Top 10 Movies of 2017

Before we get started, I apologize for this article being so late, but that’s what you get when you work two very time consuming jobs while still trying to have an active social life.

Ladies and Gentlemen, another year has come and gone and what a year it has been. While I personally cannot speak for the rest of the world, I can honestly say that for me, in terms of personal growth and progression through life, this has been easily one of the best years of my life. I landed my dream job. I finally moved out of my parents’ house and bought my first home. I’ve gotten to meet several people who have helped influence my life for the better, and of course, I saw a lot of really good movies, which brings me to the reason why we’re here. And I’m not kidding when I say A LOT of good movies. No joke, in the seven years I’ve been doing this, this has been the absolute hardest time I’ve had narrowing down the list. I’m still not 100% satisfied that I was able to include all the movies I should have. Oh well, I guess that’s what the honorable mentions are for, but that’s a discussion for later. Let’s get right down to it. Fair warning, there will be some spoilers for a few of the films on this list. With that in mind, here we go.

10. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Much like last year, we kick off the list with the latest Star Wars film. This was, an interesting experience to say the least. When I walked out of the theatre, it honestly took me a while to decide how I felt about it. After I had some time to process the film, and while there were certain things that I felt could have been handled a lot better, such as the anti-climatic death of Snoke or Princess Leia’s fake out death, (R.I.P. Carrie Fischer by the way.) overall, I thought this was one of the most engaging, provocative, original and visually appealing Star Wars films we’ve had in a very long time.

Picking up from where the last movie left off, the resistance is still on the run from the first order, who has acquired a new and seemingly unbeatable way to track their ships. Finn and a new character, Rose, need to venture to a pretty cool casino planet to pick up a hacker (played by Benicio Del Toro) to help their friends and Rey trains with a reluctant and reclusive Luke Skywalker while struggling to understand the growing force-based connection between herself and Kylo Ren.

There’s a lot to get invested in in this movie. The casino planet is pretty neat, the salt mine planet that serves as the location for the climax is one of the most visually appealing locations I’ve ever seen in a Star Wars film, the dialogues between Rey and Kylo lead to some interesting moments between two actors with excellent chemistry, the fight scenes, particularly the one in the throne room are some of the best this franchise has ever produced, the characters introduced in the last film like Finn and Poe Dameron retain their charm and likeability and of course, the returning regulars from the old days are just as awesome as they’ve ever been. Which brings me to what is, for me at least, the biggest selling point of this film: The one, the only, Mark Hamill returning as the legendary character he brought to life, Luke Skywalker. People tend to forget that Hamill is and always has been one hell of an actor. Every scene he shares with Daisy Ridley, be it comedic or dramatic, is pure gold. Gone is that young, wide eyed impulsive boy from the days of old, this film shows Luke having been disappointed by failure and secluding himself far away until called out of the shadows once again in order to train young Rey. Without giving too much away, Luke’s final scene in the movie brings his arc to a close in a very emotional yet satisfying manner. I’ll never forget the way my friend gripped my hand as Luke faced off against Kylo. While this film has proven polarizing to say the least, but for me personal I’m very happy to be able to say I loved it.

9. Spider-Man: Homecoming

A trend you’ll notice very quickly when it comes to this list is the fact that 2017 was a good year for Superhero films, like, a REALLY good year for Superhero films. The first amongst them that we’ll be discussing is The Web Slinger’s long awaited return solo debut in the MCU, Homecoming. Not long after Spidey’s MCU debut in last year’s Civil War, Peter Parker, played once again by Tom Holland has returned to being your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and doing a pretty good job of it at that. However, Spidey keeps lamenting the fact that his mentor, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man refuses to give him a chance to prove himself or even pay any attention to him and young Peter feels he’s meant for more than saving cats from trees and stopping purse-snatchers. However, when a villain calling himself The Vulture starts dealing high-tech weapons salvaged from the Avengers previous battles to criminals in Spidey’s neighborhood, our favorite wall-crawler sees this as the perfect opportunity to prove that he’s ready for the big time.

