The Panda

Number 17 Baby Driver "'Retarded' means slow. Was he slow?" My Grade: A- Most Valuable Player: Robert Dehn and his Team for the Sound Design Box Office: 107.8m Tomatometer: 93% Synopsis: After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail. Critic Opinion: "And all the while, we hear the soundtrack feeding Baby’s every move and reflecting Baby’s every mood — literally dozens of songs, from “Tequila” by the Champs to “Brighton Rock” by Queen to “Nowhere to Run” by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas to “Radar Love” by Golden Earring to “Hocus Pocus” by Focus, arguably the most ridiculous and undeniably catchy gimmick tune of the 1970s. It all works. All of it. The music, the performances, the twists and turns in the plot, the sheer energy and life force of the movie." - Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun Times User Opinion: "Pristine craft and execution. Wright really considered just about everything. It's meticulous in its design and process. Major props especially to the sound design, which might be the best I've seen heard in a long time." - @DameronRoc Reasoning: A summertime blast and box office surprise, Baby Driver is a jolt of energy and it's hard not to find quite a bit of enjoyment out of the whole ordeal. I loved the soundtrack, how well it blended into the scenes and the ringing in the ears of Baby when the music wasn't playing. The movie is really clever technically and it makes it a joy to watch and appreciate on a sheer level of craftsmanship. The big thing that kept this movie from rocketing even higher on my list was the actual content could be lacking at times, and for as clever as the movie is with its technical work, it isn't as clever with the characterizations. Despite that, it doesn't stop the movie from being an absolute joy and easy to re-watch. It's the ideal summer popcorn flick.

Emonji: Express The Jungle

I don’t think Jumanji 3 will be able to capture the same interest as the big selling point of Jumanji 2 was the body swap idea. Novelty doesn’t resell.

I’ve been out for the last few hours, and can’t update on mobile, so I’ll get the list back and going in an hour or so.

A Friday decrease for TLJ??

Best Use of Music Honorable Mention #3 Coco Honorable Mention #2 The Shape of Water Honorable Mention #1 All the Money in the World Co-Runner Up A Ghost Story Runner Up Baby Driver Winner Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Number 18 The Disaster Artist "This is my movie and this is my life. Okay be cool." My Grade: A- Most Valuable Player: James Franco as Tommy Wissaeu Box Office: 16.9m+ Tomatometer: 92% Synopsis: When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true. Critic Opinion: "So what could have been a goof becomes something much deeper, and much more rich. “The Disaster Artist” is a loving, fascinating tribute to one of the most bumbling movies ever made, and is in awe of its subject the way it would be if it was taking on one of the best movies ever made. Which, you get the picture, is how Franco thinks about “The Room.”" - Adam Graham, Detroit News User Opinion: "Room was horrible in so many ways and yet it was massively enjoyable and I could watch it over and over again. The Disaster Artist gives us a brief and slight glimpse into Tommy and Greg's life and James Franco simply blew me away in this. Both as an actor and a director, The Disaster Artist is one of the best films of the year. " - @Christmas baumer Reasoning: Who would have thought that a gloriously terrible movie like the Room could wield a legitimately heartfelt and well-made comedy like The Disaster Artist? The Disaster Artist is never just a spoof on Tommy Wissaeu, but it really gives you a glimpse into the life and motivations leading up to the creation of the Room. James Franco is glorious as Wissaeu and you absolutely believe that he's Tommy whenever he's on screen. The film is hilarious, but never in a way that feels like it's just trying to make a parody out of the creator of the Room, instead it leaves you in a place where you're genuinely rooting for his movie to be a good one. While I ultimately had to hold the movie back on my list because Franco is a little weak behind the camera, The Disaster Artist is a fabulous time and another winner for A24.

