The posting of Movies 2017 was planned for this time in 2018, however, my goals were too ambitious, and I forgot my focus. The annual movies of the year list is simply a way to remember and share what I watched throughout the year. And if they were any good.
Well, better late than never.
Thankfully 2017’s movies were high on ambition that succeeded. Though I would not have been so bullish after the first movie of the year.
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Top Songs 2017 is the seventh annual listing of my top music for the year. Reminiscent of the first few lists, Top Songs 2017’s memorable songs are by artists unknown to me or artists I listen to infrequently.
YouTube Playlist:
Or Spotify if that’s your preference (not complete). […]
A. O. Scott, the venerable, initialed movie reviewer and societal critic for the New York Times, wrote an article a few years ago on a disease he saw plaguing movies entitled “Open Wide: Spoon-fed Cinema.” Scott’s diagnosis: “Forty is the new dead” for cinema as mass infantilization engenders profit at the box office, while stealing profit from culture and the soul. I have thought a lot about this article off and on since its 2009 printing. Initially, I agreed Scott’s diagnosis was a chronic condition of Hollywood. Now I believe it to be a seasonal affliction. […]
2016 was a year of big-budget spectacle movie watching. I would have liked to see move thoughtful films, but moving cross-country limits your time, apparently. Nonetheless, there were some good movies and some stinkers in 2016. I recommend all on the list except the starred. […]
It was a year of comebacks. The Avengers! Mission: Impossible! Mad Max (concussion inducing level of exclamation marks)!!!! And, of course, the highest grossing domestic film of all-time (sans inflation): Star Wars. What’s great is that almost everything was good. Almost. […]
The quality of the Star Wars movies has reflected the struggle of the Light Side and the Dark Side. The Original Trilogy and Episode VII dwell on the Light Side as quality films with minor quibbles. The prequel Episodes I-III inhabit the Dark Side as flawed films with minor moments of logic and excitement.
The family saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Christmas Day and enjoyed ourselves. At dinner we had a discussion where we each stated one “Light Side” thing we loved about the movie and one “Dark Side” thing we wish the movie had done differently. Quickly it became apparent that while the Light Side things caused great smiles they were fleeting. What we discussed most were the Dark Side flaws in the movie. Mutually agreed upon flaws that fed on each other.
Rogue One is a Star Wars movie. But judging the quality of Rogue One necessitates embracing both the Light and Dark sides. Rogue One is an enjoyable, flawed film.
***SPOILERS WARNING*** […]
