As mentioned in my post for Top 10 Movies of 2016, it's a privileged to be living in Malaysia as our cinema tickets are very affordable. Beside movies released via the cinemas, added to my list this year are exclusive Netflix movies.
Also for this Top 10 list, I've excluded movies which are considered last year's releases (eventhough it was only released in local cinemas here early of 2017). These movies are:
Ok, now that I've put that all aside, let's get on with the Top 10 movies of 2017! All of these movies were chosen mainly because it connected with me emotionally. Some of these made me laugh out so loud, some made me bawl my eyes out and there are some here which kept me on the edge of the cinema seat. And there are a handful which are just fresh and clever. NOTEWORTHY MOVIES OF 2017 MAD WORLD (8/10)
A Hong Kong film on the rare topic of mental illness, with powerful performances from the three leads.
Very entertaining, highly re-watchable with many LOL moments and surprisingly grounded in real life family issues. ...AND HERE ARE THE TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2017! (Click on the titles to read the full review) #10 COCO (8.5/10)
That scene where little Miguel sings "Remember Me" to Mama Coco? T____T #9 GIFTED (8.5/10)
Such a feel good movie with genuine performances especially from little McKenna Grace.
A true story of Jeff Bauman (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a Boston Marathon bombing survivor who lost both of his legs. This movie plainly shows the good, the bad and the ugly of what he and his loved ones had to go through to rebuild his life. Very believable.
A quirky, funny, refreshing, clever and tragic story on undealt issues and its consequences. A high-concept movie. #6 THOR: RAGNAROK (8.5/10)
I re-watched it recently and it was still as funny! A really ballsy, entertaining and fun Marvel movie, complete with the fist-pumping Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" memorable last act. #5 OKJA (8.5/10)
This movie made me NOT EAT pork, beef, lamb and chicken for a month. I ate mainly vegetables and the occasional fish. #4 GET OUT (8.5/10)
An exceptionally tight and clever movie which masterfully blends social commentary with the horror genre.
A Thai movie which is brilliantly directed, edited and acted. What I love about this movie is the unpredictable plot. As soon as you think it would go a certain way, the dynamic changes. Who would have thought that watching a group of high school students cheat in their exams would be a nail-biting experience right to the very end! #2 DUNKIRK (9.5/10)
A technical masterpiece filled with riveting moments which demands to be watched on the biggest screen possible and with the best sound system available. I watched it twice on IMAX. #1 A GHOST STORY (9.5/10)
A haunting movie about unfinished business. A simple but yet a very high-concept film which was both intellectually and emotionally satisfying for me.
AND...that's a wrap for 2017! Here's looking forward to 2018!
Genre: Adventure / Comedy
Running Length: 1:59
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman
Director: Jake Kasdan
Screenplay: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner, based on Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
I suspect the reason I prefer JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE to the original Jumanji (starring the late Robin Williams) is because the 1995 version was really forgettable. I figuratively and literally mean it because I have no recollection of that movie experience.
It doesn't mean this movie is without faults for when a joke works, it works really well but when it doesn't, it's cringe worthy. What really worked for me is seeing Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Jack Black playing against type. And they seemed to be having a good time poking fun of themselves. Kevin Hart is well...Kevin Hart. He's always dependable to bring in the LOL moments for his shortcomings.
As for Nick Jonas' performance, I'm sorry but he really needs some acting lessons. Putting on an aviator sunglasses and acting cool is not...acting. That said, an unbilled cameo playing the adult version of Jonas' character was really effective. Eventhough his cameo was only for a few minutes and he comes in very late in the movie, his acting was really moving.
Perhaps that scene worked because we the audience, did feel the grave dangers and risk of what the characters had to go through to stay alive. You see, if they die in the game (see trailer for the plot synopsis), they die in real life.
All in all, Welcome to the Jungle is easy to follow and entertaining. There is this nice "one life" quote which was uttered twice but it was the second time that had the most impact because of its context.
What I have learned from this movie? "What makes someone really awesome is being comfortable in their own skin"
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Running Length: 2:32
Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro
Director: Rian Johnson
Screenplay: Rian Johnson, based on characters created by George Lucas
I really struggled with this review. When the credits to STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI rolled, I spontaneously gave this a high rating but as the days went by, the more I thought about it, the ratings started to go downhill. Finally, after considering all angles and reading other perspectives online, I have settled to give this episode ie. Episode VIII, a shade below Episode VII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Let me get the negatives out of the way first. Firstly, I like my Star Wars to be serious. But there were just too many throw away gags in The Last Jedi which made some characters felt really off. Secondly, things are not always as it appears. Don't get me wrong, I do like my movies to be unpredictable but there were just way too many unexpected twists that disrupted the flow of the entire story. I felt the brief given to Rian Johnson (the writer and director) was to create a movie with many "everything you know is wrong and everything you care for is not important" moments.
Lastly, the other thing which really annoyed me was the shameless merchandise moments. There are two characters in there which I believe existed just to sell more toys to the masses.
As for the good stuff - this is a beautiful movie to watch. The red visuals are stunning. And there is a very exhilarating fight scene which I believe will be re-watched many times by viewers on YouTube in the future. In terms of character development, three people standout from the rest:
- the yin-yang relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey
- Poe Dameron's growth as a leader
The score was much better than The Force Awakens. One can distinctively hear popular themes from the original trilogy being mixed into this soundtrack.
