It looks like 2017 is moving in the right direction with its current film releases.

Already, the theaters have exploded with Academy Award worthy films that sparked more than just critics’ attention. Coming out on a short notice, the movies opening 2017 have set a very high bar for upcoming blockbusters garnering most of the buzz.

Amongst the most praised movies are of course the visually stunning La La Land, and the unexpectedly gripping thriller called Split. While Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play out a romantically pleasing Hollywood dream fairytale, M. Night Shyamalan’s Split stars a perfectly cast James McAvoy as a kidnapper suffering from the split-personality disorder.

Although La La Land pocketed a greater score of 93 percent from the critics of rotten tomatoes, its 86 percent score from the viewers was comparatively worse to those who had viewed Split. While La La Land offered yet another fictional look into the lives behind Hollywood studios, Split was able to incorporate a sci-fi atmosphere, making it more popular among the viewers than the critics. The movie currently stands on Rotten Tomatoes with a 71 percent average but has managed to make a comeback with its 81 percent approval from the general public.

Montclair State University student and thriller movie enthusiast Anastasia Zelenin notes, “Split was definitely interesting in the beginning. It had a good story line and there were parts that actually made it creepy. But typical of M. Night Shyamalan’s style, the ending sort of ruined it.”

Similarly, WHHS’s sophomore student Joe Mezza explains the possible flaw of the movie La La Land. “It was a good movie,” he begins, “but if you are not into that whole romantic-behind the scenes-of Hollywood theme, then it’s probably a little boring for you to watch.”

While these films have certainly been exalted, slightly unnoticed works such as Hidden Figures, Lion, and the children’s animated Sing have all compiled pretty impressive scores from the rating site.

Hidden Figures holds the top rating of 94 percent from the audience, and depicts a moving story of African American women Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), who worked behind one of NASA’s greatest launches in history. Unfortunately, its historical context has not made it the necessary box office hit that it most certainly deserves.       

In case anyone does not have something to look forward to this weekend, all of the top movies are still running in local theaters and could absolutely be enjoyed with family or friends.