My Top 10 Movies of 2017

How should the whirlwind movie year of 2017 be remembered? Is it most notable for a miserable box office in terms of tickets sold (as of this writing, the fewest since 1992)? Or is it the year of the Harvey Weinstein fallout, the #MeToo movement, and the newfound questions about whether it's okay to "separate the artist from the art?" How about the year where non-Star Wars movies took a backseat to TV and streaming once and for all? Or maybe the year where Disney took its most dramatic step toward world domination with it's purchase of 20th Century Fox (Okay, I'm exaggerating here, but still....)? Yup, 2017 contained no shortage of juicy storylines in the industry. Maybe it will be best remembered like the political news cycle of 2017, a tsunami of spectacles we couldn't turn away from even when we wanted to.

But it's not all doom and gloom, far from it. 2017 counterbalanced all the chaos with several noteworthy positives. First and foremost, there was MoviePass, the seemingly too-good-to-be-true plan that allows you to see up to one theatrical release per day, all for a measly $10 per month. For a frequent moviegoer like me, it's a Godsend, and I couldn't be happier that it exists. Then there was the spreading of the wealth; nearly every month gave us at least one potential Top 10 contender. It's a wonderful thing for a movie buff to not have to wait until the final three months of the year for worthy films to arrive. And finally, 2017 saw the triumphant return of the "original film." Anyone who knows me knows I've been preaching "support original films" all year long in a sea of franchises. Marvel and Star Wars may be the safest moneymakers, but my Top 10 as well as the Runners-up are filled with both wildly creative, original properties as well as filmmakers taking fascinating risks with well-worn material.

Quality-wise, 2017 was so strong that crafting a list in the usual way became extremely difficult (and I mean that in a good way). As such, there is a tie at No. 10 because I couldn't bear to leave either film off. And I've expanded the Runners-Up pool from the usual five to seven. Consider these seven as a tie for 11th place. If your favorite is missing, that doesn't mean I disliked it. It's just that I reserve this list for my absolute favorites of the year. And in 2017, I allowed that pool of favorites to spread further than ever before.

As always, I present runners-up in alphabetical order, followed by the Top 10 in reverse order, saving the best for last.

Runners-Up (alphabetical order)

 Baby Driver-- It's a tremendously entertaining action/thriller with a fairly standard plot but immensely appealing characters and a style and groove all its own. What else can you expect from an auteur like Edgar Wright?

Get Out-- Jordan Peele scores big with his directorial debut, a devilishly clever mash-up of horror tropes and social commentary on modern-day racism. He's a fresh new voice to be reckoned with.

It-- Between It and the second season of Stranger Things, it was a nice year for kids versus monsters. This movie gave an electrifying jolt to the box office, the beleaguered history of Stephen King movies, and the horror genre as a whole.

mother!-- It's the definition of "love it or hate it." You've heard about the walk-outs and the "F" Cinemascore, but if you're an adventurous moviegoer with a taste for the wild and allegorical, Darren Aronofsky's latest is right up your alley.

Mudbound-- Netflix dove headfirst into the movie distribution pool in 2017, and this was one of their highlights. An honest and insightful tale of racism in the South post-WWII, Mudbound is by no means uplifting but it leaves an impact.

Okja-- And here's Netflix's other gem of the year. Ojka is a wonderfully told story that juggles comedy, drama, and an anti-slaughterhouse message all with ease.

Wonder Woman-- This was far and away the best movie in the DC Extended Universe so far (note: I haven't yet seen Justice League). Wonder Woman tore up the box office and reminded us what a conventional superhero movie could be if developed with care and feeling.

And now for the Top 10 proper (or should that be 11.... whatever)

10. Coco (tie)-- Sure, the kids may love the further adventures of Dory, Nemo, and Lightning McQueen the most, but Pixar is at its best when developing an original story, and Coco is an example of what the studio can do when fully on its game. It's visually stunning, its story touches the heart and the mind, and it handles themes of life and death in a way that will reach all audiences members regardless of age. And as a bonus, the plot takes a few late twists even I didn't anticipate. Coco isn't quite as affecting as Pixar's recent Inside Out, but it's damn close and deserves a spot on this list all the same.

10. The Post (tie)-- Like 2015's Spotlight, Steven Speilberg's The Post is a serious, prestige drama about journalists blowing open the story of a lifetime. In this case, it involves the titular Washington Post and the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The process of putting together the story, the slippery ethical questions, the enormous stakes for all the players involved... Speilberg gives all of these elements their due and entertains the hell of out us while doing so. And last but not least, it provides us with a history lesson about the importance of journalism as a crucial check on a corrupt government in the hopes that we don't let history repeat itself.

