We now present the Strangelove, the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture.  This award is in honor of EYG Hall of Famer, Peter Sellers.

We will have our Top 10 Best Actors in a Motion Picture.

#10.  Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out).  One of the surprise films gave us a great performance from Kaluuya.  He was the person in the horror movie that we wanted to root for and he was remarkable throughout.  He has been cast in the upcoming Black Panther as well so his career is on the way up.

#9.  Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok).  We have seen flashes of his comedic skills, but in 2017, Chris Hemsworth really got to show off his comedic timing and delivery in Thor: Ragnarok, taking a character that he has done for years and really give it a new twist.

#8.  Robert Pattinson (Good Times).  A film that was remarkably dark and Pattinson played an extremely unlikable person.  Still, you found yourself  hoping for the best for the criminal.  Good Times was anything but for Pattinson.

#7.  Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Last Jedi).  Adam Driver is one of the most compelling new characters in the new Star Wars trilogy and each time he comes on screen he becomes more fascinating.  His path to the ultimate villain in Star Wars is clear, but we all know that he still has some questions in his heart.  Could there be redemption in his future?  Or just evil?

#6.  Tom Holland (Spider-man: Homecoming).  We have our new Spider-man.  And he is perfect.  The idea of making Spidey a high school student is not a new one, but casting an actor around the right age is.  No longer do we have 30 year old actors trying to play young.  We have Tom Holland, and he showed us all that he could handle the material.  Whether trapped beneath the rubble or holding his own in a scene with Michael Keaton, Tom Holland has earned the mantle of our Web-head.

#5.  Jeremy Renner (Wind River).  This is most likely the best performance in the career of Jeremy Renner.  Dealing with his own pain, Renner ventured into the snow in search of answers after discovering a dead girl. His understanding was important for the girl’s family and the skills he brought was important to FBI agent Elizabeth Olson.

#4.  Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour).  Gary Oldman has always been known as a chameleon in the sense that he could act a role and you would never know it was him.  He completely becomes Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour and his performance elevates a fairly average movie.  Oldman should get an Oscar nom for this role.

#3.  Hugh Jackman (Logan).  Hugh Jackman said goodbye to the role that defined him for the past 17 years and he did so brilliantly.   He did so with the Wolverine that we always wanted.  He had so much pain and anguish from a lifetime of battles, but he still had a place in his heart for Charles and for Laura.  The ending of Logan is some of the most emotional moments of the year.  Hugh Jackman was a perfect fit for this story.  The Golden Globes nominated Jackman for the Greatest Showman, but they got the wrong performance.

#2.  James Franco (The Disaster Artist).  Oh, Hi Mark.  Franco does a spot on imitation of Tommy Wiseau, the “creative” force behind the worst movie ever made, The Room.  Franco told the story of the creation of The Room and he completely embodied Wiseau.  But the film was more than just poking fun at an odd man.  It showed the emotions and the heart of Tommy while telling us that our dreams can be reached.  He came close to winning this award, but…

And the 2017 Strangelove Award goes to….

#1.  James McAvoy (Split).  This happened early in the year and everyone is forgetting about what amazing work James McAvoy did in M. Night Shyamalon’s Split.  He played multiple personalities and each one was different.  His acting was frightening as each alter felt like another real person.  McAvoy was amazing and this performance stands above all others.

The Liz is awarded to the best actress in a motion picture for the year.

Top 10 Best Actresses of 2017

#10.  Judi Dench (Victoria & Abdul). This movie really worked because of the skilled actress of Miss Judi Dench.  She showed how the friendship of Abdul brought the monarch back to life for a time.

#9.  Michelle Williams (All the Money in the World).  Williams was wonderful as the desperate mother fighting against her ex-father-in-law’s greed in order to save her son.

#8.  Elizabeth Olson (Wind River) Olson was great in the role opposite Jeremy Renner.  I never once thought that it was Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch.  That shows how talented she truly is.

#7.  Anne Hathaway (Colossal).  A film not too many people saw, but it featured a tremendous performance from Hathaway as a woman who is somehow connected to a monster storming the city of Tokyo.

#6.  Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Last Jedi).  Daisy has effectively placed herself as the main focus of the Star Wars trilogy.  Her scenes with Luke and with Kylo were the best scenes in The Last Jedi and she is anything but last.

