My 2017 Movie Review List

Something I have been doing a lot of with my friends is seeing movies.  It's one of our favorite things to do for a group outing.  This year, 2017, is turning out to be a killer year for movies, with the best yet to come.  I am going to review every 2017 release I see here, and I will update as I watch them.  I'll probably even review some 2017 releases that I rent, because I'm not going to see THAT many in theaters.  Any that I watch later will be in RED.

Each movie will be rated out of 10, on a .5 scale, so a movie could be rated 8.5 or 6.5.  I'll try to order them by when I saw them.

January

A Monster Calls: Liam Neeson does a tremendous job as the voice of the Monster, but I felt my attention ebbing away during this flick.  The kid's hallucinations while dealing with his mother's cancer was hard to relate to for me.  Hard to believe Felicity Jones went from Rogue One (Action) to this (Drama, cancer victim).
Rating: 6.5/10

Split: I'm starting to really get into thrillers, and Split certainly helped.  James McAvoy was given no easy task, having to portray about a dozen different personalities on screen, and boy was he fantastic.  Anya Taylor-Joy was a delight and easy to root for, but her dumb friends were not.  Little did we know this film is connected to "Unbreakable" and a third film, "Glass", will connect the two.
Rating: 8/10

Februrary

John Wick: Chapter 2: I had not seen the first John Wick prior to seeing this (I have now, however), and I was very impressed with the action scenes.  Keanu Reeves is one of the few actors around 50 years of age that can still believably kick ass.  Kind of hard to relate to John, especially since I hadn't seen the first yet, but it was an enjoyable film nonetheless.
Rating: 7.5/10

The Lego Batman Movie: Occasionally when I watch a movie in theaters I find myself dozing off, especially if I watch it late.  I remember dozing off during the climax/action towards the end of all places.  All the colors and (almost) mindless blocks moving around just was hard to follow.  HOWEVER, the voice acting and story were very well done.  Just not a huge fan of Lego movies, I guess.
Rating: 7/10

Get Out: Another thriller and one of the best of 2017 so far.  Jordan Peele did such a good job, in directing and writing.  Some character's motives and decisions can be questioned, but when is that NOT the case?  There was some great acting from everyone, and this is a movie I can definitely watch again.
Rating: 9/10

March

Logan: I love it when superhero movies focus more on the story, dialogue, and cinematography.  The action will be there and the effects will be good enough.  Logan excells.  It deserves Oscar recognition (Hugh Jackman best actor?) and hopefully won't be forgotten about come awards season.  This was the first pure Wolverine movie I've seen and boy I'm glad it was.
Rating: 9.5/10

Kong: Skull Island: Sure ended abruptly, but it kinda sets up for a monster sequel.  Tom Hiddleston was good, not great.  Samuel L. Jackson always makes a decent villain (see Django Unchained, Kingsman: The Secret Service).  The action between Kong and the dinosaurs was ok, a tiny bit of a letdown.  A lot of the character's decisions could be questioned.  A very ho hum type movie.
Rating: 6/10

Beauty and the Beast: As far as live action adaptations go, they couldn't have done much better.  Emma Watson was a delight, and she did surprisingly well for the singing parts.  The action between Beast and Gaston could've been a bit better, and I found the extra backstory a little unnecessary and boring.  The designs for Codsworth and Lumiere were weird, but not bad.  That snowball Belle got hit with by Beast sure was a hoot.
Rating: 8/10

The Belko Experiment: I'm sorry, but James Gunn is killing it.  First with Guardians of the Galaxy (see below), now with The Belko Experiment.  The guy that survived is not who I was expecting to survive (I thought it would be the girl).  And then the twist at the end that the surviving worker was able to pull off, impressive and I bet very few saw that coming.
Rating: 8.5/10

Power Rangers: Some decisions I knew going in I questioned, such as the design of the Rangers outfits and the decision to make Billy Black, Trini bisexual, etc.  But they put together a very good action flick.  It was just a bit hard for me to relate this film to the old Power Ranger series of the 90's I watched as a kid.  But they set up well for a sequel, with a hint to a Tommy Oliver (PLEASE don't make Tommy a girl!) AKA the green ranger.
Rating: 7.5/10

Life: Reminded me a bit of a cross between Gravity and Apollo 13.  Some of the characters' decisions and motives can be questioned (Such as Rory's, played by Ryan Reynolds).  But when you rate all of the aspects together, special effects, acting, writing, etc. and you compare this to other recent space films (like the aforementioned Gravity as well as Interstellar and The Martian) it falls a little bit short in each category.  Enjoyable?  Absolutely.  Oscar/award worthy?  Not really.
Rating: 7.5/10

