Top 5 Movies of 2016

2016 was a shit year and movies were no exception. I had a tough time coming up with five movies I absolutely loved, but after some thought and last-minute viewings I was able choose what I thought were the five best movies of the year.

Honorable Mention - Green Room:

 I liked this movie and feel like a lot of people may have missed it, so I wanted to give it a brief shoutout. Green Room is about a punk rock band that gets in trouble after performing for a group of neo-Nazis. This movie is both gruesome and terrifying so it is not going to be for everyone. However, the acting and directing is well above the normal slasher flick. It has great performances from Patrick Stewart, Ali Shawkat, and Anton Yelchin in one of his final performances before he passed away earlier this year. Director Jeremy Saulnier had a lot of success with Blue Ruin and I think you are going to see a lot more from him as his career continues.

Arrival: 

This was the toughest choice for me and it came down to Hell or High Water or Arrival, but the reason I picked Arrival is because the story stuck with me longer. Arrival is a bit of a slow burn, and at times feels poorly paced, but by the third act I was completely invested in the story and was almost in awe of what director Denis Villeneuve was able to accomplish. He put forward some of the most interesting ideas to come out of a fictional film this year. I also really like Amy Adams and she shines in this movie. I wasn’t expecting to think or feel as much after watching this movie but I did, and that’s why it deserved to be on the list.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Without a doubt the funniest movie of the year. For every five jokes made I think I laughed at four of them, and that is a pretty high number. This was a blink-and-you-miss-it movie in the theaters but it has all the makings of a cult classic. Those who liked the “Lonely Island” sketches on SNL are going to love this movie. If that wasn’t enough, the soundtrack also happens to be legitimately great and perfect for long holiday road trips. When everyone starts busting out the Donkey Roll at the bar you know you’ve got a great movie on your hand. Okay, it wasn’t everyone, but it was definitely the four or five other drunk people who I went to the bar with.

Captain America: Civil War

I will be the first one to admit it; I am a big super hero nerd and perhaps I am ranking this too high, but Civil War is a fun movie that also happens to be extremely rewatchable. Everything that DC is doing wrong with their movies Marvel is doing right. Their stories aren’t just slapped together with random guys in tights fighting another big bad guy; they are character-driven. Of course there is more of a payoff for people who have seen all the Marvel movies, but there is enough here for the casual movie-goer to enjoy as well. The battle scene at the airport also happened to be the best action sequence of the year. That scene is a mixture of good action, great special effect, and the best part was that it was funny too. Everything that surrounds this scene works as well and the climax of the movie proves to be more emotional than your average comic book movie.

Manchester By The Sea

God this was tough to watch. What made it even tougher is that the story isn’t outside the realm of possibility of what anyone might experience in real life. In that realism the director risks losing some of the big moments on which most movies usually rely, like telling a family member that someone died. Instead the camera keeps its distance and just watching the reaction to the news is enough to affect you. Director Kenneth Lonergan allows the story to slowly unravel to encourage the audience to connect more deeply with the characters. There is no bow on this movie, no perfectly summed up ending, but that’s what life is. Rarely do we get the endings that we want, so we settle with the best we can do and I can’t remember the last movie so honest in that kind of storytelling.

La La Land 

It’s one of those movies that the more I think about the more I like. The dance numbers and the bright colors make it seem beautiful, but the story is actually extremely poignant. The final number punched me in the gut but still left me wanting to see more. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are both fantastic and have terrific chemistry. Director Damien Chanzelle has complete control over the music, his performers, and the story which melds together perfectly; if he’s not already he should be considered of the best directors out there. It is a throwback to the movie musicals of the 1950’s and made for people who love movies which may be why I love it so much.

Any movie I left off?  Don't be afraid to let me know and enjoy your time at the movies as we head into Oscar season.