If you're a fan of big movies, you've probably got a neatly-organized laundry list of films
to catch this year.
From Star Wars: The Last Jedi to Wonder Woman, all the big flicks you won't want to miss
are committed to your memory.
But with all that focus on blockbusters, a ton of amazing picks may have slipped under
your radar.
Here are some of the underappreciated movie gems from 2017 that you just need to add to
your list and watch as soon as possible.
The Girl with All the Gifts
The zombie genre has been crowded for decades, and in the post-Walking Dead era, it's only
grown more popular.
It's hard to come up with a new spin on those shambling undead tropes, but The Girl with
All the Gifts somehow manages to do it anyway.
Adapted from M.R. Carey's novel, the story imagines a world in which much of the human
population has been wiped out by a fungus-borne zombie plague — yes, just like in the video
game, The Last of Us.
But in The Girl with all the Gifts, second-generation victims retain their human characteristics
even as they're consumed by a hunger for flesh, instead of turning into one of these …
Oh no — the nightmares are going to come back ....
In The Girl with all the Gifts, which saw a limited release in the US early in the year,
the surface-level humanity poses a moral conundrum for a teacher tasked with educating the so-called
"hungries."
And that's compounded by the harsh utilitarian views of the doctor in command, played by
Glenn Close.
Like the best zombie horror, The Girl with all the Gifts is underlined with thought-provoking
and existential questions about modern society and human nature … and it's also an insane
thrill ride.
The Red Turtle
Sweeping and life-affirming, this film is by Studio Ghibli — yup, the same studio
that made My Neighbor Totoro.
The Red Turtle doesn't have a single sentence of dialogue - and that gives it a pinprick
intensity that'll keep your eyes glued to the screen the entire time.
The movie centers around an unnamed man shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island, who later encounters
a giant red turtle.
But it's far more than what it seems superficially.
It dives deep into the tenderness and tribulations of what it means to be human, recounting milestones
and memory markers set over gorgeous animated design aesthetics and an incredible score.
While our nameless protagonist was set adrift by a storm, we follow along the poignant plot
and engrossing layout until we're turned inside out at the film's climax — one that builds
and bursts without warning.
The Red Turtle is truly an experience.
It's utterly captivating for its characters, clues, and cry-inducing resolution.
An absolute must-watch.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Starring Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as Tommy and Austin Tilden, The Autopsy of Jane Doe
brings in frights and freakish encounters from the get-go and doesn't let up until viewers
are totally spooked.
The father-son duo in the film have an unusual bond: they both work as coroners.
While that alone is pretty strange, things get far more sinister when the Tildens are
delivered the corpse of an unidentified woman — one that shows increasingly strange signs
of trauma.
Who is this woman?
What happened to her?
Is she even dead?
The Autopsy of Jane Doe sizzles with uneasiness and oddities, with a peppering of jump scares
and gory slashings.
It all bubbles over into a climax you won't see coming.
Justice League Dark
You might have been too distracted by the blockbuster Marvel and DC releases coming
this year to see Justice League Dark — which is a shame.
The Warner Bros.-backed animated flick offers up a refreshing angle on the standard superhero
storylines.
It blends together razor-sharp wit and a lot of screentime for everyone's favorite trenchcoated
troublemaker, John Constantine.
As the title implies, Justice League Dark is, well, much darker than your typical comic
book movie.
It's got a risky R rating from the MPAA, and it ventures into new territory beyond the
stock points fans have become almost too familiar with.
It maintains a quick pace and sets up a spine-tingling whodunit mystery.
But it doesn't rest on shock for shock's sake or any fluff that falls flat.
Though Constantine's trademark rapid-fire swearing is absent from the film, it's one
that's absolutely worth a watch… now that you know it exists.
You're welcome.
The Lure
Though this perfectly odd Polish flick saw an international release in 2015, it finally
hit the States in February 2017, and it's hard to express how great that is for film
fans.
A mashup of musical camp and horror gore, sprinkled with classic movie monsters in vampires
and mermaids, The Lure is wicked and weird right down to its flippy fish tail.
What's the premise, you ask?
Well, it's plot centers around mermaid-vampires-turned-strippers —
"Shut up and take my money!" — who attempt to lead normal lives, even
under the neon lights of a nightclub.
But their thirst for blood, sex, and violence causes rifts in their relationships, and also
hurts their chances of staying stealthy.
The Lure is deliciously dicey with its characters and turns on a dime with its disjointed scenes.
But that's what makes it so gripping.
It's no teeny-bopper Aquamarine dream, that's for sure:
Maybe you could meet me in Fiji sometime?"
"Uh huh!"
"Blaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
XX
If there's two things horror filmmakers love, it's anthologies and possessed children.
This Sundance Film Festival gem brings together both in a blood-boiling marriage.
