Complete Grades 2017

Alphabetical, by grade

A+


A
A Ghost Story

A-
Good Time
Lady Bird

B+
Beach Rats
The Big Sick
Detroit
Dunkirk
Wind River

B
The Beguiled
Brigsby Bear
Get Out
It Comes At Night
John Wick: Chapter 2
Lady MacBeth
The Lego Batman Movie
Life
Personal Shopper
Spiderman: Homecoming
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Stronger
The Transfiguration
Wonder Woman

B-
Alien: Covenant
Baby Driver
Free Fire
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2
Ingrid Goes West
It
Logan
Split

C+
All Eyez On Me
Atomic Blonde
Before I Fall
The Blackcoat's Daughter
Everything, Everything
The Girl With All The Gifts
Kong: Skull Island
Logan Lucky
M.F.A.
Super Dark Times

C
All Nighter
The Belko Experiment
Colossal
The Last Word

C-
Landline
Sleight
Snatched
Song to Song

D+
Beauty and the Beast
Unforgettable

D
Beatriz at Dinner
Detour
Raw
Rough Night
Wilson

D-
The Bad Batch
The Glass Castle
The Zookeeper's Wife

F
The Bye Bye Man
mother!
Rings
Woodshock

????
Pottersville

Best Films 2017

10. Lady MacBeth - Lush backgrounds and stark interiors, Lady MacBeth tells the story of a young girl sold into a loveless, sexless marriage. Her husband is kind of an ass, so when he goes away on business, she embarks on a sexual awakening with a servant boy. A compelling character piece on its own, focusing on 2017's favorite theme of feminism, this film is elevated by a scorching performance from leading lady Florence Pugh (the best performance of the year, IMHO).

09. Personal Shopper - Personal Shopper is the second best ghost story of the year; it focuses on Kristen Stewart's medium who is trying to communicate with her recently deceased brother, but who may have found something more sinister instead. From the Hitchcockian texting sequences to the sexy dress up scenes, Personal Shopper is ultimately a meditation on grief and loss that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

08. Wind River - We need more movies like Wind River - just really well written dramas aimed at adults. It seems Taylor Sheridan is the only one making these movies these days (see also: last years Hell or High Water, which he wrote). Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen give great performances as a hunter/tracker and FBI agent (respectively) who are investigating the murder of a Native American teenager on a reservation. From the stark and frigid beauty of the landscape, to that killer stand off at the end, Wind River is exceedingly watchable and enjoyable.

07. Beach Rats - 2017 was a great year for coming of age movies and Beach Rats deserves recognition for perfectly portraying the aimlessness of youth, spending your days smoking with your friends at the beach and your nights cruising for girls on the boardwalk. Of course, our main character Frankie both dates girls and hooks up with random older guys he meets online. Beach Rats is a bleak and powerful portrayal of the struggle to find yourself.

06. The Big Sick - There may not have been a more likable movie all year than The Big Sick. Based on a true story, it follows a one night stand that turns serious before ending. But when the girl ends up in a coma (no, it's a comedy, I swear), the guy realizes she may be the one after all. The Big Sick is hilarious and heartwarming and a great look at multicultural dating.

05. Dunkirk - Big and epic and explosive and action packed and larger than life. The word blockbuster was invented to describe a visual feast like Dunkirk. This isn't some lazy, dumb, big budget summer extravaganza, (you know, the kind you go see because it's hot out and there is air conditioning in the theater, and at least it will be fun, maybe). Dunkirk is smart and powerful and just a well directed spectacle. I would expect nothing less from Christopher Nolan. More big budget summer movies like this, please.

04. Detroit - Based on the true story of the 1967 Detroit riots, this movie may be difficult to watch at times, but it's still completely relevant. It's 50 years later, and I still feel like something like this could happen at any given moment in our current political landscape. Featuring superior direction and excellent performances all around, Detroit should be required viewing for all.

03. Good Time - You know how some movies have really exciting action scenes that keep you glued to your seat with the action constantly ratcheting up a notch? That's basically all of Good Time, from start to finish. It starts out intense and it just keeps getting better and better. Robert Pattinson stars as a dumb ass bank robber whose plot ends up with his mentally handicapped brother in jail. He then embarks on one scheme after another, criss-crossing the streets of New York, interacting with shady, convincing characters, to try to get him out. It's an adrenaline rush of a movie, and one wild ride.

02. Lady Bird - What is there to say about Lady Bird, other than I loved it so much?? Lady Bird was the perfect movie encapsulating what it's like to be a teenage girl at a certain time in America. From falling in love with a different boy every week, to fighting and making up with your friends, to struggling with understanding your parents, to dreaming of escaping to a better, cooler place. Every performance, every piece of direction was spot on. Every bit of conversation, every piece of clothing rang true. Lady Bird hits every bittersweet note so perfectly.

