Top 15 Best Films of 2016

Here's are my favorites of the year. Again, please keep in mind I have not seen everything and whatever film you may like may not appear on this list.

Honorable mentions:
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Dressmaker
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fences
The Fits
Kubo and the Two Strings
Lion
A Man Called Ove
Zootopia

15. Manchester by the Sea - dir. Kenneth Lonergan
This is a very brutal film, but the way this film displayed grief is something that has to be seen. Featuring powerhouse performances from Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, this is a film that shows that not everyone responds to grief the same way and how one event can damage and stick with someone.

14. Denial - dir. Mick Jackson

I'm always up for a good courtroom drama. This movie, based on a true story, really shows how to take down a bigoted idiot. You take them down with facts. The movie also features a show-stealing performance from Rachel Weisz. Check it out.

13. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - dir. Gareth Edwards

This is the Star Wars film I've been waiting for. Something that's not about the Skywalkers and their friends. We get a war film. Yes, the other films feature battle scenes and the like but this one has it on center stage. I won't pretend that this is a perfect film, but I really had a blast watching it. Also, you can't deny the final battle was anything but amazing.

12. 10 Cloverfield Lane - dir. Dan Trachtenberg

10 Cloverfield Lane aka JOHN GOODMAN IS AMAZING! Seriously, I wish Goodman was nominated for an Oscar for this performance. But outside of the awesomeness that is Goodman, this is an awesome thriller. The paranoia and claustrophobic atmosphere make a tight and exciting film with a really smart lead.

11. The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale - dir. Park Hoon-jung

I discovered this film on Netflix and I was so happy I did. This film is one of the most beautifully put together tragedic stories I've seen. With a performance from Min-sik Choi, a wonderful story, beautiful production elements, this is a film everyone should see.

10. Captain America: Civil War - dir. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Not as great as Winter Soldier but still an action packed and a great entry into this cinematic universe. The Captain American films continue to do what they've been doing best, they build the world, continue the story, develops the characters, and features some of the best action scenes of the year.
This film to me also has the best villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He got stuff done, he had an impact on the universe, and had a good motivation that wasn't just "And I will rule the world!"

09. 13th - dir. Ava Duvernay

This is the most important documentary made this year. A movie that goes in depth into the history prison system of the U.S. and the racial politics behind it. This documentary gives a look a part of this country's history that really should be looked at and discussed more. It's still on Netflix, please give it a watch.

08. Moonlight - dir. Barry Jenkins

Understanding. That's the main thing to take away from this film. We follow an African-American male living in a rough Florida neighborhood as he struggles with his own identity and his surroundings. The film wants you to look at this man and wants you to think before you judge someone. It's an amazing film that should be witnessed and experienced.

07. Tower - dir. Keith Maitland

While 13th may be the most important documentary, this is the one that got to me the most. The film talks about the deadly mass shooting at the University of Texas in 1966 and presents it through reenactments via rotoscope with interviews with witnesses and survivors. It's powerful, moving, makes you think, and I'm super bummed that it was nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars.

06. Arrival - dir. Denis Villeneuve

This is what science fiction should be. Smart, mature, and makes you think. The build and suspense to the first encounter is spectacular in and of itself. But I love the overall theme of communication and how vital it is to society. To go any further would mean spoiling it and I don't want to do that.

05. The Nice Guys - dir. Shane Black

Shane Black, you are the man. This was the most fun I had the theater this year. You've got two charismatic leads, funny dialogue, and an awesome 70's soundtrack. What's not to like? Go see this movie now!

04. Silence - dir. Martin Scorsese

This movie gave me one of the most spiritual and emotional experiences I ever had at a theater. This is what religious movies should do - it makes you ask questions and think. Also, it deals with a time that Christianity was discriminated against. But again, it makes you look at why it was. I honestly thought I would get bored while watching this film but that never happened.

03. Eye in the Sky - dir. Gavin Hood

One of the most intense movies of the years. As the plot moved along I found myself getting closer to the edge of my seat hoping and praying for the best. It's another film that makes you ask tough questions but this time it deals with war and whether or not the ends justify the means.
Also, I really wish this was Alan Rickman's last role.

With the number 1 & 2, I had a hard time picking which would go where.

02. Hell or High Water - dir. Taylor Sheridan

This movie is one of the few movies that's just plain perfect. Great performances, great script, great direction, great everything. If you haven't seen, do it now! My words don't do it justice, you just have to see it.

01. La La Land - dir. Damien Chazelle

The reason this takes the top spot is because this movie inspired me. This movie makes me want to continue in pursuing my passions and dreams. Yeah, cliched and corny to say that but damn it all it's true.
Other than that, this movie is another example just about everything being perfect. The music numbers are great (even the "sellout" song), the performances are fantastic, and every technical part shows that Chazelle knows the right people and uses them wisely.


There are my picks of the year. Hope you liked it. What were your favorites?
Here's to the coming year.

FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS

It's only a matter of time before the 89th Academy Awards, so here are my final predictions.

