Keith's "I have 2 kids, I don't have time to watch movies" 2017 movie ranks

Well, I promised that I would get around to writing my everyman's perspective on the films from 2017 as soon as I finished watching The Last Jedi. That was 3 weeks ago now, and I'm just finally getting around to writing another blog post. When I'm working in an office, it's pretty easy to find an hour to throw down some thoughts on the blog; when I'm at home I have 2 kids who would rather play and take the bulk of my attention instead of letting me pour out my thoughts in written form. This has gotten even more difficult now that Aiden is no longer going down for daily naps; what used to be child-free time in the afternoons has turned into playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii time. On the whole, I can't complain; I love the fact that my kids are getting older and that I am able to interact with and expose them to more things. Aiden has become quite the video game player from him rough beginnings, and I'm sure in no time I'll have a full fledged gamer on my hands. But it does mean that there are trade offs in terms of demands on my time.



I managed to see 9 films released in 2017 this past year, which equals the number that I watched in 2016. Those films that I didn't manage to get around to seeing, but still fully intend to our Spiderman: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Blade Runner 2049 and War for the Planet of the Apes, as well ast the various movies I end up watching as they come out on Netflix. Looking back at my previous rankings, I think 2017 was an extremely strong year for the movies I wanted to see. Justice League, which (spoiler alert) comes in at number 5 for me this year, would have probably come in at number 3 for me last year. All of the films in my top 5 were extremely hard to rank, and could easily come in at any position in that range given my mood at the time.

Without further ado, here are my incomplete thoughts on the films of 2017. I hope it can take your mind off the horrible upcoming Superbowl Matchup.

• Beauty and the Beast - I don't particularly think this is a bad movie, I just think it is a pointless one. Unlike The Jungle Book, which introduced some new elements and takes on Kipling's classic story, Beauty and the Beast was basically a live action shot-for-shot remake, and as such it didn't do a whole lot for me. I really enjoy the animated version, but nothing about this one improved on the original in any way. This is perhaps my most controversial ranking of the year, Karalee would disagree with my profusely, as she was a big fan of this film.

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 - In hindsight, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 is probably my favourite Marvel Studios film to date. It's hilarious, it's different and it glosses over it's weaknesses (villian, world-building) in a positive way. That led to Vol 2 being one of the biggest disappointments for me, as I don't think it builds on the original in any great way and it turned into somewhat of a forgettable movie for me. I watched it less than 4 months ago, and I couldn't tell you anything other than a vague plot outline. 

• Bright - I watched the future of film, with the Netflix produced and released Bright over the holidays. I had read a lot of reviews about what a terrible movie this was, and in what has turned into a bit of a trend these days, I disagree strongly with the critics. It's not a great movie; it tries a little too hard to be an edgy cop-movie when it should have pulled back a little bit, it also could have also used more world building (but what it did establish was really interesting in my mind). I don't know if critics were too offended by anti-PC lines like "fairy lives don't matter" to think clearly, or if there is just an institutional backlash against the threat Netflix produced movies pose to the studio system, but this was a fine movie I'd be happy to watch sequels to.

• The Last Jedi - A tough movie to rank, I couldn't decide whether to put it ahead or behind Bright. I know there was a lot of discussion among certain members of TFLOEG as to what my feelings on this movie would be. I might have been able to enjoy it more if I was able to go into the movie unspoiled and let the shocking moments impact me directly, unfortunately that was never going to be the case. Regardless, I fall under the category of longtime fans who didn't like the movie. I had a mild dislike for the humour that felt forced and out of place (some of it was alright, like Chewie and the Porgs however). I had a continuing dislike for weird setting/plot choices and unexplained backstory (why is the First Order so strong? Why are there still rebels? Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? (Not explain this one legit felt like a "screw you" from Riann Johnson)). I hate what the new trilogy does to the originals in hindsight. For as bad as the prequels are, nothing about them harms the originals, while at the very core the new films seem like they are trying to make themselves important by crapping all over what came before it.
  
  Return of the Jedi ends on an uplifting note, and our heroes have the ability to rebuild the galaxy and create something exciting and new in the ashes of the Empire. Looking forward to seeing what they accomplish? Too bad, turns out Luke, Han and Leia are all pathetic failures. Han's goes backwards from all his growth during the trilogy. Leia, instead of using her leadership to reforge the Republic, creates a galaxy in worse shape than we've ever seen, leading rebels that are even more poorly equipped than in a New Hope. And Luke, filled with hope and able to see the good even in Darth Vader; is overwhelmed with seeing the bad in Ben, abandons the galaxy and is basically an entirely different character than what we've come to see from him. His appearance and sacrifice at the movie's climax is not enough of a redemption for the character.
  
  This probably deserves it's own blog post, but since I never discussed my thoughts on the movie until now, you get it here. If you noticed that I spent all this time going off on the original characters, neglecting to share my thoughts on the new characters; you'd be right and there's a simple answer to that. I don't really care about the new characters. They're mostly boring outside of Kylo (and Rey, only as a foil to Kylo), and I don't really care what happens to any of them at this point.
  
