From Get Out to Spider-Man, Lady Bird to Blade Runner: Eli Glasner's top films of 2017

Here we are.

For the film industry, 2017 represented an important turning point, for Hollywood and the culture at large.

Although these projects are often years in the making, this year's filmmakers managed to serve up movies that spoketo the moment. Some are micro works of wonder, while others are vast, awe-inducing spectacles.

After another yearof sitting in the dark, here are the stories that shone brightest.

1)The Florida Project

Leave it to the director of Tangerine to find wonder in the lives of these Disney World economic refugees.Set amid the collateral damage of the American Dream, young Moonee and friends show us how to make any place your magic kingdom.

2) I, Tonya

You think you know disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding? You have no idea. I, Tonya is a witty, self-awareride through the American celebrity grinder, with a revelation of a performance byMargot Robbie.

3) Call Me By Your Name

Armie Hammer stars as an aloof American who comes to stay at the Italian villa and makes an impression on young Timothe Chalamet. A sensual story about discovering your own truth, told with sensitivity and a wisp ofsadness.

4) The Shape of Water

Only directorGuillermo del Toro could look at The Creature from the Black Lagoon and think to himself:"What if that were a love story?" A Cold War-era romance like you've never seen, with an effervescent Sally Hawkins, who already wowed us this year with Maudie.

5) Blade Runner 2049

Leave it to Montreal's Denis Villeneuve to pull off the impossible: doing justice to Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic while pushing the story forward with this neon-tinged investigation into the linebetween real and artificial. (Read thefullreview.)

6) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Frances McDormand goes all in for this blackest of black comedies, as she plays a mother raging against the unsolved murder of her daughter. Note to Hollywood, give us more like this please: twisting talesthat take usplaces we never expected to go.

7) The Breadwinner

From the books of Canadian Deborah Ellis comes this Canadian-Irish co-production that shows us the true cost of war, seenthrough the eyes of a family living undertheTaliban regime in Kabul. Young Parvana's courageunearths treasures of Afghan culture in the rubble.

8)Dunkirk

Oh, the exquisite tension of thistick-tockof a war film from Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight director shuffles timelines, but keeps the focus squarely on the humanity of thesurvivors.(Read thefull review.)

9) Darkest Hour

Dunkirk, part two.Set in the British parliament during the famous military manoeuvre, thisode to oratory stars Gary Oldmanas Winston Churchill, rallying the country with his weaponized rhetoric.

10) Spider-Man: Homecoming

I almost gave this slot to Wonder Woman, but to be honestSpider-Man was responsible for some of the most fun I had in the movie theatre all year. Beyond the John Hughesian influences, there was themoment when Michael Keaton opened the door. Just. The. Best. (Read thefull review.)

11)Columbus

A sick father strands JohnChoin a place known for its modernist architecture. There, he meetsa young woman (Haley LuRichardson) who is aguide of sorts, butlacksdirection. Aquiet gem of a filmabout the spaces inside us and the ones we inhabit.

12) Get Out

Watch Get Out again to see how carefully director JordanPeeleassembledthishorror-comedy about racism, a film as disturbing as it is relevant.

13)Lady Bird

GretaGerwigwrote and directed this tale of a young woman dying to leave her hometown. You don'tsee Gerwig onscreen, but you feel her in the deftly told story about defining yourself at a difficult age.

14) Lady MacBeth

A few years from now,Florence Pugh will be in everything and Lady MacBeth is the reason why.It's astory about a woman who is not to be trifled with.

15) Personal Shopper

Bella is dead. Long live Kristen Stewart. When you weren't looking, the former Twilight star became one of the most exciting actors of her generation. For proof, look no further than this ghost story for the texting generation. (Listen to theaudio review.)

16)Brigsby Bear

James (SNL's Kyle Mooney) has been lied to and manipulated his entire life. His only connection to the outside world was a strange children's show called Brigsby Bear. Now that he's free, James has one wish: finish telling Brigsby's story. There is an undeniable sweetness to this film about fandom and what we invest in the stories we love. Also, it's Mark Hamill's second-best performance of the year.

17) Window Horses

The National Film Board does it again with Ann Marie Fleming's animated journey of self-discovery, as aChinese-Canadian poet travels to Iran. The simple cartoon style belies asurprisingly intricate taleabout family, immigration and valuingyour voice.

18) The Disaster Artist

It's alove song forlosersand perhaps the most honest film about Hollywood ever made. By retelling the story ofThe Room,James "I'm So Meta" Franco has made his masterpiece.

19)The Big Sick

A modern love story for our irrational times. Italso happens to be hilarious.The Big Sick features charming performances by Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani, but the parents on both sides of the cultural dividesteal the show.

20) Baby Driver

I had some issues with the ending the first time I watched this heist movie hybrid from director Edgar Wright. But on second viewing,I was floored by how immaculately he knitstogether every moment. Don't let thepresence of Kevin Spaceystop you from enjoying this pedal-to-the-metal musical.