Least Favorite Films of 2017

<< 2016   2018 >>

 Favorite Movies of 2017

6. Get Out

D: Jordan Peele

**********

While creative, one line ruined it for me.  The low point is near the beginning when the villain is showing off his souvenirs from foreign countries to the protagonist.  When you’re rounding your eyes at this depiction of the “problem” of cultural appropriation, the character literally utters, “It’s such privilege to enjoy another person’s culture.”  I mean that’s actually a line a human being wrote into a movie.  Fortunately, the movie doesn’t top itself afterward.  It seemed to be a self-conscious attempt to chase away a misaimed fandom of conservatives who could have easily interpreted the movie to be about how the Left ideological enslaves minorities.

5. Ghost in the Shell

D: Rupert Sanders

**********

The original Ghost in the Shell explored the question of what it means to be human in a world in which cybernetics are taking over the organic; this movie reinforces the idea that it would be a bad thing if the government forcibly erased your memory and put it in a robotic body for use as a special operator.  While visually beautiful and well-scored, this lobotomized version of a classic is best missed.  It seems there’s also some sort of a rule that all movies about transhumanism must have Scarlett Johansson.

4. It Comes at Night

D: Trey Edward Shultz

**********

One of those genre adaptations that mistakes bland minimalism for sophistication.  It’s got good cinematography and it’s well-made, but it’s pretty forgettable.

3. “Transformers:” The Last Knight

D: Michael Bay

**********

The second-best of Bay’s “Transformers” series, for whatever little that’s worth.  Far too long and drawn out, but not too heinous.  I liked Tony Hale’s character; he plays the role of the skeptical naysayer, except unlike the type in most such movies, he’s actually likable.  I might have found the movie more tolerable had I not watched another movie preceding it.

2. The Last Jedi

D: Rian Johnson

**********

I don’t want to spoil too much, but this movie seemed like a mishmash of plot points from Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back with a pointless prequel-level sideplot.  Luke, Rey, Kylo, and Laura Dern’s character were good, but everything else was sketchy.  This movie makes one appreciate the originality of the prequels more.

2. The Lego Batman Movie

D: Chris McKay

**********

Like the last entry, I watched another movie before this so that probably made it seem more tedious.  Still, this is a huge disappointment after the surprisingly fun and clever LEGO Movie.  Batman was funny as a supporting character/boyfriend of the love interest, but that clever joke doesn’t apply here.  It’s basically Batman as an insecure publicity whore, and the movie is filled with self-conscious references to the franchises.  In other words, it’s Darkwing Duck, except Darkwing Duck did it better.  I also love how this movie is praised for spoon-feeding us themes that most competent adaptations of this franchise explore with more subtlety.

<< 2016   2018 >>

 Favorite Movies of 2017