April

Fate of the Furious: Well I finally watched the entire F&F franchise, and I gotta say I really enjoyed it.  If this is the final film in the franchise, I'd say they capped it off pretty well.  I like how they were able to give Dom a son and not have to have Letty go through pregnancy.  The scenes they had in Russia and Cuba were all done very well.  And Charlize Theron killed it as the main villain.  Seeing as she escaped, it leads me to believe there will be a 9th Fast and the Furious Film.  Fast 9?
Rating: 8/10

May

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2: One of my favorite opening scenes ever, to an action movie or not.  This film was littered with humor throughout, and Chris Pratt is Hollywood's go to lead guy now, and for good reason.  Kurt Russell as his God-like father was a perfect casting.  The only complaint I have is the action was a teensy bit convoluted, but maybe that's just how action movies are nowadays.
Rating: 9/10

Alien: Covenant: I went in thinking this would just be a cheap jump-scare flick, but it was anything but.  They had the audacity to kill of the leader of their group played by Billy Crudup.  This film was good enough to make me want to see Prometheus, and I haven't heard too good of things about that film.  Sets up nicely for a sequel to complete the trilogy.
Rating: 7.5/10

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Again, the climax just didn't entice me enough.  But I loved the finish, including both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, although it was hard to believe that Brenton Thwaites was their son.  Johnny Depp was born to play Jack Sparrow and he killed it, again.  Javier Bardem always makes a decent baddie (See Skyfall).
Rating: 7/10

June

Wonder Woman: Yet again another climax I dozed off too, haha.  But Gal Gadot was the perfect choice to play Diana Prince, being both believable and beautiful.  David Thewlis as the antagonist just didn't seem too believable for me, because all I can see him as is Professor Lupin from the Harry Potter series.  Chris Pine was a perfect cast as Diana's love interest.
Rating: 8.5/10

The Mummy: Did I mention I doze off during the end of films?  This was a day viewing for me and I still did.  Was a decent start to the Monster series, but I wasn't too enthralled by it.  Although seeing that I had low expectations, I did think it was better than I thought it would be.
Rating: 7/10

July

Spider-Man Homecoming: It could be just me, but I felt Tom Holland captured the essence of Spider-Man better than Andrew Garfield or even Tobey Maguire.  I think his voice suits the role better, for one.  Wasn't a huge fan of the casting choices, with basically no white friends of Peter Parker (They even made Aunt May Italian).  I liked Keaton as the villian and the effects were great.  They incorporated just enough of Iron Man and even Captain America to make it interesting.
Rating: 8.5/10

War for the Planet of the Apes: I thought this was a solid finish to the new Planet of the Apes trilogy.  I definitely enjoyed it more than "Dawn".  Andy Serkis just flat out knows how to play a monkey.  If there were a time for someone to get nominated for best actor for a motion capture role, this would be it.
Rating: 8/10

Dunkirk: I enjoy movies with a solid protagonist and plot, but this didn't really have that.  However, that is ok, because everything else was just top notch.  The visuals, sound, editing, costumes, music, all fantastic.  This movie was made to capture the essence of the battle of Dunkirk and boy did it ever.
Rating: 9/10

August

The Dark Tower: Haven't read the books, but for a standalone movie it wasn't bad.  I felt a lot of the complex aspects were oversimplified, and they didn't explain enough.  Also, I don't really like Matthew McConaughey as a villian--he's just not believable enough.  My friend who has read the books wasn't a fan of this film, so I have to take that into account.
Rating: 6.5/10

September

It: This movie sure got a lot of buzz and for good reason.  Bill Skarsgard was fantastic as Pennywise the clown.  The kids were all well-casted as well.  Seeing how long the book is, it might've functioned better as a two or three part movie series, but seeing as I haven't read the book, I'm not even sure what the movie left out because it was well-paced.  They did skip ahead a few times, so maybe there were things there.  All in all one of the very few horror/thriller films I'd want to see again.
Rating: 9/10

mother!: Wow, this movie will either leave you fuming or thinking or both.  For me, it was both.  Best not to put yourself in Jennifer Lawrence's shoes, as she is perceived as the main character/protagonist.  I liked all of the religious connotations and connections, and Javier Bardem's character (Him) was clearly a representation of God.  But this film is NOT for the faint of heart or for younger audiences, as it only gets worse and worse.  Terrific acting performances in this by everyone.
Rating: 8/10

