Stanko's Stance

Looking at my stats on Letterboxd, I am surprised that I have not seen a ton of movies that were released in 2017. At least comparatively to 2018 and 2019. Regardless, I still have plenty of movies to pick from when revisiting The Big Picture’s 20017 movie draft.

Heading into this draft, Chris Ryan has won two straight…at least in my book. Can he keep the hot streak going? Will Amanda Dobbins get his first win in my books? Or will Sean Fennessey expand on his lead and get his fourth victory? Time to start this reflection on their 2017 Movie Draft.

Drama

• Love the The Lost City Of Z pick by Amanda Dobbins! What a great pull. I have not seen Good Time, and Phantom Thread is great, but I still remember where I was watching The Lost City Of Z. It was an airplane movie and it kept me intrigued and had me enthralled. It also introduced me to Charlie Hunnam as a serious actor and made me a bit invested in him. Amanda gets my win here.

Comedy/Horror

• Sheesh. What a tough fucking category here. I mean holy shit. Get Out was a cultural phenomenon and deserved the award attention it got. It is one of my favorite horror movies ever and is immensely rewatchable for me. Lady Bird made me cry and has one of the funniest bits with Lady Bird McPherson (Saoirise Ronan) complaining to Kyle Scheible (Timothée Chalamet) how she lost her virginity on top.
• Even thought it is probably the wrong answer to most, I am going with Christopher Ryan and his draft pick of It. It is one of my favorite horror movies of all-time. It is one of the best Stephen King movie adaptions of all-time. it came out my birthday weekend and I went to see the movie twice; once by my lonesome and once with friends. It is something I will never forget. Chris Ryan now tied with Amanda, 1-1-0.

Blockbuster

• A second straight category where all three participants really didn’t make a bad pick. Baby Driver is a blast and it is probably Ansel Elgort’s most liked movie role? Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan’s best made movie and and has the best sound track and mixing of any he has made. Lastly we have to give credit to Wonder Woman, which was a very solid movie all the way up to its final act.
• The winner in this category is Chris Ryan and his selection of Dunkirk. It is hard to blend masterful movie making with entertainment value, but that is exactly what Christopher Nolan was able to do. Chris Ryan now leads the charge 2-1-0.

Animated/Foreign Film

• I have a confession. I have never seen Coco. Yes, sure, yell at me all you want. I have seen Okja and did enjoy it an absolute fuck ton. I did not think that I could care about a cow, but damn it Bong Joon-Ho made me do so.
• Amanda gets her second tally…and now we are tied 2-2-0. Amanda is inching closer to her first win! Can she pull it off?

Sequel

• Three high-grossing movies…two of which are well regarded by fans and critics. I am sorry but I can not choose Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi because I did not enjoy it. Was I too hard on it and have I mellowed out since then? Yes. Is the movie good? No. It is between Thor: Ragnorak and Blade Runner 2049. I think, despite my better judgement, I am going to go with the Thunder God. This is probably my favorite Marvel movie, and it was wholly original. A huge point against Blade Runner 2049 is that I would rather watch the original.
• Sean Fennessey gets his first point. He won’t win, but he is on the board. Amanda and Chris are tied at 2-2, with Sean having one.

Wildcard

• Well, Amanda Dobbins is going to win this one by default. I have not seen Logan Lucky or The Meyerowitz Stories, so The Big Sick is going to take this final category. The final score of the 2017 Movie Draft is Amanda with the winning three, Chris with two, and Sean with one. I should also mention that The Big Sick was awesome and genuinely hilarious. Ray Romano was a super surprising delight.

Amanda Dobbins gets the victory! She is on the board! I will admit that going out of order in the way they drafted complicates this and makes it confusing…but I literally just scroll down at random and land on a year. So here we are. If you look at the poll on the bottom, it is shocking that Amanda came in last. I think The Last Jedi really threw people for a loop. I also think that Coco got Sean over the hump.

For the record, this was the 11th draft that the podcast did. At this point in their process, Fennessey had a 7-3-1 lead on Ryan and Dobbins.

