Call Me By Your Name

"Call Me By Your Name" isn't the kind of movie I normally would go rush out an see in the theater, but I kept hearing buzz about how great it was and how different it tackled certain subjects that I decided to give it a go. It's definitely a different kind of movie, but that shouldn't be something to put against it in any way. At a time where Hollywood is putting out a constant stream of remakes, sequels, comic book adaptations and reboots, movies like these are the ones I look forward to the most. The reason that is, is because I want to see more original stories. Not to say those previously mentioned movies are all bad, in fact some are really great, but it's just nice to see something that's not a part of that once in a while.

"Call Me By Your Name" takes place in Italy and follows a 17 year old boy named Elio during the summer of 1983. His father hires an intern every year to help him with his work, and this time it's a young american named Oliver. Throughout the summer young Elio and Oliver become slowly drawn to each other over time as they form a connection that will change their lives forever. It's a story that moves along very slowly throughout the movie, building up over time as you see both characters slowly making their way towards each other's lives. This works so well because of the great performances by Armie Hammer and newcomer Timothee Chalamet, both have amazing chemistry with each other and it really takes the movie to another level. The rest of the cast does a great job as well and i'm sure the writing has a lot to do with that too.

The movie is also beautifully shot and is just a pleasure to look at from start to finish. The landscape of Italy is very beautiful on own it's own, but the shots just elevate that along with the story that's going on in the movie. It really helps those slower moments of the movie when you have beautiful scenery to look at as well. There are moments in the movie that are pretty ordinary, like Elio writing sheet music or reading a book that could have easily felt out of place or unnecessary, but instead make sense in this story and help build the character of Elio.

A lot of people might find this movie boring, and I know it's not something everyone will enjoy as much as maybe I did. As I said before, it's a very slow build throughout the movie and there really aren't any big explosive moments, at least not until the very end, but it's more emotionally explosive than anything else. It's a story about first love and the emotions that comes with that and the movie does that very, very well. The movie felt a bit on the long side (because of the slow build), but by the end I understood why the film maker did that and I felt the emotions that the characters felt too. The story doesn't play out the way I thought it would, there are certain moments you expect in a movie like this that don't even come up. I found it refreshing to see this kind of story play out in a different way than usual, but still have the same emotional impact. It's a good movie with great performances and great cinematography, one that needs a little patience to be enjoyed and rewards that patience with a strong third act. 

Overall Grade: B

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Oscar 2018 Nominations

As the biggest award show for film draws near, we finally got the nominations list for the 2018 Oscars. Some surprises here and of course lots of films most people knew would be on nominated. Here I'll look at the more important ones and try to guess which ones will be winning and which ones I would like to see win personally. Even though these awards aren't as important as they are made to look, it's still fun to watch and pick the winners. If you want to see the full list on the official site and follow along with me, CLICK HERE. 

LEADING ACTOR:

Most of these choices seem like the ones that were going to be on here, with one big exception. Daniel Kaluuya being nominated for "Get Out" is a really nice surprise, and one that deserves to be on this list. Even though it isn't as much as a surprise, it's also really nice to see the young actor Timothee Chamalet nominated for his amazing performance in "Call Me By Your Name".

Who I think will win: It's tough to say here, because all of these are actually really great performances. There's a chance that it will be given to Daniel Day-Lewis just because it's also his last performance ever, but I think it will go to Gary Oldman for his portrayal of Winston Churchill. The academy seems to love these kind of performances, where an actor transforms himself into a historical figure. 

Who I want to win: I would like to see the young Timothee Chamalet get the award. His performance in "Call Me By Your Name" was so unique and emotional, that even being surrounded by other great performances, he stood out as the best in the movie. I think the odds of him actually winning are low, but I'm glad he got nominated at the very least.

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Honestly this one is one of the tougher ones to pick my favorite in because they were all amazing in different ways... well except Christopher Plummer maybe. 

Who I think will win: Like I said, very tough. On one hand I can totally see them giving it to Willem Dafoe, because his perfomance in "The Florida Project" was unlike anything he's really ever done. I could also see Sam Rockwell winning because of his portrayal of the racist cop in "Three Billboards" and how he still somehow was able to portray himself as a redeemable character after all of the racist and stupid things he does in the film. I think Rockwell will take it this time.