I’ll admit, I was very skeptical when it was announced that Spider-Man would be rebooted for the second time in under a decade and even more so when Tom Holland was announced as the new web slinger, particularly due to how much I enjoyed Andrew Garfield’s interpretation of the character. While Holland did a fine job in Civil War, it wasn’t quite enough to quiet my doubts. This movie however, shut those doubts up and then some because Tom Holland is the perfect Spider-Man for this Universe. He hits that perfect balance of feeling like the dork Peter Parker we all know from the comics and feeling like an actual real kid. Robert Downey Jr. also gets a few good moments in this flick, acting as a mentor, and surrogate father figure to Spider-Man. Tony Stark has gone from irresponsible playboy to respectable and responsible hero over the course of these movies and is now seen trying to impart these same lessons on to young Peter. However, the real MVP of this movie isn’t Spider-Man or Iron Man, it’s Michael Keaton as The Vulture. The character’s story is that of someone who is taking advantage of the fallout from these various superhero battles in order to provide for his family, a fascinating idea that was, in my opinion, long overdue for these movies. The scene where Peter learns that his date for the home coming dance is the daughter of The Vulture and the two are alone together in the car is one of the most chilling scenes put to cinema all year.

Spider-Man Homecoming revitalized the Spider-Man film franchise in a big way and for the first time in a long time, I’m proud to be a Spider-Man fan.

8. Baby Driver

Before we go any further, I feel as though there is an Elephant in the room that needs addressing by the name of Kevin Spacey. Sadly, this year, Kevin Spacey has been revealed as a horrible monster of a human being. As a result, many people I’ve talked to have outright refused to see this film or any other he’s appeared in simply for the fact that Kevin Spacey appears in them. If that is a choice you have made, that is your prerogative, and I’ll admit, I almost left this one off the list for that very reason. However, this is not a list of who are the best people, this is a list of the best movies of the year. Kevin Spacey, for whatever other unpleasant things he may be, is a fantastic actor and this movie, with him or without him, is more than deserving of this list.

Baby Driver tells the story of a kid who goes by the codename of well… Baby. Baby is constantly listening to music due to a case of tinnitus as a result of a car accident that left him an orphan. Baby’s quiet and a little socially awkward but ultimately a good person who just happens to have a natural talent as a getaway driver. Those talents attracted the attention of a crime boss known only as Doc (played by Spacey) who recruits Baby to help him on his heists. Baby doesn’t seem to dislike his job, but knows that he doesn’t belong in that world. When a new love interest comes into Baby’s life, Baby finally seeks to get out, but finds that the real way out is to sabotage a major heist and run for it. However, things don’t exactly go as planned.

This movie was a lot of fun and naturally, when it comes to a movie heavily reliant on music, it’s bound to have a kickass soundtrack. The whole cast does a great job, but like Spider-Man, the real show stealer here is the villain, Buddy, played by the always awesome John Ham. Buddy, a member of Doc’s crew, doesn’t actually start off as the villain. In fact, he starts off as one of Baby’s biggest defenders in the gang, but when his girlfriend is killed as a result of Baby’s actions, both he and the audience are reminded in a big way how dangerous he really is. Baby driver is an absolute blast and I highly recommend it to you all.

7. Power Rangers

This movie probably won’t pop up on a lot of other top ten lists of this kind, and I’ll freely admit to a degree of personal bias as I have been and have continued to be a massive Power Rangers fan since the age of three. However, while my love of the source material certainly elevates this film in my eyes, as I feel, with all the beloved 80’s and 90’s franchises getting reboots nowadays, the directors of those projects should look to this film as a guide to do a reboot

In the small coastal town of Angel Grove California, five ordinary teens, including Jason, a rebellious football star, Kimberly, a popular girl who has recently fallen out of favor with the in-crowd, Billy, a genius who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, Zack, a wild child who would do anything for his dying mother and Trini, the new girl in town who is questioning her sexual orientation, find five colorful stones in an abandoned quarry and wake up the next morning to find that they have been gifted with incredible strength and agility. Upon returning to the quarry, the teenagers discover an alien space craft buried deep underground housing an ancient being known as Zordon who reveals that the five have been chosen to become an elite team of galactic warriors know as the Power Rangers. The timing could not be better either, as the Rangers discovering their powers has heralded the return of an evil space witch named Rita Repulsa. Now the Rangers need to train as hard as they can to harness their new powers before Rita unleashes her unstoppable monster and destroys all life as we know it.