Number 19 Darkest Hour "Will you stop interrupting me while I am interrupting you!" My Grade: A- Most Valuable Player: Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill Box Office: 11.3m+ Tomatometer: 84% Synopsis: Within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history. Critic Opinion: "You don’t lose yourself in the film the way you might like, but there is never a second in which Oldman is not riveting. Good thing, too, since there’s barely a second when he isn’t on-screen. He’s exciting, vital — his Churchill isn’t a shuffling old man. He walks with a spring in his step; Wright delights in shots of him practically jogging up massive stairways." - Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic User Opinion: "I didn’t care much for ATONEMENT but PRIDE & PREJUDICE was fine (and so is DARKEST HOUR). " - @Lor San Tele Reasoning: Darkest Hour is less of a detailed period piece and more of a showmanship movie for Gary Oldman, who does some of his finest work chewing into the lines of Winston Churchill. He is not only believable, but your eyes remained glued to him whenever he is on the screen (so for most of the movie). Oldman owns some classic Churchill speeches, and makes you forget that any other actor ever played Churchill in the past. It's also a great companion piece to another little movie this year, called Dunkirk. The movie is also finely edited, with strong technical work and a nice score to bolster Oldman's performance. When the credits started to roll on this movie I only wanted to see more of Oldman's Churchill, I'd love to see him do Churchill mini-series or something like that.

For those interested, I'm revealing my favorite movies of the year here:

Best Editing Honorable Mention #3 Darkest Hour Honorable Mention #2 A Ghost Story Honorable Mention #1 Get Out Co-Runner Up Blade Runner 2049 Runner Up Baby Driver Winner Dunkirk

Number 20 Mudbound "You ever miss it sometimes? Being over there. I don't mean being shot at, but sometimes, I actually miss it." My Grade: A- Most Valuable Player: The Ensemble of the Cast Box Office: Netflix!!! Tomatometer: 97% Synopsis: Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war. Critic Opinion: "As an evocation of the aspiration, violence and tribal animus that forged our national identity, “Mudbound” is an eloquent, often painful, reminder of Faulkner’s own observation that the past is never really past. But Rees isn’t content simply to diagnose a punishing, self-perpetuating cycle: This is a film buoyed by humanism that feels chastening, liberating and healing, all at the same time. As one character notes, love itself is a form of survival. Against all the elements, natural and man-made, Rees makes sure that hope takes pride of place in “Mudbound” and is never entirely swamped." - Ana Hornaday, The Washington Post User Opinion: "Dis shit is fucking GREAT. Unbelievable ensemble, there's five genuine Oscar worthy performances, as good an ensemble as I can remember. It has a ton to say and it says it in unique way that still feels rooted in classical storytelling. This is a full-blown epic, but with a very real, hard earned grounding that makes it something gut wrenching. I loved it. I think this ages incredibly well, and when we look back in ten years, we think of this as one of the very few first movies to define this year, tbh." - @Cmasterclay Reasoning: Mudbound isn't just a look at racism in America, but it's also a glance into the effects of PTSD and the struggles women have had to go through in domestic situations. The film is brilliantly told through its narration techniques and tells an old story in a refreshing way. The ensemble between the actors is fantastic, with Jason Mitchel and Mary J Blige being standouts in the cast. The main reason I didn't end up ranking Mudbound higher was the film didn't hold up for me as well as some of the others I am listing above it. That doesn't take away from the fact that it's poignant piece, filled with symbolism and delicate craft from Dees Rees.

I'll announce two more and then go and get some lunch Number 21 All the Money in the World "Everything has a price. The great struggle in life is finding out that price.” My Grade: B+ Most Valuable Player: Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty Box Office: 5.8m+ Tomatometer: 77% Synopsis: The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom. Critic Opinion: "Well, it turns out that J. Paul Getty is all over “All the Money in the World.” He is the second or third lead and is in multiple scenes, which means that easily 30 percent of the film had to be completely reshot. This represents a remarkable and seamless technical achievement, as well as an impressive artistic achievement for director Ridley Scott and his cast. Plummer delivers brilliance in what had to be record time, and every person sharing a scene with Plummer — Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, in particular — comes in fresh and spontaneous, responding anew to another actor’s completely different energy." User Opinion: "It's a movie on the verge of greatness bogged down by a clunky screenplay. If the first act was a little tighter and some of the more plot-driven scenes had the dialogue found in character development scenes, it'd have been an all timer because everyone else is on their A-game." - @WrathOfHan Reasoning: I'm a little reserved with saying this, as I think All the Money in the World should have been able to place much higher in my list, if only it had been edited down to a tighter film overall. Despite my complaints of the film dragging at different parts, there are so many things to love in this movie, from the performances, to some of the ringing lines and the fun, classical style score. What's the real highlight of this movie though is Christopher Plummer, and I'm not just saying this because he replaces Kevin Spacey, he is phenomenal in this role and creates one of my favorite characters of the year. I wanted to just watch Plummer's character the entire time, because he chewed up every scene he was in, he was phenomenal. It's just the parts without Plummer weren't good enough to pull this movie any higher than here.

