90th Academy Awards Results + Recap Post

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: BLADE RUNNER 2049

BEST EDITING: DUNKIRK

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: PHANTOM THREAD

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: DARKEST HOUR

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: BLADE RUNNER 2049

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST SOUND MIXING AND BEST SOUND EDITING: DUNKIRK

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: REMEMBER ME (COCO)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: DEAR BASKETBALL

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: THE SILENT CHILD

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405

BEST DOCUMENTARY: ICARUS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: A FANTASTIC WOMAN (from Chile)

BEST ANIMATED FILM: COCO

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: GET OUT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ALLISON JANNEY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: SAM ROCKWELL

BEST ACTRESS: FRANCES MCDORMAND

BEST ACTOR: GARY OLDMAN

BEST DIRECTOR: GUILLERMO DEL TORO (THE SHAPE OF WATER)

BEST PICTURE: THE SHAPE OF WATER

THOUGHTS ON THE SHOW

For the first time since Billy Crystal did it in 1997 and 1998, Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars for the second year in a row. As I noted last year, Kimmel is my personal favorite of the current crop of late night talk show hosts; heck, I even went to one of the tapings for his show this past summer when I was on vacation in Los Angeles. Like last year, Kimmel did an excellent job as host, addressing some of the year’s biggest controversies (specifically the Weinstein epidemic, as many expected he would) while also delivering some enjoyably humorous sketches. I’m aware that some people weren’t too big on his opening monologue addressing all the recent movements in Hollywood (e.g. #TimesUp) as they felt that it would’ve been better for a female host to address these subjects. Ultimately, though, I do think that Kimmel handled them well as he’s done the same thing with several other key issues over the past few months (e.g. when he talked about the necessity for his son to have multiple heart surgeries at a time when the benefit of health care for children was in peril). And before any of you say anything; yes, I’m well-aware that one of his first major roles in the industry was being the co-creator of the male-centric series The Man Show. All I will say to that is that a lot has changed since then, folks, and I’m not just talking about him. This year’s show was more than reflective of the current Hollywood climate where women and minority filmmakers and stars are making monumental efforts to make sure that their voices are being heard in an industry long dominated by Caucasian males.

Anyway, the show itself lived up to its mantle of being the 90^th edition of the Academy Awards. The entire night was dedicated to iconic films of yesteryear, which were represented via several great montages. Legendary Hollywood stars’ most famous roles were highlighted before they came out to present an award, including Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront and Rita Moreno in West Side Story. Heck, Moreno even wore the same dress that she wore to the 34^th Academy Awards, where she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story. When each of the acting categories was introduced, a montage of all the awards’ previous winners was played, effectively showcasing the full range of acting talent that has been honored at these ceremonies. All in all, it was a perfect follow-up to all those montages from last year’s show where actors reflected on classic films and the legendary performances that came out of them. As for the awards themselves, I know that many felt that this year was far more predictable compared to last year. All the major front-runners in the acting categories won while this year’s Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water, was an undisputed front-runner. Here’s the thing, though… we cannot forget that while last year’s envelope gaffe was easily one of the most famous Oscars moments of all-time, it was also a TERRIBLE moment that negatively affected all who were involved in it. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were wrongfully scapegoated for a slip-up that wasn’t primarily their fault, the cast and crew of La La Land were forced to endure the embarrassment of being ‘the mistaken winner’ (though, to their credit, they took it like champs), and as much I hate to say it, Moonlight’s win was forever tainted by this infamous slip-up. In other words, I don’t watch the Oscars for shocking upsets; I watch them to see how they honor the best of the best that cinema has to offer us, which is something that they succeed at every year. Because of this, I quite enjoyed this year’s Oscars ceremony. And while I know that many will disagree with me on this, I dare you to find an Oscars ceremony that didn’t attract a polarizing reception after it was over.

And now, as always, I present to you my personal picks for the Best and Worst moments from this year’s ceremony… well, to be more specific, the ‘Best’ moments. Yes, folks, I don’t have any ‘Worst’ moments to speak of this time around…

BEST: WAL-MART’S THREE ‘BOX’ ADS

Now I’ll admit that this is somewhat of a weird topic to address, namely because I didn’t address it last year, but I wanted to highlight a trio of ads that were made for this year’s event. Last year, Wal-Mart teamed up with filmmakers Marc Forster, Antoine Fuqua, and the duo of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to direct three 60-minute ads based around the concept of your average Wal-Mart receipt. This year, the focus was on their blue shipping boxes, with Mudbound director Dee Rees, long-time director Nancy Meyers, and comedian Melissa McCarthy being brought in to direct the ads. And overall, all three of these ads were excellent in their own unique way. Rees’ ad was sci-fi oriented, showcasing an epic battle that’s revealed to be the fantasy of two young girls using the box as a fort; it featured eye-catching visuals and an enjoyable turn from Rees’ Mudbound star Mary J. Blige as the ‘evil commander’. Next up, Meyers’ ad saw her reteam with frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer, who starred in the ad in which he dealt with a case of severe writer’s block until one of his collaborators uses the box as a drum. And that’s all that I need to say about this one, really; it’s a fun little ad involving Hans Zimmer, one of the industry’s most legendary composers. Finally, there was Melissa McCarthy’s ad, which was a surprisingly welcome ‘against type’ turn for her. Instead of being a comedic ad, it was an emotionally poignant spot in which Greatest Showman breakout star Keala Settle uses the box like a time machine to go back in time and encourage her younger self when she gets teased at a talent show. While I’ll openly admit that I found last year’s slate of Wal-Mart ads to be rather hit-and-miss, this year’s ads were all incredibly well-made, getting so much out of a simple concept.

BEST: JIMMY KIMMEL’S OLD-SCHOOL INTRO

For this year’s ceremony, Kimmel started it off with a parody of retro newsreels complete with old-timey narration. I’m aware that some people weren’t too big on this intro, but I personally liked it. Highlights include Armie Hammer being born ‘when a witch placed a curse on a Ken doll’ and Salma Hayek bringing the Asset from The Shape of Water as her date. However, I will admit that one specific montage that occurred later in the show (which, of course, will be addressed in just a bit) probably would’ve served as a better intro given that this was the 90^th rendition of the Academy Awards. Still, this bit was a fun way of kicking off this year’s show.

BEST: SHORTEST SPEECH WINS A FREE JET SKI

During Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue, he openly acknowledged the most common criticism of the Oscars, its length. Thus, he offered a challenge to the winners; while encouraging them to say whatever they wanted during their speech, he also offered an incentive for those who manage to keep their speeches short. Said incentive was a free jet-ski introduced a la The Price is Right complete with Helen Mirren as the floor model. And before any of you ask… ‘Helen Mirren not included’. Kimmel sweetened the deal by offering a second prize of a trip to Lake Havasu, Arizona. So, who won it? That honor went to costume designer Mark Bridges, who won Best Costume Design for his work on Phantom Thread and gave a quick 36-second speech. Thus, one of the final images of the night was Bridges and Mirren riding the jet-ski onstage.

