Will’s 2017 Movie Log

Hello movie people! Here’s a piece I wrote most of two years ago, and then dropped and forgot about. But on earth is a quarantine good for if not picking up nerdy personal projects of unnecessary criticism like this one? So here’s my opinion of everything I saw in 2017 (with maybe just a few I saw after the fact) along with where each title is available to stream currently. Enjoy!

My Top Ten…

10. Detroit

Sadly under-seen/skipped over during last year’s awards season, Kathryn Bigelow’s intense drama covering a shocking and infuriating true incident which happened in the middle of the 1967 Detroit riots is an extremely powerful piece of cinema about race in America, that, like last summer’s ‘BlacKkKlansman,’ couldn’t come at a more relevant time. Perhaps the timing in fact (this was released just a week before Neo Nazis marched in Charlottesville) turned what should have been a healthy liberal audience away from the picture, but I encourage you to watch it at home. (Now streaming on Hulu)

9. I, Tonya

This dramatic retelling of Tonya Harding’s life spins what could have been a real downer of a movie into a wickedly funny cinematic tour de force. In a year when mothers of the movies were, shall we say, questionable at best (‘The Florida Project,’ ‘Ladybird’) Allison Janney knocks it out the park as one of meanest, most calculating mothers since ‘The Manchurian Candidate.’ Unlikely director Craig Gillespie (his credits include such safe Disney fare as ‘The Finest Hours’ and ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and writer Steven Rogers (silly romantic stuff like ‘Kate & Leopold’) utilize a fun pop soundtrack and exciting fourth-wall-breaking techniques while making us question the story we thought we knew from the headlines. And then there’s Margot Robbie, erasing any bad will that may be leftover from the previous year’s ‘Legend of Tarzan’ and ‘Suicide Squad’ and reminding us why she’s a total star in the first place. (Now streaming on Hulu)

8. Call Me By Your Name

Quiet and beautiful romance from director Luc Guadagnino, from a novel by André Aciman, adapted by James Ivory. And like Ivory’s classic ‘A Room with a View,’ this is a luxurious stroll through gorgeous Italian locations as our leads — here a shy artsy high school student and a charismatic college student — fall in love. It’s a gay romance framed not as a tragic us-against-the-world drama but rather as an unassuming coming of age story. It’s also evidence for why Timothée Chalamet (who also appears in my next pick) will be around for some time, with excellent supporting work from the always reliable Michael Stuhlbarg as well. (Available to rent.)

7. Lady Bird

The always-likable actress Greta Gerwig directs her wonderful first picture — a semi-autobiographical story of a high school girl growing up and finding herself in Sacramento in the early 2000’s. The superb Saoirse Ronan (say that name three times fast — can you even say it once?) continues a winning streak and becomes the life of this movie, a lovely testament of youth and sisterhood. (Now streaming on Prime Video & Kanopy)

6. Dunkirk

Blockbuster maestro Christopher Nolan skips over the usual war movie exposition and soldiers’ backstories and drops us right into the action as thousands of British soldiers are evacuated off the beach at Dunkirk near the start of World War II. As per his usual style, Nolan doesn’t splurge on computer imagery, instead opting for old-fashioned techniques — real boats, plains, explosions, and thousands of extras recreating tense battle scenes in the places they actually happened. It’s a one of a kind war epic, for this or any era. (Available to rent.)

5. War for the Planet of the Apes

Following the pretty good ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ and the excellent ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,’ director Matt Reeves brings this surprisingly stellar ‘Apes’ reboot trilogy to a spectacular close in the best mainstream special effects blockbuster this year had to offer. Andy Serkis is (unsurprisingly) terrific reprising his role as ape leader Caesar in an action film which successfully completes the radical spin this series had on the original — what if the fall of humans kind of turned out to be a good thing? Probably not gonna see that idea pondered in Avengers 16… (Now streaming on FXNow)

4. The Big Sick

Dramatizing the real-life romance of Kumail Nanjiani (playing himself) and Emily V. Gordon (played by the lovely Zoe Kazan) makes for the best romantic comedy in years which doubles as a nice (and much-needed in 2017) story of immigrants in America. Great stuff. (Now Streaming on Prime Video)

3. The Shape of Water

Easily Guillermo Del Toro’s best film since his 2006 masterpiece ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ this is another haunting and beautiful adult fairy tale, concerning an unlikely romance between a cleaning woman (the indispensable Sally Hawkins) and an imprisoned ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’-looking fish-man (Doug Jones, not the Alabama senator) in the 1950s. Deftly juggling genres, Del Toro crafts a wonderful story of outcasts fighting hate and bigotry as relevant and satisfying as any movie you’ll see this year. Academy voters will likely crown Frances McDormand 2017’s best film actress (okay, they did — I wrote this a couple years ago — and look, McDormand’s good, no hard feelings…)— but if it were up to me I’d give it to the fantastic Hawkins, who, like Holly Hunter in ‘The Piano’ before her, communicates volumes without speaking a single word. (Now streaming on HBO Now)

2. Get Out

Exciting on a number of levels, the hilarious Jordan Peele’s brilliant directorial debut explores the 21st century Black American experience, hypocritical white liberals, and the joys of eating your fruit loops separate from your milk (there’s a metaphor there methinks). A ground-breaking socially-tinged thriller with elements of science fiction and a healthy sprinkling of comedy, if you missed it somehow get on it now and then watch ‘Us’ cause why’d you have to skip that also? (Now streaming on FXNow)

1. Blade Runner 2049

You can bet there were plenty of studio people who tried to talk visionary director Denis Villeneuve (‘Sicario,’ ‘Arrival’) and writer Hampton Fancher (who wrote the first ‘Blade Runner’ in 1982) to make this sequel to the cult classic more like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘The Matrix.’ So good for them for keeping making a sequel to an artsy philosophical science fiction film as non-commercial as it ought to be. ‘2049’ is as beautiful, moody, and thought-provoking as the original, with a story and characters that actually improve upon that film. It’s its own thing whilst simultaneously paying beautiful homage to the past, this is great science fiction for adults, which is pretty damn rare of this large a scale. Also if you’re lookin’ to get into a real mood, give the Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch score a listen… (Available to rent.)

