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Thread: Best movies of 2017

  1. #16
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    An IMDb "Comment" about the 2015-2017 Norwegian teen TV series, "SKAM"

    SKAM.


    "EVAK" - ISAK AND EVEN ARE BOYS IN LOVE IN SEASON 3 OF THE SERIES, "SKAM"

    Today I wrote:
    Indiewire also has a Best Undistributed category, where you can list or find any films shown at festivals or public screenings but not theatrically released here. Indiewire's poll also has a category at the end (TV series not being allowed otherwise) for "anything from the year in moving images that you'd like to highlight." In that category I'd certainly have to list the outstanding Norwegian teen TV series "SKAM," whose four seasons I watched this summer, up to their end-day June 24, 2017.
    So tonight I was inspired to write this IMDb "Comment" about the 2015-2017 Norwegian teen TV series, "SKAM." It moves and was one of my year's best experiences but it's not a movie.

    (See also Variety film critic Boyd van Hoeij's excellent essay about the series for The Atlantic.)

    I discovered this amazing and unique Norwegian series, "SKAM," pronounced "scum" and meaning "shame" (I never figured out why), directed by Julie Andem, set around an Oslo high school, this summer (2017) with S3 (Isak & Even), which got more global attention and was published on more platforms and more commented on by fans because of its appealing and destined-to-be-classic gay teen coming-out love story, and then watched S1 (Jonas & Eva) & S2 (Noora & William), moving on just in time for the current, ongoing S4 (Sana) up the the end, seeing the final episode of S4 on its actual final real-time day The Eid (Eid al-Fitr ) June 25. The real-time, of- the-moment quality was essential to the authenticity of the series and its proximity to the present teenage generation. (We are told that the series was made up as it went along, with input from teens, and nobody knew during S3 who was going to be featured in S4.)

    Amazingly all this that I watched was not officially published but local fans' artisanal publications on various platforms with homemade but spot-on idiomatic English subtitles (including all the text messages and explanations of wordplay, maybe the best subtitles ever). It was easy to get hooked and hunt for more and more wherever you could find them. There was nothing like it ever. It was so good and these kids and their talk were so fascinating it made you study the texts and want to learn Norwegian (which I loved the sound of, but found pretty baffling). All this came at kind of a serendipitous time right after I'd devoured all but the last not yet translated of Karl Ove Knausgård's addictive 6-vol. series of autobiographical novels, "My Struggle," so I was used to living vicariously in Norway.

    Besides being innovatively naturalistic with its real-time scenes and online broadcast, heavy use of SMS etc., it also boldly covers a social range using appropriate actors, notably Tarjei Sandvik Moe as "Isak," who became a global gay heartthrob, yet was a an actual 15, 16, 17-year-old student at the Hartvig Nissens high school featured in the series. And what a compelling, watchable young actor he is! We live through his lies and dodges, double-takes and self-discoveries moment by moment.

    Each of the 4 seasons is the love story of one couple, all connected with the others through the school. S1 is an ordinary (cute) couple, and the boy, Jonas (Marlon Langeland of the imposing eyebrows) spoils their love through excessive jealousy of the beautiful Eva (Lisa Teige). S2 is a screwed-up couple, a snobbish, particular girl and a rich, spoiled, damaged top dog. Noora's and William's story is painful and as true as Isak & Even's. When N & W finally connect, it's super-intense, but also fragile. S3 is Isak, the gay-questioning boy who has to come out to himself, while pursued by the older, more sure Even, who yet has psychological issues. Their first dates are romantic, a scene based on Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet. Then, after the requisite heartbreak and Isak's difficult coming out to his (totally accepting) pals, who sort of knew it all along, as did Emma (Ruby Dagnall), the girl he was stringing along and using as a facade, "Evak" wind up moving in together and being the most loving and stable couple of all, a pearl of a romance cultivated in adversity. Also interesting, a microcosm of the school social groupings, is Isak's loyal little posse of Jonas, Magnus and Mahdi and himself, who talk of nothing but sex though only one, Jonas, of S1, may know anything about it so far. Maguns is the one who has to get laid.

    S4, though it continues with all the former characters, focuses primarily on the most baddass and arguably the most complex and interesting character, the Muslim, hijab-wearing Sana (the excellent Iman Meskini), who as time goes on very much finds a boy she loves, Yousef, who's from a Muslim family, but sadly, her religious beliefs don't allow her to be with him when she discovers his attitude to God.

