2017 has been an interesting year for cinema. Various blockbusters have failed and polarized audiences while other have set records and rekindled the magic of the big screen. Meanwhile, the year also saw some of the strongest independent and foreign offerings of the decade. Below is a list of 10 films that were underrated or underseen throughout 2017.
Good Time
This film oozes an electricity that hasn't been felt in a long time and it is in large part due to the Safdie Brothers’ direction. The film starts with a bank robbery by two brothers, Connie (Robert Pattinson) and Nick (Ben Safdie). When the getaway gets derailed, Connie runs the dark, dank streets of Queens. This film is much more than a story and that’s the key to the Safdie Brothers’ success. Pattinson is as electric as the film around him.
-- BC
Alien: Convenant
In the first of two films this year from master director, Ridley Scott comes the latest entry in the Alien series. I actually wrote a review that I never published in which I blamed the director for not trusting us. It’s funny because in my review, I knew I didn’t own the franchise, but I knew deep down that what he accomplished in Prometheus was the right direction for the franchise. I actually respect Scott for taking the risks he did. But, it was painfully obvious that he really wanted nothing more to do with the popular Xenomorph that draws people in. Scott is a thinking-persons’ director. It will be interesting with the Disney – Fox merger on the horizon if Sir Ridley is afforded the opportunity to create a bridge to the film that drew audiences in 1979.
-- BC
Columbus
Now streaming on Hulu, Kogonada’s film about finding oneself is set amidst the architectural buildings featured in Columbus, IN. While this Indy Star article can do more justice than I have space for here, Kogonada’s debut film, which was featured prominently in 2017’s Sundance Film Festival, is an actor’s film. John Cho and Phoenix – native Haley Lu Richardson melt into their roles so much that they make you appreciate the architecture around them. The real star of this film is the lush cinematography. I can only recommend that you see this film on as big a screen as possible.
-- BC
Hounds of Love
By absolute chance, I stumbled on this breathtaking horror film from first time director, Ben Young. Full of haunting themes and visceral images, Young’s film is centered on a young Australian couple who kidnap a 17-year-old girl, only to turn her into their torture and sex toy. Make no mistake – this is not an easy film to watch. Ashleigh Cummings is brilliant as the young, alluring Vicki Maloney while Emma Booth exudes a frightened confidence in her performance as Evelyn White. It’s Stephen Curry who drives the themes of torture and sex home. This is essential viewing, but at your own risk.
-- BC
Logan Lucky
Continuing his association with Channing Tatum, and his penchant for heist-thrillers, Steven Soderbergh returns from his self-imposed retirement to deliver a film full of laughs, intrigue and John Denver songs. It has wisdom, the likes we haven’t seen in a long time and an all-star cast that really knows their stuff.
-- BC
Brawl in Cell Block 99
S. Craig Zahler’s uncompromising grindhouse homage is one of the year’s most undervalued gems. Vince Vaughn gives the performance of his career as Bradley (never Brad), a blue-collar worker forced to commit unspeakable atrocities behind bars in order to protect his family. Featuring outlandishly grim violence, surprisingly effective visuals, and one of the most insane scripts of the year, Brawl is an instant classic that demands more attention.
--KJ
mother!
One of the most divisive films of the year, mother! Is both a blatant allegory and a sly refutation of the current administration. Featuring a pair of blistering performances and phantasmagorical imagery, mother! received the rare F cinemascore and has been hotly debated in social media film communities since its debut. This is one of the most daring films of the year.
-- KJ
The Bad Batch
Ana Lily Amirpour’s sophomore feature is a searing dissection of both the baby boom v. millennial conflict and a brilliant satire of the current political landscape of America. Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey give supporting turns that are some of the best work in their respective careers, pulling Amirpour’s psychedelic morality tale into unexpected places of mythology and hubris. Not without its faults, The Bad Batch is an intense, visceral exploration of the cost of the morality debate that continues to eat away at the fabric of American ideals.
-- KJ
The Villainess
This South Korean thriller is one of the top action films of the year, if not the decade. An absolutely insane opening act features a POV fight sequence that sets the tone for one of the most outrageous and technically proficient films of the year. Stunning. This one has to be seen to be believed.
--KJ
Song to Song
Terrence Malick’s experimental storytelling has not been as well received with audiences and critics are his more linear films. The technique, which began in The Tree of Life has continued to be explored by Malick in To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, and this year’s Song to Song. Featuring a wonderful quartet of talents and some of the most engaging visuals of the year, Song to Song is the ultimate ode to love and all things in between.
-- KJ
-- Ben Calahmer & Kyle Jonathan