When Marvel Comics rebooted Ghost Rider in the 90’s, they did so with a simple though process: “keep everything that works and change everything else.” I bring that up because I believe that the same principal is in play here with Power Rangers. This is a film that clearly respects its source material without feeling the need to anchor itself to it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the original five Power Rangers. In fact, I have met most of the actors in person and have found them to be wonderful people. However, let’s be honest with ourselves, those characters were fairly idealized, goody-goody and fairly bland individuals. These new characters are far from perfect, but they feel nuanced and interesting and have depth to them. And yet again, the MVP of this film goes to its villain, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa. In the show, Rita had her intimidating moments sure and Barbara Goodson’s voice is iconic among Power Rangers fans, but the character was usually played up for laughs. Here, Elizabeth Banks is terrifying, violent, delightfully psychotic and having the time of her life every moment she’s on screen. Finally, there’s the main draw of any Power Rangers material, the action, and damn is the final battle when the Rangers finally morph into their cool newly redesigned armor a blast. My friends in the theatre can attest to the fact that I nearly creamed my pants out of pure unadulterated nostalgia when “Go Go Power Rangers” started playing. Are there films that came out this past year more deserving of a spot on this list: probably, but I would be hard pressed to find a film that hit just the right spot of nostalgia for me.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in the seven years I’ve been doing this, we have an honest to god tie. 6. TIE: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2/Thor: Ragnarok

Like I said, it was a great year for Superhero films. I try to avoid ties when I make these lists, but as I said at the top, this was the hardest time I’ve ever had narrowing down the top ten and when it came to choosing between these two films, I simply could not. The two films both come from Marvel and both highlight the aspects of Marvel that I love most.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the follow up to my number 1 film of 2014, the Guardians are back and so is their rockin’ soundtrack. This time, while on the run from some Galactic Zealots who Rocket stole from, they end up uncovering the mystery of Starlord’s parentage. Turns out Peter’s dad, Ego, is a god-like being with the power of an entire planet. As he and his long-lost son bond, the others start to suspect that Ego has far more sinister plans in mind.

In Thor Ragnarok, Thor and Loki reunite just in time to witness the passing of their father, Odin, pass away. However, Odin’s death breaks the seal placed upon Odin’s eldest child, Hela, the Goddess of Death, played brilliantly by Kate Blanchet. Once Hela returns, she crushes Thor’s hammer and banishes the Thunder God to a mysterious planet where he is forced to fight his way home, while fighting the Hulk at the same time.

These movies both show off the best aspects of the MCU. The humor, the great characters and the fun storytelling. Characters who were complete unknowns even to comic fans like Michael Rooker’s Yondu and Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster are now well known and well liked characters. Plus, both movies can boast an incredible soundtrack featuring names that range from Led Zeppelin to Fleetwood Mac. These movies are a blast and I cannot wait to see these great characters converge when Infinity War comes around.

5. Split

I cannot believe that my fingers are about to type this sentence but, in the year of our lord 2017, M. Night Shyamalan made a good movie. More than that, M. Night Shyamalan made a really good movie, like a really, REALLY, good movie. Ladies and gentlemen, this, is Split!

Following a party, three classmates, Casey, Claire and Marcia are abducted by a man named Kevin Wendell Crumb, played brilliantly by James McAvoy and brought into a dungeon like room in his lair for a clearly sinister purpose. As it turns out, Kevin suffers from a severe case of dissociative identity disorder. Within Kevin’s subconscious, there are twenty-three distinct personalities. And with so many voices in one’s head, not all of them are guaranteed to agree. As such, some of Kevin’s personalities have formed a rogue faction called The Horde and have seized control of Kevin’s body for their own sinister purposes. Forming this malevolent group are Dennis, a stone faced sex offender and the muscle of The Horde, Patricia, a demure yet dangerous English woman, and Hedwig, a naïve child who has been recruited by the Horde because of his unique ability to grab control of Kevin’s body whenever he wants. The Horde’s plan involves offering the girls as a sacrifice to Kevin’s fabled 24th personality, a monster with powers beyond human imagination known only as The Beast.