    The joyous party at the end both celebrates the young actor's esprit-de- corps and underlines that "SKAM" is throughout very much an ensemble piece, with no minor characters, because they all count, Chris, Vilde, Isak's gay roommate and scold Eskild, the bus groups, the top dog boys, everybody. Mostly to these kids, adults don't count that much, and mostly are seen only from the neck down, till we get to Sana's parents, who do count for her - we can't forget the hilarious, wise school "nurse", more an offbeat counselor, Dr. Skrulle, whose little scenes of totally sui generis advice-giving are priceless.

    I confess, I have watched some episodes three, four, or more times, and each time gets better and I marvel more at the wit, adorableness, and how, say, Isak and his posse play off each other when they're together. These kids are incredible. You may think of the UK series "Skins," which is remarkable in its own way, but it is totally different, bent on grimness, and dark humor and absurdity, and not as real and true, or as helpful. Because watching "SKAM" can be healing and enlightening, as well as touching and fun. And it's basically about togetherness and love.


    ISAK AND SANA IN BIOLOGY


    GIRL POSSE NOORA, VILDE, SANA, CHRIS AND EVA
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 11-19-2022 at 09:53 PM.

  2. #17
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    CHRIS KNIPP'S BEST MOVIES OF 2017 LISTS.

    This is a work in progress. Or maybe in decline. Lists become exhausting after a while, don't they?



    Still from Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk

    BEST FEATURES
    1. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
    2. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)
    3. The Other Side of Hope (Aki Kaurismäki)
    4. The Son of Joseph (Eurène Green)
    5. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos)
    6. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
    7. BPM (Beats per Minute) (Robin Campillo)
    8. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve)
    9. Faces Places (Agnès Varda & JR)
    10. The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
    __________________________

    11. Loving Vincent (Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman)- in the French version, "La passion Van Gogh"
    12. Ghost Story (David Lowery)
    13. Get Out (Jordan Peele)
    14. All These Sleepless Nights (Michal Marczak)
    15. Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd)
    16. Menashe (Joshoa Z. Weinstein)
    17. The Lost City of Z (James Gray)

    BEST DOCUMENTARIES (alphabetical)
    Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James 2017)
    The Challenge (Yuri Ancarani)
    City of Ghosts (Matthew Heineman 2017)
    Cries From Syria (Evgeny Afineevsky)
    Human Flow (Ai Weiwei)
    I Am Not Your Negro ( Raoul Peck)
    An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk)
    Jane (Brett Morgen)
    Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (Griffin Dunne)
    May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio)
    Strong Island (Yance Ford)
    Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan)

    BEST FOREIGN (alphabetical)
    4 Days in France (Jérôme Reybaud)
    Clash (Mohamed Diab)
    L'enfant secret (Philippe Garrel) [1979]
    Graduation (Cristian Mungiu)
    Heal the Living (Katell Quillévéré)
    The Nile Hilton Incident (Tarik Saleh)
    Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello)
    The Ornithologist (João Pedro Rodrigues)
    Slack Bay (Bruno Dumont)
    The Square (Ruben Östlund)

    BEST UNRELEASED (alphabetical)
    Barbara (Mathieu Amalric)
    Le Carré/Plot 35 (Eric Caravaca 2017).
    Let the Sunshine In/Un beau soleil intérieur (Claire Denis)
    The Rider (Chloe Zhao) (Apr. 2018 release)
    You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay) (Apr. 2018 release)

    NOT ABLE TO SEE BEFORE THE INDIEWIRE POLL (& DATE SEEN)
    Columbus (Kogonada)
    Darkest Hour (Joe Wright) 12/10/17
    The Disaster Artist (James Franco) 12/12/17
    Downsizing (Alexander Payne) 12/22/17
    Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman)
    A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio)
    Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz)
    Happy End (Michael Haneke) 12/26/17
    Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
    On the Beach at Night Alone (Hong Sangsoo) 12/23/17
    Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson) 12/25/17 rewatched 12/30/17
    The Post (Steven Spielberg) 12/23/17
    The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro) 12/16/17
    Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen) 12/10/17
    Wormwood (Errol Morris) - 6-part TV series

    WORST OR MOST OVERRATED (alhabetical)
    Good Time (Josh & Benny Safdie)
    The Human Surge/El auge del humano (Edoardo Williams)
    mother! (Darren Aronofsky)
    A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies)
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 01-23-2018 at 09:21 PM.

