Not to start off on a sour note but many events in 2017 have reaffirmed my commitment to living outside of the United States. As much as this placement has made it easy to exist beyond the reach of current domestic turbulence, it’s also made it difficult in the last …

'Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi' includes sequences that rank among the best of any 'Star Wars' film. It's exciting, intriguing, complex, funny, and, most unexpected of all, artistic. But there are also moments which rival the series' absolute worst.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about 'Justice League' is that it's not horrible.

In short, 'Ragnarok' Thor is the best Thor. It's also the best Hulk.

While those who have strong memories of time before 'Blade Runner' and Ridley Scott were legends may not enjoy seeing something flashier, clearer, or less noir than the original, 'Blade Runner 2049' is a tremendous piece of work from a director whose own legend is still building.

'Dunkirk' is admirable as a display of craft and technique but considering all that film is capable of, and all that director Christopher Nolan is capable of, a work worthy of mere admiration is unsatisfying.

By killing the few returning characters they have left, these shows kill viewer interest. They may, in fact, also kill television and part of our humanity.

We will never be as strong as Superman, as rich as Batman and Iron Man, or as perfect as Captain America and Black Panther. We weren't born royalty or gods or mutants. But we all were, are, or will be teenagers and Spider-Man is the hero we wish we would be.

'Wonder Woman' doesn't just work because it is a well-made female superhero movie. It works because it is a well made superhero movie.

'Alien: Covenant' is the Alien franchise on auto-pilot, with absolutely nothing surprising and the exact same plot as every single other movie.

The idea of entitling the second 'Guardians of the Galaxy' film as 'Vol. 2' works on the surface, yet anyone old enough to remember making mixtapes knows that although "Volume 2" can have some great material, there will always be songs that weren't good enough for the first mix.

As in Deism, 'Mass Effect' emphasizes freedom and choice. We can’t expect anyone or anything else to push us to the right action. We are the ones responsible for determining our path, and meaning is in the way there.

'Logan' is the coda the X-franchise never had. It's the loner finally being alone, the last survivor copping with his guilt. It's time catching up to the ageless and death coming for the immortal.

There is no such thing as a "dark side" when one works in the shadows.

'Moana' is an absolutely beautiful movie and something that, give or take a few troublesome elements, should give a new generation and population of children a character to identify with.