Best Movies 2017

Jordan Peele’s first film is absolutely perfect, I have no idea how on earth he’s going to top it but I’m excited to find out what he does because what he’s created is something the genre needs. There are no supernatural monsters, there is no quippy lead who knows the tropes, there is no random slasher, the horror is the real world and the real trauma real people go through and everyone better jump on this idea now, we need it more than ever.

Ful Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/06/26/34/

Literally everything about this film works. Gal Gadot is a revelation and deserves to work forever just based on this beautiful performance, Chris Pine plays a delightful second fiddle and it’s kinda fun seeing him think he knows everything and be proven completely wrong. The setting is perfect for this story, I’m so happy that they didn’t shy away from the horrors of war and just addressed it head-on with two of the creepiest villains you could put in this kind of a movie. It was one of the most important films of the year that put the world on notice that we were going to be trying something new… but, there was one film that was even more important and more powerful to be released on 2017

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/06/26/wonder-woman/

On top of just being an important story, Hidden Figures was a genuinely gripping film that held audiences attention with its exploration of just what these women had to go through. Scenes, where the African-American women had to run through the rain to get to the bathroom because that’s where the ‘colored bathroom’ was, are genuinely shocking, we forget how recent that portion of history was and we definitely forget that the women who launched rockets into space also had to fight against deep systemic racism that would’ve been challenging if all they’d been doing was baking cakes. They were changing the world while they dealt with hell on earth, and this movie presented their story brilliantly.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/06/26/hidden-figures/

We’ve all seen Crime Re-enactment shows before, but this documentary takes that to the next level by going to the town where the JonBenet murder happened and getting locals who were there at the time to come and audition for this Re-enactment. What follows is this strange exploration into what the JonBenet murders mean, the theories people came up with or the details that people remember.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/06/26/casting-jonbenet/

Terrifying from the start to the end, every actor in this movie is clearly having a blast just scaring the crap out of everyone. Especially Bill Skarsgard who took the iconic character of Pennywise and somehow made it completely his own thing. There is nothing of Tim Curry in this performance, intentionally because Bill knew he couldn’t do what Tim did so he decided to just be the most terrifying character on screen this year. A genuinely amazing fright fest that made me float with pure joy at just how awesome it could be.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/09/07/it-2017/

Can we just hand Andy Serkis his Oscar yet? Can we just agree as a species that we should’ve done that ages ago? The character of Ceasar is, without a doubt, one of the best characters in film right now and this movie showed not only one of the most complex characters on screen, but showed just what can be done with a talented motion capture actor and some revolutionary CGI. Every scene with Caesar felt alive, like they had just found a monkey that could actually act. The action sequences blew me away, wonderfully assembled and with an intense emotional resonance that can’t be ignored. It’s the kind of action film you always hoped you’d get to see and when you see it, you walk out with a smile plastered on your face.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/12/12/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-review-damn-dirty-cgi-apes/

This year was easily the year of the harsh and heavy superhero movie with DC trying it’s best to get it’s foot back in the door, but leave it to Thor: Ragnarok to smack everyone in the face and remind them that superhero movies are supposed to be fun. With hilarious performances by every single cast member, an intimidating and powerful villain who was so amazingly badass, bright bold art direction that makes every frame shine and some of the best use of Led Zepplin that’s ever been put in a soundtrack, Thor kept surprising everyone with just how fresh it felt.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/11/08/thor-ragnarok/

Last year it was Deadpool showing everyone that an R rated superhero movie could work while also making obscene amounts of money. This year Logan showed people that an R rated superhero movie can be absolutely heart-wrenching and destroy its audience, who will thank it for doing that and then ask for more. With career-best performances by Patrick Stewart (Who really should get an Oscar nod for this) and Hugh Jackman, the film takes you on one final trip with Wolverine and instead of being some grand operatic superhero movie, it just shows a weak tired Logan trying to cross the border with his old friend and a small child.

Girls Trip knows what it want’s to do and has a good time while doing it. The chemistry between the leads is off the charts, every situation they find themselves in is absolutely hilarious and perfectly put together to create a really fun road trip and when we get the inevitable moment where the friends have a dramatic argument, it works thanks to the meticulous build up of their relationship. I hope there’s a sequel, and I hope next year we are just swamped with a bunch of these movies.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/09/25/girls-trip/

While there may have been technically better children’s films out there this year (Coco… go rewatch Coco), there wasn’t one that filled me with as much pure delight as Captain Underpants. It was a film that knew its audience, that knew the kind of comedy that it wanted to do and excelled at that. It played with visual style and story structure in a fun way while never talking down to its audience. When you can name your villain “Professor Poopypants” and still make that joke work, again and again, you’ve done something right.

Full Review: https://moviemeisterreviews.com/2017/09/10/captain-underpants-the-first-epic-movie/