Top Movies of 2017: Jeremiah’s Picks

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Top 7 Movies of the Year

7. Get Out

This was an unexpected hit. I think the thing that this movie has going for it most is freshness. This was a thriller with a voice that we haven’t seen before, and it was thoroughly compelling. It was part horror with just enough levity to make the thrill and the fear more real by contrast when it came. In a genre that so often feels stale, this thing was amazing.

6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This one was a slow burn for me. Rian Johnson has got a lot of shit from a lot of different perspectives for this movie, and even I admit I had an expectation issue when I first saw it. I left thinking the movie felt a bit long and some of it felt extraneous at times, but I’ve come around on it with a second viewing. This was a uniquely plotted movie that was unwilling to compromise character storylines for time constraints. All of this movies moments hit because Rian Johnson takes his time to give all parties an arc and a purpose while constantly subverting the expectations of a ravenous fan base. This movie doesn’t appear to be what the Star Wars fan base wanted but it was definitely what it needed. A story that expands your idea on what a Star Wars movie could or should be in an era of making sequels for sequels’ sakes. I think this will be remembered as a bold reinvention as time goes on, and I loved this movie watching it the second time, with my expectations pushed aside from a year of speculation.

5. Logan

Who would’ve thought the third movie in a trilogy could reinvent a hero so boldly? Wolverine has lived a long time but his solo movie credit was bad. Of course, people saw them, but it was never because they were truly good movies. However, this isn’t just a good movie: it showed a new darker and deeper side of superhero movies yet to be explored. Logan was dark compelling and respecting of its content with good pacing an no overblown effects or stakes. It was a personal story about sacrifice and fatality, and I’d love to see more superhero movies own serious themes the way this one does.

4. Blade Runner 2049

This movie was not a box office success like the others, and it’s truly sad to me that more people couldn’t appreciate such a technical and thematic achievement. This was a movie guided by a steady vision the movie was an experience of harmonious art direction, sound design and plotting. However, what I really love about this movie is that it respected the source material even so long after the its inception. This movie perfectly captures the feel and magic of the original Blade Runner while extending its themes and story like improvisations off the same song. Blade Runner was a slow and uncompromising sci-fi adventure under-appreciated and eventually rolled into a cult classic, and I feel Blade Runner 2049 is a worthy successor, bent on being just as under-appreciated.

3. Wonder Woman

This was a monumental film. The first female directed and female lead major superhero film. This movie also has one of the most compelling and inspiring scenes I’ve experiences in media in a long time. I was thoroughly empowered by this hero and excited to finally see the film debut of Wonder Woman after all this time. This being a year when disgusting bigotry was revealed and has run rampant in so much of our world, I think this movie couldn’t be more relevant. Definitely worth a watch.

2. IT

I remember watching the old IT series back in the day. I don’t remember much except the ending so I got to see this with fresh eyes more or less, and IT did not disappoint. This movie was gripping and creepy in the best ways. I’m not a huge fan of horror, but this reinvention brings a cathartic climax in a genre that so often throws away the ending in the hopes of making more and more frivolous sequels. Since, we’ve seen this story before this adaptation does what it needs to do by incorporation new technology and remixing what worked to create new scares for a modern era. To say I liked a horror movie second best this year is a crowning achievement, and I would suggest this movie to anyone, even a fraidy-cat.

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming

I feel like this was the last shot for poor old Spider-Man. Hes been done and redone over and over on the big screen, and I’ll admit I didn’t have a problem with his last Amazing iteration like so many others, but here he is again, finally back in the hands of his creators and it shows. Spider-Man: Homecoming does what Marvel does best: it homes in on the compelling characteristics of its heroes like only it can. The other versions of Peter Parker feel like fan fiction beside this. Bringing Spider-Man on as a kid, a true kid, in high school and having him come to grips with balancing his life and his super life is brilliantly done. This movie is fun, but it grapples with big themes without getting too big for its scope. It feels different enough to be fresh after so many reboots but also keeps intact the heart of spider-man. There are a few moments in this where you just think, “That’s Spider-Man,” and that’s honestly all I need. Maybe it’s just because I’m a web-head, but this was my favorite movie of 2017, and even if you have Spider-Man fatigue, I’d suggest you give it a look.

So, there you go, that’s my top seven movies of 2017. Let me know what movies are on your list for the year, no matter how long. And have a Happy New Year.

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