BEST: THE OSCARS’ NEW METHOD OF PLAYING WINNERS OFF

After Sam Rockwell’s win for Best Supporting Actor, Jimmy Kimmel came out to note that this year, the infamous music that the orchestra plays to tell winners to wrap their speeches up wasn’t going to be used this year (though it kind of did at one point, which I’ll get into later…). Their alternative? Having Get Out star Lakeith Stanfield reenact his iconic scene from the film in which he snaps at main protagonist Chris, telling him to, of course, ‘Get Out’. Simply put, this was an enjoyably humorous moment that served as an excellent satire of the film complete with Stanfield doing a phenomenal job of staying in character the whole time.  

BEST: THE BIG FILM MONTAGE/TRIBUTE

While there were many great montages utilized in this year’s ceremony, the best came via the montage that honored the vast history of film. An endless array of cinematic classics was featured in this montage along with an awesome use of a speech made by the one and only Roger Ebert explaining the beauty of film. As you might have guessed, that was my favorite part of the montage; but, of course, the whole montage was amazing. If you’re a film fanatic like me, I’m 100% confident that this montage probably gave you goosebumps at one point. With that said, though, as I alluded to earlier, I think that this would’ve been a better way to start off the show this year instead of what they went with. Again, nothing against Kimmel’s old-timey ad, but it’s safe to say that this was a more suitable method of honoring cinema during the Oscars’ ‘anniversary year’. Ah well, maybe we’ll get something like this for the 100^th ceremony in 2028.

BEST: THE #TIMESUP/INCLUSION MONTAGE

Obviously, the #TimesUp movement and the call for a greater sense of diversity in the film industry was a key factor in this year’s proceedings. Thus, leave it to Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek, and Annabella Sciorra, three of the most prominent activists in the Weinstein epidemic, to introduce a montage honoring the slow but steady growth of a diverse collection of faces and voices in the film industry. For the record, it didn’t directly address any of the numerous sexual harassment/assault incidents of the past few months, but it didn’t really need to. Also, a bonus shout-out to Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani for honoring all the ‘Dreamers’ in this country when they presented the award for Best Production Design. Plus, we even got to learn Nanjiani’s real name… Chris Pine! (Tee-Hee!)

BEST: THE WAR FILM MONTAGE

The last big film montage of the night (apart from the Best Actor and Actress montages) was a tribute to all the classic war films. This tribute to the U.S. military was presented by the legendary Wes Studi. During this speech, Studi reflected on his own military experience as a member of Alpha Company of the 39^th Infantry during the Vietnam War. As for the montage itself, it was just as well-handled as the previous ones, featuring classics like Full Metal Jacket and Platoon along with recent hits like Saving Private Ryan and American Sniper.  

BEST: THE GREAT PERFORMANCES OF THE BEST ORIGINAL SONG NOMINEES

As always, this year’s ceremony gave us some great performances from this year’s nominees for ‘Best Original Song’. First up, Mary J. Blige performed the song ‘Mighty River’ from Mudbound, for which she herself was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Simply put, it was a soulful performance of an emotional number. Next up, we had Gael Garcia Bernal perform ‘Remember Me’ from Coco followed by the pop version used in the film’s credits performed by Miguel (not to be confused with the film’s main protagonist) and Natalia Lafourcade. Like the song’s use in the film, this performance served as a nice representation of its various renditions. After that, we had Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Mystery of Love’ from Call Me by Your Name. Like ‘Mighty River’ and the next song that I’ll be talking about, I’ll openly admit that this year’s show was the first instance where I heard this song. Despite that, though, I must say that I quite liked the mellow nature of it. Next, we had Common and Andra Day perform the song ‘Stand Up for Something’ from Marshall. Just like Common and John Legend’s powerful performance of ‘Glory’ at the 87^th Academy Awards, the performance was quite the emotional powerhouse. Common called out the divisive rhetoric of Donald Trump while he and Day featured cameos from several key activists, including #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and Nicole Hockley, who lost her son Dylan in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Finally, this sense of empowerment was further continued with Keala Settle once again bringing the house down with her performance of The Greatest Showman’s trademark anthem, ‘This is Me’. It may not have won Best Original Song, ultimately, but it was yet another showcase of Settle’s amazing talent.

BEST: IN MEMORIAM

Another classic emotional moment of the show is, of course, the ‘In Memoriam’ segment. After an intro from Jennifer Garner, Pearl Jam singer-songwriter Eddie Vedder performed ‘Room at the Top’ by the late Tom Petty during this year’s tribute. Now on that note, I’m well-aware that, as is the case every year, some notable stars were left out of this year’s segment, including Adam West, Tobe Hooper, and David Ogden Stiers, the latter of whom died just a few days prior to the ceremony. However, I never view this as the Oscars being ‘ignorant’; sometimes, it’s just hard to keep track of all the stars who passed away the previous year.

BEST: REGULAR MOVIEGOERS MEET CELEBS 2.0

Now, believe it or not, this one is going to be a controversial opinion. Following last year’s sketch in which Jimmy Kimmel had a bunch of tourists enter the Dolby Theater during the ceremony, this year’s ceremony saw him enlist the aid of several actors and actresses to sneak into a special screening of this weekend’s new release, A Wrinkle in Time. The cavalcade of stars included the likes of Mark Hamill, Gal Gadot, Ansel Elgort, Armie Hammer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and both Guillermo Del Toro and Kimmel’s trusted sidekick Guillermo; and bear in mind… the descriptive phrase of ‘that’s just to name a few…’ STILL applies to this scenario. Anyway, I noticed that this sketch got quite a lot of flak for being a rehash of the similar moment from last year’s show. But if you ask me… what’s so wrong about that? Yes, I will fully admit that this was a blatant rehash of the ‘tour bus’ sketch from last year complete with a similar set-up of Kimmel and company dropping in on unexpected guests. But how can you not crack a smile at a sketch that saw Gal Gadot and Mark Hamill meeting each other for the first time prior to them going into the theater, Ansel Elgort and Armie Hammer firing hot dogs from a hot dog launcher (“Do not aim the hot dogs at the vegetarians!”), and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Guillermo Del Toro carrying a big sub sandwich around? It’s just another perfect way of honoring those who go out to see films day in and day out which, to reiterate, is sort of what this whole ceremony is about. Heck, I’d even argue that this year’s sketch had one major advantage over last year’s sketch, and that is that it didn’t feel dragged out at the end this time. And for the record, yes, I’m saying this about an Oscars sketch unironically.

Don't mess with Armie Hammer and his hot dog launcher!

BEST: THE ‘PLAY WINNERS OFF’ MUSIC SHUTS UP FOR ROBERT LOPEZ

Here’s a subtle little moment that I bet quite a few people missed the other night. When Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez won for Best Original Song for ‘Remember Me’ from Coco, the former concluded their speech by paying tribute to his late mother. And while the traditional playoff music did begin to play at this point, it wisely stopped almost immediately after he began to talk about his mom. In other words, you could say that this was an instance where the most infamous aspect of the ceremony was arguably self-aware of all the negative publicity that surrounds it on an annual basis.

