I'll preface this by saying that ranking movies is incredibly difficult, especially when films are so different from one another. I was basically able to narrow it down to this but there's different room for this order to rearrange, especially upon rewatch.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56636589/mother_TIFF_2040.0.jpg)
?. Mother
Yeah, I'll let you figure this one out for yourself. It's hard to rank. I liked it.
70. The Lure
The Lure technically first came out in 2015, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until 2017 so I'll count it. If you're looking for a Polish musical about killer mermaids, I've got the perfect movie for you.
69. Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes is probably my least favorite of the three films directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (they also directed
Little Miss Sunshine and
Ruby Sparks) but it's still a consistently entertaining and well-acted dramedy.
68. A Ghost Story
It's hard to explain how a film that features Rooney Mara eating pie for 4 minutes and has the lead character wandering around wearing a sheet is entertaining, but trust me, it is.
67. The Beguiled
While I could've used a bit more emotional connection,
The Beguiled is still a visually appealing film with strong performances from its entire cast and some tense moments.
66. The Lost City of Z
James Gray continues to prove himself as a solid filmmaker here, with some beautiful shots of the Amazon and a strong central performance from Charlie Hunnam.
65. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming plays it pretty safe in terms of following the Marvel formula, but Michael Keaton is excellent as one of the best MCU villains to date with actually interesting motivations.
64. The Lego Batman Movie
It's not as good as
The Lego Movie but the first 10 minutes feature some of the funniest scenes of the year.
63. Split
Oh look at that, M. Night Shyamalan can still make decent movies.
62. The Foreigner
I came to see Jackie Chan beat people up and I got a fair bit of that, but
The Foreigner surprised me in its fascinating exploration of British-Irish relations and history.
61. Brad's Status
Brad's Status suffers from a lot of heavy-handed expositional narration, but Ben Stiller gives one of his best dramatic performances here and his chemistry with Austin Abrams makes most of their scenes really enjoyable to watch.
60. Okja
Its not exactly subtle in its messaging, but Okja is still a pretty fun adventure film and a decent entry to Bong Joon-ho's excellent filmography.
59. Gerald's Game
The final 10 minutes are awful, but for most of its run,
Gerald's Game is a well-acted and tense film largely thanks to Carla Gugino's great performance.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58087831/39195024092_a863cb3cae_h.0.jpg)
58. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Jeez, can people calm down? I thought this was supposed to be the worst film ever made. The porgs are pretty awful and there are some other stupid things, but I thought the film did pretty good at deconstructing the typical Star Wars formula.
57. BPM
A French film following AIDS activists in early 90s Paris,
BPM probably could've benefited from being a little shorter, but its realistic dialogue and emotional moments make it worth the viewing.
56. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
A film I preferred on the second viewing over the first, this film still suffers from the character of Baby Groot, who's a garbage character, but features a much more compelling villain than the first one and still has a killer soundtrack and fun action scenes.
55. Loving Vincent
I don't know if the script quite matches up to the gorgeous animation, but Loving Vincent is still a lovely movie to look at with more than a few poignant moments.
54. Mayhem
I can't compare to this
The Belko Experiment because I didn't see it, but on its own terms,
Mayhem is a fun little action-horror-dark comedy with lots of entertaining violence and an entertaining lead performance from Steven Yeun.
53. American Made
A solid addition to the Narcos cinematic universe with another charismatic performance from Tom Cruise.
52. Your Name
Now one of the highest grossing films in Japanese history,
Your Name has beautiful animation and a surprising amount of emotion.
51. Darkest Hour
Typical biopic formula aside,
Darkest Hour benefits greatly from Gary Oldman's excellent performance which will likely win him his first Oscar, and some visually interesting direction from Joe Wright.
50. Super Dark Times
A strong directorial debut for Kevin Phillips with promising performances from Charlie Tahan and Owen Campbell.
