As of a few days ago, I reached my goal of seeing 100 movies in 2017! I plan to keep on going (many more awards nominees to see!), but as I look through my list of favorite movies of the year, there are quite a few that most people (who didn’t spend 200 hrs at the movies) haven’t heard a lot about. Right now the internet is flooded with year-end roundups that all contain the same few movies — but I wanted to share some that I loved that aren’t on those “Best Of” lists, both comedies and dramas.
So here’s my first post about my experience (I hope to churn out more this week) — my Top 14 Movies You HAVEN’T Heard About This Year. These aren’t necessarily my favorite of the year (although some of them are) — they’re just films I feel deserve some extra attention as awards season sweeps over us. Save this, for when you’ve made it through the list of Oscar nominees, or when you’re stuck on a long flight and looking for something new!
MORE HAPPY THAN SAD
- Brigsby Bear
- Cast Members You’d Know: Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Matt Walsh, and (Love of My Life) Andy Samberg
- Quick Summary: This one’s difficult to explain without spoiling, but Mooney plays a young adult man who’s pulled out of the world he knows, and must learn to adjust. In an adorable and hilarious way.
- My Take: This film had me awwww-ing and laughing at the same time. It reminded me of my high school Friday nights, watching goofy movies with my friends (coincidentially — Kyle Mooney wrote this movie with his 8th grade buddies). The humor fits right in with the SNL-era humor of The Lonely Island, and Kyle Mooney’s touches make this movie one of my most memorable of the year.
- Power Rangers
- Cast Members You’d Know: Becky G, a guy who looks like he could be Zac Efron’s younger brother… and a great secondary cast including Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, and Bill Hader
- Quick Summary: Save the World? You know the deal with the Power Rangers
- My Take: I loved the Power Rangers growing up, so went to see this film primarily for the nostalgia factor… and walked out raving about it. Only one or two of my friends ACTUALLY took my advice and saw it, and they loved it too. This movie was a progressive look at what it’s like to be a teenager today, set to an awesome soundtrack (does anybody NOT get pumped up by Kanye’s “Power”? And the version of Stand By Me used in this movie is hauntingly beautiful). It’s Marvel meets The Breakfast Club.
- The Little Hours
- Cast Members You’d Know: TOO MANY TO NAME. Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Molly Shannon, Nick Offerman, John C Reilly, Fred Armisen
- Quick Summary: Nuns, witches, lords, and priests. And a donkey.
- My Take: I would call this a modern day Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with a little more focus on the female perspective. Dumb jokes, general debauchery, completely hilarious.
- Table 19
- Cast Members You’d Know: Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson
- Quick Summary: Eloise (Kendrick) was set to be maid-of-honor at her best friend’s wedding… until she and the bride’s brother broke up. She is pushed to the spillover table and meets a host of “randoms” who essentially just help her get through the day.
- My Take: The plot is rather uncomplicated, but as a person so is entering her “Wedding Years” of attending dozens of my friends’ weddings, the quirky characters and awkward interactions were really fun. It’s not unpredictable, but is a fun few hours of character development.
- Ingrid Goes West
- Cast Members You’d Know: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, (others you’ll recognize, but I want to keep this short)
- Quick Summary: Ingrid (Plaza) becomes obsessed with an Instagrammer/Blogger named Taylor, and tried to “real life” befriend her. Essentially through stalking.
- My Take: As a person who follows WAY too many people on Instagram and reads WAY too many blogs every day, this movie really hit home. Because YES I do respond to their Instagram stories (as if they ever read my messages). And YES I do talk about them (with people who read the same bloggers as I do) as if I actually know them. Even if you’re not into bloggers like me — anybody with an Instagram account can relate to this movie, and the ridiculousness of the social media-lites it focuses on.
- Leap
- Cast Members You’d Know: (Voice of) Mel Brooks, Kate McKinnon, Maddie Zeigler, Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Nat Wolff
- Quick Summary: Two friends, Felicie and Victor, escape their orphanage, and must make a life for themselves on the streets. Felicie yearns to be a ballerina, and tricks her way into an academy in the Paris Opera under another girl’s identity.
- My Take: Yes, this was a cheesy “You can accomplish anything if you’re willing to take the leap!” message. But the illustration was impressive and, as a former dancer, I was just completely sucked in and inspired.
FOR A TOUCH OF DRAMA*
- Last Flag Flying
- Cast Members You’d Know: Steve Carrell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburn
- Quick Summary (Stolen from Google, because it was great): Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry “Doc” Shepherd, Sal Nealon and the Rev. Richard Mueller reunite for a different type of mission: to bury Doc’s son, a young Marine killed in Iraq.