01. A Ghost Story - There may have been movies I enjoyed more than A Ghost Story this year, but none has had the lasting effect on me that it has. I still think about it at least once a week. It's a powerful film about loss and grief and it left me absolutely emotionally gutted, thinking about how beautiful this life is, and how nice it would feel to have someone love you, but also how absolutely pointless this all is. Come for Rooney Mara eating an entire pie in one take, stay for the way this movie might change your life.

Best Actress 2017

05. Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman - I think we can all agree that 2017 was a pretty shitty year, but at the very least we can all agree that at least 2017 gave us one good and pure thing - bonafide movie star Gal Gadot. Her female empowerment film became a blockbuster success thanks to her endearing, adorable, ass-kicking charm and general badassery. From casually wearing weaponry with formal wear to that sweet chemistry with Chris Pine to that time she had ice cream and saw it snow for the first time, Gal Gadot became a goddamn national treasure. Here's to more bad ass female superheroes in movies directed by bad ass female directors.

04. Nicole Kidman in The Beguiled - Kidman has had a hell of a year. She is one of the few female movie stars that seem to be getting even more interesting parts in her 40s and 50s than she did in her 20s and 30s. In 2017 alone, she played a supporting role in Top of the Lake, went toe to toe with Colin Farrell in Killing of a Sacred Deer, and pretty much showed that she was the finest working actress who deserved every award under the sun in Big Little Lies. Something about Kidman screams out that she was born for period pieces, and she proves that with a perfect nuanced performance in The Beguiled. She's a prudish and haughty school marm who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and get a little, well, bloody.

03. Kristen Stewart in Personal Shopper - I guess the one good thing about making tons of money in a franchise about vampires when you are super young is that it affords you the opportunity to do the work you really want to do and make tiny little ghost stories for probably no money. Post-Twilight, Kristen Stewart has become one of the most interesting and exciting young actresses out there. Her role here is difficult because she spends the majority of the movie alone, and texting on the phone with a maybe ghost. Yet, her performance still manages to be subtle and raw and real, and yes, a little bit awkward, but also a lot sexy.

02. Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird - I want to scream from the rooftops about how much I love every single thing about Lady Bird, from the script to the music (even that Dave Matthews Band song!) to the direction to the performances. And while every single character is real and excellent, Ronan shines as the conflicting teenager Lady Bird, who is both insecure and entirely self-assured. Her performance is as unique as the character and here Ronan is so fearless. In a genre filled with career defining performances for teenage girls, Ronan's might just be the very best.

01. Florence Pugh in Lady MacBeth - Enter all the on fire emojis here, because Pugh is a live wire from start to finish. Who is this girl, and why isn't she a household name? Because she should be, and she probably will be. It's not usually pretty young girls who get to make movies where they start off as a sympathetic figure and end up as a raving sociopath. But Pugh delivers from start to finish, from looking pretty as a picture in a dress to becoming conniving and manipulative, from sweetness to sexiness. This is a career making performance and a master class of acting.

Best Actor 2017

05. Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick - Endearing, lovable, and hilarious. It's easy to see why anyone would fall in love with Nanjiani, whose character is as likable as this sweet movie. Just like Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird, he has chemistry with every actor in the movie - from his girlfriend played by Zoe Kazan, to her parents played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, to every comedian and secondary character. The delivery on that 9/11 joke alone should earn him an Oscar nomination.

04. Harris Dickinson in Beach Rats - I'm not saying that Dickinson is super hot or anything, but the camera absolutely loves him and I could legit stare at close ups of his face forever. Talk about making a splash in your first movie! This modern take on masculinity is the perfect vehicle for Dickinson and he perfectly embodies the loneliness and aimlessness of discovering yourself as a teenager.

03. Robert Pattinson in Good Time - I've never seen Twilight, so I never got the hype of Pattinson, but I'm beginning to understand why a million teenage girls fell in love with him. He is absolutely mesmerizing to watch, electrifying from start to finish. This is what it feels like to watch a movie star at the top of their game. Like his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart (who will be on tomorrow's Best Actress list), he is reinventing his career by choosing edgy, challenging roles and it is working for him. This is the best he's ever been, and I can't wait to see more.

02. James McAvoy in Split - I didn't love the movie Split, but the failure or success of this movie lives or dies with McAvoy, and because he is so stellar in this (these??) role(s), the movie mostly succeeds. This has got to be the most challenging performance of the year and McAvoy truly disappears into each and every different character, their mannerisms and vocal patterns changing at the drop of a hat. This is a gutsy and ballsy performance, and McAvoy pulls it off, and makes it look easy.

01. Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger - Another year, another amazing Jake Gyllenhaal performance that will get absolutely no recognition from anyone besides me and probably some people on Twitter. (For real, who does he have to sleep with to get that Oscar he deserves???). He started reinventing his career with End of Watch and he has put out amazing performance after amazing performance ever since (I still think his performance in Nightcrawler is the single greatest acting performance in the last twenty or thirty years, easy). His performance in Stronger (as a real life Boston marathon bombing survivor) is sometimes funny, sometimes difficult to watch, and always emotionally devastating. It's impressive from start to finish and it proves AGAIN why he is the finest actor of his generation. I mean, he even nails that Boston accent.

