That was absolutely not the case in 2016. Anyone who says otherwise didn't go to the movies that much this year or they need therapy for some deeper-seeded issues about their own internal unhappiness.
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| Manchester By The Sea |
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| Moonlght |
This was a great movie year (instead of the standard top 10 we have a top 12 this year). Between Captain America: Civil War & Nice Guys we were given great popcorn entertainment. Zootopia snuck in some serious (yet basic) social/racial commentary, Barry Jenkins made a lot of noise with Moonlight, Kristen Stewart continued to grow & evolve as an actress working with the likes of Olivier Assayas (again) & Kelly Reichardt, and, like Mad Max: Fury Road & Boyhood before it, the entire world seems to be in agreement that OJ: Made In America is a lowkey masterpiece.
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| The Lost Arcade |
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| Paterson |
This was also a great movie year for me on personal level...
Jim Jarmusch made a return to form with Paterson, Jeff Nichols finally made me a believer (Loving & parts of Midnight Special); Kelly Reichardt directed one of the greatest performances of the last few years (Lily Gladstone in Certain Women), Terrence Malick released two films in one year, and hip-hop on the big screen slowly continues to step outside of its comfort zone with documentaries on artists like AZ & Outkast (although this Tupac movie scheduled for next year is sure to make things slightly stagnant again. I mean seriously - aren't there enough movies on Tupac already?)
Jim Jarmusch made a return to form with Paterson, Jeff Nichols finally made me a believer (Loving & parts of Midnight Special); Kelly Reichardt directed one of the greatest performances of the last few years (Lily Gladstone in Certain Women), Terrence Malick released two films in one year, and hip-hop on the big screen slowly continues to step outside of its comfort zone with documentaries on artists like AZ & Outkast (although this Tupac movie scheduled for next year is sure to make things slightly stagnant again. I mean seriously - aren't there enough movies on Tupac already?)
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| Certain Women |
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| Personal Shopper |
Anyway, below are my personal favorite films from 2016 broken up in to my usual categories & subcategories. Hopefully this will act as a slightly alternative list to the current top 10/best of lists that are out right now (while I may not have seen Fences or Silence yet, I don't see too many people championing underrated works like The Untamed or Bleak Street so I like to think I bring a little balance to things). And like I do every year, I've already written about a large majority of the films below throughout the year so make sure to click on the title of each movie to be taken to their individual review or podcast discussion.
Enjoy...
1-4: THE EXCEPTIONAL
TOP ROW: OJ: MADE IN AMERICA / MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
BOTTOM ROW: MOONLIGHT / PREVENGE
BOTTOM ROW: MOONLIGHT / PREVENGE
5-6: THESE MOVIES HAD NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD
7-10: UNDER THE RADAR / UNDERRATED / SLEPT ON...
11-12: FRUSTRATING BUT REWARDING
PINNLAND EMPIRE JURY PRIZE:
Films I genuinely liked, loved and/or enjoyed but have some kind of personal and/or biased attachment towards
BOTTOM ROW: ONE DAY SINCE YESTERDAY / VOYAGE OF TIME
HONORABLE MENTION
It wouldn't be right to sum up 2016 with just a small handful of movies. Below are a few more selections that are worth your time...
1-4: SOLID
BOTTOM ROW: THE CLUB / LOVE & FRIENDSHIP
5-8: FRUSTRATING BUT REWARDING
9-12: PRETTY SOLID
BOTTOM ROW: THE WITCH / CHRISTINE
HONORABLE HONORABLE MENTION:
A few more films from 2016 possibly worth your time...
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
*Brian Dennehy - Knight Of Cups
*Lily Gladstone - Certain Women
Roberto Farias - The Club
Roberto Farias - The Club
Jared Harris - Certain Women
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
*Ashton Sanders - Moonlight
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
*Ashton Sanders - Moonlight
*Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea
*Joel Edgerton - Midnight Special/Loving
Ryan Gosling - Nice Guys
*Abbey Lee Kershaw - The Neon Demon
Tom Bennett - Love & Friendship
Rebecca Hall - Christine
Danny Devito - Wiener Dog
Danny Devito - Wiener Dog
Ellen Burstyn - Wiener Dog
Kate Dickie - The Witch
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
*Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
*Alice Lowe - Prevenge
*Alice Lowe - Prevenge
Armie Hammer - Free Fire
PERSONAL FAVORITE SHOTS/STANDALONE IMAGES FROM 2016:
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| Bleak Street |
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| Keanu |
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| The Club |
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| Knight Of Cups |
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| The Witch |
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| The Witch |
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| Batmn V Superman |
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| Voyage Of Time |
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| Moonlight |
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| The Neon Demon |
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| La La Land |
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| Midnight Special |
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| The Untamed |
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| The Empty Box |
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD/R.I.P.: ABBAS KIAROSTAMI
My fiancee was casually scrolling facebook when she asked me; "Do you know Ab...bas Kiiiiiaaaarrrrostami?" Right then I knew he had passed away. Sure the announcement of a new Abbas Kiarostami movie would ring bells in certain film & art circles but there was no way he would be trending on social media for anything other than his passing. Whenever older/aging arthouse directors are trending on facebook or twitter it usually means that they've passed and my gut was correct about Abbas Kiarostami (late last year Claire Denis was trending on twitter briefly and I almost had a heart attack because I thought it meant she had passed away). I had no idea that Kiarostami was suffering from cancer so his death did come as kind of a surprise to me (sure he was 76 but that's still too early to go). I don't necessarily need to dedicate this little blurb to Kiarostami to show my sudden cinephiliac love & appreciation like so many fake overnight fans do when a legend/veteran passes away, because this very site (along with my twitter feed) has been a platform for his wonderful work going back to day one (Certified Copy was one of the first reviews I ever wrote for this site and I picked Close-Up & Taste Of Cherry to write about for the Criterion Blog-A-Thon last year).