I forgot to mention, just because I gave one film a higher grade than another doesn't mean it'll necessarily place higher (don't question the logic, it'll just hurt my brain )

Best Design Includes Production Design, Costume Design and Hair and Makeup Design Honorable Mention #3 Wonder Woman Honorable Mention #2 Dunkirk Honorable Mention #1 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Co-Runner Up The Shape of Water Runner Up Beauty and the Beast Winner Blade Runner 2049

Number 22 Wonder "When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind.” My Grade: B Most Valuable Player: Jacob Tremblay as Auggie Box Office: 117.4m+ Tomatometer: 85% Synopsis: Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. Critic Opinion: "The themes in Wonder are so universal in fact, and so deftly dramatized that I didn’t even cringe when Via’s drama club presents Our Town and, as Emily, she recites the “Take me back up the hill to my grave” speech. As I alluded to earlier, the movie walks a very fine line between mawkish sentimentality and a poignant story. It succeeds rather brilliantly." - Alexandra MacAaron, Women's Voices for Change User Opinion: "This movie, while not perfect in every way, comes real damn close to being the perfect crowd pleaser. Warm and fuzzy without being sappy, smartly written, and extremely well acted by everyone including soon to be A-list star (mark my words) Tremblay." - @DAJK Reasoning: Wonder is by no means a perfect movie, it's fairly flawed and at many times digs a little too deep into its sentimentality, but it's a movie that really still manages to work your emotions and make you feel a little more hopeful about where the world can go. Chewbacca also has a great cameo in this movie, and it rivals his performance in The Last Jedi. The film has a great message that I think children should hear, even if it at times it feels a little to optimistic for its own good. I also loved the touches it gave to a few of the other characters, and pointing out some struggles a person without a facial deformity might have in the situations from the movie. As someone who's not big on sentimental movies like this one, Wonder won me over.

Number 23 Detroit "I need you to survive the night." My Grade: B+ Most Valuable Player: Kathryn Bigelow's Direction Box Office: 16.8m Tomatometer: 84% Synopsis: A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest RACE riots in United States history. The story is centred around the Algiers Motel incident, which occurred in Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. It involves the death of three black men and the brutal beatings of nine other people: seven black men and two white women. Critic Opinion: "Detroit is an imperfect but entirely gripping drama. More context at the front end of the film would have been helpful, but it’s probably impossible to capture all that history in one picture. See it for what is reveals about what’s changed in America’s racial divide over the last 50 years: absolutely nothing." - Liz Braun, Toronto Sun User Opinion: "Yet, standard criticism feels odd to do for Detroit. Watching a film like this after all that's happened in the United States recently, and especially after last weekend, just adds to the feeling of despair. Yet, I don't think Bigelow wants us to entirely feel despair with how she decides to end this film. Larry's ending feels ambivalent if anything. Detroit is an excellent film, but more importantly, it's necessary. It's necessary to feel this anger while watching it and while watching how the world acts. A powerful film in every sense." - @Poe Blankeron Reasoning: Detroit is an unnerving film, and at times can almost get a little to brutal and cold, yet it's also a film that feels essential to watch because of the social themes that the film encaptures so well. By the end of the film I'd reckon it'd be hard for any moral human not to be outraged at the events that happened on the screen in front of them. The movie is well-acted, with a standout from the terrifying performance of Will Poulter, and it shows the realities of racism in the country and how things haven't changed. It may be an imperfect film, and a film that needs a bit of hope in its bleakness, but it's still a strong movie.

