Yeah, no recap for 2016. It basically speaks for itself. I will be candid and saw this year was awful. Just terrible, not just in the world, but to me personally (don't want to get into it, just take my word for it). Anyway, we aren't here to talk about the deaths, or the election (urgh). We're here to talk about movies. This was actually a pretty good year for movies. Some pretty good blockbusters, some good independent films. This was a better year in movies than most other things, and with the next four years being deluge of more franchise-building and sequels and reboots (seriously, they're trying to make Baywatch into a 21 Jump Street parody), we may not get many more years like this. Just a run-down of the rules. This is for movies I saw that were released in some capacity to a wide audience between January 1st and December 31st, 2016. If a film you liked wasn't on the list, I simply didn't see it. Also, that means movies I didn't do reviews of will appear. This is only for movies, not for television shows, because I don't watch that much TV nowadays (this is for that person who keeps asking me about where certain TV shows will end up on the list. You know who you are.) The film will be divided into six categories: Worst of the year, bad, Meh, Okay, Good, Best of the year. It will be ranked in that order. So, without further ado....
Worst Film of the Year
War Dogs
Oh, bless them, they tried their very best to make this unique and fun, as opposed to recent darkfest of the other DCCU films. To be fair, there are some stand-outs in this (Viola Davis and Will Smith are particular mentions in this regard), but it is clear that the studio hacked this film in post-production. Thus, the finished product is disjointed in terms of tone, action, and characterization. It struggles to really pin down what it wanted to be. Was it supposed to be dark, comedic, darkly comedic, action-packed? Beats the hell out of me. It doesn't help that some of the performances were just terrible. Cara Delevingne has not improved from Paper Towns a year ago, and is still wooden and bland. The normally charismatic and enjoyable Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn very obnoxiously, and I couldn't stand her in some scenes. I'd complain about Jared Leto's Joker (and yeah, the performance was pretty bad), but he's not really in the movie enough to get me mad. Oh, yeah, and it (and War Dogs, now that I think about it) killed pop song soundtracks for me. I never want to hear "Fortunate Son" in a film for the rest of my lifetime, and I'm only 19.
Well, I was excited for this, and was disappointed. This film has, what is called an "Idiot Plot", where the entire crux of the story relies entirely on the characters acting in very stupid ways, and if they thought about their situation, the entire conflict would not happen. The trailers leave out a very important part of the plot, which is integral to plot, but which also raises a number of questions about why it happened. Also, it seems to build to a larger twist than the one I just mentioned, which never comes, and the film just devolves into a standard science fiction climax, which is implausible in its own way. There are good spots: Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have good chemistry, and the ending is decent. However, this is just bad in the most bland manner, a generic sort of bad, where I will forget this film even existed a year from now.
I can't think of a good reason they needed to be animals in this plot. Aside from a couple of gags, there is no reason that they needed to be animals. This story could've been easily acted out with humans. Since it is about animals, it's fine. Like most of Illumination's other animated features, it is mostly okay, with some good performances. I did spend most of the movie figuring out who the celebrities were voicing the characters, so if you want to play that game, there's that. The pop song soundtrack is pandering, and will probably date the movie in mere years. However, this was nothing bad about this film, and certainly nothing a child wouldn't enjoy.
This was funny. Yeah, it was pretty funny, with the character's trademark snark and fourth wall breaking intact. It had decent action scenes, and Deadpool's make-up was pretty good. Aside from that, it was just okay. There was nothing really, really special about it, aside from the humor. At the same time, I didn't think this was bad. There just wasn't much to the film aside from the humor. Still, I do see why it became very popular.
I feel about this movie the same way most people felt about Ant-Man (which I liked). It was just another origin story, one which sort of hits the beats of the traditional superhero origin films, and not doing anything else with it. Not that it's bad for doing it. Marvel does this formula very well, and it always produces a quality product. I did enjoy the embrace of the psychedelic elements that made the character a classic during the 1960's, with "trippy" visuals which meld and bend the background, and the resolution with the villain was pretty clever. However, this stands with Thor and Age of Ultron as one of Marvel's weaker efforts, especially in comparison with Civil War , and perhaps an indication that even Marvel is beginning to falter. Thankfully, Spider-Man: Homecoming is not an origin story, so it could potentially better.