  3. #18
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    Oliver (Armie Hammer) meets Elio (Timothée Chalamet), Call Me by Your Name

    Comments to go with Chris Knipp's Best Movies of 2017 lists.

    This didn't seem to me such a great year as many are now declaring. There wasn't a whole list of five or ten films that I'm really excited about. Only the top couple of films awoke real feeling for me. I was most excited by Dunkirk. It seems to me a work of absolute genius, outwardly familiar perhaps, but in fact wholly original. I now know what all the fuss is about: Chris Nolan is brilliant and his films are enormous works.

    Call Me by Your Name is different, just a richly satisfying film and an enjoyable and accomplished one, and it brings together all Guadagnino's capacity for lush physicality in spades and is his best yet, he's at the top of his game. The collaboration with James Ivory on the screenplay from André Aciman's novel is a triumph. Everyone seems to love this movie (except I assume, homophobes, since it's a gay love affair).

    After those two, though, less excitement. Kaurismäki's film though seems just deeply good, morally. LIkewise The Son of Joseph, though some are just put off, or think the boy is mean; he only starts out that way, but it's about moral development. I have hated or been left cold by Yorgos Lanthimos, but this one is bold and thrilling. You have to love Lady Bird because it's an exceptionally warm and specific girl's coming of age movie. Greta Gerwig has a generous spirit and is a talented writer. BPM records a beautiful moment, like the moment recorded for US (New York) ACT UP in David France's documentary, How to Survive a Plague. But by this point I'm really not as moved or excited. Blade Runner seems like a really good job, lacking the panache of the original, also too long, but very beautiful, and I love Harrison Ford in it; in his few scenes he blows away Ryan Gosling, who seems wimpy next to him. Faces Places is an amazing performance. How old did you say Agnès Varda was? She's unstoppable, and this is a smooth, seamless effort. It seems a tiny bit fake to me, not showing the underside of the places visited. As for The Florida Project, my inclusion is a homage to the majority of film critics who have listed it in their top ten and usually higher up. It is distinctive; it really sticks in you mind. Or is it craw? But Sean Baker is good, and an original.

    Going down to the Best Foreign, I loved the Egyptian films. Actually The Nile Hilton Incident is by a guy born in Sweden, and not really shot in Cairo but, alas, in Casablanca, but it is in Egyptian Arabic - and got a very warm critical reception in Paris. Clash truly, amazingly, was shot in Egypt; who knows if that can be done again, the way things are going there. I am a fan of Bertrand Bonello, and each time he does something cool and new. So, Nocturama, which even is bold because it could offend locals. Of the other lists: the one thing I've got that others don't is that every fall I spend a few weeks in Paris, and see as many new movies as I can. So, I can list Barbara which probably won't go over well here, but is a unique film, and the new Claire Denis film, which is excellent - but that was shown in the NYFF - and Le Carré, and Lynne Ramsay's amazing You Were Never Really Here, another Joaquin Phoenix virtuoso display, released in France about six months before the US release. But mostly I saw mediocre to good French films that won't play well here. It is still easier and more fun to see movies in that particular part of Paris than it is in Manhattan.

    P.S. Don't forget that we're also in a new Golden Age of TV. Too many series to watch, but I loved the Norwegian teen series "SKAM," a global hit online, which I recently wrote a long comment on (see the link); and I richly enjoyed the first season of the new David Simon (and George Pelecanos) "joint" "The Deuce," and am working my way through the dark,moody, paranoid 3rd Season of "Mr. Robot," which a friend commented is like "The X Files." Only up-to-date, and its paranoia more terrifyingly justified.

    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-07-2017 at 05:51 PM.

  4. #19
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    The San Francisco Critics Circle nominations.

    This is a pretty standard list. My choices as far as I can make them from the options are indicated by an asterisk.
    Their choices are marked by a -.

