Top 25 Films of 2016
I'm IMDb's Senior Film Editor and, though I haven't seen every film 2016 had to offer I saw a LOT of films. Here's my expanded list. by Keith Simanton, Senior Film Editor, IMDb -
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25 titles
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsBlake JennerTyler HoechlinRyan GuzmanIn 1980 Texas, a college freshman meets his new baseball teammates, an unruly group of disco-dancing, skirt-chasing, and they navigate their way#25 - A welcome and honest portrayal of a time and a way of life that is as real as Linklater's classic DAZED AND CONFUSED.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.#24 - Denis Villeneuve wears his sci-fi on his sleeve in this ultimately effective flick. There's a near-fatal CGI hair scene near the end but it's a surprise how much this alien film hits home. Adams Oscar nom #6? Very possible.
- DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsAnton YelchinImogen PootsAlia ShawkatA punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.#23 - A wicked piece of work from Jeremy Saulnier with two of my favorite moments of the year. One is a brutally honest "desert island discs" discussion and the other when the pragmatic villain, played by Stewart, realizes the carnage he has to rain down on some innocent band members. Also a lovely last film for Anton Yelchin.
- DirectorJosh KriegmanElyse SteinbergStarsAnthony WeinerHuma AbedinJordan Zain WeinerAn examination of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign and today's political landscape.#22 - A study in unbridled egotism and hubris.
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsSasha LaneShia LaBeoufRiley KeoughA teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a band of misfits.#21 - HONEY is a gorgeous, vibrant 1 hour 43 minute movie trying to get out of a 2 hour 43 minute film. Writer and director Andrea Arnold can't seem to cut a note of the pricey songs she licensed and it diminishes the power of characters and the story. Lead actress Sasha Lane is one of the finds of the year and Shia LaBeouf has a remarkable turn as a hustler of women and magazines.
- DirectorByron HowardRich MooreJared BushStarsGinnifer GoodwinJason BatemanIdris ElbaIn a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.#20 - Subverting our expectations of race and anthropomorphized characters ZOOTOPIA reveals just how often we generalize or assume we have knowledge when we do not. If kids repeatedly watch this clever-as-a-fox film, the way they did FROZEN, we'd have a better world.
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsNatalie PortmanPeter SarsgaardGreta GerwigFollowing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.#19 - A bio-pic that feels revealing in the way that only a made-up biography could. Getting to the sense of someone, without being necessarily accurate has rarely felt as right as Larrain's film, with a thoughtful and nuanced performance by Portman. Not sure that it's the right Jackie but it's a good approximation of the legend. Print the legend.
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsWill SmithJared LetoMargot RobbieA secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.#18 - Subtract C. Delevigne's mashup dance of The Fly & The Boogaloo in the third act and you have the best (recent) DC film so far. It's far more interesting than Z. Snyder’s heroes and under director Ayer, Leto, Smith, Robbie, Kinnaman, Hernandez & Courtney make the most of their largely unknown baddies. It's too dark for kids & has been too edited and manhandled to stand up to DEADPOOL edginess, but it’s still a surprise win.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsFerdia Walsh-PeeloAidan GillenMaria Doyle KennedyA young lad notices a beautiful girl who begins to occupy his thoughts. While struggling with poverty, personal relationships and life's woes, he starts a band, hoping to catch her attention.#17 Great cast, including the two leads, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (as the ostracized, yet talented Conor) and Lucy Boynton (as the every-girl who broke every middle-schooler's heart, Raphina). Director John Carney made the well-recognized ONCE and the under-appreciated BEGIN AGAIN. Here he mixes nostalgia for a wind-swept UK of the '80s and a very affecting story of brothers into one of those films that will be beloved long after others on this list have been forgotten.
