Well, 2017 is over, and it’s been an amazing year for movies! This Guy is stoked for 2018, but before we ring in the new year, it’s time to look back on the best 2017 movies. It’s an eclectic mix of weird, scary, and hilarious, and that is what helped make 2017 so great: The great movies are all so different. So, before the ball drop tonight, check out this Guy’s Top 10 2017 movies!

 

10.  Gerald’s Game

Not one of Stephen King’s marquee titles, it was surprising to see Gerald’s Game and 1922, another lesser known story, released by Netflix this year; a year that also saw the release of It. The story is a simple, but layered one. After her husband suffers an inconveniently timed heart attack, Jessie (Carla Gugino) finds herself handcuffed to a bed with no hope of rescue. As the night trudges on, she finds herself beset by repressed memories, a hungry dog, her own battling voices, and other threats in the moonlight. What follows is an intense, claustrophobic journey into the mind of a broken woman, centered around an amazing performance by Gugino. It’s a true reminder that when King is on, he can spin gold with his stories (as showcased by his three 2017 movies), and director Mike Flanagan, is among the best horror filmmakers working today.

 

9. T2 Trainspotting

Danny Boyle is one of those filmmakers that can do anything. This Guy truly believes that after making junkie movies and a zombie (technically) movie, and a brilliant underrated sci-fi flick, he just woke up one day and decided to win Oscars that year. T2 marks Boyle’s first time “going back to the well,” and it’s tremendous. Ewan McGregor leads the entire original cast in this return to Edinburgh’s seedy underbelly. None of the actors have lost a step, and watching them slip right back into the roles is like coming home to old friends. It’s a thoughtful, matured coming-of-age story about friendship, regrets, and choosing life. And it’s a perfect love letter to a generation plagued by broken promises and wasted potential.

 

8. The Disaster Artist

The worst movie of all time can still have a great story behind it. Just ask Ed Wood. Tommy Wiseau’s passion project The Room has become a cultural phenomenon that it had absolutely no right becoming. Now, almost 15 years later, James Franco has taken the story behind that glorious trainwreck, and made The Disaster Artist. Of all the best 2017 movies this is the only one based on a true story. James takes on the role of Tommy Wiseau with the same reckless abandon that Wiseau approached everything in his weird life apparently. It goes beyond simply mimicry, with Franco delivering a truly nuanced performance of the absolute madman behind the world’s favourite awful movie.

 

7. Blade Runner 2049

Now here’s a real golden unicorn; a sequel to a beloved sci-fi classic, 35 years after the fact, and it not only rivals the original, but in a lot of ways surpasses it. Blade Runner 2049 takes all the promise and bleak wonder of the original, and delves deeper into the broken world of its future. Ryan Gosling turns in a subtle, but powerful performance (what other kind does he have?), and Harrison Ford’s returning Deckard managed to not feel shoehorned in, and actually still feels like the ultimate protagonist of the series. it’s still his story. The movie looks beautiful (thank Roger Deakins for that), has a tremendous throwback of a score, and manages to ask some new questions that Blade Runner opened up about what it means to be human. Denis Villeneuve pulled off the damn near impossible with Blade Runner 2049, and while it wasn’t the most successful of the 2017 movies at the box office, neither was its predecessor.

 

6. Okja

This Guy tries not to get too sentimental watching movies, and he loves bacon and steak as much as the anyone, but oh my God, this movie hurts your heart. Okja was another Netflix release earlier this year, and it caused quite a stir right away. In the near future, the Morando Corporation creates a new breed of “super pig” to help combat world hunger. One such pig, Okja, is raised by Mija and her grandfather. But when it comes time for Okja to be harvested, Mija fights tooth and nail to keep her beloved companion. This tale of dishonest corporations and animal abuse surely touched a lot of people, This Guy included. Bong Joon-Ho proves once again that he is one of the most creative innovators in film today, and the absolute pinnacle of Korean cinema.

 

5. The Shape Of Water

Guillermo del Toro released a film! It’s so great to be able to say that, given the amount of failed and abandoned projects he attaches his name to. Don’t get it wrong, del Toro is a tremendous filmmaker, with the best knack for the weird and wondrous of anyone working today, but he isn’t exactly batting 1000 lately. That said, The Shape Of Water is probably the weirdest and most thoughtful film of his career. Working at a secret government facility, Elisa meets the lab’s latest asset, a sentient amphibious man, and the two naturally hit it off, and plot a daring escape. In all the chaos and intensity of the ordeal, Elisa and the Asset bring new meaning to the phrase “sleeping with the fishes.” Okay, we know, it sounds gross, but it’s actually so sweet!

 

4. Logan

Some people will still cling to The Dark Knight as the pinnacle of comic book movies, but This Guy will forever opt for Logan. James Mangold’s gritty farewell to Jackman’s Wolverine is not just a terrific sendoff for the character, but a well-told, brilliantly acted story about regret, loss, family, and redemption. In a bleak future where mutants are all but extinct, Logan hides out in Mexico with Charles Xavier, until a powerful young girl comes to them with dangerous men hot on her trail. After 5 X-Men movies, and 2 failed attempts at a great standalone film, it’s wonderful to finally see Logan get the treatment the character deserves. This is one of the few anticipated 2017 movies that more than delivered on the hype surrounding it.

 

3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

A lot of you might remember In Bruges, the dark (and This Guy means DARK) comedy that made us all take Colin Farrell seriously again. Martin McDonagh has an insane talent for taking the blackest material and still getting a great laugh out of it. With Three Billboards, the laughs are few and far between, but the film itself is stupendous. With her best performance since Fargo, Frances McDormand plays a mother who remains obsessed with bringing closure to her daughter’s murder, going so far as to publicly shame the local Sheriff for his inability to solve the case. Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, and Peter Dinklage round out the all-star cast, and everyone is at the top of their games, and are locks for consideration this awards season.

 

2. Get Out

The highest grossing original directorial debut for Jordan Peele is also one of the creepiest, most intense, and clever films of the year. And all this from a man mostly known for sketch comedy. Get Out follows Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a black man with a white girlfriend, visiting her family for the first time. Once there, it’s clear the family has darker secrets, as their black servants act incredibly strange, and their wealthy friends seem to be sizing Chris up for something. What you get is one of the best, and most original 2017 movies, with a timely message, and a lot of laughs to be had between screams and tears.

 

1. Wind River

This Guy first saw Taylor Sheridan as the by-the-book Deputy Hale on Sons of Anarchy. He can proudly say he’s come an insanely long way since then. With writing credits that already included Sicario, and the best Picture nominee Hell Or High Water, Sheridan makes his directorial debut with Wind River, a dark mystery about a murdered woman on a reservation in Wyoming. Jeremy Renner stars as a local Fish & Wildlife agent, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as the unlucky FBI agent sent to investigate. Renner’s performance is expectedly understated, as he excels at, and the movie itself is quiet, but thrilling. This Guy hasn’t experienced tension before like the lead up to this film’s climax. Sheridan hopefully has a long and illustrious career behind the camera, still ahead of him, and it could be kicked off with an Oscar in 2018.

 

TWEET or RETWEET this article before January 5th to be entered to win some AWESOME digital downloads!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!