* All The Money In The World
* Battle of the Sexes
* Call Me By Your Name
* Darkest Hour
* Downsizing
* Ferdinand
* I, Tonya
* Ladybird
* Loving Vincent
* Molly's Game
* Mudbound
* Phantom Thread
* Roman J. Israel Esq.
* The Breadwinner
* The Florida Project
* The Greatest Showman
* The Leisure Seeker
* The Post
* Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
* Victoria & Abdul
So with that said (and to mention that The Shape of the Water will not be the list because I felt kinda icky leaving it), here are the honorable mentions.
1922
Free Fire
Spider-Man: Homecoming
The Girl With All The Gifts
The Lego Batman Movie
Now let's begin this countdown.
25. Sleight
This was a different Superhero movie than what we normally see as it is not based on a comic book whatsoever and it deals with an urban guy with self-made superpowers as he is also smart, but has to end obviously destined college scholarship as we learn his parents died in a car crash and he had to drop out of school so he can take care of his sister. As a high school dropout who needs to take care of his little sister and live a decent life, he sadly has to be a drug dealer and can use his gifts to pretend to be a magician with bionics on his arms to make it look like he can float cards. He does get a girlfriend and because he is trying to get them out, he tries to skim some cocaine off his boss, but that goes very badly and you can go from there. The acting is actually superb and this is the best film this year distributed by WWE Films. It's really a good film and I am sad I haven't heard much about how good it actually is.
24. Gerald's Game
It is rather ironic that there were 2 Netflix films and 1 film based off a Stephen King property in my GINO Award nominees as this was actually a good year for both of those with 1922 and Gerald's Game really being good and as far as Netflix goes, this is one of two films in the Top 25. Gerald's Game was a surprisingly good book in my opinion and a really good adaptation was made by Mike Flanagan, who with this, Oculus, Hush, and Ouija: Origin of Evil is becoming one of new directors I'm looking forward to see. As this film is mostly set in one bedroom, this film makes you terrified for the well-being of Jessie Burlingame (played superbly by an actress who is better than the roles she normally gets in Carla Gugino), who gets herself in a terrible position as her husband handcuffs both her hands to the bedpost and then dies of a heart attack. The only issue was they changed the one guys name from Space Cowboy to Moonlight Man. Yeah, neither name is good, but you might as well go with the book if you don't have anything better to replace it.
23. Wonder
I'm going to be honest that I did not look forward to this film as this seemed like they were ripping off films where kids have scarred faces or Elephant Man with a cliche high school film, but they go in directions I did not expect. First of all, they do not have the one girl (probably blind) who becomes his girlfriend and he gains friends the normal, non-forced way of just being an likable extremely likable person (which I should give massive credit to Jacob Tremblay for his acting as the kid). In fact, you actually see that there is more issues with the adults as there are parents who are assholes (particularly the one bully's parents and in a rare case, it is the bully who we feel bad for in a way in his last scene). Even the main character's parents are not perfect as in their protection of him, they do forget a bit that they have another kid in their older daughter, who still is a good person to her younger brother despite him getting so much attention. It's a heart warming film and one I'm glad was more than meets the eye (to steal a Transformers line).
22. Megan Leavey
In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am a dog person and I did not hate A Dog's Purpose (don't worry, it didn't make the Top 25 list). But let's talk about films that did make the cut and this film is one of them as it deals with a woman who joins the army and eventually becomes a military dog handler, forming a great relationship with a dog who is unable to be worked by others. It also shows the trouble and bureaucracy she had to go through to eventually adopt the dog once its term of service has ended. It's heartwarming and also frustrating with how much crap this woman really went through to get the dog she took care of as yes, this is based on a true story. It once again shows why I prefer Kate Mara over Rooney Mara. It also has some other good acting by Common, Edie Falco, Bradley Whitford, Ramon Rodriguez, and even Tom Felton for as little screen time as he got. There needs to be more films that show it is not just soldiers who have to deal with the pressures of war, but also their animal companions.
21. The Disaster Artist
If you know about "so bad, it's good" movies, you have at least heard a bit about The Room (2003). You know about Tommy Wiseau and his wacky antics. But the film shows you how two actors played by Franco brothers would become friends and make one of the most "so bad, it's good" films. It is uncanny plenty of times how close to the actual scenes they recreate. There are plenty of cameos and I didn't know one of the characters is Zac Efron until I got to the premiere near the end of the movie. We still do not know the full story on Tommy Wiseau's past and I don't know if we ever will, but you could tell everyone who was in this film has some strange love for 2003's The Room, although it will never be inducted into Monster Crap for obvious reasons.