BEST: JODIE FOSTER GOT ‘I, TONYA’D’ BY MERYL STREEP

In lieu of last year’s Best Actor and Best Actress winners coming out to announce their successors, as is tradition, Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren presented the award for Best Actor while Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence presented the award for Best Actress. Emma Stone, last year’s winner for Best Actress, instead presented Best Director while last year’s Best Actor winner Casey Affleck decided not to attend this year’s ceremony due to the sexual harassment allegations directed towards him. As Foster and Lawrence came out to present the award, we noticed that Foster was on crutches. Immediately, the two of them addressed it with Foster claiming that Meryl Streep was responsible for the injury a la I, Tonya. For the record, it was due to a skiing accident but regardless, it was easily one of the funniest moments from this year’s event. Streep, of course, took it like a champ like the legend that she is.

BEST: FRANCES MCDORMAND’S SPEECH

If you needed any more proof that Frances McDormand is a total boss, just look at her speech when she won her second Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. First up, she paid tribute to all the women nominated for Oscars this year across all categories by encouraging them to stand up in unison. And if that wasn’t awesome enough, there’s also the big phrase that she brought up at the end of it, ‘inclusion rider’. For those who don’t know what that is, ‘inclusion rider’ is a stipulation that actors and actresses can request in their contracts for a film to maintain a culturally diverse cast. In other words, thanks to Ms. McDormand, I’m sure that I’m not the only one out there who’d love to learn about the instances where this request has been made. And yes, given Hollywood’s track record with diversity, I know that there probably isn’t a lot of instances of this. Still, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing this phrase pop up a lot more in the years to come.  

BEST: GUILLERMO DEL TORO ASSURES US THAT WE AREN’T GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER ENVELOPE MIX-UP

Finally, we end on the big one, Best Picture. After all the crap that went down last year, all eyes were on this year’s reveal in the hopes that it’d go a lot smoother. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway returned to the stage to get it right this time, and they did. But for us, the audience, it was ultimately Guillermo Del Toro who assured us that his marvelous film was this year’s winner. As soon as he got up on stage, he grabbed the envelope, read it, and delightfully turned to the crowd to confirm the results. If you needed further proof as to why GDT is one of the most entertaining filmmakers in the industry, that little moment is a prime piece of evidence.

And that concludes my recap of the 90^th annual Academy Awards. Thanks for following along as always and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own favorite moments from this year’s event. And yes, I specifically mean ‘favorite moments’; we’re here to have fun, after all…

TOP 12 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2017: #9-7

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s big end-of-the-year list in which I count down my picks for my Top 12 Favorite Films of 2017. This is Part 2 of 4 and today we’ll be looking at films #9-7. If you missed Part 1 of this list, in which I listed my 6 Honorable Mentions and films #12-10, click the link below to check it out first. But for now, it’s time to get back to the list…

PART 1

Last year, the charming original musical La La Land, which featured songs from the songwriting duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, landed at the #4 spot in my ‘Favorite Films of 2016’ list. And what do we have here at my #9 spot on this year’s list? Why we have a charming original musical that features songs from the songwriting duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Quite fitting, don’t you think?

9. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Now, like the quick review that I did for this film a few weeks back, I feel that I must start this section off by addressing the big elephant in the room that is the film’s portrayal of its main protagonist, P.T. Barnum. The Greatest Showman is inspired by the origin story of the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which ironically closed for good this past May. But while the film portrays Barnum as an affable family man who was just trying to make it in life, many have noted that he wasn’t exactly as endearing in real life as he is in the film. As many have pointed out, P.T. Barnum was an incredibly cut-throat businessman who exploited the people who performed in his circus for money. As such, it’s understandable if some may feel that the film’s messages of accepting one’s self and celebrating the best parts of humanity to be disingenuous given that Barnum wasn’t exactly one to follow these ideals in real life. However, I don’t think that this hurts the film as much as some may claim. After all, films that are ‘based on true stories’ usually aren’t 100% accurate about the real-life events that they’re focusing on. Just look at films like The Social Network, which delved into the origins of the popular social media network Facebook yet portrayed its creator Mark Zuckerberg as a socially awkward figure who was overly judgmental of others. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is that it’s rare to see a ‘true story’ film be an entirely accurate rendition of real events, which is why I’m genuinely puzzled as to why this film was put under so much scrutiny for the artistic licenses that it took.

When it comes to being exactly what it’s intended to be, a musical, The Greatest Showman fully succeeds at being one thanks to a strong visual style and excellently choreographed musical numbers. And it’s all bolstered by an excellent ensemble cast highlighted by Hugh Jackman in the role of P.T. Barnum. Despite what I said earlier about how the film portrays him in a radically different light, Jackman is charismatic as always as he perfectly conveys Barnum’s showman skills that were noted in an interview as being reminiscent of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ showmanship. Jackman also has excellent chemistry with Michelle Williams, who plays Barnum’s loving wife Charity, and while that basically sums up her role in the film in a nutshell, like all her other onscreen performances Williams handles it greatly for what is basically her first major role in an onscreen musical. Another big standout is Zac Efron, who plays a playwright named Phillip Carlyle who becomes Barnum’s main business partner (in other words, he’s meant to represent Barnum’s real-life business partner, James Anthony Bailey). He too is incredibly charismatic while also having solid chemistry with Zendaya, who plays a trapeze artist named Anne Wheeler who he falls in love with. And when it comes to the film’s biggest standout, look no further than Broadway veteran Keala Settle as ‘the Bearded Lady’, who headlines the film’s main song ‘This is Me’. On that note, this film’s biggest strength is its soundtrack. Alongside ‘This is Me’, whose sequence in the film is an undisputed highlight, other standout tunes include ‘The Other Side’, performed by Jackman and Efron during the scene where Barnum tries to convince Carlyle to join the circus, and the film’s show-stopping opening/closing number, ‘The Greatest Show’. Because of all this, The Greatest Showman is easily shaping up to be one of the most underrated films of this past year. Sure, it may not exactly be historically accurate, but if you’re just looking for an entertaining musical that both kids and adults can enjoy, then I’m sure that you’ll be more than satisfied with this film.

To be perfectly blunt, 2017 was not that good of a year for the animation genre. While there were solid hits like Captain Underpants and Cars 3, there were also some major stinkers like The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature and, of course, The Emoji Movie. Thus, leave it to old reliable, Pixar, to give us what is easily the best animated film of the year.

8. COCO

Coco served as the latest directorial outing for longtime Pixar filmmaker Lee Unkrich. Having been involved with Pixar ever since they started making feature films, Unkrich first got his start as one of their primary editors before being promoted to the position of co-director on films like Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo. He was finally promoted to the role of the main director on Pixar’s big critical/commercial sensation Toy Story 3, one of only three animated films that got nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. And for his latest film, Coco, Unkrich takes us on a journey that is inspired by the most famous Mexican holiday of all-time, Día de Muertos AKA the Day of the Dead. However, there was some initial skepticism amongst those who were fearful about Pixar’s handling of such an important aspect of Mexican culture, especially after Pixar’s parent company Disney tried to acquire the trademark for the phrase ‘Día de Los Muertos’. Thankfully, these fears were ultimately proven unfounded, as Coco treats its subject matter with the respect that it deserves. Of course, like any great Pixar film, Coco boasts gorgeous animation that brings the world of the Land of the Dead to life in so many great ways. The film also features a great ensemble cast of characters headlined by the likable main protagonist Miguel and the charismatic Land of the Dead trickster Hector. Newcomer Anthony Gonzalez and Gael Garcia Bernal are both excellent in their respective roles while also being backed by a solid supporting cast that includes Benjamin Bratt as famous musician Ernesto de la Cruz and Alanna Ubach as Miguel’s stern but caring great-great grandmother Imelda.

