Top Ten Films of 2016
Note: This list does not include Rogue One. I’ve decided to exclude Star Wars movies in my top ten from here on out because they are so much more than movies to me. I’ve seen Rogue One three times, I’ll probably see it two more times in theaters, buy the blu-ray on the day of release, devour the special features, read J.W. Rinzler’s inevitable making of book, and watch the movie a few times a year — every year — for the rest of my life. And I would have done all that even if it was bad (it’s not, it’s very, very good).
Total New Releases Seen: 64.5 (I fell asleep halfway through Kubo and the Two Strings and never finished).
First Four Out (Honorable Mention): Nocturnal Animals, Sing Street, Indignation, 10 Cloverfield Lane
Bottom Four/Most Disappointing: Suicide Squad, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ghostbusters, Macbeth
Wish I had Seen: Silence, 20th Century Women, Lion, American Honey
Most Overlooked: Born to be Blue, Cafe Society
Most Underrated: The Neon Demon
Most Overrated: Arrival
Most “I don’t get why everyone loved this”: Don’t Think Twice, Kubo and the Two Strings
10. Moonlight
I wished I liked Moonlight a little more than I do. This may have been an unfortunate victim of overhype that I’ll like better on repeat viewings. What works about Moonlight works brilliantly: the cinematography, the mood, the thematic consistency. Mahershala Ali’s performance has rightly been universally lauded, the scene at the table between him and Chiron was enough on its own to land this in my top ten. His all-too-brief performance is the best bit of acting this year.
Ultimately, I liked each segment of Moonlight a little less than the one that came before, which left me a bit cold walking out of the movie. But it’s hard to dispute the quality — and importance — of the film. Barry Jenkins can shoot a movie, and Moonlight instantly establishes him as one of American’s most exciting up and coming filmmakers.
9. Hell or High Water
Hell or High Water is a high point of the contemporary western — a genre declared dead a few times a decade, only to continually re-emerge stronger than ever. Jeff Bridges is predictably great doing a grizzled buddy-cop schtick, but it’s the perennially underrated Chris Pine* who stands out. Pine has always been best when playing against Hollywood leading man type (see Z for Zachariah, Into the Woods, Wet Hot American Summer) and he excels as a mustachioed, downtrodden, rancher turned bank-robber. Very few films the year felt as relevant as Hell or High Water, part contemporary western, part indictment of modern capitalism.
*Official Chris Power Rankings:
1) Pine 2) Jericho 3) Hemsworth 4) Evans 5) Pratt (Passengers, woof)
8. Manchester by the Sea
Manchester By the Sea is a difficult film to recommend. On the one hand, its elegantly understated and features the finest lead performance of the year. It’s also crushingly, devastatingly sad. As in, this is the saddest movie I’ve ever seen. It’s also quite funny — it has to break up the heartache somehow.
Kenneth Lonergan’s film is ultimately a treatise on grief and our varied human responses to it. Casey Affleck’s Lee Chandler retreats from grief, allowing it to isolate him, alienating him from society. The much younger Patrick — played by Lucas Hedges — is prepped for grief, choosing to continue living life as best he can. The film’s master stroke is its lack of judgement. Chandler’s approach is just as human as Patrick’s, and just as valid. He’s not interested in redemption, and neither is Lonergan.
7. Fences
Denzel Washington isn’t getting enough credit for Fences, not for his termendous performance, but for his impeccable direction. Not every film requires Cuarón-esque long takes. Good direction serves story and character, not virtuosity. Washington understands the needs of adaptation, using the full frame to his advantage. This is one of the better stage adaptations in recent years because Washington expertly creates an intimate space reminiscent of the theatrical stage while still using the benefits of cinema to capture his actors’ performances. And what performances they are. The Oscar conversation begins and ends with Viola Davis. She should have won for Doubt, she should have won for The Help, she will win for Fences. It’s a knockout performance from a singular acting talent.
6. A Bigger Splash
One of my biggest surprises this year was Dakota Johnson’s performance in Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash. Having avoided the Fifty Shades phenomenon, my only exposure to her work was a mostly mediocre SNL hosting gig. Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes were enough to get me out to see this, but Johnson is a total scene stealer, owning every second she’s on screen.
A Bigger Splash slides in and out of genre with ease, at times a middle-aged romance, at other points a family drama, and ultimately a white-people-hang-out-and-someone-gets-murdered crime film. With gorgeous visuals and an outstanding cast (Ralph Fiennes really is a delight) A Bigger Splash was my cure for the 2016 summer blockbuster dumpster fire.
5. The Handmaiden
Like the Brother Bloom, Inception, or Ocean’s 11 before it, The Handmaiden represents one of the world’s great filmmakers creating a con-artist movie for the ages. And The Handmaiden absolutely stands toe-to-toe with the best of the genre. It really has everything: romance, horror, twists and turns aplenty. With Park Chan-wook you’re never quite watching the movie you think you are, and The Handmaiden gives you that feeling in spades. You think you’re watching one type of film, quickly realize it’s something different, before you realize that it’s something else entirely. Relentlessly entertaining and hauntingly beautiful, The Handmaiden may just be Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece.
