As we all know, 2016 was a pretty tough year. Luckily, the year in film had some real winners. Let's put aside all the negatives, and try looking at the positives...at least, as far as movies go. here is my top 20 films of 2016.
But first, some honorable mentions:
Nocturnal Animals
Zootopia
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Finding Dory
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Indignation
The Jungle Book
Don't Breathe
The Invitation
And now, my top 20
20. Moana- A beautiful film about growing up, finding yourself, and the importance of your heritage. It's not just an empowerment tale for young girls, as there are things that everyone could find relevant or touching. With a fantastic voice cast and memorable tunes (some of which are by Lin Manuel-Miranda), I would qualify Moana as the best animated film of 2016, and one that would be well worth checking out. No other animated film this year gave me chills all over like this one did.
19. The Purge: Election Year- Another year, another outing for the successful Purge franchise. While this three-quel isn't quite as good as Anarchy was, there is still plenty to enjoy here. If not it's overtly political message, than maybe how incredibly timely and relevant it feels to what's happening in our society today. This film manages to have it's cake and eat it too, telling a strong anti-violence message through use of gratuitous violence.
18. The Witch- A slow-moving, and disturbing flick. It can be a challenging watch due to the hard-to-comprehend old english and it's snail's pace, but the last act rewards patient viewers with one hell of an explosive finale. Tackling themes of religion, stubborn pride, and sexual repression, The Witch was the first great horror film of 2016.
17. Lamb- An unconventional love story between a 45 year old man and 11 year old girl. Oona Lawrence and Ross Partridge (who also directs the film and writes the screenplay) are more than game for the heavy material they are handed. Partridge's produces a multi-faceted, complex portrayal of a broken man stuck in a very bad period of his life, and Oona Lawrence puts on what may be the single best performance I've seen from a young actor. She is easily his equal, and goes toe-to-toe with him (acting-wise) for the whole film. Both characters are unhappy with the lives they are living, and are only happy when with each other. The film is constantly challenging and uncomfortable in it's portrayal of a forbidden romance (don't worry, there is no kissing or sexual encounters between our two leads. The most they do is hug and dance), but this makes the film surprisingly stronger. Lamb certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but if you want to see two of the best performances this year then Lamb is worth a rental or purchase.
16. The Nice Guys- Shane Black returns with a genre flick after his fairly unpopular Iron Man 3 (I loved it, but what you gonna do?). Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling star as an unlikely detective duo trying to uncover and automobile conspiracy in the 1970's. The film is super fun, and Gosling and Crowe make for a fine comedic duo. Nice Guys is a little uneven, and we dont wind up caring all that much about the case they are trying to solve, but the atmosphere, setting, characters, and comedy are all fantastic. Nice Guys winds up feeling a little too much like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (a film that I would say I liked better than this one), but overall if you are a fan of period pieces, genre flicks, Shane Black, or films that are just plain fun, then Nice Guys is a can't miss (It's worth a watch alone for the party scene).
15. The Lobster- A fascinating and bizarre look at society and dating's place in it. It often feels like a modern day fable. Colin Farrell is fantastic as the sad sack, lonely heart at the center of the story. The film is very dark, depressing, and not really all that fun of a watch. That said, I loved it's themes, messages, and comments on society and dating. I'd qualify it as a super-dark, quirky comedy. If you like intelligent Indies, then The Lobster would be worth a watch.
14. Rogue One- This is the Star Wars film I've been wanting to see. It returns us back to the timeline of the original three films (An New Hope, Empire, and Jedi), and I've gotta say it's good to be home. We get AT-ATs, The Death Star, classic Rebellion outfits, Darth Vader, Tie-Fighters, X-Wings and more! The first act is a little slow, but the last 40 minutes or so is action-packed, nostalgic fun. Plus, the film ends just about perfectly (in my opinion, at least). Rogue One is more of a Star Wars film for adults (Definitely not for kids). It's dark, violent, a little mean, but still fun and a bit goofy. One of the biggest surprises of 2016, Rogue One easily makes it onto this list.
13. Manchester By The Sea- Talk about your depressing films. I'd compare this one to Requiem For A Dream, both are different kinds of films that still manage to leave a hole in your heart. The script (by Kenneth Lonergan, who also directs), perfectly captures the feel of real life conversations. It's a film that is surprisingly easy to watch, despite it's heavy, depressing subject material. Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges are superb and make for a fine duo in the film. I left this one feeling a little dead inside, but this is a film that tries to stay true to real life and unfortunately, there aren't always happy endings or satisfying answers in the real world.
12. Fences- Denzel Washington treats audiences to a true Broadway theatrical experience, bloated run-time and all. Denzel is perfect as Troy Maxson, a man who is constantly sliding up and down the scale of hero-villain. Viola Davis puts on one of the best female performances I've seen in quite some time as Rose, his long-time struggling but still faithful wife. Mykelti Williamson (aka Bubba from Forrest Gump) is unrecognizable as Troy's mentally handicapped brother who believes it is his job to blow his trumpet to wake up St. Peter so he can open the pearly gates when it is time. The film acts as fully engaging family drama, and it has one of the best scripts of 2016. This was the film that had me tearing up the most in 2016. I was surprised at how touched and moved I was by the whole thing.
11. Tickled- That's right, a documentary made it into my best of 2016 list. In Tickled, we follow David Farrier, a gay journalist who decides to investigate the world of competitive tickling (yes, this is a real thing) and in doing so uncovers a disturbing, weird and bizarre world lurking just underneath ours. This film that starts out as a fin, silly, weird fluff piece winds up becoming something chilling, scary, and deeply disturbing. A riveting documentary that actually ends on a satisfying notes and delivers answers I wasn't sure it would be able to provide. A must-see.