But, of course, also like any great Pixar film, Coco is bolstered by an emotionally poignant story that is tied to the most important aspect of the Día de Muertos ceremonies, the importance of family. The bulk of the film’s plot revolves around Miguel trying to prove to his family that he’s meant to be a musician despite his family’s decades-long ban on music after his great-great-grandfather left to pursue a career in music. Miguel is then led to believe that his great-great-grandfather is none other than the legendary Ernesto de la Cruz, which eventually leads to him traveling to the Land of the Dead in the hopes of finding his idol to help prove his family wrong. However, Miguel soon learns that his idol is not who he’s cracked up to be (a plot twist that ironically ended up mirroring real life after Pixar CEO John Lasseter became tied to the ‘Weinstein effect’ epidemic) and that Hector is his real great-great-grandfather. And while Miguel has spent much of the film trying to distance himself from his music-hating family, they end up becoming vital to his efforts of exposing de la Cruz’s secrets, namely how he poisoned Hector, the real creative force behind his music, when the latter tried to return to his family. This, of course, then leads to the biggest emotional moment in the film in which Miguel saves Hector from being forgotten in the Land of the Living by singing ‘Remember Me’, a song that Hector had written for his daughter, to his great-grandmother Coco. Though I must add that Hector’s own performance of the song to the infant Coco in a flashback prior to the moment when he left to pursue his career in music is another great emotional moment as well. Bottom line, Coco is an effectively emotional film, making it one of the purest examples of why Pixar has continued to be one of the most dominant animation studios in the entire industry.

Over the past few years, we’ve been treated to one of the most surprisingly effective franchise revivals thanks to the return of a long-running sci-fi franchise, which continued this year with another emotionally powerful blockbuster.

7. WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes was easily one of the most surprisingly good releases of that year. Featuring new advancements in the art of performance-capture visual effects and a terrific performance from mo-cap king Andy Serkis in the role of the intelligent ape Caesar, the film was a solid critical/commercial hit and was lauded for its emotional depth. This was then followed by a superior sequel in 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, where director Matt Reeves managed to up the emotional depth of Rise to even greater levels, resulting in a film where the story and characters were just as well-handled as its amazing visual effects. Sure enough, this hot streak for the franchise managed to continue with the third entry in the reboot series, War for the Planet of the Apes. Reeves returns as director and once again does a phenomenal job of balancing the impressive visuals with an emotionally-charged plot and well-layered characters. For one thing, War is arguably the darkest entry in the series to date, as it involves Caesar embarking on a quest for revenge against a vicious colonel and his military faction Alpha-Omega after the former kills his wife Cornelia and his older son Blue Eyes. Along the way, Caesar is also haunted by the events of Dawn, namely the fact that he was forced to kill his traitorous former ally Koba who returns in this film via a series of hallucinations. But while the film certainly maintains a grim tone throughout, there are some elements in it that help to lighten the mood at the right times, namely Steve Zahn’s ‘Bad Ape’ who gets a lot of the best humorous moments in the film (e.g. when he’s looking through a pair of binoculars the wrong way (“Oh no! Why so Small?”))

One of the best aspects of Dawn was how there was a good balance in terms of character development for both the human and ape characters. This was best reflected in Gary Oldman’s character Dreyfus who, despite serving as an ‘enemy’ of the apes, wasn’t necessarily an antagonistic figure. And while Woody Harrelson’s Colonel is by no means a ‘sympathetic’ character, War does continue the franchise’s recent trend of making its main human characters just as well-layered as the apes. Harrelson does a phenomenal job as the film’s main antagonist, who is so relentless in his efforts to wipe out the apes that he even executes his own men when they became infected with a mutated strain of the Simian Flu that started this whole conflict in the first place. This brings us to the other big human character in the film, a mute young girl (Amiah Miller) who was affected by the Simian Flu. She ends up becoming a friend of the Apes and is later named ‘Nova’ by her new ‘guardian’, Caesar’s loyal adviser Maurice. And yes, fans of the franchise will no doubt recognize that name as she is the younger self of Linda Harrison’s character from the original Planet of the Apes. But, of course, at the end of the day, War for the Planet of the Apes’ main purpose is to serve as a perfect conclusion to the arc of Caesar. After managing to save his fellow Apes from Alpha-Omega, Caesar dies peacefully from the injuries that he sustained during the battle after Maurice assures him that his son Cornelius “will know who was father”. With that in mind, I’m curious as to how this series may potentially continue after this. Could we possibly end up getting a new take on the original Planet of the Apes story in which an astronaut returns to Earth unaware that it has been taken over by apes? This plot-thread was potentially established in Rise, after all, and despite Caesar’s death in this film, there’s a possibility for Serkis to return for this supposed fourth film albeit in a different role (e.g. a fully grown-up Cornelius). Ultimately, though, if this truly is the last installment of the reboot series, then at the very least it went out on the best note possible.

And that’s the end of Part 2 of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual ‘Favorite Films of the Year’ list. Thanks for following along and be sure to check back in tomorrow for Part 3, in which I’ll be listing films #6-4.

Coco (2017) review + Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017) review

The time has come once again, folks, for the newest effort from the legendary animation studio, Pixar. Pixar, of course, needs no introduction. Since 1995, they’ve given us an endless array of animated masterpieces that have helped to make them pioneering forces in the art of computer animation, from the early classics like the Toy Story films and The Incredibles (which is finally getting a sequel next year) to recent gems like Up and Inside Out. And now, they’re back again with their second 2017 outing (after Cars 3 was released earlier this summer) in the form of Coco. With Coco, Pixar takes us on a fantastical journey inspired by the most famous Mexican holiday, Día de Muertos AKA the Day of the Dead, where families come together to honor their fallen loved ones. In the director’s chair for this one is Lee Unkrich, who’s been a mainstay at Pixar ever since they started producing their own feature films. Initially, he was an editor for films like Toy Story and A Bug’s Life before he started to work as a co-director on projects like Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. Then, in 2010, he finally got promoted to the role of lead director for the third installment of the Toy Story franchise, and to call Toy Story 3 a success would be a massive understatement. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide and was only the third animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and while it didn’t end up winning that award, it did win the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. And as for his latest outing, Unkrich proceeds to give us yet another gorgeously animated and heartfelt Pixar adventure that treats its subject matter with the full respect that it deserves.

