While it was challenged, Dunkirk lead the way in the voting for the 6th Annual Killing Time Community’s Best Picture, and managed to hold off an early charge by Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and a surprising late onslaught by Wind River to give Christopher Nolan his second win in six years.  The story of this year’s poll may well be just how divided people were over what the best film of last year was.  Out of 15 nominees, 13 received votes, and though Dunkirk won, it did so with only 21.43% of the vote, the lowest winning percentage of any champion in the six years of the poll.  Finishing a surprising second was Wind River with 17.86%.  Wind River, while fantastic, hasn’t really figured in to any awards talk, and didn’t receive a single Oscar nomination.  Star Wars: The Last Jedi broke the Star Wars winning streak and finished third with 10.71%.  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, finished fourth with 8.93%, and Get Out and Wonder Woman tied for fifth place with 7.14%.

Dunkirk joins the Killing Time Hall of Fame alongside past poll winners, becoming the sixth KT Community Best Picture of the Year.  Tomorrow, I’ll reveal my picks before Oscar weekend with Killing Time’s version of the Oscars: The Renaissance Film Awards.

2012: The Dark Knight Rises 
2013: Gravity
2014: Guardians of the Galaxy 
2015: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2017: Dunkirk

 

Halfway through the voting for 2017’s Killing Time Community film of the year, and two trends have made themselves clear.  One, this is an unparalleled year for parity with 12 of the 15 nominees receiving votes already as Best Picture.  Two, this seems like a two-horse race for the top spot between Dunkirk and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  The Christopher Nolan-directed WWII  film is leading voting with 29.17% and the only film anywhere near it is the controversial Episode VIII with 20.83%.  Star Wars films have won the last two years.  Will the back half of voting see anyone else rally from the pack, or will it be Dunkirk vs. The Last Jedi to the finish line.  VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!! Continue reading POLL UPDATE: BEST FILM OF 2017 HALFWAY POINT!!! →

2017 wasn’t anywhere near the quality year we were spoiled with in 2016 at the movies, but it did have a number of gems.  So now it falls to the Killing Time Community to do their yearly duty and anoint one movie as the BEST FILM OF 2017.  I do my own yearly awards (The Renaissance Film Awards) just before the Oscars, so this is the readers’ pick; YOUR pick.  Will you follow the critics toward The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri?  Will a Star Wars film win for the third year in a row with the divisive yet financially successful The Last Jedi?  Or will you recognize a film the Academy denied like Beauty and the Beast, Blade Runner 2049, or Wonder Woman?

Here are how the 15 finalists for the award were chosen: I took the nine films the Academy nominated for Best Picture, added the next four highest ranked by my personal list, and then added the top two box office earners not covered by either previous category.  All year you tolerate (mostly politely) my opinions, but this is your award.  This is our most important poll of the year, so VOTE!  The winner will be announced on March 2, 2018 (Friday before Oscar), and will join the hallowed ranks of these past winners:
2012: The Dark Knight Rises 
2013: Gravity
2014: Guardians of the Galaxy 
2015: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2017: ?????????????????????????

PS – Forward this around or direct your fellow movie lovers to the Killing Time homepage (https://justkillingti.me) to cast their votes.  We want to get as many as possible for the biggest KT Community event of the year!