If you were to only look at the blockbuster landscape of 2016, it would be easy to say that this was a bad year for cinema. There were plenty of disappointments, and the good films struggled to break through and find an audience. Thankfully, we get more than just blockbuster films released every year, and you didn’t really have to hunt too far to find excellent movies in a variety of genres. If you came away from 2016 thinking that film was dead, you frankly weren’t looking hard enough, or really, looking at anything outside of the movies with the biggest budgets.
As I note every year, my Top 10 list isn’t meant to be some definitive. I didn’t use some formula, and my evaluation of some movies over the course of the year changed based on repeat viewings and/or how much I thought about a picture. Most importantly, this list is to help guide folks to what I feel are the essential movies of the year. I know a lot of people don’t have the time to see dozens of new releases, so if you can only see ten movies from 2016, I suggest you go with these.
10) Hail, Caesar!
It’s an odd year where the Coen Brothers almost miss the cut rather than sit comfortably near the top of the list, but 2016 was filled with excellent films and to be fair, the Coens’ latest effort has some rough spots. Hail, Caesar! is ambitious in its absurdity, and at times its biting satire runs up against its contemplation of film as modern religion. As ridiculous as the movie can be at times, it offers as much to think about as the Coens’ dramas, and it’s a film with a lot on its mind even as it rolls its eyes at the Hollywood machine. And while the film is uneven, it undoubtedly has some of the best individual scenes of the year like “T’were that it were so simple…”, the “No Dames” musical number, and Lazy ‘Ol Moon.
9) Arrival
I’ve been waiting to see a Denis Villeneuve film that would completely click for me, and while Prisoners, Enemy, and Sicario all have their merits, Arrival is a film that only gets richer on repeat viewings. It’s smart sci-fi of the highest order that pushes forward a message of empathy and understanding. I’ve seen Arrival three times now, and every time new elements continue to shine. You can’t even really appreciate the subtle nuance of Amy Adams’ masterful performance until you’ve seen the film twice and notice that she’s playing emotions designed to lead you in two different directions. Arrival marks a huge step forward for an immensely talented filmmaker, and I can’t wait to see how he approaches his upcoming work.
8) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
It feels like Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is destined to be a comedy classic. The humor is just too sharp to miss having an audience, and I feel like directors Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone really did create the modern pop equivalent of This Is Spinal Tap. It digs deep into the absurdities of not just the music business, but the nature of the music documentary. Couple that with genuinely great songs like “Equal Rights”, “Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)”, and “Incredible Thoughts” just to name a few, and I rest easier knowing that while Popstar wasn’t a hit at the box office, there’s a big audience out there that will eventually discover this brilliant movie.
7) The Nice Guys
A Shane Black 70s-set darkly comic noir starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling carries huge expectations, and The Nice Guys handily cleared a high bar. Black continued to show himself again as not only a master of genre and tone, but of expectations. When you watch a Shane Black film at this point, you’re watching someone who has clearly mastered storytelling inside and out and revels in seeing how far he can push against various norms and boundaries. While The Nice Guys was sold as an easy-going comedy, it’s deeply cynical yet bizarrely hopeful. The film acknowledges the deep strain of nastiness and greed in the world, and then chooses to laugh in the world’s face. I’m grateful for Shane Black.
6) Hell or High Water
Frankly, I’m surprised we don’t have more films like Hell or High Water. One would think that with income inequality and the economy being on the minds of the American people, films that heartily embrace the subtext of disgust with financial institutions would be far more prevalent. Instead, this year we got the ridiculous Money Monster and the ingenious Hell or High Water. Thankfully, Hell or High Water found an audience, and director David Mackenzie thoughtfully used the neo-Western genre to his advantage to tell his story of two brothers who want to take back a piece of the American Dream by any means necessary. Featuring excellent performances from Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, and Gil Birmingham, Hell or High Water will get you angry at the banks all over again while contemplating the film’s grim fatalism.