#5.  Carey Mulligan (Mudbound).  Carey shows us all of her emotions and her feeling in Mudbound, whether she is pining after her brother-in-law, worried for her children or trying desperately to not lose herself.  It is a beautifully quiet performance.

#4.  Carla Gugino (Gerald’s Game).  Carla carries so much of the plot of this film despite being handcuffed to the bed for most of it.  You feel for her with each decision she makes and you feel the walls closing in as time slips away.  Her performance made this Stephen King adaptation so compelling.

#3.  Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird).  Coming off her star turn in Brooklyn, Ronan heads up this coming of age movie sharing scenes with the powerful Laurie Metcalf.  Ronan is as strong of a young actress as we have today.  Few can do angst like she can.

#2.  Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman). This truly was Wonder Woman’s year and Gal Gadot proved many people wrong.  She completely embodied Princess Diana and brought such a warmth and a heart to the role that you wondered how anyone else could have ever played it.

And the Liz goes to…..

#1.  Frances McDormand (3 Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri).  One of the rawest performances of the year for sure as we followed her through the pain that did not go away.  We watched her seek justice for her murdered daughter that did not seem to come, and we saw her go too far.  She was anything but a likeable person, but you could still relate because the loss was so destructive.

Here are the lists of the Best Supporting Actors and Actresses from movies (that I have seen) in 2017.

Supporting Actor

#15.  Daniel Craig (Logan Lucky)

#14.  Jason Mitchell (Mudbound)

#13.  Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle)

#12.  Chris Pine (Wonder Woman)

#11.  Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

#10.  Bill Skarsgard (It)

#9.  Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound)

#8.  Sam Rockwell (3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

#7.  Graham Greene (Wind River)

#6.  Gil Birmingham (Wind River)

#5.  Jamie Foxx (Baby Driver)

#4.  Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World)

#3.  Michael Keaton (Spider-man: Homecoming )

#2.  Mark Hamill (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

#1.  Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier (Logan)

Supporting Actress

#10.  Betty Gabriel (Get Out)

#9.  Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

#8.  Tatiana Mislany (Stronger)

#7.  Holly Hunter (The Big Sick)

#6.  Mary L. Blige (Mudbound)

#5.  Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok)

#4.  Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip)

#3.  Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

#2.  Carrie Fisher (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

#1.  Dafne Keene (Logan)

There were many great directorial work this year, and I have chosen my favorite ten.  Now, there will not be many that correspond with the Golden Globes because, honestly, most of the Golden Globe nominated directors are from films that have been released in small markets and I have been unable to see.  So there will be no Guillermo del Toro for Shape of Water.  There will be no Steven Spielberg for The Post.  No director from I,Tonya or Call Me By Your Name or Phantom Thread or Molly’s Game.  I just have not seen them yet.  Remember that when the Top 30 list comes out as well.

So… of the films that have played in my area…

#10.  Michael Showalter, The Big Sick.

#9.  Andres Muschietti, It

#8.  Edgar Wright, Baby Driver

#7.  Dee Rees, Mudbound

#6.  Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049

#5. James Franco, The Disaster Artist.

#4.  Jordan Peele, Get Out

#3.  James Mangold, Logan

#2.  Taika Watiti, Thor: Ragnarok

Some interesting choices up here in 10-2.  Taika Watiti almost took this award with the originality and humor from the marvel Studio film.  Denis Villeneuve only continued his strong showing with his work on the Blade Runner sequel.  In fact, Denis is the only director on this list that has appeared on any EYG Director of the Year list before.  Dees Rees is on the list from Mudbound on Netflix.  See Mudbound, it is great.  James Franco also starred in his film, and we may be seeing his name again on a later list.  Edgar Wright gave us great music and a fun film to boot.  Jordon Peele delivered us a horror film with a dose of commentary on the world around us.  After seeing him with Key and Peele for so long, Get Out was not what we expected.

Previous Winners:  A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land). 

And the winner…

#1.  Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman)

Patty Jenkins delivered us the Wonder Woman movie we all wanted.  She did it within the same Warner Brothers studio that apparently love sticking their noses into super hero films and demanding changes.  Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League all suffered from studio interference one way or another.  Wonder Woman went happily along.  And that comes from its leader, Patty Jenkins, who knew what she wanted and she was able to keep that vision in place.  Then, Patty Jenkins was given a wonderful contract to do Wonder Woman 2.  Much like the lead character blazed a path for young girls to love super heroes, Patty Jenkins continues to lead the way to more females into the director’s chair.  That is long overdue.

