Forget the esteem of the real Oscars. THIS is the BEST Best Films of the year list you never knew you needed in your life! Each of our MIX/VHS contributors gave us their Top 5 films of 2017 list, and we've compiled them all into a mix we aptly have dubbed ALT-OSCARS. From award season titans to hidden cinema gems, and everything in-between: we hope you enjoy this special edition of MIX/VHS!

Carrie Cates | Community Director

1. The Disaster Artist
Going into this SXSW Premiere, I knew it was going to be a funny film, but I think what took me off guard was the amount of heart. While it'd have been so easy to think this guy is nuts, they did such a great job of also making you empathize with a guy who is chasing his dream. Sure, his dream is becoming a movie star and he seems to be doing it with the worst script imaginable, but he just doesn't let anyone get in the way and there's really something special about that. Also, through this movie it becomes a fulfilled dream. Honestly, one of the best uplifting and inspiring movies about filmmaking I've seen in a long time, as hilarious as that sounds.

2. Baby Driver
3. IT
4. The Hero
5. Blade Runner 2049

JJ Pollack | Blog Contributor

1. Good Time
Every year there seems to be one movie that drops my ass to the floor. And this time, it was Good Time. A shot of adrenaline to the temple. A barbed wire harpoon to the heart. Put simply, it was exhausting in the best possible way. Hey, remember that pasty dude from Twilight? Well boys and girls, it turns out he can act. The Safdie Brothers have a knack for capturing the tragic beauty of society's bottom feeders, and this time around they managed to layer on a taut thriller that pushes real-time filmmaking to it's psychological limit. Every day I fantasize about movies like this making $100 million dollars and winning oodles of oscars. Ain't gonna get there. But it's a nice dream. It's a nice dream...

2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
3. Brigsby Bear
4. Lady Bird
5. Get Out

Spencer Mirabal | Community Manager

1. A Ghost Story
It's so overwhelming. The emotional heaviness of death and the enormity of time itself are unbelievably overwhelming themes to tackle, but A Ghost Story knows it's an important heaviness to soak in. It's like a meditation. The unorthodox, vintage framing device of a vignette 4:3 aspect ratio capturing the story of a man's death and his experience as a ghost watching his wife grieving his departure has this delicate intimacy to it. To watch time in the house he is meant to dwell in as a ghost go from painfully slow and then unstoppably fast is one of the most heartbreaking film-going experiences I have had in years (shout out to the patient AF couple who, presumably on their date night at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, had to sit next to me crying for what felt like an hour straight). I was not expecting this film to haunt me months after leaving the theater, but that in and of itself seems to be the film's intent: a quietly complex story that reflects both the insignificance and the importance of our lives before, during, and after our time on Earth.

2. Phantom Thread
3. Good Time
4. Get Out
5. Lady Bird

Matt Hemenway | ASOF Instructor + Blog Contributor

1. Coco
Coco is Pixar’s most emotionally affecting movie since 2009’s Up. From its very opening, Pixar sets the tone with a beautifully-orchestrated mariachi version of “When You Wish Upon a Star,” accompanying the familiar vista of the Cinderella castle. Colorful papel picado banners flutter across the frame, and the tissue paper images spell out the story of a family that’s established a generations-long ban on music, as well as the young boy, Miguel, who wants nothing more than to play guitar. Miguel takes a journey through the incandescent Art Deco-saturated Land of the Dead to learn the truth about his family’s past. Coco doesn’t avoid the problems raised by a family divided, but renders a touching portrait of a family genuinely grappling with its differences.

2. Lady Bird
3. Blade Runner 2049
4. The Big Sick
5. Darkest Hour

Janet Lee | Community Coordinator

1. Raw
Director and writer Julia Ducournau is unapologetic when it comes to this paradoxical, violent, and provocative psychological thriller about cannibalism. With a clear vision, she isn’t afraid in creating an intense visual experience. Some might need to have a paper bag on stand by while watching this, but it’s definitely a unique and brilliant piece of work to consider on your watch list.

2. Gook
3. Phantom Thread
4. Get Out
5. The Big Sick

Clete Donovan | ACS Member

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I loved this film for its simplistic combination of dark humor with genuine tragedy. The realistic depiction of characters and pleasant tone set throughout the story made this the most enjoyable film of the year for me.

2. The Disaster Artist
3. Get Out
4. Logan Lucky
5. I, Tonya

Jake Sanders | Blog Contributor

1. Super Dark Times
The overall theme of almost every favorite film of mine this year was human depravity, and how animalistic humans become when pushed to the utmost edge. Super Dark Times is the culmination of this theme and so, so, so much more. It is the underrated, undiscovered, unknown indie gem that I always dream of watching for the first time - that film that you knew nothing about, watch, and then it sticks to you like a virus. Super Dark Times is the directorial debut of Kevin Phillips, and features an all-star cast, a terrifying screenplay, haunting cinematography, and surreal imagery. To boil it down to it's most simplistic attributes, this movie is if The Goonies and Zodiac had a love child. This movie has stuck with me since my first viewing, and I eagerly look forward to watching it hundreds more times.

2. Blade Runner 2049
3. The Square
4. IT
5. Good Time

Valarie Gold | Community Coordinator

1. Ingrid Goes West
Ingrid Goes West is, at first glance, another a typical hipster flick. But it quickly turns into a charming discussion of mental health. Obsession and social media turns into a messed up little dance that some of us may find jarringly too familiar.

2. IT
3. The Disaster Artist
4. Logan
5. The LEGO Batman Movie

What were your favorite films of the year? What do y'all think of our lists? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

MIX/VHS | ALT-OSCARS 2017