Top Ten Movies of 2017

I have seen, I believe, 79 new films that came out in 2017. Of the nine films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, four also appear on my Top Ten List, The Shape of Water,  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Post, and Lady Bird. I loved all four of these movies, but my number one is still Wonder Woman. This is a lovely film that, of course, gets no respect from the Academy. All I can say is, "and now I know... that only Love can truly save the world." 

See my lists below for Best Picture, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor.

I have seen all of the nominated performances except for Christopher Plummer, nominated for Best Supporting Actor in All the Money in the World. I am declaring a tie between Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Frances McDormand (Three Billboards) for Best Actress. They are both to die for. My Best Actor pick honors Harry Dean Stanton, who recently died at age 90 and was working right up to the end. Lucky is a nice little movie about a 90-year-old man living in a small western town. It's a nice sendoff for Stanton who had many memorable roles over the years. For Best Supporting Actress, I pick Leslie Manville, who was amazing as Daniel Day Lewis' ever-present personal assistant in Phantom Thread which is otherwise a beautiful but perplexing film. For Best Supporting Actor, I pick Willem Dafoe, a hard-working character actor whose face will be familiar to everyone. In The Florida Project, he has a wonderful role as the Manager and child wrangler of the Magic Kingdom Motel. 

    

There were some very good films released in 2017 that have no nominations and that no one has seen. Among my recommendations are,

• Battle of the Sexes, a retelling of the famous tennis match between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell).
• Colossal, about an out-of-work young woman (Anne Hathaway) in New York City with a strange connection to a Godzilla-like creature that is destroying Seoul.
• The Big Sick, based on a true love story of a Pakistani-American man and a "white" woman who spends most of the movie in a coma. Nice turns by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano.
• Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the iconic Blade Runner is way better than it had any right to be. But it is the antithesis of Jason Bourne, having no 2-second cuts, so you have to sit and watch some people talk to each other. Try it!
• Molly's Game, you would think a movie starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba written and directed by Aaron Sorkin would have a built in audience but no. And it's really good!
• Abundant Acreage Available, Amy Ryan, my vote for most underrated actress in Hollywood, stars as a woman fighting for the family farm after her father dies.

Best Picture:
1. Wonder Woman
2. The Shape of Water
3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
4. Lady Bird
5. The Florida Project
6. The Post
7. Blade Runner 2049
8. Battle of the Sexes
9. The Big Sick
10. Molly's Game
Honourable Mention: Baby Driver, The Beguiled, Lucky, Abundant Acreage Available, Wind River, Colossal, The Zookeeper's Wife

Best Actress:
1. Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Maudie)
1. Frances McDormand (Three Billboards)
3. Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game, The Zookeeper's Wife)
4. Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)
5. Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman)

Honourable Mention: Amy Ryan (Abundant Acreage Available), Emma Stone (Battle of the Sexes), Meryl Streep (The Post), Daisy Ridley (The Last Jedi), Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid Goes West)

Best Actor:
1. Harry Dean Stanton (Lucky)
2. Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049)
3. Tom Hanks (The Post)
4. Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq)
5. Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
Honourable Mention: Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver), Jeremy Renner (Wind River)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread)
2. Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)
3. Robin Wright (Wonder Woman, Blade Runner 2049)
4. Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird)
5. Lucy Davis (Wonder Woman)
Honourable Mention: Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water), Holly Hunter (The Big Sick), Lily James (Baby Driver, Darkest Hour), Kristin Scott Thomas (Darkest Hour)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)
2. Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water)
3. Michael Stuhbarg (Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water, The Post)
4. Bob Odenkirk (The Post)
5. Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Blade Runner)
Honourable Mention:  Chris Pine (Wonder Woman), Idris Elba (Molly's Game), Harrison Ford (Blade Runner 2049), Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards),
Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards), Ray Romano (The Big Sick), Adam Driver (Logan Lucky, The Last Jedi)