Now the Worst of the Worst…

5. Justice League

Rumor has it this movie fared poorly enough critically and financially to have Ben Affleck imminently quitting this poorly put-together DC cinematic universe (two years later, yeah, he sure did). Now if we could only only get Warner Brothers to similarly abandon the whole venture (just maybe keep Wonder Woman doing her own thing). This isn’t the unholy trainwreck that was 2016’s ‘Batman V Superman,’ just a generic bad superhero movie with bad special effects that feels like it could have come out any time in the last two decades. Maybe next time these guys should settle on a script everyone likes before they jump into production and not spend a hundred trillion dollars on reshoots (On a related note if you’ve not heard about Superman’s mustache, you gotta look that shit up). (Available to rent.)

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

All the of Disney’s makeup and all of Disney’s CGI can’t help Johnny Depp look less bored and tired. Remember that scene from the trailer where a wasted (I mean the movie wasted him, he wasn’t drunk, I don’t think, although Depp apparently was a lot of the time…) Javier Bardem shows up being all ghosty and tells some stupid kid to find Jack Sparrow and tell him that death is coming for him? Why’d he do that? Why not like just show up and kill the guy? Surely an element of surprise never complicates a murder. What a dumb, boring movie. At least they’re not gonna make any more of these things, right?

Aaaahh shit…

(Available to rent.)

3. Baywatch

Lazy comedy reboot of a famously dumb TV show that forgets to add real comedy to its raunch and smugly obvious meta-narrative (’21 Jump Street’ this is not). It’s possible the Farrelly brothers in their prime could have made scenes like “fat guy gets his dick stuck in a beach chair and the hot chick has to help him pull out” funny, but the dummies who made this shit sure ain’t the Farrelly brothers… (Available to rent.)

2. The Mummy

In the age of cinematic universes, “do that shit with classic monsters” is something absolutely no movie fan was saying. But here comes Universal’s Dark Universe anyway, combining characters from their 30’s and 40’s creature features who will team together to I dunno, kill a bunch of good people? Better digitally airbrush every frame of Tom Cruise’s face so he can play a 30-year-old (true story) and save the day. This shit rivals the recent ‘Fantastic Four’ in the utterly moronic, pointless and very, very boring reboot pantheon. Supposedly the studio is still moving forward with a ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (the 1935 original of which is easily my personal favorite of their monster catalogue) remake set in the same world, so here’s hoping that doesn’t end up being the worst goddamn thing ever… (Now Streaming on FXNow, but seriously, coming from a guy who digs watching bad movies, you won’t enjoy it…)

1. mother!

Darren Aronofsky’s frustrating and pretentious sermon on obviousness is full of ideas and metaphors, but low on characters, plot, tact, craft and intelligence. To quote a piece of art more likely to one day be considered a classic, Adam Sandler’s song “Ode to My Car,” “it’s a piece of shit!” (Available to rent.)

…and the other movies…

Split

A surprisingly well-made bit of pulpy genre fun from M. Night Shymalan (I guess he makes good movies again now?) (Eh, following 2019’s disappointing ‘Glass’ I might have to reconsider that line…) featuring a pair of excellent performances from James McAvoy (gleefully jumping into playing a psycho with multiple personalities) and Anya Taylor-Joy (‘The Witch’).

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

Vin Diesel’s quest to reassert himself as a profitable movie star outside the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise falls flat with this sequel to a kind of enjoyable but very popular bad movie from 2002 with this less enjoyable and much less popular bad movie no one wanted to see. Presumably to put to rest years of gay rumors, there’s a scene in which Diesel’s streetwise American James Bond type beds down about 20 women (I’m not kidding) and you’ll question how cool vs. comical a tone the filmmakers aspire to in moments such as when a character announces Ice Cube’s entrance with “It’s Darius Stone— the 2005 XXX!” Yes it is, lest we forget about that shitty movie. Also Ice Cube raps on the soundtrack at that point in the movie so we’re really sure it’s him. That’s the best part actually, and I just spoiled it for you so no need to watch it now. (Now streaming on USA.)

John Wick: Chapter Two

In this sequel to 2014’s supercool surprise action hit, more bad guys are messing with Keanu’s chill vibes. Better get that gun and kill a whole lotta people. If you’re the type who goes for this sort of thing, you’ll had to admit… it’s pretty awesome. (Available to rent.)

The Lego Batman Movie

If you enjoyed Will Arnett’s vain, emo take on the caped crusader in 2014’s ‘The Lego Movie,’ you’ll probably have a good time with this amusing cartoon parody of everyone’s favorite weirdo vigilante. (Available to rent.)

The Great Wall

If you’ve ever wondered why the Great Wall of China was built, the new film from Zhang Yimou (who used to make good movies like ‘Hero’ and ‘House of Flying Daggers’) answers that question — to protect Ancient China from monsters of course! No, not dragons, though that would make more sense given China’s mythology, just your garden variety alien-lookin’ lizard creatures. If you wanna have a few beers and watch a pony-tailed Matt Damon (sporting a questionable Irish accent) do slow-motion flips though the air while shooting these things with arrows, I guess I can think of less enjoyable things to do. (Now streaming on FXNow)

A United Kingdom

This true story of an African king who married a British white woman, thus risking his throne and offending his people, provides a decent enough history lesson and a more than capable cast (David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike). But, as you likely learned more than once in history class, those elements do not a captivating movie make. (Available to rent.)

