Shmee’s Top 5 Movies Of 2017!

2017 was kind of a down year for the movies industry.  Its box-office totals were way down compared to last year.  It started the summer off with a string of busts that were supposed to be box-office guaranties.  That being said, there were still a lot of good things to watch last year, so here are my top five films of 2017 in reverse order!

5: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Homecoming was the movie Spider-Man fans had been waiting for.  It brought Spider-Man back home to the MCU, and it did not disappoint.  It served up the comedy and action you would expect from an MCU flick while firmly cementing Spidey in the MCU.  Its only major flaw was that it played it too safe.

4: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Rian Johnson had the impossible task of living up to fan expectations with The Last Jedi, and he didn’t quite do it, but he did expand the universe in meaningful ways while trying new things.  Which is no small feat.  I can’t wait to see where all the stuff he set in motion ends up, and that is what a middle movie in a trilogy should do.

3: Thor: Ragnarok

Taika Waititi gazed upon the MCU and found it lacking a true comedy, so he fixed that, and it was amazingly successful.  I am not sure that Thor: Ragnarok lines up 100% of the way with the rest of the MCU, but it was too much fun to care.  It was one of my favorite MCU films to date.

2: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman finally got her chance to shine, and she didn’t waste it.  It was by far the best movie DC has put out recently, and it made the mess that was Justice League look even worse by comparison.  Heck with Patty Jenkins just being in charge of Wonder Woman, make her in charge of the whole DCEU!

1: Dunkirk

People were wondering if Christopher Nolan had anything left in the tank, but Dunkirk proved that he is still a world class director.  Dunkirk was a stunning achievement, and it showed that there are still interesting war movies left to be made.  Expect Dunkirk to make some noise this award season.

So that is my top five list!  What was your top 5?  I would love to hear about it you liked (or didn’t).

The Last Jedi Continues Disney’s Streak!

There was so much hype surrounding Star Wars: The Last Jedi that it would have been impossible to fulfil everyone’s expectations, but it gets very, very close.  Some slight pacing issues keep The Last Jedi from overtaking A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, but it comfortably vaults the rest of the films in the franchise.

The Last Jedi picks up directly after The Force Awakens.  The Resistance needs to flee their base, and Rey (Daisy Ridley) needs to convince Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to join The Resistance to help combat the evil Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his apprentice Kylo Ren(Adam Driver).

It may sound like The Last Jedi uses a lot of the same story beats as The Empire Strikes Back, and it does, but it turns those beats on their heads in some fascinating ways.  Sadly, I can’t talk about any of them without giving away massive spoilers, but for all those afraid that The Last Jedi just copies Empire the same way The Force Awakens copied A New Hope, fear not.  The Last Jedi is its own movie.  I so much want to give examples of how The Last Jedi subverts some of Star War’s tropes, but for your sake, I will just say that it does.

It is no wonder that after Disney executives saw this film they gave Rian Johnson the keys to the franchise’s future.  Signing him up for three more films.  The Last Jedi is gorgeous and lovingly shot.  I only wish that I hadn’t had to sit in the front row, so I could have taken it all in better.  If he finds a better editor, I am sure his new Star Wars movies will be fabulous.

Which brings about The Last Jedi’s biggest flaw.  It is long, and it feels long.  It is showing us some amazing stuff, so I understand the desire to linger a bit, but it could have been tightened up and been a much better film.  However,  that is my only complaint.  Other than that, The Last Jedi is everything I hoped it would be, so if you don’t have plans to see The Last Jedi like the rest of the world, you may want to go get your tickets.  Just show up a littler earlier to the theater than I did.

Well Disney Went And Did It; It Owns The Best Parts Of Fox Now!

What does $52.4 Billion buy you these days?  Well if you are Disney it pretty much gets you all of Fox except Fox News.  It is official as of this morning (12/14/2017).  Disney now has almost all of the Marvel Movie rights under its umbrella.  Bring out the count down clock for Wolverine being featured in a Marvel movie.  At this point it is just a best guess, but I am giving it a year and a half.  They have to re-cast him/her, and then figure out how to jam him/her in to story that makes sense.

Warner Brothers executives must be screaming in to a pillow somewhere.  Though it is kind of on them for not being able to make an actually good movie for two flicks in a row.

Of course Disney also gets another 30% stake in Hulu (they now own 60%), the Simpsons, and all of Fox’s random cable networks.  It is safe to say that their media empire just grew significantly.  As with any acquisition this big, regulators will get involved even though Disney isn’t technically buying all of Fox.  That way the regulators can pretend that they do something useful.  In which case, I may have to set the Wolverine Count Down ClockTM back another six months.

They Really Had To Streach For Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom…

So the movie is about saving the dinosaurs from a volcano?  I can only hope that they jump sharks as well.  I mean what the heck?!  Did they get a twelve year old to come up with this script.  That is the sort of thing twelve year old me would have come up with.  Then me and the dinos would jump from couch to couch so that we didn’t fall in the lava.  We can only hope Blue eats Owen.  That at least would be a surprise.  If nothing else it looks like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will have lots of action.  Big, dumb, action.

Marvel’s Runaways Is Like A Teenage Version Of Its Netflix Siblings!

Marvel’s first show on Hulu feels very much like it should be on Netflix with Daredevil and his pals, but in this case they moved the action over to LA, so they didn’t have to deal with all that.  It is also feels like they aged it down just a touch, so that it would be more appropriate for teenage viewers.

The show is about a bunch of kids who think their parents are just everyday billionaires and super-scientists, but one night during one of their parents’ meetings they find out that their parents are involved in something troubling.  They obviously take it upon themselves to figure out what is going on, and they find out that they may not be as average as they thought they were as well.

So far the show is a little uneven, and the budget seems to be constricting them a bit, but it is fun to watch these kids deal with learning that their parents may be evil, while at the same time figuring out that they may have the power to stop their parents.  It is a little X-Men-y, but that is quite all right, and the natural separation that is caused by moving everything to the west coast works in Runaways favor.

As with most shows featuring a bunch young actors, the acting is a mixed bag, but in general it is pretty good.  Though what the show really has going in its favor is James Marsters (AKA Spike from Buffy).  It is always a treat to have him show up.  Also, I am once again not sure if his character has a soul or not.

The first season has seemed like a pilot so far.  Like they are testing the waters with this new show and streaming service, but not going all in.  Regardless, I have enjoyed Marvel’s Runaways, and I hope it keeps getting better.  The show has only aired four episodes, so maybe it finds firmer footing as it goes.