Best Supporting Actress 2017

05. Beanie Feldstein in Lady Bird - The only love story that is part of Lady Bird is the love between best friends Lady Bird and Julie, played by Feldstein. In fact, the best moment in the movie is when Lady Bird gets out of the car of a jerk boy on prom night and goes to prom with her bestie instead. And thanks to Feldstein's charming portrayal, she's a best friend we all wish we could have. She casually steals every scene she is in and has such great chemistry with star Saoirse Ronan, that it truly is a pleasure to discover her.

04. Zoe Kazan in The Big Sick - I know what you are thinking - Zoe Kazan spends half of the movie in a coma in a hospital bed. That's true, but if Kazan's performance wasn't so neurotically charming from the first moment we see her, then the movie wouldn't work at all. Her performance is pivotal and it's ultimately so quirky and smart that she makes Emily so easy to fall in love with as an audience.

03. Holly Hunter in The Big Sick - She spends most of the movie bickering with on-screen husband Ray Romano (I mean, get these two a sitcom or something, because their chemistry together is fantastic), or subtly throwing shade at her daughter's maybe-boyfriend. But her performance is ultimately endearing and hilarious (especially when she lashes out at a heckler at a comedy show). The character itself is pretty great, but only someone as talented as Hunter could give such a fully realized and beautifully layered performance.

02. Tatiana Maslany in Stronger - Before I saw Stronger, I didn't understand how Jake Gyllenhaal was being so overlooked by awards groups. Now that I've seen the movie I can't understand how Maslany is either. She gives a tough and tender performance, elevating the role of "caretaker girlfriend" to something riveting that you can't stop watching. Her exploration of a love motivated by guilt is really as impressive as the depths Gyllenhaal goes to as well. She gives a raw performance as a flawed character and it's astounding to watch her in every scene.

01. Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird - The largely underrated actress finally gets a role she can really sink her teeth into as the exasperated and overworked mom of the title character. This is a warts and all look at the complicated love between a mother and a daughter. And yes, she gets her showy Oscar clip, and yes, she gets to yell and shout and cry and all of those emotional moments. But what is so truly remarkable about her performance is how real it feels. This is not sugar coated. This feels like a real mother-daughter relationship. It's not like watching a movie, it's like watching your life.

Best Supporting Actor 2017

05. Benny Safdie in Good Time - Sure, he may not say many words in the course of the movie, and he may only be heavily featured in the beginning and end, but Safdie still makes a hell of an impression on this film. In a sense, he sets the tone for the entire thing. As the mentally handicapped brother of the bank robbing main character, he is essentially the heart and soul of the whole thing. Without him somehow making the audience care about him, then none of the movie works.

04. Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Typically when you think 'Star Wars movie,' you don't necessarily think 'good acting' (and in the case of the prequels, you think the exact opposite of that), but Driver is easily the best thing about The Last Jedi (just like he was consistently the best thing about the super-uneven Girls). With Kylo Ren, Driver creates a complex villain, and while you are not sure you can ever trust a word he says, you want to believe everything that comes out of his mouth. He is compelling and sometimes ruthless, but maybe he can still be saved, maybe there is a lost heroic boy in there somewhere. Driver's performance is so good that it really elevated the material and all the acting around him.

03. Mark Rylance in Dunkirk - I know, I know. Dunkirk is a great, big, exciting spectacle of sight and sound. It's epic and it's larger than life and it's riveting and it's everything a great blockbuster can be. And while the entire cast is wholly impressive (Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy), it's Rylance's sweet and heroic boat captain who makes the biggest impact. He isn't a general or a fighter pilot or a soldier, he is just a man, trying to save his family and make a difference, however small, and his presence certainly makes a difference on this movie, finding a way to humanize the whole great big spectacle of it all.

02. Tracy Letts in Lady Bird - Sometimes a performance doesn't have to be big or showy to be special, and Letts' sweet father in Lady Bird is proof of that. While Lady Bird and her mother fight and scream and fight some more, Letts is quietly holding it all together. He creates a character that ultimately is the kind of father I wish I had - someone who stands by you no matter what, supports all your crazy ideas and even when his son interviews for the same job as him, offers a smile and a good luck hug instead of any anger or bitterness. It's a performance that will probably fall by the way side thanks to the kick ass ladies in this movie, but it's important none the less.

01. Will Poulter in Detroit - It's been six or seven months since I saw Detroit, but no performance this year has stuck with me the way Will Poulter's racist cop has. His performance is so riveting, so staggeringly explosive, so evil and ferocious and frightening, I find it difficult to believe that I am the only one talking about it at this point in the year. This performance may be hard to watch at times, it's timely depiction of racism in America may hit way too close to home, showing how very little has changed in our country over the last 50 or 60 years, but this performance is next level. It pulls no punches and it is unrelenting. It's simply unforgettable.