Our film team is voting on the best movies released so far in theaters and VOD, and we’ll be updating this list of the finalists in the months ahead.
It may seem like there are only certain times of the year when the movies are worth watching, but the reality is that quality cinema hits theaters and VOD platforms all year round. We haven’t reached the halfway mark in 2017 yet, there are already dozens of quality new releases, many of which will continue to deserve singling out by the end of the year. IndieWire’s film team has seen a lot of them. The following ranked list was developed out of the aggregate scores from top 10 lists contributed by film writers in New York and Los Angeles. In order to qualify, a movie must have either received a theatrical release in 2017 or become available on a VOD platform during that time. Movies that received awards-qualifying runs in 2016 do not count. In many cases, multiple films tied for votes and are designated as such.
Take a look at our list below, let us know how many you’ve seen — and what we’re missing.
1. “Get Out” (Review)
2. “Personal Shopper” (Review)
3. “Lost City of Z” (Review)
4. “All These Sleepless Nights” (Review)
5. “Colossal” (Review)
5. “Graduation” (Interview)
5. “Logan” (Review)
5. “Raw” (Review)
6. “Kedi” (Review)
7. “Slack Bay” (Review)
8. “Risk” (Review)
9. “A Quiet Passion” (Review)
9 “I Am Michael” (Review)
9 “One Week and a Day” (Review)
9 “Kiki” (Review)
10 “After the Storm” (Review)
10 “Staying Vertical” (Review)
11 “The Lure” (Review)
11 “Catfight” (Review)
12 “Donald Cried” (Review)
12 “Starless Dreams” (Interview)
13 “I don’t feel at home in this world anymore” (Review)
14 “A Cure for Wellness” (Review)
14 “Before I Fall” (Review)
14 “Cries From Syria” (Interview)
14 “John Wick Chapter 2” (Review)
14 “Lego Batman” (Review)
14 “Mr. Gaga” (Review)
14 “Life” (Review)
15. “Free Fire” (Review)
16. “Land of Mine” (Interview)
16. “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” (Review)
16. “The Death of Louie XIV” (Review)
16. “Le Parc”
16. “The Sense of an Ending”
17. “Behemoth”
17. “Dark Night” (Review)
17. “Suntan” (Review)
17. “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki”
18. “Kong: Skull Island” (Review)
19. “All This Panic” (Review)
20. “Neal Brennan: 3 Mics”
21. “Norman” (Review)
21. “Song to Song” (Review)
21. “The Devil’s Candy”
21. “Your Name” (Review)
Contributors: Jude Dry, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene, Eric Kohn, Michael Nordine, Chris O’Falt, Zack Sharf, and Anne Thompson.
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