One of Hollywood’s most respected blockbuster filmmakers made an experimental World War II movie.
An Amazon stepped off the sideline and into No Man’s Land.
Our favorite films this year emerged from unexpected places to tell new and refreshing stories.
Warner Bros.; Clay Enos/Warner Bros.; Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Animation
Here’s a rundown of our highs and lows from the year.
The Best10.
Gadot’s sly sense of humor and thousand-watt charisma were practically jumper cables.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
Chris Nashawaty
9.
Faces Places
A small wonder of Gallic whimsy and odd-couple inspiration, disguised as a humble documentary.
Agnes Varda (now 89-years-old!)
Everett Collection
Leah Greenblatt
8.
It was always just a matter of if not when he’d direct.
Still, who knew he’d be so assured behind the camera once he got there?
Michael Gibson/STX Films
As Molly, Jessica Chastain serves up a fizzy cocktail of hard-edged intelligence and elastic ethics.
CN
7.
LG
6.
Merie Wallace/A24
Hostiles
How has a genre as historically rich as the Western been mired in such an epic dry spell?
CN
5.
Foxtrot
The profoundly humane Israeli import,Foxtrot, upends your expectations at every turn.
Lorey Sebastian, Le Grisbi Productions/Waypoint Entertainment
CN
4.
(The call is coming frominside the zeitgeist!).
LG
3.
Bord Cadre Films
LG
2.
LG
1.
Dunkirk
There’s certainly been no shortage of World War II films over the years.
Universal Pictures
Some have argued that Nolan’s film lacks narrative coherence.
That it’s too impressionistic.
CN
The Worst5.
Kerry Hayes/20th Century Fox Film
His worst film since 2009’sWhatever Works.
CN
4.
The Book of Henry
It could have been another fairly standard gifted-child drama.
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom/Sony Pictures Classics
LG
3.
From the baffling plot to the much-derided marketing campaign, this crime drama is a slushy slog.
Devan Coggan
2.
Warner Bros.
Geostorm
A disaster so bad, maybe one day Roland Emmerich will make a movie about it.
Emmerich’sIndependence Daywriter Dean Devlin made his directorial debut with this catastrophe, which makesSharknadolook likeMoonlight.
Christopher Rosen
1.
Amazon Studios
What a piece of .
Focus Features
Universal Pictures
Warner Bros.
Sony Pictures Animation
