My pick for TOP TEN films for 2017

The list was not easy to limit to Ten pictures - But here is my top Ten for best films for 2017 -- Including some runner up listings, it was great to see female Directors that I hope make the nominations list at the Oscars and other film fest events.

The Best film of 2017 - CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

The summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father. Wonderful spin of Death in Venice and a wonderful peach salad. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, is sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the novel by André Aciman.

Director:

Luca Guadagnino

Writers:

James Ivory (screenplay by), André Aciman based on the novel.

Stars:

Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg

Number 2 pick for best Film -THE BIG SICK

Kumail is a Pakistani comic who meets an American graduate student named Emily at one of his stand-up shows. As their relationship blossoms, he soon becomes worried about what his traditional Muslim parents will think of her. My favorite love story in a few years since I am not always a fan of mix matched romance storys - but this one hit home -

Director:

Michael Showalter

Writers:

Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani

Stars:

Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter .

Number 3 Favorite film - LADY BIRD

Marion McPherson, a California nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her -- loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated. Not the standard Teen anxed picture and this will score well during award season.

Director:

Greta Gerwig

Writer:

Greta Gerwig

Stars:

Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts

My pick for Number 4 - DUNKIRK and DARKEST HOUR

These two films need to been seen back to back if that is possible. In May 1940, Germany advance into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Under air and ground cover from British and French forces, troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found.

The hero of Dunkirk is CHURCHILL who is featured in DARKEST HOUR A thrilling and inspiring true story begins at the precipice of World War II as, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writer:

Christopher Nolan

Stars:

Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance

Number 5 film of 2017 - FLORIDA PROJECT

Warm, winning, and gloriously alive, Sean Baker’s The Florida Project is a deeply moving and unforgettably poignant look at childhood. Set on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World, The Florida Project follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince in a stunning breakout turn) and her rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinai, another major discovery) over the course of a single summer. The two live week to week at “The Magic Castle,” a budget hotel managed by Bobby a career-best Willem Dafoe.

Director:

Sean Baker

Writers:

Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch

Stars:

Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe

Number 6 - SHAPE OF WATER -

Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab's classified secret -- a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist.

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers:

Guillermo del Toro (screenplay by), Vanessa Taylor

Stars:

Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon

Number 7 - WAR OF PLANET OF APES

Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.

Director:

Matt Reeves

Writers:

Mark Bomback, Matt Reeves

Stars:

Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson,

Steve Zahn

Number 8 - THE HOSTILES

In 1892, legendary Army Capt. Joseph Blocker reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal land. Embarking on a harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, N.M., to the grasslands of Montana, they soon encounter a young widow whose family was killed on the plains. The travelers must now band together to survive a punishing landscape that's crawling with hostile Comanches and vicious outliers.

Director:

Scott Cooper

Writers:

Scott Cooper (screenplay), Donald E. Stewart (manuscript)

Stars:Christian Bale

Scott Shepherd, Rosamund Pike, Ava Cooper

Number 9 - THE POST

Katharine Graham is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper -- The Washington Post. With help from editor Ben Bradlee, Graham races to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. Together, they must overcome their differences as they risk their careers -- and very freedom -- to help bring long-buried truths to light.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Liz Hannah, Josh Singer

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson

Number 10 - BABY DRIVER

Talented getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After meeting the woman (Lily James) of his dreams, he sees a chance to ditch his shady lifestyle and make a clean break. Coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), Baby must face the music as a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. This was most likely Spacey final official film for many years. The is LA LA Land for car chase films.