4. The Lobster
The Lobster is a ludicrous film. You sound insane just trying to describe its conceit. It has no business being as good as it is. The level of difficulty is so high that even the slightest misstep could have spelled disaster for this allegorical romance. But director Yorgos Lanthimos’ commitment to his vision, and the total buy-in from a stellar cast, make the film unforgettable.
Despite it’s timeless setting, fairy tale logic*, and oddball performances, the film feels distinctly contemporary. Each piece of the film fits together to form a startlingly cohesive portrait of romantic relationships in modern society. Under appreciated for years, Colin Farrell is a real standout here, showing up as a schlubby recent divorcee. The always great Rachel Weisz brings a strong pathos to the film, with Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman, and John C. Reilly all adding comedic touches throughout. More than anything else, this film should be required viewing for anyone who’s ever been the lone single person in the group, the constant set-up, or the table for one.
*Although I think a much larger discussion is warranted about whether or not there actually is any magic in the film; we never actually see anyone get turned into an animal. All we see is an eerie room where the hotel claims it happens. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that the idea they turn into animals is a story the hotel/government uses to control the population, and is actually a cover for extermination — making the film much more insidious.
3. La La Land
I adore La La Land. I wasn’t as enthralled with Whiplash — director Damien Chazelle’s 2014 breakout hit — as the rest of the world. While I could respect the film on a technical level (and J.K. Simmons Oscar winning performance), Whiplash’s story never quite resonated with me. On the other hand La La Land is a movie that appeals to my specific tastes: musicals, jazz, art about art, melancholy, Emma Stone. The film’s central thesis—that the pursuit of lofty dreams has a cost — hit me much more than Whiplash’s obsessive drive for musical perfection (I suspect this is because I’m not a musician).
Not only is La La Land’s story resonant, but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun. The music is wonderful, the choreography is excellent, the leads beyond charming. But it’s the film’s powerful ending — and the lack of easy answers it provides — that kept La La Land rattling inside my brain for weeks. It hit me on such an emotional level that after my initial viewing I had to sit alone in my car for a few minutes to process.
I suspect that La La Land’s Oscar frontrunner status and the awards season slog will inevitable lead to a nasty backlash come February. Don’t let that fool you. This is an incredible piece of art that is both entertaining and profound, a meditation on modern love and a revival of the classic Hollywood musical. Do not miss it.
2. The Witch
I wrote a full review of The Witch after seeing it at Sundance in 2015, so I’ll keep my thoughts brief. Repeat viewings and two years of digestion have only confirmed what I thought then: The Witch is — in my opinion — the best horror film since The Shining.
Robert Eggers’ debut film is so terrifying because he understands that atmosphere, thematics, answerless questions and familial ambiguity are far scarier than cheap jump scares and over the top gore. Like The Shining, at its core The Witch is about one family’s slow breakdown into madness. A descent in which religious dogma and crushing isolation are more dangerous than any magic force in the woods.
1. Everybody Wants Some
Richard Linklater is our best working filmmaker full stop. His constant privilege of mundane verisimilitude over dramatic structure creates cinematic experiences that are unlike any other. Everybody Wants Some — the pseudo spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused — was severely overlooked this year; it received it’s share of acclaim, but was quickly forgotten by both critics and audiences, ultimately netting just $3.4 million at the US box office.
This film is destined for critical reevaluation and beloved classic status. It’s more confident, deeper, and frankly better than it’s predecessor Dazed and Confused, and has much more in common with Boyhood and the Before Trilogy than with his high school romp. From Tyler Hoechlin’s mega-jock McReynolds, to Zoey Deutch’s manic pixie theater nerd, each character is so hyper-specific they feel universal. Glen Powell’s pseudo-intellectual jock Finnegan is the clear breakout star, he jumps off the screen the same way McConaughey did in Dazed.
Maybe I love this movie because it’s so clearly a deeply personal and autobiographical work for Linklater (in a recent interview he claimed “everything in the movie happened to me, except one thing which happened to a friend of mine”). But as someone who played two sports in high school this film captures the reality of team dynamics in a way that no sports movie ever has. The jocks here aren’t bullies. They aren’t meatheads (well not all of them). They transition from clique to clique fitting in everywhere and staying nowhere. They have their own personalities, outside interests, stories that began before the film and will continue after. They feel like real people rather than the standard Hollywood jock cliche.
This film was backhandedly praised by many critics as fun but lightweight. Everybody Wants Some is anything but lightweight: identity, time, coming of age, love and loneliness and existential dread, all of Linklater’s usual thematic touch points are buried under every joke, every rib, every amazing disco montage. But for all its complexity the film is best characterized by five teammates, their first weekend of college, instant friends, driving down a Texas street singing Rapper’s Delight. It’s so mundane it’s profound. And damn is it fun.