Picture:

1. La La Land

2. Moonlight

3. Manchester by the Sea

4. Hell or High Water

5. Arrival

6. Lion

7. Hacksaw Ridge

8. Fences

9. Hidden Figures

Director:

1. Damien Chazelle - La La Land

2. Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

3. Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea

4. Denis Villeneuve - Arrival

5. Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

Actor:

1. Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea

2. Ryan Gosling - La La Land

3. Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

4. Denzel Washington - Fences

5. Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Actress:

1. Emma Stone - La La Land

2. Natalie Portman - Jackie

3. Isabelle Huppert - Elle

4. Ruth Negga - Loving

5. Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

Sup. Actor:

1. Mahershala Ali - Moonlight

2. Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

3. Dev Patel - Lion

4. Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea

5. Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals

Sup. Actress:

1. Viola Davis - Fences

2. Naomie Harris - Moonlight

3. Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

4. Nicole Kidman - Lion

5. Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Original Screenplay:

1. Manchester by the Sea

2. Hell or High Water

3. La La Land

4. The Lobster

5. 20th Century Women

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Moonlight

2. Arrival

3. Hidden Figures

4. Lion

5. Fences

Animated:

1. Zootopia

2. Kubo and the Two Strings

3. Moana

4. My Life as a Zucchini

5. The Red Turtle

Art Direction:

1. La La Land

2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

3. Arrival

4. Hail, Caesar!

5. Passengers

Cinematography:

1. La La Land

2. Moonlight

3. Arrival

4. Lion

5. Silence

Costume:

1. Jackie

2. La La Land

3. Florence Foster Jenkins

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

5. Allied

Film Editing:

1. La La Land

2. Hacksaw Ridge

3. Moonlight

4. Arrival

5. Hell or High Water

Hair and Makeup:

1. Star Trek Beyond

2. A Man Called Ove

3. Suicide Squad

Sound Editing:

1. Hacksaw Ridge

2. Arrival

3. La La Land

4. Deepwater Horizon

5. Sully

Sound Mixing:

1. Hacksaw Ridge

2. Arrival

3. La La Land

4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Visual Effects:

1. The Jungle Book

2. Doctor Strange

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

4. Kubo and the Two Strings

5. Deepwater Horizon

Original Score:

1. La La Land

2. Lion

3. Moonlight

4. Jackie

5. Passengers

Original Song:

1. “City of Stars” - La La Land

2. “Can’t Stop the Feeling” - Trolls

3. “Auditions (I Fools Who Dream)” - La La Land

4. “How Far I’ll Go” - Moana

5. “The Empty Chair” - Jim: The James Foley Story

Documentary:

1. O.J.: Made in America

2. 13th

3. I Am Not Your Negro

4. Life, Animated

5. Fire at Sea

Foreign Film:

1. Toni Erdmann

2. The Salesman

3. A Man Called Ove

4. Tanna
5. Land of Mine

Animated Short: Pearl
Documentary Short: Joe's Violin
Live Action Short: Ennemis Interieurs

Top 15 Worst Films of 2016

It's finally here. It's time to count down what I thought were the worst films of 2016. The reason I decided to go for 15 for best and worst is because there's was a lot I wanted to cover and I thought 15 was a good number.

Not please keep in mind with this list - I have not seen every single poorly reviewed movie that came out last year. So, if a bad movie came out that isn't on this there's a good chance I either didn't find it as bad or I just didn't see it.

I'm not getting paid for this stuff so you're just going to have to settle for this.

First, dishonorable mentions:
Ben-Hur (2016)
Carnage Park
Diablo
The Do-Over
Gods of Egypt
Holidays
Mojave
Morgan
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
When the Bough Breaks


Now onto the top 15.

15. Yoga Hoser - dir. Kevin Smith

A lot of people may be surprised to see this so low on the list, and honestly, I don't think it's awful. Obviously, I don't think it's good because it's on this list but I can at least appreciate how creative it is. But I can't really overlook how annoyed I was by a lot of the jokes. Seriously, a lot of the jokes are just "it's funny because Canada." Example: when the girls open up the store they say, "Sorry, aboot that." I do have hope that Smith's next film Moose Jaws is better. 

14. Suicide Squad - dir. David Ayer

I originally gave this movie a passing review when it came out but after months of thinking about it time and time again I can't look past the flaws. This isn't a good movie which is a shame because there are some really good ideas in here. I kept hearing people say this was "DC's Guardians of the Galaxy" but the difference is with Guardians we were getting a new group of characters that didn't need too much development. With Suicide, we have a group of villains who were established through their adversaries, having other films establishing the heroes first would've made this a lot easier to introduce them and give them a movie. I really wanted to like this.

13. Mechanic: Resurrection - dir. Dennis Gansel
Before I saw this movie I went ahead and watched the original 1972 Charles Bronson film and the 2010 remake. Both films were pretty good in their own right. Then I saw this film and this seemed like another case of a bad action script becoming an unnecessary sequel. There's was nothing about this film that made me think this was a sequel to the 2010 film. I could go on about the many stupid moments in this movie (mainly the stupid prison assassination).

