chloe
2017 has come to an end so to finish the year, I thought I’d do a wrap up of my favourite things from the year. This list will include; movies, TV shows, books and albums from the year. They will all be things that came out/happened in 2017 so won’t include, for example, Legend by Marie Lu that was one of my favourite books I read this year but didn’t come out in 2017. And, yes, La la Land came out in 2016 in America but came out in 2017 here so let me live. So, let’s get into it.
Movies:
1) Baby Driver
Okay, so, Baby Driver, the film that beat The Last Jedi to my number one spot. This movie is just absolutely incredible, it’s another movie in which I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did and now it’s my favourite movie of all time.
Baby Driver is action packed, thrilling, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was a huge form of escapism for me for weeks during the summer and it still is. I love taking two hours out of my day to sit down and watch this film. It was one of those films that seemed to do well because of word of mouth and I’m so glad I listened and went to see it. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I cannot recommend it enough.
2) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
If you know me, you’ll know that this isn’t a surprise. In fact, the surprise will be the fact it’s only at number two. This was, without a doubt, my most anticipated movie of 2017, I’ve had a countdown in my Twitter name for over a year now and it did not disappoint me. I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was about four years old. In fact, my brother was saying the other day how he remembers when we first watched The Original Trilogy and I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. The Last Jedi was amazing. I know it’s had mixed reviews but I thought it was bloody fantastic.
I first saw this movie at midnight on Thursday, 14th December and I have seen it four times since then. That’s how much I love this movie. Star Wars is something that means the absolute world and more to me and I’m so pleased that this movie did not disappoint. It was full of action and heart and emotion and I cannot wait until Episode Nine comes my way in 2019.
3) La La Land
Now, where to even start. La La Land is a bloody beautiful film. I went into the cinema for this not expecting to like it at all and I came out of the cinema a different person I swear. I mean, I do love musicals, I love Les Mis, Grease, West Side Story etc but I was nervous going into this movie but like I said, I loved it. The first thing I said when I walked out was ‘that movie just changed my life.’ I love this movie with every single fiber of my being. It was the first film ever to make me start crying in the middle of it because I was just so happy that this film had been made and that I was watching it.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were just fantastic in it and I love every second of this movie. If you haven’t seen La La Land yet, I cannot recommend it enough, it’s beautiful.
4) It
Next up is the adaptation of Stephen King’s It. Now, I’m not a huge horror movie fan, I don’t mind them but they’re not my favourite but oh my goodness, this movie was absolutely brilliant. I read It when I was around fifteen and I’m now nineteen so it was a while ago but I remember enjoying it and this movie just made me love it even more. Everyone said that it wasn’t scary but it was. Just because there wasn’t a load of cheesy jump scares doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary. The absolute tension of this movie just had my heart pounding. I loved it.
Also, let’s praise the kids in this movie because it was acting incredibly. I’m so excited for it to come out on DVD in a couple weeks so I can watch it again!
5) Dunkirk
Pretty sure I’ve said this about most films here but I wasn’t expecting to like Dunkirk as much as I did. Now, Dunkirk is a historical event that I don’t know much about so I didn’t really know what to expect. But this movie is amazing. I mean, Christopher Nolan is an incredible director but this movie just blew me away. I don’t know why I paid for a whole seat because to be honest, I only needed the edge. The tension in this movie is like I’ve never felt before. Following the three perspectives just had me feeling so many things and both times I watched it, I was absolutely shook.
Again, this film was acted so well and I’m so glad I went to see it!
Books:
1) Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
Little Monsters is about a girl named Kacey who moves to a town called Broken Falls to live with her dad and his family. She makes friends with two girls named Jade and Bailey and one night, they go to a party without inviting her and Bailey goes missing and everyone points the finger at Kacey.
So, the book is a mystery about what happened to Bailey and I’ll tell you, it is a ride. This book was absolutely incredible. My favourite standalone book is I Know What You Did Last Summer and Little Monsters reminded me of it so much. I’m so glad that I read this book and I know it’s a book that I will reread in the future and it is now definitely in my top three books of all time.
2) The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue by McKenzie Lee
Right, this book, where do I start? This book is funny, witty, adventurous and so important in terms of representation. This book follows our main character, Monty who is born into a rich family and is meant to be a gentlemen but he isn’t. He plays up and his father isn’t happy about it as Monty is meant to be taking over from him so he sends him, his best friend Percy and his sister Felicity on a trip around Europe. But, this book is so much more than that. I knew I was going to like this book but I didn’t know how much I was actually going to love it.
