As the ash settles (forever, thankfully) on the dumpster fire that was 2017, we at MJ reflect on the films defining the past 12 months. Check out our best of the first half of 2017 list and then enjoy our best of the rest, below, as we gear up for Awards Season, which promises to be yet another shit show this year. Our list is based on votes from the Moviejawn crew as well as contributors Melissa Strong, Emmi Kurowski, Suze L. Cima, and Hunter Bush. At the end, we've also included some honorable mentions to keep an eye out for. And the winners are!

1 - THE SHAPE OF WATER (7 votes, 3 #1 spots)

“Love is a funny thing, it can happen under the strangest circumstances with some creature you didn’t even know existed. It doesn’t need words, it lives in your heart. I wish the world was a lot more like this.” - Ashley McClosky

2 - LADY BIRD (6 votes, 2 #1 spots)

“Emotionally true and technically sound.” - Melissa Strong

3 - ATOMIC BLONDE (4 votes)

“Brutal fight scenes and impressively non-exploitative. Proof that bad-ass women can put butts in seats just as well (if not better) than any Bond actor.” - Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

4 - CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (4 votes)

“A refreshing and beautiful gay romance, that doesn't deal in its own gayness. It's less about any kind of coming out struggle or defining one's identity, and more about what it's like to fall in love, for the first time, or just with someone you have a profound connection with.” - Jaime Davis, The Fixer

5 - THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (3 votes, 1 #1 spot)

“Frances rages transcendently through the best performance of the year, and though life is far from what we wish, in fighting through it we find purpose.” - Sandy Devito

On top of that, we made a list of a few movies that had limited releases or were just at festivals that we think you should keep an eye out for.

1. Lucky starring Harry Dean Stanton.

2. Euthanizer - Finnish revenge extravaganza!

3. The Square starring Elisabeth Moss.

4. I, Tonya gives the full picture of the notorious Harding story.

5. The Meyerowitz Stories written and directed by Noah Baumbach and available on Netflix.