Hello, everyone, we’re pretty far into the year, and I thought it would be nice to talk about my top 5 favorite movies of the year so far. 2017 has been an amazing year for movies. There were some big budget blockbusters that really blew me away from a storytelling perspective, which you don’t see that often. I was also really impressed by some smaller indie titles this year.

I’m saving a top 10 for the end of the year so please feel free to read this and let me know what you think!

5. Wonder Woman

I’m so happy to say that Wonder Woman is the first genuinely great movie in the DC Extended Universe. It’s balance of bright colors, great characters all make the movie more heroic than the other films in the DCEU lineup. The thing that pushes this film beyond the others (especially most Marvel movies) is that it shows the morally grey area of heroes and how it takes courage and character to rise above and become the hero that we all know and love. Wonder Woman is the perfect way to tell an origin story and will probably be looked at for years as the turning point of the DCEU. It has great acting, powerful themes, and good use of humor through it’s supporting cast. While it’s not the only superhero movie on this list, I think it’s definitely one of the best superhero movies of the last few years.

4. Baby Driver

Baby Driver continues Edgar Wright’s impressive streak of critical successes. This movie is a high octane adventure with smart dialogue, fast paced action, and incredible vehicle choreography. The whole movie is tuned to songs, and while this may seem weird at first, as the film goes on, you become fully immersed in the story because the synchronized songs just draw you in. You can tell that everyone in this movie is having a great time, but when the film needs to get serious, it buckles down and makes it real. I feel happy for Wright that this film is a huge box office success because movies like this should be getting all the box office attention. Baby Driver is a wonderful crowd pleaser that will tag you along for the ride.

3. Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is one of the best war movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a pure masterclass of filmmaking and stands as a prime example of show-don’t-tell. While it feels like almost every other Christopher Nolan film in its thoughtful themes and nonlinear story, Dunkirk is elevated by intense realism. The movie never stops building tension from the first frame, and film earns it’s final shot. I think Nolan should definitely look forward to this coming awards season considering the incredible work he has accomplished here. It has some of the most immersive scenes I’ve ever seen in a war movie, a phenomenal method of storytelling, and some of the best sound design and use of a score I’ve seen in a movie in recent memory.

2. Logan

Logan is a near perfect masterpiece of filmmaking that transcends the superhero genre with a moving sendoff to one of the most recognizable comic book heroes of all time. Boosted by Oscar caliber performances from both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, the film is honestly one of the best comic book films I’ve ever seen. Director James Mangold has made the hard-R Wolverine movie we always wanted, and I couldn’t be much happier with the result. The film works because you really feel emotionally connected to this broken Logan, a facade of a once heroic icon. That has to do with its focused (almost western-style) script and the best work from Jackman in my opinion. The top spot was really tough to decide on, but the number one pick barely beat out Logan by a hair.

Your Name

Your Name blew me away in every capacity, and I was left speechless by the times the credits rolled. Not a lot of people in the U.S. know much about Your Name, and I didn’t either until I saw that it was a massive success in Japan and other Asian countries. I personally love hand drawn animation, and I miss the times when American studios primarily used this style so this movie had me excited. The art was done so beautifully within its medium that I cannot see this movie as anything but a hand drawn anime movie. Your Name relishes in it’s emotional themes and tugs on your heart throughout. The thing that works so well about it is the otherworldly conflict and restraint between our leads. Also, the film’s twist is done really well as it presents an issue you don’t really see in movies. Even though this movie has bizarre turns, it speaks volumes to the adolescents of both today and yesterday. It is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, and I can’t wait to watch it again.

So those are my top 5 movies of the year so far! What do you think about this list? Do you think I should change anything? Please feel free to let me know in the comments section! Thanks 🙂

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