9. Lady Bird-- For a while, Lady Bird held the record for most positive reviews on a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes (before one negative review cut in at the last minute, but that's another story), and it's easy to see why. This movie is a delight. A coming-of-age story about a fairly ordinary person can be perceptive, funny, and deeply affecting in the right hands. Suffice it to say Greta Gerwig (in her directorial debut) has the right hands. And as for Saoirse Ronan, I wrote two years ago that Brooklyn represented her career high point. With Lady Bird, she's out-done herself yet again.

8. Molly's Game-- Yet another directorial debut makes my list, this time by screenwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin. Based on the exploits of skier-turned-underground high-stakes poker manager Molly Bloom, Molly's Game is a relentless whirlwind of a bio-pic. It's a long movie, but the strength of Sorkin's rat-a-tat-tat dialogue and Jessica Chastain's stunning lead performance (plus a hopefully-not-ignored turn by Idris Elba) ensure your patience will never be tested. When it's over, you'll emerge exhausted but fulfilled.

7. Dunkirk-- Christopher Nolan's latest project is a radical departure from the rest of his filmography, but he's every bit at home with a war film as he is with science fiction or comic book heroes. Following three parallel sets of characters and circumstances within the battle of Dunkirk, Nolan generates tension and suspense aplenty, even as the PG-13 rating restricts the amount of graphic bloodshed. And while it's a compelling movie on a home theater setup, Dunkirk screams for a big-screen experience, preferably in 70MM IMAX where the "you are there" feeling is indescribable. 

6. The Florida Project-- It's a small movie with a big heart (and a stellar acting job by 6-year-old Brooklynn Prince), and it just kept growing on me the more I thought about it. A story of a mother and daughter living in a pastel-colored motel and scamming strangers for a living, The Florida Project is all about the power of perspective. It grounds itself in the point-of-view of young, carefree children before slowly pulling back to reveal a wider canvas and deeper issues. It also features some of the most beautiful, colorful cinematography of the year. The final scene, while admittedly jarring at first, works better the more one ruminates about what it means.

5. War for the Planet of the Apes-- For my money, this is the best movie the Planet of the Apes saga has ever produced. As an allegory of racial hatred and tribalism, it's as strong and pointed as ever, but it also scores a ton of mileage integrating elements from classic war movies like Apocalypse Now and The Bridge on the River Kwai. When summer blockbuster entertainment seeks to give us real substance and emotion in addition to spectacle and action, the results can be glorious, as seen here.

4. Logan-- It's a superhero movie unlike any we have seen so far. Focusing its story on an aging legend in the twilight of his life, Logan is about mortality and facing down the inevitable. It contains action and fights (albeit bloodier than anything we've seen in a Marvel property), but its melancholy tone and mature handling of its characters makes it stand out from the pack. While a part of me wishes more superhero movies would go this route, I think Logan works in large part because its approach is so rare. In their final performances as iconic characters we've known for more than a decade, Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart have never been better.

3. The Shape of Water-- A love story between a mute woman and a fish-man creature, with all the sex that would imply? Set during 1960s Baltimore amid all the strife and social unrest that came with it? Crazier things have been put to film, but leave it to an auteur like Guillermo Del Toro to take a premise that could’ve been silly beyond words and slamming a home run with it. The Shape of Water's mood, visual style, and music delight throughout, and lead actress Sally Hawkins generates real emotion and empathy without a single word. If you can get past the weirdness of the premise (and there's no reason you shouldn't), you'll find one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of the year.

2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri-- Multi-layered drama is the order of the day in director Martin McDonaugh's latest. Three Billboards hooks us with a hot-button premise, that of a woman calling out a police force following the unsolved rape-and-murder of a teenage girl, and then it takes us on a dizzying ride through dark comedy, unexpected twists, and layers, layers, layers. It offers a dimension to certain types of people that some viewers may reject but does so with thoughtfulness and a final scene that can be interpreted in a myriad of different ways. Of all the high-profile Oscar contenders, Three Billboards stands out as the best.

1. Colossal-- This is by no means a safe or conventional choice for my No. 1 movie. But as we all know, 2017 was a very unconventional year. Why am I such a big fan of Colossal, which made no more than a tiny handful of critics' Top 10 lists? Part of it is its emotional impact; I cared about the main character and felt drawn into her struggle. Another part is the sheer originality and unpredictable story; I was fascinated by how the movie blends a high-concept idea (a giant monster mimicking a woman's movements) with very human themes about toxic relationships and emotional abuse (that gains even greater power in this post-Weinstein environment, I might add). And it’s as much an actors’ showcase as the high-profile Oscar contenders, boasting career-best work from Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Colossal fared poorly at the box office, grossing only $4 million on a $15 million budget, but I could see it becoming a cult classic someday. “Support original films” has been my mantra in 2017, and while many movies took fresh approaches to genre material, none satisfied me as completely as Colossal.