The 2017 Shadow Awards

It is that time again. It is bigger than the Oscars. It is my Shadow Awards for 2017!!!!


THE SHADOW AWARD FOR BEST BREAKTHROUGH NEWCOMER AWARD

Zendaya





Yes she has been on the Disney Channel for years...but now on the big screen. Yes she had small parts in the past, but this year she showed she is a triple threat in The Greatest Showman with her acting; singing; and dancing. Then in Spiderman Homecoming she took a small role and became one of the favorites of the film.


BEST YEAR AS AN ACTRESS AWARD

Jessica Chastain





A great year which started with The Zookeepers Wife, which she was believable playing Antonina Zabinska, a German...well the zookeepers wife...who saved hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion.
Then she played another real character...Molly Bloom... a woman who ran her own high stakes poker games in California and New York. Then came under fire by the FBI. Again she is fantastic.


BEST YEAR AS AN ACTOR AWARD

James McAvoy





My first film I saw in 2017 was Split. Where McAvoy plays Dennis/Patricia/ The Beast/ Kevin Wendell/ Crumb/Barry/Orwell/ and Jade. 8 characters. He pulled it off. So creepy and yet so wonderful. Then later on in the year he played the sleazy David Percival, who goes toe to toe with Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde. He plays David with a big personality, which works going up against the very cold Theron.
Two great performances!!!


FUNNIEST FILM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Girls Trip



Yes it was a very bad year for comedies. However this one gave me the most laughs, led by the very funny, borderline annoying Tiffany Hadish as Dina.  She clearly steals the film.


ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR AWARD

The LEGO Batman Movie



It was not a great year for animation. It was between Coco and this. This won out. It was cleverly written with many a dry joke and a interesting story line. It crashed and burned at the end...still...it had a great first hour.


MY BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Baby Driver



I am not a Fast And Furious type of guy. I not a huge fan of special effects driven films. I like real sets and practical effects. So when I saw the trailer for this I went NAAAH. Then reviews came out. So I thought, why not. What a surprise. Action yes; but in reality a sweet love story with great chemistry between Ansel Elgort and Lily James. A great surprise.


MY CUTEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Kedi



The clear winner. I mean kittens and cute cats. Enough said.


BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE AWARD

Thor Ragnarok



Everyone loved Wonder Woman, however this was better. People forget how bad the ending of Wonder Woman was. This film however gave me hope, me being the guy who is "superhero movied out". Thor Ragnarock was well written; had a lot of action; was often funny; and it stayed really good all the way through.


BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT AWARD

Murder On The Orient Express



So many stars. An opportunity to...go about it with a different angle. So boring, it just lays there. Again with all those stars how does it just lay there? I left the theater going ...AAAAHHH. Trust me everybody in the theater walked out so quiet...they would have gone AAAAHHH to.


BEST SURPRISE ENDING AWARD
David Dunn In Split



How did they keep it a secret? No one saw it coming. Connecting to a movie from 17 years ago. M Night pulled it off.

Best Lines Of The Year Award

From Fifty Shades Darker



If you don't get it...oh well I thought it was awesome.


HOLES EVERYWHERE BUT CRITICS IGNORE AWARD ( Spoilers)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri



Yes it gave us three great performances. However:

-Three billboards burn but somehow the frames are just fine. IT IS WOOD!!!
-Mildred hits a high school student. Like belts a high school student. Nothing happens???!! On school property!!
-Dixon throws a man out of a second floor window but is not charged at all???!!

These are not small holes...they are big holes in the film. Yet it may win best picture!!!


BEST TRAILER OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Greatest Showman



I remember seeing this trailer in the theater. Remember this film came into the Christmas season without much of a buzz. When the trailer popped up in the theater in the fall...people were clapping at the trailer. The trailer attacked, making the wise decision by using the song This Is Me. This trailer generated it's own buzz. Think about it....you did not see many advertisements. The trailer did the job...and like the trailer the film then took over and created it's own buzz....word of mouth.

Well there are my awards.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.