Netflix is trying to become a player in the world of movies and they put out several features this year.  Many were not great, but these 10 were the best of them all according to EYG.

#10.  The Discovery.  A scientist has proven an afterlife and a cult has formed.  Stars Robert Redford, Rooney Mara and Jason Siegel.

#9.  Shimmer Lake. The story is told backwards.  We see the end of the story first, and then we see in reverse, eventually making everything make sense.

#8.  Bright.  The latest film from Will Smith is a fantasy/sci-fi film where fantasy creatures live in the world with humans.  Smith is a partner with an Orc (Joel Edgerton)  and has to try to stop the magic wand from falling into the wrong hands.

#7.  To the Bone.  The story deals with the issue of eating disorders as a young girl is sent to a retreat with others with the same disorders to try a new therapy.

#6.  Take Me.  A former P.I. has formed an agency where you can hire him to kidnap you and put you through a kidnapped scenario.  However, he comes across a client that happened to be more than he ever thought he could handle.

#5.  The Babysitter.  Cole wondered what his hot babysitter did when he went to bed.  So he decided to spy on her.  He did not expect what he saw.  The night turns violent and Cole finds himself desperately fighting for his life.

#4.  Okja.  Okja is the story of a girl and her giant pig-like creature.  Raised from birth to make the most tasty jerky, Okra is slated for slaughter.  However, Mija will not allow anything to happen to her giant grey friend.  Starring Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

#3.  The Incredible Jessica James.  An aspiring playwright in New York City meets a divorced app designer and the pair of them hit it off, despite neither being fully ready to movie on from previous relationships.  This is a very funny movie starring former Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams.

#2.  Gerard’s Game.  A Stephen King adaptation that sees a woman handcuffed to a bed when her husband has a heart attack and dies.  The epic attempt to survive the situation is filled with added problems such as the hungry dog or the on the loose serial killer.  Oh, and she was hallucinating her husband who tormented her throughout the film.  Gerard’s Game is a tense, taught thriller that was almost my number one Netflix movie.

#1.  Mudbound.  Yes, the film I finished watching about an hour and half ago is the number one film from Netflix in 2017.  Mudbound is well worth the 2 hours and 15 minutes run time.  The story deals with two families, one white and one black, in 1940s Mississippi.  The racial tensions are just one of the variety of themes available in Mudbound.  There are amazing performances from the entire ensemble cast and the look of the film is beautiful.  Director Dee Rees brought the goods in this feature that debuted at Sundance this year.  I almost skipped this film, but I am so glad that I took the time to watch it.  It is a topnotch story with remarkable characters.

I have a list of five documentaries this year and three of them are very exceptional. I did miss the sequel of An Inconvenient Truth this year, so it will not be included on my list.

This is the list of Top 5 Documentaries for 2017.

#5.  The Reagan Show.  This uses news and White House footage to tell the story of Ronald Reagan and his years in the White House.  A man who used the techniques of Hollywood as the 40th president which seems pretty relevant these days.

#4.  78/52.  This is a documentary that focused on the filming of the classic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.  The scene was composed of 78 setups and 52 cuts, and the result was a piece of cinematic art that changed movies forever.  The break down of the scene and the background around it was fascinating.

#3.  Batman & Bill.  This Hulu documentary tells the true story of the creation of Batman and how much the legendary Bill Finger was involved.  Bob Kane for years was considered the sole creator of Batman, but there was more to the story.  Many of the key components of Batman came from Bill Finger and this was the story of the process to get Bill Finger the credit he so richly deserved.

#2.  Jim & Andy.  In 1999, Jim Carrey made a movie called Man on the Moon, a story about the life of comedian Andy Kaufman.  Jim Carrey decided to go deep into the character and actually become Andy Kaufman.  He acted like Andy 24/7.  However, there was a film crew following him around, filming the act.  This is that documentary.  There is also current day Jim Carrey talking about things he did when he was Andy.  It is a compelling look at an actor and the lengths he would go.

 
#1.  My Scientology Movie.  Louis Theroux  wrote and appeared in this documentary that is casting the “roles” of leading Scientologists from the Church of Scientology.  The way that the Church responds to Theroux and his constant attempts to get interviews with them.  The film was a frightening look at this religion and what it may do to its followers.  It was also an extremely funny documentary that tried its best to poke at the religion and its leaders.  This doc was one of my favorites, not only of the year, but of all time.

