Bradley Weber’s Top Ten Films of 2017

5. Okja

Netflix has been killing it recently with their original films. 2017 saw the release of many but Okja was by far the best. An eco thriller that is both family friendly while also making you question many of your beliefs of the food industry? I’ll take that. Okja feels both familiar and different. Featuring both new stars and ones you are used to seeing. It is maybe the most unique story Netflix has yet told, but it is one that captures a spirit of childlike wonder that thos great Spielberg films of the past were able to.

4. It

Stephen King’s It is one of the greatest horror novels ever written. The original television adaptation of the story was fine, but it missed critical elements and felt very sterile. Andy Muschietti’s film version captures both the terror and the magic of King’s novel. It still feels a bit incomplete if you ever read the book; but that’ll be fixed when the second part of the movie comes out in a year or so. It gives us a Goonies-style adventure while making you once again afraid of those horrors you dare not speak of. It’s no wonder it became the highest grossing horror film of all time. 

3. Everything Beautiful is Far Away

Now for at least one movie very few people have heard of. Everything Beautiful is a very beautiful movie. A simple sci-fi film about two people and a broken robot walking across the desert trying to find a mythical lake. It is a journey unlike any other, filled with vast landscapes and thought driven dialogue. I can’t remember when I first heard of this film but once it started I did not regret for one second watching it. The sci-fi aspects are never overwhelming and the dialogue never become derivative or self important.

2. Brigsby Bear

Brigsby Bear is a post apocalyptic movie set in a bunker about a young man who only know that world and the parents who provide for him…and then it isn’t. Turns out that young man was kidnapped and made to think the world was destroyed and people who survived all live like him. His only entertainment while in the bunker a very odd, and badly produced looking TV show about a giant bear with special powers. When he gets out, his story is about growing up, moving on from bad things that dominated his childhood, and bringing his love of a giant bear with space powers to the world. Dave McCary and Kyle Mooney, both part of the current era of Saturday Night Live bring this original film to life. And the wonderful Mark Hamill plays not only the fake father but also uses his unique voice talents to bring the bear, and many other creatures to life. This film is long on fun, great original ideas, and and an emotional and heart rending conclusion.

1. A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story is the quietest, most beautiful, and simple film of the year. Yet it’s dialogue provides questions and some answers about life, death, and everything in between. David Lowery made last years Pete’s Dragon and took his paycheck from that to fund this very small movie. It is a short film, barely 90 minutes, but it is both psychological and hypnotic. I would have never thought that a film about a ghost in a sheet, usually the cheesiest image you can image, would be so profound. The ending will lead to days and days of discussions. This film must be seen. It must be cherished. It  must endure. Although, if you have seen it, maybe it doesn’t need to do any of those things at all. To quote the house guest from the film, one the longest monologues I can remember from any film, “We build our legacy piece by piece and maybe the whole world will remember you or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to make sure you’re still around after you’re gone”. This film is sure to be a cornerstone of Lowery’s legacy and a remarkable piece of film history.

Honorable Mentions

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), The Big Sick, Lego Movies (Both Batman and Ninjago for providing the franchise with creative and new outlets).

2017 Films I Have Not Seen

The Florida Project, The Greatest Showman, The Disaster Artist, The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Wonderstruck, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

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