In all, you will see 42 different movies mentioned, out of a total 97 films I watched during the year. I somehow exceeded my previous high of 87 films watched in a year by 10, even after spending a full month without watching a single 2017 film in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. But once the movie theaters reopened, and I finally regained internet access in my house, I went right back to doing what I love the most: watching movies!
From these lists you can get a pretty good idea of which 2017 films I loved the most. During the week I'll post my official list of the 10 Best Movies of 2017(along with my brother's list), and then on Oscars Sunday I'll post my Viewer's Guide for the ceremony, which is my favorite blog post to write every year. So, busy week for me. Until then, please enjoy my 8 Top 8 Lists for 2017!
*WARNING : SPOILERS*
I Best Performances
8) Betty Gabriel as "Georgina" in Get Out
With very little screen time, she ends up being one of the most memorable parts of this pretty memorable film. You'll never listen to the words "No no no no no" the same way again.
7) Brooklyn Prince as "Moonee" in The Florida Project
Prince looks and feels like a natural in her first film role as a 6 year-old. She pretty much carries the whole film, and she's phenomenal!
6) Holly Hunter as "Beth" in The Big Sick
The definition of a great supporting performance. Hunter doesn't show up until the second half of the film, but after that she's the best thing about every scene she's in.
5) Hugh Jackman as "Logan" in Logan
This might be seen as a career achievement thing for Jackman's great 17 year run as "Logan/Wolverine", but for me even if you'd never seen any of his previous work in the franchise, this performance was extremely worthy of praise.
4) Allison Janney as "Lavona Golden" in I, Tonya
Loved this transformation from the first second to the last. It already got Janney her much-deserved 1st Oscar nomination, and on Sunday it should get her the Oscar as well.
3) Willem Dafoe as "Bobby" in The Florida Project
If this performance doesn't put a lump in your throat, you're just not human. Right now Dafoe is in 2nd place for the Supporting Actor Oscar behind Sam Rockwell, but I hope we hear his named called on Sunday.
2) Margot Robbie as "Tonya Harding" in I, Tonya
I had high expectations for this one from the trailers, but even then I was still surprised by how much I loved Robbie's performance. She had me crying in those final scenes. More on that later.
1) Timothée Chalamet as "Elio" in Call Me by Your Name
The best performance I've seen since I started writing these lists for the movie year of 2013. You heard me. He's the youngest Best Actor nominee in over 75 years, and he would've been the youngest winner ever if not for the "We're Sorry We Ignored You Forever" Oscar that Gary Oldman is gonna receive on Sunday.
II Best Characters
8) "Brad Sloan", played by Ben Stiller in Brad's Status
A father going through a mid-life crisis as he takes his son on a tour of Ivy League colleges, where he meets up with a friend from his college days who makes him reflect even more about his life choices.
7) "Cyd" and "Miranda Ruth", played by Jessie Pinnick and Rebecca Spence in Princess Cyd
Cyd is a 16 year-old who decides to spend the summer with her novelist aunt, Miranda. Once they get comfortable with the situation they form a pretty strong bond as they challenge each other on topics such as religion, art, and sexuality.
6) "Connie Nikas", played by Robert Pattinson in Good Time
A bank robber who spends an entire night trying to free his mentally handicapped brother from prison after a heist gone wrong. Every decision he makes only makes matters worse. Way worse.
5) "Reynolds Woodcock" and "Alma", played by Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread
A renowned dressmaker, and his new muse and lover, who end up in a mutually beneficial/poisonous relationship.
4) "Elisa Esposito", played by Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
A mute janitor working in a top secret research facility, where she forms a unique connection with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
3) "Lady Bird" and "Marion McPherson", played by Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird
A 17 year-old high school senior and her overbearing mother, who have a pretty combative relationship even by the normal standards of teenager-mother relationships.
2) "Mildred Hayes", played by Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Speaking of combative, "Mildred" is mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore after months have passed since her daughter's rape and murder and the police not having arrested anybody. So she puts up three billboards just outside of town to get the sheriff's attention. She also burns down the police station.
1) "Jin" and "Casey", played by John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus
Easy choice for me. I spent five months in 2017 writing an original screenplay. These two characters share a lot in common with my main characters. I swear I had no idea this movie existed as I was writing my screenplay. The connection I formed with "Jin" and "Casey" gives me hope that in the not-so-distant future other people will be able to connect with my characters.
III Best Quotes
8) An example of the poisonous relationship between "Reynolds Woodcock" and his lover/muse "Alma" in Phantom Thread:
Alma: "I want you flat on your back. Helpless, tender, open with only me to help. And then I want you strong again. You're not going to die. You might wish you're going to die, but you're not going to. You need to settle down a little."
