Here’s the list of my favorite movies from 2017, in countdown order. You’ll notice that a couple of them have dates from previous years. That’s because although they were completed earlier, they weren’t released in the U.S. until 2017. I should probably do these in alphabetical order, because the order is liable to change daily, but today this is my order. Oh, and these aren’t necessarily the best films of the year; they’re the ones I enjoyed the most. For those who think I should have included this title or that title? I refer you to the name of the blog. Enjoy!

12. Super Dark Times (2017): This drama/thriller about friendships torn apart after a tragic accident has some minor third act issues, but good, honest performances by the leads (Owen Campbell and Charlie Tahan), believable dialogue, and a sharp eye from first-time director Kevin Phillips carry the day. It doesn’t always seem like a lot is happening, but pay attention, as there’s a lot that the film explores underneath the surface story.

11. Better Watch Out (2016): I can’t tell you too much about this horror film without ruining it for you, but if you’re a fan of ’80s slasher horror, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. It manages to be original while still paying homage to the genre. Good performances by Olivia DeJonge and Levi Miller.

10. Walking Out (2017): I was tempted to put this beautifully filmed entry higher, as it’s probably the film that moved me the most, but I’m also aware that it’s not going to move everyone the way it did me. A mountain-man father and tech-obsessed son take a yearly mountain hunt together. When they both are injured, the struggle to bond becomes one of survival, as they must make it back to civilization.

There are essentially only three actors in the film: Cal, played by the underused Matt Bomer, standing in for Christian Bale, who backed out to spend time with his family; Josh Wiggins, whose range as the son, David, seems that of a more seasoned actor; and Bill Pullman as Cal’s father, seen only in flashback, on a similar trip with Cal. The intertwining stories work as a comparison to the present events, while also patiently revealing more about Cal’s mindset, and examining how very much children learn from their parents.

9. I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore (2017): Most people probably only know Melanie Lynskey from her role as crazy Rose in “Two and a Half Men,” but she’s had quite a successful career in smaller films. She’s great here as Ruth, who–after getting robbed–gets fed up with the world and decides she’s going to track down the thief. For backup, she brings along her oddball neighbor, Tony, played with freakish gusto by Elijah Wood. Needless to say, they find themselves in over their heads in this dark comedy by first-time director Macon Blair, who also wrote the script .

There are a few problems I had with the ending, and be warned–it does get a little gruesome at times. It’s a dark, dark comedy. But I’m guessing more than a few of you out there will identify with Ruth, when she says “I want people to not be assholes.”

8. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017):You’ve all seen Vince Vaughn. He plays the mumbling, wise-cracking, gangly funny-man. This is not that Vince Vaughn. And this is not a comedy. Not even a little. In what is arguably his best work (certainly the best in a long time), Vaughn plays Bradley Thomas, a mechanic who gets fired from his job and comes home early to find his wife, Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter) has been having an affair. And those are the best things to happen to him in the film. Trying to patch up his life and family, he takes a job with a drug-dealing friend that winds up landing him in prison. Once there, he’s ready to do his time, knowing that Lauren and their soon-to-be-born child will be waiting for him. Before that can happen, however, a quiet, creepy fellow (Udo Keir) comes to visit, making him an offer he really can’t refuse—kill an inmate or something very, VERY bad will happen to the expectant Lauren. (And I’m not kidding when I say it’s bad. I can’t even bring myself to say it.) There’s one problem. Bradley is in a minimum security prison, and the target is in cell block 99, which is a secret wing of a different, maximum security prison, where they house the worst of the worst.  And he’s got to get by Warden Tuggs, played with mustache-twirling glee by Don Johnson.  If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that he’s had quite a nice career resurgence playing smaller roles the last couple of years (Cold in July, Django Unchained). He does a decent enough job here, with what could easily have been a throwaway role.

Director S. Craig Zahler uses Vaughn’s size to his advantage, filling the frame, giving him an imposing presence, and making him seem “contained” at the outset. He also fully commits to an older, dirtier style of filmmaking, with some over the top effects and a 70s’ retro (but original) soundtrack.

