The Best & Worst Of 2017

"The Noblest art is that of making others happy."
-P.T. Barnum

2017 might've been the best year for movies in a good long while. Either studios wised up and started releasing movies that people really wanted to see, or people started gravitating to movies to have an escape. This year, movies meant a lot more to me than anything. Every year has their good and bad flicks, but this particular year, the good heavily outweighed the bad. 

As always, lists of the best performances of the year are given, with my pick for the absolute best in that category highlighted. Following that are my picks for the most underrated and overrated films of the year. Finally, my list of the best and worst films of the year are given. For the first time this year, instead of the usual top 10 that I usually do, I have constructed a top 20 best list, a miracle that should live on for years to come. Hopefully, this year wasn't a fluke. A list of separate runners-up will accompany the honorable mentions.

The Best Performances Of 2017

Best Actor
Christian Bale-"Hostiles"
Timothee Chalamet-"Call Me By Your Name"
Jackie Chan-"The Foreigner"
Tom Cruise-"American Made"
Josh Duhamel-"The Show"
Taron Egerton-"Kingsman: The Golden Circle"
Idris Elba-"The Dark Tower"
Ansel Elgort-"Baby Driver"
Chris Evans-"Gifted"
Dave Franco-"The Disaster Artist"
James Franco-"The Disaster Artist"
Ryan Gosling-"Blade Runner 2049"
Armie Hammer-"Call Me By Your Name"
Woody Harrelson-"Wilson"
Tom Holland-"Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Hugh Jackman-"Logan"
Hugh Jackman-"The Greatest Showman"
Dwayne Johnson-"Baywatch"
Daniel Kalyuua-"Get Out"
Jaeden Lieberher-"It"
James McAvoy-"Split"
Ewan McGreggor-"T2: Trainspotting"
Kumail Nanjiani-"The Big Sick"
Gary Oldman-"Darkest Hour"
Robert Pattinson-"Good Time"
Will Poulter-"Detroit"
Chris Pratt-"Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2"
Keanu Reeves-"John Wick: Chapter 2"
Jeremy Renner-"Wind River"
Demterius Shipp Jr.-"All Eyez On Me"
Liev Schrieber-"Chuck"
Arnold Schwarzenegger-"Aftermath"
Jason Sudekis-"Colossal"
Miles Teller-"Thank You For Your Service"
Jacob Tremblay-"Wonder"
Denzel Washington-"Roman J. Israel, Esq"

Best Actress
Zoey Deutch-"Before I Fall"
Fiona Dourif-"Cult Of Chucky"
Gal Gadot-"Wonder Woman"
McKenna Grace-"Gifted"
Kathryn Hahn-"A Bad Moms Christmas"
Anne Hathaway-"Colossal"
Sally Hawkins-"The Shape Of Water"
Lily James-"Baby Driver"
Dakota Johnson-"Fifty Shades Darker"
Zoe Kazan-"The Big Sick"
Dafne Keen-"Logan"
Anna Kendrick-"Pitch Perfect 3"
Anna Kendrick-"Table 19"
Zoe Lister-Jones-"Band Aid"
Frances McDormand-"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Aubrey Plaza-"Ingrid Goes West"
Daisy Ridley-"Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi"
Margot Robbie-"I, Tonya"
Saorise Ronan-"Lady Bird"
Jessica Rothe-"Happy Death Day"
Kristen Stewart-"Personal Shopper"
Anya Taylor-Joy-"Split"
Charlize Theron-"Atomic Blonde"
Izabela Vidovic-"Wonder" 
Emma Watson-"Beauty And The Beast"
Michelle Williams-"All The Money In The World"

Best Supporting Actor
Tobin Bell-"Jigsaw"
Jack Black-"Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle"
John Boyega-"Detroit"
Daniel Craig-"Logan Lucky"
Robert Downey Jr.-"Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Zac Efron-"The Greatest Showman"
Harrison Ford-"Blade Runner 2049"
Jamie Foxx-"Baby Driver"
Mark Hamil-"Brigsby Bear"
John Hamm-"Baby Driver"
Woody Harrelson-"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
O'Shea Jackson Jr.-"Ingrid Goes West"
Richard Jenkins-"The Shape Of Water"
Dwayne Johnson-"The Fate Of The Furious"
James McAvoy-"Atomic Blonde"
Matthew McConaughey-"The Dark Tower"
Chris Pine-"Wonder Woman"
Christopher Plummer-"All The Money In The World"
Sam Rockwell-"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Seth Rogen-"The Disaster Artist"
Ray Romano-"The Big Sick"
Michael Shannon-"The Shape Of Water"
Bill Skarsgaard-"It"
Jason Statham-"The Fate Of The Furious"
Patrick Stewart-"Logan"
Mark Strong-"Kingsman: The Golden Circle"
Owen Wilson-"Wonder"

