Best & Worst Movies of 2017 (So Far)

Believe it or not, we've passed the halfway point of 2017! Next thing you know it will be 2018 already! Now, last year I cobbled together the Summer 2016 Movie Season In Review to enlighten viewers on five fantastic films they may have missed out on in addition to five stinkers they should stay away from. This year I decided to share my personal ranking of all this year's releases thus far because towards the latter end of the year I suspect these films may not retain their position. I'll include a short blurb justifying each film's position on the respective list but you can visit my full reviews for all of these by clicking the blue hyperlinks with the titles. Keep in mind though that this is my personal ranking and I'm only qualifying the films I've seen this year so if one of your favorite/least favorite flicks didn't make either list, then I may not have ever seen it or I simply didn't like/dislike it as much as you did. Regardless of whether you agree with my opinion or not, I hope you at least enjoy reading my perspective of this year in cinema so far.

Worst Of 2017 (So Far)

Dis-Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical order): The Belko Experiment and The Great Wall.

5. The Fate of the Furious

I'm sure this will be my most controversial pick on either of my lists but The Fate of the Furious is absolutely idiotic. The only Fast & Furious movies I've truly enjoyed are 5-7, which launched the franchise in a completely different direction. However, F8 tests the limit of that mileage to an absurd degree. There are no longer stakes, the action's senseless, and there's simply no more creative fuel left over in the franchise's tank. 

4. The Mummy (2017)

The Mummy is an example of how not to establish a cinematic universe. The Mummy simply gets too wrapped up building a world for these monsters to thrive in that the stand-alone story decays as a consequence.

3. Transformers: The Last Knight

Transformers: The Last Knight didn't disappoint me per se but it didn't redeem the franchise either. The Last Knight just meanders about for two and half hours with very few redeeming qualities. It's just a lot of visual noise with zero substance underneath.

2. A Cure for Wellness

A Cure For Wellness was deeply disturbing and featured some of the most unsettling scenes I've seen in the cinema all year. It was entirely off-kilter but in the worst ways imaginable. So it comes as no surprise that the film delivers on the title's promise, sickening from start to finish. 

1. The Circle

The Circle was the closest I got to bestowing a grade of an "F" this year because it was a sophomoric slog. I know that the captivating concept and accomplished actors make it seem promising but whatever you do, don't circle around for this one because it's an utter waste of time.

Best Of 2017 (So Far)

Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical order): Alien: Covenant, Beauty and the Beast (2017), Get Out, John Wick: Chapter 2, and The LEGO Batman Movie.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I understand I'm of the unpopular opinion that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is better than the first but I think everyone can agree that it was a fun time and I had a blast all three times I went to the theater. I enjoyed getting to galavant across space with these miscreants and really getting to the core of what makes each character tick while often laughing hysterically.  

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming marks the third time Sony's attempted to launch a Spider-Man franchise following Raimi's trilogy and the two Amazing Spider-Man movies directed by Mark Webb. What makes Homecoming interesting though is how expertly it captures the character while swinging in a different direction by placing Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Homecoming feels like the perfect portrayal of Spider-Man and is easily the most entertaining incarnation of the web-head since Spider-Man 2.

3. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman not only was a change of pace for the DCEU but a landmark shift for female lead superhero movies. Wonder Woman remains invigorating, visceral, and intense in the heightened moments of WW1 action while reserving time for worthwhile character development and story progression. I've watched Wonder Woman five times now and am continually blown away. 

2. Logan

Logan is the first superhero movie that I whole-heartingly believe deserves to be in the conversation for Oscar gold. In fact, it's my favorite comic book movie to date! Not only was Logan a sensational and sentimental send-off to Hugh Jackman but a fantastic film in its own right that definitely deserves the acclaim.

1. Baby Driver

It was a huge toss-up between the No. 1 and 2 slots on this list considering Logan and Baby Driver were the only films this year I've honored with the distinction of my "A+" rating. Ultimately, I had more fun with Baby Driver though thanks to a varied soundtrack full of rockin' tunes, outrageously entertaining action sequences, and charismatic characters. The love and care that Edgar Wright poured into Baby Driver really shows and I'd say it's an excellent example of meticulous masterclass filmmaking. 

'Transformers: The Last Knight' Review

Transformers: The Last Knight is set an undisclosed amount of time after Age of Extinction with the Autobot/Decepticon war at an all time high, despite the fact all Transformers are being hunted down by an international government force known as the TRF (Transformers Reaction Force). Optimus Prime has left Earth in search of his creators so eager inventor Cade Yeager, an apprehensive Oxford professor Vivian Wembley, crazed British Lord Sir Edmund Burton, and the enduring Autobots are tasked with exploring the hidden history of Transformers in search of an ancient object to save the world once more. 

The Last Knight is the fifth franchise entry directed by Michael Bay and will supposedly be his final foray but that's doubtful considering he's said that around the release of nearly every Transformers movie. I've now reviewed all live action Transformers flicks and spoke time and time again of Bay's strengths and weaknesses as a big budget director but I'll go ahead and mention it again in case you missed out on any of those. Bay is especially adept at delivering smashing spectacle but often falls short in telling a worthwhile story due to his insistence of prioritizing style over substance. 

