It’s been a crazy good year for movies this year and we’ve still got a few months left in 2017. With hopes high looking forward to upcoming movies like “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Justice League” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” this year in movies is turning out to be an amazing one.

There have been a lot of movies that have done exceedingly well in the box office or in reviews this year, with most of those becoming instant favorites of many movie-goers. I’ll be breaking down my personal top 10 favorite movies of 2017 so far. Here they are:

10. “Despicable Me 3”

Steve Carell returns to the big screen as animated characters Gru and brother Dru in this third film in the “Despicable Me” movie series. The movie was pretty decent, with a good mixture of funny jokes and scenes as well as a good story. Although not as good as the first two in the series, lacking slightly in the moments of comedy that I’m used to from a “Despicable Me movie,” it was an overall good movie which is why this one takes the number ten spot on my list.

9. “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2”

Also a sequel, “Guardians of The Galaxy 2” follows the guardians as they once again battle the forces of evil in this widely-anticipated follow-up to the amazing first movie in 2014. Some might argue with my placement of this movie on my list, but I stuck Guardians 2 here for many reasons. The biggest reasons are the lack of a well-developed and complete story. With lots of plot holes and a weak script, the only redeeming factor that saves this movie is Chris Pratt’s funny lines and other comedy thrown throughout the movie.

8. “Spider-Man: Homecoming”

Once again, we get a different take on the classic spider-man origin story. This time we see the introduction of Iron Man into the plot of Spidey’s rise to becoming a superhero. I was a little worried how this time around would be any different than all the other spider-man origin movies, but director Jon Watts delivered a unique story with an interesting, although slightly predictable, twist. Despite the great story, one major thing fell short for me with this movie: the acting across the board for this movie wasn’t all that great. Of course, well-known marvel movie stars such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans were fantastic in their acting and I also loved watching Michael Keaton do a fantastic job playing the main villain, Vulture. But actors and actresses like Zendaya (Michelle), Jacob Batalon (Ned) and even spidey himself, Tom Holland, didn’t really deliver a great performance in this movie. These combined attributes and weaknesses of this movie are what propelled me to stick this movie into the number eight spot on this list.

7. “The Lego Batman Movie”

Now for the surprise on this list; “The Lego Batman Movie” was one I was not all too thrilled to go see. I actually never went and saw it until it came out on Redbox months after the initial release of the film in theatres. But, when I finally sat down and watched it, this movie proved to be a very funny film with a unique story and a TON of references to various other movies that sparked my interest. I think one of the main reasons I have this movie so far up my list is because it was super fun for me to pay close attention to the small details in the movie so I could possibly catch a witty reference. The story and voice acting were also very good, with main characters Batman and Robin being fantastically voice-acted by Will Arnet and Michael Cera.     

6. “Beauty and The Beast”

While walking into the theatre to see this movie, I, as well as many others, were having doubts of how interesting or entertaining yet another Disney classic remake would be. But the movie-making giant pulled it off once again, delivering another fantastic live-action remake which stuck to the original storyline while also managing to seem exciting and new. The acting is what ultimately made this movie such a great film, with popular movie stars Emma Watson, Luke Evans and Josh Gad performing outstandingly in their respective roles as Belle, Gaston and LeFou. No part of this movie seemed slow or boring and the classic songs like “Be Our Guest” and “Gaston” were spot-on, making me enjoy them even more than I already did from the animated movie.

5. “Wonder Woman”

Probably the most hyped-up movie on this list besides maybe “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2”, “Wonder Woman” was the most popular and most talked about movie of summer 2017. All the buzz about how amazing this movie was created a lot of high expectations going into this film for me, and it met them almost throughout the entire movie. The acting, visuals and good mixture of comedy and action were all phenomenal in this movie with lead actress Gal Gadot absolutely shining in her role as Princess Diana. The only thing that hampered the excellence of this film was the story progression. The origin story of “Wonder Woman” is well known and for the most part this movie sticks to it, but the plot can become confusing and/or vague at times, leading to times where it is hard to understand what exactly is going on. But overall, this is a fantastic movie and I can’t wait to see Gal Gadot return to her superhero role in the “Justice League” movie releasing in November 2017.   

4. “Annabelle: Creation”

Now I know not everyone is a horror fan like myself, but if you were interested in the genre and looking to start off with a good scare, look no further than one of the movies from “The Conjuring” universe which also extends out into the “Annabelle” film series. With one of the best horror plots in cinema, “Annabelle: Creation” extends upon the history of the cursed toy doll, Annabelle, seen in both Conjuring films and also starring in its first stand-alone movie, “Annabelle”. The story was absolutely amazing, which is very unusual for a horror film, and the fright factor was outstanding. The acting was great too, and although the kid actors were the weakest of the cast, they still did a good job playing terrified teens.     

3. “Dunkirk”

Taking place in a city on the Western shore of France during World War II, “Dunkirk” tells the thrilling story of French and British soldiers retreating from mainland Europe in their fight with Germany. The film is broken up into three different viewpoints, a pilot, an infantry soldier in the city Dunkirk and an English fisherman using his small boat as a rescue vessel. All three stories told were phenomenal, each one giving a different viewpoint on the grim circumstances France and Britain were in during the retreat. The cinematography in this movie absolutely took my breath away. Every camera shot was beautiful and fully captured the grand scheme of the war and how awful it was. The acting was excellent, the story was stunning and the screenplay was the best I’ve ever seen and definitely the best on this list.     

2. “IT”

Earlier on this list at number four, I talked about horror movies that have good plots, but none of those movies compare to the Stephen King masterpiece, “IT”. Pennywise the dancing clown and the young kids of Derry have been known and talked about non-stop ever since the 1986 release of the terrifying novel written by King that was later a televised three hour movie in 1990 and now, the first part in a two-part film series on the big screen in 2017. The thing I enjoyed so much about this film was how the plot stuck so much to the book, strengthening the story. The small details that were thrown in from the book made the movie so much better than it would be without them and I was very happy that they were included. The acting was spotless, especially with main villain Pennywise played by Bill Skarsgard and even with the kid actors who starred in the movie. The fear factor was cranked up all the way to 11 in this frightening tale of a demented clown who feeds on the flesh of innocent children, and add that factor in with jump scares, disturbing or frightening scenes and the terrifying Pennywise and you’ve got one of the best, if not THE best, horror film in cinema history and the number two movie on this list.

1. “Baby Driver”

Director Edgar Wright does it once again. “Baby Driver” was a roller coaster of comedy, intense action scenes that were wild and unpredictable, and an underlying theme of romance that ultimately drove the whole story. Even before seeing this movie, I was amazed at the cast that was lined up for this film, with Ansel Elgort taking the lead role as Baby and Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Lily James all taking supporting roles in this fantastic masterpiece of a film. Baby Driver delivers a perfect story supported by nail-biting action scenes and a massive playlist of songs playing in the background of nearly the entire movie. The music made the movie flow almost seamlessly and turned this film into almost a musical ballad of speeding cars and getaway races. The acting was spectacular, the plot was perfect and the comedy was hilarious. Overall, this was by far the best movie of 2017 because of a stellar plot and a great script and acting.