There have been some great movies, and I will do more “End of Year” rankings as the weeks go on. But we have to first rank all of the best scenes that film gave us this year. Once again, spoilers ahead. Prepare for lots of honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: Agent K Meets Deckard (Blade Runner 2049); The Sunken Place (Get Out); Musical Theatre Montage (Lady Bird); Leia Uses the Force (Star Wars: The Last Jedi); The Opening Shot (The Killing of a Sacred Deer); Rooney Mara Eats a Pie (A Ghost Story); The Photo Projector Scene (It); The Train Scene (Darkest Hour); The Prom Car Ride (Spider-Man: Homecoming); Luke vs. Kylo Ren (Star Wars: The Last Jedi); Steve’s Sacrifice (Wonder Woman); Yondu’s Farewell (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2); “Tequila” (Baby Driver); Willem Dafoe Sends Out The Pedophile Out (The Florida Project); Yoda and Luke Reunite (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)
10. Thor vs. The Hulk (Thor: Ragnarok)- I didn’t love Thor: Ragnarok. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. But this scene was just epic and one of my favorite Marvel scenes of recent memory. The gladiator style epicness of it was glorious and was one of the most redeeming things of this (in my mind) subpar film.
9. “Oh Hai Mark” (The Disaster Artist)- We saw it in the trailer, but seeing this scene in the context of the film was just so much more hilarious. Perhaps the funniest scene of the year.
8. “Rewrite the Stars” (The Greatest Showman)- The movie itself isn’t necessarily great, but the musical numbers are amazing. This moment, with Zendaya and Zac Efron swinging from acrobatic ropes and rings, was truly beautiful. The song itself is so good, and the chemistry was surprisingly pretty good. It was a beautiful moment, and one of the biggest highlights of the year.
7. No Man’s Land (Wonder Woman)- Of all the superhero films, Wonder Woman had the best ACTION sequence. When the area deemed “No Man’s Land” was being consumed by bullets, Gal Gadot’s powerful superhero walked through the field, dodging bullets and showing up ALL of the men soldiers standing there. A truly powerful moment for this film and for female heroes in general.
6. The Final Shot (Call Me By Your Name)- Timothee Chalamet crying in front of a fire place while the entirety of the credits roll. That is movie magic in its most simple form, and made for a chilling, gut-wrenching ending to a near-perfect film.
5. The Airport Scene (Lady Bird)- The entire airport sequence, where we finally see the emotion pour out of Laurie Metcalf’s character, was truly the most powerful scene of Lady Bird, which was filled with so many amazing moments. The relationship of mother and daughter was a constant theme of the whole movie, and this scene brought it all together and gave us that emotional punch that we deserved. It was amazing, and my favorite scene from one of the best films of 2017 (possibly THE best).
4. Kylo Ren and Rey Team Up (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)- This film had SO many great moments. I mean, it’s a STAR WARS film. But the best moment for me was seeing Kylo Ren *SPOILERS* kill Snoke and then see him and Rey team up to defeat all of the red guards at Snoke’s throne room. Even if they didn’t stay a duo for long, this was a cool moment and definitely showed how light and dark isn’t permanent, and how there could be darker forces that need to be defeated. It was a great character moment and defined Kylo Ren’s menacing and conflicted villain going into the final episode in two years. An awesome moment.
3. The X Grave (Logan)- The last shot of Logan was indeed a powerful one. I had never really been huge on the X-Men series, so getting as teary eyed as I was with this film surprised me. The relationship established between Hugh Jackman’s Logan and Dafne Keen’s character was incredibly heartfelt and seeing her turn the T shaped grave into an X was the cherry on top of my sundae of tears. It was a beautiful, simple moment that left everyone in the theatre in awe.
2. The Opening Heist (Baby Driver)- No scene this year gave me as much thrill and adrenaline rush as this moment. This sequence set up what this film was going to be: a musical set to the high speed car chases and action that Baby Driver supplied. It was a perfect opening to one of my favorite films of the year, and now I’m counting my pennies hoping to someday get a car as beautiful as Baby’s.
1. “Remember Me” (Coco)- Wow. If any scene got to my heart more than any other, it had to have been the scene where Miguel sings to his great-grandmother Coco at the end of the film. There was not a dry eye in the theatre. There was no big drama or action at this moment, and it was reliant completely on the radiance of these characters and the powerful theme of family that led up to this beautiful moment. This moment was the most perfect movie moment of 2017, and I dare you to keep your eyes dry when you watch this.
SPOILERS SPOILERS AHEAD!