The Batman and Robin Awards for Rotteness! 

Named after one of the worst movies to ever disgrace the screen, this is a list of individual awards that “praise” the world of movies that may not have been the most enjoyable.

Worst Movie:  Not ready to reveal this yet.  Check out the upcoming Top 30 Worst Films of 2017.  Honestly, I have not yet made the decision on this as there are around 6-7 films that could legitimately take this spot.

Worst Actor:  Michael Fassbender (The Snowman).  Fassbender is a fantastic actor, but his turn as Harry Hole in The Snowman was the definition of a great actor falling down into the material.  Runner-Up:  Will Farrell (Daddy’s Home 2, The House)

Worst Actress:  Felicity Jones (Collide).  I can hardly remember this movie, but when I checked back over the review, I said how Jones was truly horrid so she gets this spot. Runner-Up: Katherine Heigl (Unforgettable)

Worst SPX:  [TIE]  Justice League & Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.  Two movies where the special effects were terrible.  I hated every scene with Steppenwolf in Justice League while everything looked just horrible in that Resident Evil travesty.  Justice League is an overall better movie, but the SPX were its major weak point for sure.

Worst Sequel:  Transformers: The Last Knight.  I was so bored by this.  It was So long and dull and stupid.  And it did not make its normal haul of cash so maybe the world is finally waking up to this garbage. Runner-Up:  50 Shades Darker

Worst Film I Haven’t Seen:  Tyler Perry’s Boo 2: A Maeda’s Halloween.  I avoided this crapfest and I am not sorry.  Runner-Up:  Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature

Worst Super Hero Movie:  Inhumans in IMAX.  This is a bit of a cheat, since Inhumans is really a TV show, but all of the comic book movies this year were at least good.  Inhumans was released in IMAX theaters and was an epic fail in all ways.

Worst Trailer for an Awesome Movie:  The first Baby Driver trailer.  The first trailer to Baby Driver did not show us how awesome this movie would be.  Subsequent trailers did a better job, but that first one was not good at all.

Best Trailer for a Bad Film:  Daddy’s Home 2.  Considering how bad that movie turned out, it is a miracle that the first trailer was so damn entertaining.  It made everyone think that this was going to be way better than the first one.  To quote our president, “Wrong.”

Best Performance in a Bad Film:  Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.).  Denzel was really great in this snooze of a film.  Roman tried to be some kind of a thriller, but it left out the thrill.  Washington, however, was amazing as the weird and twitchy lawyer.

Most Overrated:  Dunkirk.  This still may be my own fault.  I saw this in IMAX and the sound was so loud that it nearly made me sick.  I counted the minutes until this torture was over.  That may not have been the fault of the movie, but I do not care to try it again.

Favorite “Rotten” Movie:  The Book of Henry.  At 21% on the Tomatometer, the Book of Henry is a terribly reviewed film, but I came out of it loving it.  I thought the performances were great and, despite a weird ending, I truly thought this was way better than any of the critics made it out to be. Runner-Up: Phoenix Forgotten

Worst TV Adaptation:  Chips.  This thing was just a travesty.  I was never a huge fan of the original series, but this film was an insult to it and any other police show ever shown. It made the other TV adaptation of the year, Baywatch, a bad movie in its own right, look like an Oscar winner in comparison.  Runner-Up: Baywatch

Cashing a Paycheck:  Anthony Hopkins (Transformers: The Last Knight).  That is Sir Anthony Hopkins, please.  Hopkins is so bad in this movie that it is desperately clear that he does not care one iota about a performance.  He just is throwing everything at the fan and seeing what they keep. Runner-Up: Tommy Lee Jones (Just Getting Started)

The Tommy Wiseau in the The Room Film So Bad it is Good Award:  Unforgettable.  Unintentional comedy at its finest.  I have heard people say that Unforgettable, starring Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl, was the funniest comedy of the year.  Another Fatal Attraction rip off with all the same beats to it.  This was funnier than Chips.

Can We Insult Teachers More Award:  Fist Fight.  As a teacher, I found this ridiculous film one of the worst of the year and totally insulting to the profession of education (as well as administrator and student).

