Top 40 Movies of 2017
there are too many good films this year! here's 40 of them
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- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsTimothée ChalametArmie HammerMichael StuhlbargIt's the summer of 1983, and 17-year-old Elio is spending the days with his family at their villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, who's working as an intern for Elio's father. They discover the heady beauty of awakening desire.FINALLY! it's rare to see such a beautiful same-sex love story without being too political about it. it really is about first love more than about gay love. and it has a perfect cast. it's also rare to see a film about a growing love without being cheesy about it. every scene that was played out felt so natural and even some scene somehow felt very poetic. another film that would portray a state of falling in love as almost perfect as this is Leon Morin, Priest. it was about an atheist who fall in love with a priest. and both are two of my favorite films.
- DirectorJohn Carroll LynchStarsHarry Dean StantonDavid LynchRon LivingstonLucky follows the spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off the map desert town.A very beautiful film about non-conformist that comes to terms, not with the rest of the world, but with life and himself. the ending is a scary truth but i wish that when i reached 90 something, it could be as reassuring as the film has portrayed. and last but not least, i hope i could still walk like Harry Dean Stanton when i come to his age. A film not to be missed
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsEthan HawkeAmanda SeyfriedCedric The EntertainerA minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.the film was inspired by three filmmaker who masters the religious theme: Tarkovsky, Bergman, and Bresson. we can feel the Winter Light by Bergman, The Devil Probably and also The Diary of a Country Priest by Bresson, and Sacrifice and Nostalghia (because of the ending) by Tarkovsky, but the main character feels more like Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, both are troubled by their perspective that different from others. Toller is a very complicated character, it's hard to point out what he suffered from (beside his cancer), but we can't help but sympathize with him. and for those who has a trouble with the ending, Paul was giving you something that you could interpret for yourself, even himself wasn't so sure about it. i'd like to think that Toller finally found his peace.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichelle WilliamsChristopher PlummerMark WahlbergThe story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.the film is more than just about a greedy and very stingy rich man, J.P Getty is a person who believes in code ethics of being rich, he loves his family so much but still prioritize his wealth, money is his ambition, so he said. the reason of why he is very hesitant of giving the ransom money is more than just a stingy person in his most extreme state. he needs to know if something that he loves the most is going to be spent wisely, and to the most right reason. and i am in no way was justifying him, he is an evil, but a very unique one. as for Ridley Scott, no one doubt him, or at least i don't. he is one of the masters.
- DirectorSean BakerStarsBrooklynn PrinceBria VinaiteWillem DafoeSet over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.the film was developed under the name "Disney World" the most fun place in the world. well, i just never knew that the real fun was outside the Disney World all this time right in the purple motel. unlike a lot of other neo-realism film that always had a sad depressing tone, this film has a lot of symmetrical shot and colorful and bright palette which is very unusual. but i think Baker just wants to portray the truth which is, you don't have to go to the Disney World to feel happy, because happiness is around us, and sadness as well.
- DirectorEliza HittmanStarsHarris DickinsonMadeline WeinsteinKate HodgeA Brooklyn teenager spends his days experimenting with drugs and looking online for older men to meet.a must see picture about a conflicted young guy not only about his sexuality but also about his sexual interest. i guess his fondness of older men caused by the absent of his father figure for a long time, especially the time when he needed it. his family has never been the kind of people that he could talk to, he never had a courage or maybe interest to talk with, his friends are not the type that he could talk with. a very underrated film of the year.
- DirectorDavid MichôdStarsBrad PittDaniel BettsJohn MagaroAn idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.Wow! a lot of hate by critics. they just seem not to understand the direction of the film, some of them didn't even feel that this is a satire and a comedy film, then why did i laugh through out the film even though i'm not very familiar with the topic? it feels like i'm the only one that love this film. of everything interesting about this film, the Brad Pitt's character is the centre point of the film, a very qualified and patriotic general with a hint of narcisstic behavior that along the way started to questioned his own motifs. he was doing something beyond his order, and it feels like he was doing it for himself, or was he? well, he himself didn't know who he was. this film works as a satirical politic film that question something like: was every war has the same motifs which is to win? and when the war has won, who win it?