20 Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Oh this was so funny to watch as two kids who are pranksters (in the good kind) who accidentally hypnotize their principal and turn him into a comic book character they created named Captain Underpants. It gets even better with the kids' imaginations and when the villain Professor Poopypants (that is his name and yes, it is definitely made fun of a lot) shows up, it goes completely full blown comedy. I'm glad Netflix and Dreamworks recently revealed that they are making a TV series based off the show. Sadly, this film has basically been forgotten by reviewers in their lists so they must not have enjoyed it as much as I did.
19. Get Out
Now before all the hatred comes out about how low I put this movie on this list, I want to say that I think a lot of the hype probably hurt this film. This film is though great and as a horror film, it definitely does things that you do not expect and even I was surprised by the twist that the white family are so in love with black people that they want to become them basically. Oh and you might all know that Bradley Whitford is also in this film so you can say I did like him this year. Also, Jordan Peele is great as a director. It does deserve the nominations of awards that it is getting and for horror, that is a good thing at the end of the day.
18. Wonder Woman
I saw this film with my mom and like Get Out, I think the hype may have hurt this film, although considering that films in the DCEU have been mediocre at best and godawful at worse, I guess the hype is deserved. And no, before you asked, I did not see Justice League and I am not going to be one of those who sign a petition to see the Zack Snyder cut. But the best things about Wonder Woman are the actress playing Wonder Woman, a good World War 1 plotline, and of course bright color with the suits unlike the drab colors that infested most of these DCEU films. Unfortunately, it does suffer from a terrible reveal of the main villain (even my mom could call that guy being evil). Patty Jenkins probably should be directing the next Justice League movie and maybe that movie won't bomb like this Justice League movie did. This also proves that the long believed "We can't make a good Wonder Woman" was horseshit as probably many DC fans could tell you.
17. The Founder
Michael Keaton once again showed he was great by being the best part of Spider-Man: Homecoming and the main star in The Founder. This is of course the story of Ray Kroc, a businessman who created the fast food empire that we know as McDonald's. And while you may think he is great, he is a complete con-man who basically took a restaurant from two brothers with the actual last name of McDonald. Yes, he did do a lot to make the fast food company what it is today, but he really scamed a lot of people and left his own wife to marry another man's wife. But Michael Keaton is great as the man with a silver tongue who can sell almost anything. This film grabs you from the get-go and it keeps you intrigued during the whole run time. Oh and don't worry, this film will not stop you from eating McDonald's food.
16. Brigsby Bear
This is a very unique film that deals with a fan of a show Bigsby Bear Adventures (think Teddy Ruxpin fighting an evil moon) who realizes that the show and his entire life has been faked as he was kidnapped as a child and raised by Mark Hamill and Jane Adams. But that still does not stop him from loving the show and even with the real world trying to influence him, he wants to give the show he loves the perfect ending in a Brigsby Bear movie. And there are plenty of people who see his passion want to help him with his film. And the end where we get to see the fan film that he made and is cheered brings some emotion to someone like me. I am glad that this is not just a run of the mill fish out of water tale and while we normally would hate the kidnappers, we completely don't. Of course we also love the main character and his real family as they are all done by good actors. Most of you probably didn't see it in theaters as it didn't get a wide release or really any press, but I recommend you see this film.
15. Wind River
A murder mystery that takes place in a Native American Reservation, this is an enjoyable film shows the harsh life of Native Americans in a reservation. In this badly runned down area, it is easy to believe these people would take to drugs. However, let's go to the mystery as a US Fish and Wildlife officer finds a dead body of a woman he knows (friend of his dead daughter) and has to help an FBI agent solve the murder(s as we find another body of a man beaten to death). By the way the wilderness works in Wyoming in winter, it makes sense that the Fish and Wildlife officer is used to help with the murder since he knows the area from tree to tree and since we have a FBI officer working at this alone since the coroner can not officially call the death a homicide since she died of pulmonary hemorrhage caused by rapid inhalation of extremely cold air. The emotion, suspense, and action make this a great film to watch and realize that even these days, the life of Native Americans kind of still sucks.
14. My Life as a Zucchini
Also known as My Life as a Courgette in France, this stop motion animation film has a lot of emotion considering it is about a abused boy who has to live in a foster home because his drunk mom died (in an accident that the kid was kinda the cause of). You get to see how hard it is to deal with foster home life (although he finds it better than his life with his abusive drunk mom). It also involves him having to help a girl who deals with a verbally abusive aunt who only wants to have custody of her because she will get money because of it. It is adorable and it shows that despite what films like Annie or many films will tell you, people who normally deal with foster care mostly have a good heart and really want to help the kids through the troubled lives that they had before they came here.
