movies to see in 2017
This is a list of movies being released in 2017 that I want to see.
My notes for each movie are
- The release date
- An * if I'm really excited about it
- Clips from random web articles I've read to remind me why I want to see it
I delete movies from this list as I view them. Add more as I discover new films.
My notes for each movie are
- The release date
- An * if I'm really excited about it
- Clips from random web articles I've read to remind me why I want to see it
I delete movies from this list as I view them. Add more as I discover new films.
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28 titles
- DirectorBenedict AndrewsStarsRuby StokesRooney MaraRiz AhmedWhen a young woman unexpectedly arrives at her much-older former lover's workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of their dark past threaten to unravel his new life. What follows is an emotional and unflinching excavation of inappropriate love, with shattering consequences.1/19
* - DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsShahab HosseiniTaraneh AlidoostiBabak KarimiWhile Ranaa and Emad, a married couple, are participating in a production of "Death of a Salesman," she is assaulted in their new home, which leaves him determined to find the perpetrator over his wife's traumatized objections.1/27
The title refers obliquely to Death of a Salesman, the play that the movie's husband-and-wife thespians are performing in Tehran; what you're really being sold here, however, is a template for how a story of life v. art, fate, violence, vengeance and the choices you make after a tragedy can be transformed in to a profound work of art. The latest movie from master Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) sets up its premise – a woman is assaulted and her spouse is determined to find out who the mystery assailant is – and then starts slowly turning the thumbscrews. But the director never forgets that he's telling a moral tale here, and that every action has its equal, opposite reaction. Do not let this one slip away. DF - DirectorAgnieszka SmoczynskaStarsMarta MazurekMichalina OlszanskaKinga PreisIn Warsaw, a pair of mermaid sisters are adopted into a cabaret. While one seeks love with humans the other hungers to dine on the human population of the city.2/1
*
If you're only going to plunk down cash for one Polish horror-fantasy-musical about lovestruck teenage mermaids in 2017, make it this one. Director Agnieszka Smoczynska's cracked fable takes an age-old story – Girl meets Boy, Girl is part fish, Girl forgets she sometimes has to devour human flesh per ancient mythology – and turns into a delirious riot involving pop-punk singalongs, perversity, plenty of 1980s Eastern European nostalgia and pure adrenaline. (We dare NBC to do a live Broadway-style broadcast of this.) You have never really seen anything like this. No, really. DF - DirectorJames FoleyStarsDakota JohnsonJamie DornanEric JohnsonWhile Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.2/10
* - DirectorOsgood PerkinsStarsEmma RobertsKiernan ShipkaLucy BoyntonDuring winter break, two students stay in an all-girls boarding school in the company of a terrifying presence.2/16
* - DirectorJohn DowerStarsLouis TherouxTom CruiseMarty RathbunLouis Theroux documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous Church of Scientology.3/3
Documentarian Louis Theroux wanted to make an exposé on the Church of Scientology; unsurprisingly, the organization was not into the idea. So instead, he decided to chronicle his contentious relationship with the "cult" religion, casting actors to conduct re-enactments of alleged incidents from behind closed doors. Eventually, the project attracts a Scientology surveillance crew, resulting in an absurd camera-to-camera showdown. An informative, comical and somewhat chilling portrait about one man versus a powerful institution? Praise Xenu. CB - DirectorOlivier AssayasStarsKristen StewartLars EidingerSigrid BouazizA personal shopper in Paris refuses to leave the city until she makes contact with her twin brother who previously died there. Her life becomes more complicated when a mysterious person contacts her via text message.3/10
Kristen Stewart continues her post-Twilight ascent into the greatest-actresses-of-their-generation Hall of Fame with this woozy, wonderfully offbeat drama from Clouds of Sils Maria collaborator Olivier Assayas, in which K-Stew's fashionista begins communing with the ghost of her dead twin brother. To say things take a turn for the moody, if not the macabre, would be underselling the pleasures of watching the star finally find a filmmaker who knows how to use her talent properly. This could turn out to be one of the screen's great actor/director pairings. It's time to get in on the ground floor. DF
Though she will always be known for her role as Bella Swan in the Twilight series, Kristen Stewart has made a name for herself appearing in numerous independent films. She is continuing that course with the French-made psychological thriller Personal Shopper, written and directed by Olivier Assayas. Personal Shopper follows Stewart's Maureen, who is employed as a personal shopper for a German model. But the real twist is that she endeavors to contact her dead twin brother, Lewis. Surprisingly, the film earned Assayas the best director award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2016, and Stewart a best actress award at the Oaxaca Film Fest. Furthermore, the film was a contender for the highest award at Cannes, the highly coveted Palme d'Or prize. - DirectorBen WheatleyStarsSharlto CopleyBrie LarsonArmie HammerSet in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shoot-out and a game of survival.3/17