Logan

Though at times it may wear its themes and homages a bit too obviously on its sleeve, this is still a welcome and satisfying sendoff for one of the 21st century’s most iconic supernatural heroes. As the superhero genre (hopefully) slowly peters out over the next decade or so, it’s movies like ‘Logan’ that I’m most looking forward to — ones that dare to take risks and play with genre. (Available to rent.)

Kong: Skull Island

The second entry in Warner Brothers’ Big Monsters Universe (Is that what they’re calling it? Who Cares!) is more fun than 2014’s ‘Godzilla,’ but suffers from a similar “creating lots of characters you don’t give a damn about” syndrome. The ten-year-old in you might enjoy the well-executed monster madness, while the adult may yearn for more sophisticated movie ingredients. (Now streaming on TNT)

Personal Shopper

Depending on your patience/satisfaction with mainstream cinema, this sort-of-ghost-story drama from French arthouse director Olivier Assayas (‘Summer Hours,’ ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’) may strike you as pretty boring or refreshingly non-manic. That is to say it’s a somewhat slow but interesting little movie about a young woman (Kristen Stewart, and if you just rolled your eyes at her name, I respectfully believe you are wrong to do so) trying to connect to her brother from beyond the grave; if that sounds like your bag, it couldn’t hurt to watch it for free when available. (Available to rent.)

Raw

In this darkly comic piece of Belgian body horror, a young vegetarian is forced to taste meat during a vet school hazing ritual, and then flesh (any flesh, you see where this is going) becomes like goddamn Pringles for her. It’s a gross-out good time, providing naturally you don’t mind being grossed out. (Available to rent.)

Beauty and the Beast

Disney’s latest unnecessary remake of one of their animated “classics” is far from their worst (how bad was that trio of turkeys the studio released last year? Yikes.) But if you feel like watching a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ movie, I still say skip the ‘17’s redo, which offers nothing exciting new and re-watch Disney’s excellent 1991 hit or check out Jean Cocteau’s 1946 french film, a magical, more dangerous take on the timeless tale. (Cocteau’s version is streaming on the Criterion Channel and Kanopy, Disney’s ’91 movie is on Disney + and Prime Video and the ’17 remake is only renting currently.)

T2 Trainspotting

It’s a damn near impossible trick to recapture the excitement of watching an iconic, provocative film like ‘Trainspotting’ for the first time. Yet I say no harm in trying if you can try this good. Catching up with our favorite Scottish junkies and degenerates 20 years later, ‘T2’ (ballsy title, given movie fans’ natural ‘Terminator’ association) may not become director Danny Boyle’s next cult classic, but it’s still a real treat for fans and one of the most wildly enjoyable movies of 2017. (Available to rent.)

Life

Ah, what a thrilling original science fiction this might have been had a little film called ‘Alien’ not come out nearly 40 years earlier. Director Daniel Espinosa tried to get ahead of that obvious comparison by telling people his film was “inspired” by Ridley Scott’s first masterpiece, to which anyone who’s seen both should naturally respond “no shit.” Still, if you like your sci-fi nice and dark, ‘Life’ remains a solid, if more than a little derivative, bit of genre entertainment. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

Ghost in the Shell

Here’s where I’m supposed to tell you to watch the 1995 anime cult classic instead, but (I’ll deduct the nerd points myself) I’ve actually never seen it. I did see 2017’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’ in IMAX though, which was nice and pretty, but you can’t do that now, so it’ll just be boring. (Available to rent.)

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

The directorial debut of actor Osgood Perkins (who just so happens to be the son of ‘Psycho’ actor Anthony Perkins), this is a nice creepy mood piece, featuring some genuinely disturbing shocks, for horror fans tired of the same old jump scares. (Now streaming on Netflix and Kanopy.)

Colossal

Ann Hathaway deals with her demons in this comic fantasy-drama after realizing she has a telekinetic connection to a literal giant monster rampaging through South Korea. If you’ve ever seen a movie before you’ll probably be waiting for a nice, strong man to enter the picture and save Hathaway’s broken character, Gloria. And that’s just one of places in which this movie flips your expectations — that is by having all the men in the picture turn out to be abusive losers, forcing our scrappy protagonist to look out for herself. In a year filled with strong female heroes (‘Star Wars,’ ‘Wonder Woman’) and anti-heroes (‘I Tonya,’ ‘Three Billboards’) alike, this very satisfying and creative tale of abuse and female empowerment unjustly slipped under the radar last spring. Also featuring a strong and unexpected turn by Jason Sudeikis, it’s well worth the watch at home if you (likely) missed it then. (Now streaming on Hulu.)

The Fate of the Furious

I’ve said before that it the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series has as of late seemed to comfortably slip into the place of the Roger Moore James Bond movie. And with our current Bond off doing his emo Dark Knight thing, I can’t say this is something I mind at all. So where does that leave the ‘Fast & Furious’ series? I guess it’s like if a grindhouse director and a studio exec got together, ground up a ‘Mission’ movie, snorted it with their cocaine and then wrote a script and then said “nah, these words are lame, let’s just let it flow, man” and then shot something else instead. That is to say this bizarro series which improbably became good (good of course being a relative term here) in its latter half continues to be a goofy good time for action fans willing to take a lil break from things like logic and physics now and again. A scene in which a quipping Jason Statham (he’s one of the good guys now, despite having killed countless innocents in the last movie, try not to think about it too much) shoots up an airplane full of thugs while protecting an oblivious giggling baby may have been the most ridiculous thing last year I’m barely ashamed to say I kind of loved… (Available to rent.)