Who I want to win: I honestly wouldn't mind any of these actors winning (except Plummer), but if I had to pick one I would probably go with Willem Dafoe. His performance in "The Florida Project" was one of my favorites of all last year, and seeing him play a more normal and friendly guy was really great. (Since he usually plays more villains/creepy characters)

LEADING ACTRESS: 

Meryl Streep gets another nomination because she's Meryl Streep. The rest of the nominations are all great and varied performances that I really enjoyed, making it hard to even really pick just one who I would like to see win. 

Who I think will win: Meryl Streep of course, no just kidding. I think this is Frances McDormand's year to win the big Oscar. While it's hard to compare these performances because they were all amazing in very different ways, I think McDormand's was just more powerful, emotional and spoke to more modern problems in the USA. 

Who I want to win: Honestly with the exception of Streep, I would love to see any of these woman win, they all totally deserve it. I loved all of the movies represented here and would feel happy to see any of these win. If I had to pick one though, i'd stay with Frances McDormand because out of all of the movies that one was my favorite overall. Also note that Meryl Streep was great in "The Post", but I don't think it was as great as all the other nominations here.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

This is another really good list, full of performances I loved. Honestly the only one I can't say for sure is "Mudbound" because I haven't seen it yet, but I will soon. 

Who I think will win: I both want and think that Allison Janney will win this year, she stole every scene that she was in in "I, Tonya" as Tonya Harding's mother. Close second would be Laurie Metcalf in "Lady Bird" who was also stole some scenes in the movie. 

ANIMATED FILM:

It's Coco. I mean what else could it be? Boss Baby? No way. Ferdinand? No way. Coco is literally the only choice here. I am sad to see that Lego Batman didn't even get nominated as it was a really good animated movie that tackled the Batman world in a unique way. Also sad that "Your Name" wasn't nominated as I would have picked to to win over "Coco", but I guess since it came out in 2016 in Japan it doesn't count? Then why wasn't it nominated last year? I don't get it.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

It's disappointing to see that Blade Runner was only nominated for technical awards and not anything else. That being said, Blade Runner deserves and should win this award at the very least, with the legendary Roger Deakins behind it. 

COSTUME DESIGN:

How weird would it be if a movie about a dressmaker (Phantom Thread) didn't win best costume design.

DIRECTING: 

It's amazing to see Jordan Peele on the list for best director. Even though I don't think he will win it, it's still a very nice surprise.

Who I think will win: These are all good choices, but I think Chris Nolan will get his award here for directing. I'm sure Dunkirk won't be winning Best Picture so at least it will get this, Nolan DID do a really good job directing this movie after all.

Who I want to win: Jordan Peele, how could it now be Peele? He made such a unique and crazy awesome movie last year that people would not stop talking about. It was scary, funny, bizarre and had a good message behind it all. 

DOCUMENTARY:

Icarus

SHORT DOCUMENTARY:

EDITH  + EDDIE 

EDITING:

Dunkirk

FOREIGN FILM:

A Fantastic Woman

MAKEUP:

Darkest Hour

MUSIC:

Shape of Water

ORIGINAL SONG:

Remember Me - Coco

BEST PICTURE:

Here it is, the big one. All nine movies are great, so I recommend seeing them if you haven't yet. Picking one of these though, will be tough. The obvious choice might be "The Darkest Hour" because it's based on a true story and follows the life of Winston Churchill. I don't think I want to go with the obvious choice here though...

Who I think will win: I'm going with "Three Billboards" on this one, because of all of it's great performances, great cinematography, a subject that is very topical and possibly controversial, and just an overall pretty flawless film. 

Who I want to win: I would be happy to see "Three Billboards" win, but I think I would be just as happy if "Call Me by Your Name", "Shape of Water", "Lady Bird" or "Get Out" won. Overall it's just a great year for movies and these nine picks are all really good choices. Really the only surprise was that "I, Tonya" wasn't included in the best picture category, I think it deserved it (even if it didn't win).

PRODUCTION:

Blade Runner 2049

SHORT FILM ANIMATED:

(Please not Kobe Bryant)

SHORT FILM:

The Silent Child

SOUND EDITING:

Blade Runner 2049

SOUND MIXING:

Dunkirk

VISUAL EFFECTS:

War for the Planet of the Apes

WRITING ADAPTED:

So uhm... Logan got an Oscar nomination? While I hope with all my heart that Logan could win this, it probably won't.

my choice: Call Me By Your Name

WRITING ORIGINAL:

Three Billboards

And those are all my uneducated guesses as to who will win this year at the Oscars! Hope you enjoyed it even just a little bit. 