The idea is simple: Two groups of criminals meet in a Boston warehouse to negotiate a large weaponry purchase. Things go way south once a personal grudge gets thrown in to the mix, and did we mention that everyone has a lot of loaded guns on the premise? Now put this in the hands of a director like Ben Wheatley, who has never met a genre convention he could not beautifully turn on its head (see Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers) and voila! You have what is basically a near-feature-length shootout that gives all those old John Woo bullet-ballets a run for their money. Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer and District 9's Sharlto Copely are among the thugs on hand. DF - DirectorTerrence MalickStarsRyan GoslingRooney MaraMichael FassbenderTwo intersecting love triangles. Obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas.3/17
In a continuation of his zero-to-60-mph late-career arc, Terrence Malick has made yet another movie (for those playing along at home, that's five films since 2011, if you count his double-dip IMAX experiment Voyage of Time as one project). His latest, which promises to be less philosophical than The Tree of Life and less stream-of-consciousness than last year's Knight of Cups, uses Austin's robust music scene as the backdrop for a tale of love and betrayal. Once again, a star-studded cast – Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale – show up to ponder the meaning of it all. There will be voiceovers. KYK - DirectorBarnaby ClayStarsMick RockTV on the RadioKaren OA joyride that delves deep into the mind of rock and roll's greatest living photographer: Mick Rock.4/7
The "Rock" in the title of this documentary refers both to British photographer Mick Rock and to the main subjects of his camera: musical legends like David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, the Ramones ... the list goes on and on. As much a raconteur as he is a great pop artist, this renowned shutterbug takes director Barney Clay on a tour through his work, which doubles as a history of cool culture from the 1970s to now. NM - DirectorAzazel JacobsStarsDebra WingerTracy LettsAidan GillenDebra Winger and Tracy Letts play a long-married, dispassionate couple who are both in the midst of serious affairs. But on the brink of calling it quits, a spark between them suddenly reignites, leading them into an impulsive romance.5/5
In deftly observed indie character studies as Momma's Man (2008) and Terri (2011), filmmaker Azazel Jacobs told tender, brutally funny stories about outcasts trying to figure themselves out. He now turns his eye to a married couple (Debra Winger and Tracy Letts) having affairs on the side. When they decide to end their marriage, however, they find themselves unexpectedly falling back in love. This could genuinely be Jacobs' breakthrough moment. TG - DirectorGaby DellalStarsNaomi WattsElle FanningSusan SarandonAfter Ray decides to transition from female to male, Ray's mother Maggie must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray's biological father to get his legal consent.5/19
Elle Fanning stars in this family drama, which outlines the experiences of Ray, a transgender teen making the transition into life as a young man. As the title indicates, this isn't just Ray's story: Fanning stars alongside Naomi Watts (as his mother) and Susan Sarandon (as his grandmother). Originally titled About Ray, the film was first slated for release in 2015, but was pulled from the schedule for some reediting and creative retooling after earning less-than-stellar reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival. Here's hoping those changes had the desired effect. - DirectorWilliam OldroydStarsFlorence PughCosmo JarvisPaul HiltonIn 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.6/2
The buzz you've heard about this British import is indeed true: Theater director William Oldroyd's adaptation of a Russian novella about a "sold" young bride (played by the incredible Florence Pugh) who begins to take control of her destiny – and her desires, via a hot stablehand – is quite possibly the best historical potboiler you'll see this year. By the time this rigorous tale of adultery, feminism, vengeance, violence and in-house power-jockeying is over, you'll feel like you've been hit by a truck. It's Masterpiece Theater with blood-stained fangs. DF - DirectorMatt ReevesStarsAndy SerkisWoody HarrelsonSteve ZahnAfter the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.7/14
The rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has been one of the stronger pro-arguments for recycled properties, and after two strong entries, director Matt Reeves will attempt to stick the landing with a climactic post-apocalyptic showdown of man vs. chimp. Woody Harrelson joins the cast as a cueball-headed despot intent on wiping out the simian survivors once and for all, pushing the otherwise-peaceable primates to a battle that will decide the fate of Earth. Fur will most assuredly fly. CB - DirectorRoger MichellStarsRachel WeiszSam ClaflinHolliday GraingerA young Englishman plots revenge against his late cousin's mysterious, beautiful wife, believing her responsible for his death. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.7/14
