(rock music)
- It's that time of year again,
that time when we take a look at the year that was
to rank in order all the greatest things that happened
before we wipe the slate and our minds clean
of the previous 365 days.
Now, certain movies out there are basically shoe-in's
for Oscar glory while others go sadly overlooked.
So on today's episode of the Dan Cave,
we're gonna shine a bright-ass light on the very best movies
that went overlooked, underappreciated,
and straight-up underrated in 2017.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Now this movie is like the Witcher chugged a Red Bull,
which is to say it was an absolute blast and deeply strange.
Guy Ritchie's King Arthur is basically
the best video game movie I've ever seen,
and it's not even based on a video game.
With charismatic characters, a weird coven
of murderous cave witches, and frenetic fight scenes,
King Arthur is a gonzo reimagining of Arthurian legend,
and some of the most fun I've had in theaters all year.
Don't believe what Rotten Tomatoes tells you,
it's a great-ass movie.
- Come on, lads, chop chop.
- Power Rangers, now this movie was so much better
than it had any right to be.
While I would've appreciated maybe some more morphin' time,
Power Rangers is still incredibly fun,
playing out like a Super Sentai version
of the Breakfast Club.
The new rangers are all likable in their own way,
but it's honestly Elizabeth Banks
who steals the show as Rita Repulsa.
She is clearly at an all-you-can-eat scenery buffet
and she came hungry.
Last but not least, Power Rangers also features
the single best use of product placement
since Kingsmen: The Secret Service.
- Krispy Kreme.
- (whispering) Krispy Kreme? - Krispy Kreme.
- Krispy Kreme. - Krispy Kreme.
- (woman) Krispy Kreme!
- Krispy Kreme.
This is a special place.
- I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
No, that's not me being really honest with you,
that's me talking about a movie you should see.
The world is full of complete and utter assholes.
This is an essential truth that writer/director,
Macon Blair realizes and uses to darkly comedic effect
in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
When Melanie Lynskey's Ruth gets fed up
by all the BS the world keeps serving her
on a silver platter, she teams up
with her nunchuck-wielding weirdo of a neighbor,
played by Elijah Wood, and the two of them set out
to find justice, or at least some semblance of satisfaction.
What follows, though, is a wild rabbit whole full
of mayhem, mischief, and murders most foul.
So in other words, it's a must watch.
- Well, I didn't see it.
- The Lure.
If you see one psychosexual Polish
mermaid musical this year, make it the Lure.
Originally released in 2015,
the Lure finally made it's way stateside this year.
Now, the wickedly weird movie dives
into Hans Christian Andersen's mermaid mythology
through the lens of 1980's European nightclubs.
The film follows two sisters,
one of whom has a love of music,
the other of which has a love for devouring human flesh
as they find themselves in the clutches
of an exploitative nightclub owner.
What follows is a genre bending musical mashup
that'll have you scratching your head,
tapping your toes, and pumping your fist in inexplicable joy
at just how damn good it is.
Ingrid Goes West.
Now imagine, if you will,
if someone made Swimfan or Single White Female,
but all about social media superstardom and stalking,
and there you have Ingrid Goes West.
When Aubrey Plaza's Ingrid becomes obsessed
with Elizabeth Olsen's Instagram blogger Taylor,
she moves across the country on a Don Quixote-like quest
to become her best friend,
except things quickly take a very dark turn
as this exploration of obsession in the social media age
unfolds in a savage, hilarious, and horrifying fashion.
So remember to watch this movie
and also to smash that Like button.
Brigsby Bear, remember that one show from your childhood
that no one else seems to remember?
Well, what if that show had secretly been made
by your dad, Mark Hamill because he
and your mom kidnapped you as a child,
and raised you in a doomsday bunker?
Then the cops found you and brought you back
to your biological parents,
and then you try to make a movie
to finish the story started by the TV show,
'cause you needed closure?
Well, that's exactly what happens in Brigsby Bear,
and it's a beautiful, frequently funny film
about the cathartic power of storytelling,
and the healing power of friendship to overcome trauma.
It's also the story of a weird-ass public access show
that I desperately wish was real.
- And please, discard leftover food rations
in the yellow bin, not the red one.
- Logan Lucky.
(laughing)
Call it Logan Lucky, call it Ocean's 7-11,
call it whatever you want,
as long as you see Steven Soderbergh's
southern fried heist movie
about two West Virginia brothers cursed with bad luck,
who are played by Channing Tatum and Adam Driver.
This not-so-dynamic duo teams up
with a hilariously bleached-blonde Daniel Craig,
who plays a convict that helps them rob a NASCAR track
on it's busiest day of the year.
With so many twists, turns, double-crosses,
and satisfying slow-burn reveals,
Logan Lucky is a meticulously crafted good time.
It'll keep you alternately laughing,
and trying to figure out who's outsmarting who
until the bitter end.
- I'm about to get naked back here,
so no peekin'.
- The Red Turtle.
Produced by Studio Ghibli and Wild Bunch,
the Red Turtle is a nearly worldess masterpiece.
It's the most beautiful film ever made
about falling in love with a turtle
and starting a life together,
except this turtle is a magical being,
and the man who falls for her is shipwrecked on an island,
so it's not weird, it's nice, you monster.
It's sweetly surreal, touching,
and just a breathtaking piece of animation.
And if someone asks why you're openly weeping at the end,
you just tell them to shut up,
and get you some medicine for your turtle allergy.
Free Fire.
What it lacks in narrative complexity,
it makes up for in outsized charm,
ridiculous physical comedy, and more bullet casings
than the floor of Nakatomi Plaza at Christmas.
Free Fire follows a bunch of scummy,
sleazy criminals in Ledger suits,
trying to pull of an arms deal with another bunch
of scummy, sleazy criminals and Ledger suits,
and it shows what happens when people
with big egos have itchy trigger fingers.
Basically, you get an all out shoot out
where no one emerges unscathed.
So come for Oscar winner Brie Larson,
but stay for Sharlto Copley
at his absolute Sharlto Copley-ist.
This dude went for broke.
- I'm not driving a f(beep)in' pizza delivery service!
- And those are some of the most underrated
and underappreciated films of 2017,
but what do you think?
What would be on your list?
Let me know in the comments below,
and give me an underappreciated thumbs up while your there.
That's pretty good.
Now, be sure to Like and Subscribe
or else you might miss next week's show
about the story of a mutant with razor-sharp claws
who teams up with Josh Hartnett to pull off the heist
of a lifetime at a NASCAR track run by dueling mob bosses
in Logan Lucky Number Slevin.
Until next time, keep on diggin'.
(tech music)