And so, we’ve come to the end of 2017. And what a roller coaster year it has been. We’ve been brought to dizzying heights with the refreshing Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, relive our past favourite movies with sequels like Blade Runner: 2049 and fallen into murky depths with news of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that started a rogue train that not only wouldn’t stop but gains momentum steadily.
As we come to the year’s end, let’s look back at the top 17 things that happened in 2017.
1. Oops, We got it Wrong
While they should be concentrating on handing out the right envelopes at the 89th Academy Awards, the accountants responsible for the award envelopes were busy tweeting pictures of themselves with celebrities instead. The result? The wrong winner was read for the Best Picture Award, leading to heart-attack inducing stress for Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who read out La La Land as the winner. What a shame, because not only did the mistake overshadow the reunion of Bonnie and Clyde, it also dwarfed the actual winner, Moonlight’s victory.
2. The Power of Wonder Woman
For years, DC lagged behind Marvel in its movie-offerings, until Wonder Woman. It became the best-received DC Universe film and a box office mammoth when it was released in May. The movie, directed by Patty Jenkins, had the strongest opening ever for a woman-directed movie, which is a big deal in the male-dominated Hollywood.
3. The movie called It
It was like the movie we’ve been waiting for. With Box Office takings of 688.3 million USD, It has become the highest grossing horror release. Since its release in September, scary clowns, red balloons and that orgy scene that was missing were all people could talk about.
4. The scandals that rocked Hollywood
It first started with eight women and an expose in the New York Times on 5 October 2017. Now, the women who came forward to share their Harvey Weinstein encounter have mushroomed into hundreds, and counting. It was like the dam that broke. And the result was a liberated flood of women (and some men) who felt embolden to come forth to identify their perpetrators. Hollywood heavyweights like Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, and comedian Louis C.K. were just some of those who were named to have made sexual assaults on others. In fact, for Spacey, it cost him his already filmed movie, All the Money in the World. His part was recast, with Christopher Plummer stepping in.
The scandals also sparked the #MeToo campaign. It was a simple two-word hashtag that speaks volumes. On 15 October, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem." That opened the gates to floods of stories from both celebrities and common folk on their sexual assault experience, prompting a #MeToo revolution.
5. Pop Aye- the Elephant that Could
Kirsten Tan’s directorial debut is a poignant drama of a man reuniting with his long-lost elephant and goes on a road trip to bring it back to his hometown in Loei Province, Isan, Thailand. The film won a Special Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Pop Aye was also Singapore’s submission to the 90th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Although it didn’t make it into the shortlist, it was still a feat for Kirsten, and Singapore.
6. Marvel Vs DC
The Fight is on. When DC released Wonder Woman, Marvel released Spiderman: Homecoming. After Thor: Ragnarok was released, Justice League was right on its heels. For moviegoers and especially comic book lovers, this tussle for top Box Office standings couldn’t be better. And we can’t wait for next year, when Marvel shows us the power of The Avengers: Infinity War.
7. Breakout Stars
It was a year of standout performances. Logan gives us a gripping story of an aged Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and a dying Professor X (Patrick Stewart), a major departure from their more glamorous X-Men days. It also brought us Dafne Keen, who plays Wolverine’s biological daughter, Laura, or X-23, in the movie. The precocious 11-year old nailed all Wolverine’s clawed moves, and proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the movie.
Then we have Ruby Rose from Australia. Although she’s been in entertainment for a decade, starting out as an MTV VJ in her native country, it was in 2017 that people took notice of her, thanks to movies like xXx: Return of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter 2 and the upcoming Pitch Perfect 3. A younger, edgier version of Angelina Jolie, this Australian actress is one to watch.
As an unlikely Valkyrie candidate in Thor: Ragnarok, Tessa Thompson made the character her own. She’s feisty, sultry and one tough cookie, and a clear delight to watch as she holds her own against the mighty Thor and as a playmate to Hulk.
As the terrifying It clown, we couldn’t see the rugged good looks of Bill Skarsgård, from the Skarsgard acting family. Although he’s been acting over a decade ago, it was playing Pennywise that brought him over to mainstream success. He was reportedly so terrifying as Pennywise that the kids on set broke into tears when they did their first scene with him.
8. Year of Remakes
It was a year of remakes. In March, we were introduced to Kong: Skull Island, a reboot of the King Kong franchise, completely erasing Jack Black’s version from existence with a grittier version that sends a team of explorers (and destroyers) to a remote island filled with monsters that lurk beneath the uncharted island’s surface, and of course Kong. With an ensemble cast including Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, the romance between Naomi Watts and Kong is now only a distant memory.
Then we have Beauty and the Beast, a live-action remake of the Disney animated series, and what a breath-taking remake it was! Emma Watson embodies everything Belle is, and more. She transforms her into brainy Belle, and director Bill Condon brought out the characters we love so well brilliantly into live-action form. Who knew megastars like Emma Thompson , Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellen are so enjoyable as inanimate objects come to life?
In June, Tom Cruise whirled in with his newest Mummy, the start of the Dark Universe. All we remember now is Sofia Boutella’s menacing eyes.
In September, we saw Ellen Page, Diego Luna and Nina Dobrev joined original Flatliner Kiefer Sutherland in the remake of the 1990 Flatliners. Remaining true to the source material, this new update brings the cult classic to new and young fans who weren’t even born when the original was released.
In the unlikely remake of Clint Eastwood’s 1971 movie Beguiled, Sofia Coppola brings about a softer, more dramatic version of The Beguiled, focusing on the relationships between people rather than the war that the original movie centres around. The result was an award-winning film at the Cannes Film Festival, where Coppola walked away with the Best Director award.
9. Sequels Galore
Apart from reboots, sequels are the in-thing this year as well. Amongst them are Underworld: Blood Wars, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, T2 Trainspotting, Fast & Furious 8, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and towards the end of the year, it got more exciting with Blade Runner: 2049, Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The jury’s still out on Star Wars, so far, the camp has been split into half. The movie definitely needs a second viewing to decide if you truly love it, or not.
10. The rise of Kelly Marie Tran
Out of nowhere, this Vietnamese actress whose previous acting credits are limited to Colleague Humour videos sprang up to clinch the most coveted role of a lifetime- a part in the Star Wars franchise. No, she didn’t just last five minutes in the movie. Yes, it is her FIRST movie role. She shares equal screen time with John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. And she’s Asian, how awesome is that?