The Lost City of Z

Director James Gray (Ad Astra) turns the true story of British Explorer Percival Fawcett into an interesting and beautiful, if not quite wholly satisfying, old-fashioned epic. Also further proof that Robert Pattinson was way too good to have made his name in the silly ‘Twilight Franchise.’ (Now streaming on Prime Video.)

Norman

Richard Gere gives perhaps his best performance as Norman Oppenheimer, an awkward and talkative wannabe political player on Wall Street. It’s a interesting, funny yet melancholy little character piece worth totally worth a free stream. (Available to rent.)

A Quiet Passion

Cynthia Nixon stars as Emily Dickinson in this well-acted but seriously depressing biopic. Solid stuff but I can’t quite recommend this as entertainment unless you’re terribly interested in Dickinson (or one of those die-hard Cynthia Nixon fans, that’s a huge Gen Z craze right now I hear…) (Now streaming on Prime Video.)

Free Fire

What could have been an amusing short film is painfully stretched into a repetitive, frustrating slog of a feature film as a drug deal turns ugly and everyone starts shooting at everyone else. ‘Free Fire’ wastes a good cast on something that ultimately feels like one of those obnoxious student films made by someone who thinks it’s easy to be Quentin Tarantino. (Now Streaming on Netflix and Kanopy)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

In typical Marvel fashion, the sequel to 2014’s unlikely but very charming hit sacrifices would-be dramatic beats for cheap comedy a bit too frequently. Yet more than most of the other MCU films, it’s probably fair to call the ‘Guardians’ movies comedies in the first place, and this is still a pretty good time with another sweet soundtrack. (Now Streaming on Disney + and TNT.)

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

From trash auteur Guy Ritchie, here’s a dumb movie I was actually sort of enjoying for the first half — and then the titular king first wields Excalibur, and the movie turns into a dumb, terrible video game. (Available to rent.)

Alien: Covenant

Once you accept that sadly this franchise will likely never capture the thrills of the first two films again, or for that matter, that this sequel to ‘Prometheus’ is not particularly interested in answering any of the big questions posed by that film, there are still plenty of dark pleasures, effects and a groovy dual performance by Michael Fassbender to enjoy here. (Available to rent.)

Wonder Woman

DC finally gives us a proper hero worth rooting for in the first satisfying film of their largely disappointing cinematic universe. Though it may lose itself slightly in the kind of mindless CG finale we’ve seen plenty of times before, ‘Wonder Woman’ remains a very enjoyable old-fashioned adventure film with a vital supporting turn from Chris Pine. (Now Streaming on TNT.)

It Comes At Night

Featuring perhaps the most misleading advertising campaign of the year, ‘It Comes At Night’ seemed to promise audiences a Shymalan-type of supernatural thriller, only to disappoint them (myself very much included) with a downer of a sci-fi drama. It’s competently made and well-acted, just proceed with a realistic sense of what you’re getting into — something seriously bleak. (Now streaming on Netflix and Kanopy.)

Beatriz at Dinner

Timely little tale of a dinner party that gets real awkward once stranded masseuse/healer Beatriz (the wonderful Salma Hayak) begins to suspect her client’s work friend John Lithgow may have been responsible for a development that caused thousands in her Mexican hometown to lose their homes and jobs. Written by Mike White (apparently this guy can write anything) and clocking in at a crisp 82 minutes, ‘Beatriz at Dinner’ is a dark comedy for Trump’s America totally worth checking out. (Available to rent.)

Rough Night

Ah, if every female — led party movie could be ‘Bridesmaids.’ Alas, a talented cast of comics (Ilana Glazer, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell) can’t make this lazy comedy fly even a little bit. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

Lady Macbeth

Imagine a ’40s American noir playing out in 19th Century England and that’s close to what you get with ‘Lady Macbeth,’ Alice Birch’s adaptation of Nikolai Leskov’s novel ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.’ While at first it’s easy to appreciate the main character Katherine (a terrific Florence Pugh, recently seen opposite Chris Pine in ‘Outlaw King’) sticking it to the world which represses her (and specifically her asshole husband and his asshole dad), as the body count grows so blurrier becomes the line between “yay feminism!” and “isn’t murder still bad though?” A haunting period mood piece which also features a great performance by Naomi Ackle (recently seen in the dreadful ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker). (Now streaming on Kanopy.)

The Beguiled

Sophia Coppola’s adaptation of Thomas Cullinan’s 1966 novel is a pretty good slow-burn of a gothic thriller, definitely worth a watch if you like that sort of thing— and perhaps also the most worthwhile film Coppola’s directed since her breakout cult classic ‘Lost in Translation’ in 2003. (Available to rent.)

Baby Driver

The latest from writer/director Edgar Wright (‘Shaun of the Dead,’ ‘Hot Fuzz’), ‘Baby Driver’ is a fast and funny car chase movie that isn’t quite able to sell the romance at the center of it, but is still stylish as hell and sports by far the best pop soundtrack the year had to offer. Though I can’t help but feeling Edgar Wright has a ‘Get Out’ inside of him if he ever decides to write a script that’s more commentary than pure genre exercise. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

The Little Hours

An amusing enough if not hugely memorable comedy about a convent of nuns in the middle ages. Imagine a Monty Python historical farce for the Judd Apatow generation, with very funny supporting performances from the likes of John C. Reilly and Lauren Weedman. (Now streaming on Netflix and Kanopy.)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

I’m not sure this character will ever reach the cinematic heights of Sam Raimi’s excellent ‘Spider-Man 2,’ again, yet ‘Homecoming’ still proves a fine example of the charming, breezy entertainment Marvel stands for these days. Oddly enough the action proves the weakest part of this one, but I can’t complain much in a film that wisely avoids telling this character’s origin story for the third time in less than two decades and features an essential, extremely likable lead performance by Tom Holland. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Luc Besson’s blockbuster adaptation of the popular sci-fi French comic series ‘Valerian and Laureline’ (“since when has a girl’s name sold a movie?” may have been the cynical studio thinking behind the title alteration), this visually-stunning mess dodges my list for the year’s worst movies both because of those visuals I just mentioned and because you may well have a decent time throwing this on with friends and wondering aloud how multiple people agreed it made sense to spend an estimated 177 million dollars (which they say you can likely double to include press & advertising) on making this thing. The once-promising Dane DeHaan seems to be doing an impression of ’90s Keanu Reeves in lieu of a performance; he also shares all of zero chemistry with costar Carla Delevingne in a film that seems to want the sexual tension between the two leads/spy partners to count for a lot.