In a peaceful little Mexican village, a young boy named Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) finds himself in a troubling situation over one of his family’s longtime traditions. While he yearns to become a musician like his idol, the late Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), his family has regularly enforced a ban on music ever since Miguel’s great-great-grandfather left the family to embark on a musical career. Miguel’s passion for music is only fueled further, however, when an old family photo implicates that his great-great-grandfather was, in fact, Ernesto de la Cruz. Thus, on Día de Muertos, Miguel sneaks into the local mausoleum dedicated to de la Cruz and proceeds to take his guitar in the hopes of performing in a local talent contest. In the process, though, he ends up being transported to the Land of the Dead, where the deceased reside until they return to the land of the living every year on this day to visit their living relatives. While there, Miguel is reunited with all of his ancestors who must now try and get him back home before sunrise; otherwise, he would become a skeleton and be stuck in the Land of the Dead forever. But when his ancestors demand that he give up his dreams of becoming a musician as a condition of the return process, Miguel decides to try and find his great-great-grandfather so that he can return home without having to give up on his dream. And so, Miguel teams up with a charismatic con man named Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), who allegedly knows de la Cruz, to find him in the hopes of proving to his family that this is who he’s meant to be.

Prior to this film’s release, it did attract some skepticism early on from those who were fearful of how Pixar would handle a story that was based on such an important aspect of Mexican culture, especially after an incident in 2015 in which Disney tried to trademark the phrase ‘Día de Los Muertos’. And, of course, there was a lot of tumultuous uproar made by those who accused the film of being a rip-off of the 2014 animated film The Book of Life, even though its director, Jorge R. Gutierrez, clearly denied this multiple times. Well, fear not, folks, as Pixar does treat this staple of Mexican tradition with the respect that it deserves. While Coco does focus a lot on Miguel trying to follow his dreams of becoming a musician, its plot is ultimately steeped in the one thing that the Day of the Dead celebrations are all about, and that is the importance of family. During his journey, there are several instances in which Miguel tries to distance himself from his family when they discourage him from being a musician. At the same time, though, Miguel also begins to realize how much his family truly means to him when he starts to learn the truth behind the events that caused them to carry out their ban on music in the first place. This paves the way for a great plot twist in the third act that further strengthens the emotional poignancy of the story. Yes, just like all the great Pixar films, this film is sure to hit you with the feels at certain points, especially near the end (don’t worry, no spoilers…). 

As for the animation… well, it’s Pixar, what do you expect? It’s bright, crisp, and colorful, and just like the plot itself, it utilizes its Mexican roots to their full effect, effectively giving us a great visual world to explore in its version of the ‘Land of the Dead’. The great animation also ties in well to another key element of this film, its music. Yes, Coco is quite arguably the first major musical that Pixar has ever done, and the music, written in part by Frozen songwriters Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez and backed by the usual great score by Michael Giacchino, is excellent. And of course, like any great Pixar film, it boasts an excellent cast of characters. They’re so solid, in fact, that because the story is so well-handled, even the characters that initially come off as being rather stern become more sympathetic once we get to know them better. This includes the likes of Miguel’s great-great-grandmother Imelda (Alanna Ulbach), who was the first to initiate their family’s music ban after her musician husband left her all those years ago, and Miguel’s grandmother Elena (Renee Victor), who continues to enforce it to this day. But, of course, it’s ultimately the lead duo of Miguel and Hector who are the true emotional core of the story. As the film’s likable young protagonist, newcomer Anthony Gonzalez shines in what will surely be a breakout role for him, while Gael Garcia Bernal gets to work with a great redemption arc that slowly but surely begins to reveal more of the charismatic Hector’s background.

I’ve talked before about the internet’s extremely severe attitude towards Pixar in recent years that has mainly come as a result of some of the strictest expectations that have ever been seen from the film fan community. This has especially been the case ever since 2011’s Cars 2 ended up being the first project of theirs to attract primarily negative reviews. And thus, nowadays, I find that the current internet mentality towards Pixar films is that if a film of theirs isn’t a straight-up masterpiece effort of storytelling, then it is effectively deemed as a ‘failure’. This has been a fate that has sadly affected perfectly decent films like Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur, and Brave, just to name a few. Thankfully, though, that has not been the case with Pixar’s latest outing, as Coco is being regarded by many as one of the studio’s best films yet. And quite frankly, it’s easy to see why, as the film is a heartfelt tribute to arguably the most famous holiday in Mexican culture. Not only does it handle the concept of death and the afterlife in a smart manner, but it also ties it all together perfectly with a poignant story that’s focused on the most important element of Día de Muertos, family. Add in a great cast of layered characters and a toe-tapping soundtrack of songs and you have what is easily one of the best animated films of the year, if not the best. Simply put, Pixar has done it again!  

Rating: 5/5!

OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE – SHORT REVIEW

Now as many of you know, in lieu of the traditional Pixar short that plays before every new Pixar film, Coco was paired with a 21-minute featurette from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. This is the first time since 1990 (when The Prince and the Pauper ran in front of The Rescuers Down Under) that a short film of this length has been shown in front of a Disney film. And in this instance, it comes in the form of the continuing adventures of sisters Anna and Elsa and all of their friends from Disney’s 2013 global phenomenon, Frozen. In this new short, the lovable snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) embarks on a quest to find a new holiday tradition for Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) and Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) when the latter realizes that, because of all the time that she’s spent secluded from society, she and Anna don’t really have a family tradition of their own. As for the short itself… well, if you’re one of those people who are 100% sick to death of ‘Frozen mania’ at this point, then clearly this isn’t going to do anything for you just like when Frozen Fever ran in front of the live-action remake of Cinderella back in 2015. For the record, I still think that Frozen Fever got way too much flak from the internet, but that’s another story at the moment because… damn! This new short is clearly turning out to be far more controversial compared to its immediate predecessor just because it was paired with Coco instead of airing on TV as was originally intended. It’s been so controversial, in fact, that Mexican theaters straight-up pulled it in favor of just showing Coco. And to be perfectly frank, it isn’t doing much better here in the states…

But for those who still love the original film and its endearing cast of characters, then I’m pleased to say that this new short will provide you with even more great moments with them that will hopefully hold you over until the release of the impending sequel in 2019. Now, granted, that doesn’t mean that I think that this is as good as the original film. I do agree with a common argument that’s being brought up in that it sort of rushes through its track list of songs (which, for the record, weren’t done by Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez this time around). Still, the characters are just as lovable as ever and while the songs in this short probably won’t become as popular as the ones from the original film, the final song ‘When We’re Together’ is an undeniably sweet melody. Plus, I won’t lie… the ending is so damn heartwarming in terms of its ultimate resolution, and it serves as yet another perfect representation of the heartfelt narratives that have made up this entire franchise. In short, those who are absolutely dreading the thought of having to sit through this new entry in the Frozen franchise shouldn’t fret too much about it, because from what I’ve heard, this is only going to be running in front of Coco for a limited time. So if you’re this upset about it, just wait a while before you go to see Coco… it’s that easy. But in all seriousness, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure isn’t even remotely as bad as the internet is currently putting it out to be. I mean, really, is it ‘that’ hard to just sit through a 21-minute short film?