49. The Square
The most recent Palme d'Or winner,
The Square loses a couple of points for greatly underusing Dominic West, but its frequently funny, very well-paced considering its length, and goes into some delightfully weird places.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55123257/MV5BNjM5N2VlZjAtOTJmMy00ZjRmLWI0OWEtMzczYzA0NDk2ODc0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzExMTY0MjU_._V1_.0.jpg)
48. It Comes at Night
This film has been more than a little bit divisive, but I thought this film was a success on several levels: acting, cinematography, suspense, and enough ambiguity to keep you thinking after it's over.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55006861/MV5BMjExNzY1OTMyNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTIyOTYzMjI_._V1_SY1000_CR0_0_1498_1000_AL_.0.jpg)
47. Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman marks a high point in the DC Extended Universe, thanks to Gal Gadot's strong performance and entertaining action scenes.
46. Last Flag Flying
Simultaneously funny and heartbreaking,
Last Flag Flying is worth watching just for Steve Carell, who gives one of his strongest performances to date, but Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne also bring their A-game.
45. War for the Planet of the Apes
Slightly misleading title aside,
War for the Planet of the Apes is another solid entry in the new Planet of the Apes series, thanks to yet another excellent performance from Andy Serkis, beautiful visuals, and emotional resonance.
44. T2 Trainspotting
The belated sequel to Danny Boyle's classic black comedy, T2 doesn't quite rise up to the levels of the original film, but still features the great chemistry and dark humor that makes the film plenty enjoyable.
43. Brawl in Cell Block 99
S. Craig Zahler's follow-up to Bone Tomahawk unfortunately includes one of the worst lines of dialogue I’ve ever heard (“GET READY FOR 9/11 PART TWO!” which doesn’t make more sense in context), but it also features some stunning fight scenes and possibly the best performance Vince Vaughn has ever given.
42. Personal Shopper
Personal Shopper is the latest film in the "Kristen Stewart can actually act" cinematic universe. Part psychological thriller/part allegory of grief, the film is largely held together by Kristen Stewart's excellent performance.
41. Logan Lucky
Stephen Soderbergh came out of retirement to direct this film and it was a lot of fun. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver have wonderful brotherly chemistry while Daniel Craig gives possibly his most energetic performance to date.
40. Atomic Blonde
David Leitch, who co-directed John Wick with Chad Stahelski, makes his solo directorial debut here. While it may not quite reach the ranks of John Wick, it still features some beautifully shot action scenes and brutal fight choreography that makes me happy that creatively shot R-rated action films are still being made.
39. The Disaster Artist
The Room is a movie I've probably seen more times than any other film, so a film covering its making excited me immediately. Although you can tell some potentially important scenes may have been left out of the final cut, the film largely works thanks to its strong lead performance and some genuinely funny moments.
38. Stronger
I might be biased towards films about people named Bauman, but I enjoyed this. Thanks to David Gordon Green's direction and Jake Gyllenhaal's excellent performance (why wasn't he a bigger Oscar contender?), this film manages to elevate itself beyond a standard inspirational biopic. The decision to focus more on Jeff Bauman's PTSD and unwanted fame helps keep the film feeling interesting.
37. Columbus
A film that features a lot of scenes of people talking about architecture shouldn't be this good (especially for someone like me, who knows little about the subject) but John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson have impeccable chemistry that makes every scene engaging. A great film if you're looking to fill a
Before Sunrise void.
36. I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore
Macon Blair, the actor best known for his work in Jeremy Saulnier's films (Blue Ruin, Green Room) makes his directorial debut in this bizarre comedic thriller. Melanie Lynskey, proving she deserves more lead roles, plays a disgruntled woman who tries to find the people who broke into her house with the help of her neighbor (Elijah Wood, in a wonderfully against-type performance).
35. Ingrid Goes West
This dark comedy features Aubrey Plaza going against type as a pathetic and unstable woman who stalks a narcissistic woman (Elisabeth Olsen) she found on Instagram. This is some of Aubrey Plaza's best work to date and the social commentary is obviously present, but never feels too preachy.
34. The Post
The Post puts Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg together for the first time and adds yet another enjoyable addition to Tom Hanks' and Steven Spielberg's collaborations over the last two decades. Spielberg's direction frequently makes the viewer feel like they're in the room with the protagonists, the technical elements are near-perfect, and there's a lot of interesting topics that keep you thinking after the film is over.
33. Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Annette Bening is clearly still gunning for an Oscar and after seeing this, I'm honestly surprised she wasn't more in the conversation. With 20th Century Women last year, she's now been snubbed two years in a row. Maybe next year. Jamie Bell likewise gives probably his best performance as an adult actor and the chemistry between the two leads is outstanding. Also, probably less relevant to most viewers, but this had some pleasantly creative scene transitions.
