grounding in character, which led to great performances not just from Hemsworth but also Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, and Mark Ruffalo in probably his best turn as the Hulk yet. Throw in a subtle critique of nationalism, and you've got a franchise film that feels fresh, exciting, and just an all-around good time at the movies.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Ignore the haters, The Last Jedi is just the movie Star Wars needs. After JJ Abrams reset the board in The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson has come along and built on that strong foundation. And he did it by playing on our expectations of what is supposed to happen in a Star Wars movie. The Last Jedi gives you everything you want in a way you never would have thought, with so many great moments. The throne room battle, Holdo's sacrifice, Luke Skywalker's confrontation with Kylo Ren. All great. Thematically, it's the strongest film in the series since Revenge of the Sith. The characters have advanced in ways we couldn't see coming, the action and stakes have gotten bigger, and we're left in a place Star Wars fans haven't been since 1983 at least, wondering what comes next. Ryan Johnson has pulled the rug out from under us and dozens of new possibilities we never could have considered before are opened. I for one, can't wait to see what new places it will go.

Honorable Mentions:

Blade Runner 2049: I still maintain this movie has no reason to exist, but I appreciate all the work that went into its making. Nowhere near the masterpiece the original was, but a decent cyberpunk film in its own right.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle: A fine sequel and followup to the original, but not quite up to that level. The characters and world are still great fun, but lacking anything as balls-out crazy as the first one's now iconic church scene hurts this one.

Prof. Marston and the Wonder Women: Any biopic of Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston was bound to be an interesting movie and this one certainly is, totally unafraid to examine he and his wife's, and their mutual partner's, unique love life. Strong performances from Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote buoy this film, but I felt it wasn't ambitious enough to be truly great. Definitely worth a watch though, especially if you loved the Wonder Woman movie.