While 2016 may have been hard in many ways, it was a year where I could turn to my love of movies for solace and inspiration. Every year I list my 10 favorite films but in 2016 I saw so many films I loved that I couldn't just limit it to 10, I had to expand my list of loved films to 20 of the best 2016 had to offer. In 2016 I saw 151 one films and narrowed the list down to these 20 gems, which (perfect or not) entertained me, moved me, and that I return to time and again to remind me why I love cinema as much as I do. Here are the first 10 of that list. I hope you'll make a point of seeing any you haven't seen again.
#11 Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Hilarious always. Touching truly. But never
without being hilarious. Writer/director Taika Waititi’s unconventional tale of what
it means to be family is the smartest funny thing I saw all year, and speaks
volumes about love.
#12 The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook returns to my favourites with a deceptively
complex, shockingly erotic, and surprisingly romantic tale of love and revenge
with a great grift thrown in for shits-n-giggles. Transporting the shell game of the novel it is based upon
from England to Korea allows for this exceptionally gorgeous film to celebrate
a glorious era for fashion and design, an era only Korea can offer. Like the other movies on this list, this
is a strikingly beautiful film.
#13 Nocturnal Animals
Upsetting. Unsettling. Infuriating.
Designer turned director Tom Ford turns his fashionable eye to a destructive tale of
revenge and lost love. It’s one of those story-in-a-story stories which forces
you to question all that you think you know. I don’t know which reading of the
events I prefer and I see more possible ways to understand what we are seeing.
Nocturnal Animals is an enigma, and it is down right disturbing right up to
it’s last bitter moment.
#14 The Girl With All the Gifts
If you think a Zombie movie can’t offer you
something new you need to see The Girl With All the Gifts. The film is not just a highly engaging adventure about the end of the world, it is a comment on profiling,
a challenge to the politics of “us vs. them,” and a powerful debut for actor Sennia
Nanua.
#15 Zootopia
The smartest social commentary of any film
this year is packed into this consistently entertaining and smartly funny
family adventure. Two of the best crafted characters in any film this year
headline this buddy cop comedy which contains the single funniest scene in any
2016 movie (Sloths!) making this the complete package. The best "family" movies teach us (all) something about who we are and Zootopia takes a difficult lesson and makes it not only entirely entertaining but an easy lesson to learn.
#16 10 Cloverfield Lane
This isn't just a genre movie. It is a portrait of an abuser, his tightening
control, his gaslighting techniques, his increasing levels of violence. Or
perhaps 10 Cloverfield Lane an analogy for the security state. Or both. All of this is wrapped up in a thriller format
which grabs you and doesn’t let go. We are captivated in this claustrophobic
treatise on liberation. John Goodman proves why he remains one of the best
character actors working today.
#17 Southside With You
This charming retelling of the Obamas’
first date is my idea of romance. Smart dialogue, fascinating characters, and a
palpable chemistry are the ingredients which make me fall in love with a movie. Romantic movies rarely feel this honest to me. But even more than that, as we say goodbye to that era, and enter an era of uncertainty, this reminds of the human beings who inspired us to hope for a better world. Who wouldn't fall in love with that?
#18 Closet Monster
Yes one of my favorite films of the year
features a talking hamster (Isabella Rossellini). Closet Monster reminded me of what the
best Canadian cinema does, it reaches into lovely dark places and finds
redemption. It finds a sense of optimism without the sentimentalization or rationalization that other nations' films do. It is a lovely, heartbreaking,
upsetting film which references a number of my favorite Canadian films of the last two decades.
#19 Love & Friendship
This hilarious adaptation of Jane
Austin’s Lady Susan (not to be confused with her story actually called Love and
Friendship) is one of the sharpest films of the year and certainly one of the
funniest. Kate Beckinsale has fallen from A list to B list to C list in the last decade but here
she reminds us of her true talents playing a villain you can't help but fall for, completely.
#20 Don’t Breathe
This little surprise was far better than I
expected it to be and shows true promise for a new director who will be one to
watch. Not perfect (few films are) but down right scary, thoroughly
entertaining, and beautifully executed. A powerhouse performance by Stephen Lang is the icing on the cake of what really shouldn't have been such a great movie.
Check out my top ten films (yes 10 films even better than these) and that's not all 2016 had to offer. I enjoyed all of these as well, even if they didn't quite make my top 20: The 13th, American Honey, Arrival, Barry, The BFG, Deadpool, Denial, Elle, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fences, Florence Foster Jenkins, Ghostbusters, Hacksaw Ridge, Hardcore Harry, Hidden Figures, Indignation, Jackie, Jungle Book, Just la fin du monde, The Little Prince, Live By Night, London Road, Macbeth, Manchester by the Sea, The Meddler, Miss Sloane, Pete’s Dragon, The Profit, Queen of Katwe, Suicide Squad, Star Trek Beyond, Swiss Army Man, Toni Erdmann, The Wave, Weirdos, Where to Invade Next, the Witch, X-men Apocalypse, and Your Name
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