  That brings me to my biggest gripe of all; who in the world thought it would be a good idea to bring in Admiral Diversity Hire as the Rebel leader after Leia is incapacitated, when it would be the perfect opportunity to reintroduce hero of the Rebellion and fan favourite, Admiral Ackbar. Every scene on board the rebel cruiser would have that much more weight if our fish-headed friend was the one in charge, rather than some nameless, basic woman who we have no reason to like or empathize with. Think about the emotion you would feel if it was Ackbar volunteering to stay behind, rather than someone we just only met. Tell me your heart wouldn't rise in your chest if, after turning the cruiser around, Ackbar smiled at the display screen and in his soft yet powerful voice said "It's a trap" as he punched the hyperdrive and destroyed the Super Star Destroyer. Riann Johnson and the writers stole that from us, and you can't tell me they respect the franchise if they didn't see the obvious way things should have turned out. They only way they can start to make up for the disrespect is if Episode 9 is primarily a story of Wedge coming back to save the rebellion and take up Ackbar's mantle as the hero we both need and deserve.

• Justice League - Going from the critics' reaction, I went in to the film semi-afraid this would be some type of Suicide Squad-ish confusing mess, and I was happy to have my expectations blown away. This wasn't some masterpiece of film-making, but it was fun, exciting and a stepping board for bigger things. Steppenwolf put in a workmanlike performance as the lead villain, the Flash and Aquaman brought more to the league than just a brooding presence, and I found myself laughing far more often than I typically would in a comic book film, only it didn't feel forced or out of place to me. In a weaker year, it would be higher up my list, as it managed to do a lot of things right.

• Dunkirk - This is without question the "best" movie I saw this year, as it's also the most artistically and critically acclaimed as well. I really have nothing bad to say about it; I appreciated the close-up and personal stories it tried to tell, it was gorgeously shot, and telling the story in 3 different time periods was done to perfection. It's everything I've come to expect from Christopher Nolan, and it probably falls in just behind The Dark Knight Rises on my Nolan-only rankings.

• Lego Batman Movie -  Like Warcraft last year, this might be the surprise of my list, but the Lego Batman Movie is absolutely fantastic. It combines 2 of my favourite items, but really it's a Batman movie at it's heart and it does it incredibly well. It ends up presenting quite a deep look at the character of Batman, and I appreciated all of the nods to the character's 75 years of history. Unlike some other Batman movies (cough The Dark Knight cough) the Joker is actually the weakest part of this movie, as he's played the most straight and bland, but it makes up for it by exaggerating all the other villains in hilarious fashion (Bane and Catwoman kill me everytime I hear them speak). The movie switches seamlessly from a kids-focused comedy, to a blockbuster action thriller (the soundtrack helps a ton), and back again and it hardly feels out of place. It's an impressive feat, and I'm a big fan of the finished product.

• Wonder Woman - Some might call 2017 the year that everything became political (some might say it happened sooner), and Wonder Woman easily could have devolved into feminist propaganda, virtue signalling and general political idiocracy. It's a testament to the writers and director that it didn't, and I couldn't be happier about that. The movie actually manages to portray both sexes fairly and with nuance; men aren't responsible for all the world's problems, Steve Trevor is heroic and masculine, woman are shown as having their own flaws. Wonder Woman has quickly become one of my favourite parts of the DCEU, and Gal Gadot plays her magnificently. The story is interesting and unpredictable, and like John, the only real flaw I see with it is the final confrontation resulting in a stereotypical CGI-filled showdown. For me at least, DC has managed to make me feel emotion when I watch their films while Marvel has not. For a start, Marvel needs to step up their soundtrack game and hire Hans Zimmer, as Wonder Woman joins Nolan's Batman at the top when it comes to a character's themes and music.
• Logan -  Now that I think about it, this might be the surprise of the year for me. I actually had it at number 5 when I started this list, but after a re-watch I was reminded how much I actually like this film. Comic book movies have to do something different to stand out these days; Lego Batman does by taking a serious character and putting him into a comedy film and making it work. Wonder Woman takes a character that isn't as established in popular consciousness and telling her story incredibly well. Logan basically tells a comic book story as a western, it's a simple concept but it works so well.
  
  Logan to me demonstrates the upside and the downside of an expanded film universe. The downside is that films that are part of a multi-billion dollar series have to play it safe to an extent. You can't rock the boat too much, because your choices can't mess up the rest of the franchise. Logan, as the last film for Jackman's Wolverine, gets to forget all that. It gets to turn Professor X into a foul-mouthed cripple and kill off a drunken Wolverine because it doesn't have to worry about continuity of sequels. It's refreshing. However, the film only works so well because we have a half dozen films of backstory where we have gotten to know and like these characters, and a lot of the emotional impact would be blunted without the previous films these characters have been in.
  
  I think the film succeeds by scaling things down, in an age where every film (especially comic book films) feel the need to ramp things up and create a greater and greater spectacle. The film tells a counter-cultural story and looks at deeper themes than you typically see in an action blockbuster, such as the role of family, heroism, growing older and finding meaning. 

There you have a snapshot of how I view the films I watched this past year. At a time where I'm seeing fewer and fewer comic book movies each year due to burnout and over saturation of the market, I'll certainly continue to make time for directors telling stories as well and as differently as the 3 superhero movies that topped my list in 2017.