As well as having an incredible story, this book has a huge cast of characters. For one, Monty is bisexual. Percy is black and has epilepsy and people have a theory that Felicity is asexual. As someone who is bisexual and has epilepsy the representation in this book was so important to me and I was so happy with this book. It also tackles so many important issues and is most definitely a must read!
3) Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
I cannot really explain the plot of this book because it’ll give away Lady Midnight and maybe some of City of Heavenly Fire. And yes, if you haven’t guessed it yet, this is the newest edition of the Shadowhunters Chronicles. I love the Shadowhunters Chronicles so damn much and over the summer I did a huge reread of all of the books so I could then read Lord of Shadows and it was incredible. Lord of Shadows did not disappoint and it is definitely Cassandra Clare’s best written book to date.
This book was incredible but this book absolutely broke me. In fact, when I finished it, I threw it across the room because of the ending. But, don’t let that put you off. If you haven’t read the Shadowhunters Chronicles yet, you really should, they’re amazing.
4) Songs About Us by Chris Russell
Again, I can’t exactly explain the plot of this book without giving away the plot of the first book, Songs About A Girl so you should read that and then read Songs About Us. But, Songs About A Girl is about a girl named Charlie Bloom who loves photography. And, one day she gets a message from someone in the most famous boyband, Fire and Lights. The message is from a member of the band who used to go to school with her named Olly and he asks her if she’ll do photography for the band. The books then follow the ups and downs of Charlie’s life with the band and they’re so, so good.
These books are so cute and heartwarming but can also be stressful and emotional. I cried three times reading Songs About Us. Also, be warned that once you start reading them, you won’t stop. In fact, I read Songs About Us in the space of about three and a half hours? They’re fast paced and fun and if you haven’t, you should go and pick them up!
5) A List of Cages by Robin Roe
And my last book is A List Of Cages by Robin Roe. I only finished this book about two days ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. This book follows two boys; Adam and Julian. The two of them used to be foster brothers and in Julian’s freshman year of high school, Adam is assigned to him to take him to and from the school councilor. And, at first Adam is so happy to see the Julian he once knew but soon discovers something is wrong and he needs to find out what.
I am sure this book is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It was so beautiful but so hard to read and emotional and I’m getting a little teary just thinking about it. This book honestly felt like it ripped my heart out and stomped on it. But, it also shows this beautiful group of friends and how strong friendship can be. It is absolutely incredible.
Although, I’d put a huge trigger warning on this for emotional and physical child abuse!!!
Albums:
1) Last Young Renegade by All Time Low
So, my favourite album of this year was Last Young Renegade by All Time Low. Now, I have been an ATL fan since late 2009, early 2010 so since I was about eleven years old. This band have gotten me through thick and thin and to be honest, when I heard Future Hears back in 2015, I was so disappointed. So, to say I was nervous for this album is an understatement. But, then I heard the first single, Dirty Laundry and fell in love. And, I’m so happy I love this album so much.
I know a lot of fans don’t like this album because they changed. But, at the end of the day, bands do change. It must be so boring to just produce the same sound over and over again so bands do change. And, I really like this change. As long as the band are making music that they love and are proud of, I’m happy. And I’m even more happy that I love it too.
Favourite Songs: Dirty Laundry and Nice2KnowU
2) The Peace and The Panic by Neck Deep
Next up is, The Peace and The Panic by Neck Deep. Now, if you had said to me this time last year that a Neck Deep album would be on this album, I would have laughed. I really didn’t used to like this band but I was preparing for Slam Dunk by listening to their old albums and really enjoyed them. So, I started hyping myself up for this album and it didn’t disappoint. This album is absolutely incredible. I think one reason I love it so much is because I didn’t expect to.
This album has such a good range of songs on. From really upbeat, you can jam to songs such as Happy Judgement Day to sad, emotional ones such as Wish You Were Here. I really love this album.
Favourite Songs: In Bloom and Wish You Were Here
3) Lovely Little Lonely by The Maine
Ah, Lovely Little Lonely, one of my most anticipated albums of the year. This album makes me so happy because I just have so much love for this band. And, I also managed to get my dad into this band this year and they make him happy too which makes me even more happy. But anyway, if you haven’t ever listened to The Maine, go and listen to them because they are so underappreciated and are so worth everything.
I must admit, this album isn’t my favourite by them. But, I knew that I wouldn’t like it as much as American Candy. But, this album has some absolutely incredible songs on it. Again, it has songs that are quite upbeat and happy and then songs that make me cry. Make sure you go and give this album a listen!