And the first award Best Immersive Design For work in Visual Effects, Sound Design and Stunt Work Honorable Mention #3 Wonder Woman Honorable Mention #2 Baby Driver Honorable Mention #1 War for the Planet of the Apes Co-Runner Up Dunkirk Runner Up Blade Runner 2049 Winner Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Number 24 Thor: Ragnarok "Piss off, ghost!" My Grade: B+ Most Valuable Player: Taika Waititi's Direction Box Office: 310.1m+ Tomatometer: 92% Synopsis: Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization. Critic Opinion: "Every superhero movie must include at least one epic battle. “Thor: Ragnarok” is full of them, but its biggest is a tonal showdown between quirky, hilarious director Taika Waititi (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and the most leaden of big-comics impulses. Waititi emerges triumphant, but it’s a nail-biter." - Sara Stewart, New York Post User Opinion: "Korg is amazing" - @RobrtmanAStarWarsReference Reasoning: This list is already tied for the number of comic book movies I put on it as last year, and its already a higher number than 2014, but will anymore show up? Thor: Ragnarok was a blast to watch through, managing to be quirky and really give into its space-romp, hammy nature (thanks to Waititi's direction for the film). Hemsworth is at his best, giving a hilarious performance as he bounces off Loki, Hulk and Korg. This movie could have possibly made it higher, but I ultimately found Hela and the last act to be a bit of a drag compared to the witty style that dominates the majority of the film. We definitely need to let Waititi direct more blockbusters, as this one was a blast.

Time to start this off with a bang! Number 25 Raw "Putting on a barbecue?" My Grade: B+ Most Valuable Player: Garance Marillier's Lead Performance Box Office: 514k Tomatometer: 90% Synopsis: Justine is a first-year veterinary student. Her elder sister is studying the same course at the university. Justine was raised a strict vegetarian but, as part of the hazing rituals, is forced to eat meat. Initially this has adverse effects but she soon develops a craving for meat...particularly human flesh. Critic Opinion: "Ah, the pleasures of the flesh. Discovering them is quite a lesson for Justine (Garance Marillier), a fast-rising 16-year-old new arrival at a large French veterinary college, joining her older sister, Alexia (Ella Rumpf). In this bloody good horror film, the school is a life form of its own, a natural breeding ground for students’ animalistic urges." - Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune User Opinion: "loved this. nuts in a way that reminded me of giallo films from the 70s/80s w/ that dreamlike style to it. even looking beyond the craziness it's one of the better representations of the isolation of young adulthood i've seen in a while." - @CoolioD1 Reasoning: 2017 has been one of the best years for horror that I can remember, and Raw is one of those 'horror' films. An absolutely bonkers film in many different ways, and at times it can really make you squirm (and upset your stomach a little). The craftsmanship is strong, however the biggest standout is Marillier's lead performance as a teenage girl who begins to have a craving for human flesh after she ends up eating meat. The film is packed with some intense scenes, and despite the cringe sounding premise, it actually manages to be a nice look into the adolescence and the struggles a young woman may have to go through. So a rather relateable movie, when you look past the cannabilism.

Speaking of Top 10s, The Bamboo Award thread is up, I'll be continually updating throughout the day (possibly tomorrow if I end up going too slow)

