Best of 2017 - Films

I think we can all agree that 2016 was not a great year for a lot of reasons. Which is why we are fortunate enough to have a better year in 2017. I mean yes we are still getting films no one wants, films that show how desperate Hollywood is to make money, films that for the most part lack originality and not to mention that we have had one of the worst sets of summer blockbusters which is why I never did a ranking list for it just how bad they were. But like I said, this year has been better for films and once again, the time has come for everyone to let you know what films, TV shows and video games released/shown this year are worth your time. The rules for my lists are that the thing has to have made its debut this year (so anything released last year or coming to UK shores next year doesn't count), I must have seen or played the thing for it to count and I just need to have nothing but positive thoughts about the thing (but anything I feel indifferent about will count as well). The lists are not ranking lists. They are just a list of things that I consider good in some capacity and as previously mentioned, they need to have made their debut this year. Whether I have reviewed them previously or not, doesn't matter. But I will be putting in my scores for anything on the lists I haven't yet reviewed. So with all that said, let's look at some films:

Also just to clarify that this won't just be films released in cinemas/theatres but also any made for TV and direct to home media films too. And the list is in no particular order.
Dunkirk

I have always greatly admired Christopher Nolan's work as he has so far never hit a wrong note. Lots of people have seen Dunkirk as his best film to date and the fact that I got to see it in IMAX made me feel like I was part of the action. It is among his best works and its probably the first time he's done a film based on a historical event and quite an intense one at that. Its tells three interconnected stories with the first one told over the course of a week, one over the course of a day and one over the course of an hour. The one week story focuses on what's happening on the ground with a bunch of soldiers trying to escape with Kenneth Branagh's character overseeing everything going down with the soldiers and the bombings. The one day story focuses on the ocean where a group of boats are on course to Dunkirk to bring the men home and this story focuses on one boat in particular. And finally, the one hour story focuses on the air where three fighter jets are taking down the enemy and giving the soldiers on Dunkirk a chance to escape. Its is a very intense film, but it is among Nolan's best films. But its going to be tough to top this one.

Wonder Woman

After what happened with the DCEU films released in 2016, the future of the franchise was hanging in the balance and so all eyes were on Wonder Woman. Of the trinity (consisting of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman), Wonder Woman was the only member to not have a live action feature film. Part of that is down to Warner Bros. and DC not being prepared to take the risk given the performance of other female led superhero films like Catwoman and Elektra. But when all seemed lost, they took the risk and with Patty Jenkins directing and Gal Gadot in the lead role, we got what is arguably the best film of the franchise thus far. And not just that, but the film also broke the curse of female led superhero films not being very good which gives me hope with some of the future Marvel and DC films coming that are female led. But as the film goes, its really just exploring Wonder Woman's origins and with the only comparison being the animated direct to home media film of the same name, this one takes the cake. Its action packed, it allows time for character development and its colourful (something of which was lacking in the last three DCEU films). Plus the music is just ace.

Thor: Ragnarok

So before we look at the Marvel stuff, I have to first of all mention Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. That was a very bold move and in comparison to their other purchases, a film studio is kind of a big deal. But that being said, it means that they will now have the rights to the very first Star Wars film as well as the film rights for X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool. I'm pretty sure that the next films for those characters coming out will still come out seeing as Phase 3 of the MCU is a long way off from finishing. And that means Marvel can make some more solo Hulk films if Disney trade the Fox distributed DreamWorks Animation films to Universal for the rights to make Hulk solo films. But the future of Fox's mature rated content like The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad and the like, hang in the balance but are being considered for the future of the company. Anyway enough ranting, let's talk about Thor's third and presumably final solo outing. Of the three films, this one is by far the best. It spends more time focusing on Thor and his people as well as the mythology of Asgard which compared to relationships, unfunny jokes and not very memorable villains (apart from Loki of course) is actually a good thing. Plus the film manages to weave in elements of the Planet Hulk storyline while still maintaining focus on Thor. It is a great third film and certainly one that brings the Avengers side of the MCU even closer than ever before to the Guardians side all in preparation for next year's Infinity War. Shame about the hammer though.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

When Marvel agreed on a 50/50 deal with Sony, that basically means that Sony will still distribute the Spider-Man films under Marvel's guidance while still allowing the character to exist in the MCU. What the first MCU Spider-Man film does well at, is that it doesn't spend any time on the already well established origins of the character and instead focuses on his time in school in a sort of typical high school comedy kind of way. To me, after seeing two attempts at the character's origins, a third attempt would be pushing the limit so thank you Marvel for not going down that path. But what still remains consistent is its villain which in every film is always different or the same just with some alterations. This time we got Vulture and Michael Keaton playing him which was actually pretty good. It is by far the best or among the best of the Spider-Man films we have had over the years and it gives me hope for Spidy's future with Marvel. Just as long as we don't get a timeline error, we should be OK.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

When the first Guardians film finished, the one thing people wanted more than anything was an Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and with the second film, that's exactly what we got. There is a lot to like in Vol. 2. There's lots of colour everywhere and it has some nostalgic value with the appearance of arcade cabinets (but with a twist), David Hasselhoff and even Pac-Man. Its also nice to see the team get expanded to include more members such as Yondu, Nebula and newcomer Mantis. Baby Groot is very funny and of course is the heart and soul of the team as always. Plus we have some nods to Mary Poppins and a lot of other great stuff too. Its as awesome as it gets and I hope we get more of it. But topping a living planet may be quite difficult, but we shall see.