Rating: 4/5

UPDATE: It has just been recently announced that Olaf's Frozen Adventure will be pulled from theaters starting on December 8th, presumably in the wake of all of the backlash that it has received from audiences ever since it debuted in front of Coco. And yet, I still don't think that it's as bad as the internet says it is. I mean, seriously, I've seen several online articles recently that have accused the short of being 'offensive' to Pixar fans and for harming the reputation of Coco by overshadowing it. Well, I'm a Pixar fan... and yet I can safely say that I wasn't the least bit 'offended' by this short. Heck, if you ask me, this whole backlash towards an innocent holiday short is far more harmful to Coco's reputation than the short itself. Why? Because THAT, folks, is how Pixar's latest masterpiece is being overshadowed; not directly by the short that precedes it, but because people are truly making a mountain out of a molehill. Once again, I must ask; is it really THAT hard to sit through a 21-minute short that precedes an animated film that's just under two hours?

Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017: Part 1 (#20-11)

Well, folks, since we’re getting closer and closer to the end of the year, I figured that it was a good enough time for me to do my annual ‘Most Anticipated Films of Next Year’ list. I’ll admit that I’m always unsure about when I should post this because some of the films that I discuss in these lists tend to get pushed back a year. Some past examples of this happening to me included my 2014 list, when Tomorrowland was apparently still intended to be released that year, and 2015 when I put Jon Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book as an Honorable Mention… and then it was pushed back to April of this year. Thankfully no instances of rescheduling have happened with any of the films that I put in last year’s list (yet…) but anyway, now it’s time to look ahead to 2017. And let me tell you… there’s quite a lot of exciting new films coming out next year. Heck, 2017’s film lineup is even more exciting than 2016’s lineup. And with that said, yes, as I’ve gone over before, there have been quite a few people on the internet who have been expressing disappointment towards a lot of this year’s film releases… but that’s another story. It’s time to look ahead at 2017 and like last year, I’ve managed to come up with not just a Top 10 but a full Top 20 list of my most anticipated films of 2017. From the newest superhero films to some very intriguing sequels, and yes even some original films are in there, you can bet that I’m excited for many of the films that will be hitting theaters next year. So, without further ado, this is Part 1 of my 2-part list of my Top 20 most anticipated films of 2017. Today I’ll be going over #20-11 but first, here are my Honorable Mentions…

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Instead of giving each of these five films their own heading, I’m just going to rattle them off here quickly. First, there’s the new reboot of Power Rangers (March 24^th). Not being a big fan of the Power Rangers franchise, despite technically being part of the generation that grew up with it, I don’t have much personal stake in this new film but I am generally curious as to how it’ll turn out. Will it be able to appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers to the franchise? Next up is the reboot of The Mummy (June 9^th), the recently-designated ‘first’ entry in Universal’s new line of monster films. It’s unclear at the moment as to how this planned ‘Cinematic Universe’ will pan out but this new take on The Mummy does sound interesting, especially considering the talent involved, including Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella in the title role. Another reboot that I’m quite intrigued about is Jumanji (December 22^nd). For the record, this isn’t a remake of the 1995 film starring Robin Williams but is instead a sequel. I’m genuinely curious as to how it’ll connect with the original and if you ask me, you can’t go wrong with a film that stars people like Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan. Going into the horror genre for a moment, we have Alien: Covenant (May 19^th). Ridley Scott returns for another installment of the franchise that he helped start back in 1979 with this sequel to 2012’s Prometheus, which in turn was a prequel to the original Alien. While it will be centering on a new cast that includes the likes of Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace will be reprising their roles from the previous film. Will this new film answer some of the unanswered questions that people had after watching Prometheus? We’ll just have to wait and see. And finally, there’s The Greatest Showman (December 25^th). Hugh Jackman will star as P.T. Barnum, who was a co-founder of what would eventually become the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus. As someone who has many fond memories of going to see this circus as a kid whenever it came to Rhode Island, I’m definitely interested in seeing its origins represented on film. The film will also star Zac Efron, Rebecca Ferguson, and Michelle Williams.

And now we move on to the Top 20 and boy do we have a rather controversial film to start things off at #20.

20. TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (JUNE 23^RD)

Yes, folks, you’re reading this right… I’m genuinely looking forward to the fifth entry in the highly maligned live-action Transformers franchise. I’m not afraid to admit that I am a big fan of all four of the previous films in the series. I still argue that the first one is actually really good even after everything that happened with its sequels. And yes, I still like the much critically derided sequels, including the second and fourth films which were some of the worst-reviewed films of their respective years. Sure they’re really nothing more than mindless CGI-heavy action films but I still find them to be really entertaining popcorn flicks nevertheless. So with that in mind, I’m still interested in seeing this franchise continue, which it will do so next year with Transformers: The Last Knight. Michael Bay, of course, returns to direct and this will supposedly be his last Transformers film. Though with that said, he said the exact same thing after the third film and yet he ended up doing a fourth one so who knows? Mark Wahlberg will be returning as Cade Yeager along with Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce, both of whom made their series debuts in the fourth film, Age of Extinction. The film will also see Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return to the franchise as Lennox and Epps, who appeared in the original trilogy but were both absent from Age of Extinction. Like I said before, I’m very much well aware that this will probably be just as mindless as the other Transformers films. But with that said, if it is anything like those films, I’m probably going to like it anyway. Plus, I’m just curious about some of the recent reveals surrounding the film, like how it’s apparently going to involve King Arthur and even Nazis. Yes, you read that right… this new Transformers film is going to include King Arthur and Nazis. I won’t lie, folks… at this point, I’m just eagerly curious to see just what the hell they’re going to do with all of this. The only question, though, is this; will those who aren’t fans of the franchise finally get the damn hint and not go see this new film if they don’t like this series that much?  

Thought #20 was controversial? Wait until you see #19.

19. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (MAY 26^TH)

And now we move on to another franchise that hasn’t really fared well critically when it comes to its most recent installments; Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to the upcoming fifth installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Johnny Depp, of course, returns as the eccentric pirate Jack Sparrow as he tries to find the Trident of Poseidon to combat an old foe, the ghostly pirate Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Geoffrey Rush returns as Hector Barbossa while Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario debut as new characters named Henry and Carina. But perhaps the most interesting development of this new film in terms of its cast will be the return of Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, who was last seen as the new captain of the Flying Dutchman at the end of the third film, At World’s End. Sadly, Keira Knightley won’t be returning alongside him as Elizabeth. So, as I noted before, the recent Pirates films haven’t fared as well critically with both critics and audiences when compared to the first film back in 2003, one of the surprise critical/commercial hits of that year. Basically, the main reason why has been due to the common criticism that the series tends to get really overcomplicated at times with its plots. Will this be the case with the new film? Who knows? But, with a new screenwriter and a new pair of directors in Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, directors of 2012’s Norwegian Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki, perhaps this one will change things up a bit. The recently released first trailer does grab your attention by way of its excellent visuals and rather a dark atmosphere. Ultimately, though, it’s unclear if this will be as big of a box-office hit as the previous Pirates films given that this is the fifth installment of the series. But, at the same time, considering that two of the four films have grossed over a billion, I have the feeling that this one will still be another sizable commercial hit for the franchise.

With the next two films on this list, we have the one-two punch that is Pixar’s next two animated features. The first is the one that’ll be released later in the year but it is still shaping up to be an excellent entry in the studio’s filmography.