5) The Witch
I saw The Witch back at TIFF 2015, and I still haven’t been able to shake it. Robert Eggers’ direction is simply stunning, and he has crafted the kind of period drama that most others only dream about when attempting the genre. Of course, because The Witch is a horror film, its period trappings get overlooked, and yet it’s precisely because of its period that the film takes on a unique tone. We get no shortage of horror films every year, but Eggers finds a niche and elevates it to high art. The period setting provides the flavor, but The Witch always delivers the scares. Eggers’ direction is so skilled that he eventually reaches the point of infinite possibilities where anything could happen and I wouldn’t have been taken out of the movie. That’s how powerful The Witch is, and that’s before you even start contemplating its fascinating subtext regarding the origins of evil.
4) Manchester by the Sea
Manchester by the Sea isn’t just “a good film that will make you sad,” although it is and it will. What Kenneth Lonergan’s drama does so effectively is argue for the inescapability of grief. While society would like us to see grief as a passing thing that can eventually be overcome, Manchester by the Sea argues that there are some events in our lives that not only shape and define us, but also prevent us from moving forward. There can be healing, but only to a point, and it’s incredibly brave to put out a major movie that basically says, “Everything is not going to be okay.” It’s a tough message, but it’s one delivered with total sincerity, maturity, and artistry.
3) 13th
2016 had plenty of great documentaries, but the one that shook me to my core was Ava Duvernay’s 13th. If you’re taking time to watch 13th, chances are you already agree with DuVernay, but that doesn’t lessen the power of her direction or her documentary. 13th is surgical in its dismantling of our prison-industrial complex and showing the confluence of factors—economic, cultural, political, and racial—that have led to America’s willingness to imprison minorities. Even if you think you know the arguments 13th is going to make, chances are you still don’t know the half of it, and DuVernay breaks all of it down with vigor, verve, and brutal honesty.
2) La La Land
Set aside the catchy tunes, delightful choreography, stunning technical work, beguiling performances, and everything else that’s so charming about Damien Chazelle’s La La Land because at the end of the day, it’s going to the same place as Manchester by the Sea by giving the audience something they may not want. [minor spoilers ahead for La La Land] The bravura epilogue offers a glimpse into an impossible world not because of people singing and dancing but it’s a world where no one had to make any hard choices and everyone got what they wanted. For all of its candy-colored confections, at the end of the day, La La Land embraces the bittersweet nature of giving up love as the price of one’s own dreams. That’s what makes it more than just a good-natured throwback to classic musicals and instead lets it straddle the line between its old-fashioned inspirations and the harshness of the real world. [end spoilers]
1) Moonlight
Really, any of my top three choices this year could have been at #1, but I accept that there are readers who just scroll down to the bottom of the list to see what the top choice is. So if I have only one film to recommend for 2016, it’s not going to be the one that’s currently on Netflix or the one with the two movie stars. It’s going to be the one about the gay black kid who has to struggle with his identity and relationships. Moonlight is an incredibly challenging film, not because of how it’s presented or what it presents, but in how it shows a young man searching for what love he can find in a world that surrounds him with hate. Barry Jenkins’ drama could have crashed into so many awful clichés and shortcuts, and he deftly avoids them all. The story of Chiron is painfully honest from start to finish, unflinching at the character’s most difficult moments but also luxuriating in the times where he finds love and compassion, whether it’s from Juan (Mahershala Ali), Teresa (Janelle Monae), or Kevin.
Moonlight presents the rich tapestry we want from the best cinema, showing us stories that feel familiar in some ways and foreign in others. Roger Ebert said that movies are like “a machine that generates empathy,” and by that definition, Moonlight is an unparalleled success. It showcases a very specific story but does so in a way where anyone with half a heart can relate to Chiron’s struggle. It’s a monumental achievement on every level, and it’s the best film of 2016.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order): Nocturnal Animals, O.J. Made in America, Kubo and the Two Strings, Sing Street, Too Late
For more of our Best of 2016 coverage, click here or on the links below.
Movies
- The Best Horror Movies of 2016
- Best Performances, Villains, and More of 2016
- The Most Iconic Movie Animals of 2016
- The 18 Best Movies You May Have Missed in 2016
TV