Pulp auteur (and, oh yeah, alleged rapist) Luc Besson made a couple of cool movies in the ’90s (‘La Femme Nikita’ and ‘Leon,’ better known in the states as ‘The Professional’) and has been allowed to make endless crap since (apologies to all you nutty fans of ‘The Fifth Element’); the patriarchy of Hollywood at its finest. Yet ‘Valerian’ remains, if you can get past all that shit for two hours, maybe the best “what the fuck” movie of 2017 — so if you consider yourself a real connoisseur of bad cinema watch it (cocktails and friends recommended) and then listen to the ‘How Did This Get Made?’ podcast covering the film. (Now streaming on SYFY.)

Atomic Blonde

Though needlessly convoluted (perhaps the guys who did ‘John Wick’ wrote the story this way to convince audiences they weren’t simply doing a female ‘John Wick’ — as if we’d have a problem with that), ‘Atomic Blonde’ remains a pretty good time if you’re looking for a retro action thriller. And like ‘John Wick’ and the recent action masterpiece ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (also starring the charismatic Charlize Theron) ‘Atomic Blonde’ thankfully eases up on the CG elements and brings back some spectacular old-school stunt work, on full display in a few particularly exhilarating sequences that make both the more standard and confusing plot elements worth putting up with. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

Brigsby Bear

When James (SNL’s Kyle Mooney), a 30ish man who was kidnapped as a baby, is freed from the compound he was raised on, the biggest question from the world he never knew is where he can get his hands on the latest Brigsby episode. ‘Brigsby Bear,’ you see, was a TV show written and produced by his captor/original father figure (Mark Hamill) for an audience of only James, intended to teach him about the world. (Think of a Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers if they progressed to discuss sex and death for older kids.) Learning the truth about his favorite character, James sets out with newfound friends to make his own Brigsby movie and finish the story he was so attached to — against the will of his understandably-concerned parents. Also sporting a very amusing turn from Greg Kinnear, the script (by Mooney and Kevin Costello) asks us to take more than a few leaps, but it’s a quirky, charming ride for as long as you’re game to be taken along. (Available to rent.)

Columbus

The narrative feature debut from documentary filmmaker Kogonada, this is a quiet and subtly moving little piece concerning the unlikely friendship of two people trapped in Columbus, Ohio and their bonding over the city’s architectural landmarks. A confident-enough film to not need to rely on romance and sex between the central couple to keep us engaged, this may be too slow for the casual movie goer who mostly goes in for the big stuff — but on the other hand if mainstream Hollywood has been giving you a headache, this may just be the right elixir to (temporarily) relieve your superhero woes. It worked for me. (Now streaming on Kanopy.)

Wind River

Following ‘Sicario’ and ‘Hell or High Water,’ this is another very strong film from writer Taylor Sheridan (this time assuming directorial duties as well). This haunting thriller set on a remote Native American reservation in Wyoming is well worth a watch at home if you missed it in theaters. (Available to rent.)

Good Time

The crime movie equivalent of one of those crazy one-night party movies like ‘The Hangover’ or ‘Superbad,’ where anything that can happen probably will where (in the case of ‘Good Time’) you may want to stop watching, but will find yourself somehow glued every uncomfortable moment in this low-life’s crazy day. 2017’s second piece of evidence of Robert Pattinson as a talent to take seriously, and a reason to look out for indie talents directors Josh and Benny Safdie in the future.

Ingrid Goes West

Call it ‘The King of Comedy’ of the Facebook generation — this enjoyable dark comedy stars a perfectly-cast Aubrey Plaza as an awkward stalker who moves to California to try to become best friends at all costs with her latest obsession, an Instagram celebrity played by Elizabeth Olson. Though it grows predictable toward the end, ‘Ingrid’ remains far ballsier and more disturbingly relevant than your average disposable comedy. (Now streaming on Hulu.)

The Trip to Spain

If you’ve seen this series (a TV series in England, edited down to movies for US audiences) thus far you know the drill here. Comics Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon make us jealous with the amazing places they’re visiting and the sumptuous food their eating (the cover for their shtick’s is that these two — because they’re moderately famous I guess— go on trips to review hotels and restaurants for a magazine), make fun of each other and do impressions of more famous actors. Hell, I’d keep watching these things if these guys exclusively hit up donut shops in Jersey… (Available to rent.)

Logan Lucky

Accurately described by director Steven Soderbergh as the redneck ‘Ocean’s 11,’ (which he also made), we already knew that Channing Tatum could play dumb effectively, but this clever and goofy caper comedy makes you wish Daniel Craig would do more comedies. Also, you know, Adam Driver. It’s a really good time, and even unexpectedly touching in moments. (Now streaming on Prime Video and Kanopy.)

It

Nicely creepy if not exactly terrifying adaptation of one of Stephen King’s weirder novels, this surprise hit gets by largely on the strength of the likable group of kid heroes, who, I guess when it comes right down to it, we’d kind of prefer didn’t get eaten by an alien clown monster… (Available to rent.)

