Top 15 Best Movies of 2016

Article by Gabe Zia
So folks the year 2016 has come to an end, and so as with every year, it's time to take a look back at my personal favorites of the year before really moving into 2017's catalog. As always, I took a few days extra to try to see as many 2016 films as possible, mostly indie and foreign films as those are harder to come by, so that's why there was the few weeks delay. However, the list is finally here, so lets get right into it. These are my personal favorite movies of 2016.

Honorable Mentions

These are the films that could have made the list, didn't make the cut, but I still feel like are worth bringing up and worth seeing as well.

Allied

If you can avoid the spoilerish marketing, Allied is a unique romantic thriller with two powerful performances and fantastic writing.

The Lure

It's strange, it's completely and utterly bizarre, but for those who think they're up for that, The Lure is right up your alley.

Lights Out

One of the biggest surprises of the year, Lights Out presents a competent cerebral horror film with talented and creative techniques that work perfectly with the gimmick.

#15
The Witch

Starting the list is hands down one of the most deeply unsettling movies I have ever seen. Robert Eggers disturbing horror period piece got under my skin in a way I didn't think a movie could do, and it stayed way for a long time. The Witch is a film that managed to be one of the most terrifying horror movies of 2016, and instead of cheap jump scares and deliberately frightening imagery (although this film isn't without imagery that I found deeply disturbing), it does it in subtle, unpredictable ways. Camera angles, music, or even just the use of color, ever tool the director has to work with is used to its fullest potential to achieve an immensely creepy film that will probably stick with you for a while after you see it. The Witch is a film that may not be for everyone, and that's why I was hesitant to put it on the list, but upon consideration I figured that its demonstration of genius horror craftsmanship and truly deeply unnerving storytelling more than earned it its place on this list. If you're a horror fan, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to not at least try to see this one.

#14
Everybody Wants Some!!

It's no secret that the Richard Linklaters 1993 comedy "Dazed and Confused" is one of my favorite movies of all-time, so when it was announced that there was going to be a sequel or "spiritual successor" as it's referred to, I was skeptical to say the least. However, if it's not clear by it's presence on this list, the film managed to hit all the same notes as Dazed, it was funny, the characters were surprisingly likeable, and the film still had Linklaters signature down to Earth charm that I always love to see. Like most Linklater films, this movie doesn't really have a plot, but he always makes it work in a way that feels very real and continuously fresh throughout the film. If you're like me and you're a fan of Linklater I'd say definitely check this one out.

#13
The Neon Demon

Something I always find very important in the world of film is a movie that has a lot to talk about, and one such movie last year was Nicolas Winding-Refns thriller The Neon Demon. This film is probably one of the best discussion pieces of 2016, a film that goes over the interesting topics this one does is bound to generate interesting conversations. What the films trying to say about body culture, identity, and the self-consuming nature of the realm of the fashion industry are all front and centre here, and all worth talking about. Right after this movie was over, me and a few other friends who saw it got together simply for the purpose to talk about it the film, that usually never happens with any movie no matter how good. Not to mention, the film absolutely Refns best looking and best sounding film. If there's any reason it's not higher on this list, it's because I only saw it the one time and didn't feel like rewatching it, and it has a very limited amount of people I could recommend it to thanks to its graphic imagery and just disturbing content, but if you think you have a stomach for it, The Neon Demon is just right for you.

#12
Hell or High Water

Of the movies that came out in 2016, Hell or High Water was pretty low in terms of films I was hyped for. When I went to see it, my biggest fear was that it was going to be just another No Country for Old Men clone. So what ended up surprising me the most about Hell or High Water was how well the film maintained focus on its protagonist. It didn't get distracted by a tale of morality, or a cautionary tale, or what these Southern-state set crime thrillers usually end up being about, it's a very personal character based story, and a compelling one at that. The attention to detail by director David Mackenzie is some of the best I've seen all year, especially as far as the way background extras and background scenes are directed. The performances in this movie are also all outstanding, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges are on point as always, and Chris Pine shows an immense amount of talent I honestly didn't know he had in him. The way this film is directed and the amount of attention to detail presented in both its writing and direction demonstrated some of the most meticulous and careful craftsmanship I've seen all year. It's not only one of the most surprising movies of the year, it's also without a doubt one of its best.

#11

Moana

Disney has been on a roll recently, and with Moana I think they've hit one of their highest points yet. Moana is like the "best of" remix of some of Disneys best elements, like a combination of the best parts of Mulan and Aladdin put into one outstanding film. For the first time since Disney made the switch to 3D animation, I finally feel like here it really works. Of course, I'd still prefer hand-drawn style, but where stuff like Tangled and Frozen don't feel a lot like classic Disney, this seriously has that classic vibe that 90s Disney animation had, the combination of perfect humor, great music, stunning vibrant animation, and great writing put into one film. For fans of Disney - hell, who are we kidding that's most people - this film is a must-see. 

