As you have probably noticed, my annual “Countdown to the Oscars” blog was a bit nonexistent this year – and by “a bit,” I mean completely!  Due to an incredibly busy work schedule over the past year, I have been unable to see quite the number of films I usually prefer to see or devote a chunk of time to blogging about them – next year I hope to get right back on the review train for a complete season of best-of-the-year blogging!  Nonetheless, with tonight’s Academy Awards quickly approaching, I still wanted to share with you my thoughts on the past year in film.

Although I surely missed some movies this year that many have loved, such as Wonder Woman, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Coco, I was lucky enough to watch a large number of incredible films that made me laugh, made me cry, and certainly made me think.  Below, you will find my Top 10 Films of 2017, as well as a more complete ranking of each movie I watched from this past year at the end (45 in total).  As you will see below, my favorite film of the year was Blade Runner 2049 – visually arresting and cinematically stunning.

Additionally, you will find below my personal Oscars ballot for this year – per usual, it includes my ranking of each nominee in the fourteen categories in which I have seen each nominated film/performance.  This year, although it ranks as No. 3 on my list of the year’s best movies (the top two were not nominated for Best Picture), my pick for Best Picture is The Shape of Water.

So, check out my ballot and list of my favorite movies from 2017, and make sure to tune into the 90th Academy Awards tonight at 7:00pm (CST) on ABC, live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Enjoy, film fans.

Top 10 Films of 2017

1.	Blade Runner 2049
2.	The Big Sick
3.	The Shape of Water
4.	Get Out
5.	Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
6.	Good Time
7.	The Disaster Artist
8.	Call Me by Your Name
9.	Wind River
10.	Dunkirk

90th Academy Awards Ballot

Best Picture

1. The Shape of Water
2. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Get Out
4. Call Me by Your Name
5. Dunkirk
6. Lady Bird
7. Darkest Hour
8. Phantom Thread
9. The Post

Best Actor

1. Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
2. Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
3. Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
4. Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
5. Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Best Actress

1. Frances McDormand – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
3. Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
4. Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
5. Meryl Streep – The Post

Best Supporting Actor

1. Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
3. Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
4. Willem Defoe – The Florida Project
5. Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World

Best Supporting Actress

1. Allison Janney – I, Tonya
2. Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
3. Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
4. Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
5. Mary J. Blige – Mudbound

Best Director

1. Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
2. Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
3. Jordan Peele – Get Out
4. Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
5. Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread

Best Original Screenplay

1. Jordan Peele – Get Out
2. Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick
3. Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor – The Shape of Water
4. Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber – The Disaster Artist
2. James Ivory – Call Me by Your Name
3. Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game
4. Virgil Williams and Dee Rees – Mudbound
5. Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green – Logan

Best Original Score

1. Alexandre Desplat – The Shape of Water
2. Carter Burwell – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread
4. John Williams – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
5. Hans Zimmer – Dunkirk

Best Cinematography

1. Roger Deakins – Blade Runner 2049
2. Hoyte van Hoytema – Dunkirk
3. Dan Laustsen – The Shape of Water
4. Bruno Delbonnel – Darkest Hour
5. Rachel Morrison – Mudbound

Best Film Editing

1. Sidney Wolinsky – The Shape of Water
2. Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos – Baby Driver
3. Jon Gregory – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
4. Lee Smith – Dunkirk
5. Tatiana S. Riegel – I, Tonya

Best Production Design

1. Dennis Gassner (Production Design) and Alessandra Querzola (Set Decoration) – Blade Runner 2049
2. Paul Denham Austerberry (Production Design) and Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin (Set Decoration) – The Shape of Water
3. Nathan Crowley (Production Design) and Gary Fettis (Set Decoration) – Dunkirk
4. Sarah Greenwood (Production Design) and Katie Spencer (Set Decoration) – Darkest Hour
5. Sarah Greenwood (Production Design) and Katie Spencer (Set Decoration) – Beauty and the Beast

Best Sound Editing

1. Mark Mangini and Theo Green – Blade Runner 2049
2. Richard King and Alex Gibson – Dunkirk
3. Julian Slater – Baby Driver
4. Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreria – The Shape of Water
5. Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Sound Mixing

1. Ron Bartlett, Dough Hemphill, and Marc Ruth – Blade Runner 2049
2. Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, and Gary A. Rizzo – Dunkirk
3. Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, and Mary H. Ellis – Baby Driver
4. Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, and Glen Gauthier – The Shape of Water
5. David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, and Stuart Wilson – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Complete Ranking of Films Seen from 2017

1.	Blade Runner 2049
2.	The Big Sick
3.	The Shape of Water
4.	Get Out
5.	Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
6.	Good Time
7.	The Disaster Artist
8.	Call Me by Your Name
9.	Wind River
10.	Dunkirk
11.	I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.
12.	Lady Bird
13.	Lady Macbeth
14.	The Work
15.	Darkest Hour
16.	Phantom Thread
17.	I, Tonya
18.	Molly’s Game
19.	The Beguiled
20.	I, Daniel Blake
21.	Dealt
22.	Baby Driver
23.	The Girl with All the Gifts
24.	The Meyerowitz Stories
25.	The Post
26.	Spielberg
27.	Burning Sands
28.	All the Money in the World
29.	Berlin Syndrome
30.	To the Bone
31.	Brawl in Cell Block 99
32.	Logan
33.	Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi
34.	Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press
35.	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
36.	The Hero
37.	The Florida Project
38.	Unrest
39.	Score: A Film Music Documentary
40.	Roman J. Israel, Esq.
41.	Beauty and the Beast
42.	Oklahoma City
43.	Split
44.	Fifty Shades Darker
45.	The Little Hours