Like Bone Tomahawk, Brawl is about a simple journey, one that gets increasingly dangerous as the trip goes on. We’ve seen this story before, but never this brutal and unflinching. As with Tomahawk, the violence is never stylized, but it is all the more gut-wrenching because of it. Vaughn’s Bradley (don’t call him Brad) never pulls his punches, and neither do the script and camera. We see the fights in long-shot, no Bourne-style quick cuts here.

7. Lucky (2017): It’s the role Harry Dean Stanton was born to play, but he had to look death in the face to play it. At 91, Stanton plays Lucky, the quintessential curmudgeon and atheist. (We hear the story of how he was kicked out of “Eve’s Garden” for breaking the rules. Get it?) If there were any kids in this film, he’d be telling the little fuckers to get out of his yard. Directed with a loving hand by another great character actor, John Carol Lynch (I always think of him as Drew Carey’s brother Steve on “The Drew Carey Show”), it’s a considered, thoughtful debut for Lynch, and a moving send-off for Stanton.

There are character movies and there are plot movies. In this case, the character is the plot. The film examines heady issues—the meaning of life and death, and the worthiness of how we spend our time—through the various stories that each character shares with Lucky throughout the film. It’s an unusual structure, but with a solid performance by Stanton, it works.

In the end, says Lucky, “you’re left with nothing. That’s all there is” “What do we do with that?” asks bar owner Elaine (Beth Grant). “You smile,” replies Lucky. It’s a beautiful moment, and it’s not hard to suspect that the tear that runs down Grant’s face is genuine.

6. Loving Vincent (2017): I’m always hit or miss as gimmick films go, but this is a damn good gimmick. It examines the recent theory that Vincent Van Gogh was actually murdered by a local bully, rather than a victim of suicide. And it does it in the style of the master himself. Actors were costumed after Van Gogh’s portraits, and filmed their scenes in front of green screens. At that point, classically-trained artists came in and hand-painted (yes, you read that right) 66,960 paintings which served as the individual frames for this remarkably detailed film. I found myself amazed at the small touches–the rain outside a cafe, or the dancing reflection on a bowl of disturbed water. Directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman don’t stop there, though. The story unfolds Citizen Kane style, with protagonist Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) hearing the stories of the people who orbited Vincent’s final days. Vincent’s is only ever seen in flashback, and the flashbacks themselves are done in black and white, in a manner reminiscent of Van Gogh’s earlier style

The mystery at the center of the film doesn’t wow us, which is a shame, but it was interesting enough in that it focused on a theory that I must admit I hadn’t heard before. That’s the trouble with gimmick films, though. You may be so busy marveling at the technique that you lose interest in the narrative. Still, it was passable, and although the actors were cast because of their resemblances to the portraits (some of the similarities are downright eerie), there are a couple of nice performances–Chris O’Dowd and Saoirse Ronan, among others.

This is a film that should be seen for the experience. Go into it with that in mind.

5. Logan (2017): Studios always said that an R-rated comic book film would never work. Thank goodness somebody didn’t listen, because two of the best comic book films in recent memory are Deadpool (2016) and this year’s Logan, both of which got that R rating. The latter is much darker in tone, but provides a fitting coda for one of Marvel’s most popular heroes. After several outings as Logan (aka Wolverine), we can’t imagine anyone other than Hugh Jackman in the role. Here, he settles into it comfortably, like an old coat that’s worn, but fits just right. Patrick Stewart once again plays telepath Charles Xavier, but this Professor X is in hiding. He has become a weapon of mass destruction, thanks to the onset of seizures. He and Logan escort another young mutant (Dafne Keen), who may or may not have a connection to Logan, to the Canadian border. All involved handle the material with seriousness and care, bringing more tension to the action scenes, and some nice warmth, heart, and gravitas to the film. Comic book, my ass.

