Now that the worst is out of the way let's look at the bright side of 2017. Of the best that I have yet to see include War of the Planet of the Apes, The Disaster Artist and a bunch of award contenders that at the time of this blog haven't had a chance to watch. Time doesn't wait and of the handful I did see, there were plenty of good ones.
A Monster Calls
"...humans are complicated beasts. You believe comforting lies, while knowing full well the painful truth that makes those lies necessary. In the end, Conor, it is not important what you think. It is only important what you do"
Based on the book by Patrick Ness, a 12-year old boy named Conor receives an unexpected visit by a tree monster. Why is it there? The answer will surprise you. Suffice it to say A Monster Calls has the heartbeats of The Iron Giant and the melancholy atmosphere of Where The Wild Things Are; a children's story but geared for older audiences. J.A. Bayona paints this motion picture with striking and vibrant strokes capturing the pain of a broken family and fantasy clashing with reality. While technically released in 2016 it didn't get a wider release until early 2017, hence my inclusion on the list. It's a shame it flew under the radar as it bombed at the box-office despite a good word of mouth; it might be late in the game but it earns a spot on my best list.
"Are you just gonna pretend it isn't happening like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals... but he isn't. So, walking into this house [The Lair of Pennywise], for me, it's easier than walking into my own."
Every year we have that one good Horror movie, who would have thought that IT would be that movie. Stephen King adaptations fall into two categories: so bad it's good or so bad its just bad. Exceptions have been minimal with The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, & Misery. With the original IT miniseries you either love it or hate it but Tim Curry as the clown Pennywise is such a joy to watch. In a year of reboots and retellings Andres Muschietti and company do the impossible and make a good Stephen King movie. This new iteration avoids the pratfalls that befall your generic horror film by having likable characters, not over-doing the gore, and being legitimately scary courtesy of Bill Skarsgård's creepy interpretation of Pennywise. Even with a sequel on the way it works well as a standalone movie which while on the subject am looking forward to chapter two.
"Remember me, though I have to say goodbye. Remember me, don't let it make you cry. For even if I'm far away, I hold you in my heart. I sing a secret song to you, each night we are apart...."
If I had to point out the lows of 2017 is that there were more duds in animation than ever before. There were plenty that were good but I wouldn't label them as great from Smurfs the Lost Village, Mune, Captain Underpants, Cars 3 and Ferdinand. (At the time of this blog I have not seen The Breadwinner). As for the rest, it was either underwhelming (Despicable Me 3), mediocre (The Boss Baby) or just bleh (The Emoji Movie). All hope rode on the second Pixar film of the year to save the day and thankfully it did. Coco took six years to make and the people at Pixar took great care that everything meshed out right. I'm happy to say that all that hard work paid off. Coco captures the beauty and majesty of the Mexican culture; so much brought me back to my family's home country and appreciate my heritage. The music hits close to home, the voice cast is amazing along with an important theme on family and entertainment. Coco is Pixar's best and one I will keep remembering.
"You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out"
Like Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) did with Holes, Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) does no harm in translating R.J. Palacio's beloved novel to the big screen. Wonder is an example of doing a faithful adaptation the right way; capturing what made the book an excellent read, knowing what to keep and leave out for the movie, and not losing the audience who aren't familiar with the original source material. The story of Auggie Pullman a boy born with a facial deformity and the lives he touches is inspirational and endearing, It knows when to pull its punches and never crosses the line of being over-sentimental. With live-action family fare being mostly downright dark (Maleficent) or abysmally stupid (Alvin and the Chipmunks) these days, movies like Wonder, Paddington, along with Disney's live-action Cinderella and The Jungle Book prove that children stories can be just as mature as any film aimed for adults.
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