    Best Picture
    *CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
    -THE FLORIDA PROJECT
    GET OUT
    -THE SHAPE OF WATER
    THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

    Best Director
    Sean Baker – THE FLORIDA PROJECT
    -Guillermo del Toro – THE SHAPE OF WATER
    Greta Gerwig – LADY BIRD
    *Christopher Nolan – DUNKIRK
    Jordan Peele – GET OUT

    Best Actor
    *Timothee Chalamet – CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
    James Franco – THE DISASTER ARTIST
    Daniel Kaluuya – GET OUT
    Gary Oldman – DARKEST HOUR
    -Andy Serkis – WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

    Best Actress
    Annette Bening – FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL
    Sally Hawkins – THE SHAPE OF WATER
    Frances McDormand – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
    -Margot Robbie – I, TONYA
    Saoirse Ronan – LADY BIRD

    Best Supporting Actor
    -Willem Dafoe – THE FLORIDA PROJECT
    *Armie Hammer – CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
    Richard Jenkins – THE SHAPE OF WATER
    Sam Rockwell – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
    Michael Stuhlbarg – CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

    Best Supporting Actress
    Holly Hunter – THE BIG SICK
    Allison Janney – I, TONYA
    *Melissa Leo – NOVITIATE
    Lesley Manville – PHANTOM THREAD
    -Laurie Metcalf – LADY BIRD

    Best Foreign Language Film
    -BPM
    A FANTASTIC WOMAN
    FRANTZ
    IN THE FADE
    THE SQUARE

    Best Animated Feature
    THE BREADWINNER
    -COCO
    THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
    *LOVING VINCENT
    YOUR NAME

    Best Documentary
    BRIMSTONE & GLORY
    *CITY OF GHOSTS
    DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME
    -FACES PLACES
    JANE

    Best Cinematography
    -BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Roger Deakins
    *DUNKIRK – Hoyte van Hoytema
    THE FLORIDA PROJECT – Alexis Zabe
    THE SHAPE OF WATER – Dan Laustsen
    WONDER WHEEL – Vittorio Storaro

    Best Production design
    BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Dennis Gassner
    *DUNKIRK – Nathan Crowley
    PHANTOM THREAD – Mark Tildesley
    -THE SHAPE OF WATER – Paul D. Austerberry
    WONDERSTRUCK – Mark Friedberg

    Best Editing
    -BABY DRIVER – Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
    BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Joe Walker
    *DUNKIRK – Lee Smith
    THE POST – Michael Kahn
    THE SHAPE OF WATER – Sidney Wolinsky

    Best Screenplay (original)
    THE BIG SICK – Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
    -GET OUT – Jordan Peele
    *LADY BIRD – Greta Gerwig
    THE SHAPE OF WATER – Guillermo Del Toro and Vanessa Taylor
    THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI – Martin McDonagh

    Best Screenplay (adapted)
    THE DISASTER ARTIST – Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
    *-CALL ME BY YOUR NAME – James Ivory
    MOLLY’S GAME – Aaron Sorkin
    MUDBOUND – Dee Rees and Virgil Williams
    WONDERSTRUCK – Brian Selznick

    Best Original Score
    BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
    *DUNKIRK – Hans Zimmer
    PHANTOM THREAD – Jonny Greenwood
    THE SHAPE OF WATER – Alexandre Desplat
    WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES – Michael Giacchino

    Special Citation (for that underappreciated indie gem)
    -BRIMSTONE & GLORY
    COLUMBUS
    THE OTHER KIDS
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-10-2017 at 06:13 PM.

  5. #20
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    Mike D'Angelo's Top Ten and more list.

    It is in progress (it started months ago), so you should consult it again here for updates. He notes now he jut added Phantom Thread to the top ten, which I well may when I see it. You also have to consult his page for his numerical ratings, which go from 85 down to 62. I included more than the ten to show The Riderr and Lady Bird, which I like, and others like The Death of Stalin that I might like if I got to see them.

    2017 Top Ten List
    mother! (Darren Aronofsky)
    A Gentle Creature (Sergei Loznitsa)
    The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
    Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)
    The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos)
    Wormwood (Errol Morris)
    Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
    Félicité (Alain Gomis)
    Lean On Pete (Andrew Haigh)
    Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)

    Additional 2017 Films By Rating
    PROTOTYPE (Blake Williams)
    Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (Travis Wilkerson)
    Let the Corpses Tan (Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani)
    Who We Are Now (Matthew Newton)
    The Rider (Chloé Zhao)
    Claire's Camera (Hong Sang-soo)
    American Made (Doug Liman)
    Faces Places (Agnès Varda & JR)
    Lucky (John Carroll Lynch)
    Molly's Game (Aaron Sorkin)
    This Is Our Land (Lucas Belvaux)
    The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci)
    Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

  6. #21
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    Golden Globe nominees - movies.