32. Shot Caller
Shot Caller stood out to me because of a very similar premise to Ric Roman Waugh's earlier film,
Felon, (a law-abiding citizen goes to prison due to a tragic mistake and becomes a hardened criminal), but I actually preferred this film. It's got enough to separate itself from
Felon, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gives a believable performance that really sells his transformation, and there's a real sense of danger and tension throughout the film.
31. The Meyerowitz Stories
Adam Sandler gives his best performance since Punch-Drunk Love here and I am excited to see what new ground he breaks when his next good film is released in 2032.
30. Free Fire
That was surprisingly fun. It's rare to see an action film where everyone (in a realistic way) has crappy aim and doesn't die instantly. The cast is likewise top-notch and keeps the film entertaining to its end and I hope we can see more action films take these kinds of creative approaches.
29. Beach Rats
Beach Rats, directed by Eliza Hittman, may have a bit of a slow start, but quickly developed into something surprisingly moving thanks to Harris Dickinson's subtle lead performance and beautiful 16 mm photography. I first heard about this being compared to
Moonlight, which was my favorite film of 2016, and while I obviously don't think this was as good, it still has plenty to stand on its own.
28. I, Tonya
I, Tonya takes an interesting, intentionally unreliable approach to its real-life story that is equal parts funny and depressing. Combine the Scorcese-inspired style with the excellent performances from Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, and Allison Janney, and you've got one of the more interesting biopics in recent years.
27. Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan's WWII epic probably could've benefited from an R-rating (or at least a little more offscreen carnage and a little less bloodless carnage) but it still proves to be a generally intense and visceral experience, and not just another WWII film trying to be the next Saving Private Ryan.
26. Baby Driver
Baby Driver stands out from Edgar Wright's excellent filmography. It's not quite as funny as past films and it's set in the United States, but it still features the same creative entertainment Wright has brought in the past. The plot is familiar, but the action scenes and the unique way Wright has the actors perform choreography that naturally matches up with the soundtrack, makes it one of the more unique action films in recent years and I hope other action filmmakers take note.
25. Lucky
Lucky marks one of the final performances of the wonderful character actor, Harry Dean Stanton and while Stanton's death was saddening, it was wonderful to see him go out on such a high note in what is easily his best performance since Paris, Texas (one of his only other lead roles). John Carroll Lynch's directorial debut's balances heart, humor, and sadness in a film that feels especially personal for those involved.
24. It
This latest adaptation of
It is not a perfect film, but considering how difficult it would be to adapt Stephen King's 1000 page book, even by splitting it into 2 parts, I still have to give a lot of credit. The child actors are uniformly excellent, the cinematography is terrifying, the film is frequently scary (making some of the cheap scares feel irritating because the film doesn't need to rely on them), and still digs into the themes in Stephen King's novel. While I'm still waiting for the 10-part HBO miniseries, this'll do for now and I'm quite excited for part 2.
23. The Lovers
The Lovers is another hit from A24. Debra Winger and Tracy Letts have wonderful chemistry that really makes you both root for them and feel a bit conflicted. It's the rare romantic comedy where I wasn't sure how things were going to play out.
22. Detroit
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) directs this underrated period drama set in 1960s Detroit about riots occurring in the city that led to an event called the "Algiers Motel Incident". The result is a film that's sometimes surprisingly scary and filled with surprisingly good performances, particularly Will Poulter as a violent and racist cop who never feels 1-dimensional.
21. Thor: Ragnarok
Thor Ragnarok represents everything a Marvel movie should be. You get a creative director on board and just let them do their thing (I'm still saddened we'll never see Edgar Wright's Ant-Man). Directed by Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows), this is easily the best in the Thor Trilogy and one of the best MCU films by far. It's beautiful to look at and you really get the feelig that Taika Waititi was allowed to go for his own visual style rather than being forced into a style by Disney, it's frequently hilarious, and the action scenes are still a lot of fun.
20. Una
Una is not pleasant viewing and doesn't leave the viewers with any satisfying answers, but it's gorgeously shot and Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn give possibly the best performances of their careers. And as disturbing as it feels, I didn't find it gratuitous.