I wouldn't say Abbas Kiarostami was one of my personal all-time favorites, but he was a modern-day master and his (aforementioned) films did leave a lasting impression on me. I discovered Taste Of Cherry at a somewhat low point in my life and I used to watch it religiously at night, and elements of Close-Up acted as a mirror for me in terms of my love of film. Also, not to sound too shallow, but along with directors like Jim Jarmusch & Wong Kar Wai, Abbas Kiarostami was one of the last directors to maintain that "cool" image like Godard other directors before him.
R.I.P.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS AND OTHER RANDOM MOVIE MOMENTS FROM 2016:
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| Batman V Superman |
The marvel & DC comic universes finally addressing all the civilian casualties & property damage that the avengers & justice league have caused over the years
Adam Beach/Slipknot getting killed off after 4 minutes of screen time (Suicide Squad)Ben Affleck's dedication to the Batman/Bruce Wayne role
*Cricket noise* (Birth Of A Nation)
The not-so veiled racism in Safari
This empty soulless clueless waste of a person (and the rest of her cowardly trophy hunting family) from Safari...
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| Safari |
Oh. This is a ghost movie? (Personal Shopper)
ESPN confirming that OJ Simpson is a sociopath (OJ: Made In America)
Teenage Shiron finally fights back (Moonlight)
The constant discomfort I felt while watching The Untamed
Forest Whitaker's accent in Arrival (where the f*ck was he supposed to be from?)
Todd Solondz crushing my soul at the end of Wiener Dog, then throwing in one more scene just to twist the knife
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| Certain Women |
Kate Dickie's scene in Prevenge
The last frame of Prevenge
Alice Lowe's dry humor in Prevenge
The little girl getting thrown though the window in Nice Guys
Lucas' (Joel Edgerton) loyalty in (Midnight Special)
Maybe I liked this movie more than I want to admit. I mean - if I enjoyed Stranger Things there's no reason to dislike this (Midnight Special)
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| Midnight Special |
Sneak attack at the motel (Midnight Special)
Tom ford imitating Tom Kalin imitating Todd Haynes (Nocturnal Animals)
Paula Beer's presence in Frantz
Constantly confusing the Marvel Universe with the Star Trek universe because they use so much of the same actors
Patrick's smart-assery in Manchester By The Sea
Ilsa Fisher & Amy Adams being the same movie at the same time (Nocturnal Animals)
Missing my Grandma after watching No Home Movie
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| No Home Movie |
Anya-Taylor Joy's presence in The Witch
The seamless transitions between the past & present in Manchester By The Sea
The seamless transitions between the past & present in The Empty Box
It wasn't a masterpiece but it wasn't THAT bad (Batman V Superman)
Yeah, this was kind of a mess: Suicide Squad
wasn't that bad: The Do-Over
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| The Do-Over |
Jackass award: Anthony Wiener (Wiener)
The crow breastfeeding in The Witch
Abbey Lee's catwalk (Neon Demon)
The movie-themed cat calendar in Keanu
It was good but I didn't think it was THAT good (Deadpool)
Gina Carano's presence in Deadpool
Marvin The Dog (Paterson)
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| Paterson |
"JUST NAME A MOVIE!" - Danny Devito (Wiener Dog)
"TRY STARVING! TRY STARVING ONCE! I'VE TRIED IT! I'VE DONE IT!" - Brian Dennehy (Knight Of Cups)
"I have cancer"
"But You're Smoking"
Well, yeah, that's how it happens..." (Nocturnal Animals)
Quietly cheering on Jake in Everybody Wants Some
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| Everybody Wants Some |
Mad That I Missed: Slack Bay & American Honey
Indifferent About Missing: Hail Caesar, Lion, 20th Century Women & Dr. Strange
Completely Fine w/ missing: Cafe Society & Snowden
Alia Shawkat's presence in The Green Room
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| The Green Room |
Jaylah listening to Public Enemy in Star Trek Beyond
Fuck this move: Eye In The Sky
Meh: 10 Cloverfield Land, Green Room, Miles Ahead & Hello My Name Is Doris
Disappointing: Arrival, Keanu & High Rise
Not bad...I guess...: La La Land
Guilty pleasure: Don't Breath
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| Don't Breath |
Ousmane Sembene was kind of a dick (Sembene)
Not a good movie year to be a dog: Wiener Dog & The Club
Sandokan Gets attacked by the locals (The Club)
Ellen Burstyn is visited by her ghostly child-self (Wiener Dog)
Nice to see Keith David is still doing his thing (Nice Guys)
Can we see just as much of you in 2017 as we did in 2016?: Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton
Can we see less of you in 2017?: Adam Driver, Kevin Hart, Armie Hammer
Can we see a lot less of you in 2017?: Sharlto Copley
