Favorite Films of 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, it's once again time to look back at the year in film and highlight some of my personal favorites from the past year. I've always found the term "Best" to be highly subjective, so I'm going with favorite instead. Besides, I didn't see everything that came out this year. There is no way to have seen all of them. Such a task would be a full time job in and of itself. Many people said 2016 was a terrible year for movies. I say there were plenty of great ones, you just had to dig a little deeper to find them as this list proves. These are films that really impressed me, really entertained me and at times really surprised me. In no particular order, here they are:


Midnight Special

This film flew under the radar when it was out in theatres this past spring, overshadowed by other films out at the time. For me it was a welcome respite from the increasingly loud and overdone theatrical epics. It was a sci-fi film that kept it's focus on the characters, a very special young boy and his parents, along with a family friend, trying to keep him safe from both Government Agents and a Cult leader that wished to exploit him. It was a surprisingly emotional and touching film filled with fantastic performances from the likes of Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, and Adam Driver. It just never quite gained the attention it deserved, which is a shame.


Hell or High Water

Sometimes it's not the story you're telling but rather how you tell the story. Cinema is littered with stories of Bank Robbers and the Cops chasing them but this one finds a unique and new twist to the story. Tanner (played by Ben Foster) and Toby (played by Chris Pine) are two brothers who inherited the family farm from their recently deceased mother and is about to go into foreclosure due to a mortgage the local banks convinced their elderly mother to take out on the farm. Feeling that the bank deliberately preyed upon their mother, they come up with a daring scheme. Rob the banks in the chain and use the money to pay back the mortgage, after laundering it through a nearby Indian Casino. Hot on their tail is an ornery cuss of a Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (played by Jeff Bridges), who is looking to tackle one more case before his dreaded retirement. The unique thing about Hell or High Water is I was rooting for both sides. I wanted the brothers to get away with it, but I was also rooting for Jeff Bridges to get his guys too. Which made the inevitable confrontation at the end all that more tense. No doubt this was in part due to three fantastic performances from Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster who breathed wonderful, relatable life into their characters. 


Ghostbusters

I don't think there was a more divisive film that came out this year than Ghostbusters. Now, I grew up with the original films and I loved them just as much as anyone of my generation. So, I did go into the new film with some doubts but I have to admit that I enjoyed the hell out of this one. I appreciated the fact that they brought a lot of new story to the new film rather than just retreading the original and creating four new and distinct Ghostbusters rather than just making female facsimiles of the original quartet. It was also just a damn funny movie headlined by four very funny women (with Kate McKinnon clearly the film's M.V.P). Plus, who knew Chris Hemsworth was so funny?


Hail Caesar!  

Any Coen Brothers movie is a gift to the cinema. Hail Caesar! is another great entry in their filmography with their salute to classic Hollywood. The film centers on Studio Executive Eddie Mannix (played by Josh Brolin), who spends much of his time keeping his stars away from possible scandal and the rest of it making sure the studio's films stay on schedule. Things get more complicated when the star of the studio's latest biblical epic Hail Caesar, Baird Whitlock (played by George Clooney), is kidnapped and held for ransom by a group cryptically calling themselves "The Future." Like most Coen Brothers movies, the more times you watch it, the more you'll appreciate it's own quirky sensibilities. With an all-star cast that also includes Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Alden Ehrenreich and Jonah Hill. The film lovingly recreates the films of the era with such precision that the footage you see of the various films, especially the titular film within the film, actually look like movies from that era. As a serious cinephile, I loved every minute of this. 

Pete's Dragon

This one was a huge surprise for me this past Summer. I grew up with the original 1977 film, but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to check out the new version. To put it succinctly, this movie took my breath away. The film tells it's story with a certain tenderness and emotional depth that you just don't find often in family fantasy films. The film centers on young orphan Pete (played by Oakes Fegley) and his dragon friend, Elliot. Pete is discovered in the woods by a local ranger, Grace (played by Bryce Dallas Howard). She takes him home, surprised that the young boy survived in the wild for so long on his own. His stories about the large, green dragon Elliot bare a stunning similarity to stories her father (played by Robert Redford) often tells of a dragon in the forests outside of town. The film is beautifully directed with some of the best cinematography in a family film since The Black Stallion. This film was nothing short of magical for me.