Is there a reason for this movie to exist? No. Is it better than the original? No. Given those , they still made a decent product, with Pixar's usual pendent for good visuals and some decent performances still in practice. If they had to make a sequel to Finding Nemo, (a film with no sequel hook), this is the best one we could possibly have had, and it isn't just the first movie over again. However, I would just recommend watching the first movie again. The fact that Pixar is making more sequels is pretty concerning for the once great animation studio.
A decent spin-off film, revolving around a seemingly minuscule, but an integral part of A New Hope. This feels like a part of the Star Wars universe, while telling an interesting original story from it. Unlike The Force Awakens, it doesn't crib too much from the other movies, and manages to tell a good story with good, likeable characters and good action sequences. It really feels like a side story, and I mean that as a compliment. The characters, while more insignificant, still get to have some importance by the very end, and they have some eventual impact.
The Witch
I went into detail about this a few weeks ago, so I'll try not to repeat myself. I'll say that while I may not have been as wowed by this as many other people were, and indeed there were some problems with this. I still find this to be one of the most original and fun films of the year. It's rare to see this kind of classical style musical with original songs and a heavily improv jazz inspired musical score. It is the sort of fluff that stems from legitimate passion for this style of film. It's still out in theater, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend seeing it at least once.
A sort of thematic successor to Boyhood in terms of someone entering college for the first time, and meeting an assortment of new and interesting characters. Like Boyhood, it manages to takes the fairly dull premise, and use interesting characters and situation to make it interesting. All the characters seem like real people, and most of their situation arise out of their logical actions. There isn't a plot, but there doesn't need to be. It is simply how life goes. Nothing really exciting or thrilling happens, really, but it still manages to be fun and interesting all the way through.
This is a movie where exciting and thrilling things happen, and still is interesting. The placement of this so high up on the list may just be because of my increased annoyance at people constantly complaining about Superhero movies, but it is still a solid example of the genre, and I think one of Marvel's best movies. The Captain America movies get better with each installment, with this one having some truly excellent action scenes, and some legitimately great character moments. It also shows the strength of having it be a cinematic universe, because seeing the Avengers torn up in this manner is more depressing, because we've seen these characters and their relationship grow through these movies, and based on this relationship, the climax in particular was incredibly intense. This is a movie about emotions and passions, and how they influence our actions. Certainly one of Marvel's finest moments, and with Dr. Strange proving okay, I think we might not get another movie like this again. (At least we get Guardians next years).
A movie I watched purely on a whim, and glad that I did. This is a neo-Western about two brothers who resort to robbing banks in order to keep their family homestead (which may have oil on it), and the veteran policeman hoping to capture them. This never paints anyone as the villain. Every person simply is trying to do what they think is right. You find yourself rooting for both sides, because each character is very richly drawn and given an individual moment in the sun. The moral ambiguity helps establish tone and themes of the movie. It keeps you on your feet at all times, making you wonder what is going to happen, who might die in this struggle. Sometimes, you learn as much about what is happening as the characters do. I don't want to spoil what happens in this, so go and watch it yourself.
The movie this year I enjoyed so much, I watched it multiple times, and it didn't get old. Between this and La La Land,Ryan Gosling had a pretty good year (unlike the rest of us, and he's going to be in Blade Runner 2049 next year.). He and Russell Crowe have excellent chemistry, which is the main appeal of this movie: watching these two dysfunctional characters try to get along while solving what seems to be a simple disappearance, which turns more and more layers, as it transforms into a conspiracy involving the automobile industry. The dialogue is hilarious, once again working off Crowe's and Gosling's chemistry, and the 70's Los Angeles setting is used to great effect. A surprising stand-out in the cast is Australian actress Angourie Rice, who plays Gosling's character's daughter, who manages to hold her own, and even help them sort of their problems and solve the mystery. She had some of the best lines in the movie. Once again, if you haven't seen this, Watch This Movie!
