We may be in the age of Peak TV, but movies are showing no signs of slowing down. We’re a little over six months into 2017, but we’ve already been inundated with a slew of terrific films, and I know that we’re all going to be hard-pressed to narrow our lists down to a Top 10, especially when we’ve got new films fromSteven Spielberg,Guillermo Del Toro,Kathryn Bigelow,Paul Thomas Anderson, and more on the way.
So to make sure that the excellent first half of the year isn’t lost in the shuffle, we’re checking in at the halfway point to run down the best movies of the year thus far. If you feel like you’ve fallen behind with all of the great films out there, we’re here to help you figure out what you need to see ASAP before we’re buried in awards season.
Note: This list is in no particular order. Also, we’re only counting films that have been distributed; festival titles that have yet to be released weren’t counted.
The film has only been out for a few months, but I’m pretty sure thatGet Outis going to become a horror classic. Writer-directorJordan Peelehas constructed a film that’s easily described as a cross betweenGuess Who’s Coming to DinnerandThe Stepford Wives, but that doesn’t begin to do it justice. The film is creepy beyond all reason, and yet it’s creepiness feels so immediate because of the social issues the movie confronts. You feel uncomfortable not just because of Chris’ predicament, but because the racial cues are so clear.
Where Peele gets ahead of the curve is in knowing all of the horror tropes backwards and forwards, so he’s always with his audience rather than trying to outwit them. The inclusion of Chris’ friend Rod helps provide not only comic relief, but also an audience surrogate who’s ahead of the curve and yet powerless to stop the events that are unfolding at the Armitage’s home.
Get Outis a movie that will not only be dissected and discussed for years to come; it’s likely going to influence a new generation of filmmakers as they attempt to follow in the vein of Peele’s unique social thriller. –Matt Goldberg
Wonder Woman
Patty Jenkins’Wonder Womanis a delightful, groundbreaking movie that has enchanted audiences worldwide across demographics. That universal appeal might just be thanks to the film’s celebration of heroism and the human spirit. Jenkins loves her hero and her hero loves the world, how could we help but love them back? In addition to being a joyful and uplifting film,Wonder Womanis just plain entertaining to watch. Jenkins directs superhero action with unique, visually rich detail, particularly when it comes to her female heroes and Amazons, who she endows with a sense of physical strength and prowess, reveling in beauty without exploiting it. And she’s smart enough to giveGal Gadot’s Diana a love interest worthy of her inChris Pine’s Steve Trevor, a bright and driven spy who’s allowed to have more of an arc and more shade of grey than most superhero love interests combined. It works as a love story, an origin story, a coming of age tale, and a war movie, and while the third act falters, it’s not nearly enough to undermine the charm of what came before. Fans have been asking for a Wonder Woman movie for decades, and though it’s a shame it took so long, it was worth the wait. –Haleigh Foutch
Baby Driver
Baby Driverwas my most anticipated film of 2017, and it did not disappoint. Writer/directorEdgar Wrightcrafts a wholly originalthinghere—it doesn’t fit into one genre specifically, but infuses aspects of a musical, actioner, heist film, and even a little noir for good measure. But this isn’t Wright simply covering old classics.Baby Driveris its own film through and through, anchored by a tremendous soundtrack that’s as essential to the character of Baby as it is to the action it’s supporting. The story itself is something of a tense-filled fairy tale, and indeed it’s impossible not to get swept up in the dizzying central romance of Baby and Debora. This is a breezy, wildly entertaining, and surprisingly emotional thrill ride, and like any great album, it’s one you want to go back to again and again. –Adam Chitwood
The Lost City of Z
James Grayoften gets called a throwback director butThe Lost City ofZis the furthest throw he’s lobbed into cinema’s great past. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) is an undecorated military man who cannot receive advancement due to his “poor choice of relatives” but then captures the world’s attention when he ventures into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization that might pre-date the Western world. It spans more than two decades of his life and Gray uses that time economically. It never feels likeZis rushing past important touchstones and it even stops to show how World War I—a Western war, for we are not that much more evolved than the Amazonian “savages” that Fawcett is constantly defending to the British Empire—marks time as something that’s just as twisty and cruel as the Amazon River.
