This is not your sappy, Oscar bait, end of the year cinematic top 10. These are my favourite films of 2017 and they range from campy horror, sci-fi, action, prison violence and more. Featuring Shot Caller, Mayhem, Baby Driver – check them all out right here:
#10. Goon: Last of The Enforcers
What really sets Goon: The Last of The Enforcers apart from other comedic films, is the action. This movie was nasty — when punches land, blood flies… everywhere. Goon is to hockey what Rocky is to boxing, but Goon has better fist-fights — go figure. I loved everything about this sequel and as a massive fan of the first film, I think it definitely lives up to the hype and a huge part of that success is due to Wyatt Russell’s badguy. Russell’s character is the culmination of a crazed parent who forced their child to play hockey and then let that kid grow up to be a serial killer on skates. (My Full Review HERE)
#9. Another Wolfcop
Another Wolfcop is one of the funniest films of 2017. If you thought Goon 2: Last of The Enforcers was the most violent hockey flick of the year, get ready to have your wig peeled back Canada – there’s a fucking tank in this finale for some reason. The new wave of Canadian grindhouse cinema is mindblowing good – from Hobo With a Shotgun, to Turbo Kid – and now both Wolfcop films, there’s a push to blow people’s preconceived notions of what a Canadian indie flick really is. (My Full Review HERE)
#8. John Wick Chapter 2
The first John Wick came outta freaking nowhere and wrecked us all with Keanu Reeves in his best role since The Matrix’s Neo. What began as a revenge story spiralling out of control when goons murdered retired assassin John Wick’s puppy — has officially went global. This sequel has more gunshots to the face than I can count and groundbreaking action scenes that would get a nod of approval from the dudes who did The Raid flicks. This franchise is fascinating and I loved how John Wick Chapter 2 really explored the world of contract killers and how they operate on a larger scale. Bring me Chapter 3!
#7. Brawl in Cell Block 99
Bone Tomahawk has one of the most grotesque scenes that I’ve ever witnessed in a movie. Director S. Craig Zahler has decided to up the ante with Brawl in Cell Block 99 by loading it with even more shocking and horrifying acts of violence, creating one of the most gory and gut-wrenching films of 2017 — possibly ever. This is a movie about what a good man is capable of when he has no other choice but to exert violence on other human beings in order to save his family. (My Full Review HERE)
#6. Mayhem
Mayhem is the bastard cinematic offsping if Die Hard, Crank, 28 Days Later and the TV series Suits had an orgy… Director Joe Lynch, who helmed one of my favourite metal movies of all time – Knights of Badassdom, has created his masterpiece in Mayhem – a violent opus about office workers unleashing their wildest kill fantasies and much more. Samara Weaving is also a joy to behold. She’s like Harley Quinn — if Harley Quinn was a metalhead and used hammers to cave in people’s heads. (My Full Review HERE)
#5. IT
The best Stephen King film since 1999’S The Green Mile? You bet your ass IT is. Director Andy Muschietti, Bill Skarsgard’s ICONIC Pennywise performance and that cast of incredible child actors put together the best horror movie of the year (arguably YEARS). Everything came together flawlessly with this new, bigger, badder, scarier and superior IT adaptation. Not only was Skarsgard’s Pennywise masterful — but I credit the movie’s box office success to the fact that the writers respected King’s novel so much so that they actually adapted the edgier shit for the first time in forever to the bigscreen. It just goes to show the studios – respect the source material, the legendary writer behind it and victory can be obtained – both critically and financially.
#4. Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 *TIED w/ Thor Ragnarok
As Disney continues to take over the world, it may be frightening, but I’ll enjoy the ride as long as they continue to release fresh and original movies from brilliant minds like James Gunn and Taika Waititi. Both Thor Ragnarok and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 are weird, funny and action packed outer space adventure films that owe more to cheesy science fiction films of the past than they do the current state of superhero cinema. I cannot rank one higher than the other – both are riveting, emotional and hilarious entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can honestly tell you right now that both are tied for my favourite Marvel Studios movie so far. Like Disney or not, but do not fear your new overlords people of Earth, for their movies are frikken brilliant.
#3. Logan
Bidding farewell to the two best cast X-Men of all time was a bittersweet moment for me. I grew up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, so seeing them deliver not only their greatest performances in Logan was monumental, but emotionally devastating at times. Thanks to the success of Deadpool, the hard R rating that flows through Logan never feels excessive and it only adds to the brutality and rage that warrants a Wolverine cinematic experience for the first and unfortunately final time. It’s the best X-Men movie to date and although the action was furious, this is not your typical superhero movie – at all and that’s why Logan is so damn good. If there ever, EVER, was a comic book film that could garner some serious Academy Award recognition – this was it.
#2. Shot Caller
Ric Roman Waugh might be one of my favourite filmmakers working today. I loved his sleeper hit Felon from a few years back, which I feel is one of, if not the most, accurate and frightening prison dramas ever made. Shot Caller is his masterpiece however, the culmination of his directorial efforts so far which show an incredible and shocking inside look into the world of incarceration and how prison can transform a seemingly normal individual into a hardened criminal. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau delivers the performance of his career and one that I feel is worthy of an Academy Award nomination. (My Full Review HERE)
#1. Baby Driver
Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is perfect. From the opening getaway scene that makes those Fast and Furious movies look like fake videogame bullshit, the genius soundtrack choices, stellar writing, mesmerising performances from Ansel Elgort, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and more – this is hands down the best movie of 2017. Music is so important in film – it truly enhances the movie-going experience and Wright had the same kind of energy with this movie that he had crafting his other masterpiece in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Baby Driver will put a smile on your face and if you aren’t 100% satisfied by the time this ride ends, then you’re dead inside. “Sometimes all I want is to head West on 20 in a car I can’t afford, with a plan I don’t have, just me, my music, and the road.”
Honourable Mentions Ranked in Order of Awesomeness 1 (Best) to 10 (Least Best)
- Blade Runner 2049
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Get Out
- War For The Planet of The Apes
- mother!
- Kingsman: The Golden Circle
- Brigsby Bear
- Kong: Skull Island
- Valerian And The City of a Thousand Planets
- Ghost in The Shell