4. Logan Lucky (2017): Two Logans in a row. The Logan in this film is actually the Logan brothers, Jimmy and Clyde (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver). Persevering in the face of the family curse, the two decide to knock off a NASCAR speedway in director Steven Soderbergh’s return from self-imposed retirement. Is it formulaic? Yeah, a little, but it’s a heist picture (or caper picture. Take your pick.) They’re formulaic by nature.  And Soderbergh does it well. It’s just a well-done, fun picture. And it shows in the actors, especially Driver, playing a one-armed, slightly slow bartender, and Daniel Craig, who steals just about every scene he’s in, as bleach-blonde explosives guy Joe Bang. He’s probably just happy to not be playing James Bond in the picture.

3. Lady Bird (2017): I put off watching this, and regretted it. It is a nearly perfect little film from first time writer/director Greta Gerwig, herself one of the indie darlings. Nothing here hits a wrong note. These people became very real to me. I cared for them. And I believed the things they said and did. And so will you. You will find yourself laughing out loud one minute, and tearing up the next. Why? Because life is like that.

Although I don’t think Laurie Metcalf’s turn as Lady Bird’s (Saoirse Ronan) mother was the best performance of the year, I’ll have no problem if she takes the Oscar for it. And I’ve never been a huge fan of Ronan’s (one of the reasons I put off watching it), but I very quickly forgot it was she. I was watching Lady Bird, a young seventeen year old dealing with all the frustration and heartbreak and anticipation a seventeen-year-old girl deals with. In a year where films are too realistic (The Florida Project) or too artificed (The Shape of Water), Lady Bird perches on a wire running right down the middle.

2. Wind River (2017): I thought this one was going to be my number one this year (and any given day in the future it might be, I guess). It’s another “outdoors” film, but very different from Walking Out. This noir-ish thriller sees Jeremy Renner as tracker/hunter Cory Lambert trying to solve the murder of a young Native American woman found barely clothed in the middle of nowhere. He is ably supported by neophyte FBI agent Jane Banner, played by Elizabeth Olsen, who once again proves who really has the talent in the Olsen family. She just keeps knocking them out of the park. The exposition is parsed out slowly, which enhances the mystery and makes it seem believable. The movie itself does move a little slowly as well, but like nature itself, we get long periods of quiet punctuated by sudden, brutal violence. It’s unnerving. This is a film that will stick with you for a while. It reminded me a little of the masterful Winter’s Bone, a film that I loved, in that both films are strongly anchored to both place and a fractured sense of family.

Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, it is simpler and earthier than Sicario, and more urgently structured then Hell or High Water. I liked this one better than both.

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017): Three great performances cemented this in the number one slot for me–Frances McDormand’s, Sam Rockwell’s, and Woody Harrelson’s. If you’ve been paying attention (and if you haven’t, just know you hurt my heart), you know that I have a bit of a man-crush on Rockwell, and I’m hoping that he’ll finally take home that Oscar. It’s not my favorite role of his, but he does a fine job at taking what would be an otherwise despicable character and brings some warmth to him. And that’s important in this film, because there are lots of people not to like. All the characters are flawed, to varying degrees. Rockwell’s Officer Dixon, for example, is a bigot and a racist. Yet, there’s a part of him that recognizes right and wrong. In one scene, his life is at risk, but he takes the time to grab the case file for Mildred Hayes’ (McDormand) murdered daughter, even though he considers her a thorn in his side. People are never all good or all bad (one of the big problems I had with The Shape of Water), they are nuanced. It’s one of the things I found so compelling about this film.

I’m not a fan of writer/director Martin McDonagh, but here it feels like he’s channeling the Coen Brothers, with just enough of their quirkiness and complexity to keep us on our toes and guessing where he’s going next. Wherever it is, it probably won’t be pretty. But it will be interesting.

A Shitload of Contenders (in alphabetical order): The Big Sick (2017), Columbus (2017), The Devil’s Candy (2015), Get Out (2017), A Ghost Story (2017), Graduation (2016), Hounds of Love (2016), It Comes at Night (2017), The Last Laugh (2016), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), Prevenge (2016)), Stronger (2017), Thor: Ragnarock (2017)

Worst Movies of the Year: Kidnap (2017), The Snowman (2017)

Ones I haven’t seen yet (among others): After the Storm (2016), Land of Mine (2015), Mudbound (2017), Wheelman (2017)