Logan

When you play such an iconic role for a very long time, you have to wonder if there will ever be an end to it. Fortunately, Hugh Jackman decided it was time to retire his Wolverine after having played the role for 17 years and as fans, many of us are grateful for his portrayal. Hugh Jackman is generally a fantastic actor and will do any role he is given and will practically act his socks off. His portrayal of Wolverine is probably the best there is and with Marvel now gained back the rights to the X-Men, its going to be hard to find any actor who could top him. But if Batman can be cast by great actors such as Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, then anything is possible. But Logan was a great way to end his character in a respectful, but pretty sad manner. Logan marks the end of an era for the X-Men films and should it have been the last of the saga, I would be satisfied.

Alien: Covenant

Since Prometheus, Ridley Scott has been able to make a number of great films and has helped establish him as a serious film maker. Its been five years and we now have another prequel film which sees Michael Fassbender in a dual role which is quite an undertaking considering the very different androids that he plays in the film. It may not take the saga in any new directions, but it is a nice return to the saga which takes the horror that the films are known for to a whole new level and brings us back to the core of what made the Alien films great in the first place. Sigourney Weaver may not be in it, but its still as action packed and scary than ever before. 9/10

Beauty and the Beast

Having had success with their previous live action remakes, next in line was a Tale as Old as Time or Beauty and the Beast if you prefer. So many of us have said that this is better than the original and honestly, I have to agree. It goes above and beyond what made the original great and manages to combine the original as well as the stage musical together to create one fantastic film. And it also addresses the problems the original animated film had which is great too. Not everyone in the film is a good singer (such is the case with most musical films), but the majority of the songs (old and new) are sung well and Emma Watson plays a very good Belle thus finally making her escape from being type casted as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter films. Great work Disney and I look forward to your next live action remake.

The LEGO Batman Movie

What made this Batman film work is that it didn't establish itself as different to other Batman media and instead gave us a love letter to the fans while also doing a heartwarming child friendly story that addresses the one problem Batman has (most of the time) which is working with others. Its the only Batman film so far released in theatres to feature every single enemy of Batman, most versions of Batman and his characters and it even goes beyond Batman by giving us some villains from other franchises like Lord Voldemort (though they missed a trick when casting Ralph Fiennes as Alfred), King Kong, Agent Smith, the Wicked Witch of the West and even some Gremlins and Daleks. Its a very fun film focusing solely on all things to do with Batman without using too much franchise building for the LEGO Cinematic Universe.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

I have never really had any problems with Matthew Vaughn's films. I feel that his films are very fun and action packed all the way through. Some scenes he does are quite gross in a very weird way, but he has so far never put a foot wrong in his films. So here we have the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service which while not based on any book from the book series, its pretty fun. The film itself explores the possibility of what an American Kingsman (named Statesman) could very well look like and while the code names lack any form of imagination, its pretty much what most people would expect with it being set up in an alcoholic sort of establishment as opposed to a posh clothes shop. Plus Elton John is in it and while I'm not too keen on him being a slave to the main antagonist, he is as funny as he always is and the film even allows moments for his music to be used (especially in the fight scenes) which fits in perfectly. So yeah it's a great sequel which while not perfect, manages to keep the action flowing and the fun being at an all time high.

War for the Planet of the Apes

So they have Risen and Dawn has passed. Now its time to go to war. The thing I like about the latest Planet of the Apes film is that it decides to spend more time on the Apes than having a balance between the Apes and Human sides with there being at least one good human. Though its debatable as to whether that was the right move or not, it actually does kind of work. Plus like the last two films, it's not completely serious as we have a bit of comedy here and there. But ultimately this is the film that sees Caesar and his apes in a very vulnerable position (more so than in Rise and Dawn) which sees them try to get away from humans completely and their fates not only lie in Caesar's hands, but also in the hands of a little girl who joins the apes when she loses her father and has no one else to be cared by other than the apes. Its quite an emotional film, but also a nice way to end the trilogy. I think of the classic films (not including Tim Burton's one) and these films, these films manage to make things more realistic in the long run. But the classics will always be the ones that started it all. War is another great film in the series and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the franchise whether it be more films or something else completely.