One really can’t talk about this movie without talking about James McAvoy’s incredible performance. I mean, holy crap, this is some performance art we’re working with. McAvoy easily transitions between his various personalities at the crop of a hat. At some points, he’s playing one personality while pretending to be another personality but with subtle clues in his performance that the audience can pick up on if they’re paying attention. However, this is a Shyamalan movie so naturally, there’s a twist. However, this twist is probably one of his more unique to date. At the end of the movie when the events of the film are being broadcast on the news, shown watching it at a diner is David Dunn, Bruce Willis’s character from one of Shyamalan’s earlier movies, Unbreakable. Given the nature of that film, it’s in that moment when you realize what this movie really is: The Origin of a Supervillain. And with that, this film accomplished two miracles. Not only was it an excellent Shyamalan film, but it managed to get me really excited for a future Shyamalan film. I’d say that’s worth of the list.

4. Get Out

Before we begin, here’s an amusing anecdote. The theatre where I see most of my movies is not exactly in the best neighborhood and on a busy night, does not always attract the most polite audiences. I mention this because I saw both Split and this movie at the same theatre on such nights. I mention this because when I saw Split, It was taking me out of the movie and I found it incredibly frustrating. With Get Out, which I saw the very same month, I was more welcoming to it, mostly because it was grounding me in reality and reminding me that I was indeed watching a movie and not having a crazy, messed up fever dream because this movie was freaking nuts, although nuts in all the right ways.

From the mind of Jordan Peele, one half of the comedy team, Key and Peele, in his directorial debut, Get Out follows Chris Washington, a young African American photographer and his white girlfriend Rose Armitage going to her parent’s lake house for the weekend where Chris will be meeting them for the first time. At first, the Armitage’s seem friendly enough, albeit in that “White People Trying Way Too Hard To Not To Be Racist” sort of way,” However, Chris can’t help but feel that something is a little off. Perhaps it’s the two black servants at the lake house doing everything in their power to be CREEPY AS POSSIBLE!! Seriously, every second these two are on screen, it’s unsettling as all get out. So… the trailers for this film had you believe that the parents were evil racists or something. Well… not exactly. Spoilers, it turns out that the Armitage Family, including Rose, has been systematically kidnapping young black people and, using a combination of hypnosis and advanced neurosurgery, implanting the brains of old white people who can afford the surgery into their body’s leaving the victims consciousness in a state of limbo referred to as “The Sunken Place.” So, terrified and alone, Chris must fight his way out of this nightmare before everything that he is is lost to darkness.

I wasn’t always a huge fan of horror films, but I’ve grown to greatly appreciate them over the years. I gotta say, this is one of the best and most original I’ve seen in years. Jordan Peele is incredible as a first time director, utilizing techniques that one would expect from a seasoned director. It’s even more impressive when you consider that Peele is very much out of his comfort zone here. Like I said, he was primarily known as a comedian before this was made. But here he is making an excellent horror film filled with some interesting social commentary. However, this is not to say that Peele does not play to his strengths. The character of Rod, Chris’s best friend who works for TSA manages to be funnier than any character in any actual comedy I’ve seen all year. I can’t say for sure if this movie is anti-White as some have suggested, but I can safely say that this is the most pro-TSA movie I have ever seen in my life. Just watch the movie and find out. I also want to give special praise to Allison Williams who plays Rose. After she’s revealed to be in on it, Rose gets some of the creepiest scenes in the film. There’s a scene where she has to talk to Rod on the phone and pretend to be concerned for him, but her body language does not match her words. Even more unsettling is towards the end when Chris tries to choke her out and she starts smiling. Get Out is a fun yet creepy experience from beginning to end and I highly recommend it.