Best Supporting Actress
Ana de Armas-"Blade Runner 2049"
Hong Chau-"Downsizing"
Lucy Davis-"Wonder Woman"
Bridget Everett-"Patti Cake$"
Rebecca Ferguson-"The Greatest Showman"
Gal Gadot-"Justice League"
Tiffany Haddish-"Girls Trip"
Holly Hunter-"The Big Sick"
Pom Klementieff-"Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2"
Daisy Ridley-"Murder On The Orient Express"
Emma Roberts-"The Blackcoat's Daughter"
Julia Roberts-"Wonder"
Keala Settle-"The Greatest Showman"
Brittany Snow-"Pitch Perfect 3"
Octavia Spencer-"The Shape Of Water"
Hailee Steinfeld-"Pitch Perfect 3"
Charlize Theron-"The Fate Of The Furious"
Allison Williams-"Get Out"
Michelle Williams-"The Greatest Showman"
Rebel Wilson-"Pitch Perfect 3"
Zendaya-"Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Zendaya-"The Greatest Showman"

Best Vocal Performance
Cristela Alonzo-"Cars 3"
Will Arnett-"The LEGO Batman Movie"
Gael Garcia Bernal-"Coco"
Brad Dourif-"Cult Of Chucky"
Anthony Gonzalez-"Coco"
Ed Helms-"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie"

The Most Overrated Film Of The Year
"Phantom Thread"
Watching this movie, I felt like I missed something. The movie wanders around with no discernible purpose. Daniel Day-Lewis is fantastic, as usual, but he seems like he's the only person who wants the project to be good. Paul Thomas-Anderson can direct great films("Punch Drunk Love" and "Inherent Vice" are good cases of this), but this feels like he's not even trying. Most of the acting and dialogue feels extremely wooden, the pacing is entirely too slow and the movie seems to have no point. By the time the movie ended, I was left affectingly confused as to what the purpose was. Did I miss something? Did I see the same movie as everyone else did? Could it be that my ADD wasn't helping? Or, is it just pretentious Oscar Bait? Maybe that's it.

Overrated Runners-Up: A Dark Song; A United Kingdom; Beach Rats; Darkest Hour; Ferdinand; Kong: Skull Island; My Cousin Rachel; The Girl With All The Gifts; The Little Hours; The Zookeeper's Wife

The Most Underrated Film Of The Year
"The Mummy"
A pure popcorn flick if there ever was one, "The Mummy" was a very entertaining sit for me, but color me confused over the critical thrashing it received when it was released. Tom Cruise is as charming as always as the main character  while Sofia Boutella is awesome as the title character. The effects are quite good and the film flies by without careful notice. Yes, I would agree that the film seems more pre-occupied with setting up it's own cinematic universe(the introduction of Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll character is where the movie kind of loses it's way), but beside that, the film works and seems like a more atmospheric, spookier version of the Brendan Fraser flick. A lot of fun, just don't expect the re-invention of the wheel.

Underrated Runners-Up: All Eyez On Me; Baywatch; Chips; Fifty Shades Darker; Justice League; Kidnap; Kingsman: The Golden Circle; Pitch Perfect 3; Power Rangers; Table 19; The Greatest Showman; Wilson 

The 10 Worst Films Of 2017
Dishonorable Mentions: 3 Generations; Acts Of Vengeance; All Saints; A Question Of Faith; Beach Rats; Bigger Fatter Liar; Birth Of The Dragon; Cartels; Chupacabra Territory; Collide; Contract To Kill; Cook Off!; Crash Pad; Darkest Hour; Flatliners; Gun Shy; Just Getting Started; Killing Gunther; Killing Hasselhoff; Leap!; Lowriders; My Cousin Rachel; Phantom Thread; Rings; Spark: A Space Tail; The Assignment; The Bad Batch; The Boss Baby; The Dinner; The Drowning; The Great Wall; The Last Face; The Little Hours; The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature; The Promise; Tulip Fever; Wish Upon; Woodshock; XX

10. "The Layover"

Natasha Beddingfield's "Unwritten". Motorola flip phones. HD-DVD's. All of these belong in the year 2007, and so does this movie. Imagine my surprise to sit and watch "The Layover", an unfunny, hurl-inducing romantic comedy that feels like it was shot ten years ago, but astoundingly wasn't. Alexandra Daddario and Kate Upton star as Stereotype #1 and #2, respectively. Dadarrio is the clean, uptight, hardworking one, and Upton's the boozy, floozy, laid back, party girl. What do these two have in common? Beats me. They decide to venture to Florida for some time away, but while on the plane, they meet some nameless hunk who they both go apeshit over, and I mean they lose their minds. There's a hot air balloon that ends up crashing into a little boy's birthday party, they both sleep with him, they get into a food fight at a cafe, it's ridiculous. This would be the worst rom-com of the year, but, if you can manage to believe this or not, there was one that made me wanna rip my hair out even more than this. This one just made me wanna hurl, so I guess that's less pain inducing than scalping yourself.