Worst Film of the Year
War Dogs
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| Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/ |
Yeah, I'm sure some of you are surprised this film made the list, and not the next entry. However, after considering what I really thought about the two, I realized I didn't really find anything enjoyable about this movie. Nothing I really remember as being outstanding or spectacular. I can't even remember what happened during most of this movie. I initially considered Jonah Hill's performance to be the saving grace, but on further scrunity, it hasn't held up, and certainly doesn't save this movie, in the same way, despite being a great actor, his performance couldn't save True Story. Aside from that, Miles Teller is, as usual, not very good, and director Tod Phillips fails in his attempt to create a "commentary on the American Dream" movie like his comedy contemporary Adam McKay did with The Big Short . Instead, there is no real commentary, just a dull, ultimately conventional look into how they began arms dealing, how they expanded, and how it all collapsed, with no lessons and no real insight, aside from (Spoiler) pay the person you hired to redesign the ammunition you plan to resell to the American military. That is its biggest crime:It had the potential to be another great commentary film, and it just passed by with little comment or fanfare. What a waste
Bad:
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_v_Superman:_Dawn_of_Justice |
Once again, what keeps this off being the very worst of the year is that I can point to some things I enjoyed. Most of the actors, like Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, and Gal Gadot, do fine for the most part, though they aren't given enough to work with. The special effects are fine, and I suppose Zac Snyder's style (not a good one, but at least a distinct one) shines here better than in Man of Steel. However, they are stuck in this monotonous, dour narrative, which does not make sense, and relies on really contrived twists to move forward. There are some really dumb stuff, that you simply cannot believe actually happened, and they actually kept this in the final version of the script. Jesse Eisenberg seems to be in a completely different movie than the rest of the cast, and Henry Cavill, who was fine in the last movie, just trudges through this looking very depressed. They take two of the most iconic characters in popular culture, and strip them of their personalities or what really makes them different, which takes away the tension when they do eventually fight. However, this film's biggest crime was that it was so boring. This was 2+ hours of overblown, heavily CGI fight scenes, where there is no excitement, no enjoyment, no intensity. Honestly, there's nothing else I can say, that others haven't said in greater detail.
Suicide Squad
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Squad_(film) |
Oh, bless them, they tried their very best to make this unique and fun, as opposed to recent darkfest of the other DCCU films. To be fair, there are some stand-outs in this (Viola Davis and Will Smith are particular mentions in this regard), but it is clear that the studio hacked this film in post-production. Thus, the finished product is disjointed in terms of tone, action, and characterization. It struggles to really pin down what it wanted to be. Was it supposed to be dark, comedic, darkly comedic, action-packed? Beats the hell out of me. It doesn't help that some of the performances were just terrible. Cara Delevingne has not improved from Paper Towns a year ago, and is still wooden and bland. The normally charismatic and enjoyable Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn very obnoxiously, and I couldn't stand her in some scenes. I'd complain about Jared Leto's Joker (and yeah, the performance was pretty bad), but he's not really in the movie enough to get me mad. Oh, yeah, and it (and War Dogs, now that I think about it) killed pop song soundtracks for me. I never want to hear "Fortunate Son" in a film for the rest of my lifetime, and I'm only 19.
Passengers
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| Source:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355644/ |
Well, I was excited for this, and was disappointed. This film has, what is called an "Idiot Plot", where the entire crux of the story relies entirely on the characters acting in very stupid ways, and if they thought about their situation, the entire conflict would not happen. The trailers leave out a very important part of the plot, which is integral to plot, but which also raises a number of questions about why it happened. Also, it seems to build to a larger twist than the one I just mentioned, which never comes, and the film just devolves into a standard science fiction climax, which is implausible in its own way. There are good spots: Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have good chemistry, and the ending is decent. However, this is just bad in the most bland manner, a generic sort of bad, where I will forget this film even existed a year from now.
X-Men: Apocalypse:
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| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men:_Apocalypse |
You know, I kind of liked this the first time I saw it. Goes to show how time changes your perception. As someone who defends superhero films, I do see this as the archetypal superhero film, that people complain about. It really doesn't utilize any of the considerable talent they had on hand to good effect. Indeed, most of the actors (Jennifer Lawrence, especially; wow, she hasn't had a good year) seem bored most of the time. There is a completely unnecessary Wolverine cameo which stops the movie cold for about 5 minutes. Excluding the "Quicksilver slow-motion" rescue scene (which does build on the similar scene from Days of Future Past), the fight scenes are not very well made, and go on too long. It fails to capture any sort of epic feel, with Apocalypse (a very intimidating villain in the comics) having little to no real menace to him, just barking on about some pretentious non-sense. It is an overall disappointment in comparison to the excellent Days of Future Past.