12. Cell - dir. Tod Williams

This movie probably wins the so funny its great award. I was seriously laughing my butt off at several moments. I say go watch it. Here are the basics: it has to do with a virus that turns cell phones users into rage zombies. It's stupid but it's hilarious. Also, this has the least caring Samuel L. Jackson performance I've ever seen. Seriously, Jackson is just waiting for the next Tarantino or Avengers film. 

11. Sniper: Special Ops - dir. Fred Olen Ray

Say what you will about American Sniper but that movie at least featured a lead that could pull off the look and attitude of a Navy SEALs sniper and the film was actually about the titular sniper. This movie, however, is BARELY about the sniper and features an actor who really isn't fit for the role. I've heard about how infamous Fred Olen Ray's movies were but this still kind of surprised me. 

10. Dirty Grandpa - dir. Dan Mazer
Here's the main joke of the movie: He's a grandpa and he talks about sex and says dirty words. That's it. And that may for a brief joke or maybe a small sketch but for a motion picture, it doesn't. It really saddens me to see a legend of Hollywood and a talented young star doing a low-brow, unfunny comedy.

09. Alice Through the Looking Glass - dir. James Bobin
I freaking hated this movie. So, why isn't this higher on the list? Because while this film did make me really mad compared to some of the others it isn't as bad. But I couldn't stand this film. It's a sequel to a bland and forgettable movie, it has a lead who is still boring, and there's no drama. I seriously couldn't care about why the Queen of Hearts head is big or where the Mad Hatter's family is. The only good thing about this film was Sacha Baron Cohen.

08. Friend Request - dir. Simon Verhoeven
There are people out there saying we'll never have a good video game-based movie. To me, we'll never have a good internet-based horror movie. While this does have some similarities to Unfriended but where that film at least had an interesting gimmick and maybe a hint of understanding the websites, this one doesn't. Please filmmakers, if you're going to make an internet-based horror movie please do some research.

07. London Has Fallen - dir. Babak Najafi
I'm trying to keep politics out of this but I can't ignore the elephant in the room. The biggest reason is because this film comes off as incredibly xenophobic and racist. Basically, anyone in this movie that is Middle Eastern looking is a bad guy. And given that the attack occurs while a lot of the terrorists wear disguised as police and regular citizen is really concerning to me. Also, the fact our "hero" says the line, "go back to Fuckheadistan," is especially troubling. I don't want to believe that especially since the director was born in Iran, but it's hard to overlook those points I mentioned. But outside of those points, it's not engaging, it's boring and unnecessary. 

06. Max Steel - dir. Stewart Hendler
Say what you will about the Transformers movies but they can at least be interesting in their badness. This movie is so lifeless. I just imagine the executives greenlighting this movie because of everything nostalgia happening now and this was a property in the 90s so why not? Except it's a property that I don't think anyone cares about. So, this movie is barely anything.

05. Outlaws and Angels - dir. J.T. Mollner
This movie is just plain ugly. I get the feeling that the filmmakers wanted to make something like Unforgiven (1992) but instead of having a point to make about violence in the west, it's an ugly and disturbing film that doesn't have anything to add. The worst part of this movie? There's an extremely graphic rape scene that served no purpose outside of being "shocking." The only good things I can say about the film is that Chad Michael Murray and Alison Eastwood give good performances.

04. The Bronze - dir. Bryan Buckley
What happens after a lovable-underdog-athlete wins the competition? Well, apparently they become a spoiled brat who like to steal money from their Dad's job (a mailman) and just act like a terrible person. I say just stick with Rocky 2 (1979) when it comes to stories about the aftermath of the big match. 

03. Norm of the North - dir. Trevor Wall
Obvious choice is obvious. This should not have been in theaters. I mean, just look at the lackluster animation, the lame and tired jokes, and the fact that this sounds like a freaking parody of a Rob Schneider movie. Do I really need to say anything else? 

02. Fifty Shades of Black - dir. Michael Tiddes
This movie had the easiest job in the world: make a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey. But it failed... HARD. I was baffled as to how unfunny this movie was. And it's another case of a parody movie that does actually make fun of the movie but references other aspects. Example: there's a Whiplash parody. Yes, seriously. They "parody" a movie that has nothing to do with Fifty Shades. This movie is so bad that Korey Coleman of Doubletoasted.com made a petition to have Marlon Wayans make movies for Netflix.

Okay, so with the last two being the most obvious, what could possibly make the top spot? Brace yourself.

01. Nine Lives - dir. Barry Sonnenfeld

I'm still baffled that this is a real movie. I remember when I saw the trailer I said to myself that this couldn't be real. I refused to believe it. But it's real and it's bad. It's not only objectively bad, it makes me furious. This movie represents so much of what I think are the worst aspects of filmmaking. It's a movie that relies on lame jokes, it's another product of "It's for kids who cares they'll watch anything," and there's no real passion despite this movie having a good director, looks like it was made for TV. But even then that's insulting to made-for-TV movies. Just don't watch this movie. Period. The only way this could have been worse is if there were offense racist portrayals and such. 

That's my worst of the year, stay tuned for the best of the year.