9. "Underworld: Blood Wars"

The "Underworld" movies were never that interesting to me, with 2003's inaugural installment being the most tolerable. However, it's very difficult to see too many people willingly enjoying fifth installment "Blood Wars", a dark, dank and bleakly depressing entry. When I say "dark",  I mean that most of the time, the film is hard to view due to it being shot in almost total darkness. Everyone, even residential series mainstay Kate Beckinsale, look to be absolutely miserable, stuck in the confines of a script that does them no favors. If I was a head over at Sony, I would put a kibosh on future installments, but given that I'm just kinda whining on the internet, I don't really have that amount of power. One can dream.




8. "Leatherface"

Leatherface is an undeniable horror icon, with 1974's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and 1986's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" being classics in their respective genre(backwoods horror and sadistic horror-comedy). Something has happened to the "new" Lethaerface. 2013's "Texas Chainsaw" was astonishingly horrible, somehow turning the whole lore on it's head, focusing way too much on goofy and gimmicky 3D effects, with thte nadir being the fact that they made Alexandra Daddario throw Leatherface a chainsaw and exclaiming "Do your thing, Cuz!", not only making them cousins, but spouting one of the worst lines in movie history. Pseudo-prequel "Leatherface" is a hair better given the fact that Stephen Dorff is always watchable, but this is still the same movie we got four years back. It's crassly dumb, maddeningly stupid and almost sickening in how it wallows around in the perverse violence it showcases. Violence in movies is a staple, but seemingly fondling yourself over it is quietly unsettling and not for the reasons intended.

7. "Home Again"

I would, honest to God, rather watch a cat hack up hair-balls for two solid hours then sit through something like "Home Again"...again. Reese Witherspoon is a sweetheart, but she is trapped and stuck in such a moronic and dumb plot filled to the bursting brim with horrific dialogue, "of course" story turns and unctuous acting. The children who play Witherspoon's kids are irritating, more a fault of the screenplay than their abilities. The idea of three men fighting over Witherspoon's character sounds terrible at the onset and turns out exactly that way when watching it unfold. The movie sucks hard, but the film seems to be OK in it's goal of wiping away brain cells from the audience. "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Legally Blonde" this is certainly not. Is this the Nadir of Reese's career? It just might be.




6. "The Snowman"

In what has to be the most shockingly bad movie of the year(the trailers for the movie made it look supremely interesting), "The Snowman" is horrendous and poorly thrown together, stupendous given that this is from a major studio(Universal) and has a terrific ensemble(Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, J.K. Simmons, Chloe Sevigny, Toby Jones and Val Kilmer). First off, by naming your main character "Harry Hole", it's impossible to take him seriously. The film has numerous plot-holes, monotonous and boring acting, and astonishingly bad writing. Reportedly, around 10-15% of the script wasn't filmed. Could it be that that's where the missing holes of the plot are? Maybe it would've helped if those scenes were inserted to make the film more, oh, I don't know, comprehensive? Snowmen aren't scary, and the motive for the killer is astonishingly silly. Poor and noticeable dubbing for poor Val Kilmer is uncomfortable to watch, but his scenes amount to very little to begin with, so there's that. In 2014, I sat down at my first laptop and penned my first script. It was choppy, sloppy, a mess beyond all consciousness and filled with gaping plot holes. I bring it up because it was along the same lines as "The Snowman", and the worst part is I don't know if reading that script or re-watching this movie is worse.

5. "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul"

The first three installments of this series were nothing special, but as fluffy family entertainment, they were fine. As a fan of the books growing up, they got the job done and were light as a feather. "The Long Haul" is absolutely awful, producing what could very well be the cringiest film of the year, maybe in a long time. Ridiculous plot pint after ridiculous plot point follow one after the other, falling in a line like a calamitous line of dominoes. The acting is exceedingly over the top, filled with wild gestures, crass line deliveries and shouted dialogue that grates on the ears. It takes a lot to make a family film as unctuous as this, but by God, they somehow did it. I haven't read the book series past the 6th installment or so, so I'm not sure if the books declined in quality, but as far as the films go, it went from decent to junk with the speed it takes someone to turn out a light..