    Here it is at last, the big, definitive list. The Musical or Comedy list is very weird this year. Good luck with getting a lot of laughs out of any of those, or music.

    Best Motion Picture, Drama
    Call Me by Your Name
    Dunkirk
    The Post
    The Shape of Water
    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

    Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
    The Disaster Artist
    Get Out
    The Greatest Showman
    I, Tonya
    Lady Bird

    Best Director, Motion Picture
    Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
    Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
    Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World
    Steven Spielberg, The Post

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
    Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
    Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
    Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    Meryl Streep, The Post
    Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
    Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul
    Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker
    Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
    Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
    Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
    Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
    Hong Chau, Downsizing
    Allison Janney, I, Tonya
    Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
    Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
    Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
    Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
    Tom Hanks, The Post
    Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
    Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel Esq.

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

    Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes
    Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver
    James Franco, The Disaster Artist
    Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman
    Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
    Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
    Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name
    Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
    Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
    Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

    Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

    Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water
    Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
    Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post
    Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game

    Best Original Score, Motion Picture
    Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
    Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
    John Williams, The Post
    Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

    Best Original Song, Motion Picture
    "Home" — Ferdinand
    "Mighty River" — Mudbound
    "Remember Me" — Coco
    "The Star" — The Star
    "This is Me" — The Greatest Showman

    Best Motion Picture, Animated
    The Boss Baby
    The Breadwinner
    Coco
    Ferdinand
    Loving Vincent

    Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
    A Fantastic Woman
    First They Killed My Father
    In the Fade
    Loveless
    The Square
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-12-2017 at 12:24 AM.

  7. #22
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    Golden Globe nominees - television.

    I've actually watched some of these series: Stranger Things, The Deuce, The Young Pope, and Mr. Robot. I should have watched Twin Peaks, and might like to check out The Good Doctor. But no desire to watch the others named here, that I know of.

    Best Television Series – Drama:
    The Crown
    Game of Thrones
    The Handmaid’s Tale
    Stranger Things
    This is Us

    Best Television Series – Comedy:
    Black-ish
    The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
    Master of None
    SMILF
    Will & Grace

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama:
    Jason Bateman, Ozark
    Sterling K. Brown, This is Us
    Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor
    Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
    Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama:
    Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
    Claire Foy, The Crown
    Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce
    Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why
    Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:

    Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
    Aziz Ansari, Master of None
    Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick
    William H. Macy, Shameless
    Eric McCormack, Will and Grace

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
    Pamela Adlon, Better Things
    Alison Brie, Glow
    Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
    Issa Rae, Insecure
    Frankie Shaw, SMILF

    Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
    Big Little Lies
    Fargo
    Feud: Bette and Joan
    The Sinner
    Top of the Lake: China Girl

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
    Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
    Jude Law, The Young Pope
    Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks
    Ewan McGregor, Fargo
    Geoffrey Rush, Genius

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
    Jessica Biel, The Sinner
    Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
    Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan
    Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan
    Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

    Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
    David Harbour, Stranger Things
    Alfred Molina, Feud
    Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
    Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies
    David Thewlis, Fargo

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
    Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
    Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
    Chrissy Metz, This is Us
    Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies
    Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-12-2017 at 04:06 PM.

  8. #23
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    Film Comment has reported on their poll

    Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Released in 2017:
    1. Good Time Josh and Benny Safdie, USA
    2. A Quiet Passion Terence Davies, U.K./Belgium
    3. Personal Shopper Olivier Assayas, France
    4. Get Out Jordan Peele, USA
    5. Nocturama Bertrand Bonello, France
    6. Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman, USA
    7. The Death of Louis XIV Albert Serra, France/Portugal/Spain
    8. Faces Places Agnès Varda and JR, France
    9. The Lost City of Z James Gray, USA
    10. Lady Bird Greta Gerwig, USA
    And the next ten:
    11. The Human Surge Eduardo Williams, Argentina
    12. The Other Side of Hope Aki Kaurismäki, Finland
    13. The Florida Project Sean Baker, USA
    14. Dawson City: Frozen Time Bill Morrison, USA
    15. Phantom Thread Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
    16. On the Beach at Night Alone Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
    17. Wonderstruck Todd Haynes, USA
    18. Mudbound Dee Rees, USA
    19. BPM: Beats Per Minute Robin Campillo, France
    20. The Square Ruben Östlund, Sweden
    [BEST] FILMS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION [in the US] IN 2017
    1. The Nothing Factory Pedro Pinho, Portugal
    2. A Gentle Creature Sergei Loznitsa, France/Germany/Lithuania/The Netherlands
    3. Streetscapes [Dialogue] Heinz Emigholz, Germany
    4. Milla Valérie Massadian, France
    5. Tonsler Park Kevin Jerome Everson, USA
    6. Mrs. Fang Wang Bing, France/China/Germany
    7. Spoor Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik, Poland/Germany/Czech Republic
    8. Le Fort des fous Narimane Mari, France/Algeria/Greece/Germany/Qatar
    9. 3/4 Ilian Metev, Bulgaria
    10. The Venerable W. Barbet Schroeder, France/Switzerland

    Rankings #11-20
    11. Golden Exits Alex Ross Perry, USA
    12. Mrs. Hyde Serge Bozon, France
    13. The Wandering Soap Opera Raúl Ruiz & Valeria Sarmiento, Chile
    14. Life and Nothing More Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain/USA
    15. Until the Birds Return Karim Moussaoui, France/Algeria/Germany
    16. Good Luck Ben Russell, France/Germany
    17. Distant Constellation Shevaun Mizrahi, Turkey/USA
    18. The Quartet (Elohim, Abaton, Coda, Ode) Nathaniel Dorsky, USA
    19. Drift Helena Wittmann, Germany
    20. Untitled Matthew Glawogger & Monika Willi, Austria
    This is the magazine of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. They live in a relatively secluded world and these are offbeat lists. Their faves include three of the films I found most overrated, Good Time and Human Surge and A Quiet Passion. I'm also beginning to wonder if maybe Get out is starting to feel like one of the most overrated. It's basically just a horror film with a clever gimmick, not a great movie.
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-12-2017 at 05:41 PM.

  9. #24
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    The Sight and Sound poll
    This "global" survey includes some that are last year's for us, some not out yet, and the ineligible TV series, "Twin Peaks." But 98% of these titles have been on this thread already,or I've reviewed them (Zama, Western) and I like the list, just not quite the order.
    It shouldln't really have "Twin Peaks" - that's TV!
    1. Get Out, dir: Jordan Peele
    2. Twin Peaks: The Return, dirs: Mark Frost, David Lynch
    3. Call Me by Your Name, dir: Luca Guadagnino
    4. Zama, dir: Lucrecia Martel
    5. Western, dir: Valeska Grisebach
    6. Faces Places, dir: Agnes Varda, JR
    7. Good Time, dirs: Ben and Josh Safdie
    8. Loveless, dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev
    9. Dunkirk, dir: Christopher Nolan
    10. The Florida Project, dir: Sean Baker
    11. A Ghost Story, dir: David Lowery
    12. BPM, dir: Robin Campillo
    13. Lady Macbeth, dir: William Oldroyd
    14. You Were Never Really Here, dir: Lynne Ramsay
    15. God’s Own Country, dir: Francis Lee
    16. Personal Shopper, dir: Olivier Assayas
    17. The Shape Of Water, dir: Guillermo del Toro
    18. Strong Island, dir: Yance Ford
    19. I Am Not Your Negro, dir: Raoul Peck
    20. Lady Bird, dir: Greta Gerwig
    21. Let the Sunshine In, dir: Claire Denis
    22. Moonlight, dir: Barry Jenkins
    23. mother!, dir: Darren Aronofsky
    24. Mudbound, dir: Dee Rees
    25. The Other Side Of Hope, dir: Aki Kaurismaki
    26. Silence, dir: Martin Scorsese

  10. #25
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    Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out

    The Indiewire poll (that I mentioned much earlier) based on 200 critic inputs.

    This makes no sense as an expression of individual taste; it's just a poll. It's surprising that Get Out keeps bouncing back. It just seems a clever novelty item, but in its rubbing the itch of racialism so persistent in America, it touched a nerve others didn't, perhaps.