- DirectorGarth JenningsChristophe LourdeletStarsMatthew McConaugheyReese WitherspoonSeth MacFarlaneIn a city of humanoid animals, a hustling theater impresario's attempt to save his theater with a singing competition becomes grander than he anticipates even as its finalists find that their lives will never be the same.#16 - I am still bowled over by how much I loved SING. With the exception of the first DESPICABLE ME I've not found much to cherish coming from Illumination Entertainment. Yet this film completely won me over with a surprising mixture of pop songs and animated antics. Written and directed by Garth Jennings (SON OF RAMBOW) it's my favorite animated movie of the year (just nudging out ZOOTOPIA) and a total, joyful surprise.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.#15 - Director Barry Jenkins's gentle film, one that confidently unfolds the life vignettes of a boy initially called Little who is born different than most around him. He's saved from his neglectful mother (a brave performance by Naomi Harris) by the calm, soulful Juan (a breakout performance by Mahershala Ali). We next see him as Chiron (Ashton Sanders) a hurting young man who sees a glimmer of a life of hope with another young man like him. Lastly he's Black (Trevante Rhodes), a thug who has tried to mirror his mentor but still seeks out a world wider and better than the one in which he lives. MOONLIGHT does that for us as well.
- DirectorDan TrachtenbergStarsJohn GoodmanMary Elizabeth WinsteadJohn Gallagher Jr.A young woman is held in an underground bunker by a man who insists that a hostile event has left the surface of the Earth uninhabitable.#14 - My favorite "horror" film of the year, as hermetically sealed as the bunker in which Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself. Winstead is joined by two other actors who inhabit their roles well, the underrated John Goodman and John Gallagher. I'm excited to see what director Trachtenberg does next.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJosh BrolinGeorge ClooneyAlden EhrenreichA Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.#13 - The Coens cloak a brilliant morality tale, how does one stay true to your beliefs in a corrupt society?, in a silly, sometimes pokey, movie-ola. The cast is a classic collection of stars who are actors and actors who are stars. The dialogue is of that Coen brand that made me laugh the first time I heard it. Jonah Hill's actuarial statement, "I'm bonded, Miss" should have been in the list of the best quotes of the year. Would that it twere.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsLewis MacDougallSigourney WeaverFelicity JonesConor, a twelve-year-old boy, encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.#12 - J.A. Bayona's visually rich, timeless film is a deeply sad & enriching fairy tale. Great performances are anchored by newcomer Lewis MacDouglall, whose performs the tricky task of expressing his character's grief, sadness, and anger without turning the whole thing into a dirge. The drab world of the day is contrasted with the lush palette of the water-color images that appear when the tree is relaying a nighttime story.
- DirectorMatt RossStarsViggo MortensenGeorge MacKaySamantha IslerIn the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.#11 - Writer/directer Ross (you likely know him best as Gavin Belson from "Silicon Valley") deservedly won the Best Director prize at Cannes, Un Certain Regard for his work. He has crafted an ensemble of actors, led by Mortenson, that gel into a family, based upon his own original script. It also has a balanced perspective, a rarity these days, making the father of the tale, neither the authoritarian villain nor the enlightened champion.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsAndrew GarfieldSam WorthingtonLuke BraceyWorld War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.#10 - The story is as inspiring and incredible as any I've ever seen on the screen. What's also amazing is that the performances, particularly Garfield, are so good that when footage of the real Desmond Doss is shown during the end credits my normal response, which is to think, "Dammit, that's more interesting than the bio-pic I just watched" didn't occur. Director Gibson doesn't shy away from the brutality of war, as usual that feels like an attractant to him, but he rounds out his characters in surprising and touching ways. A great war film.
- DirectorRoger Ross WilliamsStarsOwen SuskindCornelia SuskindRon SuskindA coming-of-age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.#9 - For reasons I can't share I wept through almost the entire running time of this amazing documentary. But you can't come away from it without the recognition that your life is precious and we are indeed fortunate.
- DirectorClay TweelStarsSteve GleasonMike GleasonScott FujitaAfter he is diagnosed with ALS, former professional football player Steve Gleason begins making a video diary for his unborn son, as he, his wife, and their friends and family work to raise money for ALS patients as his disease progresses.#8 - Gleason is about Steve Gleason's fight against ALS, yes. But it is principally about the various forms of courage, particularly in Gleason's decision to film himself, warts and all, for his son. It is also about the courage of Gleason's wife, Michel, to struggle against an unimaginable situation, made all the more so because she is crushed by the disease as surely as Steve is. It's also about fathers and sons and the expectations we put on ourselves and our children, often with the best of intentions but the worst of results.