Favourite Songs: Bad Behaviour and Taxi.
4) After Laughter by Paramore
Now, this is honestly an album I never thought we’d get. A new Paramore album. Like ATL, I’ve loved Paramore for a very long time. Back in 2009 when Brand New Eyes came out, my dad gave it to me and ever since that moment, I’ve been in love with this band. And, I was nervous about this album and on first listen, I wasn’t too fussed but by the end of release day, I was happy and in love with this piece of art.
What I love about After Laughter and I don’t know what this says about me, is that a lot of the songs are sad songs in a major tonality and that just pleases me. I loved Hard Times from the word go and it still is my favourite on this album. But, the album from start to finish is just incredible and I love this album so much.
Favourite Songs: Hard Times and Fake Happy
5) Harry Styles by Harry Styles
To be quite honest, I’m pretty sure this album is on a lot of people’s list for the year. Even my dad’s which is a sentence I never thought I’d say. I’ve been a One Direction fan from the start and I was so, so, so happy with this album. There isn’t a bad song on this album and I love the rock direction Harry went in. This album was just a complete surprise to me and I’m so happy to just hear his beautiful voice again.
From Sweet Creature to Kiwi to Two Ghosts to Woman, this album is a masterpiece. An absolute masterpiece and I’m so excited to hear the songs live for a second time next year.
Favourite Songs: Two Ghosts and Sweet Creature.
TV Shows:
1) Stranger Things 2
There was no doubt in my mind making this list that Stranger Things Series 2 would be number one. Again, this was my most anticipated show of 2017 and I was not disappointed. I was a little worried when I first started it but by the end, I was on the side of, it’s better than series 1. So many characters came into their own in series two such as Dustin and Steve and I just loved this series so much.
Stranger Things is one of those shows that I’ll never get sick of. In fact, when I was going through a rough patch at the end of November, start of December where all I did was lie in bed and binge Stranger Things. I think in the space of three weeks, I watched this show, both series, around five times. I just love the emotion and the comic relief and the tension of Stranger Things and I’m so happy series 2 was incredible.
2) Teen Wolf 6B
Teen Wolf is one of my favourite series of all time. And, I’ll admit, the first half of series 6, I didn’t like so I was nervous for the second half. But, I wasn’t disappointed at all because I really enjoyed 6B. I basically binge watched most of this series because I’d left a few episodes so they could build up and then I could binge them when I got to university. And, I think that was a good way to do it because a lot of the episodes left me needing the next one and that’s something I missed a lot during the first half.
Now, I am still of the opinion that it could have ended at the end of series 5 but I was still happy with the ending. It made me laugh and it made me cry and that was always my favourite thing about Teen Wolf. I also loved the characters coming back. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved Teen Wolf 6B.
3) Sherlock
Honestly, I almost forgot that this came out this year because it was in January. But, Sherlock series four FINALLY happened this year. I love Sherlock, I’ve loved Sherlock since I started watching it. And, it feels like we’ve been waiting for series four for so long and to me, it wasn’t disappointing. I know that it has a lot of mixed opinions and I understand why. I did have a few problems with series four but overall, I loved it.
How can I not love it? The Moriarty scene happened.
4) The 100
Again, The 100 is one of my favourite series of all time. Well, series one and two were. I was honestly so disappointed with series three and was going to give up with it. But, I’m glad I did carry on with series four. For me, this series really made me fall in love with this series again. Although, there was a huge thing that happened that broke me. Because, my favourite character deserved so much better. But, overall, I loved series four.
If you haven’t watched The 100 yet, I completely recommend it. I watched it in 2015 not knowing anything about it at all and I really loved it in the end.
5) Riverdale
I feel like this one is a bit more controversial. I feel like Riverdale is one of those shows where you either love it or you hate it. And, I must admit that I loved the first season. It was a show that I was craving the next episode and watched it as soon as it hit Netflix. I really loved the characters and the plot. It was everything that I used to enjoy about PLL before I started to hate it. To be honest, I didn’t think I would like it because it sounded so PLL but I ended up loving it.
Although, I must admit that I only watched the first few episodes of series two because I wasn’t so impressed. But, I definitely recommend series one if you like mysteries and teenage drama shows.
So, there we go, my 2017 wrap up. In terms of entertainment, it has been a good year and I’m looking forward to a lot of things coming out in 2018!
Happy new year guys!