Meh
Batman: The Killing Joke
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Killing_Joke_(film) |
Can we put a ten year moratorium on Batman movies? I am so sick of Batman. DC over-promotes him, and he has been in several movies this year, not just the live-action ones, but in animation. I might go see the Lego Batman Movie, and assuming Warner Bros. does Wonder Woman well, I might do the Ben Affleck solo film, but that's it. Anyway, this movie ruins its potential (having a great source material, which I highly recommend) in its opening act, which completely ruins the character of Barbara Gordon, and taints the rest of the film by association. The opening act really ruins this entire movie. The only reason it isn't in the bad category is, aside from the terrible, character destroying opening act of the film, it actually was a pretty good adaptation of the Alan Moore comic, with most of the iconic lines and scenes intact. Also, of course, it's always great to hear Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight, and especially Mark Hamill as the Clown Prince of Crime. Hamill said he would not return to voice the Joker unless it was an adaptation of the Killing Joke, and he, as he always does in this role, nails it perfectly, with charm and menace. A shame he had to play it in this version.
Jason Bourne
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| Source:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/ |
I assumed my confusion with this film stemmed from the fact that I hadn't seen the other Bourne films. I intended to watch them before making this list, but I never got the time. After seeing other reviews, I decided it wasn't just me. Yeah, even taking my ignorance of this franchise into account, this was pretty bad, with confusing action scenes, overdone cinematography, and especially bored acting. Based on what I've seen of the other films, Matt Damon just seems bored once again, and Tommy Lee Jones simply isn't trying. I suppose Alicia Vikander was a highlight. I promise, I'll try to watch all of them before the next one comes out.
Elvis and Nixon
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| Source: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqgk6uO-xl11XG6oIAYb1vFRpkDIgHwDVyJIPcv7JmeiOtxPDc |
Well, this sure was a movie that existed. I can't think of any reason this needed to be 86 minutes, when it easily could've just been a 40 minute TV feature with commercials to extend it to an hour. There isn't anything specifically bad about this movie. There's just nothing in it to really recommend. If you are interested in this real life event, and want to see some speculation on how it went down, or you want to see Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey's decent performances, you'll probably like this, but this really wasn't something I'll revisit.
Okay:
Sing
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_(2016_film) |
I can't think of a good reason they needed to be animals in this plot. Aside from a couple of gags, there is no reason that they needed to be animals. This story could've been easily acted out with humans. Since it is about animals, it's fine. Like most of Illumination's other animated features, it is mostly okay, with some good performances. I did spend most of the movie figuring out who the celebrities were voicing the characters, so if you want to play that game, there's that. The pop song soundtrack is pandering, and will probably date the movie in mere years. However, this was nothing bad about this film, and certainly nothing a child wouldn't enjoy.
Deadpool
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| Source:http://www.fox.es/deadpool |
This was funny. Yeah, it was pretty funny, with the character's trademark snark and fourth wall breaking intact. It had decent action scenes, and Deadpool's make-up was pretty good. Aside from that, it was just okay. There was nothing really, really special about it, aside from the humor. At the same time, I didn't think this was bad. There just wasn't much to the film aside from the humor. Still, I do see why it became very popular.
Zootopia
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zootopia |
Another film that people loved this year, that I just found okay. It was fine. Can't say I'll ever watch it again. Its overall themes of racism are well presented, if heavy handed and a bit flimsy when you consider them in the context of the plot. The visuals were nice, with some creative uses for a city built specifically for animals (and unlike Sing, the story actually requires them to be animals.). The best I could compare this movie to is another Disney feature, Meet the Robinsons, another high-concept film, with a recurring theme and nice visuals. Both films have good elements, but ultimately too weak narratively to really be impactful
Doctor Strange
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| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Strange_(film) |
I feel about this movie the same way most people felt about Ant-Man (which I liked). It was just another origin story, one which sort of hits the beats of the traditional superhero origin films, and not doing anything else with it. Not that it's bad for doing it. Marvel does this formula very well, and it always produces a quality product. I did enjoy the embrace of the psychedelic elements that made the character a classic during the 1960's, with "trippy" visuals which meld and bend the background, and the resolution with the villain was pretty clever. However, this stands with Thor and Age of Ultron as one of Marvel's weaker efforts, especially in comparison with Civil War , and perhaps an indication that even Marvel is beginning to falter. Thankfully, Spider-Man: Homecoming is not an origin story, so it could potentially better.