10. Swiss Army Man- A film about finding the beauty in life and in death. Daniel Radcliffe is superb as Manny, a magical farting corpse that saves Paul Dano's Hank from suicide and ultimately teaches him some valuable life lessons. The film is definitely silly, weird and strange but still beautiful, inspiring and uplifting nonetheless.
9. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them- At a time when we all needed an escape, this film provided it to us while still commenting on modern societal issues. Fantastic Beasts provided us with memorable characters, plenty of whimsy, and a dark undercurrent. The film has plenty to say about hatred, fear, love, and acceptance (all relevant and important themes to today's age). Fantastic Beasts managed to whisk audiences into a new but familiar magical world while still leaving us plenty to reflect on. I'd say it was easily the most magical film of 2016 (I saw it three times in theaters, and loved it each time).
8. Sing Street- A story of a boy, his band, and the girl that inspired him. Directed and written by John Carney, is it any surprise the the film and the songs found within are as great as they are?
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (as Conor, our lead), Jack Reynor (as Brendan, Conor's older brother. This is easily Reynor's best role to date), and Lucy Boynton (as Raphina, Conor's crush. She's absolutely gorgeous despite some atrocious 80's hair-dos) are all fantastic. It's great fun to watch the formation of the band, the creation of the various songs, Conor and Raphina's budding romance, and Conor's slow maturation into a man (It's surprising how much I bought him as a leading man by the end of the film). Sing Street is not just an 80's period piece, it also acts as a musical of sorts (complete with an awesome 50's musical sequence). Sing Street is a great, feel-good pick-me-up.
7. Hell or High Water- One hell of a film. I heard a lot of people raving about this film, I never expected to join their ranks. This film was great. An old-fashioned Robin Hood/Bank Heist film about the poor stealing from the rich to give to....themselves. Chris Pine and Ben Foster star as brothers who set out to rob all the branches of the bank that intends to foreclose on their ranch, paying them off with the stolen goods. Jeff Bridges co-stars as a sympathetic but stalwart version of Johnny-law, and Gil Birmingham does a fantastic job as his friend and partner. This film has what I consider to be the best script of 2016. The film itself is pretty funny, and action-packed (plenty of bank robbery scenes for us to enjoy), and lost of fun. This is still one of the best guy films I've seen in recent years.
6. Hidden Figures-
An important film that also manages to be fun and cool. It sheds light on little known historical figures and their stories. Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Costner are the standouts here. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. A fun and informative flick for families that people of all ages and races can sit and enjoy together.
5. Deadpool- The best super-person film of 2016. I can't say super-hero because, let's face it, Deadpool is no hero. He is a trash talking, sarcastic mercenary who is only ever on his own side. I never expected to get a faithful Deadpool flick, but here we are. The film is the closest we've gotten to a completely faithful adaptation of the comics. I literally felt like I was reading a Deadpool comic while watching this movie. It's fun, it's insane, it's hilarious, and it's naughty. Deadpool is no doubt the most fun I had in a theater all of 2016.
4. Green Room- An intensely depressing film about a couple of kids who try to do the right thing and are severely punished for it. When down on their luck punk band The Ain't Rights book a gig at a neo-nazi bar, they stumble upon a murder scene.Their attempt to call for help is cut off by management and they're forced into the bar's green room. Out-gunned and outnumbered, they soon realize that they may have to fight their way out. This was to be Anton Yelchin's last great film, as we tragically lost the talented young actor earlier in 2016. He stars here alongside Imogen Poots, who previously played his girlfriend in Fright Night. To no surprise their chemistry is strong, and they superbly play off of each other as a strained friendship forms between them throughout the course of the film. Green Room is a depressing, tense, brutal, and thrilling as hell horror film that manages to shock and entertain while subtly delivering a few chuckles. Green Room is hands-down the best horror film of 2016.
3. Moonlight-
A film for men about growing up and how masculinity can play a key role in the process. It's pretty tragic and moving. The film is hauntingly shot (by James Laxton) and scored (by Nicholas Britell). Everything comes together to tell the story of a young boy's journey into manhood. Haunting, hypnotic, complex, intensely intimate. and quite memorable. Moonlight is quite unlike anything else I've seen in 2016.
2. Arrival- So much more than just an alien invasion film. It's shocking that Arrival comes out at exactly the perfect time (There is no way they could have planned this). The film has so many messages that are pertinent to today and what's going on right now. It comments on hatred, fear, and the need for unity and acceptance, while still sneaking in messages about love, loss, and the true nature of time. Both times I saw this, I left the theater feeling brand-new and ready to go out and face the next 4-8 years. Arrival is the most inspiring, touching and uplifting film of 2016. It's what we all need right now.
1. Silence- Martin Scorsese's 20 year in the making passion project tackles some heavy religious material, mainly dealing with a crisis of faith. Andrew Garfield puts on the best performance of his career thus far as Father Rodriguez, a Jesuit priest who experiences his own crisis of faith when sent to Japan to find his lost mentor. Garfield struggles as he watches others suffer for him. His dedication to his faith is ultimately tested through cruel psychological torture. The film is expertly crafted with some religious undertones. That said, it never talks down to its audience or provides any easy answers. Silence is a challenging watch that is filled with scenes of brutal torture. It's The Passion of The Christ if it was made by a master director. I left deeply shaken and touched by what I'd seen, and the film still haunts my thoughts as I write this article. It is the best film of 2016, and the best modern work of Scorsese.