13. Kong: Skull Island
I saw this in the theaters with my dad (who is at the point where he mostly is only willing to go to theaters if it is a movie he wants to see and he gets the most relaxing seats available). We both enjoyed it despite my dad not really caring to see this film. It takes Kong (not allowed to be called King Kong because Universal kind of has the rights to that name) in a different way that has never been shown with Kong in no way ever going to New York City or any damsel and placed during the time of the Vietnam War. Kong is huge in this film and he is the good guy where he has to deal with a vengeful Samuel L. Jackson and other monsters who have made Kong the last of his kind left. While the acting is not that great, the action and monster fights are goddamn awesome. To those who enjoyed 2014's Godzilla (and even to those who didnt enjoy it), I would recommend you watch this for a new take on an old classic in King Kong (even though we can't call it King Kong).
12. Thor: Ragnarok
The best Thor film finally stopped trying to be this serious film and completely embrace the silliness and action of having Norse Gods in many dimensions. I even liked Cate Blanchett as the villain Hera and we get great new characters from actors like Tessa Thompson and the one and only Jeff Goldblum. We also get a great return of the Hulk who was last seen in The Avengers: Age of Ultron where he just vanished at the end of that film. We also use the great song by Led Zeppelin known as "Immigrant Song" to great effect as when both times it is played, you are pumped for the action on the screen. In fact, I am playing that song as I write about this film. Oh and the characters from the past Thor films are also awesome too.
11. Colossal
I REALLY wanted to have this film in the top 10, but as what happens to all films at #11, it just barely missed that placement. You might be wondering how a monster movie with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis would work and the answer is really well considering they only have monster avatars that end up in Korea. Jason Sudeikis is great as a childhood friend who turns out to be a real manipulative dick when given any type of power over anyone. The monster avatars are also great and the way for Anne Hathaway's character to finally defeat Jason Sudeikis' character is ingenious. Despite it being at #11, I would recommend seeing this film as soon as you can and the idea that it is not getting any love from the awards circuit is mind-boggling.
10. Logan
The perfect end to the original Fox X-Men series and yes, I know that it is not as high as on other people's lists, but that does not detract with how great this film is. It is definitely not one that is good be a fun filled comic book film as it is a true sad film with almost all of the mutants being killed off except for Wolverine, Prof. X (who is dealing with Alzheimer's so his mind powers are normally out of control, and some other guy who hides their secret. They then realize there are new mutants because of testing that they must protect from being exterminated by the bad guys who are very powerful. But as this is going to be the end of Hugh Jackman's run as Wolverine, you can predict that we will not have a happy ending. I saw this with my mom and we both enjoyed it although she might have enjoyed it more than I did.
9. Okja
This was a great Netflix film and no surprise, the director of Snowpiercer makes another great film. In this world, we get the creation of the Super Pig which will supposedly be used for better consumption of food and there will be a contest of who can raise the best super pig with a paid off animal host to say the whole thing is done humanely (when it really isn't. There is also an animal rights activist group that originally plans to use the pig as a way to make the company look bad by letting it get recaptured (when they pretend to break it out), but they can have cameras on the pig to show the people inhumanely treating the animals. But it is basically in the end a girl who loves her super pig like a very loved pet trying to get the super pig back. Tilda Swinton returns from Snowpierecer to have a duel role as twin sisters and is always great at playing someone who you do not like. Even though I am at meat eater and don't plan on changing that idea, this is a film that shows that sadly the animals normally raised for our food are not given the best treatment.
8. The Lost City of Z
I am really surprised that I have heard nothing about this film during awards season as this is a great film and normally one I would expect critics to want to reward. The only accolade I can find is it was one of the 10 best movies according to Time Magazine. Charlie Hunnam deserves some praise for his acting as Percy Fawcett, who was a real life explorer who thought there was a lost city of Zed out there and during his last expedition with his son, they vanished. But it is mostly about Percy's life, his time in World War 1 and how two expeditions before ended badly due to sabotage and unpreparedness. Robert Pattinson is also in this film and as with several films before this, Twilight proved to be a mere rarity in that pretty good actors are made to look godawful by a poor script and story. This hearkens back to classic exploration epics and I was intrigued from the film from beginning to end.
7. Baby Driver
Yeah, lets ignore the elephant in the room with Kevin Spacey as this was released before all that horrible shit about him came to light. This film has a style of its own and proves that Edgar Wright knows how to make a quality unique film. The music is also awesome and perfectly syncs up with the action going on as planned. The story revolves around a kid who suffered a very bad car accident as a youth and for that, he has a permanent ringing in his ears so he drowns it out with the music that perfectly fits with the action as he ends up being forced into being a professional getaway driver because of how good he is with driving. He helps with several bank robberies and falls in love in the process before finally deciding that he must find a way out so he can lead a better life with his recently acquired girlfriend. I would be surprised if this film gets no nominations for its sound in the film as this is definitely a movie that will not be as good as it would be if you are hearing impaired.