Kong: Skull Island

In the wake of the recent resurgence of kaiju films (or giant monster films if you prefer), we have the latest instalment in the MonsterVerse saga which features a certain giant ape named King Kong. The interesting thing behind this film regarding who owns the rights is that to make it a MonsterVerse with the well known kaijus, you need the big ones. I am of course referring to both Godzilla and King Kong and both have had a long history of films that date all the way back to the 1930s which even included a crossover, though not quite what we were expecting. So what makes Skull Island great is that it breaks away from the traditional King Kong films and spends more time on his home island without having a film crew this time and instead just some explorers with some military assistance. There is also a spoiler that is a big change to the Kong films as well. Plus as well as all that, Kong actually looks way more gigantic than he did in Peter Jackson's film and almost any other film he's been in and for the universe that he is set in, its a great change. Plus unlike Godzilla where it was mostly very serious and beyond intense, this time there is some comedy and it has an all-star cast that includes the likes of John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston and John C. Riley among others. A great popcorn flick I'd say.

Justice League

Despite the many problems this film possesses like Superman's CGI mouth, Danny Elfman's misplaced music and Joss Whedon's scene cutting, it is actually a good DC film in the end. I have previously been critical of DC deciding to go a different path to what Marvel are doing in that there are spending little to no time on building up to things and just skipping right ahead to what people want. But in some respects, that's a good thing just as long as it makes sense. Wonder Woman turned the franchise around for the better and Justice League while not perfect, seemed to carry over the things that made the former great such as colour, humour when its needed and most importantly, fun. It may be another stinker in the DCEU in terms of storytelling and the villain being very weak, but it is a very enjoyable watch and gives us a glimpse into what we can expect in later films.

Fast & Furious 8: The Fate of the Furious

So after film 7, film 8 went in the works with its purpose being a film by the late Paul Walker (who played Brian) as opposed to being for Paul Walker like film 7. Even though each film does get better and more action packed with some questionable motives, I have to wonder if there is an end to it. I'm not saying that it should end. I'm saying that there is a worry that they may run out of ideas to help make more films. And with the way things are going with Tyreese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson (who play Roman Pearce and Luke Hobbs respectively), it looks like the future of the franchise is uncertain. But I'm glad that they did have an idea not used before for this film which is having a member of the family betray the family and this time through their own free will and not by manipulation. It is a very good entry in the series and it kind of brings the story arc that began in film 6 to a close (though some plot elements can lead to the story arc having started in a much earlier film than that) which because its largely spoilers, I will not reveal it here. But anyway, it is another great entry in the series and despite my doubts, it manages to get over the bar that the three towers stunt in the last film did. Though this time, its just an army of remotely controlled cars taking over a city. More popcorn for me I'd say.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge

I will admit, I am among the people who feel that the Pirates films are not as good as they once were. This could be due to lazy writing and storytelling while finding a lack of ideas to execute. But this film isn't the first time curses have been used in the franchise, but in a way the curse in question is different this time. Both with what group the crew that are cursed are associated with and the actual curse itself. But having said all that, it is an enjoyable flick that brings the franchise back to its roots as to what made it great in the first place and even though it raises questions, its nice to see a few familiar faces in there apart from the regular cast. It sure is a pirate life for us and let's hope we can get better and more well thought out films in the future.

Paddington 2

Paddington is back and better than ever. So while I though the first film was perfect and didn't really need a sequel, we got one anyway and it is a blast. Paddington is in full form and explores the life of being a jailbird while the family are developing well and have their own little shenanigans. The only criticism I have with this film is the casting of Hugh Grant who honestly I don't particularly like as both a person and as an actor. His acting isn't great generally and as a person, he seems to have it in his mind that being an actor will just be a phase, but he's been at it for a while and if you don't like what you do, then stop doing what you do and move on to something else. But anyway, it's a pretty harmless family film and another great film by the production company behind the Harry Potter films.

Batman & Harley Quinn

Adam West's Batman made a return last year in animated form so it was fitting for us to see a return to the DC animated universe the following year. Many of us who grew up in the 90s will remember the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Justice League among others and it helped pave the way for other superhero cartoons. It was also where Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill got their big breaks in voice acting with voicing Batman and Joker respectively and since then, they are now regarded as being the best Batman and Joker at least in the world of animation and more recently, video games. But going back to this film, its not often that you would see Batman team up with one of his villains. But not just any villain. Its in fact the villain that made her debut in the DC animated universe and has since become part of the mainstream DC comics and is a fan favourite. Of course I am referring to Harley Quinn and who better to voice her than Big Bang Theory's Melissa Rauch. If you've ever watched her on Big Bang Theory, then you will know that she has the perfect voice for Harley Quinn and that is just great. Its not a long film as such, but it brings back animation that's reminiscent of the 90s DC cartoons and it also has elements from Adam West's era of Batman. Most fans will no doubt enjoy this film and I hope we get more. And speaking of Adam West...