It's the awards show that nobody has been waiting for, but everybody will take issue with when I finish, the 2017 Bamboo Awards! This year, I managed to see 75 movies, which is a whopping 8 less than I did last year, look at that personal growth in movie watching! Now, obviously, since I saw less movies this year, that means I am going to need to have a countdown of more movies, so I'll be giving you my entire top 25 (with no honorable mentions). On the way, I'll also be awarding Bamboo Sticks to my favorite actors, screenwriters, directors, etc. from the year, and I'll be sure that the Bamboo sticks arrive promptly at each winners doorsteps, they'll be very pleased to know they won this award (for some, it may be their only award this year ). I'll also be choosing a runner up, co-runner up and some honorable mentions (each category, excluding BP, will have one single post) Also, a little caveat, I have obviously not seen every movie from 2017 (in fact, I have only seen 75) and so there are a few movies that have gotten a lot of acclaim that simply won't show up because I didn't get the opportunity to see them. The main ones include The Florida Project, Call Me By Your Name, The Post, I, Tonya, Molly's Game and Phantom Thread. Here are the categories BEST PICTURE WINNER: Born in China Star Wars: The Last Jedi RUNNER UP: Blade Runner 2049 Co-RUNNER UP: Get Out 4th: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 5th: Lady Bird 6th: Dunkirk 7th: The Big Sick 8th: Logan 9th: Wind River 10th: Wonder Woman 11th: A Ghost Story 12th: Coco 13th: IT 14th: Okja 15th: War for the Planet of the Apes 16th: The Shape of Water 17th: Baby Driver 18th: The Disaster Artist 19th: Darkest Hour 20th: Mudbound 21st: All the Money in the World 22nd: Wonder 23rd: Detroit 24th: Thor: Ragnarok 25th: Raw BEST DIRECTOR Winner: Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Runner Up: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird Co-Runner Up: Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 HM1: Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk HM2: Jordan Peele, Get Out HM3: Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri HM4: Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman BEST ENSEMBLE Winner: Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri Runner Up: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Co-Runner Up: Lady Bird HM1: The Big Sick HM2: Mudbound HM3: Get Out HM4: The Shape of Water BEST ACTRESS Winner: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri Runner Up: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird Co-Runner Up: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water HM1: Daisey Ridley, Star Wars: The Last Jedi HM2: Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World HM3: Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman HM4: Seo-Hyeon Ahn, Okja BEST ACTOR Winner: Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Runner Up: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour Co-Runner Up: James Franco, The Disaster Artist HM1: Hugh Jackman, Logan HM2: Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out HM3: Jeremy Renner, Wind River HM4: Andy Serkis, War for the Planet of the Apes BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Winner: Carrie Fisher, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Runner Up: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird Co-Runner Up: Mary J Blige, Mubound HM1: Holly Hunter, The Big Sick HM2: Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water HM3: Sophia Lillis, IT HM4: Dafne Keen, Logan BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Winner: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Runner Up: Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World Co-Runner Up: Adam Driver, Star Wars: The Last Jedi HM1: Patrick Stewart, Logan HM2: Michael Shannon, The Shape of Water HM3: Jason Mitchell, Mudbound HM4: Gil Birmingham, Wind River BEST SCREENPLAY Winner: Get Out Runner Up: Lady Bird Co-Runner Up: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri HM1: The Big Sick HM2: Star Wars: The Last Jedi HM3: Wind River HM4: Logan BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Winner: Blade Runner: 2049 Runner Up: Dunkirk Co-Runner Up: The Shape of Water HM1: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri HM2: Star Wars: The Last Jedi HM3: A Ghost Story HN4: Logan BEST EDITING Winner: Dunkirk Runner Up: Baby Driver Co-Runner Up: Blade Runner 2049 HM1: Get Out HM2: A Ghost Story HM3: Darkest Hour BEST USE OF MUSIC (Includes Original Scores, Original Songs and Soundtracks) Winner: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Runner Up: Baby Driver Co-Runner Up: A Ghost Story HM1: All the Money in the World HM2: The Shape of Water HM3: Coco BEST DESIGN (Includes Production Design, Hair and Makeup design and Costume Design) Winner: Blade Runner 2049 Runner Up: Beauty and the Beast Co-Runner Up: The Shape of Water HM1: Star Wars: The Last Jedi HM2: Dunkirk HM3: Wonder Woman BEST IMMERSIVE DESIGN (Includes Visual Effects, Sound Design and Stuntwork) Winner: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Runner Up: Blade Runner 2049 Co-Runner Up: Dunkirk HM1: War for the Planet of the Apes HM2: Baby Driver HM3: Wonder Woman THE HONORARY GOLDEN BAMBOO STICK OF EXEMPLARY WORK IN AN ART FORM THAT IS NOT CINEMA Winner: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Runner Up: Master of None Season 2 Co-Runner Up: Game of Thrones Season 7 HM1: Ola Gjeilo's Winter Songs HM2: The Handmaid's Tale Season 1 HM3: Stranger Things Season 2 HM4: Super Mario Odyssey For reference, these were my winners the last few years (I'm not editing them to include alterations I've made previously, just what I originally posted each year) 2016 2015 2014 Which movie will take number 1? Will the Funnybook movies finally make a grand appearance in mass? Will there be to many bad takes to blow out of the sky? How many people will actually care? Find out as the countdown begins, this morning!

Squeezed in It Comes at Night, overall there’s a lot of good stuff in it but a little underwhelming.

I’m really anticipating God’s Not D3ad, I’m really curious what the central theme of the movie is!

Logan Lucky was a lot of fun... Up until the third act, that act felt fairly pointless and I hated whatever voice Swank was trying to do with her character (she's a good actress but that was a bad performance, imo, especially for a character that really served no purpose). Daniel Craig and Adam Driver were both standouts.

I got 1?? Close enough??