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Mary and the Witch's Flower

"Mary and the Witch's" Flower is a Japanese animated film, the first film by Studio Ponoc created by Nishimura. Nishimura produced many successful animated films for the legendary Studio Ghibli like 'When Marnie Was There' and 'Howl's Moving Castle'. I've been a huge Studio Ghibli fan for a long time and also a fan of all the movies that Nishimura had a hand in, so I was really excited to see what the first film in this new studio was going to be like. Would 'Mary and the Witch's Flower' be another classic film like so many Ghibli creations, or would it be something completely different?

First thing I'd like to say, which probably isn't a surprise to anyone who's seen a Studio Ghibli film, is that the animation is very beautiful and detailed. Some animators from Studio Ghibli are a part of this new studio, so it's no surprise to see that the animation in this film is just as colorful and a wonder to look at as Ghibli classics. The backgrounds in each scene are so detailed that I had to keep looking around the screen to admire every little part of them. There's just nothing else quite like the art style from these animated movies, the hard work that goes into them is very noticeable.

The story of 'Mary and the Witch's Flower' Follows a young English girl named Mary Smith (I know) as she stays with her Great Aunt Charlotte and waits for her break to be over and start at a new school. Mary is constantly looking for something to do during this break, but it seems that the adults don't want her to help much because she has a knack for messing things up. While eating a picnic alone outside, she is joined by a black cat who she follows into a forest where she finds beautiful glowing flowers that make the cat terribly scared. What Mary doesn't know is that these flowers can be used to give her the ability to use magic powers. These magic powers lead her to a college in the sky that is exclusively for withes. There she meets the Headmistress Mumblechook (voiced by Kate Winslet) and a strange scientist named Doctor Dee. There's a dark secret at the college though, and Mary is about to be a big part of that.

The story plays out exactly how you would imagine it would, there really aren't many surprises here. I also found myself not really caring too much about any of the characters or their backstories, mostly because none of the characters are really given much time in the movie. The main focus of the movie is of course Mary, who doesn't get much development either. All we really know about Mary is that she's away from her parents and that she doesn't have any friends or talents. I didn't feel connected to Mary as a character in any way, because she didn't really have a strong character. The only characters I was interested in were Mumblechook and Doctor Dee from the college. They had potential to be interesting characters, but not much time went into developing them either. So what we get here is a potentially interesting story with some potentially interesting characters, but all that potential goes nowhere really. It's a perfectly fine story with average characters that I'm sure kids will really like, but those looking for more than that might not get much out of this.

'Mary and the Witch's Flower" is a beautifully animated film with amazing details, colors and movement that kept my attention with it's high quality and crisp visuals. The story and characters kept the movie from being another classic by these creators, but it's just the first of many from a new studio and it definitely shows promise. While I didn't love it as much as I was hoping, I still enjoyed my time watching this and will keep my hopes up and still be excited for Studio Ponoc's next project. I'd recommend to any fans of traditional animation, anime or Ghibli films or for a younger audience.

Overall Grade: C+

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Billboard Top 10 (1/20/18): Ed Sheeran Ft. Ed Sheeran

Welcome to 2018, the year pop music finally finds a new identity and isn't full of lots of boring artists and copycats of those boring artists. As 2018 gets under way and we near the end of the decade, I ask myself what really set this decade of pop music apart from any other decade of the last 6-7. I guess it's hard to know exactly what the decade will be defined as when you are currently living in it and as time goes by we will see the kind of music people really define as music of the 2010's. As the big pop artists that dominated the last 10-20 years slowly start to become less relevant, what artists will step up and change the game? Will rock music ever get a revival with a new era like it did in the early 90's with Nirvana and grunge? Will rap and hip-hop stop constantly copying the three or four big artists out there and go somewhere new and interesting? Will country music stop trying so hard to be cool and go back to a traditional or new style? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure... none of that will happen this year. The charts are still infected with music from late last year and it probably will be for the next month as we see newer artists and big names start releasing new music. Although if there's one thing we learned last year, it's that even the biggest artists can fail at making hits just from name recognition alone.

1. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (Beyonce needs a number one hit edition)

Ed Sheeran's name was the biggest of 2017 and he became what Justin Bieber was in 2016. Adding Ed Sheeran's name or being in one of his songs pretty much guarantees a top 20 hit for you. Eminem, Taylor Swift and now Beyonce are all riding the Sheeran train to get that big hit. 'Perfect' was one of the weaker tracks from Sheeran's last release, it felt too much like trying to repeat the popularity of 'Thinking Out Loud'. Well if that was indeed the case, it worked like a charm. The duet between Sheeran and Beyonce didn't really make the song any better. Not only does hearing Beyonce and Sheeran sing to each other just feel weird, but it's not really enjoyable to listen to on a musical level either. It all just feels in-genuine, but at least it got Beyonce that hit that she so desperately needed as an up and coming artist. Not to take anything away from both artists' vocal talent, but I don't think a song like this shows off those talents much anyway. I still mildly enjoy the original version despite it's cliche lyrics and the fact that it ends the chorus with the extremely overused and terrible line: "...Tonight".

2. Camila Cabello - Havana (w/ Young Thug)

I think I like the idea of this song more than the actual song itself. It's a cool idea to make a song to tribute the culture of Cuba and show some love there, but instead we get another crappy love song that just happens to take place in Cuba. The intro was interesting at first, it showed promise for something a little different than everything else on the charts, but it just ends up looping the entire song with not much change. Young Thug says some things, what those things are I have no idea, but he's on the song so, yay? This song is just a straight line from beginning to end, it stays on the same level the entire time with no build or break in-between. So far everything I've heard from both artists hasn't been good, but I hope maybe at least Cabello can put out something different and interesting soon.

3. Bruno Mars - Finesse (Cardi B Remix)

Before I talk about the addition of Cardi B, I wanted to say how I feel about the original version. Like the rest of the 24K Magic album, I really liked the original recording of Finesse. Bruno's vocals are great as the rest of the album and the music is fun, upbeat and easy to get into. Cardi B has her own version of the first verse and replaces Bruno's original. She doesn't really make the song any better or worse I guess, it's a decent verse that doesn't elevate the song in any way. I really thought Cardi B was going to be one of those artists that show up at the top and then disappear forever, I never quite got what she brought to the music scene to make her shoot all the way to the top of the charts. I guess it's still too early to tell, maybe her time is going to be short like an Iggy Azalea and she'll be gone by next year, or maybe she will make it past the fifteen minutes of fame and become the next Nicki? I don't know and I don't care either way. I have to say though, working with Bruno Mars was probably a really good choice in the long run though, now she just needs that Ed Sheeran collab and she'll be one of the big names in music for years. 

4. Post Malone - rockstar

This song seems to be sticking around the top 5 here for a long time, at this point it might even be on the best sellers of 2018 and we're only a month in (barely). Look, I liked this song when I first heard it, but it just doesn't have the staying power to really belong this high on the list after months. Lyrically it's a cliche of a song that doesn't provide anything new. The rappers calling themselves rockstar has been done to death the past 15 years or more. I think it's time to let something new take this spot now, maybe the next song on the list will be a good contender....wait...oh. no.

5. G-Eazy - No Limit (A$AP Rocky and Cardi B)

hm...maybe I was wrong, maybe Cardy B has more power on the music charts than I thought. G-Eazy on the other hand is about as interesting as the DMV, but less useful. He proves this by rhyming cop it with poppin' on the first verse and then adding hoppin' and dropping to that same rhyme. Cardi B is actually the only decent part of this song, even though she basically says the same crap she says in all her songs, but it's still way better than anything else here. There's also some outdated references in this song like Cardi B making a Subway's Jared joke and Eazy making a "Damn Daniel " meme reference from 100 internet years ago. Overall this song feels like an eternity and the beat just drags the song painfully along with the bad verses by G-Eazy not helping. 

6. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

This song needs to go away ASAP. This is why I desperately crave a revival in rock music on the charts, I can't stand listening to this anymore. This song just feels soul-less and robotic with no passion or meaning behind it. It's like the template for making a hit song with as little effort as possible, just using a catchy chorus.

