With all of those formalities out of the way, let's start things off with the first part of my look at the 20 Best Movies Of 2016!
13th
Perhaps the biggest lie anyone (and I've, of course, only heard white people actually say this) can say is that racism no longer exists in the modern world. It's everywhere on a systemic level and Ava DuVernay's harrowing documentary 13th does a phenomenal job of exploring post-Civil War racism in America on a grand scale. Going decade-by-decade to explore what it's like to exist as a non-white person in this country, all leading up to sequences set in the modern day world that demonstrate how terrifyingly little progress has been made for giving rights to people of color. Excellent interview segments and archival footage punctuate the feature and help to further demonstrate the atrocities of the past and how they're tragically still all too prevalent today.
20th Century Women
Few movies in 2016 contained the kind of subtle brilliance that 20th Century Women carried with such ease. A feature all about a mother trying to reconnect with her son in the late 70's garners another layer of poignancy with future versions of the characters narrating over their actions in this specific time frame. The cast is absolutely phenomenal, particularly Annette Bening and Greta Gerwig, and Mike Mills screenplay never fails to have another memorable dialogue exchange waiting in the wings. 20th Century Women is a parable whose emotional power sneaks up on you and helps put into context just how important the most seemingly inconsequential moments of our lives really are.
Everyone has different ways of coping, and for Connor O'Malley, his way of coming to terms with his mother's fatal disease is by listening to the tales of a monster whose been around for centuries in the absolutely astounding fantasy tale A Monster Calls. Merging fairy tales with a youngster learning to cope with his mom's sickness turns out to be a most emotionally powerful pairing, especially since the performances, particularly the lead role from Lewis MacDougall, are all around phenomenal, as are the visuals, which give the films fantastical segments their own distinct aesthetic. But the key to the films high quality is in Liam Neeson as the titular monster, a breathtakingly powerful performance wherein Neeson commands the screen with every word he says.
Arrival
Aliens have come to Earth. Are they peaceful? Are they bringing war with them? We're gonna have to communicate to find out and the job of figuring out how to talk to these otherworldly beings falls to Louise Banks (Amy Adams). From there, we get Arrival, a powerful tale of the value of every day in our lives as well as how important the connections we form with other people are. Both director Denis Villeneuve and actor Amy Adams (both of whom are no strangers to high-quality fare) shine in this science-fiction project that finds the intimate beating heart beneath an event that changes the course of humanity.
Blue Jay
Keeping things simple can sometimes be the absolute best idea, and for Blue Jay, keeping a story of two former High School sweethearts meeting up again decades later as simple as possible turns out to be a stroke of genius. Just letting oodles sharply written dialogue and lead actors Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson carry this particular tale is more than enough to make Blue Jay one of the years most melancholy and powerful triumphs, especially since Sarah Paulson turns in a phenomenal performance that only grows more and more fascinating as the feature goes on. Don't expect easy resolutions in Blue Jay, but do expect to watch one fantastic movie.
I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to put this movie on this list, but then my monthly Marvel check came and that immediately changed!
All joking aisde, Captain America: Civil War managed to cap off the Captain America trilogy in style, with this movie showing an incredible ability to balance both awesome spectacle (that airport showdown really did live up to the hype and then some) and putting thoughtfully crafted character dynamics that had been built up over multiple through the wringer. Chris Evans proved why he's become so beloved as the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan in this outing, but maybe the real treat in terms of acting was seeing Robert Downey Jr. handling a darker side of Tony Stark so well. He went all in in depicting the tortured pain Tony Stark is carrying within him so well, which, of course, makes the conflict between Tony and the other supeheroes he once considered friends all the more emotionally thrilling.
The Edge Of Seventeen
Generations of teenagers, both male and especially female, are gonna declare The Edge Of Seventeen something transcendent in the way past generations fawned over the likes of Mean Girls or Dazed & Confused. Just like those two motion pictures, The Edge Of Seventeen confronts the life of a teenager with both wit and a surprising amount of truth as it examines the tumultuous life of a 17-year old girl played extraordinarily well by Hailee Steinfeld in one of the years best lead performances. This is the kind of movie that manages to get you both emotionally absorbed and laughing all the while, a noteworthy triumph for a noteworthy movie.
Green Room
Having not seen Jeremy Saulnier's past works, Green Room was my introduction to this particular filmmaker, though he's obviously very much on my radar now thanks to this incredibly crafted action movie that uses a small space and well-defined characters to create something that, once the chaos begins, never ever lets go. Anton Yelchin turns in strong work as a guy clinging to his inate desire to stay alive amongst these bloodthirsty Nazi's while Patrick Stewart turns out to be one of 2016's most formidable foes as the leader of the villainous foes that are after our protagonists. Green Room is grisly and brutal and relentlessly gripping action fare.
In a year chock full of sorrow, here was a movie that dared to ask the question "What if we just made people happy for a couple hours?" Taika Waititi delivers his second straight comedic masterstroke with Hunt For The Wilderpeople, a film that never fails to pull another clever gag out of its back pocket. There's plenty of good performances to go around, from Julian Dennison, as the protagonist who us a bad egg (he was caught burning stuff!) to Sam Neill as his crotchety adopted father to various supporting players with immediately distinctive personalities. Few comedies in 2016 had quite the laughs, and surprising heart, as this lovely motion picture.
La La Land
This is a movie with a full heart, a joyous spirit that also manages to take note of the imperfect harsh realities of the world around us. Balancing the stylized nature of classical musicals with the discordant nature of our own existence should have resulted in some kind of slapdash disaster, an ambitious but exceedingly uneven film. Instead, lo and behold, it's brought out La La Land, a cinematic miracle that turns out to be a melting pot of all kinds of high quality talent. Put together Damien Chazelle's incredible skills as a director with two equally masterful performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as well as an unforgettable soundtrack and, presto! You manage to create something unique, something bold and something very much worth singing about.
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