It’s easy to write a “best of 2017” list, but they all also end up being mostly the same. I figured I do a “ones you may have missed” list instead. Not all of these are classics, but I think all of them deserved more attention than they ultimately got.

5. The Great Wall

First let me preface this by saying that this movie lives in a precarious place. I don’t really want to unpack that here, plenty of other people more qualified than me have done so elsewhere. I suggest w.gogle.com for finding those analyses.

“The Great Wall” is a pretty fun historical fantasy, if nothing else because it posits a hilariously ridiculous reason for China’s great wall: monster dog things that come every 100 years. And of course in order to defeat them, you need color-coded armies to defeat them. Matt Damon as the protagonist is largely incidental: he’s just there to ask the questions the audience wants to ask. Like most Chinese martial-arts focused movies, this one has memorable sequences done expertly. If that kind of thing is your bag, I don’t think you’ll regret this one.

4. Happy Death Day

I was hyped up for this movie since the day I saw the trailer for this movie. Slasher + Groundhog Day? Sign me the fuck up.

Then the movie came out and I saw it. And… it’s really fucking good! It’s well acted for a relatively unknown cast, well paced, and even given the well-trod ground it’s built on it still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Also - and this was surprising - it’s almost a feel good movie? The main character’s arc is largely about finding her own identity in a way that jibes positively with the people around her, instead of negatively. I’m not a big horror fan and I still really liked this movie, I highly suggest checking out even if you aren’t 100% sure about every aspect of it. The only disappointing part is that the 50 Cent track from the trailer isn’t actually in the final film.

3. Battle of the Sexes

I initially wasn’t aware of the events that this movie is based on, and I very much enjoyed the experience of being able to learn about it like this. Emma Stone and Steve Carrell both turn in amazing performances that make you wonder why they aren’t both getting more roles and more praise. One thing I really appreciated about this movie was it’s avoidance of tendency of period peices to treat its depictions of prejudice as things of the past. This movie feels a bit like a mirror, showing how close we still are to the society of the 70s. In particular, it does a great job of portraying the dual role every woman has to play trying to be the best at what they do professionally while competing on unequal grounds with the men in their same position. Honestly, out of all of the movies on this list (even though it’s #3) I think this one is the most important to see.

2. Logan Lucky

If you heard that this movie was “basically Ocean’s 11 with rednecks” and you weren’t immediately hooked, then let me give you this: it’s so much better than Ocean’s 11. I haven’t seen a movie with this much heart in quite some time. A movie that’s ostensibly a heist movie, but you find yourself equally glued to the screen for a scene of 8 year old girl’s beauty pageant talent portion. For such a large cast, it’s also crazy how well everyone shines through. Daniel Craig’s performance alone is enough to make you think he’s capable of so much more than we’ve given him in his stint as Bond.

I really could go on and on about this movie. Go see it, you won’t regret it.

1. Colossal

Who knew a movie about something so strange could feel so personal?

Colossal is the kind of movie that has to be seen to be believed. But, I’ll try to describe it anyway: Gloria (Anne Hathaway) has to move back to her hometown and falls back into destructive cycles with her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudekis), until she finds out that when she walks through a playground at a particular time of day, she controls the actions of a giant monster in Seoul. This premise really barely scratches the surface of what’s going on in this movie. This movie has themes of addiction, power, morality, and purpose. Jason Sudekis has an initially understated performance that really feels like it could come from no one else. And the ridiculousness of the premise does what the best scifi does: it heightens the sharpness with which the themes come through.

Just see it, please.