There are arrows, there’s dissection of familial bloodlines and their importance to both the Western world and the native tribes, there’s mist, there’s a mumblyRobert Pattinsonand an enunciation to the nosebleeds done by Hunnam. It’s impeccably and economically paced. The expansive story places it in the realm of the thoughtful and immense profiles of greatness that David Lean used to make. But don’t think that it isn’t modern. Gray is attuned to ideas that would’ve been revolutionary not only in 1905 but also throughout most of Hollywood’s history. It’s about a small batch of white men who believe that their society and Empire is built on false pride. And the pride of their societal order not only looks down on other cultures they enslave, but it also starts global wars and keeps women in service to their partner’s greatness—even at the expense of hiring an unqualified society man who they perceive can carry his weight simply due to his elevated rank. Gray might be making movies like he lived in the 1970s, but he’s also making them great—for modern times—by taking the time to enhance the meaning underneath the grand adventure.— Brian Formo
Hounds of Love
Ben Young‘s directorial debutHounds of Lovewill make you want to look away, and yet, you may find yourself struggling to take your eyes off the screen. Such is the nature of a film that is so brutal and crushing, while also being a gorgeously shot, impeccably edited thriller. Fortunately, Young is a smart enough filmmaker to know when to look away for you.
Set in 1980s Perth, Australia,Hounds of Lovefollows a serial killer couple that stalks, abducts, rapes, and murders young women. It’s a grim and grisly gut-wrencher, and Young knows well enough that it shouldn’t be easy to watch. Indeed, it’s not the subject matter that’s special — a beautiful young girl is abducted and horrible things happen to her, it’s Young’s approach to it. We’ve seen that basic narrative unfold infinite times in entertainment, be it in pulpy horror or on your favorite weekly network procedural. Young comes at the subject with quiet, soft-footed approach, getting intimate with his monsters in a way that demands careful craftsmanship, fully realized characters, and careful restraint. – Haleigh Foutch
Rawmade quite a splash on the festival circuit last year, where paramedics were called the scene of the TIFF premiere to tend to some queasy moviegoers. The real force ofJulia Ducournau’s coming-of-age cannibal film isn’t the gross-out gore but the unflinching excavation of human systems of identity, family, and our often frenzied yearning for intimacy and satisfaction. It’s bloody, to be sure, and Ducournau has a gift for framing violence in a way that makes you think you’re seeing much more than you are. There are a few scenes to test your stomach and a few more to twist you up in anxiety, but they’re balanced out by complex tale of conformity, sisterhood, and inherited tradition told through the story of a virginal vegetarian who discovers a craving for flesh, and the pleasures thereof, after enduring the brutal hazing rituals of her veterinary school. Sensual, scary, and weirdly sexy,Rawis a full meal and it sticks to your ribs long after you’ve left the theater. –Haleigh Foutch
A Ghost Story
It’s been six months since I sawA Ghost Storyat Sundance, and while I’m still not sure if Ilikeit, I know that it demands to be seen. Unique movies that hold our attention and take chances are the films that push the medium forward. There’s a place for safe films that are like comfort food, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t also take time for movies likeA Ghost Story.
While it’s possible to describe what happens inA Ghost Story, it’s not a plot-driven narrative by any stretch of the imagination or even a particularly character-driven movie. It’s all about tone and themes, and writer-director David Lowery takes some big chances to try and wrap you up in the emotional moments of the movie even if you don’t know the names of the characters. It’s a risky move, but also one that pays huge rewards.
