It started in January with the presidential inauguration and just kind of snowballed from there over the next few months (busted TV, garage door and car) culminating in mid-June with my wife's sudden cardiac arrest.
I can tell you your whole life basically stops when you're standing over your best friend's unconscious body in the emergency room, one that had been so full of life just two hours earlier when she had left for work, wondering if you'll ever get the chance to hold or even talk to your companion of 17 years again. But miraculously she pulled through (they say it was most likely a blood clot) and things have slowly returned to normal. And God willing, things will stay that way.
I obviously didn't make it to the multiplex as much as I would of liked this year. But fortunately I was able to get caught up via disc and spend a little time at the theater in November and December. Below are five of my favorites from 2017.
1. Lady Bird: Greta Gerwig's autobiographical family dramedy is just a pure pleasure to watch unfold on screen and features outstanding supporting performances from both Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts. But the film belongs to the incomparable Saoirse Ronan who proves once again there isn't a character she can't slip on like a glove and make us fall in love with.
2. The Shape of Water: Guillermo del Toro's enchanting, visceral fable concerning a mute who falls in loves with a captured amphibious humanoid (think the Creature from the Black Lagoon) features nice supporting work from Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins but is really a showcase for the talents of Sally Hawkins, who along with her performance in Maudie this year is quietly cementing her status as one the best actors working today.
3. The Post: Steven Spielberg's entertaining, well-crafted take on the Washington Post and its decision to print the infamous Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s hums right along and features great performances by Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. It really looks and feels like a natural prequel to All The President's Men.
4. Phantom Thread: Paul Thomas Anderson's exquisitely rendered period tale of a London fashion designer and the common girl he falls in love with feels like a lost Kubrick classic, all anchored by a subtle-yet-masterful performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.
5. Wind River: Taylor Sheridan's cold, bleak, Wyoming-set thriller is a tightly conceived exercise in loss and redemption, featuring a haunting score by Nick Cave and a career-best performance by Jeremy Renner.
Rounding Out The Top 10: 6. Maudie 7. Wonder Woman 8. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 9. Get Out 10. Hero
Most Overrated Film of 2017: Dunkirk: This "very British" war film from Christopher Nolan was indeed both technically proficient and immersive cinema. It was also cold, boring, unoriginal and devoid of any characterization. Watch, it'll probably win Best Picture.
Happy New Year!