7. Halsey - Bad at Love

Halsey, of 'Closer' fame, now has a single of her own in the top 10. In this song, Halsey reminisces on past relationships that ended badly and she exclaims that she just doesn't know how to pick a good partner. The problem with this format is that she really only gives about two lines per each ex, not really enough for anyone to really understand why she was in love with them or why it actually didn't work out. This might have worked better if she focused on one person and explained in a little more personal detail why it was a bad choice to be with him/her. Instead we get a throwaway line about how her ex didn't want her to follow her dreams or how she didn't like his friends that makes it seem a lot less personal and emotional. This leads to a pre-chorus where she says she believed they were meant to be, but jealousy got in the way. That doesn't really make sense when listening to the verses and she gives different reasons as to why it didn't work out. Put the lyrics aside and you still got a pretty standard modern pop song. It doesn't do anything out of the ordinary or try anything new, which doesn't always make a bad song, but in this case it's just kind of boring. The lyrics had a chance to make a difference, but don't really do a good job at elevating the song either.

8. Sam Smith - Too Good at Goodbyes

Showing emotion through your vocals is an important part of getting the message of a song across, and Sam Smith has always done a good job at this. While this isn't the kind of song I can blast at any time, it's a good song for those quiet nights or more thoughtful moments. Sometimes an artist can become known for doing one thing very well, and Sam Smith could really be one of those artists. Being emotional on a song is that thing that Sam Smith can do very well. I'd like to see Smith try something a little different sometime soon, maybe a little more fun or upbeat or funky maybe? For now, he's using what he's good at to make good music and it's still interesting at this point. There might be a danger of this getting old, but for now it's still good.

9. Justin Timberlake - Filthy

Uhhhhhh, what did I just listen to? I don't really know how to feel about this right now. I kind of like this and I also kind of hate this, so I'm not even sure. Part of me thinks this is exactly what Justin wants me to feel, the other part of me thinks that he's not that clever and this is just a really bad song. The music ranges from annoying to interesting, with the unique bass lines and the cool guitar interludes. This combined with the annoying electronic sounds in the background really confuse me. The vocals make me feel the exact same way. I think I actually like this song, it's so strange and unique it's hard not to like. I don't like this song because it's good necessarily, but because it's just so strange and weird. I'll keep an eye on this one for sure, with some time i'll be able to tell if this is actually good or not. What the hell Justin...what is this mess?

Migos - Motorsport (Cardi B and Nicki)

Yet again Cardi B outshines the bigger artists on the song and Nicki is not so bad herself, but Migos are as boring as I usually find them, throwing out the generic rapper talk about how much money and sex they have. The women on the track though actually have some clever lines here and there and seem like they actually put effort into it, so it really makes the song pretty decent. Still, I just don't really get Migos and it really puts me off to the rest of the song. 

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I, Tonya

So it begins, 2018. A new year for movies of all kinds, big and small. Around this first month of January, a lot of what we usually get is action and horror movies that studios don't have a lot of confidence in usually and a lot of Oscar contenders finally getting big screen releases or wide releases across the nation. I hope to review more movies than I did last year as well. I want to focus more on smaller and original movies, or movies that aren't part of a huge franchise like Marvel, DC, Star Wars and the like. Not to say I won't be reviewing those movies, but I think most people will go watch those movies regardless of what I think of them. I want to help encourage people to go out of their way to watch something original (not part of a franchise) or with a lower budget and see the great new stories filmmakers have to offer. Anyway, enough of that- here's I, Tonya.

I, Tonya is a film that no doubt will have some presence in the Oscars (if not, then The Academy really need a change of members). Margot Robbie's performance and portrayal of Tonya Harding was one of the best performances of last year, and she definitely deserves to at least be nominated for this performance. Also add Allison Janney to best supporting actress for her portrayal of Harding's crazy mother. Allison Janney stole every scene she was in and was a joy to watch, but not taking away from Robbie's performance or Sebastian Stan (who played Jeff Gillooly, Tonya's husband) as they carried most of the movie.

The story is told in a semi-documentary style and documents Tonya Harding's life from her early days of ice skating to her big controversial Olympic moment. It covers her relationships with her husband and mother, as well as her relationship with ice skating throughout her life. The movie does a good job at making situations that probably shouldn't be funny, actually be pretty funny thanks to the great writing and acting. There was never a moment during the movie where I felt even close to bored or impatient for the next big thing to happen, it was great from start to finish without any small bumps in-between.

