Top 25 Best Movies of 2016

It's easy to make a worst of list. But a best of is so hard to do. It takes days to think of how many films you've seen at both in a theater and the comfort of your own home. As we are approaching the Golden Globe awards and the Oscar nominations (and the horror of January movies), lets revisit 2016 and the best films I've seen.

25) Mr. Church - Don’t get turned off just yet. When I saw this film at Tribeca, I feel in love with it from beginning to end. I didn’t feel any cheese or anything like that. I found this film as a brilliant representation of life and the people we surround ourselves with especially the ones that look out for you no matter who they are. It was one of those films that critics destroyed and I loved. 40 minutes into the film I felt some genuine tears running down my face. I turned to my right and my friend had tears down her face. Then I turned to my left and the woman next to me along with the people three seats down had tears rolling down their faces. I try to be a hard-boiled egg while watching movies trying my best not to cry, but this broke me and nearly everyone in that theater. It was a genuine symphony of sniffs and sigh in the best way imaginable. It was Eddie Murphy's comeback to film and this solidified his return.

24) Sausage Party - With a lot of juvenile humor in my worst of list, Sausage Party is a juvenile comedy that is undeniably funny, smart and most of all clever. It’s a riff off popular tropes we see in numerous animated films while being an allegory for religion and individualism. No, the animation isn’t great, but with a raunchy script such as this, it’s perfect. This first fully CG R-rated film hits hard. Plus on a side note, I saw this film many of times in theaters with different friends each time. I also had a sick and twisted enjoyment watching it with my friends solely for the infamous food orgy scene and their reactions. Nothing beats watching Sausage Party with my dad and seeing his loss of faith in humanity because of food fucking. 

23) Swiss Army Man - A film where Daniel Radcliffe is a multi-purpose farting corpse is one of the most incredibly charming films I’ve sat through in a theater. It’s an indie movie that breaks all the rules of an indie movie by telling a weird story about friendship while keeping its audience guessing on to how absurd will this film go. By the end, you’ll be repeating Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s final line to yourself, but realize that was the film’s intention in the first place and it accomplishes it solidly. Besides the film created a montage scene with a MonTAAAAAAGE song. It's so damn catchy too.

22) The Birth of a Nation - This is a heavily flawed film with so much independent art film visuals, but for Nate Parker’s first film this is an honestly ambitious and more ways powerful than solid. It doesn’t just display Nat Turner as a hero. It depicts him as a human whose experience as a slave and the bible takes effect on his perspective of slavery. It lets you open your thoughts to interpretation on how you view Turner. The film displays one of the best use of imagery I’ve seen all year. It’s one of those historical dramas that (hopefully) will be played in classrooms for generations to come.

21) Arrival - One of the best Sc-Fi narrative films I’ve seen in a very long time. The screenplay by Eric Heisserer is superbly smart as the story connects everything together as you try to pick up many of the pieces the story wants you to follow. It has some of the memorable shots you’ll see in a cinema in 2016. Amy Adams showcase the best performance since American Hustle. For this being is my second Dennis Villeneuve film right behind Prisoners, his direction is so spot on that it’ll get you pumped for Blade Runner 2049. It is a great film about communication and embracing the future even when the worse is to come.

20) Hell or High Water - A modern-day western which best element is not bashing you over the head with its modernization. It's a simple story that's way too familiar but with Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay with haunting dialogue and outstanding performances from the three leads elevates the film from something good into something special. Less of a film but more like a slice of life sometimes, Hell or High Water is a quiet yet effective western to lead a long life.

19) The Nice Guys - Shane Black’s news film since Iron Man 3 is a perfect homage to classic 70s films with its culture, themes, and politics while doing the buddy cop movie formula that Shane Black can only write with character and personality. It's another film that captures the inner comedic side of Ryan Gosling we’ve seen before and pairs him up with a badass Russell Crowe that we needed to see once again. It's a damn great mystery film that is original and rich especially during the time when it was released with nothing sequels, remakes, and reboots.

18) 10 Cloverfield Lane - In January, Paramount shocked us with a surprise trailer to a spiritual sequel to Cloverfield with a movie that I enjoyed more than Cloverfield. This suspenseful bottle film genuinely more suspenseful than suspense films today but with the atmosphere of a creature feature. This Sci-Fi suspense is a brilliantly crafted film with great direction from Dan Trachtenberg in his directorial debut after directing a short film of PORTAL! Yes, the game Portal. With all of this, it put the fear of John Goodman I’ve never had before down my spine. I think I may suffer from John Goodmanphobia. Don’t deny he had you shook after you watched the film as well.

