7. Logan (dir. James Mangold)
While there were a handful of well-made superhero movies this year that were, well, just plain ol’ fun — Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok — the best comic-book-inspired offering this year — and maybe ever — was the weighty, somber, ultra-violent final chapter in the X-Men’s Wolverine saga (at least with actor Hugh Jackman wielding the retractable claws). Jackman says goodbye to the role that made him a star by delivering depth and grit the character has never displayed before. As Charles Xavier (Professor X), actor Patrick Stewart, too, expands on his longtime mutant role with vulnerability, while newcomer Dafne Keen blazes across the screen with visceral energy.
6. The Post (dir. Steven Spielberg)
A fascinating newspaper drama set in the early 1970s during the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, documents that proved the U.S. government was lying to the American public and Congress about the Vietnam War for years, director Steven Spielberg makes the newspaper industry come to life in a film that is necessary viewing for anyone concerned about how certain First Amendment rights seem to be viewed as optional by the current administration. Aside from its timeliness, Spielberg’s opus on the Freedom of the Press is also an effective narrative on female empowerment anchored by a contemplative performance by living legend Meryl Streep. Who else can make a scene where a decision has to be made over the telephone so transfixing?
