2016 is now over and I have one thing to say: this is probably the weakest even-numbered year of this decade. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that there weren't any good movies the whole year. I just feel that some good movies appeared every now and then. And that summer movie line-up? One of the worst, with only a few worthy titles that season. At this point, no year can top 2014 for me now.
However, I'm not here to talk about the negatives. I've talked about them once and I never want to talk about them again. This is a list of positives; a list of what are, in my opinion, the best movies that I have seen all year. Whether they were entertaining enough, provided some thought-provoking themes, or gave us an emotional connection, these are the ones that rose to top among the line-up of trash and mediocrity that I sat through.
Like my previous countdowns, there is only one criterion: I am only including films that first came out or premiered this year. I don't want to mix this up with technical 2015 releases like The Little Prince or The Boy and the Beast because it drives the organized part of me loco.
First, I want to give out some honorable mentions; the ones that I liked, but not enough to make the list:
- Kung Fu Panda 3 - A great entry to the now Kung Fu Panda trilogy that offers enough laughs, action, and decent character development.
- Finding Dory - While it doesn't have the same impact as Finding Nemo, Dory is a competent-enough companion piece with good characters to grow attached to, a great score by Thomas Newman, some heartwarming moments, and a mystery that keeps us engaged throughout. It's a great film that centers around coping with one's own disability.
- Doctor Strange - Benedict Cumberbatch is greatly cast as the character and the psychedelic, M. C. Escher-esque visuals were jaw-dropping. The movie overall is not groundbreaking, but serviceable.
- The Jungle Book - I'm not as crazy about it as I want to be, but the amount of care put into its story (for the most part), casting, and stunning visual effects make it admirable enough. It's at least worth watching to see Christopher Walken perform "I Wan'na Be Like You." It's as odd as it sounds.
- Moana - Conventional Disney musical fare, but I liked it just enough to put it in the honorable mentions list.
- The Nice Guys - An entertaining detective story with great performances from Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. It also has one of the best child characters, played by Angourie Rice, who sometimes borders on Penny Gadget territory, being more competent than the lead characters.
- Manchester by the Sea - One of the most thoughtful films to come out, with great acting from Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams (despite her small amount screentime) and several moments that just flow naturally.
Without further ado, these are my Top 10 Films of 2016.
10. Swiss Army Man
How often do you have movies where there is a flatulent, water-spewing corpse? It's the only one that I can think of, so in a way, it's a unique premise. In fact, the sheer absurdity of its premise makes it hilarious to watch.
Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are just a joy to watch on-screen. The dialogue they have are some of the funniest that I have heard all year. There is also a sense of isolation in their adventure because the whole time, we focus on them, allowing for some intimate character moments. I think Radcliffe must have had the time of his life being told to stay still and mumble stuff. It's his best role outside of the Harry Potter films.
Underneath the strangeness, it also finds a way to be pretty touching at times. That's something I thought I would never say in a movie like this, but it's true. I heard some people walked out of this movie because of how weird it is. Swiss Army Man knows that and rolls with it. If anybody missed it, check it out. It's a quirky little adventure worth your time.
9. Arrival
The whole movie is one suspenseful experience from beginning to end. We wonder why these aliens have arrived on Earth. We are also there the whole time learning step by step on how to communicate with the extra-terrestrials. It's like we are walking into some unknown territory and we have no idea what will happen next. Add that with some great wide shots of the alien spacecraft and an eerie score by Johann Johansson, and you get the whole package.
Don't come into this movie expecting something like The War of the Worlds; more like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but from a scientist's perspective. In a way, it moves at a slow pace, but that is a good thing. The slow pacing helps the viewer absorb everything that is going on. If it just speeds up or quickly cuts to something else, then it breaks immersion, so take that into consideration.
Arrival is a thinking man's movie about communication and fear of the unknown that left me trying to piece things together in the end, which left a good impression on me. By the way, I never actually expected to see coffee cup stains become an interesting language. Try unseeing that from now on.
8. La La Land
It does follow some familiar romantic tropes, but that is something that I did not mind at all. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have enough great chemistry to carry the film on its own. Plus, the situations they go through are all the more accurate. When two people have different dreams, their relationship will be challenged.
I also found myself impressed by the many musical numbers. Each one has unique visuals in terms of choreography, lighting, and cinematography, that when I listen to one of the songs on my iPod, my mind quickly flashes back to them. I can tell that a lot of thought and care went into each of them. They make a great throwback to all those musicals from different decades like the 1940's and 1950's.