Reboot THIS!:  Flatliners.  Such a terrible film. It takes a passable film from the 80s and makes it into one of the crappiest films of 2017.  Who greenlit this idea?

Come on Netflix, Can’t You Do Better Than This?:  You Got Me.  I don’t remember much about this except it was a Fatal Attraction ripoff with Bella Thorne.  If Netflix wants to be considered in the movie business, this cannot be what they offer.

No, really…the book was better:  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Long Haul.  The Dairy series had been reasonably harmless, at times even entertaining.  And then they put out this load of garbage.

One of the rarer awards we give out in the Year End Awards is the Expendables Award for Acting Excellence.  Given to the members of the cast of the Expendables for a role in a movie where they have done more than just cash a paycheck, where they have actually shown some acting chops.

We have only given three of these out so far in the history of the EYG Year End Awards, with none presented last year.  This year, we give out the fourth total and second individual to this cast member.

In 2015, he won a Best Performance by an Expendable as an Actor in a Motion Picture for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and this year he receives his second Expendable award, this time…

Best Performance by an Expendable as a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049.  That is right… it is Harrison Ford.

Harrison Ford did more than just go through the motions in Blade Runner 2049.  He was compelling and dramatic and carried a great deal of the story with him in the second half of the movie.  He was the emotional center of the story and he deserves this award for the performance.

Each year, there are moments that stand out in the Geek community.  Here are the ten that jump to the front from 2017.

#10.  It rescues the summer Box Office.  The summer box office was way down.  With a very few exceptions, there were few major successes during the year.  And August was even worse.  Then, early September, a clown arrived and helped out tremendously. Stephen King’s It made over $123 million during its opening weekend and wound up making just short of $700 million worldwide.  That was remarkable for an R rated horror movie.

#9.  Prince Henry and Meghan Markle get engaged.  When was our last royal wedding?  It has been a while.  What makes this one even more shocking though is the fact that Meghan Markle, an American actress, is of mixed-race.  The couple expressed about having a wedding that was not as lavish as some of the previous royal weddings.

#8.  Disney announces streaming service.  In their next step to control the world, Disney announced this year that they would be starting up their own streaming service in 2019.  At that time, the Mouse planned on removing their content from Netflix and making their own streaming service the exclusive location for their movies and shows to land.  A report indicated that the service would be comparable in price to Netflix.

#7.  And the winner is… not La La Land.  An error at this year’s Oscars telecast ended with presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway receiving a envelop with the Best Actress inside.  The problem?  They were presenting Best Picture.  Beatty opened the envelope, looked confused and everyone thought he was doing a bit.  However, he did not know what to do. So he showed it to Dunaway, who saw La La Land listed (beneath the name of Best Actress winner Emma Stone) and announced them as the winner.  Chaos ensued.  Finally it took La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz holding up the card that said “Moonlight” for people to believe what had happened.  It was the most unbelievable Oscar flub of all time.

#6.  Logan is Rated R.  Following in the footsteps of Deadpool from the year before, FOX released a rated R Logan movie this year that allowed the world a chance to see Wolverine in the way we always wanted to see him.  The film was based around the Old Man Logan storyline and was a beloved film, one of the best of 2017.

#5.  Thor makes more money than Justice League.  And by a considerable amount.  Thor: Ragnarok was released in early November and did remarkably well, opening to around $120 million.  Two weeks later, Justice League, a movie with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg in it, only opened to $94 million.  Then worldwide, Thor: Ragnarok has reached $846 million worldwide while the Justice League is slowly coming to an end somewhere around $650 million.  Almost $200 million more?  Justice League severely under-performed for WB.

#4.  Wonder Woman.  The biggest hit among the recent DC Films has been Wonder Woman and she became the first major female led super hero movie in this age of super hero movies.  Wonder Woman crossed cultural classes and became the icon that she always was meant to be.  The arrival of the film in the beginning of July signaled a change in the world, inspiring many young girls that they can be heroic as well.  The film was received extremely well by both fans and critics and it wound up making over $800 million world wide.

#3 1/2.  She is the new Doctor. I actually just thought of this one and I think it needed to be on this list.  There was an announcement this year of the first ever female Doctor from BBC America series Doctor Who.  Jodie Whittaker was named the next Doctor to replace Peter Capaldi.

