Top 10 of 2016

2016 like most years, ended with most people being left with a massive headache over the awfulness that was celebrity mortality being thrust unwillingly into our collective faces. Walter Scott once said, ” Death – the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” I elect myself to this optimistic belief that all the people we lost in 2016 are sitting up in heaven at a massive concert of musical geniuses, and cinematic festivals of the movie stars trading secrets of what made them so beloved and inspirational to society in the first place.

But I digress. Why should only mourn those we lost when we can celebrate what we have remaining. Film still exists without these people and a lot of the cinematic experiences that I partook in during that past year reminded me why I feel in love with Hollywood in the first place. I don’t care for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold’s dating life, but I do love the story of how hard the latter worked to make the beloved Deadpool. So without further ado, here is my top ten films of 2016

Top Ten

1. La La Land: No movie this year made me feel as jovial as this film did. It beautifully juxtaposes the melancholy of romance today, with the nostalgic joy that was created with the use of singing and dancing. It is a musical crafted for those who appreciate Stranger Things for the nostalgia and not it’s contribution to art. It’s the Uptown Funk of the 21st century musical. It plays for those who love, while teaching that dreams can be achieved and love can remain, but not without sacrifice, and that sacrifice is worth it.
2. Sing Street: If any movie can claim the title of most joyous of 2016 it is this movie. It takes the ending of La La Land and works in the way that makes that audience leave with a smile on it’s face. It embraces it’s sap and schmaltzy love story in a way that works to it’s benefits. When I was a freshmen in college, my friends tried to start a band. One of the funnier moments of this endeavor was when a friend and fraternity brother tried to swing his guitar around his back and nailed himself in the face. This movie plays well in showing just how much fun the process can be and mastered it’s quirk. It also has the most “stuck in my head” soundtrack of 2016
3. Hell or High Water: What a film. This is a film that plays well to the humanity of it’s characters, sacrificing the shootouts and violence for a more “us against the man” narrative. One of the greatest achievements of this film is that you never dwell too long on the central ideal of the greed of modern banking, as it does point out it’s evils but does not make the whole centralized point about how awful banking can be. It’s a brotherly tale that plays like a modernized version of Bonnie and Clyde, while examining two different relationships. Jeff Bridges is better than he has ever been and Chris Pine delivers one of the best performances of his career.
4. Hacksaw Ridge: An ode to a war hero who did not need a gun to be heroic. Where to Hell and Back Again, the biographical motion picture about Audie Murphy’s life plays on the violence and shoot em up aspect, this movie plays more to the god fearing and pacifistic nature of it’s ideological hero. The persecution he faced for sticking to his ideologies is a great message for anyone who doesn’t believe they can be their best without selling out to the brutish ideologies of their comrades or compatriots.
5. Captain Fantastic: Now the biggest problem I found with this film was how the lead character raised his children. It was not that I disagreed with someone rearing their children to be methodical, well educated, and strong, but rather how was willing to sacrifice their futures for his own ideological principles. It also work’s amazingly as commentary on Plato’s closet and how those in our families should not be allowed to dictate our life with Viggo Mortensen’s character blasting Scotland the Brave as they drive across the countryside, a sort of musical metaphor for how they would not be held down by others.
6. The Nice Guys: This is the first time since Lethal Weapon that I have truly not been bored or let down by a buddy cop drama, as it is a masterful and very well written comedy about two brutish men, one a sort of paid for higher enforcer, and the second a private investigator struggling with alcoholism. It works so well for Shane Black, who had that same sort of hesitant friendship placed into his Robert Downey Jr film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. 
7. Sully: American Sniper was one of the more controversial movies of 2013 as it played Chris Kyle off as a hero to those who saw what he did as a crime against humanity. Where this movie diverges from that is Sully was also considered a hero, making a calculated decision that saved the lives of 155 people on board his air liner. It examines the extraordinary in a way is not spoon fed to us, showing that there was a chance that other alternative solutions were to be found. Also it’s not a piece about how we need to embrace Sullenberger as a hero, but rather why he was already embraced that way.
8. 10 Cloverfield Lane: This is a movie that is full of twists and turns and never leaves you with ideas of where it is going. It is written in a way that you never no the true motives of the bunker’s dictatorial leader, while leaving you guessing on if there truly is a “monster outside of the bunker”. It is one of the better productions of JJ Abram’s career and works well as a limited story telling piece. It is a welcome gift from Hollywood for their movie Buried, which was not well done.
9. Pete’s Dragon: What makes this film so good is that it beautifully captures family. Now one of the problems with cinematic works like this one is that sometimes its message plays a more sappy narrative that might off put a lot of the people who see it and leave them without much to take from it. But seeing how it played out for the young orphan, pulled at my heart strings and even drew a few tears from my eyes. It’s all about the love of a person for their pet, and unlike Marley and Me did it with crisp clean film making and storytelling.
10. Manchester by the Sea: The first time I saw this film I could not help but see it as anything more than an oscar grabbing piece of art. The artfulness of it was masterful but it’s accessibility to anyone outside of the Academy and critic’s circles seemed lost on me. Carrie Fisher died soon after this, and while looking at light saber tributes to the female Lead of Star Wars, I could not help but realize just how deeply and passionately it examined the grieving process. It is truly a work of art and a movie that should be looked at by anyone struggling with grief.

Honorable Mentions

1. Fundamentals of Caring
2. Rogue One
3. Deadpool
4. Imperium
5. Green Room
6. The Lobster
7. Kubo and the Two Strings
8. Deepwater Horizon