- My Take: I was honestly shocked not to see this movie among Golden Globe nominees — likely due to a lack of campaigning on the studio’s part, I have to assume. All three stars are phenomenal, and this movie had a perfect combination of dark comedy along with deeply moving drama. Fair warning: I cried for pretty much 10 full minutes at the end of this one. BUT it comes with a huge payoff… this was definitely in my Top 10 Favorites of the year (no exclusions)
- Goodbye Christopher Robin
- Cast Members You’d Know: Margot Robbie, Domhnall Gleeson
- Quick Summary: The true story behind the world of Winnie the Pooh (including the real Christopher Robin)
- My Take: Another movie that I went into for the nostalgia factor, and felt was way worth it. Great back story that was more touching than I knew I was walking into, and definitely eked a few tears.
- The Promise
- Cast Members You’d Know: Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac
- Quick Summary: A love triangle set in the war-torn ending of the Ottoman Empire (specifically a half Turk, half Armenian town)
- My Take: I have a real love for films that tell real stories that I know nothing about. I saw this film mostly because I have a few Armenian coworkers, and I knew little about Armenian history (particularly the Armenian genocide, which Turkey still denies to this day). But I was swept up in the epic-ness of this film. It’s not only historically driven, but also a wonderful plot and love story, set to an excellent score. Definitely would recommend for an history buffs or even romantics.
- Step
- Quick Summary: A documentary following the Senior year of a high school step team in inner-city Baltimore, the members of whom are striving to be the first in their families to attend college.
- My take: I promise that not all of the dramas on my list made me cry — but this one really did. This documentary was very real and raw, and came about in a time of tension in America. I cheered and cried with these girls as they went through hardships I’ll probably never really be able to understand as a person who grew up in a very secure home with college essentially promised to me. And GREAT NEWS — it’s already available on Hulu!
- Detroit
- Cast Members You’d Know: John Boyega, Will Poulter (the kid from We’re The Millers), John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie
- Quick Summary: A cinematic re-telling of the 1967 riots in Detroit, specifically the seize of the Algiers Hotel (the occupants of which were primarily black). This movie depicts a time of massive struggle between races, and between police and civilians.
- My Take: Let me be clear — I’m not recommending this movie for pleasure or for entertainment. This movie was absolutely punishing to sit through and I hope to never subject myself to it again (I watched this one mostly from behind my sweatshirt). However, it was also extremely powerful and emotional. This is another piece of history that I knew little about, and feel like this movie left a huge impression on me. If you can stomach a lot of violence, give it a go, but be prepared to learn about a very dark time in American history.
- Wind River
- Cast Members You’d Know: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner
- Quick Summary: FBI agent Jane Banner (Olsen) enlists the help of local wildlife officer Cory Lambert (Renner) to solve the murder of an American Indian woman found barefoot in the middle of a Reservation, miles from any shelter.
- My Take: Another movie I wouldn’t have been surprised to see included in the awards circuit this year. I really appreciated the movie’s mission to draw attention to a story and statistics not often told — the difficulty of being an American Indian (this Refinery29 article is a great deep dive). Trigger warning: fairly graphic scenes of sexual abuse.
- Polina (or Polina, danser sa vie)
- Quick Summary: We follow the journey of Polina, a young girl in Russia, as she studies classical ballet, and eventually turning to contemporary ballet.
- My Take: This one’s for all the fellow dancers out there. The music and choreography were absolutely exceptional, and the ups and downs as Polina searches for her place were something that will tug at any dancer (or fan on the arts)’s heartstrings. I may have never yearned to be a professional dancer, but this film absolutely sucked me in and made me feel emotionally attached to the world of professional artists. So beautiful, I cried for the last few minutes of the movie, and a good amount of the credits. Prepare for subtitles though — the entire movie alternates between French and Russian.
- Stronger
- Cast Members You’d Know: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany
- Quick Summary: The story of a man who lost both legs above the knee, as a result of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
- My Take: Another true story brought to light on the silver screen. Emotional and touching, without actually being a tear-jerker, with excellent performance from Gyllenhall and Maslany. This movie breaks up the dramatic moments with some real Southie (South Boston) humor — lovingly poking fun at Boston in the same way Silver Linings Playbook poked fun at my dear Philadelphia.
*I promise I don’t typically cry at the movies — the ones in which I did just happened to really move me this year!
kADthryn 