    GET OUT (713 points)
    LADY BIRD (673 points)
    DUNKIRK (549 points)
    PHANTOM THREAD(368 points)
    THE FLORIDA PROJECT (348 points)
    THE SHAPE OF WATER (324 points)
    CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (312 points)
    PERSONAL SHOPPER (296 points)
    THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (245 points)
    THE POST (140 points)
    Get the rest of the 2017 Indiewire poll HERE including Best Acor, Best Actress, etc. .
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-19-2017 at 08:51 PM.

  11. #26
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    Metacritic's current top movies of 2017 (critics)
    With the release date. See it HERE. As of 12/24/2017. Merry Christmas, everybody!

    1- 95
    Faces Places
    October 6, 2017
    2- 94
    A Fantastic Woman
    November 17, 2017
    3- 94
    Dunkirk
    July 21, 2017
    4- 94
    Lady Bird
    November 3, 2017
    5- 93
    Call Me by Your Name
    November 24, 2017
    6- 92
    Foxtrot
    December 8, 2017
    7- 92
    The Florida Project
    October 6, 2017
    8- 92
    Phantom Thread
    December 25, 2017
    9- 91
    EX LIBRIS: The New York Public Library
    September 13, 2017
    10- 90
    I Called Him Morgan
    March 24, 2017
    ---------
    11- 90
    Loveless
    December 1, 2017
    12- 89
    Columbus
    August 4, 2017 b
    13- 89
    Uncertain
    March 10, 2017 b
    14- 88
    In Transit
    June 23, 2017
    15- 88
    Rat Film
    September 15, 2017
    16- 88
    Quest
    December 8, 2017
    17- 87
    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    November 10, 2017
    18- 87
    Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan
    May 24, 2017
    19- 87
    The Farthest
    August 11, 2017
    20- 87
    Jane
    October 20, 2017
    ---------
    21- 87
    My Journey Through French Cinema
    June 23, 2017
    22- 86
    The Shape of Water
    December 1, 2017
    23- 86
    The Red Turtle
    January 20, 2017
    24- 86
    My Happy Family
    December 1, 2017
    25- 86
    Chasing Coral
    July 14, 2017
    26- 86
    I Am Another You
    September 27, 2017
    27- 86
    The Big Sick
    June 23, 2017
    28- 86
    Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
    December 15, 2017
    29- 86
    City of Ghosts
    July 7, 2017
    30- 86
    God's Own Country
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 12-24-2017 at 06:35 AM.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Knipp View Post
    Merry Christmas, everybody!
    ...and a Happy New Year!
    (in the style of Citizen Kane)

    It is quite rare that this time I should have a lot to say about the 2017 movies because I have seen 4 out of the top 5 from the IndieWire poll and the one with the top Metacritic score. At the moment though, I'm most inclined to post that I will also remember 2017 not only for new movies such as Faces Places, A Quiet Passion and Lady Bird but also for movies I knew from previous years that got better with age, in a manner of speaking, or revealed more, or seemed more like unique achievements after watching them again in 2017.

    Perhaps at the top of this "rediscovered" list would be 2 Lovers, written and directed by James Gray. His new movie is titled The Lost City of Z and I haven't watched it. 2 Lovers (2009) takes the protagonist from Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story "White Knights" and confronts him with scenarios from Krystof Kieslowski's A Short Film About Love and Philip Roth novels. The ending is perfectly ambiguous, suggesting a variety of things without settling on any one because it knows precisely when to cut to black for the last time. Gray is a careful, deliberate filmmaker and his films have long gestation periods. But 2 Lovers went from pitch to finish in months. Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix said yes and were available right away and their casting secured ample financing. Gray and Phoenix have developed one of the most fruitful actor/director collaborations in recent decades, and now I think this is their masterpiece. I'm interested in hearing comments from my female students when I show it (I never have before) because I think it speaks from a rather masculine place and I want to hear what women think about, for instance, the depiction of the female characters.

    I plan to say more about new films in future posts, but I want to salute 2017 for the "old" films I discovered or rediscovered this year.

    Post Data
    As I estimated, 2 Lovers is the film directed by James Gray that is preferred by IMdb users and the average, of course, male vote is substantially more favorable to the film than the female vote.
    Last edited by oscar jubis; 12-30-2017 at 04:34 PM.

  13. #28
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    CHRIS KNIPP'S BEST MOVIES OF 2017 LISTS.