18. COCO (NOVEMBER 22^ND)

Of the two Pixar films that are coming out in 2017, I have the feeling that the one that most fans are looking forward to more is the one with an original story. That film is Coco, a story that takes inspiration from Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. Not much is known about this one yet other than the fact that it’ll revolve around a young boy named Miguel who uncovers a mystery involving his family that’s been unsolved for a century. In the director’s chair is Lee Unkrich, who’s been involved with Pixar since the original Toy Story. He helped co-direct Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo before he was promoted to the position of primary director for 2010’s Toy Story 3, and we all know how that turned out for him. The film grossed over a billion at the box-office, won another Best Animated Feature Oscar for the studio, and was also the third animated film after Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Pixar’s own Up to be nominated for Best Picture. So clearly Pixar’s got one heck of a talented team working on this film, one that is 100% certain to produce some absolutely gorgeous visuals based around Day of the Dead. So, with all of that said, why then is it only at number 18 on this list? Well like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen any form of ‘footage’ yet and don’t know much else about it aside from the aforementioned synopsis. After all, we are still more than a year away from its release. Trust me though when I say that I am super excited to see this film, as I’ve always been for Pixar films. It’s just that I’m not one of those folks on the internet who is constantly pressuring the studio to do more original films after they did a few sequels. Speaking of Pixar sequels…

Oh boy, I’m going to get so much flak for putting this above Coco…

17. CARS 3 (JUNE 16^TH)

So why is this film, a Pixar sequel, ranked above an original story Pixar film, you ask? Well, like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen much from Coco yet. Granted, we haven’t seen much from Cars 3 either (aside from a recently released teaser that I’ll talk about in a bit) but being that it’s the third entry of that franchise and it’s coming out earlier in the year, we do know a bit more about it than we do with Coco at this moment. Anyway, the Cars franchise has been more of a commercial success for Pixar than it has been a critical one. It’s definitely been one of Disney’s biggest franchises in terms of merchandising, having amassed over $10 billion in sales. As for the films, though, critical reception has been a bit more mixed. The first Cars film, at the very least, did fine with critics. Granted it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the studio’s other films but it still did fairly well at around a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second film, however… was the company’s first negatively received film. It got to the point where some people treated it like it was a criminal offense. How dare Pixar make an animated film that wasn’t a complete 15/10 masterpiece? I’m not kidding, people actually made that analogy online. And now as a result, whenever a Pixar film doesn’t get at least a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (e.g. Brave, Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur), it’s immediately seen as a disappointment. But in Pixar’s defense, from what I’ve heard the second Cars film was a bit rushed because of the pressure to be finished by its planned release date. And while I’ve only seen it once, I remember liking it okay.

So, with that said, I do believe that Cars 3 does have the potential to redeem the film franchise. After Cars 2 took a major detour story-wise by going on a world tour and having a rather random subplot involving secret agents, Cars 3 is set to return to the series’ roots of celebrating small-town Americana. The film is being directed by Brian Fee and while this is his first film as a director, he’s been involved with Pixar, and most importantly the Cars franchise, for quite a long time as a storyboard artist. Many of the main characters of the franchise will no doubt be returning in this film, including main protagonist Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). Per the film’s currently released premise, at this point, McQueen is now a racing veteran who must now contend with a new generation of racers to prove that he’s still one of the best. You can most certainly sense that from the film’s first teaser, which strikes an effective emotional chord by showcasing what will surely be a devastating crash that Lightning is involved in. So, in short, as I stated earlier, the Cars franchise isn’t as well-liked as some of Pixar’s other franchises, especially after Cars 2 was so critically derided. But, also like I said before, I think that this new Cars film does have the potential to at least be an improvement over the previous film, especially since, from a story perspective, it’s going to be more like the first film, which I do think is underrated. And while I do have the feeling that Coco will probably be the better-received of Pixar’s two 2017 releases, I’m still very much looking forward to the continuing adventures of Lightning McQueen and company.

Ride or die…

16. FAST 8 (APRIL 14^TH)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the Fast and Furious franchise will soon be releasing its eighth (!) installment. Who’d thought that a franchise that originally started all the way back in 2001 would still be going strong today more than one and a half decades later? Not only that, but this is one of the rare cases in which the sequels increasingly got better and better, namely the ones directed by Justin Lin. Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6 were the first installments of the franchise to perform solidly with critics and both films were huge hits at the box-office. And then there was Furious 7. James Wan took over as director and the film managed to become the first of the franchise to gross over a billion. Though of course, part of that was no doubt due to the film being the send-off of star Paul Walker, who tragically passed away in a car accident before filming was complete. But this series isn’t over yet and now we’ve got Fast 8, which will take Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and his crew to New York. Once again they’ll contend with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw as well as a new villain played by Charlize Theron. Once again there’s a change in director but the new director is quite promising; F. Gary Gray, who’s coming off of 2015’s hit biopic Straight Outta Compton. And from what I hear, this new film is going to shift focus in terms of ‘genre’. While the first few Fast and Furious films were simple street-racing stories, Fast Five shifted gears (no pun intended) and became a heist film. But as for this new film, it will apparently be more along the lines of a spy caper. And for the record, yes, you never go into these films for the plot but still, it’s going to be interesting to see what they’re going to do next in terms of action. Pair that with the always excellent camaraderie of the main cast and you’ve got what is sure to be another big hit for the franchise.

The one and only Edgar Wright will have a new film out next year. And it lands the #15 spot on this list.

15. BABY DRIVER (AUGUST 11^TH)

Edgar Wright is a filmmaker who needs no introduction. He’s given us some of the funniest comedies of the past few years, namely his Cornetto Trilogy; 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, 2007’s Hot Fuzz, and 2013’s The World’s End. While all three films are different in terms of genre, with the only real ‘connection’ between them being the appearance of Cornetto ice cream in one way or another, they’re all excellent send-ups of their respective genres; zombie films, buddy cop action films, and sci-fi films. Of course, as we all know he almost directed Ant-Man for Marvel Studios last year but he ended up dropping out due to creative differences. And you know what? I think that it’s actually a good thing that this happened. It allows Wright to have full creative control over his work instead of having to deal with a ‘creative committee’, which was still in effect at Marvel Studios at the time. And this will certainly be the case with his new film, Baby Driver. Described as a crime drama that was apparently inspired by an old music video that Wright made back in 2003 for the band Mint Royale, the film will center around a young, silent getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) as he ends up partaking in a heist gone wrong. The film will also star Lily James as the driver’s girlfriend, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm as members of a gang of bank robbers, and Kevin Spacey as a crime boss. Music will also no doubt play a huge part in the film as the main character Baby is being described as ‘music-obsessed’ and I’m excited to see what kind of soundtrack Wright comes up with for the film. But of course, at the end of the day, the main selling point of the film is the fact that it’ll be another film from the master of ‘visual’ comedy, Edgar Wright.

As Harry Hart once said, “Manners. Maketh. Man”.

14. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (OCTOBER 6^TH)

Matthew Vaughn gave us one of the most entertaining films of 2015 in the form of Kingsman: The Secret Service. Based on the comic series of the same name by Mark Millar about a young delinquent who is recruited into a spy organization, the film was a stylish ode to the classic spy films of the 60’s (e.g. the Bond films) complete with awesome action and a great cast. And next year will see the release of a sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Matthew Vaughn returns to direct and the major players of the first film will return to reprise their roles, including Taron Egerton as ‘Eggsy’, Mark Strong as ‘Merlin’, and… Colin Firth as Harry Hart? Yes, despite being (SPOILERS!) killed off by Samuel L. Jackson’s Valentine in the previous film, Firth will be back for this film in some as-of-yet unknown form. Did he fake his death? After all, one of the teaser posters (featured above) is an image of a pair of glasses that Hart wore in the first film (with one of the lenses taken out) that are positioned in front of a quote saying that “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” At this point, who knows? Anyway, the film will see Eggsy and co. heading to America, where they’ll be teaming up with their US counterparts, the Statesmen. New additions to the cast include Halle Berry and Channing Tatum as Statesman agents, Jeff Bridges as the head of Statesman, and Julianne Moore as the new main villain. I absolutely loved Kingsman: The Secret Service so you can bet that I’m excited to see another installment of this stylish spy thriller franchise.

My #13 pick is one of the biggest question marks of 2017’s film lineup. However, I’m still rooting for it to succeed despite the odds that are currently against it.

13. JUSTICE LEAGUE (NOVEMBER 17^TH)

I still have hope, folks, which I know is something that’s rather questionable at the moment for many people after DC’s two 2016 releases, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, both performed horribly with critics and were generally polarizing amongst audiences as well. However, I’m confident that their 2017 output will fare much better, especially now that Geoff Johns has taken over control of the franchise. In other words, he’s become DC’s ‘Kevin Feige’ and that will no doubt help the DC Extended Universe moving forward. And sure, Zack Snyder is still back as the director but I have faith in him to succeed with this long-awaited adaptation of DC’s iconic superhero team, the Justice League. The first ‘trailer’ that was released during Comic-Con showed off a different kind of film compared to Batman v Superman. Instead of being a generally serious/dark superhero flick, this new film looks much more light-hearted in tone as primarily seen in some of the interactions between characters, like when Batman and Wonder Woman discuss the former’s rather failed attempt to recruit Aquaman and with Bruce Wayne’s first encounter with Barry Allen AKA The Flash. Newcomers Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller (though I use the term ‘newcomers’ loosely because they both cameoed in BvS) are also shaping up to be excellent new additions to the cast as Aquaman and the Flash, respectively. Granted this change in tone doesn’t mean that this new film is trying to be exactly like the films of Marvel Studios but it certainly looks like the filmmakers are, at the very least, aware of the problems that people had with BvS (the theatrical cut, at least). It may be unclear at the moment if DC will be able to turn their luck around with both this and their other 2017 film (which, spoilers, will be appearing in Part 2 of this list) but I’m still confident that they’ll be able to make it work with Justice League. I may be a bigger fan of the MCU but I genuinely want Justice League to succeed just as much as everyone else.   

One of the most iconic castings of the superhero film genre will be back for one last go in this, my #12 pick.

12. LOGAN (MARCH 3^RD)

Hugh Jackman is Wolverine; no doubt about it. Ever since he was first cast in the original X-Men film back in 2000, he’s become one of the most successful superhero casting choices of all-time. He quickly became the most popular character in the franchise, even if it did come at the occasional expense of other characters’ development, and has appeared in every X-Men film to date, even if it was just for an awesome cameo like in First Class and Apocalypse. But with his next X-Men film and the third Wolverine spin-off, Logan, this will be Jackman’s final turn in the title role. James Mangold returns to direct this film after helming the second spin-off, 2013’s The Wolverine. And just like how that film was based on an iconic Wolverine storyline of the same name from the comics, this one will also be inspired by another big Wolverine-centered storyline, one that I bet a lot of fans have been waiting to see done on the big-screen; Old Man Logan. For those unfamiliar with this storyline from 2008 written by Mark Millar, it’s basically Wolverine’s Dark Knight Returns as it centers on him years into the future. Plus, while the last Wolverine film grappled with going all-out as an R-rated Wolverine film, though ultimately it only did so in the form of the Extended Cut which was released when the film hit home video, by all accounts it appears that this will be the R-rated Wolverine film that fans have been waiting for.

They recently released the first trailer for the film and I must say that it looks fantastic. One of the best things about director James Mangold’s superhero films is that they’re more than just ‘superhero films’. The Wolverine, being set primarily in Japan, featured a lot of great Japanese elements in it. In the case of Logan, it’s clear that he’s going for something out of a western. And you can totally see that in the trailer, especially with the use of a Johnny Cash song, ‘Hurt’, a fitting choice seeing how Mangold directed the Johnny Cash Biopic Walk the Line in 2005. The story, set years in the future where it’s established that something happened to most of the mutant population (possibly because of Wolverine as deduced by the line “Logan, what did you do?”), sees Wolverine and Professor X (again played by Patrick Stewart in what will no doubt be his final turn in the role as well) having to protect a young girl named Laura (known in the comics as Wolverine’s clone, X-23) from a group known as the Reavers. Now despite what I said earlier, it’s becoming clear that this isn’t a direct adaptation of Old Man Logan. But, to be fair, it’s hard to do an adaptation of that now given the appearances of characters who are currently over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, as someone who isn’t a big comic reader, I’m not bothered by this. Really, it’s the overall execution of the film itself that matters the most. And thanks to an international red-band trailer, we can now rest easy knowing that the film will indeed be R-rated and that the filmmakers are truly going ‘all-out’ with this one. But at the end of the day, I must say that this first trailer really delivers in terms of hitting you on an emotional level. And that’s a feeling that I bet a lot of people will have when we go to see this; the last go for one of the greatest leads in the history of the superhero film genre. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

And closing out the lower half of the Top 20 is the latest film from Ben Affleck. Director Ben Affleck, to be more precise…

11. LIVE BY NIGHT (JANUARY 13^TH)

While Ben Affleck is currently pre-occupied with being the DCEU’s Batman, 2017 will see the release of his latest directorial effort, his first since he won Best Picture for his 2012 film, Argo. Despite having only directed three films to date, Affleck’s proven himself to be one of the top directors in the industry thanks to 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, 2010’s The Town, and Argo. For his newest film, Affleck takes on his second adaptation of a story by author Dennis Lehane after Gone Baby Gone; Live by Night. Affleck stars as Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who moves to Florida and ends up becoming a gangster. The film also stars Zoe Saldana as Coughlin’s girlfriend, Sienna Miller as his mistress, and Brendan Gleeson as his father along with Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper, and Chris Messina. I should probably note, though, that even though this film’s current wide release date is January 13^th, 2017, it will see a limited release this Christmas, effectively qualifying it for this year’s awards circuit. So, technically, that would mean that this is a 2016 film… so why then is it in this ‘Most Anticipated of 2017’ list? Well, simply put, I had first made this list before this film got its limited release date. Plus, I don’t know just yet if I’m going to be able to see this film before the year’s through so for now, it stays on this list. But, regardless of when I see it, it’s safe to say that I am really excited to see Affleck’s next directorial effort.

And that concludes Part 1 of my Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017 list. Thanks for following along and be sure to come back tomorrow when I post Part 2 and list my Top 10.