4. "Amityville: The Awakening"

The Amityville legend has never been the scary to me. It's people staying in a house they know they shouldn't yet, for some inexplicable reason, they stay and get spooked. The original "Amityville Horror" is a fine film, but nothing too special. While having never seen any of the sequels(in what has to be about 37 of them), the story of "Awakening" is kind of fascinating. Delayed for several years(I first remember seeing this ready for release in January 2015), the film made $742 at the box office before being released straight to video. This is beyond terrible, the acting is ferociously awful. Poor Jennifer Jason Leigh looks lost and McKenna Grace, so talented for such a young girl, is left wandering around and saying what the script thinks is scary. Bella Thorne and Cameron Monaghan, however, are the worst offenders. Thorne acts like a total jerk before realizing during the last act that she needs to shed a tear or two so the audience can sympathize with her, while Monaghan is bedridden for the most part, until he has to start acting possessed, and then becomes over the top and goofy. The writing is butchered and the supporting characters as thin as a razor wire. The movie can lay claim to one accomplishment: there is a scene almost a half hour in, where Thorne has two friends come over to her house(which happens to be the titular house) to watch one of the "Amityville" movies. When the character in charge of putting on the movie suggests the 2005 remake, Thorne denies it, claiming "remakes suck" prompting another character to say "True that!" The accomplishment? Getting me to say "Fuck you" out loud to the screen while I was watching it alone.

3. "Friend Request"

The worst horror film of the year, "Friend Request" reminds one of 2015's expertly done "Unfriended", but done in a more conventional way. Fat chance. The movie sets up not one, not ONE character with any redeemable qualities or likeabiltiy factors. The acting ranges from beyond amateurish to wildly over the top. The girl set up to be the villain is really a victim of our protagonists, being bullied from frame one onward. I felt badly for the poor girl and all the more frustrated and sickened when the writers decide to turn HER into the villain. Are you mad? The main characters are pathetic and ugly, making the viewer root for the "villain" to get them all in the end. Speaking of the end, in one of the many cases of poor writing, the film seems to circle back on itself and end right back up at square one. A seemingly never ending loop is put into place and all I could experience was mild happiness once the end credits arrived, because the movie had finished and I didn't have to wallow in it's self congratulatory, mean-spirited attitude anymore.

2. "The Emoji Movie"

This list features two easy targets, but I don't put them here because of that. I put them here because they made me feel insulted and upset. "The Snowman" was the first and we now have the second. When you make an animated children's film, you need to accomplish two things: be likeable and don't talk down and/or insult the kids. Jesus Almighty, does this do all of that and so much more. Running only 86 minutes, but feeling like 247(it flies by, when you think about it), "The Emoji Movie" is like "The LEGO Movie", "Inside Out" and "Wreck-It-Ralph" all rolled into one, but somehow exempt of any charm or flair or wit or creativity. This feels like something an animation company in a foreign country would make because they think this is what kids like. Unsurprisingly enough, it came from the good ol' U.S.A. and now we pay the price. The story of an emoji who sticks out from everyone else, the film follows the familiar beats and stops until the credits arrive with little squalor or fanfare. The logic of the movie makes little sense at the onset and proceeds to fall apart once dissecting it. Why do certain emoji's have to follow one emotion and others don't? Why do the emoji's have to travel through certain apps to help their owner? Why do they have such a fear of being wiped from the phone upon learning the phone will be reset, even though the emoji's come standard on every smartphone and, thus, would be an irrational fear? Here's a better question: who cares?

1. "Transformers: The Last Knight"

My pick for the absolute worst film of the year will shock some but not all. I gave the "Transfomers" series one last shot after I enjoyed fourth installment "Age Of Extinction". You got Mark Wahlberg, you have a somewhat cohesive story and a fun, silly attitude that was missing from the atrocious second and third entries. As if a switch had flipped, fifth entry "The Last Knight" is not only the worst of the series thus far, but the worst of 2017, period. I could sit here and rattle off all of the problems I've had with other movies on this list. Poor writing, which, yes, is grating beyond repair and treated as if a fifth grade boy was at the keyboard and not a grown man. The acting ranges from trapped and bored(in the case of Anthony Hopkins and Laura Haddock) to jarringly outrageous(Mark Wahlberg doesn't phone it in, so much as stumble around like a loud, brutish drunk). The action is monotonous and tedious, by this point sluggish in it's pacing and foregone in it's outcome. What doesn't change is Bay's flippant need to have so much going on, on-screen at one time, his constant changing of aspect ratios(which gave me a massive headache a half-hour in), his rampant disregard for viewers' sanity and an over-abundance of terrible dialogue("You, British lady, shut up.") and even worse one-liners. About 45 minutes into this monstrosity, a character, introduced as Nitro Zeus, comes onscreen, dancing around like a jackass whilst shouting "Free at last, thank Megatron almighty, I'm free at last!" This one line prompted me to take off my 3D glasses(not a choice 3D viewing, done so only because the theater I saw it at switched formats at the last second), threw them down and gazed at the theater door, seriously considering walking out, never done before in my life. After little contemplation, I decided to stay. I know, wrong choice. Is this the end of the series? Not by a long shot. A "Bumblebee" movie is set for release around Christmastime and a sixth installment is ready for June 2019. God, please spare us all.