Other People

As someone who is very close to my Mother, this film really had an impact. David (played by Jesse Plemons), after breaking up with his boyfriend, moves back home to help care for his mother, Joanne (played by Molly Shannon) who is suffering from a serious bout of cancer. What on the surface may seem like a Lifetime tear jerker of the week continuously surprised me with it's frank honesty and biting humor mixed with the expected gut punches of emotion. Jesse Plemons is great in the lead role and Molly Shannon really shines as she breaks away from the broadly comic roles she's mainly known for and stretches her dramatic muscles in a fantastic performance. 



Slash

This is probably going to be the most obscure movie on this list, but it was one that really surprised me. I've long been a part of the fan community, going to conventions  and whatnot but had not really found a movie that accurately reflected that community until I saw this one. Neil (played by Michael Johnston) is a high school freshman trying to figure himself out. In his spare time, he writes erotic fan fiction about his favorite intergalactic superhero, Vanguard, and an assortment of other male partners. When some of his classmates discover his writing and share it, Neil is humiliated until he finds out his fellow classmate, Julia (played by Hannah Marks) also writes slash fan-fiction and the two begin to bond over their shared interests. This film such perfectly captures the emotions of adolescence and really rang true to me with it's main character of Neil, who has reached an age where he begins to question his sexuality and what he's interested in. He's found an outlet for it, but when others find out he feels like a freak until he meets Julia and discovers there is a community and place that is accepting for people like him. This film really struck a chord with me because so much of it felt really familiar to me in some really unexpected ways as it reflected a community I have counted myself a member of for so long with such accuracy and ultimately respect.


Swiss Army Man

This was a movie I went into not knowing quite what to expect. I knew the basic outlines of the plot, but the film really surprised me as a unique film that was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Hank (played by Paul Dano) is a man stranded on a deserted island who has lost the will to live and just as he is about to off himself he notices a dead body washed up on the shore. The body, who he names Manny (played by Daniel Radcliffe), miraculously becomes a source of survival as well as an unexpected companion for Hank. The film is a surreal, existentialist take on Cast Away while also being wildly entertaining in a delightfully weird way as Hank and Manny, in their unique way, find a way to survive and get back to civilization. I don't want to give too much away as part of the fun of the movie is experiencing it's unexpectedly wild and crazy turns for yourself.


Deadpool

After a glut of super serious Superhero movies, what the genre desperately needed was the fourth wall breaking, endlessly raunchy and silly Deadpool and this movie delivered in spades courtesy of one helluva great comedic performance by Ryan Reynolds in the titular role. As the Merc with a Mouth, Reynolds delivered one great moment after another as he repeatedly broke the fourth wall and tossed off bon mot after bon mot. I laughed my whole way through the movie and loved every second of it. This movie was just one delightful surprise after another as the film tossed jokes left, right and center and damn near all of them landed. No small feat. 


La La Land

A film that is both a gorgeous throwback to old fashioned Hollywood musicals and achingly contemporary is a film that parallels it's two main characters. We have struggling actress Mia (played by Emma Stone) who is just trying to make it in Hollywood and Jazz musician Sebastian (played by Ryan Gosling), who aspires to own his own Jazz club and holds fast to the classic heroes of Jazz music. The two keep crossing paths over and over until finally they meet and a romance begins to bloom as the two try to make their dreams come true in the magical city of Hollywood. With dazzling choreography and an irresistible musical score, it's impossible to resist that movie (unless of course you hate musicals, in which case it's your loss). I dug the hell out of this movie and it had me dancing all the way back to my car with that wonderful score stuck in my head and the memory of a great, old-fashioned musical in my head. They don't make movies like this anymore...except they did.   