- DirectorDan GilroyStarsDenzel WashingtonColin FarrellCarmen EjogoRoman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.to say that he is an idealist is not enough to describe him. he is also a non-conformist in a world where no one really share his point of view (except a woman whom actions and thoughts are waaay more tame than Roman). The film is a tragedy tale for a rare breed like Roman. the pain of a curse named pride, ego, and ideals for a better world in his version. every decision that he made is a character study, and that's why no one really quite like Dan Gilroy. his other works are Nightcrawler, another great film with a character study. but he also wrote pictures like Kong: Skull Island and Reel Steel. is that his piece of Roman J. Israel, Esq. navigating his realm?
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsA fiercely independent teenager tries to make her own way in the world while wanting to get out of her hometown of Sacramento, California and to get away from her complicated mother and recently-unemployed father.i was sceptical about the film at first, i thought this is going to be like another cute coming-of-age film. but the amount of how much i feel so related to Lady Bird is insane. It shows how much confusing things were in high school, and more so, college! and the ending just breaks me apart.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJohn BoyegaAnthony MackieAlgee SmithFact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.i love this film because it's talking about social injustice in a very objective way. we got to know the motive behind every actions by both sides, and yet, we still acknowledge that was a social injustice based on racial issue. and the performances by every actors in this film are great. a very brutal, blatant, but also very important film to watch.
- DirectorCory FinleyStarsOlivia CookeAnya Taylor-JoyAnton YelchinTwo upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.two minors, thoroughbreds but different kind of stallion, one is weird (antisocial & intelligent but let's just say weird), one is reckless and emotional. together, they're an explosion of characters that we can't relate but somehow understood. The film played like one of those 90s noir films, it started with one formula but ended up run from it but never too far, and never really give two cents about moral message, that's why people who said that this film is a critic towards the privilege people really couldn't find any specific detail for that purpose, the filmmaker did made fun of the upper class but only for fun, because it's supposed to be a fun film about characters. and what a character Amanda is, it's rare to portray an antisocial person without making them as a serial killer. this film is surprisingly meticulous and unique without being pretentious.
- DirectorValeska GrisebachStarsMeinhard NeumannReinhardt WetrekSyuleyman Alilov LetifovGerman construction workers building a dam near a Bulgarian village interact with the locals, and soon the troubles arise both with the locals and among themselves.it's about a working class german guy working in Bulgaria and ended up finding more than just another work but a society where he felt he had a chance of belonging. it's somewhat a little bit of Dances With Wolves even Avatar but with a very different and definitely more european approach.
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsCharlie PlummerAmy SeimetzTravis FimmelA teenager gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.this is probably the best film by Andrew Haigh so far. the protagonist played by a very talented young actor Charlie Plummer, and i can't think of anyone else who would play the role that could be more fit to the character than him. The film is shot in a very simplistic way, a complimentary to the theme and mood of the film. and the story heartbreaking yet heartwarming at the same time. it's about survival, growing up, and about people who could never be capable to live alone. Charlie Plummer is also played in one of the best film of this year All the Money in the World, and i can't wait to see Charlie's upcoming films because he is the one that gives the heartbeat to the film.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.i only discovered what the film was trying to say after the second half of the film. at first i thought it's going to be about people against police and vice versa. but the message of the film is far more virtuous than that. this film could also be a critic of what we have become as a person in this world, and a reminder of why all of the chaos in this world keep happening. still confused by their decision with the title tho.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonWoody HarrelsonNaomi WattsA young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who's an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children's imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.yet another films that critics disliked but i really liked. The film was criticizing the non-conformist people as well the conformist. but instead of bringing up some existensial situation, they were talking about forgiveness by showing two sides of people in a person. and the question was not should we forgive him, but could we forgive him?