A Ghost Storyisn’t an easy recommendation in the way that a movie likeThe Big Sickis, and yet anyone who professes to love movies should make time forA Ghost Story. It’s weird, it’s challenging, it’s unique, and it’s a movie you won’t forget anytime soon. –Matt Goldberg
Spider-Man: Homecoming
It’s too early to tell, butSpider-Man: Homecomingmay be my favorite Spider-Man movie yet and I adoreSam Raimi’s first two films.Tom Hollandis Peter Parker to a tee and Marvel Studios knows exactly what to do with their beloved character, rooting Peter’s standalone story in recognizable human drama by way of teen comedy and embellishing it with moments of action. In his first studio film, director Jon Watts demonstrates impeccable command of tone and pacing, swinging through the comedic and dramatic beats without toppling in either direction, all the while balancing the demands of an MCU film. Or maybe MCU adjacent is more accurate forHomecoming, which keeps the stakes small and relatable even in the presence of Tony Stark. It’s a wise move; one that builds genuine, toe-tapping tension that’s much more effective than the standard apocalyptic endgame. We all know the world’s never really going to end in those movies anyway. Peter’s world is populated by quirky, standout supporting characters who are updated and recognizable versions of their comic book counterparts. The Vulture, in particular, is a highlight, a timely depiction of working class rage filtered through the unsettling charm ofMichael Keaton. Consummately entertaining and laugh out loud funny,Homecomingrevels in the joy of being a Spider-Man movie, making it the kind of film you want to watch over and over again. –Haleigh Foutch
A Cure for Wellness
So many people lament the extinction of the mid-budget Hollywood movie, and yet so few went and sawA Cure for Wellness. Here’s an unendingly interesting filmmaker making an original piece of Gothic horror on a grand scale, and audiences decide not to show up. Granted,A Cure for Wellnesssuffered from some mediocre reviews, but I’m here to attest those people are wrong. This is a demented fairy tale; a ghoulish, gorgeous, thrilling decent into madness on a massive canvas.Dane DeHaanis pitch-perfect casting as an ambitious corporate executive who becomes a prisoner of a secluded wellness center, andJason Isaacsis delicious devilish as the spa’s head honcho. This thing is filled with frights and delights in equal measure, and Verbinski elevates the whole thing with phenomenal filmmaking and striking cinematography. –Adam Chitwood
The Beguiled
InSofia Coppola’sThe Beguiled,Colin Farrell’s wounded soldier is a fresh-off-the-boat immigrant from Ireland who has no side in the war; he’s just getting a paycheck for enlisting for the North after docking. After running away with a bad leg wound, McBurny hopes to start his new life as a deserter now that he’s cashed in. He’s an opportunist. And the Southern women in a nearby house who tend to him, whilst the battlefield encroaches on their schoolhouse, are an opportunity of a new life elsewhere; a new life that he’s yet to experience in America since he enlisted for payment. Losing his leg would cripple his opportunity and freedom in this new land.
InDon Siegel’s 1971 film McBurny was a US-born Quaker who’s opposed to using guns and that’s why he gets shot. AndClint Eastwoodsimply plays him as a man in heat, whereas Farrell’s McBurny was trying to seize the best opportunity as a man of no border allegiance. The women in both films throw themselves at the soldier, but Coppola’s version focuses more on the bartering power they have with him, giving them some equal footing that they wouldn’t have were he not at their mercy as not only a wounded soldier but also a deserter behind “enemy” lines.
Coppola’s careful attention to female body language and her brief asides to McBurny’s opportunistic nature makesThe Beguiledwork narratively for both genders, as opposed to being closed off to one perspective.Kirsten Dunst, Nicole KidmanandElle Fanning’s full body language is fit into each shot. And I mean full body language; glances that move from the eyes to the spine, to the hips, to the earth. This version is a portrait of the manipulative male ego and the fragility of the male ego when that manipulation is countered. And it’s witty! There are exposed shoulders, cold shoulders, and ultimately no shoulder to cry on for anyone hoping they’ll have a better life after the Civil War ends.— Brian Formo