19. The Big Sick
Kumail Nanjiani is one of my favorite contemporary comedians and with
The Big Sick, a film he co-wrote with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, they've made one of my favorite romantic comedies in years (a genre I'm not typically crazy about). The performances are uniformly excellent with every character having believable chemistry and the film feels meaningful without resorting to preachiness.
18. John Wick: Chapter 2
I really love the first John Wick. I think it set a great standard for action cinema and the sequel ended up being a wonderful follow-up. It's got dogs, shootouts, and Keanu Reeves and greatly expands the world-building of the first film. While I'm not sure if any of the action scenes quite meet the night club scene of the original, it still features some of the most entertaining action scenes of the year.
17. Coco
I won't lie, I'm not as big of a fan of Pixar as I used to be. They're still entertaining and watchable, but I haven't been big on their fixation on sequels and nostalgia lately. Coco is a reminder of the greatness Pixar is still capable of and possibly my favorite of Pixar's post-"Up" films.
16. Mudbound
I haven't seen Dee Rees' previous film, Pariah, but now I want to because I can see she's incredibly talented. I won't lie, I've got some issues with the first-half. The pacing is a bit slow and there's a lot of exposition-heavy voice-over, but the second half of the film is so strong that it's absolutely worth watching (I appreciated the first half more on a rewatch). The cinematography is beautiful and the entire ensemble is excellent, but the chemistry between Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell's characters deserve a specific shoutout and one can only hope that everyone has a bright future ahead of them.
15. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
Part Biography-part romantic drama, this film stars Luke Evans as William Marston, a college professor and psychologist who would create the Wonder Woman comics. His polyamorous relationship with his wife and another woman and the way it serves as inspiration for Wonder Woman makes this one of the most interesting romance films in recent years.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55903155/brigsbycover.0.jpg)
14. Brigsby Bear
Written by and Starring Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live),
Brigsby Bear is uplifting and sentimental without feeling manipulative. I was shocked by how moving I found this film, but I couldn't be happier to have seen it.
13. Get Out
The less said about Jordan Peele's satirical horror film the better. My main nitpicks being part of the ending and a few cheap scares at the beginning (a loud music cue shows up a couple of times to scare the audience even though nothing particularly scary is happening onscreen. But the things that work in the film work so well and its incredibly rewarding on rewatch. This is a masterclass of foreshadowing, tension, a comic-relief character who's actually funny, and plenty of engaging twists and turns.
12. Molly's Game
I'm a really big fan of Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball, A Few Good Men, The West Wing) with The Social Network being one of my favorite films ever made. He finally makes his directorial debut with Molly's Game and it doesn't disappoint, at least if you're a fan of Sorkin. His trademark fast-paced dialogue is still present, but now Sorkin also mixes interesting visuals to match the dialogue, helping the film remain interesting through its 140-minute run. Likewise, this might be my favorite performance from Jessica Chastain to date. And what could be better than hearing Sorkin dialogue come out of Michael Cera's mouth?
11. Logan
When Logan was announced as Hugh Jackman's final performance as Wolverine, a character he's portrayed nine times since 2000, I'll admit to being a bit worried the film wouldn't stick the landing. Instead, it's not only my favorite X-Men film to date, but one of my favorite superhero films of all time. It's more a deconstruction of superhero films than anything and succeeds in both featuring brutal action and genuine emotion.
10. Wind River
Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter of Sicario and Hell or High Water, finally makes his directorial debut with Wind River (which he also wrote). The film is a mystery, but it's really more about issues on an Indian reservation in Wyoming. The commentary rarely feels preachy and the occasional scenes of violence are refreshingly messy. Taylor Sheridan is 3 for 3 in my opinion and I can't wait to see what he does next.
9. The Shape of Water
Guillermo Del Toro's latest film manages to take a pretty straightforward premise and make it charming and entertaining thanks to his unique style. It's filled with lovely performances from characters we grow to care about, has a beautiful score, and the 1960s production design looks fantastic.
8. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster) directs this psychological horror film that you should really go into knowing as little about as possible. It's not exactly a pleasant viewing, but it's really well-shot, acted, and frequently haunting and disturbing without feeling gratuitous.
7. Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villneuve had some pretty big shoes to fill when making this very belated sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 film
Blade Runner, but he pulled it off, managing to build off of what was established in the first film, without relying on pure nostalgia to get by. It's got great acting, exciting action, and an interesting script, but you can never say enough about Roger Deakins' beautiful cinematography, which should surely win him his first Oscar of his 14 nominations.
6. Call Me By Your Name
It's hard to pitch this film without making it sound boring, but that's part of its strength. This film somehow manages to take incredibly mundane activities and make me incredibly invested in what's going on. A large part of that goes to the strength of the acting, with Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer's fantastic chemistry, as well as Michael Stuhlbarg giving one of the best monologues in recent film history. Add in wonderful music from Sufjan Stevens and you've got a pretty fantastic film.
5. The Florida Project
I previously saw Sean Baker's film, Tangerine and while I enjoyed that film quite a bit, The Florida Project feels superior on every level. There is a feeling of authenticity to this film that few films have. Due to its use of mostly unknowns and non-actors, every scene feels like interactions with real people. If I had seen scenes from the film without knowing what this was, I could've mistaken these scenes for documentary footage of real paper. Even Willem Dafoe, the most recognizable actor in the film, somehow manages to effortlessly blend in with the non-famous faces he's surrounded with. This film also portrays young children as being mischievous and annoying, yet somehow still likable, which makes it the most accurate portrayal of children in the history of cinema (honestly, Brooklyn Prince is wonderful here)
4. Lady Bird
There's a lot to like about Lady Bird. It's very funny, the script is fast-paced and consistently engaging, and the acting (especially Ronan and Metcalf as the daughter and mother duo) is pretty fantastic. Another thing the film succeeds at is the entire ensemble. Virtually every character felt interesting to me, even the ones I greatly disliked. There's not much screen time for everyone over its 93 minute runtime so Gerwig makes every minute count. This is part of why Lady Bird works. It feels so effortlessly grounded as you're immersed in the protagonist's town and the many people she has the (dis)fortune of meeting. It also made me hate Timothée Chalamet (his character, not his performance) so that's interesting.
3. Phantom Thread
There Will Be Blood is one of the best films ever made, so it was interesting to see Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis reunite to do something so different, but just as good. You don't need to care about fashion or dresses to enjoy this film, because the film is so much more than just that. It's about messed up relationships and manages to create so much tension through verbal arguments. I hope this isn't really Daniel-Day Lewis' final performance, but if it is, at least he leaves us on a high note. Vicky Krieps is definitely going to be a name to look out for and Lesley Manville is as good as usual. And let's not forget the magnificent score from Jonny Greenwood.
2. Good Time
The plot of Good Time seems simple enough: A criminal needs to get enough money to bail his brother out of prison. But holy crap, this is executed so well. Anyone who doubts that Robert Pattinson is a good actor (I fully admit to being one of those doubters) needs to be shown this movie. He's not caked in makeup with his only real difference being doing a very good NYC accent, but I completely forgot I was seeing an actor onscreen. If that wasn't enough, the film succeeds with its editing, music, lighting, and general atmospheric intensity without ever feeling melodramatic.
1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Martin McDonagh previously wrote and directed In Bruges, one of my favorite movies of all time and now delivers something that is equal parts funny, disturbing, incredibly uncomfortable, and thoughtful. It balances a difficult act of multiple tones quite well and finds time to build its characters and take them in complex directions. Whenever I thought I had figured out how the story was going to play out, the screenplay threw another curve ball. The entire cast is phenomenal and there's a real sense of atmosphere to this fictional Missouri town created by an Irish guy.
0. Paddington 2
This is a sort of unofficial "bonus entry" since Paddington 2 technically came out in 2018 in the United States (It was released in 2017 in the United Kingdom) and I'll probably give it a more official ranking on my 2018 list next year. But it's such a beautiful and touching movie that I feel the need to include it. There's an analogy that I've used to describe the movie that I'll use here (also applies to the first film): Paddington is the movie equivalent of going on a date with a person and not being sure what to expect because they seem kinda childish at first glance, but on the date they prove themselves to be so damn charming and cute that you fall in love with them.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58380967/billboards1.0.jpg)