    Reposting my lists with updates as of Jan. 1, 2018.New top films: Phantom Thread (Best Features) and On the Beach at Night Alone (Best Foreign). Checking off more that I have now seen.



    Still from Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk

    BEST FEATURES
    1. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
    2. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)
    3. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
    4. The Other Side of Hope (Aki Kaurismäki)
    5. The Son of Joseph (Eurène Green)
    6. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos)
    7. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
    8. BPM (Beats per Minute) (Robin Campillo)
    9. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve)
    10. The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
    _________________________

    11. Faces Places (Agnès Varda & JR)
    12. Loving Vincent (Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman)- in the French version, "La passion Van Gogh"
    13. Ghost Story (David Lowery)
    14. Get Out (Jordan Peele)
    15. All These Sleepless Nights (Michal Marczak)
    16. Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd)
    17. Menashe (Joshoa Z. Weinstein)
    18. The Lost City of Z (James Gray)

    BEST DOCUMENTARIES (alphabetical)
    Abacus (Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman 2017)
    The Challenge (Yuri Ancarani)
    City of Ghosts (Matthew Heineman 2017)
    Cries From Syria (Evgeny Afineevsky)
    Human Flow (Ai Weiwei)
    I Am Not Your Negro ( Raoul Peck)
    An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk)
    Jane (Brett Morgen)
    Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (Griffin Dunne)
    May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio)
    Strong Island (Yance Ford)
    Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan)

    BEST FOREIGN (alphabetical)
    4 Days in France (Jérôme Reybaud)
    Clash (Mohamed Diab)
    L'enfant secret (Philippe Garrel) [1979]
    Graduation (Cristian Mungiu)
    Heal the Living (Katell Quillévéré)
    The Nile Hilton Incident (Tarik Saleh)
    Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello)
    On the Beach at Night Alone (Hong Sang-soo)
    The Ornithologist (João Pedro Rodrigues)
    Slack Bay (Bruno Dumont)
    The Square (Ruben Östlund)

    BEST UNRELEASED (alphabetical)
    Barbara (Mathieu Amalric)
    Le Carré/Plot 35 (Eric Caravaca 2017).
    Let the Sunshine In/Un beau soleil intérieur (Claire Denis)
    The Rider (Chloe Zhao) (Apr. 2018 release)
    You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay) (Apr. 2018 release)

    NOT ABLE TO SEE BEFORE THE INDIEWIRE POLL (& DATE SEEN)
    Columbus (Kogonada)
    Darkest Hour (Joe Wright) SEEN! Dec. 10. Liked it, especially Gary Oldman as Churchill, of course.
    The Disaster Artist (James Franco) Seen Dec. 12. Mixed feelings, but it's worth seeing.
    Downsizing (Alexander Payne) Seen Dec. 22. I HATED it.
    Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman)
    A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio)
    Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz) - Actually March 2, 2018 US release.
    Happy End (Michael Haneke). Seen Dec. 26. Not worth it, bad Haneke.
    Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
    On the Beach at Night Alone (Hong Sangsoo). Seen and reviewed at MoMA Dec. 23. I LOVED it.
    Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson). Seen twice as of Dec. 30th. Moved up to high in my year's favorites.
    The Post (Steven Spielberg). Seen Dec. 23. It's good, but numbingly unadventurous.
    The Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro) Seen Dec. 16. It's good, but I just don't get it at all.
    Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen) Seen Dec. 10. Forgettable but for me, watchable. Kate Winslet shines.
    Wormwood (Errol Morris) - 6-part TV series

    WORST OR MOST OVERRATED (alhabetical)
    Good Time (Josh & Benny Safdie)
    The Human Surge/El auge del humano (Edoardo Williams)
    mother! (Darren Aronofsky).
    A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies)
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 02-19-2018 at 07:22 PM.

  14. #29
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    I'll use your lists as recommendations to follow. You watch a lot of movies Chris. I have a lot of catching up to do. The last masterpiece I watched came out exactly 2 years ago and won the Golden Globe and the Oscar. Nothing I've seen since SON OF SAUL feels like the experience is changing my life

  15. #30
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    Few cinematic experiences are as intense and stunning as Son of Saul but I hope some of my listed films will stay with you, as Phantom Thread does with me now. And as Dunkirk thrilled me with a sense of genius, and as Call Me by Your Name filled me with lush warmth and the sense of a rich novel gracefully adapted.

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