Brad’s Status

The latest addition to the “Ben Stiller has a mid-life crisis” indie sub-genre, writer/director Mike White’s story of a guy bringing his son to interview at colleges while beginning to feel inferior about his life compared to his more successful college friends isn’t as corny and cliched as you’d expect. It’s a nice enough viewing experience if you’re jonesing for some mellow contemplation and wit. (Now streaming on Prime Video.)

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

… or if you want the opposite of what Brad’s status is, there’s always Matthew Vaughn’s ridiculous sequel to his 2015 James Bond riff, ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service.’ If you enjoyed that silly spy romp and aren’t offended too easily, you’ll probably have a good time with this one as well. Also Julianne Moore amusingly chews a whole lot of scenery as this episode’s super villain, and it’s a kick seeing Elton John playing himself as her captive entertainer. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

Following two highly enjoyable entries in the unlikely Lego cinematic universe, here’s the one where the formula begins to feel tired. Some amusing moments for sure, but not something I can enthusiastically recommend as a whole, I’ll give it the old “check it out on a plane maybe” plug. (Available to rent.)

Battle of the Sexes

This pretty good cinematic telling of when the number one women’s tennis player Billie Jean King played ex-champion Bobby Riggs features a pair of very good performances from Emma Stone and Steve Carrell; though the characters’ personal lives prove far more interesting than the tennis. (Available to rent.)

American Made

The latest Tom Cruise vehicle from Doug Limon (the ‘Bourne Identity’ director who also directed Cruise in 2014’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow’) tells the insane true story of a laid off passenger pilot who turns to running drugs for the CIA. It’s a highly watchable saga, but never rises to the artistic heights of the other crime movies it begs comparison to. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

The Florida Project

The misadventures of a young girl and her friends in who live in a low-rent hotel outside of Disney World are both whimsical as the spirit of children that age and gritty as we peek into the struggles of their parents through their eyes. Stellar performances from newcomers Brooklynn Prince (the lead character, six-years-old when the movie was shot), and Brie Vinaite (as her mother) are complimented by masterful work from veteran thespian Willem Dafoe in a charming, heartbreaking and totally believable slice-of-life drama. (Now streaming on Prime Video and Kanopy.)

The Foreigner

Given how this was basically advertised as some kind of “Jackie Chan goes Liam Neeson on everyone’s ass in a ‘Death Wish’ revenge rampage” exploitation flick, ‘The Foreigner’ turns out to be a surprisingly sober political thriller about the IRA in which Pierce Brosnan’s corrupt businessman actually gets more screen time than Chan’s vigilante avenger. It’s a bit dry at times, and Jackie Chan is no one’s idea of a serious actor, but at 63 the man’s still got some serious action chops, which help establish this as (at the very least) a passable action-thriller. (Now streaming on Netflix.)

Happy Death Day

In the latest low-budget hit from powerhouse horror studio Blumhouse (the production company that made ‘Get Out’ and ‘The Visit’) a bratty sorority girl (the excellent Jessica Rothe) is murdered at a frat party and then wakes up in a ‘Groundhog Day’-esque time loop and keeps living the same day over, forcing her to solver her own murder, and, wouldn’t you know it, maybe even become a good person along the way. It’s a highly self-aware trashy thriller that’s pretty damn enjoyable providing you sign up for this kind of ride. (Now streaming on HBO Now.)

Marshall

I’m often lobbying for the big-screen experience, especially for seemingly smaller movies, though ‘Marshall’ is the rare case where I think this may have fared better as a TV movie. As is, good performances (Chadwick Boseman, apparently the first choice any time a black historical figure is to be portrayed on film, plays Thurgood Marshall) elevate a fairly standard courtroom drama/biopic for an effective-enough, if not ground-breaking entertainment. (Now streaming on Prime Video.)

Professor Marston & the Wonder Woman

Did you know the guy who created Wonder Woman also helped to create the polygraph lie-detector test, lived happily in a three-way romantic relationship with his wife and their female life partner, and also would sneak sex-positive imagery of bondage and female empowerment into comics for children? Neither did I, and I bet this would all make for a fascinating non-fiction book. Sadly as a movie the material just doesn’t ignite the way it should. (Now streaming on Hulu.)

The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected

Noah Baumbach’s latest feature kind of plays like if something like ‘The Royal Tenebaums’ were done in a realistic manner. And I mean that in a good way, though I also possess a great fondness for the Wes Anderson film. Baumbach has a magnificent ear for dialogue, and the talent it’s easy to forget Adam Sandler does have is once again used to good effect. (Now streaming on Netflix.)

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

The premise (disturbed kid enacts supernatural revenge on the family of a man who botched his dad’s surgery) could’ve maybe worked as a schlocky Shyamalan-type thriller — but for a horror film to work it needs to start with familiar elements of reality, and as directed by Yorgos Anthimos with all the stilted detachment of a Wes Anderson film, this turns into the kind of unwatchable, meaningless pretentious shit that gives arthouse pictures a bad name. (Now streaming on Prime Video.)

Thor: Ragnarok

After the first two ‘Thor’ movies were — let’s all be honest here — kind of lame, part three finds the Marvel formula firing on all cylinders for our hunky Nordic god. Even things I complain about in other Marvel movies work so well here I’m able to just shut up and grin. Props to unlikely action director Taika Waititi (‘What We Do in the Shadows’) for taking one of the franchise’s most ridiculous characters and giving him the hilarious and bonkers fantasy adventure film he deserves. (Now streaming on Disney +.)