17) Jackie - As much I describe this as a one woman show for Natalie Portman to earn another Oscar, Jackie is also solidly crafted character study of the wife of one of the most short-lived presidents in American history after the most traumatic moment in her life: witnessing the assassination of her husband right in the seat next to hers. Capturing the right essence and depth of this historical figure was as much a huge responsibility to director Pablo Larraín, writer Noah Oppenheim, and actress Natalie Portman as much as Jackie K’s responsibility to preserve JFK’s legacy by putting together his funeral. It's mesmerizing, haunting, and most of all effective.

16) Florence Foster Jenkins - Meryl Streep as the famous opera singer who couldn’t sing? Hugh Grant in a good film and undeniably charming? Simon Helberg (Howard from The Big Bang Theory) as a soft-spoken pianist in a period piece? All these ingredients combined and you get a thoroughly hysterical and entertaining comedy that is charming, enduring, and heartwarming from beginning to end. 

15) Don’t Think Twice - Mike Birbiglia's original comedy about improv performers is ironically one of the most depressing things I’ve seen this year. It’s a film you can tell came from a personal standpoint which is something that anyone can relate to. It captures a group of people in a light we don’t see them as; people. It’s another slice of life film that shows Improv people are people too. It also is the best depiction of New York in a movie I’ve seen for a long time.

14) Deepwater Horizon/Patriots Day - Both of these Peter Berg biopics follow the same formula, same elements of story, same Marky Mark in the lead, and same emotional residence effect for audience members. Yet Patriots Day is slightly a stronger film than Deepwater Horizon, both films equally display human strength and courage of American citizens that never give in no matter how larger than life terrifying the situation were. 

13) Kubo and the Two Strings - Laika’s fourth best film since Coraline, Kubo is a beautiful masterpiece. It angers me how little it performed at the box office compared to other animated cash grabs like Ice Age. It takes unexpected turns that you don’t see in animated films today. It's an original story centered on Japanese folklore that is detailed, dark, emotional and meaningful. Kubo is a character driven film that celebrates the imperfections of humanity and the bond between us and our ancestors. 

12) Captain America Civil War - Marvel’s best film since Winter Soldier, Civil War is the penultimate build up that all these films led up to. A better Avengers film than the second Avengers film, this doesn’t only feature many characters we grew to love over the years but introduced first timers to the cinematic universe with character arcs that fit perfectly into the story. It’s a superhero film who's antagonist is more of the egos of Tony and Steve than the claimed antagonist who is less of a villain but a man with an agenda [which is the best form of a villain to me. Capturing a villain as a person first? That’s brilliant]. It brings visually stunning action sequences that’ll make a nerd cry (yes I cried at the airport scene), great character development, and enough material to make you excited for upcoming Marvel solo films mostly Black Panther. This flick is another perfect example why the Russo brothers are the best narrative storytellers working at Marvel Studios. Plus it makes DC look more like an embarrassment than they already are.

11) 20th Century Women - A cultural ode to 1979 that is smart, personal, and funny from beginning to end. Mike Mill’s comedy perfectly blends in great characters portrayed with great performances, quirky humor, and so much style that it needs to be experienced for yourself. This film is like a museum exhibit dedicated to the people and culture of the 70s and it's enjoyable as hell.

10) Loving - A quiet yet empowering film from Jeff Nichols. Between this and Midnight Special I favored Loving the most. It isn’t a film that is set on dialogue, but mostly on action and emotion. Nichols direction and writing captures this controversial even into a beautiful story about genuine love which has no color.

9A) Everybody Wants Some - This goes on a personal level for me as a guy who was going to college around the same time when I saw this. With this being a love letter to the 80s, Everybody Wants Some is an authentic story of being a new college student where some people grow up faster than others, people embracing their identity and people still finding their own identity. It was something I connected with and thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. 

9B) Sing Street - This musical comedy set in Ireland in the 80s is John Carney coming from a personal place and telling a John Hughes type narrative while still being a John Carney musical. It doesn’t copy and paste the same formula Carney did with Once for Begin Again but instead applies it to something fresh while giving an ode to his childhood and the era he grew up in. It was one of those blind films I saw and which became a total enjoyment from beginning to end. It's a film for the underdogs and the rebels. It has the tropes of every teen drama, but the charm of the cast, characters, and original/pre-existing music helps it being lovable and irresistible. Shoot I’ll say it. I love this film much more than Begin Again and Once combined. 