Closet Monster

Not unlike the aforementioned Slash, Closet Monster finds it's way onto my list for finding a new and unique spin on the well worn "Coming of Age" tale, which has always been a genre I've been a sucker for anyway. Oscar (played by Connor Jessup) is a driven and creative teenager about to graduate High School and move on to College. He dreams of going to New York with his friend Gemma and attend school for Special Make-Up effects. He spends his time assembling a portfolio of his work with his best friend, Gemma (played by Sofia Banzhaf). Things take a turn during his fateful summer before college when a new kid in town, Wilder (played by Aliocha Schneider), takes a fancy to Oscar as well as Oscar's troubled relationship with his father comes to a head. The film has some nice surreal flourishes to the film that illustrate Oscar's imagination and creativity, including his talking hamster, Buffy (voiced wonderfully by Isabella Rossellini), and some uniquely grotesque imagery depicting Oscar's struggle with his burgeoning sexuality, stemming from a gay bashing he witnessed as a young boy. It's a film that definitely struck a chord with me as someone with a healthy (or perhaps unhealthy, depending on your point of view) fantasy life. 


The Nice Guys 

It's a shame this one didn't do better at the box office because this Shane Black film (he both wrote and directed it) was a hoot from beginning to end. Private Eye Holland March (played by Ryan Gosling) and Enforcer for hire Jackson Healy (played Russell Crowe) team up to find missing girl Amelia (played by Margaret Qualley), who is mixed up with both the L.A porn scene and a conspiracy involving the Detroit automakers with assassins on her tail. Shane Black creates another funny neo-noir in the spirit of his equally underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with a fantastic script that knows just how to keep surprising it's audience (even if one of it's best ones was spoiled in every single trailer). Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are clearly having fun playing a mismatched pair as they bumble about late 1970's L.A trying to find a missing girl before the bad guys do and uncovering a huge conspiracy in the process. It was a funny, action packed film that at the same time knew how to twist an audience's expectations and surprise them. I enjoy this movie more and more everytime I see it.


Hacksaw Ridge

Mel Gibson makes a triumphant return to the director's chair with this intense and inspiring story of Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield), a man whose faith prevented from him engaging in combat during World War II be still wants to participate in the war as an Army medic. He is soon shipped off to the Pacific with his regiment with goal of trying to take the titular ridge and forward the Allies progression into Japan. It is there that Doss faces the unflinching horrors of war and in the process proves himself as a hero to regiment that doubted him and thought he was a coward for not wanting to fight.  Mel Gibson does a great job bringing the film to the screen finding the right balance between the horrifying realism of warfare and inspiring drama, along with just a little bit of humor in the right places to break up the relenting grimness of war. Andrew Garfield also gives a great performance as Desmond Doss with great supporting turns from Vince Vaughn as Doss' commanding officer and Hugo Weaving, Doss' World War I vet who doesn't want to see either of his sons go off to war. 

The Accountant

Sometimes well drawn characters can make a well worn plot seem new again. It's in that respect that Gavin O'Connor's film The Accountant really impressed me. Ben Affleck plays the title role, the enigmatic accountant that in addition to filing tax returns for the average person, also uncooks books for some of the biggest and most dangerous people in the world. The requires him to take certain precautions and at times utilize special skills he learned from his Special Forces father. When his most recent employer turns out to want him dead, he's forced to go on the run with that company's accountant (played by Anna Kendrick). Add in the always enjoyable J.K Simmons as a Treasury Agent about to retire who decides to take one last crack at tracking this Accountant down, Jon Bernthal as a charismatic assassin hired to track down Affleck and Kendrick and a supporting turn from John Lithgow and you have yourself a better than your usual action thriller. 