The brainchild of a group of female directors — Including St. Vincent, the indie rock
goddess - her real name is Annie Clark, by the way - — XX is comprised of four horror
mini-films.
The short stories weave through familial relations of mother and son, past animalistic behaviors
and into mental illnesses, and deep beyond the grit and gore of camping trips gone wrong.
XX finds its strengths in its subtle silliness.
While scary enough in their own right, the short tales are intercut with haunting stop-motion
cutscenes that bring it all together- but there's still an element of campiness to it
- it just all works.
A Monster Calls
Looking at the poster for A Monster Calls you might be tempted to assume it's just another
young adult movie about a kid who hangs around with a talking tree monster.
And hey, we already have the Guardians of the Galaxy, so who needs that?
The reality, however, is far more complex and compelling: the film, which saw limited
release in 2016 before opening wide this year, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy struggling
to cope with his mother's terminal illness while facing bullies at school and a prickly
grandmother at home.
Dark and honest in a way that family-friendly features rarely dare to be these days, A Monster
Calls was perhaps destined to fall through the cracks in theaters.
But it received heaps of praise from critics for a reason.
Don't miss it.
To the Bone
Minimalistic but moving, To the Bone tells a tale of illness and isolation.
It follows Ellen, played by Lily Collins, a headstrong young woman who's been grappling
with anorexia for most of her life.
Enter Dr. William Beckham, played by an impeccably cast Keanu Reeves, who runs an eccentric wellness
clinic — and runs Ellen past her wits' end.
Directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer/producer Marti Noxon, To the Bone is black comedy at
its best and most beautiful, full of crackling humor and sharp-tongued sarcasm.
Netflix was so enamored with Noxon's directorial debut, the streaming service snatched up the
rights to it back in January for a cool eight million dollars.
Soon, you'll have no excuse to miss it.
Lovesong
So Yong Kim's Lovesong weaves a warm account of two women on the cusp of self-discovery.
Mindy and her best friend Sarah embark on an impromptu road trip and are soon confronted
with emotions they can't deny.
Kim's past credits include incredibly introspective films such as In Between Days, For Ellen,
and Treeless Mountain, and she brings the same kind of intricate and intimate details
to this affecting drama.
Lovesong is a treat for your heart as much as your eyes, with its gauzy pastel palette
and elegant landscape.
It'll leave you breathless at even the smallest moments.
20th Century Women
Set in 1979, this indie darling features an eclectic cast of characters that includes
Annette Bening as liberal leftist Dorothea, Greta Gerwig as spunky red-haired photographer
Abbie, and rebel without a cause Julie — portrayed by a rough-around-the-edges Elle Fanning.
These unique women come together to help raise Dorothea's son ...
"Wondering if you're happy it's a great shortcut to just being depressed."
This dramedy written and directed by Mike Mills is a coming-of-age film that disregards
age altogether.
It brings to light the idea that it's never too late to start over, start for the first
time, or start believing you can begin in the first place.
With an engaging slice-of-life premise and pleasing honesty, the film ebbs and flows
organically.
Just be sure to have some tissues on hand, since it's pretty much guaranteed you'll get
misty-eyed.
A United Kingdom
Amma Asante sits in the director's seat for this 1940s foray into racial conflicts, family
ties, and political motivations in a time of high tension and segregation.
David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike star as an incumbent African king and lily-white Londoner
Ruth Williams.
The pair falls deep and fast for one another, much to the chagrin of those around them.
Dodging attempts to break them apart and prevent them from eloping, the duo is pushed to defy
odds and never back down.
From screenwriter Guy Hibbert, A United Kingdom is at once powerful and appropriately uniting,
piloting through the nooks and crannies of love and liberty to present a raw account
of a couple battling adversity.
Though the film does lean away from the grittier elements of racism, Hibbert crafts a potent
story that will leave any viewer changed for the better.
Kedi
Next up on the list of films you've missed is possibly the one you'll be most bummed
you didn't know existed.
This is the Internet, and as such, cats are worshipped as gods.
Kedi is a documentary about the feral cats of Istanbul.
The filmmakers took to the streets to introduce viewers to the free-roaming felines that lead
surprisingly unique lives and the people who interact with them on a daily basis.
Kedi features kittens with knacks for slipping into hidden alleyway crevices, cats that keep
a keen eye on the docks for the incoming fish market shipments, and furry-faced friends
perched upon doorsteps and behind shop counters.
It can be silly on the surface, but Kedi has a big heart, and though it's centered around
animals, the film's narrative feels utterly human.
Very much a part of the local culture and the community of Istanbul, the cats and kittens
of Kedi remind us all that we're not born knowing hatred or judgment, illustrated through
the remarkable respect between man and animal.
Plus?
Adorable kittens!
What's not to love?
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