October

Geostorm: Not the movie I most wanted to see this month, but it was better than I thought it would be.  You have a disaster movie directed by the guy who wrote the 1998 Godzilla movie, with the lead being an actor who's been in a lot of bad films (Gerard Butler).  But it wasn't half bad, in my opinion.  It was a bit predictable and cheesy at times, but what disaster movie isn't?  Also, the movie's plot is based on the fact that we have satellites that basically control climates for different areas of the world.  Why in the world would someone be able to corrupt these satellites to cause harm and kill millions of people?  Would rather leave our fate to God than whoever has control of "Dutch Boy" as they called the control center.
Rating: 6.5/10

November

Thor: Ragnarok: Marvel continues to succeed, whether it be in Avenger's type films with multiple superheroes or ones that focus on a particular superhero.  This was like a hybrid of the two, as it had Thor (obviously), Loki, The Hulk/Bruce Banner, and a cameo by Dr. Strange.  It seemed to me that they tried a little too hard to be funny, but other than the comedic stretches I liked the direction the Thor franchise took.
Rating: 8/10

Justice League: We SHOULD be excited that the entire Justice League finally got together, but it just left us with an unsatisfying feeling.  For me, the villain never seemed to be that big of a threat, especially compared to Superman.  There was a step forward from BvS but it was a tiny step forward at that.  Still not really liking Affleck as Batman, but Gal Gadot continues to kill at as Wonder Woman.  Hopefully the DC franchise can recover because Marvel is still miles ahead of them.
Rating: 6.5/10

Daddy's Home 2: I wasn't expecting much as I don't think too highly of the first Daddy's Home, but this one wasn't that bad.  There weren't many, if any scenes that made me cringe, and there were at least 3 of those in the first.  The ending was kinda cheesy, but hey, it's a comedy.
Rating: 6.5/10

December
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi: Man oh man... where to begin?  I would have to rank this near the top of Star Wars films, I think.  I'm still debating on whether or not it's better than The Force Awakens.  It had amazing effects, brilliant camera work and cinematography, and it was well acted, too.  With TFA, people could complain that its story borrowed too much from A New Hope, so this is the first Star Wars movie in 34 years that the general audience can't complain too much about.  Solid.
Rating: 9/10

The Shape of Water: This was much better than I thought it would be.  Sally Hawkins was brilliant as the lead, and the supporting cast all did tremendous jobs as well.  It was definitely an interesting story, with a woman falling for a non-human but humanoid creature.  Will this get some Oscar nominations?  It wouldn't surprise me.
Rating: 8.5/10

Well, that's all the films I saw in 2017!  A great year for movies.  Now, for some awards!
Best Actor:
James McAvoy - Split
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Hugh Jackman - Logan
Javier Bardem - mother!
Andy Serkis - War for the Planet of the Apes

Some great choices there.  But my best actor award goes to...

Andy Serkis!  That's right, a guy who did motion capture!  He MADE the entire PotA series, as in he was the main reason they had success.  And "War" may have been his best work yet.
Best Actress:
Felicity Jones - A Monster Calls
Dafne Keen - Logan
Gal Gadot - Wonder Woman
Jennifer Lawrence - mother!
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water

Good year for leading women, with Dafne Keen the youngest nominee in any category.  The award goes to....

Sally Hawkins!  She played a mute character falling for a humanoid creature.  Not an easy thing to do.
Best Supporting Actor:
LilRel Howery - Get Out
Tony Robbins - The Belko Experiment
Kurt Russell - Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2
Woody Harrelson - War for the Planet of the Apes
Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water

We have three villains and two sidekick type characters.  Who will get it?  The award goes to...

Richard Jenkins!  Yes, The Shape of Water is still fresh in my mind, but I didn't see too many films with great supporting acting roles.
Best Supporting Actress:
Marisa Tomei - Spider-Man: Homecoming
Sophia Lillis - It
Michelle Pfeiffer - mother!
Carrie Fisher - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water
Again, kind of slim pickins but there was one that stood out.  The award goes to...

Carrie Fisher!  I award this posthumously to her.  She exhibited grace, elegance, and power in every one of her scenes.  She won't get an actual Oscar nomination probably, but I think she's not too far off.
Best Special Effects:
Logan
Fate of the Furious
Spider-Man Homecoming
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
I sure saw some amazing special effects this year. The award goes to...