The movie does a good job of not painting anyone as a clear villain or hero (well, except one or two minor characters), but let's you decide how to feel about everyone by showing you their actions and how they deal with their struggles and make choices based on those struggles. I wasn't too familiar with the real life story of Tonya Harding, since it was before my time, but I knew the important details about it. The movie does a good job at showing the whole ordeal through different eyes and it feels a lot more personal  and human this way.

We are only halfway through the first month of the year, but I have to say this movie could easily be one of my top tens of the year for 2018. Of course there's still hundreds of movies to see and honestly, I hope that there are at least 10 more movies better than this one for my sake. That still wouldn't change the fact that I really loved this movie a lot, and I will be buying it when it comes out. It's a great way to start the year off in movies and I hope to be just as impressed with all the other movies this year i'm going to watch, but let's face it... that's just not going to happen.

Overall Grade: A

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Top Movies of 2017

2017 was a great year for movies, especially smaller and original movies. There was a good movie playing all year round starting even in January with Split all the way to the last week of 2017 with movies like Jumanji 2, Last Jedi and Downsizing. It was actually pretty tough trying to decide what movies were my favorites because I enjoyed so many this year. But I narrowed it down to 10 as best as I could. It's a list that could possibly change order in the future after re-watches and time has passed. But before that here are some that almost made the list:


COCO: A really beautifully animated movie and another home run by Pixar studios. It really did a great job creating a different take on the Dia de los Muertos story and the way it used music and the culture was really fantastic.

LADYBIRD: A great coming-of-age tale that was full of great performances and true to life situations and writing that anyone can relate to. A great Directorial debut for Greta Gerwig and one of Saoirse Ronan's best performances.

GET OUT: Speaking of great debuts for a director, Jordan Peele directed this really unique thriller earlier this year and it was a big surprise hit. A great movie with a very topical theme, a creepy and sometimes even funny story, a movie that didn't rely too heavily on cliches to scare the audience.

INGRID GOES WEST: I think this movie kind of fell below the radar this year, but it was a really cool and unique comedy. Aubrey Plaza plays an obsessive Instagram stalker who tries to befriend an "Instagram Famous" person played by Elizabeth Olsen. It's weird how much I enjoyed watching a movie full of characters that are pretty terrible people in a way, only to realize that a lot of the world is actually like this now, maybe including myself. The Idea of people wanting attention and creating fake lives on social media to make everyone think they are awesome is real. This movie uses that idea and takes it to an absurd place and it makes for some funny moments.

SPLIT: After several years of terrible movie after terrible movie, M. Night has finally created another great movie. With a stellar performance from James McAvoy playing several different roles and a twist ending that actually worked. Hopefully this is the start of another string of good M. Night films.

THE LAST JEDI: There were a lot of problems with the new Star Wars movie, and I think many people made that clear over the last few weeks. While I definitely saw the problems, it didn't stop me from enjoying a lot of the movie and having a good time. I was going to write a short post about the good and bad parts about this movie, but I think there's enough of that out there that I really don't need to do so. While the stories for the great characters Finn and Poe sort of fell flat, the story and relationships between Luke, Rey and Kylo really drove the movie and was very very good. Really the worst part about it was how it ended in a way that didn't seem to set much up for the final film in the saga and threw away what potentially could have been an awesome and game changing team up between Rey and Kylo. 

Now it's time for the actual list! Starting with:

10. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman was a surprisingly different movie from all the other DC movies that have come out in the last couple years. It was a very nice movie to look at, as in it wasn't dark and ugly and full of bad CG. The performances and characters were all great and very likable, even the side characters. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman worked really well in the movie and she portrayed Wonder Woman in a way that I think lots of people know the character as. It had a lot of heart and good humor, as well as emotional moments that actually worked. The only thing keeping this movie from being higher is the last act of the movie, with the silly twist and the boring CG fest of a battle.

9. The Big Sick

I feel like this movie didn't get enough love, but that's only because it was one of my favorites of the year. Not only was this movie very funny, it actually had some really strong emotional scenes and actually has a great message. The movie is actually based of the real life story of Kumail Nanjiani and how he met his wife. They both wrote this movie together. Definitely my favorite comedy of the year and it's also great to see Kumail get a big role like this in a great movie. Can't forget how hilarious Ray Romano is in this movie too.

