2017: Our List Of Best And Worst Films via Reviews

The year 2017 in film is almost at a close, only a few more pictures have opening days set before December 31st. That’s actually the last day for a film opening to be eligible for Oscar contention, so there’s that.

We (ok I) thought that maybe looking back at the year in our film reviews would be interesting, to see what got the highest and lowest scores.  Usually we allot anywhere from 1-5 (with decimals if the film needs a little extra) points for each entry, followed in each review by a “the good” and “the bad” segment explaining why that point value was given.  These are films I was invited to view and review by either the studios or their press reps.

Each category has the films listed in the order I saw them in, not their point value.  Oddly enough only two films got a perfect 5 out of 5 score this year, while three films tied with 1 point each.

The Lowest Scores, the 1’s:

50 Shades Darker, with a 1 out of 5.  Review here.

Fist Fight, with a 1 out of 5.  Review here.

The Mummy, with a 1 out of 5.  Review here.

There was also a slightly higher low pack of films that didn’t quite rank as low, but no where close to a middle ground, so the 1.5+ set:

Life, with a 1.5 out of 5, review here

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales with a 1.5, review here.

47 Meters Down with a 1.75, review here.

The Greatest Showman with a 1.5, here .

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle with a 1.5, here .

There were a couple of 2’s in the mix, which were again not nearly as bad as the 1’s, but not as good as the 3’s:

Live By Night, with a 2.5, here

XXX: Return Of Xander Cage, with a 2.5, here

The Great Wall with a 2.5, here

A Cure For Wellness, with a 2, here

Dark Tower, with a 2.5 , here

For the 3’s:

Split with a 3.5, here

A Dog’s Purpose, with a 3 here

Ghost In The Shell, 3.5 here

King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword with a 3.75, here

Cars 3, with a 3.5 here

Transformers: The Last Knight, 3.75 here

Murder On The Orient Express, 3.5 here

Justice League, 3 out of 5, here

Pitch Perfect 3, with a 3.8 out of 5, review forthcoming

The 4’s were the real joy this year, some absolutely fabulous films that I find myself thinking about often.

Kong: Skull Island, 4 out of 5, here

Trainspotting 2, 4.6 out of 5 (was very nearly a 5), here

Colossal, 4 out of 5, here

Wonder Woman, 4 out of 5, here

War For The Planet Of The Apes, 4.75, here

Dunkirk, 4 out of 5, here

Atomic Blonde, 4 out of 5, here

Blade Runner: 2049, 4.5 out of 5, here

Thor: Ragnarok, 4 out of 5, here

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 4.5 out of 5, here AND here.

And, for the grand finale, the two films released in 2017 that received a perfect 5 out of 5 from me:

20th Century Women, 5 out of 5, here

Darkest Hour, 5 out of 5, here

All in all, a pretty solid year for good films.  Hopefully the Oscar nominations will reflect that.