Guest Best of the Year, film, gender

The Best Films of 2017: A Stinging Rejoinder

Ed. note: Neither Shape of Water nor Wonder Woman were animated films; we just thought this looked cool

coco shape of water wonder woman

It’s New Year’s Eve, so I thought I’d share my best of list as well. I still have yet to see Call Me By Your Name, The Disaster Artist, Thelma, “I, Tonya”, The Post, Loving Vincent, BPM and The Square. I’ll modify my list as I see them in the new year. I have been blessed by MoviePass so that I can see as many films as I have this year.

It has been an exceptional year for film. My personal favorites have been either been about women, people of color, or LGBTQ-themed. Wonder Woman, Atomic Blonde and Ghost in the Shell proved that audiences want to see a strong woman taking charge and kicking butts. Coco, one of the year’s most successful films, shows that it’s possible to tell a story about a Mexican family and have it be universal.

Three Billboards, Ladybird, Raw and Get Out are great films that take real world fears like racial and gender bias and issues like gender identity, they turn those topics into entertainment. A year into Trump’s presidency, it’s easy to see these films as a signifier for more like it tackling political challenges.

Coco turned out to be number one for me. It was the one that I emotionally connected to the most out of everything. Everything worked for the film, the music, the animation, the vocal performances and the story. Pixar really knows how to pull at the heartstrings.

My biggest surprises were God’s Own Country, Girls Trip, The Big Sick and Ingrid Goes West. God’s Own Country is an intimate drama that pulls you in from the first frame. Brilliant, quiet performances and nicely done handheld cinematography. The rest are comedies that tap into things that are really unique and relevant. Self-indulgence in social media, interracial relationships and Tiffany Haddish (She is my breakout star of the year, she IS unique and relevant.)

1. Coco

2. The Florida Project

3. God’s Own Country

4. The Shape of Water

5. Girls Trip

6. Wonder Woman

7. Wonderstruck

8. Logan

9. The Big Sick

10. Blade Runner 2049

11. Baby Driver

12. Get Out

13. Ingrid Goes West

14. Lost City of Z

15. Good Time

16. Raw

17. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

18. Patti Cake$

19. Columbus

20. Phantom Thread

Dan Lam is a filmmaker in New York City. You can find Alex’s film best-of for 2017 here, as well as Best-ofs of Christmas past here. We should note that neither The Shape of Water nor Wonder Woman were animated films; we just thought the graphic looked cool.