3. The Disaster Artist

In order to understand this movie, one must understand another film, a 2003 feature called “The Room.” Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Over the past fifteen years it’s a film that’s gained cult status as the worst film ever made. Ever heard the phrase “so bad it’s good”? The Room is like The Godfather of that those kinds of movie. However, more fascinating than the movie itself is the man behind it, the film’s writer, director and leading man, Tommy Wiseau. I do not believe that a word has yet been invented that can properly describe Tommy Wiseau, so for lack of a better let’s just say that Tommy Wiseau is a strange, strange man. Virtually nothing is known about Tommy. Not where he comes from, not how old he is and not where he gets the money to finance his films. What little we do know about this enigma in the world of underground filmmaking was detailed in a book written by Wiseau’s long time collaborator, friend and co-star, Greg Sestero, and that brings us to this film.

Brothers James and Dave Franco team up to play Wiseau and Sestero respectively in this film that details how the two met, moved out to Los Angeles, struggled for a while to find acting gigs, worked together in making The Room and the nightmare that was the making of that film.

First and foremost, I need to discuss James Franco’s performance as Tommy Wiseau. Again, I can’t stress enough what a unique and unusual individual Mr. Wiseau is. Natural Strangeness like that I’d imagine would be difficult to replicate, but damned if Franco doesn’t turn in one of the greatest performances I’ve seen in my entire life in order to capture the essence of Wiseau, nailing all of his bizarre mannerisms to a T. As I watched this film, I was actually reminded of another film I quite enjoyed, Ed Wood. In that film, Johnny Depp portrays the titular Ed Wood, another infamous director known for making terrible films. However, the common thread between these two films, besides the obvious, is the unrelenting optimism of the two men whose lives they detail. And even though their films are bad, amateurish and even laughably hilarious, neither one ever allowed themselves to loose that optimism, and there’s something truly inspiring about that. For that reason, I’m glad that movies like The Room exist, to remind us that dreams are worth pursuing.

Now, ordinarily, I do the honorable mentions before number one, but since number two and number one are so close that it’s almost a tie, I decided to save them both for last, therefore, we’re doing the honorable mentions now, and there are a lot of them, so let’s get right down to it.

John Wick: Chapter 2 – In a follow-up to one of my top movies of 2014, Keanu Reeves is back as the unstoppable assassin John Wick, ready to kick even more ass.

Murder on the Orient Express – In this Kenneth Branagh directed adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic boasting an all star cast brings us a fun little murder mystery starring Branagh himself as legendary literary detective Hercule Poirot.

One Piece: Film Gold – This one’s for you Jon. I’m not a big One Piece fan, finding it a bit strange even by anime standards, but suffice to say, a group of misfits and weirdos valiantly rising up against a power crazed dictator with a bad hair piece and an obsession with gold was something a lot of people needed to see in January of 2017.

Bright – In this Netflix exclusive Blockbuster Starring Will Smith, we are treated to a fascinating setting in which a Tolkien-esque world populated by Elves and Orcs has progressed into the modern age that I found to be a lot of fun.

Okja – Another Netflix exclusive from the maker of Snow Piercer that features genetically enhanced super pigs, Tilda Swinton playing twins and a glorious drunken performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Kong: Skull Island - Some classic giant monster fighting action that features a kickass 70’s soundtrack and a fun and memorable performance from John C. Reilly.

Batman & Harley Quinn – A film that just barely missed the cut for the final list, this here is a great comedy that features Batman and Harley Quinn teaming up to hilarious effect as well as a return to the classic Bruce Timm style of animation.

And so, we’ve reached the final two. As I’ve mentioned throughout this list, this was a great year for super hero movies. So, it is only fitting that number one and number two come from the two titans of the comic book world, Marvel and DC. Let me tell you guys on no uncertain terms that this was the most difficult time I’ve ever had deciding between two movies for one of these lists. In my mind these two movies are equal, but while I’m willing to settle for a tie in the lower spots, but that is not the case for the number one spot. There can only be one best movie of a given year. So, it was all a matter of which movie to choose. After months of debate, I reached a decision, and so with an extremely heavy heart, I award the number two movie of the year to…

2. Logan

We’ll discuss why Logan missed out on the number one spot later, but for now, let’s focus on why this movie is awesome. Let’s think about something for a second. Hugh Jackman has appeared as the character of Wolverine in nine different movies over the course of nearly two decades. I did a little research, and I’m pretty sure that means that Jackman has played the same character in more movies over the course of more time than any actor in recent memory. For a role that’s been so much a part of this actor’s career for so long, the character deserved to have one hell of a sendoff, and fortunately, we got just that.