8)  Deadpool - Thank God for the VFX leak back in 2014, because after that, everyone was clamoring for this movie to get made. It was a movie the people wanted, Ryan Reynolds want, and Fox needed. This tightly written R-rated anti-superhero film is consistently hilarious, clever, violent, and excessively fun. It shamelessly takes jabs at the tropes of the superhero genre, films from its own distributor such as the X-Men and Taken films, its own cinematic history, and Ryan Reynold's career. Deadpool is the perfect example of a comic book adaption putting nothing but “maximum effort,” in its writing and characterization of this beloved character and achieving greatness.  

7) Zootopia - Disney’s 55th animated feature is one of the most progressive social statements that you’ve never thought you’ll see win both a Disney film but an animated film on its own. It applies groups of animals as groups of people we interact with in our society, it never becomes preachy or dumbed down for kids for it creates great conversation for parents to teach to their kids especially in our world today. Besides its message, the film features outstanding animation, creatively innovative environments, and truthfully the best buddy cop mystery since 21 Jump Street. Or to take it back a bit further, Training Day. Oh yes, King Kong ain’t got shit on this movie.

6) Manchester By the Sea - One of the biggest heartbreaking character stories I’ve seen all year. It’s humorous throughout and has Casey Affleck giving the best performance I’ve seen in both this year and his entire career. Lucas Hedges’ first big screen debut it's powerful and moving.  Kenneth Lonergan’s original story is one that is unpredictable, emotional, and real. It takes every trope in the drama genre and says “no, this wouldn’t work in real life,” and applies to this movie. By the end, the film will have you shattered but thinking about people and their decisions if they can overcome certain problems or not.

5) Moonlight - The most transgressive and powerful films to be released this year. Moonlight is a movie that captures human emotion and acceptance of oneself in not only terms of their sexuality but also their place on earth. The performances in this entire ensemble are great. The cinematography is mesmerizing. The direction is superb. It is in the words of director Barry Jenkins said to me, “small film, but a lot of heart.” 

4) Hacksaw Ridge - A film that broke me in every imaginable form. Mel Gibson’s new masterpiece joins the highest ranks of war films alongside Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge is the perfect allegory of man’s faith in religion and maintaining it during one of the most harshest of wars in history. An R-rated film with no foul language but just gory realistic depiction of violence. It even got too terrifying to watch at times that I had to walk out to both drink water and wash the tears that were running down my face. Hacksaw Ridge is the best Mel Gibson film since Apocalypto, the best performance by Andrew Garfield, and most of all the best depiction of what defines a real American hero.

3) Silence - 30 years of Scorsese attempting to get this story off the group finally pays off in another narrative starring Andrew Garfield testing a man’s faith in God in a dangerous territory where Christianity is frowned upon. You can tell the passion displayed on-screen as Scorsese takes his sweet time capturing the beauty of Taiwan and using narrative as the helm of this epic narrative that is poignant yet magnificent. 

2) La La Land - WHAT?! NUMBER TWO?!  what can I say? I’ll just be reiterating how damn near perfect this musical is. But here’s my thing. Once a year there is a film where a grin will appear on my face. From the opening number, my grin immediately turned into a full smile and never left my face. This was a smile that was absent since 2011’s Hugo. That smile from my 13-year-old self reappeared on my 18-year-old face. This film is an inspiration to every filmmaker wanting to achieve greatness as Damien Chazelle passionately puts his 110% in his direction, into his perfectly cast stars, and music. It is a movie that dedicates its style to classic musicals from the 50s while transcending it to our modern time. Gosling and Stone are phenomenal. When this film ended I gave this a standing ovation. I was already set on seeing this again and again with attending different forms of Q&As for this movie. The music is unforgettable. It is one of those films that I see and agree with the Academy with. When Argo won Best Picture I said meh or when. If this wins Best Picture at the Oscars, I’ll be the first to give this film a standing ovation from the comfort of my home.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Moana
• The first hour of Lion
• Fences
• Hidden Figures
• Bridget Jones Baby
• A Monster Calls
• Sully
• Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
• The Edge of Seventeen

1) Nocturnal Animals - This movie has to be the most weirdly marketed film of 2016. The trailers don’t say anything, but the film says everything. It is a perfectly edited narrative of vengeance in the best form: story. Tom Ford’s second film is the inception of storytelling and works effectively in every shape and form. It tackles of telling a story within another story with everything connecting together. The cast is transformative in ways you’ve never seen before. Like who would’ve thought Aaron Taylor-Johnson would give an unsettling and terrifying performance. It was a movie that kept me guessing and kept me enticed from beginning to end like a movie should do. It was an indie movie with an ending that chilled me to my core and astounded me to no end. Nocturnal Animals is a film that is so underrated yet the slickest and stylistic masterpiece I've seen in 2016. Just realized I described a famous fashion designer's film slick and stylish. That's kind of funny.

So what are your best films of 2016?

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