The Top 20 Best Films Of 2017
Honorable Mentions: A Bad Mom's Christmas; A Dog's Purpose; A Ghost Story; Alien: Covenant; All Eyez On Me; All The Money In The World; American Assassin; Atomic Blonde; Band Aid; Baywatch; Before I Fall; Born In China; Chips; Detour; Detroit; Dunkirk; Fifty Shades Darker; Fist Fight; Free Fire; Get Out; Gifted; Girls Trip; Good Time; Ingrid Goes West; Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle; Kidnap; Lady Bird; Molly's Game; Mother!; Murder On The Orient Express; Oklahoma City; Patti Cake$; Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales; Power Rangers; Split; Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi; T2: Trainspotting; The Belko Experiment; The Defiant Ones; The Foreigner; The Founder; The Hitman's Bodyguard; The LEGO Ninjago Movie; The Mummy; Thor: Ragnarock; Wilson; Wind River

Runners-Up
As if my long running list of honorable mentions weren't enough, here's a short list of amazing movies that, surprisingly, didn't make my list.

"American Made"- A wild and gripping portrayal of real life pilot Barry Seal, who worked for the CIA and cartel, simultaneously. Tom Cruise is magnificent and radiant in the part, while the cinematography and soundtrack are top notch as well.

"Beauty And The Beast"- Disney has done a pretty solid job at making live-action updates to their animated classics, and this might be the best of them so far. Emma Watson is lovely and Dan Stevens is her handsome match every step of the way. The production design is extremely gorgeous.

"Call Me By Your Name"- One of the most dazzling movie romances in quite some time, Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer are beyond dynamite in a beautiful looking and beautiful overall movie.

"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie"- The most delightful and funniest animated movie of the year, it did the book series justice, and Ed Helms(a favorite actor of mine) is terrific as the title character. Plus, having Weird Al do the theme song is also a plus.

"Cars 3"- I loved "Cars" when I was growing up and I personally didn't mind "Cars 2", though it is wildly different from the first. "Cars 3" is pleasant, charming and sweet, feeling like the true follow-up to the first film over the second.

"Colossal"- Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis are phenomenal in one of the most inventive and surreal horror films in a long time, in which the two find out they control monsters on the other side of the world when they step onto a playground.

"Logan"- Hugh Jackman had an amazing year, starting with one of the most creative comic-book movies, I think, ever. Dafne Keen and Patrick Stewart lend amiable and lovely support.

"Logan Lucky"- A simple and goofy little heist film that I had a lot of fun with. Plus, Channing Tatum in anything is a win for me.

"Spider-Man: Homecoming"- Spider-Man is a loveable superhero and "Homecoming" reinvents the character to fit into the MCU perfectly.

"The Blackcoat's Daughter"- Atmospheric, spooky and moody, "The Blackcoat's Daughter" is a terrific accomplishment.

"The LEGO Batman Movie"- The best theatrical LEGO movie so far, the film takes the Batman lore and has tremendous fun with it.

"The Show"- For a direct to video feature, this is fascinating and gripping. A story about a man and his dilemma in hosting a reality show in which people commit suicide to help their families sounds icky at the onset, but turns out to be a bravura exercise in suspense and keeping the audience in a vice-like grip for the duration.

"Wonder Woman"- One of the most praised comic book films of the decade, the film is wondrous, much like it's title, with Gal Gadot the utmost perfect choice to portray this iconic character.

Now, onto the list. A brief listing of 20 through 11, then the full top ten list.

20. "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" 
Both "Kingsman" films are expertly done examples of how to properly ape the James Bond formula. Taron Egerton is one of the most charismatic leading men to hit the scene in awhile and the action is so well-crafted that it transcends into it's own art form. The fact that the film turns in such a winning supporting performance from Elton John is a bonus point for everyone.

19. "Cult Of Chucky"
The story and character of Chucky has always been a fascinating one for me. Newer installment, "Cult Of Chucky" is dynamically well-done; a horror movie that relies on actual suspense and tension rather than Jump scaring the audience to death. Brad Dourif is a welcome voice to hear, but his daughter, Fiona, is the star of the show. She takes the film and runs away with it. Seeing Alex Vincent return as Andy is like seeing an old friend after having been away for awhile.