Well, that's once again the case as the visual plane of these blockbusters continues to flourish thanks to commendable cinematography and astounding effects while the sound design exploded onto the scene. Bay and his crew rarely fall short in those departments and they didn't slouch in orchestrating elaborate action sequences this time around either. In fact, the action was much more bearable because I was able to better distinguish the Transformers from one another when the robo-rumbles ensued. 

Now if you thought those compliments were reassuring remarks that solidify The Last Knight as a sudden change of direction for the franchise, then you would be sadly mistaken because The Last Knight is exactly what you should expect if you're familiar with Michael Bay as a filmmaker. There's lots of explosions, slo-motion, racial stereotyped robots, cringey comedy, and overt product placement But hey, at least this time he toned down the over sexualized depiction of women a tad as there's no gratuitous shots nearly on the level of those found in Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, or Dark of the Moon.

The Last Knight's screenplay was penned by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan who all had a hand in story development alongside Akiva Goldsman. I can confidently say that I feel this script may be the worst of the franchise as sparse moments are shoestrung into a "plot" in hopes of setting up a sequel and Bumblebee spinoff. In hindsight, almost nothing is actually accomplished in regards to character growth or story progression throughout the entire film. There's even a scene where Megatron negotiates with lawyers for the release of some of his Deception cronies that plays out similarly to the character introductions in Suicide Squad. You'd think the leader of the Decepticons would be a bit more brash and take matters into his own hands but Bay shows us otherwise.

The trailers will lead you to believe the plot centers on Optimus Prime's turn to the nefarious Nemesis Prime ala The Fate of the Furious but that couldn't be further from the truth. If you've seen the trailers then you've seen nearly every second of Optimus Prime's screen-time and the remaining moments are composed of his conventional monologues. Everything else that happens is centered around human characters you'll either be unfamiliar with or won't care about and there's simply too much going on and it would be futile for me to pick it apart as it would make this review as bloated and unnecessary as The Last Knight itself. 

Even though it may sound like I walked into this film with the intention to berate it afterwards, I was actually holding out hope I would have a good time. Since I actually enjoy the odd numbered installments in this franchise, I was hopeful The Last Knight would carry on that trend despite the fact the marketing material did virtually nothing to excite me. However, that doesn't mean I left the theater without finding some silver linings. So I've challenged myself to break my traditional review format and share five unmentioned ones. 

Silver lining No. 1) Sqweeks is an adorable BB-8 ripoff. In all seriousness, this little robot was quite endearing in spite of his scarce screen time so that in-of-itself is admirable.

Silver lining No. 2) The Transformer Knights were able to combine into a three headed dragon Transformer. If you can't agree that that's pretty awesome then there's something wrong with you. 

Silver lining No. 3) I liked the inclusion of Josh Duhamel and a few other familiar faces to tie things back into the core Transformers trilogy and I felt Duhamel and the other returning cast members met the requirements of the script adequately. 

Silver lining No. 4) Laura Haddock, who you may recognize as Peter Quill's mother in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, proved to not just be another pretty face for Bay to exploit, but wound up being the best female lead showcased in a Transformers movie yet. Haddock is of course relegated to the confines of a scrappy script, but she imbues enough personality into Vivian Wembley to standout among the ensemble.

Silver lining No. 5) It is nearly impossible to describe the insane shenanigans Sir Anthony Hopkins partakes in as Sir Edmund Burton, but it's apparent he's having the time of his life descending into madness. It was especially amusing to watch a classically trained actor take on such a strange role with as much commitment as Hopkins.

Otherwise, any actors I failed to mention are pretty much acceptable within the parameters of the material. Mark Wahlberg's Cade Yeager is just as grading as he was the last time you heard him tell you he's an inventor, Jerrod Carmichael probably delivers the few funny lines of dialogue as Jimmy, and the various voice actors Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Erik Aadahl, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, Jim Carter, Steve Buscemi, Omar Sy, and Reno Wilson all perform admirably in bringing the appropriate personalities to their respective revving robots.

Deserving of her own segment however is Isabela Moner, who offers an okay performance considering she was just playing a feisty girl determined to join the fight. What's interesting however is that if you remove her character from the movie it doesn't change a single thing and you will begin to realize you would have much rather seen her incorporated into the plot somehow or left out altogether. This is actually the case with many characters who come and go from the screen like flies.

Transformers: The Last Knight is obviously flawed but is certainly not the worst Transformers movie, actually falling in the middle of the pack when you consider how terrible Revenge of the Fallen and Age of Extinction were. In all honesty, I'm especially thankful that The Last Knight has the shortest running time in the franchise since the first and that the filmmakers were gracious enough to position their "post credits scene" at the opening of the credits. I'm crossing my fingers Paramount hires someone else to helm the inevitable Transformers 6 and that Travis Knight can shepherd the Bumblebee spinoff into less turbulent waters. 

Film Assessment: D