The Year So Far: A Strong First Half for Movies
Here at The Couch, we like to celebrate the best of the best, and 2017 has been an abnormally great half-year for movies.
5. The Lost City of Z
One of the more under-the-radar films of 2017, The Lost City of Z is based on the true story of explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest to find a city simply known as “Zed” deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Directed by James Gray, the films spans decades and shows a man dedicated to going deeper and deeper into the heart of the jungle, and into himself. Charlie Hunnam is fantastic, but the real star is Sienna Miller who plays the strong wife of Fawcett. Miller delivers a great performance, and her character shines in the midst of the stuffy, early 20th century upper class setting.
4. The Beguiled
Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled finds injured Union soldier John McBurney (Colin Farrell) taken in and cared for by an all-girls Southern boarding school. The tension this causes makes for an incredible, play-like drama. Also starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning, The Beguiled showcases performances that are wide-ranging and that leap off the screen. It is simple in its premise, but strong everywhere else.
3. Dunkirk
The true blockbuster of the summer did not fail to disappoint. Dunkirk is an epic tale of the evacuation of 400,000 men from the beaches of France at the outset of World War II. We all know how the story ends, but that doesn’t leave Dunkirk without drama. The film is unrelenting, with a score that ebbs and flows, but constantly holds the tension throughout. The performances are great, the cinematography stellar, and the story dramatic. Christopher Nolan knows, perhaps more than any other director, how to make a blockbuster and a truly original film at the same time.
2. The Big Sick
What first looked to be a decent indie RomCom turned out to be one of the better films of the year. With a wide gamut of emotions, The Big Sick explores love, family, and race through the eyes of Pakistani comic Kumail Nanjiani. It's wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. The film nails the emotional journey of Kumail, but does an even better job of weaving in the experiences he has with friends, his own parents, and the parents of his girlfriend (played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter). The Big Sick is unafraid of the issues it deals with, which makes for a great story, and one of the best comedies of the year.
1. Baby Driver
Edgar Wright has brought the best film of the half-year with Baby Driver. The action/comedy/musical is a thoroughly unique experience with great characters and an interesting story. It is filled with great action set pieces, witty dialogue, and Wright's trademark editing flair, which breathes life into what could otherwise become incredibly stale. The music selection is wide-ranging and wonderful, and to top it all, much of the action is cut to the songs themselves, with police sirens, tire squeals, and whooshes all timed precisely with the music. But don't let the extreme craft and choreography of the film fool you: Baby Driver is just plain fun. It's an easily-accessible, exciting flick that anyone from young kids to cinephiles would enjoy, with a little to please everyone.