Finding Dory
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Dory |
Is there a reason for this movie to exist? No. Is it better than the original? No. Given those , they still made a decent product, with Pixar's usual pendent for good visuals and some decent performances still in practice. If they had to make a sequel to Finding Nemo, (a film with no sequel hook), this is the best one we could possibly have had, and it isn't just the first movie over again. However, I would just recommend watching the first movie again. The fact that Pixar is making more sequels is pretty concerning for the once great animation studio.
The Jungle Book
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book_(2016_film) |
Decent enough. It is a classic story, after all, and Disney's recent live actions adaptations have proven successful enough. However, you might as well just watch the original Disney film. This attempt at a darker, epic version ultimately falls flat, with the allusions to the original film constantly undercutting that darker tone. It definitely doesn't have the darkness of the Kipling stories. Still, it wasn't terrible, as far as live action adaptations go, and if we have to get live action adaptations of Disney films, this is at least watchable.
Star Trek:Beyond
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Beyond |
This is far better than the first two reboot Trek films, with the inherent feel of an original series episode, without being too derivative from better sources (*cough* Into Darkness *cough*), and an good potboiler plot, which could easily fit into any given Star Trek series. Also very nice tributes to both the late Leonard Nimoy and the late Anton Yelchin. This could possibly chalked up to Simon Pegg being one of the screenwriters this time, who clearly knows the source material, and used it to craft this movie. The reason this is rather low on the list was that it still had many of the same problems as those other two films. Same overdone plot, with a frantic, world-ending consequences climax like the last one, same overuse CGI effects, which take away the emotion effect of some scenes (such as when the Enterprise crashed), same overall feel of excessiveness from the previous two features. That said, I'm glad this series is getting better, and hopefully, as we move through movies, these problems will continue to decline.
Good:
The Accountant
You might think I have some sort of special insight into this film, given I have autism myself, and the protagonist is explicitly stated as Autistic. I don't really have much to say on that front, I'll just say this is probably one of the most sympathetic and non-stereotypical (i.e. adhering strictly to psychiatric views) portrayals of autism I have ever seen in media. This is the better Ben Affleck movie I saw this year, with him giving a good performance without veering into the Inspirationally Disadvantaged trope some actors do when portraying people with disabilities. I'm glad they actually address him explicitly as autistic, but without coming off as condescending or demeaning. I recommend this as a good fiction film about film, and even taking that out, just a good action thriller.
Good:
The Accountant
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Accountant_(2016_film) |
You might think I have some sort of special insight into this film, given I have autism myself, and the protagonist is explicitly stated as Autistic. I don't really have much to say on that front, I'll just say this is probably one of the most sympathetic and non-stereotypical (i.e. adhering strictly to psychiatric views) portrayals of autism I have ever seen in media. This is the better Ben Affleck movie I saw this year, with him giving a good performance without veering into the Inspirationally Disadvantaged trope some actors do when portraying people with disabilities. I'm glad they actually address him explicitly as autistic, but without coming off as condescending or demeaning. I recommend this as a good fiction film about film, and even taking that out, just a good action thriller.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
A decent spin-off film, revolving around a seemingly minuscule, but an integral part of A New Hope. This feels like a part of the Star Wars universe, while telling an interesting original story from it. Unlike The Force Awakens, it doesn't crib too much from the other movies, and manages to tell a good story with good, likeable characters and good action sequences. It really feels like a side story, and I mean that as a compliment. The characters, while more insignificant, still get to have some importance by the very end, and they have some eventual impact.
The Witch
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_(2015_film) |
Yeah, this is as good as others have said. It is very unnerving in some scenes, the historical setting and Puritanical characters are both distinct and a nice way of increasing the inter-character tension and their reaction to unsettling events. It relies more on slow, methodical scares which build your sense of unease (I'm running out of synonyms for "unsettling") It is mysterious without being confusing or begging for more explanation. This was a really good horror movie. The reason it is low on the good part, is simply it didn't stick with me after I watched it. Similar films like the Babadook and It Follows really stuck with me months after I had watched them. I continued to think about them, what worked about them, and was still scared by them, long after I had watched it. I didn't have the same reaction to this. I kind of didn't think about this movie, and I didn't get nightmares from it. It didn't really impact me. Still, this was very good, and a nice indication on a new, welcomed trend of slow, intelligent horror movies.