 
#3.  Net Neutrality repealed.  In a major news event that many people may have missed, the FCC voted 3-2 to repeal a law put in place by the Obama Administration that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content.  FCC’s Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, led the way in the repeal, however, there have been some who have taken opposition to this ruling.  Several states have banded together as a class action lawsuit, and there have been Congressmen who have decided to look closer at the deregulation.  Perhaps we can still have a free and open internet.

#2.  #MeToo.  This was going to be number one until that little thing happened a few weeks ago.  But the #MeToo movement brought to light the problems of sexual abuse/harassment/misconduct of powerful men and brought the victims forward to have their voices heard.  It started with the complaints against Harvey Weinstein of the Weinstein Company and it grew to include Andy Signore of Screen Junkies, Kevin Spacey, Luis C.K., John Lasseter, Jeremy Piven, Matt Lauer among many others.  It even grabbed Senator Al Franken.  This controversy has only just started.

#1.  Disney buys properties of 21st Century FOX.  In a sweeping deal, Disney has purchased several intellectual properties/rights from FOX.  This includes the rights to X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four, essentially reuniting the Marvel characters under the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The Marvel properties are not the only ones snatched by Disney as they also have the rights to the Simpsons, X-Files, the Alien franchise, a share in Hulu among many others.  FOX kept its news, its sports.  The TV and the movies though went to Disney.  Many Hollywood insiders are understandably concerned over the deal (because of jobs lost and having less studios to pitch ideas/scripts to), but the idea of Dr. Doom or the Silver Surfer back in the MCU overshadows those concerns for many fans.

Every year we have movies that just do not live up to the hopes and expectations of the studios, critics or fans.  For whatever reason, there are always movies competing for the John Carter Memorial Award, the flop of the year.

My industry standards, they consider a movie breaking even if it makes 2 and a half times its production budget.  Most of the films competing for the infamous John Carter Memorial Award do not come anywhere near that.

Previous winners:  John Carter, Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Lone Ranger, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Expendables 3, Jem and the Holograms, Pan, Rock the Casbah.

A movie can be considered in this category, and even win this category, and still be a great movie.  John Carter itself was not the worst movie that year.  Inflated budgets and poor marketing can be part of the reason a film flops.  Other reasons could include poor scheduling, bad word of mouth, bad critical reactions, too much competition, limited appeal, too many risks etc.

There are a bunch of runners-up for 2017.  I had almost given this award to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets because of its massive budget.  But while it did not make money, the film had more oversea income than I thought it did.  That made me happy, because I liked Valerian.  I also liked Justice League but there is no denying that it was not what Warner Brothers had hoped.  It looks as if it will be finishing its original theatrical run making less money than Dr. Strange, and who would have guessed that?  Blade Runner 2049 was another film that was beautiful and well made only to be shunned by movie goers. Hard to make a $175 million dollar sequel to an original movie that also flopped at the box office only to become a cult classic.  There was Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell which was a failure all around.  The Dark Universe collapsed under the weight of the flop that was The Mummy.  Destroying a planned cinematic universe gave this movie some extra points in flop-i-tude.  Geostorm was one of those really stupid movies that you could have fun with by shutting down your brain, but they spent WAY TOO MUCH MONEY on it.  Then there was Just Getting Started, a horrible film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman that, apparently, nobody knew was coming out.

However, none of these take the John Carter Memorial Award.  When looking at the numbers, this one is the clear “winner” of this award.  It made $148.7 worldwide on a $175 million dollar budget.  OUCH!  It was a terrible movie too.

The 2017 John Cater Memorial Award goes to….

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Guy Ritchie had considered making this a six-part movie series.  I am guessing that there will not be much chance of seeing that happen.  Charlie Hunnam starred as Arthur.  The rest of this film was terrible and forgettable.  Audiences around the world rejected the bloated, retelling of a tale no one was demanding for.

Every year there are small performances and appearances that are fun for the audience… winks to the crowd… with cameos.  Some cameos are basically Easter eggs.  Some cameos are more intricate to the plot.  All are fun.

So here is the EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award

Previous Winners:  John Cena, Two-Time Winner Stan Lee, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman.

Runners-Up:  Elton John (Kingsman 2), Weird Al Yankovic (How to Be a Latin Lover), Gwyneth Paltrow (Spider-man: Homecoming), Matt Damon (Thor: Ragnarok), Bruce Willis (Split), David Hasselhoff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Joe Manganiello (Justice League), Stan Lee (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok)

Winner:

Yoda (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

There were a ton of great cameos this year.  I thought this award was going to Elton John for his over-the-top appearance in Kingsman.  Bruce Willis showed up and completely changed the perception of Split.

