Previously, in 2017

 2017: A Look Back

We are kicking off our 17th Oscar Viewing Project retrospective after finishing up 2003 this past weekend, and we're doing it on the morning of the Oscar nominations themselves, so a nice bit of synergy.  We traditionally have done two ballots a week, and what I'll say is that will be the minimum in this season (we're working toward a project I have in mind which requires some speed).  So expect a full season (all 22 articles), but a faster one with 2+ articles a week in the coming month or two.

That's enough behind-the-scenes, so I want you to sit back, relax, and transport yourself...actually, we're going to go to 2017-I want you to stay on high alert, get out your protest signs, & prepare to vote in the midterms...2017 was not a time to relax.  And of course, let's remember the movies...

Box Office

This is what the Top 10 at the (Domestic) Box Office looked like:

1. Star Wars: Episode VIII-The Last Jedi

2. Beauty and the Beast

3. Wonder Woman

4. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming

7. It

8. Thor: Ragnarok

9. Despicable Me 2

10. Justice League

Franchises/Remakes, once again, owned the box office of 2017.  Every single one of these films was either a remake or a franchise at the time; you have to go to #13 on the domestic box office with Coco to find a movie that wasn't a part of a franchise in some fashion.  Of these ten films, I have seen eight-It is not a movie I will watch (the subject matter is too much for me, and I'm squeamish about super violent modern horror films), and I never saw Justice League because I stuck to my word about not needing another Batman for a while after Christian Bale hung up his cape (this will work out perfectly as I'm now ready for Robert Pattinson to don the guise without feeling exhausted).  Other $100+ million films of 2017 that I haven't seen include Split, Daddy's Home 2, Murder on the Orient Express, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

The Films I Missed

While I've seen all of the Oscar nominees, I haven't seen every film in 2017.  In addition to the films I just listed, there are a few films that were in contention at precursors that didn't make it to the Oscars.  Some of the bigger names I'm missing are Destroyer, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, and Death of Stalin. I have plans to watch at least 6-7 films from 2017, including a couple I've name-checked here (Orient Express and Film Stars being the top of the list as both feel in my wheelhouse), in the coming weeks as we head through 2017 & the epilogue of "My Oscar Ballot."  If there's some movie that you think I should catch as we reflect on 2017 that Oscar completely ignored, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise we'll be hitting Best Makeup in the next day or so.