6. John Wick Chapter 2
Okay, I will admit that this sequel may not be as good as the original, but despite all of that, this film is still freaking amazing. John Wick is forced back into the assassin business and has to kill more people in his eventual attempt to just be left alone and live a normal life as a widower. All the choreography in every fight scene is top notch and almost every character (even all the assassins) are are all unique in their own way. The scenes and colors are very vibrant and it has an ending that is very surprising to me, although my friend could see it coming. At one time, this was at #1, but upon further reflection and some better films happening, it sadly misses out on the Top 5. But that doesn't mean you should not see this film as you actually should and I definitely can't wait for Part 3 to finally end this trilogy.
5. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
I know this film has been plenty divisive among its fans, but I and my dad (as well as my mom who saw it earlier) are among the camp that enjoyed it. Although I can admit I can see what people did not like about the film, but I think this film had to completely go in a new direction since the last film (although mostly loved) was kind of a repeat of A New Hope. Everyone is great at their part although it was strange to see Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro as new characters. There was some funny stuff and I actually enjoyed the Porgs although you can take them out of the film and nothing would be lost. Actually, that helps the film with no one trying to hide that they are just there for the kids since we kind of have had characters who were made just for kids that were important to the plot and those ones (Jar Jar Binks, Ewoks) have been rather not liked. It also makes me want to see what happens in Episode IX, despite the knowledge that unfortunately, Carrie Fisher won't be in this film.
4. Coco
Disney and Pixar have done it again as they have given us another great film which despite knowing a bit about the Dia de Muertos holiday, I actually learn more about why they do have photos of their loved ones and how important it is to be remembered. But let's talk about the story. A kid who has a musical icon whose family hates music. He finds out that this musical icon may be his long lost great grandfather and goes into the world of the dead (long story) to find his supposed great grandfather. Of course he has a short time to do this as if he does not return to living world before the end of the night, he will be stuck as a dead man forever. He makes friends with a man who is trying to help him with the hopes that he can get this musical icon to help him be remembered because as soon as you are no longer remembered, you disappear from existence. The only problem is I kind of saw the twist coming a mile away, but I loved the music and if that song Remember Me does not get any emotion out of you, you have a truly black heart. Also this film is incredibly beautiful with its landscapes, especially in the world of the dead.
3. Your Name
This was a film that I saw with my friend and I only agreed to see it because of the good buzz it was getting. But that was all I knew about the film and thankfully, the buzz was well deserved as this film that takes the Freaky Friday formula in a new direction, was charming. You tend to really like both characters, even when they are inside each others and awkward situations do occur. They also eventually develop feelings for each other and eventually want to meet, but the shocking twist in this film definitely creates a gut punch to that idea. I really can't explain to much of the third act as you would have to find out the twist to understand that and I REFUSE TO GIVE THAT AWAY!!!! If you are an anime fan or at the last enjoy cartoons, you will love this film. It was lower on the list, but i rose to number 3 off of the memory as I still remember a lot this film.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The final two entries on this list are going to be sequels to other films and in both cases, I could argue they are better than the films before them. This one has a definite better villain than the first one and once again, I can't spoil that as it is one of those twist villains. The music continues to be great and everyone is still true to form in their acting roles. I saw this film with my dad and my best friend and you really could argue for this being a real treat in 3D thanks to the colors. I enjoyed almost everything about this film and can not believe that it is only #2 and not #1. I can't wait for the next appearance of these characters although it is going to be hard to replace a certain character who sadly dies off in this film, and especially in an extremely emotional moment.
1. War for the Planer of the Apes
Oh dear god, I cannot believe the people behind these Planet of the Apes prequels saved the best for last. This film is so good that I definitely do not want a sequel to this as this perfectly ends the series and you could agree that we should accept the actual Planet of the Apes film (not the 2001 remake) as continuation. This film makes me love the apes and I was rooting for them till the very end. And once again, I really am rather tired of Andy Serkis getting no love from the Academy because as much as old bigwigs hate to admit it, Andy Serkis in a CGI suit gives us more emotion and makes him more likeable than 90% of actors in live action movies. And Woody Harrelson makes a great villain that you so want to see die, not because of him being terrible, but because he is that evil. Also the side characters are great too and even the comedic character played by Steve Zahn is also good, despite my misgivings of him. Out of all the films this year, this is definitely going to be the one I recommend the most.
And that is my list of films I liked a lot in 2017, now I unfortunately have to get to the worst of 2017 and oh dear god, you will see why I freaking hated this year in films as I get to the 25 Worst films of 2017. This is going to hurt to remember these films.
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