My Draft

Drama

• Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan’s most well made movie. Watching this movie in theaters was an experience, and the playing with the timelines like the way he does allows him to continue his classic theme of time. The Hans Zimmer soundtrack will leave you tapping your feet at various paces as each movement tells a different part of the story. Also Dunkirk has one of the best opening scenes in recent memory. Also massively underrated cast now looking back, led by Barry Keoghan before his massive blow-up.
• I mean this in the best way possible, but The Florida Project is a movie that I can not watch again. It is a hard watch. It is sometimes a depressingly cringe watch. But it should be a necessary one for everyone. Willem Dafoe is a remarkable as Bobby, but Brooklynn Prince as Moonee is the most important piece. It is a cliche that a child actor can make or break a movie, but it is often very true. Such is the case with The Florida Project.

Comedy/Horror

• I raved about It earlier when talking about BTP’s picks. I love this iteration of Pennywise and this first part of Stephen King’s bonkers story. We won’t talk about the second part. But It is one of few movies in recent years that I love to rewatch and see people watch for the first time.
• The Babysitter is weird as hell in the best way. I recall watching this movie for the first time and just needing to pause and check myself when Samara Weaving, playing Bee the babysitter, kills the unsuspecting victim and Cole (Judah Lewis) witnesses it. This was also the stretch of three quality movies in a row for Samara Weaving; The Babysitter, Ready Or Not (2019) and Guns Akimbo (2020).

Blockbuster

• Get Out deserved the cultural praise and affection it received. It was brought up to me recently that we never remember the name of the main character that Daniel Kaluuya played (it is Chris Washington, BTW). I think part of his name being generic and unmemorable is on purpose; the white people who look at Chris as a piece of property to steal parts off of makes him an item and unworthy of a name. It is the way he is perceived throughout the movie. Maybe then it should be on us to remember his name and remember the movie’s message? Maybe I am looking to much into this.
• Logan is the best superhero movie. Yup, you heard me. Hugh Jackman delivers one of the most humanizing super-hero performances ever, and Patrick Stewart is still a very strong actor. Also Boyd Holbrook is a great bad buy as Pierce, Logan also put me on the path towards James Mangold. He did The Wolverine (2013) which had a very strong start but sunk to a classic super hero ending. In Logan he got to complete his vision. I hope he can make the ending of the character of Indiana Jones as satisfying in Indiana Jones 5 (2023).

Animated/Foreign

• Dear Basketball. This one is biased because it has sports involved, and also the second time I watched was right after Kobe Bryant’s death. I was working a basketball game when the news of his death came out, and that evening I watched Dear Basketball for a second time. And a third time. This is going to be a legacy short film, showing what Kobe had his eyes set on post basketball, and how much he loved the game.

Wildcard

• I have already touched on both Logan in the direct bullet point above. it is awesome. Go and see it if you haven’t already.
• Taylor Sheridan’s first big budget directing movie is an absolute knockout. If you have not seen Wind River, then you need to watch it and let the ending wash over you. It is tense and you will be clenching onto something. Side note, looking on Sheridan’s IMDB he directed a movie called Vile in 2011 which now i have to try and see.

Sequel

• John Wick Chapter 2 is the best of the John Wick movies thus far. It is absolutely fantastic. The entire movie expands the John wick universe with surprising smoothness. There are numerous fight sequences that are memorable, but none more so than the sequence leading up to Gianna’s coronation…and then the actual coronation. Wick’s suiting up is arguably the most rewatchable scene in the entire movie. John Wick Chapter 2 is the best.

Reflection On “The Big Picture” 1990s Oscar Winners Movie Draft – Chris Ryan Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2003 Movie Draft – Joanna Robinson Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2010 Movie Draft – Sean Fennessey Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2011 Movie Draft – Sean Fennessey Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2012 Movie Draft – Chris Ryan Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2017 Movie Draft – Amanda Dobbins
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2018 Movie Draft – Sean Fennessey Victory

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