I see you, judging me already.”Oh, Top 15, it’s usually a top 10 list, not 15″
I was originally going to pick 10 films, but as of like 10 hours from posting this, I realized why only have 10? So I decided to do my 15 favorite films this year.
I can also see you getting ready to type away “OH WHY ISN’T SUICIDE SQUAD ON HERE?! THAT WAS GREAT!” If you don’t see a movie on here, sorry. This is my list, this isn’t the list of everyone’s overall favorite films of the year because Number One would be fucking Zootopia and I love that movie, but SPOILER, isn’t on this list.
Okay? You guys ready? Yeah? Okay, let’s do this!
I watched this film about a week ago because it got a limited release in LA/NY before the end of the year and then had a Nationwide Release in the beginning of January. I was really excited for this film. I love movies that explore the imagination and reality. The film is about a boy named Conner and his journey on dealing with his dying mother. He gets “visited” by a huge Tree Monster that tells him three stories. Sounds a bit boring but it’s so far from that. A Monster Calls is incredibly heartbreaking and beautiful. It may be somewhat predictable, but it’s not about that. The story is aware that you may know the outcome, but more of how you deal with the outcome. The performance by Lewis MacDougall is in my opinion something worth mentioning for Awards.
I am so fucking happy that I’m able to write about the Deadpool movie. It’s been years upon years that people have been talking up a Deadpool movie, but it never saw the day of light...until 2016. Deadpool was everything we wanted from a Deadpool movie and more. It was hilarious, heartfelt, and just plain awesome. Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool and in a weird way, I’m sort of stoked that it’s getting some Oscar Buzz. I don’t think it should be nominated, but it’s crazy to say that Deadpool was almost nominated for Oscars. Also the score by Junkie XL is something to fucking cheer about. Let’s pray that his score gets nominated for Best Score at the Academy Awards because oh my goodness, it’s fucking awesome.
Mike Birbiglia might be my favorite comedian at the moment. He tells real human stories that just happen to be funny. His first film Sleepwalk with Me is a memoir of his younger life and not only is that a great stand up special, he turned it into a film and it was just beautiful and sweet. I was beyond stoked that he was making a new film with a great cast about the improv comedy scene and holy hell this movie. Don’t Think Twice is a heartbreaking movie about the consequences of achieving your dreams and how those accomplishments affect those around you. I think people were a bit off with this film at first because they were expecting a comedy and yeah, there’s plenty of comedic bits in here that are really funny, but those moments allow you to connect with these people and how the events in the film affect them and how they deal with it. Keegan Michael Peele gave one of his best performances in Don’t Think Twice because he never really does films like these. It was interesting to see him do a role that really isn’t something he’s used to and it paid off.
The 2013 Remake of Evil Dead blew my fucking mind. I love the Evil Dead franchise and to see a remake done that well was just such an achievement. When I heard the director was doing a new film, I was already excited. Don’t Breathe is easily the best thriller this year. Some say it’s a horror film, I don’t. It’s a thriller at the most and a damn good one. There were plenty of moments where I couldn’t even look at the screen because I was just so god damn terrified and on the edge of my seat. Alveraz can sure direct some damn good tension and this film really proves it. All of the performances are fantastic, especially Stephen Lang and Jane Levy. I love Jane Levy, from Suburgatory to even now, she always brings her A-Game (even in Monster Trucks, which Yes, I’ve seen). Lang was just as fantastic as he was menacing. He was truly fucking terrifying and his performance alone is why you should see this movie.
11) Kubo & The Two Strings
You’re the reason why Laika is gonna go out of business. Kubo & The Two Strings is the Best Animation Film of 2016 by a fucking landslide. Beautiful is an understatement. Kubo has some of the best animation I’ve ever seen in a animation film. Besides the animation, the story is such an exciting and heartfelt adventure. Great Characters and Music, and yet, no one watched it because The Secret Life of Pets and Zootopia is what everyone wants to watch. Nothing against those films, in fact, Zootopia is pretty damn good (Pets is not though). Please go see this film and support Laika!
I have no fucking clue how Jeff Nichols does it, but god damn! Jeff Nichols is becoming one of my all time favorite directors. All of his films are fucking Masterpieces. He also did Loving which came out this year and almost made my list. Midnight Special is the type of movie-going experiences I love. It’s thrilling and exciting and heartfelt and terrifying and all these other great things that make this movie so different. Nichols is a master at his way of making the audience feel exactly what the characters are feeling without having to spoon feed it to you.
I know what you’re thinking already. Yes, this is the film that looked like a First Person Shooter video game. Yes it didn’t get great reviews and people thought it was dumb...but I live for this shit. Hardcore Henry was an absolute fucking blast to watch. I was able to watch it about a month before it came out and the audience was the right crowd for it. People were clapping and cheering and just going nuts. It’s the right type of dumb action I love. I hate using this term because it’s never an excuse but I think the people who didn’t like this movie didn’t understand it. It’s not meant to be a film with an amazing story and characters that we can all relate to. NO, this film is about a cyborg man trying to get back his wife. The Director of the film knew exactly what kind of movie they were making and it really shows. It’s incredibly tonally focused and just wants you to have a fucking blast. Also the finale using Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen was one of the best scenes of the year.
Stop reading this right now and go watch Incendies, Enemy, Prisoners and Siario. Denis Villeneuve directed all of those films each one is a fucking Masterpiece and we’re going to add Arrival to that list. Arrival was a movie that I knew nothing about because I didn’t want to know anything about it and god damn, this movie did things to me that I didn’t think were even possible...truly shock me with it’s concept and twist. I mention twist and I WON’T SPOIL the twist for you, and I know even mentioning that seems spoiler-ish, but to be honest, it’s really hard to talk about this movie with talking about that. So I won’t talk about it anymore, just go see it.
