In previous New Year’s Eves, I’ve frequented a top 3-10 list usually involving films I’ve seen in the last 12 months.  It’s unfortunate that this year has provided me significantly lesser time to visit the cinemas, and I am reluctant to put together my own favorites based on the very little choices I have.

Instead I took an alternate route for my year-end list for 2017.  But first, I needed a letter, any letter, and relied on a random contact on my phone to provide me with such.  Let me send out a big thank you to one of my longest tenured friend and brother, Greg Gilvison, for providing with the letter K.

I will now present you a Top 5 list of my favorite films, starting with the eccentric 11th letter of the alphabet:

5. Kindergarten Cop (1990) starring California’s former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Directed by Ivan Reitman.

Honestly, the only reason this movie makes the list are for two of Arnold’s lines – “We are going to play a wonderful game called who is your daddy, and what does he do?” and “It’s not a tumor!”  Both lines in the same scene, no more than 13 seconds apart.

4. Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2 (2003) starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, David Carradine, martial arts genre legend Gordon Liu, and many of Quentin Tarantino’s usual suspects.  Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

One upon a time, Kill Bill actually ranked into my own personal Top 5 list of all time.  But, as time goes on and tastes continue to evolve, it barely cracks my Top 5 list that start with the letter K.  This doesn’t signify drop in quality; I can watch Kill Bill vol. 1 – 2 right now and still be just as entertained as my first viewing.  Tarantino continues to prove that he is like wine, and his films after his kung fu revenge saga (Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained) were simply just better.

Tarantino and I have this in common – we are huge fans of the martial arts genre – everything from Shaw Bros, Jackie Chan, and Akira Kurosawa films.  KB was everything about his love affair with the genre and more, combining great sets, action pieces, amazing cinematography and unforgettable dialogue (see: Carradine’s Superman speech) into his traditional nonlinear storytelling.

3. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mark Strong.  Directed by Matthew Vaughn.

I’m a sucker for highly stylized, action spy thrillers, and this one combines humor, social commentary, and fun performances from those involved.  The scene with Colin Firth vs. a church full of racists to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird is – while beyond violent – worth the price of admission alone.

2. The Karate Kid part I (1984) starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.  Directed by John G. Avildsen.

Kid moves to new city.
Kid gets bullied.
Kid meets karate master.
Karate master makes kid paint the fence, sand the deck, and wax the cars (but really he was teaching him the basics of karate).
Kid enters karate tournament.
Kid beats bullies in tournament.
Kid gets the girl.

Seriously, that’s the story of my life… okay everything except for ‘kid meets karate master’ and after.

1. A Knight’s Tale (2001) starring (gone way too soon) Heath Ledger, Shanynn Sossamon, Alan Tudyk, and Paul Bettany.  Directed by Brian Helgeland.

Truth be told, I’m not the biggest fan of any flick done in the medieval time period (this might explain why I rip apart Lord of the Rings and have avoided Game of Thrones).  It was just never my cup of tea.  Maybe I hated the idea of living in the woods and having a short lifespan because you forgot to wear your metal sweater vest one day and got stabbed in the back.  Or you died because you sunk in the lake trying to swim in your chain-linked pants.  Those are just the worst ways to go, man.

However, A Knight’s Tale was interpreted with such a great modern twist, and done so well that you even accepted Ledger’s out-of-place Australian accent.  From the first minute to last, this is just a blast.  And is there a better hype man than Paul Bettany in the history of film?  I’ll wait.

Actually, I’ll save you the time.  The answer is no.

Notable K films that didn’t make the Top 5 – Kick-Ass (2010), Knockaround Guys (2001), and Kate and Leopold (2001).  What?  I’m a sucker for time travel.