Best Performances of 2017

• The announcements of the Oscar nominations are tomorrow. And I’m preparing myself for a third disappointing Oscars in a row. But I always watch because I like to celebrate and root for the filmmakers that I admire for their work. Even though it usually doesn’t go how I want it to, I’m always excited because I love film and I love to celebrate those who make them. So now I'm going to talk about my favorite performances of the year out of the movies that I've seen. I saw some incredible acting this year and I'm excited to talk about it.

• So now I'm going to list every movie I saw in 2017. This is so if you're wondering "Why isn't James Franco on this list?" You can look at this list of every movie that I saw and understand that I didn't see The Disaster Artist. So here's the list of every movie I saw in 2017: The Space Between Us, The LEGO Batman Movie, Logan, Kong: Skull Island, Beauty and the Beast, Power Rangers, Life, Ghost in the Shell, Gifted, Going in Style, The Boss Baby, The Fate of the Furious, The Circle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wonder Woman, Cars 3, Score: A Film Music Documentary, Transformers: The Last Knight, Despicable Me 3, Spider Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk, The Dark Tower, Baby Driver, Logan Lucky, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Thor: Ragnarok, Murder on the Orient Express, Wonder, Coco, Justice League, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Darkest Hour, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Greatest Showman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Molly’s Game, All the Money in the World, The Post, The Big Sick, Alien: Covenant, The Lost City of Z, Free Fire, John Wick: Chapter 2. So now let's get into my list. These are in no particular order except for the top two which I name

• Tom Hardy - Dunkirk Once again, Tom Hardy is in a mask. And he's great under it. Tom Hardy is one of my favorite actors working today, I love watching that guy on the screen so much. And any time he works with Christopher Nolan, I'm even more excited. And I don't think you'll find this performance on anybody else's list. This wasn't a character movie. But I thought Tom Hardy did an incredible job acting with the only asset he really had - the eyes. It's astounding how much he's able to communicate with only subtle differences with his eye movement. It's not the most memorable performance but I really wanted to give him some recognition. And I would like to see him nominated for an Oscar even though it definitely won't happen.

• Mark Hamill - The Last Jedi This is the best Mark Hamill has ever been as Luke Skywalker. Nobody likes to admit it but......don't kill me...but Mark Hamill isn't great in A New Hope in my opinion. But who cares?! It's freaking Luke Skywalker. I think that by the time Empire Strikes Back came around, there was no complaining to be made with him. But now that decades have passed. And seeing Mark Hamill grow in this role is incredible to watch. I thought Mark Hamill did an amazing job with where Rian Johnson took Luke Skywalker. It was so amazing watching Mark Hamill become the legend that we all know him as, but at the same time being the same old Luke from Tatooine.

• Jessica Chastain - Molly's Game This is one I think will happen at the Oscars. I think Jessica Chastain deserves it. If Jesse Eisenberg was nominated for Social Network, she deserves and nomination. She's always great in anything you see her in. And this time she gets to deliver Aaron Sorkin dialogue. I thought Jessica Chastain was magnetic in Molly's Game and I think she deserves more recognition.

• Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour I said this in my review but, I wasn't really interested with the movie or what the writing chose to do with Winston Churchill. I actually would like to give this movie another shot. But there is no denying that Gary Oldman became Winston Churchill. Gary Oldman is perfect in Darkest Hour. He proved to the audience that he can become Winston Churchill, but what the movie gave him to do with that power is what wasn't interesting to me. Maybe I'll change my tune after another viewing but as of now, I wish that the script was better and thus giving me more to enjoy about Gary Oldman's performance. But it would be totally unfair to Gary Oldman to not put him on this list and to not nominate him at the Oscars because he did do an incredible job with what he was given.

• Adam Driver - The Last Jedi I think Kylo Ren is one of the interesting villains of all-time. And he's not at all your traditional villain. We all like to see heroes be vulnerable and fail, but we don't see it very often with the villain. And Rian Johnson said that Kylo Ren and Rey a co-protagonists to him. Honestly, Kylo Ren, I felt like the movie was focused on Kylo than it was on Rey. I think Adam Driver is fantastic at portraying this conflicted villain. I love the character. Adam Driver has one of the best angry screams I've ever heard. And the scene where Snoke breaks and insults Kylo by saying (I'm paraphrasing) "You are no Vader. You're nothing but a child in a mask." I've talked about that scene in my review. But I just think that the character is fascinating and Adam Driver does an amazing job portraying this different kind of villain.

• Patrick Stewart - Logan I broke down why I loved Logan and Patrick Stewart's performance in it in my 2000 word review. But I have to repeat some of it. I think that Patrick Stewart did an incredible job with portraying this broken version of Professor X. Everything about Charles is broken. I love that Charles loses everyone he's ever known thus giving him a taste of what Logan has known his whole life. Logan has learned to live through that, but Charles broke under that pain. He can't control his powers anymore and he doesn't even recognize Logan at times. And I just think that Patrick Stewart nailed his final performance as Charles Xavier. And I think he absolutely deserves a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

• Dafne Keen - Logan This is Dafne Keen's first movie. HER FIRST MOVIE. Dafne Keen has a very similar performance to Millie Bobbie Brown in Stranger Things, silent but powerful. Laura never speaks. And when she fights, there is so much power and fury that comes out of her. And of course, she nails all the emotional moments that I won't spoil. She's so incredible and I want to see Dafne Keen what she does next immediately. And I think she deserves a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

• 02. Andy Serkis - The Last Jedi/War for the Planet of the Apes Please. Please. PLEASE. Give Andy Serkis an Oscar. This guy is astounding. Both of his performances as Caesar and Snoke are incredible. The guy has played an Ape 3 times and you have believed it. I just think it's insane that The Academy hasn't nominated him once. I'm sick of Andy Serkis doing incredible work without getting an Oscar recognition. If I had to choose between Last Jedi for Planet of the Apes, I'd pick his performance in The Last Jedi. Andy Serkis is menacing as Snoke. Every time there was a close-up shot, I felt myself wanting to lean away from the screen. And in War for the Planet of the Apes, there wasn't really anything unique about his performance that wasn't unique about the first two. He's still freaking playing an evolving ape. I couldn't even imagine trying to first become an ape and then trying to nail the line between human and ape. Andy Serkis is one of the best actors out there and he deserves Oscar recognition.

• 01. Hugh Jackman - Logan I'm getting ready to throw the remote at my TV tomorrow for hearing that they've nominated Tom Hanks for The Post and not Hugh Jackman. This is one of the best performances I've ever seen. It's completely heartbreaking. Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine for my entire lifetime. And we'll probably never see him as the character ever again. And if they don't nominate him because "OH NO! It's a comic book movie", they're morons. I'm sorry it's just plain stupid if Hugh Jackman is ignored this year. But I don't think it will happen. And I'm sad about that. I broke down pretty much everything I love about the character and the performance in my review. Hugh Jackman plays Logan for the last time masterfully.

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• Thanks a lot for reading guys. One thing to remember is that these award shows don't affect what we love. Hugh Jackman's performance in Logan isn't going anywhere if he isn't nominated. We can all love what we love. But I think that it's up to us as fans to give the actors recognition so that they feel motivated to keep doing these incredible things. Filmmaking is not an easy job by any means. And if we want to keep people from retiring, I think we need to recognize them for their amazing work. And I get mad sometimes when the Academy isn't there to recognize these performers when they clearly deserve it. But we as fans can enjoy always enjoy them and recognize the people who make them happen. I'd love to start a respectful discussion about your favorite performances of the year in the comment section. Again, thanks for reading.