18. "Baby Driver"
The critical darling of action flicks, the film earns well-deserved praise for bringing together an ensemble cast and crafting well designed action sequences, while displaying a killer soundtrack.

17. "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2"
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a solid hot streak as of recent, and "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2" is one of their best efforts, filled with terrific effects, a wonderful sense of humor and a killer soundtrack.

16. "It"
"It" is very creepy, the first movie in a long time to unsettle and disturb me while watching it. Bill Skarsgaard is amazing as Pennywise, while the younger cast are all talented and winning.

15. "Happy Death Day"
The most fun horror movie of the year, "Happy Death Day" creates a horror-comedy out of Tree(Jessica Rothe) who's stuck in a time loop until she can figure out who is continuously killing her. This reminded me of something to come out of the 90's and I enjoyed every minute of it.

14. "Blade Runner 2049"
Running 164 minutes, but feeling half that, "2049" is how a sequel should be done, filled with well crafted new characters, while bringing back Harrison Ford, and designing a beautiful world to gawk at while the story is at bay. I loved every moment of it.

13. "Pitch Perfect 3"
The "Pitch Perfect" series isn't what anyone would call high art, but they are highly enjoyable. The cast is wonderful together, the acapellea covers are well-done and delightful to hear and the humor is winning for the most part. The third and presumably final entry is fast-paced fun, a movie I never expected to love as much as I did, but lo and behold, I did.

12. "Justice League"
People seem to bag on the DC universe and, at the same time, I can't and can see why. They do seem a little rushed out, but when watching the movies, that's not the feeling I get. Some people might balk and even shake their heads at the fact that I put "Justice League" on my list. I'm sorry, but I had a wonderful time with the movie. In a word, I thought it was awesome.

11. "Table 19"
Anna Kendrick is my favorite actress, but that doesn't act as a bias as to why this and "PP3" are on my list. They're here because I enjoyed them all to a huge degree and "Table 19" is greatly underrated. A delightful romantic comedy with a great ensemble and plenty of great humor to go around. 

10. "The Fate Of The Furious"

Some might balk that I put the "Fast & Furious" films on my best of the year lists, but they consistently manage to make some sort of impact on me. 2015's "Furious 7" was my personal pick for best film of that year, given it's technical skill, it's efficient action and cinematography and loving tribute to late actor, Paul Walker. With eighth entry, there's a definite absence left by Walker, but the cast and filmmakers still manage to find a way to continue the series without one of their staple actors. Dominic Torretto(Vin Diesel) has now gone rogue, under some sort of grip by Cipher(Charlize Theron) and turning his back on his own family. It's certainly an interesting hook, winding viewers in early on to the what, where, how and why(but no when) of what exactly is going on. The series is known for action and grand spectacle, though it seems odd that a series that started out with street racing has now transcended to trying to dodge heat seeking missiles on ice. The set-pieces are done well and the movie never overstays it's welcome. It's not as grand as 7, but still a lot of fun, nonetheless. 

9. "Coco"

Pixar is the animation giant as of recent; after all, they were the inventors of fully CGI animated movies. "Coco", the studio's 19th effort, is one of their reigning achievements. A beautiful and lovely look at the Day Of The Dead festival and holiday that occurs every November in Mexico, the film follows Miguel(Anthony Gonzalez) who longs to be a musician, when he suddenly touches a scared guitar and gets transferred over from the land of the living to the land of the dead. He now only has a limited time to get back home, before he's trapped there forever. This film is a giant beauty to look at. Vibrantly animated, the colors encroach the viewer while watching, submitting them to a world unlike any seen before. The voice acting is natural, funny and smooth as always, while the story treats the subject of death in a very touching way. The film has the ability to make the viewer cry, but not manipulatively. Really, I was fascinated by "Coco", very happy that Pixar still has the ability to make grand pieces of entertainment while eliciting a bevy of emotions in the viewer. "Coco" stands among "Toy Story 2", "Inside Out", "Monsters Inc.", "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" among my personal favorite Pixar favorites.

8. "The Big Sick"

Romance is so rarely captured correctly, sweetly and genuinely in film, yet several movies this year managed to do just that. In one of these films, "The Big Sick" is so sweet and so lovely that it managed to induce multiple smiles on my face. Kumail Nanjiani is a firecracker as Kumail, playing a version of himself as a comedian who moonlights as an Uber driver. He comes across Emily(Zoe Kazan), a cute heckler at one of his shows. The two immediately hit it off, but soon face difficulty when Kumail's cultural traditions provide a roadblock in which the two don't know how to overcome. Emily soon falls ill(not a spoiler, this happens around forty minutes in) and Kumail comes face to face with her parents(career best turns from Ray Romano and Holly Hunter) and makes a connection after an icy meet-up. Smartly written by Kumail and Emily V. Gordon(Kumail's real wife), the film pulls no punches and provides some of the biggest laughs in a movie this year. Romano delivers the funniest line; while in a hospital waiting room, researching potential symptoms for his daughter, he utters, in the most innocent way: "This is why I don't go online. People hate 'Forrest Gump'. Freakin' best movie ever." Causing me to laugh out loud in a theater in which I was the only person occupying it. The chemistry between Kazan and Kumail is dynamite, accurately portraying a romance with raw and sweet emotion. There really hasn't been a movie quite like this, and I'm sure there won't be another like it sometime soon. 