Guardians of the Galaxy!  Yep, I picked it over Star Wars, which was a close second.  Guardians had some amazing visuals that made me stare in awe, something that is not easy to do.
Best Director:
Jordan Peele - Get Out
Patty Jenkins - Wonder Woman
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
Darren Aronofsky - mother!
Guillermo del Toro - The Shape of Water
I'd be shocked if at least one of these isn't nominated for an Oscar.  The one who I'd be most shocked to not see nominated wins my award.  And that is...

Christopher Nolan!  I can't give every award to The Shape of Water.  But Nolan did a great job in Dunkirk, and not since Saving Private Ryan has there been such a realistic and gritty war movie.  Maybe it was even more realistic than that.
Best Picture:
Get Out
Logan
Wonder Woman
Dunkirk
It
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Shape of Water

The Academy can have up to 10 nominations, so I can too.  This is a tough one.  The winner, and the best motion picture I saw in 2018, IS....
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Dunkirk!  This one wasn't one for a great plot, but it absolutely EXCELLED in other categories: cinematography, music, sound (editing and mixing), visual effects, and acting.  It is a well deserved best picture from me.

Well, that is it for 2017.  I liked doing this so much I think I'll do it for 2018!  See you then!

These 2017 Mariners May be a Team of Destiny

The 2017 Mariners just finished a series with the Tampa Bay Rays and not only swept them, but they pummeled them.  The Mariners outscored the Rays 28-7 in the three game series.  Despite how dominant the Mariners looked, they are still below .500 at 28-30.  However, I believe this to be a team of destiny: a team that refuses to lose and will end a postseason drought.

The last time the Mariners had a playoff drought this long, it was to start their existence.  Nineteen years it took to make the postseason, from their inception in 1977 to the magical year of 1995.  I think this team has a big chance to compare well with that team of 1995.  Here's what they have in common:

- Dominant left-hander to lead the pitching staff (1995: Johnson, 2017: Paxton)
- Sweet swinging left-handed hitter to hit 3rd with some pop (1995: Griffey, Jr., 2017: Cano)
- Arguably the game's best designated hitter (1995: Martinez, 2017: Cruz)
- A speedy outfielder that could steal a base at any time (1995: Coleman, 2017: Dyson)
- Infielder with a surprising amount of (clutch) power: (1995: Blowers, 2017: Motter)

The problem with the 2017 team is they haven't been able to get healthy.  For a stretch in May 4 of the 5 projected starting pitchers were on the disabled list.  Paxton has returned, with Felix next in line to return in a week, maybe two.  Kuma and Smyly set to return near the All-Star break.  Once this rotation is healthy, they will have an incredible amount of depth, thanks to guys like Christian Bergman, Sam Gaviglio, and Ariel Miranda getting experience.

There's no reason this team shouldn't go on a run.  There is veteran leadership.  Their is an influx of young talent.  Let's not forget Mitch Haniger coming back fairly soon.  Mike Zunino is finally tearing it up.  They have a dynamic young closer that, when he has command, is virtually unhittable.  A bullpen that is proving itself more and more, with guys like Pazos, Vincent, Zych, and Rzepczynski proving more than capable.  There's speed in the outfield and veteran gold glove winners in the infield.  What more do the Mariners need?

The key of course is staying healthy.  Segura just went on the DL for the second time this year.  But if the pitching staff can hold its own and the hitting can avoid any major slumps the rest of the year, this team has a real shot.  The Astros are indeed going to be tough to catch.  They currently stand at 41-16, best in the majors by FIVE GAMES.  However, lest we not forget there is the AL Wild Card, and two spots up for grab there.  The Mariners are only 2.5 games behind the 2nd wild card spot.

Yes, it's just the beginning of June and the Mariners are only 28-30, but what I've seen out of this club this season I haven't seen out of them since, well, 2001.  Camaraderie.  Emotion.  Determination.  A refuse to lose attitude.  I hope to look back on this post come October and see that my gut feeling in June was right.  This team just needs to beat teams, beat them soundly, and don't feel bad about it.  You've missed the playoffs the last 15 seasons, it's your damn turn already.  Mariners players, GET IT DONE.  WHATEVER.  IT.  TAKES.

Well, the Mariners failed again to make the playoffs.  They couldn't maintain any sort of winning streak or consistency all year.  Perhaps if they upgrade their pitching they could make a run.