#10
Colossal

One of the reasons I like going to as many film festivals as I go to is that it means I get to see movies like Colossal, movies that more than deserve to be seen and deserve to have attention drawn to them, which is part of the reason I started the blog in the first place. To put it simply, Colossal is a drama-comedy about a recovering alcoholic experiencing a strange connection to a Godzilla-like giant monster, and that in itself puts it out there as something completely different to the norm. And the rest of the film pretty much follows in suit, this is definitely one of the most refreshingly original films in terms of both its unique premise and its even more bizarre execution. This film has a wonderful vibe of self-awareness, I really got the sense that the people behind this one knew exactly what kind of movie they were making and knew exactly how to carry it out in a way that feels consistently new and creative throughout. Colossal is a unique entry on this list, as it's official release isn't until sometime in 2017, so I urge you all to seek this one out, and keep an eye out for it when it comes out, you will not regret it.

#9
Your Name

Usually, anime isn't something I take too seriously, usually something of a guilty pleasure. However, there are exceptions, stuff like Cowboy Bebop or anything by Miyazaki to name a few, and Makoto Shinkais latest film Your Name is one such exception. Your Name had it all, everything I look for in a movie like this. The animation is breathtaking, meticulously detailed and wonderfully fluid in movement. The writing is absolutely wonderful, a cast of extremely likable and charming characters and a very engaging story put together in what is hands down one of the most likeable movies of 2016, a film that bounces of the screen with charisma, which is no easy task. As I've said before, if you're not a fan or even somewhat familiar with anime as a genre or Japanese filmmaking, this movie would be totally jarring for you. However, if you think it's your sort of thing and you're familiar with the genre, Your Name presents one of the most charming, enjoyable, and overall likable experiences of the year.

#8
Paterson

Most of the time, movies represent a kind of escape from reality. We watch superhero movies to see bombastic impossible heroic characters, we watch sci-fi and fantasy to see worlds completely different from our own. Paterson is the exact opposite, and it's kind of what I've to love about this movie. As opposed to a subversion of it, Paterson is almost a celebration of mundane routine. This sort of thing isn't totally new, films like the Before trilogy have also done this, but it always really great when a film manages to feel as truly real as films like these, and it's always something worth talking about in my opinion. This film isn't for everyone, I know of a lot of people who found it boring, or pretentious in that it doesn't really have any kind of plot or story going on, but for what it was, I found Paterson to be an excellent, and even elegant piece of filmmaking, and absolutely something worth seeing.

#7
10 Cloverfield Lane

Secret movies are always fascinating projects to me, just in concept keeping a movie secret from the public is interesting. And until January 2016, 10 Cloverfield Lane was a very well kept secret, and I'm glad it was, I'm glad this film kinda just came out of nowhere the way it did. This film is set almost entirely in one small isolated set, and it's used in this very organic and very creative way that I really enjoyed. Not only that, it also has a small cast, who are each used in ways to forward the story. Neither the small set or small cast are as jarringly obvious as I thought they would be, in fact at times I kind of forget how low budget this movie is overall. And I know lots of people have mentioned this when bringing up this movie but I feel like it deserves to be brought up, John Goodmans performance in this movie is really the stuff of legend, one of the best performances I've seen all year. Although, due to the films marketing decisions, this movie didn't end up making a lot of money so I'm willing to bet a lot of you didn't see it, I would highly recommend reconsidering it, especially seeing as how it's been recently added to Netflix's catalog.

#6
Hush

Ever since his cerebral and unique horror film about a demonic mirror, Oculus, I've been on the lookout for what Mike Flanagan has coming next, and Hush certainly didn't disappoint. Much like Oculus, this is a horror film that (thankfully) doesn't rely on cheap jump scares and horror tropes to accomplish its goal. Instead, Hush uses a combination of fantastic acting, creative camera work, sharp editing, and a tight script to accomplish a thriller that really keeps you glued into the film for the entire running time. John Gallagher Jr. gives the best performance of his career as a fleshed out and well thought-out character, with all these little complexities in his character involving habitual behaviors and micro-expressions, attention to detail in character structure I'm just not used to, especially not in this capacity. As with Oculus, the way this film is edited is its key advantage, keeping the film balanced between the two characters it focuses on between scene to scene. As the protagonist of Hush is deaf, sound editing is also used, and used damn well in creative ways to keep every scene in this cat & mouse thriller feel fresh and new. It's also worth noting this is a Netflix original, and I sincerely hope Netflix keeps this level of quality coming.

#5
The Shallows

One thing I love to talk about on this blog is whenever a film knows exactly what it is and what it has to be. Self-awareness is one of my favorite aspects in modern Hollywood, and it's so damn rare that it's always worth talking about. The Shallows is one such film, a movie that doesn't get distracted with sub-plots and boring filler moments and sticks to a simple premise for an exciting film for a solid run-time. This film delivers on one of the most intense experiences I've had in a theatre for the entire year. I was deeply surprised with this movie and how well it captured tone and intelligence in something as simple as her being stuck on a rock with a psycho-shark circling around her. This film achieved a true sense and feel of unpredictability, you have a sense that at any second everything could go completely sideways, and the movie achieves this with clever camera, smart editing, a genius sound work. To me The Shallows is a perfectly paced thriller, it completely caught me off guard, and if you skipped it because it looked like just another shark movie (and I wouldn't blame you, I almost skipped it for exactly that reason), I strongly advise you give it a second chance.