However, then a certain force ghost showed up…

The scene with Yoda and Luke Skywalker is one of the best scenes in The Last Jedi and is based solely in the character.  This was the old Yoda.  Puppet Yoda.  Not the CGI Yoda that we got in the prequels.  Frank Oz returned for the voice and it was wonderful and very funny.

And I guess Force Ghosts really do need to sit down.

Here are the 2017 Gomer and the Spider-man 3 Disappointment of the Year Awards.

There are few things better than going into a movie and being surprised by it, whether it is a movie that you haven’t heard of that turns out great or a movie you went into with low expectations only to see them blown away.  This winner is awarded The Gomer (in honor of the late Jim Nabors).

Previous winners of the Gomer include:  The Gift, Edge of Tomorrow, We’re the Millers, The Campaign, Ouija: Origin of Evil

Runners-Up:  Brigsby Bear, Get Out, Split, How to Be a Latin Lover, Annabelle: Creation, The Man Who Invented Christmas

The Gomer goes to….

Ferdinand

Never thought in a million years that I was going to be as entertained by Ferdinand as I was.  I was sure it was just another time wasting animated film like Nut Job 2 or another Ice Age movie.  I was so wrong.  John Cena was great as the voice of the bull who would rather smell flowers than fight and Kate McKinnon was perfect as the Coach Goat.  Ferdinand caught me completely off-guard, and that was a good thing.

The other end of the spectrum is where the Spider-man 3 Disappointment of the Year resides.  These are movies where you have high hopes for a great film only to see them quashed by reality.

Previous “winners” of the Spider-man 3 Disappointment of the Year: In the Heart of the Sea, Amazing Spider-man 2, After Earth, Dark Knight Rises, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Batman v. Superman

Runners-Up: The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Wonder, Kingsman 2, Batman & Harley Quinn, The Dark Tower

“Winner” of the Spider-man 3 Disappointment of the Year: 

The Snowman

I had high hopes for this one.  I enjoyed the trailers and I always love a good serial killer/mystery murder thriller.  That is what this looked like and it had Michael Fassbender in it as well.  How could it go wrong?  I am still not sure how, but The Snowman is in competition for the number one spot on the worst movies of the year list.  It was predictable.  It was poorly written.  Michael Fassbender’s characters name was Harry Hole (I kid you not).  Now, the character name is from the book series that this is based on, but still… it is not like you couldn’t adjust that name a bit.  Overall, it was one of the worst experiences I have had this year, and that made it a terrible disappointment.

Every year there are some amazing performances by actors who are not yet of age.  Children can really stick out if they are not solid performers.  None of these kids have issues …

Previous winners:  Emjay Anthony, Jacob Tremblay, Millie Bobby Brown

There were a lot of great performances this year among the child actors.

Runners-Up:

#10.  Kelvin Harrison Jr (It Comes at Night)

#9.  Noah Jupe (Suburbicon)

#8.  McKenna Grace (Gifted)

#7.  Ella Anderson (Glass Castles)

#6.  Judah Lewis (The Babysitter)

#5.  Lulu Wilson (Annabelle: Creation)

#4.  Jacob Tremblay (Book of Henry, Wonder)

Two great roles for Jacob, a former winner of this award.  Many hated The Book of Henry, but I loved it.  And you cannot disagree that Jacob was excellent there too. 

#3.  The kids from Stranger Things

The Stranger Things kids, in particular Noah Schnapp, were great in their return to Netflix.  Schnapp has a chance for an Emmy nomination.  If not for a very strong year, this award would have been his.  Millie Bobby Brown won this award last year. 

#2.  The kids from It

It was as great as it was because of the fantastic ensemble performances from these kids. Finn Wolfhard was both here and in the #3 ensemble.  

Winner:

#1.  Dafne Keen (Logan)

Dafne Keen was so amazing in Logan.  It was a role that was vital for the success of that film.  If Laura (X-23) could not carry her own, Logan would have started behind the eight ball.  Laura had to act much of the movie without dialogue, showing her feelings, emotions and thoughts with her face and her body language.  And she kicked some serious butt. She was remarkable.