- DirectorTom FordStarsAmy AdamsJake GyllenhaalMichael ShannonA wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.#7 - Writer/director Tom Ford's film is a rich, decadent, lustful critique of the upper and lower crust of America, from the preening, aesthetic of the wealthy to the guttural, debased wants of the great unwashed. Gyllenhaal once again turns in a blistering, tough and uncompromising performance as both a cowardly fictional character and a hapless writer. Amy Adams does a lot with a role that is essentially reacting to reading but she is the pivot point of the whole film.
- DirectorTim MillerStarsRyan ReynoldsMorena BaccarinT.J. MillerA wisecracking mercenary gets experimented on and becomes immortal yet hideously scarred, and sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks.#6 - The funniest film of the year, the best action film of the year and the best comic-book film of the year. Reynolds proves the faith so many had in him all those years. In the next 20 years, if I'm flipping channels (or whatever it is we'll be doing then) and Deadpool comes on, I'll be watching it.
- DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsCasey AffleckMichelle WilliamsKyle ChandlerA depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.#5 - A master-class in acting by Affleck and Williams dominated by one of the most iconic chance encounters in film history. In the scene the two do very little but they speak unspoken stories even though they convey few worlds they reveal worlds. Lonergan also, very wisely, manages to finagle some humor into the film as well so the sadness doesn't become interminable.
- DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsChris PineBen FosterJeff BridgesToby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life. His brother is an ex-con with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch.#4 - The unseen villain in this Bonnie and Clyde tale of brother bank-robbers is the economic systems that are collapsing around them as their very community disintegrates. That the brothers (the excellent Ben Foster and the very good Chris Pine) are trying to save the family acreage just so they can let it get sucked dry by fracking is just one of the many ironies in this horseless Western. So gratifying to see director MacKenzie finally have a ground-rule-double hit on his hands. And then, of course, there's Jeff Bridges, adding another memorable role (and one indelible scene) to his filmography.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsAdam DriverGolshifteh FarahaniNellieA quiet observation of the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.#3 - If you'd have told me that the Jim Jarmusch film about the bus driver who moonlights as a poet was going to be my favorite film at Cannes I would have been in utter disbelief (assuming you had a good history of predicting these things which is why I'd asked you in the first place).
About half-way through this beautiful film I started to repeat to myself, "Please don't turn into a movie. Please don't turn into a movie." And by that I meant "Please don't suddenly introduce a plot contrivance that advances the narrative."
It never happens.
This is a film that 10, 20 years from now, when an artist has lost faith in themselves, their medium, in the world, in the power of others to inspire us, a friend of theirs will sit them down and make them watch Paterson. And they will be healed. - DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonViola DavisStephen McKinley HendersonA working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.#2 - The late August Wilson's play is at once universal and very specific. It is universal in the towering presence of Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington), a father whose athletic talent, denied by the times and his temperament, still inspires his booming charismatic character but weighs heavy on his sons. It is universal in the long-suffering Rose Maxson (Viola Davis), who is stronger than Troy can even guess at. It is specific in defining an experience for African-Americans in the late '50s in Pittsburgh.
The film itself, in the hands of director Denzel Washington is like tooled leather, craftsman furniture, made by artists at top of their game. Timeless. - DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.#1 - LA LA LAND is a tribute to passion, to love, to music, to dance, and most of all to filmed musicals. Writer/director took all his WHIPLASH cache and bet it all on the kind of film that no one has the combination of guts, vision and energy to make anymore. Let's not forget that the film, unlike most musicals, is more than just an excuse for people to burst into tuneful song. It's about something, that person who helped make you what you are along your path in life. Thank you Damien Chazelle, composer Justin Hurwitz, Ryan Gosling (who learned to play the piano proficiently for the role) and the effervescent Emma Stone. You can't imagine this film being made with anyone else.