7. "I, Tonya"

In portraying a wildly true story of Tonya Harding(Margot Robbie), her rocky rise and inevitable fall in the world of figure skating. Tonya never had an easy -going life(her mother was always there to reign in any of her hope and dreams), and all of the odds seemed to be stacked against her. The judges never gave her her dues, the crowds seeming to root for her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Yet, in the face of opposition, Tonya seemed to persevere, carving a name for herself. Yet, on one fateful day in 1994, Kerrigan was attacked in a plot thought to be orchestrated by Tonya, when in reality, she had little knowledge of such a thing. Margot Robbie is a literal force to be reckoned with, giving one of the best performances of the year as Tonya Harding, a controversial figure given new life in this rendition. The style of the film is wickedly hilarious, positioning itself as a story being told from different and bickering viewpoints, from Tonya, to her ex-husband Jeff(Sebastian Stan), to her tyrannical mother LaVonna(a scene stealing Allison Janney). The film doesn't manipulate audiences or paint a nasty picture of Tonya, rather it celebrates her, turning her into a woman to almost admire for her independence, no matter how skewed and abstract that image may be.

6. "The Shape Of Water"

The winner of Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, "The Shape Of Water" is really unlike anything seen throughout the year. Watching it, I didn't feel like I was watching something new, but instead, a lost Universal monster movie from the late 1950's/early 1960's, recently unearthed by a film historian and polished up for the big screen. Sally Hawkins is phenomenal as Eliza, a mute janitor working at a science facility with her friend Zelda(Octavia Spencer). One day, a team of military officials, led by Michael Shannon, bring in an unidentified creature for research. After cleaning the lab one night, Eliza stumbles upon the creature and develops an emotional attachment for it, which becomes all the more stronger once she discovers Shannon's nefarious meanings for the creature. Acting all across the board is stellar; I've never been more in love with Hawkins(well, maybe her turns in the "Paddington" films are just as lovely), Shannon, Spencer and Richard Jenkins before, the film giving them fully fleshed out characters to make their own. The production design is wonderful and grand, even for a movie with an under $20 million budget. Is "The Shape Of Water" deserving of Best Picture? While I have another Best picture nominee at number 5, I believe it does. The fact that something this unique took home the most coveted award of the night is more than OK with me.

5. "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Martin McDonagh is one of the best directors working today that I've seen. 2008's "In Bruges" is one of my favorite films of all time, while 2012's "Seven Psychopaths" is delightfully askew and wonderfully written and acted. Even his 2004 short film, "Six Shooter", which is available as a special feature on the "Three Billboards" blu-ray is stunning. His hot streak continues in full force with "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", a darkly rich character drama featuring three career best performances from France McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell(one of my favorite actors). McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a mother who tragically lost her daughter in a senselessly brutal murder and is still bitter that the police haven't captured her killer yet. Taking matters into her own hands, she rents out three billboards, reading: "Raped While Dying", "And Still No Arrests?" and "How Come, Chief Willoughby?" Receiving unwanted attention, Willoughby(Harrelson) tries to calmly reason with her, while Mildred calmly stands her ground and refuses to budge. Thrown into the mix is Officer Jason Dixon(Rockwell), a man with a troubled past and hard head. This is an actor's movie, above all else, but McDonagh recognizes this and throws in a story more than worthy of these people's immense talents. The film weaves a fine web around it's characters, connecting them all in one way or another, and chooses to see the good in all of them, while recognizing that they're far from perfect. Aren't we all?

