Top 10 Films of 2016
2016 has been a rocky year, but the film industry certainly brought forth its best with some amazing movies to praise. 2016 was certainly the year of small indie movies with many of the greatest coming from smaller, independent studios.
Bravo to all the great films, but to commemorate the best here are the 10 best for the year 2016.
First some honorable mentions: Hail, Caesar!, 13th, Hell or High Water, Rogue One, Zootopia, Moana, The VVitch, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Sing Street, The Nice Guys, and Deadpool
Some movies I was unable to see: Silence, Tower, American Honey, Jackie, and Toni Erdmann
10. Captain America: Civil War
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Cinematography: Trent Opaloch
Composer: Henry Jackman
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, and Tom Holland
Captain America: Civil War is the best Marvel film to date and quite possibly one of the best comic book movies ever made. It’s a sign that the fatigue of this genre still hasn’t hit. 2016 was the year that many comic book movies tried to go gritty. Batman was portrayed as a brutal masochist as he and a gritty, dark Superman went toe to toe in Batman v Superman. Suicide Squad got so dark that it gave the reigns to a group of truly disgusting villains. Both of these movies had less tact and nuance combined compared in the amazingly well cast and well-written Civil War. Much like BvS, Marvel Studios had its biggest heroes fight over government control of The Avengers. What results is one of the most emotionally riveting and intriguing comic book movies on the block. It has 10 times the emotional resonance of any other superhero movie this year without being overly-gritty and melodramatic. It explores the tragedy of family and friends fighting over petty causes while still being incredibly entertaining, action-packed, and funny. Not to mention the amazing additions of Chadwick Boseman as the fascinating (and emotional heart of the story, mind you) Black Panther. As well as Tom Holland’s amazing portrayal of Spider-Man. Civil War is an incredible cinematic trip and certainly one of the best movie’s this year.
9. Manchester by the Sea
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Writer: Kenneth Lonergan
Cinematography: Jody Lee Lipes
Composer: Lesley Barber
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, C.J. Wilson, and Lucas Hedges
Manchester by the Sea operates in narrative territory most movies would dare to tread. It follows the story of two men, far apart in age, dealing with a trauma without being able to properly convey their grief. It’s an emotional journey filled with amazing performances from its entire cast, but mainly from the brilliantly relaxed and subtle work done by Affleck and Chandler, as well as many emotionally riveting scenes carried by Michelle Williams. It’s a movie that challenges your sensibilities and makes you focus at a small-town tragedy that could happen anywhere to anyone. It resonates on some incredible levels and it’s all thanks to some amazing writing from Kenneth Lonergan. While Manchester by the Sea is a piece of art that must be endured rather than enjoyed, it’s still an incredible film, and one that I feel has strengthened me after viewing it.
8. Green Room
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writer: Jeremy Saulnier
Cinematography: Sean Porter
Composer: Brooke and Will Blair
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Imogen Poots, and Patrick Stewart
2016 was a great year for suspense thrillers, but the best of the best was Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room. The film found a hard-rock punk band trapped inside a nightclub/compound run by ruthless members of a skinhead group. The overall result is a film that never stops in its portrayal of a terrifying and visceral experience for these innocent young men and women. The psychological torture and physical pain they endure is palpable and once the action begins to ramp up it never stops. The increasing number of unexpected and well-executed scares make it one of the best thrillers of this year. The film also has an amazing final performance from Alton Yelchin, who tragically died in a car accident on June 19, 2016. His turn as Pat is vulnerable and easy to associate with and every move he makes is believable and heart-wrenching. When he begins to take matters into his own hands you’re rooting for him every second of the way. There is also one of the absolute scariest performances from Sir Patrick Stewart I have ever seen.
7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Director: Taika Waititi
Writer: Taika Waititi
Cinematography: Lachlan Milne
Composer: Lukasz Buda, Samuel Scott, and Conrad Wedde
Starring: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, and Rhys Darby
Taika Waititi is one of the most visionary and hilarious filmmakers of our time. He prefers projects that are small and incredibly unique in terms of their comedic backdrop. In 2014 he directed the film What We Do in the Shadows, an incredibly hilarious mockumentary about a coven of vampires in New Zealand. He returns to his homeland of New Zealand again in Hunt for the Wilderpeople and puts two unlikely friends together to run from the authorities in the New Zealand bush. If anything the movie deserves to be on this list for its incredible writing, hilarious comedy, and amazing leads. Sam Neill gives the best performance of his career in this film and its absolute incredible. What makes Wilderpeople so strong and so brilliant is how full of adventure it is. It urges people to explore and love nature, and brings to life a story about two people, incredibly different in every way growing and learning to love each other despite their differences. It is an uplifting story in a year that was very depressing for a lot of people. Hunt for the Wilderpeople deserves your attention and I promise you’re going to love it.
6. Kubo and the Two Strings
Director: Travis Knight
Writer: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler, and Shannon Tindle
Cinematography: Travis Knight
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Starring: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, George Takei, Rooney Mara, and Ralph Fiennes
Laika is an animation studio specializing in incredibly artistic renditions of stop motion animation. Kubo and the Two Strings is their fourth film and at this point they have proved that they are incredibly good at what they do. Kubo bursts with talented animation that is unprecedented in terms of its skill and beauty. There are sequences in the film that are absolutely stunning and are a wonder to behold. Not to mention the fact that Kubo's story and characters are also quite beautiful and lovely. Kubo is an amazing adventure tale with a great message for kids and its talent and skill is on par with the best animation studios in the world.