If the objective of the filmmakers were to disrupt the entire Skywalker saga, then I think this episode did it. But what I would have preferred was for the filmmakers to pick a few twist, and super dramatize those moments instead, case in point: "Luke, I am your father".
As I saw both of this films on the small screen (Meyerowitz on Netflix and Ghost on a flight), I didn't think of reviewing it. But after I watched a recent video by Nerdwriter I was inspired to write a combo review because they share a common theme (besides having 'story' in their titles) and that is: Moving on in Life.
THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES
There are many films out there about the typical dysfunctional American family but there's just something endearing about this film that makes it sad but yet hopeful. And I reckon it's because of the compassion of Baumbach (the writer and director) for he is able to paint a story of redemption in a broken family. Although this movie is dialogue heavy, viewers will not find it difficult to follow as Baumbach has presented THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES in a light-hearted manner.
As pointed out by the Nerdwriter, although there are rapid conversations happening between two people in a scene, it doesn't mean they are communicating. The real intent in these conversations are found not in their spoken words but expressed in-between their sentences, thus making this film a realistic (and entertaining) watch.
As good as Ben Stiller is, it is Adam Sandler who is a revelation here. His performance as the obliging eldest son is moving and heartfelt especially when his character is around his overbearing father (Hoffman).
What is it about the power of a father's approval that will drive his sons day after day for a lifetime to prove to their father that they are good enough to be considered a man?
RATING: 7.5/10
A GHOST STORY
A GHOST STORY is a haunting movie, but not in a paranormal kinda way. The movie stays with you long after the credits because the narrative reminds you of the need for closure in order to move on. It causes you to think rather than giving you the answers.
If you watch the trailer, it plays out like a meditative arty indie film. It informs you of a couple where the husband dies very suddenly, and comes back in a Halloween kind of ghost to 'haunt' his grieving wife. Sounds like a self-indulgent, boring and almost cheesy premise, doesn't it? Trust me, it's not. What you see in the trailer is just the surface to a very original film. And that's all I'm going to say because anything thereafter may just constitute as a spoiler.
Although there are many scenes which are dialogue free (most of it are just long takes of silence), there is actually a lot going on underneath. Aside from what I feel as an unnecessary monologue, A Ghost Story is almost a perfect film. The storytelling is simple, smart and just beautiful to look at.
RATING: 9.5/10
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THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Running Length: 1:50
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Grace Van Patten, Emma Thompson, Elizabeth Marvel, Judd Hirsch, Rebecca Miller
Cast (Voice): Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor, Alanna Ubach
Director: Lee Unkrich
Screenplay: Adrian Molna, Matthew Aldrich
With COCO, I'm so glad Pixar still has got some originality in them. With their recent foray into more commercial movies such as the Car sequels and the unnecessary sequel to Finding Nemo and Monster Inc., I have to admit I walked into this one with a little trepidation. But I'm glad to report that although Coco is not high up there with Inside Out, Wall-E, Up, it's still a very good film.
It takes its time to build its characters and introduces us to the laws of the afterlife. And the filmmakers do it so well that it packs a potent emotional punch in the last 10 minutes of the film. It brought not only tears to my eyes but almost every other adult in the cinema hall (perhaps that particular scene really got me as Mama Coco resembled my beloved grandma who passed away a month ago).
What the filmmakers did right was also to create a true and true Mexican movie as they got everything right up the choice of food they offered to the dead. From what I have been reading online, many native Mexicans really appreciate the respect Pixar has given to their culture. Thus, it's not surprising to know that Coco is now the highest grossing animated movie ever in Mexico.
The subject of death and afterlife is not an easy topic to explain to kids but through this movie, Pixar manages to flesh it out in a light-hearted manner without diluting the seriousness of it. What I also love about Coco is its superior graphics and the details given to The Land of the Dead.
That said, the songs are not so memorable (except 'Remember Me') and no matter how hard you try to disassociate this film with Book Of Life, there are still many resemblances of it eventhough their plots are different. AND, what was totally out of place was the animated short just before the movie. It's not really a short but a 20-min featurette of a character from Frozen - with singing and all. I should have just came in later to the cinema hall.
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Running Length: 1:54
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Michael Green, based on the novel by Agatha Christie
Knowing nothing about MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (which includes the book and the earlier movie/TV adaptation) is probably the best way to watch this updated version. Despite the dialogue heavy and at times slow pace, the final reveal and its implications were extremely satisfying.
Narrative wise, I felt like I was reading one of those good old fashioned murder mystery novels. There's just something very old school about this film's approach which I don't think Hollywood would ever churned out these days (probably, that's why they needed so many star power packed in one film just to get today's movie goers to watch this film).
Although the filmmakers employed interesting camera angles to tell the story and a sweeping melancholic soundtrack to accompany it, what really made this a compelling watch are the characters. It's like watching a well acted stage play. All the performances here are top notch but the two that really stood up was Branagh as our lead detective and Michelle Pfeiffer. Oh, there are so very good here!
What I learned from this movie: "Humans are irrational and unpredictable creatures. So who am I to judge another when I too...walk imperfectly." RATING: 8/10
