Rollo Tomasi’s Top Ten Films of 2017
The 2017 film season was a year of infrequent highs and deep, dismal lows. Like any film year, not every film met our expectations (Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets). Some films far exceeded what we thought they would be (Blade Runner 2049, Logan, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). Some films were hidden gems (Get Out). Other subtle surprises (Split). A few were tragic disasters (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, American Assassin, and Justice League).
The films that I have listed below are films that were fulfilling to me in some way, shape, or form. I like in films what I like in a great book: a creative narrative, three dimensional characters, strong character arcs, and all the other regalia of a fully-formed, thoughtful creation.
Rollo Tomasi’s Top Ten Films of 2017
10. Baby Driver
Baby Driver was the most innovative heist film of the year. Part impromptu musical, part love story, and part crime drama, Baby Driver was a film that paid attention to detail and to its secondary characters. Certain character’s past were alluded to but never fully divulged in Baby Driver, pushing the viewer to fill in the gaps themselves. Though the third act is problematic and the weakest section of the film, the first two acts are inspired.
9. John Wick: Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 2 is an action film that is better than the original film. Chapter 2 built upon the foundations of the first film and then expanded them, creating a John Wick, surreal universe complete with a top layer that contained no police and sub-strata networks of criminals and organizations that they had created.
The action in Chapter 2 was enhanced from the first film in complexity, the number of people involved in the film’s set pieces, and the budget on display.
What drove the film was the emotional (more of Wick’s emotions were on display) and physical (John met his near match multiple times) journeys that John Wick went on throughout the film.
8. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming was rejuvenation for the beleaguered Spider-Man franchise, it gave the viewer the best on-screen interpretation of Spider-Man thus far. The common trope of an origin story was gratefully skipped in Spider-Man: Homecoming in lieu of dropping the audience into a full-formed, in-motion story that the viewer could instantly delve.
Unlike other comic book films where the villain is an afterthought, The Vulture and his minions were given a fleshed out backstory, a hard-working, Average Joe prologue where the bad guy became what he saw as necessary in a economy post-NYC alien invasion, circa The Avengers.
7. War for the Planet of the Apes
The third and (presumably) the final in the new The Planet of the Apes films was the best of the trio. The CGI for the apes was as high-end as it gets and the storyline was the strongest in the franchise. The human / ape connection in the first film was that film’s primary strength and this film’s producers returned to that in War for the Planet of the Apes.
Even the little girl was given a character arc in War for the Planet of the Apes and Bad Ape stole almost every scene he was in, most of the time to humorous effect.
6. Logan
Logan was the best stand-alone Wolverine film-to-date and one of the best comic book films-to-date. Logan was also the second best X-Men film-to-date (behind X-Men 2). Wolverine fans had to wait through numerous PG-13 X-Men film outings and two horrific Wolverine films to get to Logan.
The aforementioned films were the heavy, carry-on luggage that the viewer brought with them into Logan. By the time Logan ended, not only was that luggage discarded, their deleterious memory was seen as a necessity. It took those films, those ups and downs, to create a Wolverine film that finally got it right.
Logan is not only a gripping story about family but the ties that bind individuals together.
Read my full review for the film here.
5. Mudbound
Mudbound is another solid brick in the long line of movies that effectively paint a portrait and deal with the issue of race in America. In the case of Mudbound, it deals with the issue of race in America’s past where racism between whites and blacks was common everyday life.
One of the elements of Mudbound that made the film stand out was its war footage and the ramifications of war on two of its protagonists, searing those protagonists’ minds, changing their outlooks on life and how they acted towards others. It was beautiful seeing two human beings, that should have been at odds during that time period, quickly become friends and allies.
Also beautiful was the smearing romance that percolated just below the surface between Laura McAllan (Carey Mulligan) and Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund), an almost unrequited love where the two parties in question were made for each other.
4. Split
Split was director M. Night Shyamalan‘s return to form, following a long try spell of forgettable films and flops. Split possessed an inventive plot and solid acting, especially on the part of James McAvoy, who really sold the individual characters living inside of Kevin Wendell Crumb.
James McAvoy’s finest acting moment in Split was when his character’s true personality, Kevin Wendell Crumb, came forward for few moments before The Hoard took over again. It was McAvoy’s facial changes with each personality struggling for a brief moment “in the light” that made the scene terrific, terrifying, and drove home how tormented Crumb truly was. The Hoard ran his body, sharing it, and had regulated Crumb to a gagged and sedated tenant.
Read my full review for the film here.
3. Okja
Most monster films, if Okja could be deemed a monster film, do not come with a message or haunting imagery that stays with the viewer long after the film has ended. They are dumbed-down, event films. Okja is not one of those films. Director Joon-ho Bong made sure of that. Bong is a singular director, who is capable of crafting scenes and moments that no other director could (Okja examples): the multiple running scenes, the attempted glass break, the slaughter house, the concentration camp walk, etc.
At Okja‘s heart, always, was family, friendship, and animal rights (in Okja case, the rights of a superpig, an analogy to real-life slaughter animals).
2. Get Out
Get Out‘s greatest strength were its numerous and abundant surprises. Get Out possessed a great original script and great twists by its lead characters, especially Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), which made the second and the third act of Get Out stand out. The viewer had no idea where this film was going until the film arrived there in all of its twisted glory. Like Million Dollar Baby, Get Out started in one direction, then took the viewer where they never expected through drama, humor, terrific performances, and a narrative that took the road less traveled during key moments in the film.
Read my full review for the film here.
1. Blade Runner 2049
No one thought it would happen. Then when it did happen, no one thought that it would be good. Everyone was wrong about Blade Runner 2049. Blade Runner 2049 is one of the best sequels that I have ever seen (a list of films that I will be completing and publishing soon). Blade Runner 2049 picks up the ball from Blade Runner and never drops it. Denis Villeneuve wasn’t afraid to keep the tone of the original film and didn’t fall into the Star Wars prequels trap of adding advanced technology not found in the original film.
Unlike the first Blade Runner film, there is strong and unexpected romantic components present in Blade Runner 2049. Complimenting that, the sound, writing, characters, and acting in the film are all on-point.
Even-though Ryan Gosling’s character seems two-dimensional throughout much of the film, his journey shows him to be anything but, and despite being a character without a “soul,” the viewer comes to care about him through his interactions with other characters and his character arc.
Read my full review for the film here.
Table of Contents
Honorable Mentions
Una (technically a 2016 film which is why it didn’t make my list), Thelma, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
2017 Films I Have Not Seen
I can only rate the films that I have seen. I have not seen: The Florida Project, Molly’s Game, I, Tonya, Wonder, The Shape of Water, LBJ, Lady Bird, The Last Flag, Stronger, Wind River, It, and Dunkirk yet.
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