Blade of the Immortal

From the hugely prolific Japanese action director Takashi Miike (if you wanna see some crazy Samurai action check out his 2010 martial arts epic ‘13 Assassins’) comes this new bloody fantasy adventure film. It’s a stylish picture for sure, with some cool action and interesting mythical ideas, but ultimately missing characters with enough depth and charisma to make a flick like this really zing. (Now streaming on Hulu.)

Murder on the Orient Express

For the film’s first act it’s kind of a kick to see this good cast of actors having fun pretending they exist in a 1930’s film. Then the boredom sets in. The end of this period Agatha Christie adaptation teases at doing her ‘Death on the Nile’ next, and since this film fared pretty well at the box office, it’s not unlikely we’ll be seeing that in a few years time. Here’s hoping director/star Kenneth Branagh can bring more to the table next time than a really great mustache. (Available to rent.)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Oscar-winning writer/director Martin McDonagh (known largely for theater) has three features to his name so far — 2008’s ‘In Bruges,’ an excellent dark comedy and one of my favorite films from the 2000’s, 2012’s ‘Seven Psychopaths,’ an intermittedly amusing Tarantino riff that felt like McDonagh on autopilot, and now his new picture, titled ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,’ lest you begin to think he’d learned from ‘Psychopaths’ how to do a proper film title. ‘Three Billboards’ lands in between his first two films for me, though certainly closer to the latter. It deals with interesting and dark subject matter in a way that often makes time for (mostly welcome) comedy, though at times the tonal shifts can be pretty jarring, and a few moments in particular (say, the ex-husband’s ditzy young girlfriend for example) stuck out to me as though they were introduced from a different movie. Also anyone who talks to you about this film will undoubtedly want to talk about Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, both terrific, as is Woody Harrelson. On first viewing I was so absorbed in the story it took me two screenings to fully form my opinion (that’s a good thing,) and so here we are — liked it, didn’t quite love it. A few things make it fall a little bit shy of my top ten for last year, but it’s still a strong streaming recommendation from me if you’ve not seen it yet. (Available to rent.)

Mudbound

Dee Rees’ saga of two depression of two families in Mississippi right after World War II is a powerful and necessary reminder of the extremity of America’s race problem. Adapted from a Hillary Jordan novel, ‘Mudbound’ boasts a great ensemble cast, including Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke and Mary J. Blige. (Now streaming on Netflix.)

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Writer/director Dan Gilroy’s (Nightcrawler) latest drama is a decent morality tale concerning a noble and possibly-autistic lawyer who finds himself in over his head on a big case. Though a tad predictable and corny toward the end, ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq.’ is nevertheless worth seeing for a remarkable (and not in a way we’ve seen from him before) Denzel Washington performance. (Now streaming on FXNow.)

Coco

Just as 2015’s ‘Inside Out’ was the brave family film to make the case for sadness as a necessary, and even positive, ingredient for a happy and balanced life, Pixar’s latest triumph is a a delightful adventure film ready to teach kids about death. “Coco” checks off another box on the Disney’s diversity to-do list (I guess we’ll see if after they’ve hit all the races once or twice they just go back to white people stories) and is a charming, moving yarn that ranks among Pixar’s best this decade. (Now streaming on Netflix).

Darkest Hour

Maybe we should give director Joe Wright more credit for making another movie that’s not bad following his 2015 flirtation with the blockbuster (You remember ‘Pan?’ I hope you don’t.) Also on the brighter side, makeup and bodysuits seem to have advanced incredibly over the past few years, so that after a few minutes you stop being distracted by the amazing job those special effects boys have done in transforming Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill and can focus on how good the performance is. If you’re a history buff perhaps you’ll enjoy this behind the scenes peek at England during World War II, but if you’re simply a movie buff, the more action-oriented Dunkirk, a far more cinematically-interesting take on the same bit of history, might appeal more. (Now streaming on HBO Now.)

The Disaster Artist

Tim Burton’s ‘Ed Wood’ is still and will likely remain the gold standard for films about untalented men making dogshit movies — and maybe part of that is because Wood himself seemed a more genuine person. More is known about who Wood was and what he wanted (to make something good, despite the typical results). The Room’s writer/director/producer/you name it Tommy Wiseau is a much tougher egg to crack. Where did he come from (surely not New Orleans, which is what he’d tell people in a thick Eastern European accent) and did he really want to make the next ‘Citizen Kane’ or was his debut film a means to, I dunno, hide money from the police as Patton Oswalt joked in a video skit while playing Wiseau? So in the case of ‘The Disaster Artist’ the fun is largely observing the extremely odd Wiseau from the perspective of outsiders like actor Greg Sestero whose career was potentially ruined (or maybe saved?) but Wiseau’s unique (and terrible) vision. It’s a chuckle-filled experience you’ll enjoy more if you watch ‘The Room’ first (but please don’t watch Wiseau’s film alone, and also check out ‘Ed Wood’ if you’ve never seen it). (Now streaming on Prime Video and Kanopy).

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Three years ago a bunch of fanboys who (judging by that two-billion dollar box office take) still went back to see ‘The Force Awakens’ multiple times in theaters anyway complained that the new film was simply recycled story beats from the original. They weren’t completely wrong, though they may have overlooked the facts that (I’m gonna say this now) J.J. Abrams is a better director than George Lucas — and anyway the characters have always mattered much more than plot structure in this series. And though Rian Johnson was writing ‘The Last Jedi’ while Abrams was editing ‘Force Awakens,’ it feels as if Johnson had anticipated all these complaints of an overly familiar galaxy far, far away and vowed to flip the script upside down and give us a radical new ‘Star Wars’ featuring crazy ideas that challenged the principles we thought we knew about this world. And when they got what they’d claimed to have wanted, these “fans” really lost their shit.