- DirectorNana EkvtimishviliSimon GroßStarsIa ShugliashviliMerab NinidzeBerta KhapavaA woman separates from her family after 52 years in a multi-generational Georgian household to begin her own adventure. To the shock of her relatives, she leaves everything behind to start again.Manana is a woman whose life imprisoned inside a Georgian perfect family. she have a well-aged and well-mannered husband (at least he appeared to be like that), two kids that lives ordinarily. and an invisible motto that has been embedded to her since she was born and that is family first. every Georgian have to live according to the norm. The only problem is, she is not that kind of person. she couldn't even gave an explanation on how she was suddenly changed. the film is not only about woman right, but also about live happily according your own terms
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMeryl StreepTom HanksSarah PaulsonA cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.it's a wonder that Steven Spielberg is still out there making movies that quality never decreases, and still with the same formula both form and style, and most importantly, still killing the game! in this film he worked with also a veteran that even stronger than ever that is Meryll Streep and Tom Hanks who delivered a great performance. Meryll played The Godfather (or Godmother) in a newspaper company The Post. she have to make a very difficult decision in a time where to be a woman alone is difficult enough. The film is not only about woman power, corrupt and deceitful government, and being an egg on top of a dagger. it's also about the balance between masculinity and femininity in running a company and making an important decision that could change a world event.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsDaisy RidleyJohn BoyegaMark HamillRey develops her abilities with the help of Luke Skywalker as the Resistance prepares for battle against the First Order.wow! they did it again! the great war and battle sequence, the more complex moral dilemma, the character development, and the great third act that closes it all, and of course the cliffhanger.
- DirectorLucrecia MartelStarsDaniel Giménez CachoLola DueñasMatheus NachtergaeleBased on the novel by Antonio Di Benedetto written in 1956, on Don Diego de Zama, a Spanish officer of the seventeenth century settled in Asunción, who awaits his transfer to Buenos Aires.
- DirectorJean-Stéphane SauvaireStarsJoe ColeCherry MikoVithaya PansringarmThe true story of an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand's most notorious prisons as he fights in Muay Thai tournaments to earn his freedom.
- DirectorJohn CurranStarsJason ClarkeKate MaraEd HelmsDepicting Ted Kennedy's involvement in the fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.Disney is shook! a very good fairytale told by the master, Guillermo del Toro. he finally goes back at what he does best, that is fantasy. the film is almost as good, and magical as Pan's Labyrinth. and less depressing.
- DirectorJohn TrengoveStarsNakhaneBongile MantsaiNiza JayXolani, a lonely factory worker, travels to the rural mountains with the men of his community to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood.this film is a look at the state of homosexual in Africa that is not recieved yet, and what it is to be a man. there are three types of homosexual that is depicted in this film. the one who deny it, the rebellious one, and the one that's in between. and the ending is an exclamation of how the majority of homosexual in the country chose to live with themselves and their life.
- DirectorAaron SorkinStarsJessica ChastainIdris ElbaKevin CostnerThe true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.Molly reminded me of my mom, she has a period of great depression. yet she always said that she didn't need any therapist. she broke some law, yet still intact with a good amount of moral sense. beaten down for more than 10 times in her life, yet always decided to stand up for herself and her family. so anytime i'm asked about who is the strongest woman in the world, i'll answer Molly and my mom.
- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsMargot RobbieSebastian StanAllison JanneyCompetitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.Life, according to Tonya Harding. The film was in the style of back and forth between a re-enacted interview and the actual film. filled with great performances, the film is a look at a very talented woman at skating who were toughened by hate and violence from her mother and her lover/husband. But instead making it melancholy or dramatic, they decided to make it a comedy. well it's because Tonya is a tough son of a gun. but we still see how she is still connected with her heart and love. even though it was not overdone or overdramatisized. it's just not her style. she's the flower, not the gardener!