7) Tommy Wiseau(played by James Franco) practicing one of the most famous lines of his self-produced film "The Room", when his best friend Greg walks by in The Disaster Artist:
Tommy: "Oh hi, Mark ... Oh. Hi Mark! ... Oh hi! Mark ... Oh hi, Greg."
6) "Elisa" trying to convince her neighbor and friend "Giles"(played by Richard Jenkins) to help her save the creature in the research facility in The Shape of Water:
Giles: "We can do nothing! I'm sorry! But this, this, this is just - Oh God, it's not even human. God! ... What?
Elisa: (in sign language) "If we do nothing, neither are we."
5) "James"(played by Kyle Mooney) is brought to a therapist by his parents where they try to explain the concept of movies to him, among other real world things, after he was raised by a couple that had abducted him as a child in Brigsby Bear:
Emily: "What do you think, James? Do you have any other questions?
James: "Yeah. Who made Hockey High?
Greg Pope: "Um ... I think it's the guy who did 'Mr. Bachelor', right? Is that what it was called?
James: "Does he do all the movies?"
Greg Pope: "Uh, no. Lots of people make lots of different movies."
James: "Can anyone do it?"
4) This exchange between Sister Sarah Joan(played by Lois Smith) and "Lady Bird"(played by Saoirse Ronan) in Lady Bird:
Sister Sarah: "You clearly love Sacramento."
Lady Bird: "I do?"
Sister Sarah: "You write about Sacramento so affectionately and with such care."
Lady Bird: "I was just describing it."
Sister Sarah: "Well it comes across as love."
Lady Bird: "Sure, I guess I pay attention."
Sister Sarah: "Don't you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?
3) "Ruth"(played by Melanie Lynskey) tries to explain what she wants as simply as possible to a group of criminals in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.:
Ruth: "I don't want a pay-off."
Chris: "Well, then I'm confused. What do you want?
Ruth: "For people to not be assholes."
2) This exchange between "Kumail"(played by Kumail Nanjiani) and his girlfriend-in-a-coma's mother, "Beth"(played by Holly Hunter), in The Big Sick:
Beth: "I feel good about this surgery."
Kumail: "Yeah. These doctors know what they're doing."
Beth: "No they don't. They're just winging it like everybody else."
1) The perfect goodbye over the phone between "Elio"(played by Timothée Chalamet) and "Oliver"(played by Armie Hammer), which then leads to the beautiful ending of Elio crying in front of the fireplace in Call Me by Your Name:
Elio: "Elio ... Elio, Elio, Elio, Elio, Elio, Elio, Elio, Elio ..."
Oliver: "Oliver. I remember everything."
IV Best Moments
8) "Timelines converge" in Dunkirk
I wasn't expecting to like this movie that much, but by the time the 3 storylines of the soldiers trying to get off the beach, the civilians on the Moonstone, and the RAF pilots converge in the same rescue effort, well I was completely hooked. The score. The editing. The sound. The visual effects. The acting. The drama. This is filmmaking at its best folks!
7) "Final mother-daughter breakfast" in The Florida Project
Just a beautiful moment, where we see Moonee being a kid, enjoying an all-you-can-eat breakfast, oblivious to the fact that she's about to be separated from her mother forever.
6) "Premiere" in Brigsby Bear
The most inspiring movie moment of the year for me.
5) "Makeup test" in I, Tonya
Margot Robbie should win all the awards for this scene alone. What a performance!
4) "Logan's death" and "Logan's funeral" in Logan
"So, this is what it feels like." 😢
Laura turning the cross on Logan's grave into an "X" might be the most beautiful image I saw in any movie last year. Perfect ending!
3) "Finding the Note" in A Ghost Story
What was written on that piece of paper? Why exactly did the ghost have to wait forever to find out what it said? How can there be 2 ghosts of the same person at once? Just some of the unanswered questions that will keep me watching this modern masterpiece until the end of time, for me at least.
2) "Describing the Building" in Columbus
What a perfect movie moment from first time director Kogonada. So simple, yet so powerful, as "Jin" asks "Casey" to describe exactly why one of the buildings in her hometown means so much to her.
1) "The Sunken Place" in Get Out
"Now, sink into the floor ..."
No debate here. This is hands-down *THE* Movie Moment of 2017. You've all seen it already, so let's move on.
V Funniest Moments
8) "Wrong guy" in Good Time
"Connie"(Robert Pattinson) thought he had gotten his brother out of prison, but when the person with the face covered in bandages comes to, it turns out it was another random guy, who has absolutely no idea of what's going on, and neither does "Connie".
7)"Rose meets Finn" in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Funny intro for a new character in the series who is starstruck when she meets a hero of the Resistance.
6) "Abortion Assembly" in Lady Bird
"... If your mother had had the abortion, we wouldn't have to sit through this stupid assembly."
Damn, that's mean. And funny.