5. La La Land
Director: Damian Chazelle
Writer: Damien Chazelle
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
Composer: Justin Hurwitz
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and John Legend
An incredible movie with incredible music. La La Land is another ballpark homerun from Damien Chazelle. It’s got incredible performances from Gosling and Stone, an amazing score Justin Hurwitz, and beautiful dance sequences. La La Land is filled with panache and beauty at every corner. Its love story is beautiful, honest, and above all real. The film captures a love story that feels true to life at every step. La La Land is a great musical through-and-through and one that desires for musicals of its caliber to return to the movies. You deserve to watch it, and you’ll be dancing in your seat every second of the way.
4. Tickled
Director: David Farrier and Dylan Reeve
Writer: David Farrier
Cinematography: Dominic Fryer
Composer: N/A
Starring: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, Jane O’Brien, and Terri DiSisto
Who would’ve thought that the craziest thriller of the year would be a documentary about competitive endurance tickling? New Zealand journalist David Farrier investigates the mysterious world of this pseudo-sport and gets pushed back by executives and lawyers every step of the way. Tickled unfolds in a completely unexpected way, making you assume that you have everything figured out before another shock drops down on you. Tickled is a documentary film done spectacularly right, a movie that is more suspenseful, mysterious, and riveting than half of the thrillers that came out this year combined! Tickled is a rollercoaster ride and one that you should take right this moment. What starts out as a profile of a silly tickling sport becomes a story about two men embroiled in what could be an international conspiracy. David Farrier and Dylan Reeve go out of their way to stop bullies and fight back against people who have tormented so many innocent young people, and that is what makes Tickled so incredible and so poignant for our time.
3. The Handmaiden
Director: Park Chan-wook
Writer: Park Chan-wook and Chung Seo-kyung
Cinematography: Chung Chung-hoon
Composer: Cho Young-wuk
Starring: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, and Kim Tae-ri
Park Chan-wook is the visionary director behind movies like Oldboy, Stoker, and Snowpiercer. His latest film Agassi or The Handmaiden might be his best film yet. It is a sprawling, three part epic psychological thriller that turns into a beautiful love story. A con-man wishes to marry a beautiful young woman of considerable wealth, Lady Hideko, but then plans to lock Hideko in an insane asylum and take all of her money to start a new life for himself. To accomplish this he hires a local pickpocket, Sook-hee, to act as the Hideko’s handmaiden. Sook-hee’s job is to convince Hideko that the con-man loves her. In return Sook-hee will get a share of the profits. The plan begins to go south when Sook-hee grows closer to Hideko and begins to resent her role in defrauding the woman she has developed feelings for. The Handmaiden is an absolutely incredible tale of feminine empowerment. What begins as a crime thriller about defrauding a noble and kind woman quickly turns into an amazing tale about two women fighting against the men in their life who have done them irreparable harm. It’s a fascinating and amazing ride filled with incredible scenes of love, punishment, and treachery. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget.
A quick disclaimer about The Handmaiden. This film is rated R for several sexually explicit scenes. One of the main themes of the film is about the nature of sex and how the male characters of the film use it to corrupt, but the women see it as an act of beautiful love. It’s incredibly important to the story at hand, but for those who don’t prefer that sort of thing in their movies then you may want to avoid this particular film on my list.
2. Moonlight
Director: Barry Jenkins
Writer: Barry Jenkins
Cinematography: James Laxton
Composer: Nicholas Britell
Starring: Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Andre Holland, Janelle Monae, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali
Moonlight is an absolute marvel to behold. Chiron's coming-of-age story shines a new light on humanity. Chiron lives in a world that will not accept the way he is. He's a boy who grows up in a distant home with a mother struggling with drugs and he has no one to turn to. The people he meets who love him and encourage him are incredibly uplifting. Not only is Moonlight a beautiful film detailing the life of people we rarely see in cinema it has a powerful message about compassion, kindness and love. Its auteur filmmaking and one of the most beautiful love stories of the year.
1. Arrival
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Eric Heisserer
Cinematography: Bradford Young
Composer: Johann Johannsson
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Tzi Ma
To praise Arrival on the grounds of what makes it so spectacular means spoiling it for those who haven't seen it. Denis Villeneuve is an incredible director behind the camera and his adaptation of this amazing Ted Chiang story is the best film of the year for a number of reason. It's about life and death, sadness and joy, how clinging to the past holds us back as a society. The film urges people to work together and to learn to stop fighting over trivial foolishness. To stare the unknown in the face and say "I accept you," is the beauty of this film. It's about knowing your fate and still embracing tragedy with open arms. Arrival rocked me to my core, it surprised me at every turn and then surprised me again. It is a truly riveting film filled with emotion, honesty, and beauty. I will never forget it and I can't wait to see it again.
There you have it! The ten best films of 2016 according to me. Thank you all for reading and I can't wait a great 2017. There are a lot of films coming out that I am very excited for!
Header graphic courtesy of IndieWire article: http://www.indiewire.com/2016/01/the-100-most-anticipated-films-of-2016-93737/