#4
Eye in the Sky

Before I saw Eye in the Sky, I had no prior notion of just how much I was going to like this movie. I had the general sense I was going to, the political topics it seemed to dig into and Spy thriller aspects seemed just too juicy put together for me not to enjoy. But even then, this film managed to surprise me with just how much I deeply enjoyed every moment of this movie. Essentially, the whole film is about one drone operation, and the various international figures involved in a single Drone strike, and the dilemma starts to set in once a kid unknowingly enters the kill zone. Such a simple premise one would think would be a short film or the opening act, but instead its all one movie, and this movie owns the hell out of it. What I love about this movie as far as the political themes it touches on is just how seriously it takes its own subject matter, and how it manages to talk about the themes in a way that keeps it rational, unbiased, and well thought out. Not to mention, the spy aspects of this film are goddamn outstanding, we're talking sweat feet, edge of your scene intensity almost throughout. It's really great to see a film like this be able to actually manage and execute something like that. It's another movie I'd recommend to just about anyone willing to see it.

#3
World of Tomorrow

Originally I wasn't going to include this on the list, with it being a short film and not a feature length film, however upon consideration I decided it more than deserves a spot. This is a complex, poignant, philosophical and meaningful film that never loses sight of its minimalistic nature. The strange art style once again works beautifully with Hertzfeldts absurdist humor, creating a film that's hilarious when it needs to be but also can be beautifully poetic at the same time. This film delivers a vision of the future that is a beautiful combination of creative and pessimistic, without ever being overbearing or preachy. "World of Tomorrow" is a masterclass animated short truly like none other. With it being the only short film on the list (but far from the only short film I saw this year) I hope that tells you all you need to know about how wonderful this short is. It comes with the Don Hertzfeldt blu-ray collection that was released recently which comes with most of his other works, so I'd highly recommend getting that, but it's also available for rental on Vimeo.

#2
The Nice Guys

The Nice Guys is one of those movies that comes out about once a year, like 2014's Edge of Tomorrow, that reminds me why I started this blog in the first place. To shed light onto films people may have dismissed or skipped. The Nice Guys unfortunately didn't do well at all at the box office this year which is a shame because it is without a doubt the best comedy film to come out all year, even in years. Shane Black has handcrafted a comedic masterpiece, a combination of visual, dialogue, and situational humor coming together in what is the most intelligently well written comedy of the year. The Nice Guys not only succeeds at being an amazingly fun action-comedy, it's also an incredibly well-made film, the set design and cinematography here are absolutely wonderful, combining to add a sense of 70's Los Angeles atmosphere that many have tried, but few have succeeded at. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe have the sharpest back & forth chemistry I've seen in years in this movie, and even on their own they are both utterly fantastic. Everything about this film is utterly enjoyable, be it the music, the characters, or just the overall look and feel of a movie that is unapologetically itself. The Nice Guys deserves as much attention it can get, and considering it bombed at the Box Office, I'd say that number is pretty high. If you haven't seen The Nice Guys, this is a film I think should be a priority of yours to get out and see, this and my number one.

#1 Best Movie of 2016
Arrival

Yes, if you've followed this blog for a while or heard me praise this movie as if it were gospel in real life, chances are you saw this coming a mile away. Denis Villeneuve has had success with mostly indie films so-far, films like Maelstrom, Polytechnique, Incendies, to the more recent stuff like Prisoners, Sicario, and Enemy. These are all films that I love and hold to a very high regard as some of the greatest works in cinema, films that show how powerful the medium can be if put in the right hands. However, after all of those movies I have to say Arrival is far and beyond my favorite film from Villeneuve, at least so-far. This is a creative, inventive, and daring movie with beautiful craftsmanship and attention to detail. This outstanding storytelling and writing is complemented by an outstanding performance by Amy Adams, this is a subtle and emotionally capable performance at its very best, its one thing to have an actor convey emotions with a loud outburst, a huge moment of sadness or anger, but a totally different level to be able to portray all these different layers of emotions this character is experience in non-obvious ways, micro-expression, eye movement, body language, these things are incredibly difficult to pull off for an actor, and she completely nails it. This film is also told in a visually stunning way, this film is captured with pure expertise. There's attention to color scheme, framing composition, lighting, all the elements needed for a great shot are visible at any turn. And while this movie could have gone the more generic route and kept the focus on the alien storyline, the film keeps the story personal and focused, and tells a story that is utterly and completely unique, beautifully told. This film draws you in completely to a story that never goes beyond its smaller scale, humble levels of a personal story, and it full well could have. This is an expertly crafted, engaging, smart, and absolutely stunning work of art. This is the kind of movie that reminds me why I love movies in the first place, a reminder of what wonders the medium can accomplish. Not since 2013's "Her" have I seen a film like this where I truly felt it was deserving of being called a perfect movie, and so I think it goes without saying that this was my personal favorite movie of 2016.