5) "Filming the Sex Scene" in The Disaster Artist
James Franco goes all out as Wiseau here and the results are laugh-out-loud funny. When he mentions Kubrick and Hitchcock(There's this movie 'Birds')to his best friend "Greg" I couldn't stop laughing.
4) "Daily routine full of assholes" in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
Who can't relate to this? People cutting in line at the supermarket, or spoiling the ending of the book you're reading. Yeah, we've all been there.
3) 2 moments from The Big Sick:
The Fast Food Freakout scene and the "I have to take a shit!" scene. Both of them are hilarious.
2) "Sex Slaves!" and "Sex Slaves!" in Get Out
There's one more scene where Rod says this, which is actually the funniest one, but I couldn't find the clip. But you get the idea.
1) "Fire Selfie" in The Florida Project
The look on little Moonee's face when her mom decides she wants to take a picture with the fire that she started in the background is priceless, and pure comedy gold.
VI Best Music Moments
8) "Genius Girl" in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Not catching your kid when he/she falls off the monkey bars - something that happened to me in 2017.
7) "Father and Son" in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
6) "Take Me Home Country Road" in Logan Lucky
Another beautiful father/daughter moment.
5) "Love My Way" in Call Me by Your Name
White man-dancing in all its glory.
4) "Eat the Night" in Columbus
3) "Sleeping Bag" in I, Tonya
2) "Remember Me" in Coco
Pixar does it again!
1) "I Get Overwhelmed" in A Ghost Story
Perfect marriage of music and film.
VII Best Death Scenes
8) "Baby's Death" in mother!
Intense, to say the least.
7) "Sheriff Willoughby's Suicide" in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The movie loses its way a bit after this moment, but it's still a solid scene nonetheless.
6) "Gerald's Death" in Gerald's Game
Scariest scenario of the year.
5) "Pennywise eats Georgie" in It
Or maybe it's this one, from another Stephen King adaptation.
4) 3 other death scenes from Logan:
3) Caesar's Death in War for the Planet of the Apes
A perfect goodbye for one of the best movie characters of this decade.
2) "Sean's Death" in 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
1) "Chris's Escape Part 1" and "Chris's Escape Part 2" in Get Out
Black man-revenge fantasy in all its glory.
VIII Random Awards
1) Best Fights
Tie between: "Brother vs Brother(Stiller vs Sandler) Fight" in The Meyerowitz Stories(New and Selected), "Sister vs Sister Bite Fight" in Raw, 2 bar fights, one in Logan Lucky and another in Girls Trip, the Jack vs Julian Fight in Wonder, the "Thor vs Hulk Fight" in Thor: Ragnarok, and finally, "Luke Skywalker vs Kylo Ren" in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2) Best Sex Scenes
Again, a scene for every fetish: You've got cannibalistic sex in Raw and The Lure, then like in The Lure, you've got another "human & sea creature" sex scene in The Shape of Water. There's also "Stockholm Syndrome sex" in Berlin Syndrome. Then you've got lots of adultery in Lady Macbeth. Plenty of threesomes in Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. LGBT sex in Call Me by Your Name, BPM, and Princess Cyd. And finally, like in Princess Cyd, another first timer, but in heterosexual sex in Lady Bird, also featuring Timothée Chalamet.
3) Best Sex With a Fruit Scene
2 choices here: "The grapefruit" in Girls Trip, and "The peach" in Call Me by Your Name
4) Best Eating Scenes
3 choices here: "Martin eating spaghetti" in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, "Eating her Sister's Finger" in Raw, and "Rooney Mara Eats a Pie" in A Ghost Story
5) Best Sidekicks
Tie between: "Etta Candy", secretary and stylist, in Wonder Woman, and "Rod"(see above) in Get Out, and "Ned", the guy in the chair, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and "Calaban" in Logan, and "Rose Tico" in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and "Korg", voiced by Taika Waititi(again stealing his own movie) in Thor: Ragnarok, and "Robin" in The Lego Batman Movie
6) Funniest Scene in a Superhero Movie
6-way tie between: 2 moments in Thor: Ragnarok: the "Pure Imagination" chair scene and the "Opening Play" in Asgard, featuring cameos from Matt Damon and Sam Neill, and the "Opening Title Cards" in The Lego Batman Movie, and "Baby Groot finding the fin", or not, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and the "Pleasures of the Flesh conversation" in Wonder Woman, and the "Captain America PSAs" in Spider-Man: Homecoming
7) Best Self-Sacrifice Moment
2 choices here: "Holdo's Hyperspeed Crash" in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and "Farrier's Sacrifice" in Dunkirk
8) Best Goodbye With Mom in the Car
Tie between "Kumail saying goodbye to his family" in The Big Sick, and "Lady Bird saying goodbye to her dad", with her mom regretting her decision to stay in the car just a bit too late, in Lady Bird
