#20 The Meyerowitz Stories
#19 Okja
#18 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
#17 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
#16 Logan Lucky
#15 The Greatest Showman
#14 Icarus
#13 Get Out
#12 Paddington 2
#11 The Florida Project
#10 Lady Bird - Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut proves that she is capable of being more than an actress. Her voice behind this film resonates throughout and it's one of the more mature coming-of-age films I've seen. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are fantastic in this movie. Gerwig and her husband Noah Baumbach just might be the most powerful directing couple in the world.
#9 Baby Driver - The majority of films that appear on my list this year are projects of passion. Okja, The Greatest Showman, Get Out, and Lady Bird are just a few examples of movies that came to be because the filmmakers were incredibly passionate about bringing these stories to life through film. Baby Driver is another one of those projects where director Edgar Wright knew the story he wanted to tell and worked hard to make this a dream come true for him. And it works on so many levels. Not only does it have one of the best soundtracks of the year (Wright has always been greatly influenced by music), but it has some intense car chase sequences and a deep story to boot.
#8 Dunkirk - Dunkirk confirms two things: 1) That old war is chaos, and 2) That Christopher Nolan definitely has a style. YouTuber Little White Lies calls it "Christopher Nolan's Time Puzzle." That's what nearly all of his movies are. Memento, which made Nolan big, is all about time. Not only does it tell its story in reverse order, but it is interspersed with scenes from a time that we're not sure about in the movie. But it all comes together at the end. The Prestige messes with time in a more straightforward, flashback way, but hides all of its answer in plain sight. Inception takes us levels and levels deeper, where time moves slower and timing is a carefully calculated plotpoint. I can't get into Interstellar's time musings without ruining the ending, so fast forward to Dunkirk. How can Nolan mess with time while telling a story based on the true events of the World War II Dunkirk evacuation? The answer lies in the entire film, which comes together in a symphony of story and feels.
#7 The Big Sick - Indie film of the year goes to Kumail Nanjiani's The Big Sick. It's a personal tale based on the true story of how he got involved with his wife, Emily Gordon. The film brings about the familiar tones of early 2000s indie films, but with Nanjiani's natural humor. It's a funny movie and the whole cast is incredible, including Zoe Kazan, Ray Ramano, and Holly Hunter.
#6 Wonder - At first, Wonder looks like one of your typical run-of-the-mill American family films about bullying or being different. However, that's only a quarter of the story that Wonder has to tell. It explores quite a few varying themes around the lives of average school-aged children. It's generally pretty effective in its ability to deliver a positive message to all the youngsters out there. This is one of those films that I can see being a regular showing at schools all across the country and possibly even the world. Writer and director Stephen Chbosky is proving to be quite the filmmaker.
#5 Coco - Pixar knocked this one out of the park for me. It feels like it has been a long time since they've really struck an emotional chord with me on one of their films. Their last three films just haven't made me feel anything. Actually, I think 2015's Inside Out might be the last time I had an emotional response to a Pixar film and that was only because of Bing Bong. But in comes Coco to really deliver an impactful punch to the gut with themes around family, memory, and music.
#4 Blade Runner 2049 - When I first heard the whisperings of Hollywood talking about making a sequel to 1982's Blade Runner, I thought, "No. Can we please leave this one alone?" Then I heard Denis Villeneuve got involved to direct. Then I heard they convinced Harrison Ford to come back. Then I heard Ryan Gosling was going to star. Then I heard Jóhann Jóhannsson was going to compose the music (he ended up not). All the things converted me into a full-fledged fan who followed the production of this film every step of the way. And it delivers. It delivers big time, but not in a Ridley Scott way, but more of a Villeneuve way, which is what we needed. The look, the sound, the feel of this world brings tingles down my spine. It's a gorgeous addition to the franchise that I love to watch again and again.
#3 Thor: Ragnarok - And the award for most fun film of the year goes to Thor: Ragnarok. Those who know me well know that I'm not the biggest Marvel movie fan. The majority of them are incredibly generic superhero films that do nothing to freshen the genre or movie-going experience. I'm a big fan of director Taika Waititi, so when I heard he was helming the third installment in the Thor series, I was skeptical. How could this New Zealander bring his style to the Marvel universe? Well, I don't know how he did it, but I'm sorry I ever doubt him. The humor, the look, the feel... everything about Ragnarok oozes Waititi's style of directing. I remember sitting in the theatre during the climactic battle never wanting this story to end. It's the first time a Marvel movie has made me feel this way. This is, without a doubt, my personal favorite Marvel film yet.
#2 The Shape of Water - I've been calling director Guillermo del Toro a one-hit wonder for about a decade now. Pan's Labyrinth is a masterpiece. It's also the only good movie he's made. Every time a project of his comes up, I'm ready for him to redeem himself, but I just end up walking out of the theatre full of disappointment. Until now. The Shape of Water not only brings back the Guillermo del Toro touches that I loved in Pan's, but it shows his true love for cinema. That includes all kinds of cinema, from monster movies to musicals. The Shape of Water is gorgeous, it's captivating, and it's a remarkable film. Unfortunately, this only makes del Toro a two-hit wonder, in my opinion, but if I have to wait for another quality film of his every 11 years, I'll be happy to remain patient. Thank you for this film experience, Guillermo.
Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...
#1 - The Emoji Movie - Sike!
#1 Columbus - "Lost in Translation, but in Columbus, Indiana" is how this film was pitched to me. Comparing a movie to Lost in Translation alone is enough to get me to see a movie, but I'm so pleased to say that Columbus is so much more than that simple description. I understand the similarity between the two since both have a younger female protagonist still searching for her path in life with an older male protagonist who is there to show her that tragedy in one's life doesn't necessarily go away with age. There's an intimacy between the two that highlights more of the architecture of human conversation than anything more romantic or sexy. Just like the fascinating architecture one can find in Columbus.
Runners-up: Wonder Woman, Darkest Hour
Movies I didn't see that received good reviews: Logan, The Salesman, The Red Turtle, The Disaster Artist, John Wick: Chapter 2, Wind River, Meyhem, Silence, Phantom Thread, The Post, Mudbound.
Past lists:
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
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