The only problem that I have with La La Land is that it suffers from ending fatigue. It could have been trimmed down a little more, but that's about it. Other than that, this is probably one of the better musicals that I have seen this year. Its themes of sacrifice, following your dreams, and old vs. new make it timeless and relatable enough for anyone who is trying to get into the entertainment industry. In fact, the lyrics for "Audition" says it all: "here's to the ones who dream / foolish, as they may seem."
7. Deadpool
I'm not too affiliated with the X-Men movies, having seen almost every installment just once in my lifetime. Heck, I watched Deadpool just for the sake of curiosity, so I didn't have much to expect. Thankfully, it's quickly become one of my favorite superhero movies in general, and one of the few R-rated comedies that I do like.
You know what I can't stand in R-Rated comedies? It's when they decide to add in stuff to get that rating without actually doing something creative with them. Deadpool blew me away by defying my expectations and actually being funny. That sex montage alone had me in stitches, so I knew I found something special when watching this.
On top of that, Ryan Reynolds just kills it as the title character. He doesn't care about what anyone thinks of his actions; he just wants something done in order to cure himself and get back to his girlfriend. He, of course, also makes great comedic timing with his fourth-wall breaking jokes, whether he is talking directly to the audience or lampshading the movie's low budget.
There are of course plenty of other things to praise, like the action scenes and great selection of licensed songs like "Angel in the Morning" and "Careless Whisper." Deadpool surprised me with many things and I may sound strange while saying it, but it makes for a great movie to watch around Valentine's Day. After all, one part of the marketing advertised it as a rom-com, so you gotta live up to that, right?
6. Zootopia
Zootopia is one of the stronger family films to come out this year. It has a pretty fun missing persons mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the audience engaged. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde also serve as one of the best duos in recent cinematic history. Judy's determination to complete the case and Nick's sly conman personality made them an endearing pair to watch.
The city of Zootopia itself is just full of life that makes it a living, breathing city. The concept of anthropomorphic animals is taken full advantage of with the many character designs and they way they all live. Best of all, the "predator vs. prey" theme serves as a great metaphor for prejudice and stereotyping.
That's pretty much what Zootopia is: an allegory for prejudice and stereotyping. Given recent events, it does stick close to home and it will stick with us for a while. It's one of the most important films to come out this year with that alone. All in all, it has enough to offer for both the younger and older audiences, whether it would be humor or character development or social commentary that keeps them coming back for more.
By the way, this is the best movie that takes a jab at the Department of Motor Vehicles, as far as my knowledge goes. Given my experience of finally getting my driver's license earlier this year made that metaphor pretty accurate.
Boy, that escalated quickly. This time around, nobody is saving the world; rather, the Avengers are being fractured due to different ideologies. Should the government keep them in check? Relationships begin to bloom, while some are being torn apart. What makes this predicament so engaging is how two-sided the movie is. Each one has a valid reason for picking one side over the other.
I commend Civil War for actually balancing the screentime of its ensemble cast. Even newcomers like Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) have their time to shine despite being there just to promote their upcoming solo movies. It also succeeds in giving us one thing that other MCU movies failed to have: a compelling villain (Daniel Bruhl). Not a super-powered one, but an ordinary guy with a clear and somewhat complex motivation who has patience and limited resources to achieve his goal. Took the MCU that long to accomplish this, huh?
Can I also take the time to gush over the airport scene? It has quickly become one of my favorite moments in cinema. Seeing all the superheroes take advantage of their abilities to beat up other superheroes was nothing short of exciting, but also pretty tragic.
While I'm debating as to whether or not I prefer this or The Winter Soldier in the Captain America trilogy, this is still one huge wham episode. With its tight script, great action, and emotional core, this is one of the best entries in the MCU... and one that did the hero vs. hero conflict way better than that messy commercial called Batman v Superman!
Hailee Steinfeld gives out one heck of a performance, and one of the best of the year. There are a lot of layers to her character that make the audience sympathize with her, despite how brash and negative she is. Anyone who has gone through a lot of harshness around her age or at least know where she is coming from will connect with her immediately.
A lot of the dialogue and interactions between characters feel surprisingly genuine. Not once does it feel sugarcoated or manufactured. Scenes where the protagonist deals with breaking ties with her friend, trying to approach this guy she likes, or developing a friendship with some other guy all feel natural.
There is also a lot of humor to go around. I could watch the scenes with Woody Harrelson's character all day because of how brutally honest he is. All in all, The Edge of Seventeen is one of the best coming-of-age movies that I have seen all decade. With its performances and great writing, it sure is a keeper for me and great enough to land at the number four spot on this list.
Andrew Garfield's portrayal of combat medic Desmond Doss is another one of my favorite performances this year. He is just so awkward, yet good-natured and selfless that the audience grows to really like him. We, of course, wish the best for him when he is given a hard time during training because he refuses to pick up a gun. After all, he wants to save lives, not take them.