10 Cloverfield Lane

This film centers on Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who after a bad accident wakes up in the bomb shelter of Howard (played by John Goodman) and is told there was an attack on the country and they can't leave. Also with them is Emmett (played by John Gallagher Jr.), who helped Howard build the elaborate bomb shelter they inhabit. With razor sharp writing and suspenseful direction to match, this one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Much of the credit goes to John Goodman, who gives one of his best performances as Howard. The whole way through the movie I found myself guessing was he on the level or was there something more sinister going on. The ending left some people annoyed but I rather enjoyed it myself for the sharp turn that it was and the rest of the movie is so brilliantly played, this film still would've made the list even if I had. 


Green Room

A struggling Punk Rock band takes a gig at an isolated bar that turns out to be full of skinhead Neo-Nazis led by the creepy calm Darcy (played by Patrick Stewart). When band member Pat (played by Anton Yelchin) walks in on a murder scene after the show, the band is corralled into the Bar's Green Room, along with the victim's friend (played by Imogen Poots). When it becomes clear the Bar owners intend to eliminate the Band as they are witnesses, the band barricades the door as they try desperately to figure a way out of a truly nightmare scenario. Filled with uncompromising, white knuckle tension, writer/director Jeremy Saulnier keeps the action grounded, making the film all that more intense as it goes along. This one had me on edge throughout and made for a unique and genuinely memorable thriller.


Sing Street

In an attempt to impress a girl he's enamored with, Raphina (played by Lucy Boynton), Conor (played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) asks her to be in his band's music video. There is only one small problem: He doesn't have a band. With help from his friend Darren (played by Ben Carolan) and classmate Eamon, Conor is able to assemble a talented group of students and they begin composing their own music. Helping him with his music is Conor's older brother Brendan (played by Jack Reynor), who helps Conor expand his musical horizons and in turn impacts not only Conor's music but also helps Conor find himself, which in turn allows him to be more confident not only with Raphina, but in life. While the film would like to be a romance between Conor and Raphina, it's the scenes between Conor and Brendan that really give the film it's emotional heart. The film was written and directed by John Carney, who previously made similarly themed Once and Begin Again returns with this film that is filled with a mix of winning optimism and kitchen sink realism that makes the film hit a homerun. It has a killer soundtrack of both 80's classics by the likes of The Cure, Duran Duran, The Jam, and original songs sung by the titular band. This one was a winner for me from beginning to end with its irresistible blend of comedy and drama.      


Hidden Figures

If the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is considering this a 2016 movie, then I will too even if I saw it in 2017. I also just recently posted a full review on this one, so I will keep this entry brief. Filled with fantastic performances and an inspiring true story of the early days of the Space Program made this a fantastic film well worth checking out. 


The Lobster

Sometimes, a science fiction film can more accurately reflect real life than a straight drama can. The Lobster would be one of those films, at least for me. Taking place in a not so distant future where everyone is expected to have a mate, single people are taken to an isolated resort and told that unless they find a partner in 45 days, they will be transformed into an animal. The film follows one of the people there, David (played by Colin Farrel), as he tries to find a mate. This film, at least for me, so accurately tapped into how it feels to be single in today's society through an admittingly absurd premise. With a stellar supporting cast that includes Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, and Olivia Colman, this was a strange and thoroughly original film that I actually rather enjoyed.


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Now, I've been a Harry Potter fan ever since I first read the books so it was only natural I'd love this spin off as well, focusing on British wizard Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) and his adventures through 1920's New York as he gets mixed up with aspiring bakery owner Jacob (played by Dan Fogler) and Tina (played by Katherine Waterston) as he tries to wrangle some of the animals that escaped from his suitcase (that's bigger on the inside, of course) while dealing with the Magical Congress of the United States of America, who Tina works for. It was a lot of fun to see another part of J.K Rowlings vast Wizarding world brought to life, focusing on characters outside of the Harry Potter saga, but told with the same heart and humor that defined that series. 


So, there we have it. I missed a number of films this year, including such notable omissions as Arrival, Moonlight and Fences. There just wasn't enough days in the year to get to everything, so if you're wondering why those weren't listed now you know. Coming soon will be a list of the Worst Films I saw in 2016 which should be up in the next few days.