I’ll give the haters this: the movie is too long, the supporting characters’ journeys don’t exactly add up to enough to justify all the time they’re onscreen, and in true Disney/Marvel fashion, occasionally all the humorous moments do have a nasty habit of infringing upon the mojo of what should be the dramatic beats (as if fans of a series that includes ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ can’t sober up for a few minutes to take this material seriously). These criticisms aside, I think Rian Johnson really did give us that exciting new spin on ‘Star Wars’ we all said we wanted, and when this movie is good it gets real friggin’ good. You know the shit I’m talkin about. (Now streaming on Disney +.)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

I guess a decent number of people my age and a bit older harbor some nostalgic feelings for the 1995 supernatural Robin Williams family adventure hit, so now we got a reboot. Credit, I suppose, is due to the writers (there’s four credited so I’m not gonna name them) for creating something that doesn’t suck, and is actually pretty enjoyable if you’re not expecting much. Although since this thing made nearly a billion dollars you can expect to be talking about how much you can’t stand the “Jumanji cinematic universe,” say, a decade or so from now. (Available to rent.)

Downsizing

In Alexander Payne’s dramedy sci-fi satire Matt Damon shrinks himself down to action-figure size to afford a better quality of life, the new trend for financially anxious gen-Xers. ‘Downsizing’ goes on a bit long but is still enough of a thought-provoking good time for a light recommendation. Featuring a standout performance from Hong Chau (pictured above). (Now streaming on Prime Video and Hulu.)

Hostiles

Christian Bale plays a racist captain leading his cavalry unit in escorting a group of Native Americans on a treacherous path to their homeland in this western from writer/director Scott Cooper (‘Crazy Heart,’ ‘Black Mass’). ‘Hostiles’ tells a familiar tale of gritty adventure and redemption but in a believable period world with great performances from Bale and the supporting players (including Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons and Ben Foster). There’s not too many westerns made these days, and even fewer good ones, so fans of the genre take note. (Now streaming on Netflix.)

All the Money in the World

In 1973 John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Rome, and his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, then the richest man in the world, was too big an asshole to pay the 17 million dollar ransom (months later he would agree to pay 2.2 million — the maximum amount which was tax deductible at the time). Maybe you heard about a few years ago how the famously cheap billionaire (who had a payphone installed in his own estate so as to not get charged for employees’ phone calls) was at first played by Kevin Spacey— that is before it became clear that the long-standing rumors of the acclaimed actor being a sexual predator were most definitely true.

So with weeks left to make the film’s Christmas release date, rather than postpone, director Ridley Scott reshot a significant portion of the film in just nine days, replacing every Spacey scene with the invaluable Christopher Plummer in his place. Later that remarkable story partially gave way to the revelation that for these reshoots Mark Wahlberg was payed 1.5 million while Michelle Williams made under $1000. Aren’t men great? On the bright side of things Plummer, 86 at the time, didn’t need old-age makeup (which frankly made Spacey look too much like Statler and Waldorf, those grumpy old critics who sit in the balcony throwing shade at The Muppets) and even looks a bit like Getty himself.

Anyway, backstory aside the movie itself is pretty good, and features some very good performances. ‘All the Money in the World’ has an eye for period detail and features some pretty exciting sequences along the way in its classic tale of family and capitalism. And though the real-life story of the kidnapped Getty III was pretty bleak (it seemed he never really recovered from that trauma and lived a very troubled life following the infamous incident) you can at least take some solace in the fact that his family was far more generous than his grandfather. Following Getty’s death his heirs gave the bulk of his billions to charity and made the priceless works of art from his personal collection available to the public (in Los Angeles you can see them at the free museums at the Getty Center and Villa). (Available to rent.)

The Post

Like a lot of Steven Spielberg’s historical drama’s as of late, ‘The Post’ is solid stuff. Good acting, directing, writing, the works, with a triumphant journalism story that couldn’t be more relevant given Donald Trump’s ongoing war with the free press. Sadly also, if you’re not not the target demographic for this kind of thing (I’m guessing boomers who lived through the Nixon years) it’s a bit boring, and the ending Watergate Marvel-like tease at a sequel (I guess the joke is that it already exists in the form of ‘All the President’s Men’) made me laugh for the wrong reasons. (Available to rent.)

Molly’s Game

The true story of Molly Bloom, an professional skier who was injured before she could qualify for the the Olympics and then turned to creating her own high-stakes (and highly illegal) poker game for exclusive (and sometimes celebrity) clients, before getting busted by the FBI. Heavyweight screenwriter Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed ‘Molly’s Game,’ so you know it’s not bad, but I can’t say I ever cared very much about Bloom (a very good Jessica Chastain) and the troubles she (mostly) brought on herself; so if you find yourself in the same boat that just leaves you with some snappy dialogue to hold on to.

Also Sorkin does this thing in some of his movies (particularly the end of ‘Steve Jobs,’ still a very strong movie, by the way, and ‘Molly’s game’) where a character who’s been kind of the worst the whole time will say one nice thing and suddenly we’re supposed to warm up to them completely. Okay, so it’s actually a father-daughter relationship in both films, so maybe this is Sorkin trying to tell himself he’s really a good dad despite all the times he’s probably acted like a jerk? Anyway that shit bothers me and it’s way too cheap a move for a brilliant mind like his. (Now streaming on Netflix.)

Phantom Thread

As you might expect from a Paul Thomas Anderson film at this point, ‘Phantom Thread’ starts out a bit slow, but if the strength of Anderson’s visuals (the ‘Boogie Nights’ auteur does his own cinematography) and (Radiohead’s) Jonny Greenwood’s score are enough to carry you through the first act then you’ll hopefully find this period drama’s tale of a twisted relationship becomes far more interesting the more the story reveals itself. And who wants to miss Daniel Day-Lewis’ (allegedly) last performance? Also featuring excellent work from costars Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. (Available to rent.)