The classic 1951 novel is about Philip whom falls in love with his cousin Rachel, only to discover that she may be guilty of murdering one of their own family members. Maurier’s tale has been previously adapted by a Dublin Theatre and BBC Radio 4 and will now be adapted into a feature film that will star The Bourne Legacy actress Rachel Weisz and Me Before You's Sam Claflin in the starring roles. - DirectorLuc BessonStarsDane DeHaanCara DelevingneClive OwenA dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.7/21
*
French action maestro Luc Besson turns the Gallic comic series Valerian into a big-budget brouhaha and, in the process, delivers what may be his most expensive, ambitious and *beep* blockbuster since 1997's The Fifth Element. Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne are "spatio-temporal agents" who go hopping from era to era, encountering memorable friends and foes played by the likes of John Goodman, Ethan Hawke, and a mega-blonde-meets-Cabaret-chic Rihanna. Who cares if the material risks being too unfamiliar (and too European) to connect with summer-movie audiences? For Besson, freakier is always better. NM - DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsChanning TatumAdam DriverDaniel CraigTwo brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.10/13
We were hoping that this "I'm retiring from making movies" plan was temporary, and as flat-out great as The Knick is, we really wanted Steven Soderbergh to come back to the big screen. The plot of this cryptic project has simply been described as "brothers plan a heist during a NASCAR event"; the fact that Soderbergh is doing this – and that the cast includes Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Katherine Waterston, Adam Driver, Hilary Swank, Katherine Heigl and Seth MacFarlane, among others – means this is likely to be one funny, funky, wonderfully *beep* crime flick. We're so happy right now. DF - DirectorHany Abu-AssadStarsKate WinsletIdris ElbaBeau BridgesStranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.10/20
Dr. Ben Payne and writer Ashely Knox are two strangers aboard a plane when it crashes after the pilot suffers a heart attack. Both travelers are left injured and stranded into the High Uintas Wilderness. Having only each other, the two strangers have to rely on each other to survive and find love along the way. Idris Elba and Kate Winslet will star in the feature film adaption - DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.11/22
In 2011, The King's Speech won the Oscar by telling the true story of a British leader, King George VI, who stood up to Hitler during World War II. This year, Joe Wright's drama recounts a similar tale, focusing on Winston Churchill (played by Gary Oldman) as he tries to rally the country against the encroaching threat of the Nazis. Set for release around Thanksgiving, this movie looks like the kind of highly-acclaimed biopic that’s catnip for Academy members. Even better, it could be the movie that brings the criminally underappreciated Oldman his second Oscar nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. T - DirectorSean PennStarsCharlize TheronJavier BardemBrandon PhillipsIn the midst of African social horror, a love between two volunteers fades out and is reborn.?
- DirectorSvyatoslav PodgaevskiyStarsViktoriya AgalakovaAleksandra RebenokIgor KhripunovThe unusual practice of photographing dead relatives during mid-1800s rural Russia will link a Philology student with her husband's abysmal family history.?
- 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.?
Walls pens a memoir detailing her upbringing in her dysfunctional family. With an alcoholic father and an artistic mother, Walls was encouraged to depend on her imagination to distract her from the poverty they endured on a day-to-day basis. Academy Award winner Brie Larson will lead the film adaptation, with Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson as her parents. - DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsBenedict CumberbatchOliver PowellSophia AllyThe dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas A. Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.
- DirectorMichael ShowalterStarsKumail NanjianiZoe KazanHolly HunterPakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsCasey AffleckRooney MaraMcColm Cephas Jr.In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife."You may have missed this unique drama in theaters, but you'll surely recognize its supremely talented stars. Academy Award winner Casey Affleck joins forces with Oscar-nominated Rooney Mara as a husband and wife that have been separated by the most severe of circumstances: death. Affleck's C (yep, that's his full character name) was a struggling musician in the waking world, but in the great beyond, he's a white-sheeted ghost. Ambiguously shaped with two black holes for eyes, C is straight out of a child's crude illustrations. At least in aesthetics, that is.
C returns to his suburban home to console Mara's grief-stricken M, trapped in a spectral state with the love of his (after)life slipping away before him, and ventures on a path through his memories to unlock questions of the past and the enormous enigmas of existence."