8. The Shape of Water

This was one of the most beautiful movies to look at all year. I'm a sucker for a genre film that takes place in the late 50's early 60's too. This movie was so strange and bizarre and yet beautiful and a joy to watch. I mean, the story of a woman who falls in love with a fish man has to be pretty awesome, right? Add Guillermo del Toro's name to it and you got a fantastic movie. There are a lot of great scenes with good laughs, good tension, actual strong emotional connections and lots of eggs (you'll know if you watch it).

7. Your Name

This movie technically came out in 2016, but it wasn't released in the US until 2017. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie. The concept of a high school boy switching bodies with a high school girl isn't exactly unique or groundbreaking. In fact it's kind of played out and old, but somehow this movie made that concept fun and exciting again. Mostly because it doesn't lead to where I thought it was going and it really turns the body switch formula on it's head for the last parts of the movie. Also can't forget how good the animation was, very detailed and colorful and full of life. 

6. Thor Ragnarok 

I really didn't care much for the Thor movies. The first one was okay, a decent intro to the Thor character and the second film... well I can't remember what even happens in that movie. Then came the third movie for Mr. Thor, and wow it was the most fun I've had in a Marvel movie. It was really funny, had great action, great music, great effects, hilarious performances and just had a lot of style. It's the kind of movie you can go back to and enjoy multiple times, much like the first Guardians movie. 

5. Wind River

Wind River came out later in the year for a short time in cinemas. It's a smaller film starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen taking place in a small Native American reservation called Wind River. Renner plays a hunter who tracks predators that kill the local's livestock and while searching for one of those predators, finds a dead body. Olsen comes in as the "fish out of water" FBI agent who needs help from the hunter who knows the lands better than anyone to find out who committed the crime. It turned out to be way better than expected, as both actors gave a great performances and the story along with the setting was really interesting to watch. There was never a dull moment and the story doesn't go exactly where I thought it would, which was also nice. 

4. Three Billboard in Ebbing, Missouri 

With a title like that this movie has to be good right? Well yeah, because it was the biggest surprise of the year for me. I wasn't really sure what to expect going in, I just really liked the premise. A woman's daughter is murdered and after several months of the police not investigating the murder, she buys three billboards and uses them to call out the Police Chief of the town (played by Woody Harrelson). What we get is a strangely funny movie about a lots of dark topics with top-notch performances from Frances McDormand, Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell, with a special appearance from Peter Dinklage. It's definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it, as long as you are okay with dark humor. 

  

3. Baby Driver

This movie was just SO COOL. The bad-ass driving sequences, the sweet soundtrack, the wacky over the top characters and quirky humor were all just so much fun. I don't think I had as much fun with any movie as much as I did with Baby Driver. Director Edgar Wright has made some of my favorite movies of all time like Scott Pilgrim and Shaun of the Dead, and this is just another to add to the list. Seriously, if you just want a fun popcorn movie to watch you can't go wrong with Baby Driver. 

2. Logan

The story of Wolverine was all leading up to this, the movie we've all been waiting for. After one of the worst comic book movies in Wolverine Origins and an almost great Wolverine movie in Japan, we finally get the perfect Wolverine movie. This is in my opinion one of the best acted comic book movies of all time. Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman killed it in their roles and deserve to be nominated for some award (though probably not going to happen?), even the young girl playing X-23 (Dafne Keen) was awesome. If this ends up being the last movie with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, then it was the perfect send off for him. This wasn't just a great comic book movie, it was a great movie period. It was hard to choose between this and my number one pick and honestly it could easily change with time, but for now...

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1. Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049 was such a beautifully made film. Going back to the world of Blade Runner with today's technology was just plain awesome to watch on the big screen. Everything from cinematography, acting, sound, score, storytelling, dialog was done very very well. There are a lot of sequels and remakes to beloved movies coming out these days, so I think a lot of people were worried that this could be another one of those movies that just seemed to be trying to make money off nostalgia and a big name. Blade Runner became a beloved film and no doubt it would be a hard name to live up to, but everyone did a good job here making a movie that was worthy of being called a sequel to the original. They tried new things, but brought back familiar elements from the original to keep things fresh. Ultimately this became my favorite of the year, and I think it's a movie that deserved to be watched by everyone who is a fan of movies. While i'm sure it's not going to be loved by everyone who watches it, it's just my opinion and I hope more people give it a chance. 

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