Original Movies are hard to come by now a days. In the cinema world we live in, we’re getting sequels to films that are 20+ years old, remakes, reboots, soft reboots, prequels and blah blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m down for any movie. Hell, several of my most anticipated movies this year are sequels like Star Wars: Episode VIII, Blade Runner 2049, The Lego Batman Movie, John Wick: Chapter 2 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. But sometimes a movie comes along and just says “Fuck It” and makes an original movie about a dead guy who farts and has a Boner that is also a compass. Sounds strange and that’s because it is and I loved every god damn second of it. The film also tells the message about accepting who you are in the world we live instead of becoming someone that other people want. Also great use of a score, I must’ve listened to that soundtrack like a billion times over the summer.
6) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Speaking of listening to a soundtrack a billion times, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is quite honestly the hardest I’ve laughed with a comedy since This is The End. Popstar was fucking hilarious and had some of the best moments in a comedy this year, and yet, no one saw it and I MEAN FUCKING NOBODY. Popstar only grossed $9.6 Million total and that pisses me off. People want original movies and yet, when they come out, no one sees them. This came out the same weekend of Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles: Out of The Shadows and Me Before You. One being a sequel to a beloved franchise and one being a film adaptation of a novel. So of course it got fucked up, and yet, it’s one of the best films this year. Go buy it right now and laugh your day away.
I won’t get into how much I love the original Cloverfield film because I’ve told that story so many times, but I can tell you that 10 Cloverfield Lane is fucking amazing. If you don’t know, 10 Cloverfield Lane was announced a near 2 months before it’s release on March 10th of this year. The trailer was attached to 13 Hours and the trailer was under the code name Valencia. No one ever knew this film was going to be what it was. I won’t get into the whole story of it because that would take fucking hours. 10 Cloverfield Lane had amazing performances by the entire cast (of three people), great set design, fantastic music and quite honestly, John Goodman alone should get nominated for Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Academy Awards. Only flaw with the film...it’s ending, The last 10 minutes made this movie go from Perfect (and I mean that) to Damn Near Perfect. The reason why it’s at this spot is because everything before that is absolutely amazing.
Never have I ever but affected my violence on screen, but Green Room proved me wrong. Green Room has some of the most brutal and fucked up violence I’ve seen in a film and it was awesome! I’ve seen countless horror films that focus out guts and gizzards spilling out and stuff and yeah that stuff is cool, but but it’s all about the context and FUCKKKK, this movie is fucked up. I loved everything about this movie. It’s concept, characters, music, sets and tone. These are the kind of movies I would love to make. It’s a realistic horror film in the sense that what is happening to the characters is terrifying and you’re right along with them.
Can we talk about original films not doing well at the box office again. Here’s another fantastic film that came out of no where and yet, no one watched it. $36 Million? Are you fucking serious? It’s cool though, this came out the same weekend as The Angry Birds Movie and that weekend alone, Angry Birds made $38 Million. I don’t get it at all, The Nice Guys was one of the funniest movies this year and probably the best script as well. It had a pretty intresting story that kept your interest the entire time, awesome 70′s setting, great soundtrack and most importantly, Fantastic Characters. As soon as this movie ended, I wanted more, I didn’t want it to end and the fact that it tanked proves that we won’t get a sequel so I can’t see these characters again. It’s cool though, Angry Birds 2 is coming.
You should know that my Number One film and this film did keep switching, so Consider this as a incredibly close #1 spot.
I love musicals, but it sucks that in this day and age, Musicals arent’t really around anymore because people don’t see them and they don’t do well, but sometimes a movie can come along and ignite a genre again. La La Land is that film and proves that movies are magical. I love every god damn thing about this movie. As of right now, I’ve seen La La Land 5 times (One in IMAX as well). The music, setting, colors, costumes, etc. Everything about this movie was so perfect and well detailed. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are extraordinary. Very similar to Don’t Think Twice, this film tells the tale of achieving dreams and the person you become to get there. I could see this movie like 5 more times and still be in love. La La Land also has the best scene of the year being it’s epilogue. The Epilogue not only had me in tears, but also wrapped the movie up perfectly and I loved it. If you haven’t seen La La Land yet, I highly recommend it. Don’t be intimidated by the musical aspect. Yes, it is a musical, but honestly, half-way through the film, the singing stops as the story gets more focused. I think next to Silence by Martin Scorsese, this is the best directed film of the year as well.
1) Everybody Wants Some!!
The Number One movie of the year has to be something you’ll be talking about years to come. You could pop that movie in anytime and just fall in love with it like you did the first time. That’s why I kept going back and forth with the #2 and #1 spot because I love both these movies so much but I finally made my decision.
Everybody Wants Some was the most surprising movie this year. I watched this movie early with a buddy on the Paramount Lot. We both had a day off and got test screening screening tickets to see this so we decided why the hell not. I’ve mentioned alot on this list about characters feeling real. I love when a movie makes the characters feel like you can go into the screen and hang out with them. Everybody Wants Some was exactly that. There is little to no story for this film, it’s just a bunch of dudes hanging out the weekend before school starts. They just drink , play baseball, dance, flirt with girls, repeat. As much as that seems wacky and totally done before, it is. You’ve seen the typical College party movie where the characters have sex all the time, party, play sports, etc. But Richard Linklater shows that great characters and directing really can change the game. Every character in this film is unique in their own way and you just want to grab a beer with them and party to. It’s regarded as the spiritual successor to Dazed and Confused and that’s the perfect way to describe this movie. It’s just a damn good time
Okay, everybody go out and watch these movies because I think their great and should be watched by everybody. If you have a problem with this list, make your own so I can complain about yours:)
I’ll also be making an Honorable Mentions list as well as the shitty movies as well.
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