Several years in the future, after some only vaguely detailed event has wiped out the majority of the majority mutant population, an aged and beleaguered Logan spends his days looking after an elderly and dementia ridden Charles Xavier and hoping only for a quiet and unremarkable life. That all changes when a young girl named Laura, a genetically engineered mutant created using Logan’s own DNA, arrives on his doorstep. Knowing that Laura is being hunted by the nefarious organization that created her, Logan reluctantly agrees to take her across the border to Canada where there is rumored to be a safe haven for mutants. And thus, the Wolverine takes his final journey, both one of adventure, and of self-discovery.

I cannot stress enough just how perfect this movie was. Jackman has had years to explore the character of Wolverine and gives his best performance as the character yet. The exact same can be said of the incomparable Sir Patrick Stewart who gives one of his best performances in years. However, neither one of them can lay claim to being the real star of this film. No, that distinction belongs to young Dafne Keen who plays Laura, or as she’s known in the comics, X-23. Throughout the movie, Keen says very little and does most of her acting with her facial expressions and body language. I do hope this young woman sticks with this acting thing as she’s got a real knack for it. Recently, it was announced that Disney had bought out Fox, and with it, the rights to make X-Men movies. Does this mean that we’ll see Hugh Jackman take up the role of the Wolverine again? Only time will tell. However, if this is truly the last hurrah for this actor and this character together, then it was one hell of a sendoff.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the number one movie of 2017…

1. Wonder Woman

What the decision to put Wonder Woman at number one instead of Logan ultimately came down to was the simple fact that this was a movie with more to prove. With Logan, we’d seen proof that this character could carry a movie, we were confident that, with the right script, Hugh Jackman could make things work. Almost everyone going into this movie knew that Logan would be exactly as excellent as we were expecting it to be. Not the case with Wonder Woman. DC had been putting out disappointment after disappointment with both Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad the previous year. Now, we were getting the first ever feature film for the most important female superhero in existence, an inspiration to woman both in her world and the real one, and the stakes could not be higher. If this movie bombed, it could have killed the viability for any future Wonder Woman movies, it would also have dashed any hopes that DC would ever be able to put out a good movie ever again. In short, this movie, perhaps more than any movie that came before it, NEEDED to be good. And I thank whatever divine being that exists if one exists at all that it was.

The hidden Greek Island of Themyscira, home to a tribe of ageless warrior women known as the Amazons, is a veritable paradise, free from the evils of the world of men. Amongst the fiercest fighters of the Amazons is Diana, daughter of the queen, who is said to have been sculpted from clay and given life by Zeus himself. However, the outside world is far from the paradise that is Themyscira as it is currently embroiled in the chaotic nightmare that we now call World War I. That nightmare arrives on the shore of Themyscira in the form of a spy named Steve Trevor who has news that the German’s are developing biological weapons that could destroy all life as we know it, including Themyscira. Believing this to be the work of Ares, the fallen god of war, Diana insists on accompanying Steve on his journey. Strong and skilled though Diana may be, she is also very naïve to the world of men, and soon learns that there is much that she is not prepared for.

This movie was everything it needed to be and more. Everything came together into something simply amazing. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are great individually as Diana and Steve respectively and have amazing chemistry with one another. The horrors of war were shown in a powerful way. I particularly enjoyed Diana’s utter horror at the senseless destruction of a village that had sheltered Diana and her allies the previous evening. And finally, the scene in which Diana rises from the trench and valiantly crosses no man’s land, drawing the gunfire of the German soldiers so that the allied forces can gain the upper hand was one of the most powerful scenes in cinema this year. Will this trend continue? Has DC finally gotten their act together? Will we see a new string of female representation in Super Hero movies? Who knows? All I know is that this movie was easily the feel good movie of 2017 and I am honored to have experienced it.

And that’ll about do it for this years list. Thank you to all who read it. I hope you all had a great year, and an even better one to come.