Top 5 best movies of 2017: 980 CJME Brett Buster

For anyone looking for some great movies to enjoy while avoiding the frigid cold, you may want to check out this list.

After running down a list of movies to avoid from this year, 980 CJME Brett Buster is out with his reviews of the top five best movies of 2017.

Honourable mentions that didn’t quite make the top list include IT, Only The Brave, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Thor: Ragnarok, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

5) Get Out

A truly subversive horror film from first-time writer/director, Jordan Peele (of Key and Peele fame), Get Out has much more brewing under the surface than it may appear.

This script is one of the best in years and it seriously rewards multiple viewings when you notice clues/hints that were right in front of your face the whole time.

The movie is a deep social satire brought to life through the guise of a conventional horror movie, and boy, oh boy, does this film ever have a lot to say.

It was nominated at the Golden Globes under the Best Picture: Musical or Comedy genre, which is a bit of a joke. But make no mistake, this film is a horror movie, it just also happens to contain some fantastic comedic relief.

This movie was a HUGE success with both audiences and critics and at one point it even had 100% on Rotten Tomatoes which is very impressive!

4) Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runnier 2049 is a sci-fi masterpiece that not only far surpasses the original film, but is also a film that absolutely stunned me with its concepts, striking visual palate, and breathtaking cinematography from master cinematographer, Roger Deakins, who will hopefully win his LONG overdue Oscar.

The movie stars Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Ana De Armas, and of course, Harrison Ford, reprising his iconic role as Rick Deckard from the original Blade Runner.

Directed by French-Canadian auteur, Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival), this film is truly an epic accomplishment and it saddens me that it couldn’t turn a profit at the box office.

It is certainly a long movie, clocking in at just under three hours, but in my opinion, earns every frame with patient pacing, gripping storytelling, and the most awe-inspiring visuals of the year!

3) Wind River

This is a bleak, haunting, and very realistic thriller starring Jeremy Renner as a game hunter in the Wind River reservation in Wyoming. He discovers the dead body of an 18-year-old Native American woman and then assists an inexperienced FBI agent, played by Elizabeth Olsen, in solving the murder.

Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who previously wrote Hell or High Water and Sicario, he lends great care and compassion to this amalgamation of hundreds of similar true stories and does not hold back in displaying the darkness that humans are capable of.

This is a career-high performance for Renner and the inclusion of actual Indigenous actors like Canadian character-actor, Graham Greene and Gil Birmingham from Hell or High Water helps lend to the realism this movie creates.

This is not a feel-good movie by any stretch of the imagination, and some text that appears on the screen to close it out gutted me. But make no mistake, this is a worthwhile film and one that has stuck with me since.

2) Logan

Hugh Jackman’s final performance as the vicious Wolverine was everything I could have possibly hoped for. Logan also benefits strongly from an R-rating that the filmmakers exploit to its full potential.

The film follows Logan/Wolverine who is visibly older and broken down; his healing abilities have weakened, and after a chance encounter with a young mutant who bears a striking resemblance to himself, he must escort her to safety and protect her from the villains who are attempting to track her down and use her for nefarious purposes.

I’ve been watching this character on-screen for 17 years now, and this emotional send-off to the character unexpectedly hit me VERY hard. You don’t necessarily have to be an X-Men fan and/or caught-up with the entire franchise to appreciate the masterful storytelling and heartfelt performances from both Jackman and Patrick Stewart, who also gives his final performance as Professor X.

This movie is ruthless in its action sequences, but tender in its smaller moments and the final shot of the film had me sobbing like a baby! It was the best superhero film of 2017 for me, and the specially-made Deadpool clip that played before the movie was just the cherry on top!

1) Baby Driver

Baby Driver was my most-anticipated movie of the year and it COMPLETELY DELIVERED in every way!

I am a massive fan of the director/writer Edgar Wright’s work (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World), so I was there no matter what. But the premise, the cast, and the soundtrack made me salivate after catching the trailer early in the year.

The film stars Ansel Elgort as Baby, a young getaway driver who suffers from tinnitus and therefore uses headphones/music to drown out the ringing in his ears. He moves with the music in everything he does! How insanely cool is that?

The entire movie is edited/timed with the music playing and I would go as far as saying it flirts with being a musical but is definitely a heist/action film.

It has an all-around A-list cast with support from Jon Hamm, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal (briefly), and Kevin Spacey who all do great work, with Jon Hamm being the stand-out. It has snappy dialogue, a lightning-quick pace, a charming romance, a killer soundtrack, and most important: PRACTICAL car stunts with no computer effects. Baby Driver is everything I go to the movies for and I walked out of that theatre CERTAIN nothing would top it!