Moana
Polynesian culture has always fascinated me, with its large focus on exploration and their sophisticated methods of sailing and star-gazing. I'm glad Disney was able to capture that essence of Polynesian culture and mythology in this film. Particularly, I liked that they incorporated the Polynesian love of exploration and sailing into the very plot of the movie. The songs (written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda) were instantly memorable and fun to listen to. Newcomer Auli'i Cravalho does great in both acting and singing. It's always great to see the Rock in a film (even if he doesn't have a great singing voice). An especially high recommendation is that Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Concords appears as a villain, and gets to sing a villain song with an acoustic guitar.
Snowden
The Lonely Island is something I shouldn't like, yet I do a lot. They are definitely crass and explicit, but I think the knowing sarcastic tone is what makes differentiates that from your average Comedy Central show with similar jokes. If you enjoy that sense of humor, you'll probably enjoy this film as much as I did. Mocking the self-aggrandizing nature of most modern music documentaries, the film utilizes the talents of the three leads (both musically and comedically) to great effect. Yes, Andy Samberg is, as usual, very funny, but props need to be given to the other Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone as well for their performance, as well as writing (with Samberg) and directing the movie.
Moana
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moana_(2016_film) |
Polynesian culture has always fascinated me, with its large focus on exploration and their sophisticated methods of sailing and star-gazing. I'm glad Disney was able to capture that essence of Polynesian culture and mythology in this film. Particularly, I liked that they incorporated the Polynesian love of exploration and sailing into the very plot of the movie. The songs (written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda) were instantly memorable and fun to listen to. Newcomer Auli'i Cravalho does great in both acting and singing. It's always great to see the Rock in a film (even if he doesn't have a great singing voice). An especially high recommendation is that Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Concords appears as a villain, and gets to sing a villain song with an acoustic guitar.
Snowden
I heard a lot of bad buzz about this film going in. After seeing, I didn't have the same reaction. I thought it was a decent film. It follows Snowden's journey to becoming a whistleblower in detail, showing his disillusionment with the NSA data collection methods, and his journey to eventually stop it. I can't attest to the accuracy of any of the events of the film, but the real Snowden appears at the end, so apparently he approved of the product. If you want a good idea on the whole controversy surrounding this, I recommend taking a look at this film. Also, it's nice to see Nick Cage in a good movie again.
Hail Caesar
This is first (and as of now only) Coen Brother's film I have seen. I have apparently missed a lot if this is anything to go by. Interweaving several stories centering around the actions of real life studio executive Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) in 1950's Hollywood, it manages to have some perversely funny moments, mainly from a cast of interesting characters and their situations. The movie satires and their production is symbolized by the hilarious line "Divine Presence to be shot". Maybe I ought to see more Coen Brothers films.
Hail Caesar
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail,_Caesar! |
This is first (and as of now only) Coen Brother's film I have seen. I have apparently missed a lot if this is anything to go by. Interweaving several stories centering around the actions of real life studio executive Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) in 1950's Hollywood, it manages to have some perversely funny moments, mainly from a cast of interesting characters and their situations. The movie satires and their production is symbolized by the hilarious line "Divine Presence to be shot". Maybe I ought to see more Coen Brothers films.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
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| Source:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT9Q52XhOcm-cRBDrYJgCDoZbXG4oDfgplCRmFn5zAFcPKswIu7 |
The Lonely Island is something I shouldn't like, yet I do a lot. They are definitely crass and explicit, but I think the knowing sarcastic tone is what makes differentiates that from your average Comedy Central show with similar jokes. If you enjoy that sense of humor, you'll probably enjoy this film as much as I did. Mocking the self-aggrandizing nature of most modern music documentaries, the film utilizes the talents of the three leads (both musically and comedically) to great effect. Yes, Andy Samberg is, as usual, very funny, but props need to be given to the other Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone as well for their performance, as well as writing (with Samberg) and directing the movie.