Batman VS Two-Face

With the success of Return of the Caped Crusaders, a sequel was no doubt on its way. Most of us know the origins of Two-Face by now, but when it came to Adam West's Batman, they did their own take and its pretty different from other takes on the story. Different in that its more bizarre and over the top, but that's to be expected from this Batman. Though interesting that they cast William Shatner as Two-Face but he does a good job of it. Its as bizarre, cheesy, camp and fun as this Batman has always been and its nice to see them pay tribute to the man who made Batman popular. Rest well dark knight and there never will be a Batman quite like yours coming any time soon.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

While The LEGO Batman Movie was always going to be successful because of its popularity in pop culture, Ninjago was always going to be a risky move. But that being said, it had a very successful run as a TV series so kids will have been wanting to see it. Now its not perfect and its not the best of the three feature LEGO films that have come out so far. But it does share some similarities with Power Rangers and it could very well be considered better and less cheesy and camp as Power Rangers. So as the name implies, the film is about a group of ninjas who are trained to learn their respective elemental powers and protect the city of Ninjago from the forces of evil, but more specifically the father of the green ninja who gets bullied at school because of his evil father. The things that make the film not as good as the previous two LEGO films is likely because of its very similar scenario in which the hero and the villain are both taking a path to change them for the better. In the LEGO Movie, Emmet was searching for his purpose and found it while Lord Business longed for perfection in his world and realised the potential of using imagination over reading the instructions. Its slightly different in the LEGO Batman Movie because its more Batman that makes a change in his life over the Joker who remains bad and just wants Batman to take him seriously. But anyway, despite the similarities and flaws, its another good entry in the LEGO Cinematic Universe, but I think the filmmakers may need to go back to the drawing board and rethink their future films.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Read my review from yesterday if you want a full description, but basically The Last Jedi, while not perfect and one of the most decisive films of the saga, its actually pretty good. As mentioned in the review, it has a Two Towers vibe in which it focuses on three separate stories each having key characters working to fend off the First Order. Though I'd say only Rey's story is not quite connected like Finn and Poe's stories in that its more focused on her Jedi training. But in the end, it was an edge of your seat film with a war happening in the stars (oh the irony!) and key characters doing whatever they can to succeed. There are some surprises and twists to look out for, but its another great entry in the series and does well to pay tribute to the late Carrie Fisher.

Murder on the Orient Express

Last film in this list is another one featuring Kenneth Branagh. But he's not the only well known face in this film as we also have (and just for s**ts and giggles, I'm going to use their character names from their other films) Captain Jack Sparrow, the former M, Rey, Olaf, the Dafoe Green Goblin, Catwoman from the 90s Batman films, the 6th incarnation of the Master, Angelica (from Pirates 4 in case you're wondering), PC Doris Thatcher, Young Beatrix Potter, Malik (from 2017's The Mummy which was a bad film that I haven't seen yet), Vasquez (from 2016's The Magnificent Six which I previously reviewed) and Constance Clarke (from various audio Doctor Who adventures) just to name a few. As for the story, its basically a "Who Done It?" scenario where a detective travels on a train with a bunch of strangers and at some point, the train stops and someone is murdered. Then the rest of the story is figuring out who the murderer is. I know that critics have said that while the casting and the set pieces are great, this so called remake to a older adaptation of the famous Agatha Christie book brings nothing new to the table. As someone who has only ever seen an on stage amateur version of this story (though the ending was very different), this film is actually pretty good. Like the critics, I agree that the set pieces are fantastic as is the casting. Plus even though its a serious story, it does allow itself for a bit of humour here and there. The only issue I have with this film however, is the ending and that's because its one of the most unexpected endings I have seen and kind of makes the whole investigation pointless which I won't spoil here. But despite that, this is another good film from Kenneth Branagh and I look forward to seeing what he does next. 7/10

Deaths in 2017:

John Hurt - Olivander in Harry Potter as well as the War Doctor (and canonically the 9th Doctor) in Doctor Who. One of the UK's best actors and he will be missed.

Bill Paxton - Great actor from the USA who appeared in Titanic, Aliens, Terminator and Agents of SHIELD. Rest in Peace.

Peter Sallis - The original voice of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit. Ain't no one who liked Wensleydale as much as him. You will be missed.

Bruce Forsyth - A British national treasure who presented many shows on the BBC as well as doing some acting in films. Most notably Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It was nice to see him to see him nice (his catch phrase)

Roger Moore - Great actor and is well known for being the third and in some respects best James Bond. May you rest in peace.

Adam West - As previously mentioned, he was the man who popularised Batman and while cheesy, he made Batman what he is today. And he also became the mayor of Quahog in Family Guy too. Rest in Peace.