4. "Thank You For Your Service"

Depression has rarely been captured on film with such aching honesty as it has in "Thank You For Your Service". Miles Teller gives his best performance yet as Adam Schumann, a staff sergeant arriving home after a tour of duty with his two friends, Tausolo Aieti(Beluah Koale) and Billy Waller(Joe Cole), but everything doesn't feel as normal as it once was. Affected by what they had seen and gone through during their time away from home, the three develop PTSD and are at a loss as to how to combat it. They soon realize that it's not that easy. Feeling alone in a world where millions feel exactly how they do, they begin to wonder if there's any hope for them to overcome their struggle. Depression has multiple faces and different shades for everyone experiencing it. For Adam, his attempts to mask it start to leak through the more his emotions start to weigh on him. As for Solo, he makes no attempt to hide it, instead choosing to ignore it and wanting to go back into combat to make himself feel somewhat normal again. The performances from the main trio are astonishing, whereas supporting performances are top-notch as well. Haley Bennett is comforting as Adam's Wife, while Amy Schumer, in her first dramatic role, is terrific as the widow of a man who was a part of Adam's Team. Written with such honesty, both beautiful and brutal, the film pulls no punches and let's people out there know that they're not alone, no matter how hopeless it may seem.

3. "Wonder"

You know, it's bad enough that there are movies out there that made me cry at the end, but do we HAVE to make me cry all the way through? Joking aside, "Wonder" is a, well, wonder of a movie. Auggie Pullman(Jacob Tremblay) was born with a facial defect, making him not look as normal as every other child around him. That doesn't make him any less normal than any other regular kid, though. He loves "Star Wars", has a loving family and even a cute little dog. His decision to join public school after years of home schooling comes as a big decision, one that makes everyone hesitant as to how Auggie will be treated. The raw emotions shown in the film are unlike anything captured before. Jacob Tremblay is wonderful as Auggie Pullman, the center in which every character's actions revolve around. His heart is grand and his nature is sweet. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson are terrific as Auggie's parents, showing him that people can be kind and good-natured as long as he sees the good in them along the way. The tears flowed during my viewing of the film, not since "Furious 7" have I cried this hard, but it is the first time it was happening throughout the movie. Blessing or a curse? I don't know.

2. "The Disaster Artist"

This movie was one I had been looking forward to for a good long while. I was hyping this up so much, you would've thought I was insane. The film, based on the 2013 book of the same name by Greg Sestero(one of my ten favorite books ever), is about the making of the infamous cult, so-bad-it's-good film "The Room", released in 2003. My friend Austin and I even saw "The Room" in theaters with a packed house and you can see the highlights from our viewing right here: "The Room" Theater Viewing(be forewarned, there's a bit of language). Made by an aspiring, yet delusional, Tommy Wiseau(James Franco), the film has little to no plot, is littered with terrible writing and acting and filled to the brim with subplots that go nowhere(A character's mother announces that she has Breast Cancer only for it to never be brought up again), so it's a testament that the Franco brothers(James and Dave) can bring so much justice to the book and the story itself. It follows the meeting of Wiseau and Sestero(Dave Franco), how they interacted with each other and they're eventual making of this one of a kind disaster. The acting and writing are fantastic, staying true to who these people are. It should be noted that the book focused on Greg(naturally, because it was written by him) whereas the movie focuses on Tommy, but there's nothing wrong with changing things up a bit. The film has a beating heart behind it's outrageous tale and that's what matters the most.

1. "The Greatest Showman"
I rarely see a movie twice in theaters. I usually see it once, then wait until it hits blu-ray to view it again. There is, however, the rare film that's so great, that I see the movie again in theaters. So, imagine my and everyone's surprise when I saw "The Greatest Showman" in theaters not once, not twice, but SEVEN TIMES. Amazing that it never once lost it's magic or luster from me seeing it so many times; it was just as beautiful every single time I had seen it. This is also the second year in a row where my pick for the best film of the year is a musical("La La Land" for 2016). Hopefully the musical genre keeps working it's magic for years to come. The film, a loose and broad telling of how P.T. Barnum(Hugh Jackman) created the circus. The film is sumptuously designed and wonderfully creative. Sure, the film takes it's liberties now and again, but when you're having such a wonderful time, that kind of thing doesn't matter. The casting? Brilliant, from the main cast to the side players. Hugh Jackman is winning and charming as Barnum whereas Michelle Williams is sweet and bubbly as his wife Charity. Zac Efron is magnetic as Phillip Carlyle, the man who Barnum chooses to partner with(a composite of Carlyle and Bailey hence Barnum & Bailey) and Zendaya is lovely in a way yet unseen from her before this. Rebecca Ferguson is sharp and wonderful as opera singer Jenny Lind, surely redeeming her work in "The Snowman". Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely are adorable as Barnum's daughters and Keala Settle brings the house down as the bearded lady, Lettie. The songs, the whole centerpiece of a musical, are all terrific, so much so that the soundtrack has stuck in my mind, permanently sicking there since I first saw the film back in December. One final thing: the moment where Zac Efron and Zendaya fly through the air, singing and harmonizing together during "Rewrite The Stars" (singing "All I want is to fly with you/all I want is to fall with you/so just give me all of you.") is the single most lovely and downright awesome movie moment of the year. It doesn't get much better than this.