La La Land
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_La_Land_(film) |
I went into detail about this a few weeks ago, so I'll try not to repeat myself. I'll say that while I may not have been as wowed by this as many other people were, and indeed there were some problems with this. I still find this to be one of the most original and fun films of the year. It's rare to see this kind of classical style musical with original songs and a heavily improv jazz inspired musical score. It is the sort of fluff that stems from legitimate passion for this style of film. It's still out in theater, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend seeing it at least once.
Everybody Wants Some!!
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_Wants_Some!!_(film) |
A sort of thematic successor to Boyhood in terms of someone entering college for the first time, and meeting an assortment of new and interesting characters. Like Boyhood, it manages to takes the fairly dull premise, and use interesting characters and situation to make it interesting. All the characters seem like real people, and most of their situation arise out of their logical actions. There isn't a plot, but there doesn't need to be. It is simply how life goes. Nothing really exciting or thrilling happens, really, but it still manages to be fun and interesting all the way through.
Captain America: Civil War
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| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America:_Civil_War |
This is a movie where exciting and thrilling things happen, and still is interesting. The placement of this so high up on the list may just be because of my increased annoyance at people constantly complaining about Superhero movies, but it is still a solid example of the genre, and I think one of Marvel's best movies. The Captain America movies get better with each installment, with this one having some truly excellent action scenes, and some legitimately great character moments. It also shows the strength of having it be a cinematic universe, because seeing the Avengers torn up in this manner is more depressing, because we've seen these characters and their relationship grow through these movies, and based on this relationship, the climax in particular was incredibly intense. This is a movie about emotions and passions, and how they influence our actions. Certainly one of Marvel's finest moments, and with Dr. Strange proving okay, I think we might not get another movie like this again. (At least we get Guardians next years).
Hell or High Water
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| Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_or_High_Water_(film) |
A movie I watched purely on a whim, and glad that I did. This is a neo-Western about two brothers who resort to robbing banks in order to keep their family homestead (which may have oil on it), and the veteran policeman hoping to capture them. This never paints anyone as the villain. Every person simply is trying to do what they think is right. You find yourself rooting for both sides, because each character is very richly drawn and given an individual moment in the sun. The moral ambiguity helps establish tone and themes of the movie. It keeps you on your feet at all times, making you wonder what is going to happen, who might die in this struggle. Sometimes, you learn as much about what is happening as the characters do. I don't want to spoil what happens in this, so go and watch it yourself.
The Nice Guys
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| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nice_Guys |
The movie this year I enjoyed so much, I watched it multiple times, and it didn't get old. Between this and La La Land,Ryan Gosling had a pretty good year (unlike the rest of us, and he's going to be in Blade Runner 2049 next year.). He and Russell Crowe have excellent chemistry, which is the main appeal of this movie: watching these two dysfunctional characters try to get along while solving what seems to be a simple disappearance, which turns more and more layers, as it transforms into a conspiracy involving the automobile industry. The dialogue is hilarious, once again working off Crowe's and Gosling's chemistry, and the 70's Los Angeles setting is used to great effect. A surprising stand-out in the cast is Australian actress Angourie Rice, who plays Gosling's character's daughter, who manages to hold her own, and even help them sort of their problems and solve the mystery. She had some of the best lines in the movie. Once again, if you haven't seen this, Watch This Movie!
Best of the Year
Arrival
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| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film) |
Having some inclination more towards the sciences, I sort of have a preference for hard science fiction, and hard science fiction is such a rarity in film, that I tend to savor any good example of the genre. Like I said in my review, this is essentially a hard science film about linguistics, and it helps detail how we could possibly decode an alien language so foreign to us. At the same time, it uses the ideas of language to explore larger themes of time and universality. It manages to build these big ideas, while also focusing on the character's journey, her emotional arc. The twist in the end is well-executed, building on those themes of time and universality, but there is still enough of a mystery to the aliens that the world ending climax bit still has tension, because we potentially don't know what will happen. The best science fiction film is one that can handle such large ideas without veering into pretentiousness. As soon as I finished watching, I knew I had just seen the best film of the year.
So, that was the films of 2016. Will 2017 be better? Who knows. For now, I'll continue writing on here. Not just movie reviews, but also book reviews, articles on weird science concepts and experiments, think pieces on a number, all that jazz. I hope you have an excellent new year, and I'll see you in 2017.
