Is the year really half over? You know what that means! It's time to look back on the year to find the best movies released so far this year. This year's list includes a pair of animated movies, monsters, sequels, heroes, talking cars and appliances, a remake, mutants, a heist film, and more. Here's a look at The Top Ten Movies of 2017 (so far).
10. Meagan Leavey
Our list begins with Kate Mara's performance as US Marine Corporal Megan Leavey who finds purpose as a K9 handler. The film bites off a bit more story than it can handle but gets the emotional beats right as we follow Meagan into the Armed Services, through her training and service with with Rex, and her struggle to stay with her four-legged partner in the years that followed. Read the full review.
9. Logan
Speaking of dark films with sci-fi influences, Hugh Jackman returns to play Wolverine one last time in this dystopian future where Logan's healing ability is failing him just when a young girl (Dafne Keen) and an old friend (Patrick Stewart) need him most. While not all the X-Men movies have been winners, Logan allows the franchise's most famous character to go out on a high note. Read the full review.
8. The Hero
Sam Elliott carries the small indie drama as an actor at the end of his life struggling to deal with an estranged daughter (Krysten Ritter), a new relationship with a younger woman (Laura Prepon), and a troubling medical diagnosis. Read the full review.
7. Beauty and the Beast
Emma Watson shines in this live adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast which proves to be far more successful the the lackluster Jungle Book, even if not all of its magic works as well as it did in the animated original. Read the full review.
6. Cars 3
The likely conclusion of a Pixar trilogy, Cars 3 comes full circle as Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), now the old man on the Piston Cup Circuit, struggles to keep up with a new generation of racers with the help of his friends and a new personal trainer (Cristela Alonzo). Although not as strong as the original, the film proves to be a fitting finale to the franchise. Read the full review.
5. Elle
Isabelle Huppert is masterful in her performance of a successful businesses woman raped in her apartment by an unknown assailant who she begins to suspect might have been one of her disgruntled employees. Elle isn’t a movie for everyone, but those not turned away from the subtitles or subject matter should enjoy a quality film highlighted by an amazing performance. Read the full review.
4. The Red Turtle
The story of a nameless protagonist and his struggle to survive on a deserted island is a fascinating animated film that doesn't need a single line of dialogue to tell its story. Read the full review.
3. Colossal
I'm not sure what I expected from writer/director Nacho Vigalondo's dark indie sci-fi film, but he certainly delivers one of the most memorable movies of the year so far about an unemployed alcoholic (Anne Hathaway) forced to move back home only to discover she has a mysterious connection to a monster appearing halfway around the world. Read the full review
2. Baby Driver
Edgar Wright's Baby Driver is everything you want a summer movie to be. Sure, the story gets into a bit of trouble in the third act as it tries to balance realistic consequences with over-the-top action, but this story of a reluctant music-obsessed getaway driver (Ansel Elgort), his crew (Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal, and Jamie Foxx), and the new woman (Lily James) in his life, is one hell of a ride. Read the full review.
1. Wonder Woman
After Batman v. Superman who would have thought that this, not Spider-Man, not Wolverine, and not the return of the Guardians of the Galaxy, would be the super-hero movie of the year (at least so far)? This year belongs to the Amazon. Gal Gadot is terrific in a role that not only requires the Amazon to learn about the outside world, be a soldier on the battle field, pick a fight with a god, come to terms with who and what she is, and fall in love, but also rescue an entire franchise from the brink of disaster. Sure there's plenty of small nitpicks to make (like DC's over-reliance on slow motion), but director Patty Jenkins delivers the super-hero film DC fans have be clamouring for ever since Marvel's Cinematic Universe began. Read the full review.
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