There are of course some other great performances. I liked Hugo Weaving as the drunken father. I was amazed at Vince Vaughn's serious performance as a drill sergeant. I also grew to love Teresa Palmer as Doss's girlfriend, seeing as how both she and Andrew Garfield are just so adorable on-screen.
There is also the brutally-intense second half that occurs. It's here that director Mel Gibson did not hold back in showing the horrors of war. Every time soldiers are shown getting shot, burned alive, or mutilated, they all felt believable and real. I was scared for Doss's life the whole time he goes to save the wounded soldiers. I wanted to see him succeed and go home. That's how attached I was to this character.
With a great story, amazing acting, and well-directed battle sequences, Hacksaw Ridge is a great film about pacifism and heroism and one of the best war movies that I have ever seen. That's a plus, seeing as how I have a hard time getting into that genre.
There is a great amount of humanity and sophistication in Kubo that I wish I could see more in other animated family movies.
It's a tale of a young boy who is caught up with a dysfunctional family. In turn, he finds a surrogate family in a couple of colorful characters on his journey. Their bond is one of the most powerful things to come out of this movie.
There is just so much love and passion present in both the film and the making of. In terms of its animation, it is near-perfect with such beautiful and lush details, like the way the hairs or robes on the characters move without looking jerky. The character models, whether it would be the protagonists or the monsters, are well-made and distinct from each other. The voice acting is superb, with well-rounded performances from Charlize Theron as the motherly Monkey, Matthew McConaughey as the forgetful Beetle, and even Rooney Mara as the awfully-terrifying Sisters.
It's such a shame that this didn't do so well at the box office, because it's a film that greatly challenges and respects their audience. It's a film about the importance of family (blood-related or surrogate), the losses we face of our loved ones, and how much we value emotions and memories that shape us into who we are. It's this amount of love and passion that makes it one of the best movies of the year. To everyone who works at Laika Entertainment, keep doing what you're doing. We need more family movies of this caliber.
Since I started doing these annual lists, I've always had a film that is guaranteed to be my number one pick. This year was much different. I was actually torn between this and the next one coming up. It required a lot of thought and another viewing for each entry. Kubo and the Two Strings was going to be my number one, but the next one wins by just a hair.
1. Sing Street
Alongside the Netflix show, Stranger Things, Sing Street brought out the 80's nut in me. I've always been fascinated with the decade, especially the music, which I partly grew up with. This movie came right the heck out of nowhere and is practically a godsend for me.
The film has a pretty well-rounded protagonist (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) with a lot of pathos. It's quite a shocker to see such a young man have a lot on his lap like his parents splitting up, a bully who picks on him, and a principal who is probably even worse than the bully.
There are, of course, bright spots in his life like this girl (Lucy Boynton) he takes an interest in to the point where he starts a band to impress her. I liked how the whole "boy meets girl" dynamic feels familiar, yet fresh and new. As they start to get to know each other, their bond begins to grow in a somewhat believable fashion. Heck, the girl herself is not just some prize to be won; she has a lot of character. I can also feel the camaraderie between the protagonist and all the band members. They all seem like they're enjoying themselves just performing and writing songs.
I cannot talk about this movie without mentioning the soundtrack. I absolutely loved the selection of licensed songs from the 1980's that captured the time period so well. Some of them become subtle influences to the songs written for the movie, which are also great. I can't tell you how many times I've played "The Riddle of the Model" or "Drive It Like You Stole It." It just satisfied me as a fan of 80's music.
Apart from being a tale of self-discovery and awaking, Sing Street also reminds us that we are all going to have rough spots in our lives. The only way to cope with those moments is to just accept them, move on, and do what we love to do. The term in the above quote sums it all up: happy-sad. This is probably the reason why I picked Sing Street in the number one spot. It's so relatable and something that will stick with me for a long time.
Looking back, I should have given this movie more than just my WORTH CHECKING OUT rating. Now that I've given it a lot of thought, Sing Street is another movie that I think is SOMETHING WONDERFUL. I now add it to the list of favorite movies per year in this decade:
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That concludes 2016 in cinema. There were some movies I definitely missed like Silence and Your Name, but they're not gonna have wide releases until January. Maybe they would have ended up on the list, but I don't like having to delay it just to catch those two movies.
When I said that things will change in terms of movie reviews on my last annual list, I lived up to it. For the most part, I went and made posts about various movies I've watched in theaters. I even decided to risk my sanity by seeing some movies that were probably gonna anger me and made it through okay. It actually feels... kind of nice.
So what are your favorites movies of 2016? Leave a comment down below. I wish everybody a Happy New Year and may there be more great movies to experience in the future.
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