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Time to kick this thread off. A handful of films I still haven't seen this year; in the unlikely event you're interested which ones, hit me back and I will tell you. In any case, my list has more or less taken form, with only two or three films having the potential to sway me. Let me know your "best of." As for me...
Best (alphabetical order):
Elle Green Room The Handmaiden Hell or High Water High-Rise Hunt for the Wilderpeople The Neon Demon Sausage Party Wiener-Dog The VVitch
Honorable Mention (alphabetical):
Don't Breathe La La Land The Shallows
Worst: Phantasm: Ravager/Yoga Hosers
Dishonorable Mention: Colonia
Biggest Surprise: The VVitch
Biggest Disappointment: Phantasm: Ravager
Plan on watching:
Arrival Julieta Paterson
Will be avoiding most of the Oscar-buzz films this year for a change. In my experience, and upon reflecting on past winners/nominees, most of them are great to pretty good but have no staying power whatsoever. I've put some of them on Best Of lists in the past, even in high positions, but then have never watched them again, even if they're on TV. Out of Best Picture winners alone, I think the most recent one I give two shits about to this day would be No Country for Old Men.
Once again, let me know your "best of." I use the phrase in the loosest of terms. For me, it's simply catchy but I essentially mean your favorites. Don't sweat it!
Can't pick a best yet as there are many for me to see. I can say on the most disappointing in terms of expectations I have Hail Ceasar - I expected much better
2016 was, sadly, my worst moviegoing attendence in recent memory. I only saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lights Out, and Ghostbusters in theaters this year.
So many movies I wanted to see, but never got around to it, and plus, money's tight. Try going to a movie when you're broke.
Best film I have seen this year. Loved it -- but other people I know hated it -- so I guess it is one of "those" films. The third act may or may not go one step too far. I still haven't decided.
Best film I have seen this year. Loved it -- but other people I know hated it -- so I guess it is one of "those" films. The third act may or may not go one step too far. I still haven't decided.
Why are you typing it with two Vs, James?
Agreed. I don't sweat the hate. Divisiveness is a common trait amongst the best films IMO. I've yet to hear any detractors recommend a better horror movie this year (as you can see above, I didn't think Don't Breathe was one of them).
As for the two Vs, The VVitch is the official title of the film as far as I'm concerned. It's what appears in the credits and on the posters. I try to honor those kinds of details where I can. Plus two Vs are more occult, i.e. cooler.
The VVitch First Girl I Loved The Handmaiden Maggie's Plan Silence American Honey Train to Busan Elle Love & Friendship Hacksaw Ridge
Honourable (?) mention:
The Greasy Strangler
Haven't seen lots, including:
Paterson Fences Moonlight Arrival The Fits
Very cool stuff this year, in my opinion. Some solid and fun genre entries (Don't Breathe, The Shallows, Lights Out, Green Room), the best of shitty new Star Trek (Beyond), the best Marvel film ever (Deadpool), the best spoof film in years (Fifty Shades of Black), some great unintentional hilarity (God's Not Dead 2, Mechanic: Resurrection, Gods of Egypt), some unexpectedly strong sequels (Ouija, Barbershop, Neighbours, Bridget Jones), some cool innovations (Sausage Party, Hardcore Henry), and Michael Bay managed to sneak in one more non-robot film (13 Hours) before continuing to waste his talent on Transformers 5.
As strange as this sounds, I would rank this toward the bottom half of this year's list. Nothing wrong with the content. You don't walk into something called The Greasy Strangler and not know what you're getting into. Much of it delivers, but after a while, it seems to run out of steam, one of the few things you can rightly hold a film like this accountable for. I also wish the actual "strangler" plotline was more developed (feels more incidental than anything), as I think it would've balanced some of the absurdist elements out that get to be sorta aimless by the end.
That said, I mention all this simply to discuss the film. Can't believe anyone else saw it. Can't believe I saw it. Some proper weird shit.
In the past, I was really excited to share my top 10. This year, not so much. Whereas in 2015, I couldn't wait to show other people movies like Mad Max or Bone Tomahawk, this year I'm just kinda meh. I'm not saying these films aren't amazing. They're just not must-sees right away. But alas, we have...
1. The Witch 2. La La Land 3. Arrival 4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople 5. Green Room 6. Don't Breathe 7. Kubo and the Two Strings 8. Hell or High Water 9. Popstar: Never Stop Stopping 10. The Neon Demon
Honorable mentions: Rogue One, Manchester By the Sea
Lastly, Moonlight deserves to win best picture of the year. While it didn't resonate with me personally, it needed to be made, needs to be watched, and needs to win Best Picture.
Oh and I didn't see the following: Elle, The Handmaiden, Paterson, Sing Street, American Honey, Don't Think Twice, Silence, Loving, or Fences
Just saw Don't Think Twice and it's definitely top ten material. The acting, writing, and directing are all top notch. Check it out, even if you think the premise and characters seem insufferable on the surface (like me).
Lastly, Moonlight deserves to win best picture of the year. While it didn't resonate with me personally, it needed to be made, needs to be watched, and needs to win Best Picture.
It needs to win best picture based on concept alone?
I go by films released theatrically in the country of the person making the list. That only seems practical. Technically, it's the festival premiere that makes a film's release date official, which would make The VVitch and Green Room, among others, 2015 films.
It needs to win best picture based on concept alone?
Of course not. It's an incredible film with amazing visuals, solid direction, and a compelling story. That being said, it didn't quite resonate with me as much as I would have liked. But that doesn't mean it's not one of the best pictures of the year.
Furthermore, winning best picture is a sign of the times. And therefore, Moonlight deserves to win.
As much as I would like for La La Land to win best picture, it's almost pure Oscar bait. Seriously, the theaters in LA probably had to hire an additional janitorial team just clean up the buckets of ejaculate left in the theaters after every showing.
Same: Seen one race/gay/poor/tranny film, you've seen them all.
In the Heat of the Night, Kiss of the Spider Woman, All About my Mother, Midnight Cowboy, The Crying Game, The Grapes of Wrath, Mississippi Burning...perhaps The Handmaiden this year...
They've more recently skewed towards boring Issues movies, but I think even the Academy has made plenty of picks that prove you wrong.
Personally, I currently watch more art house cinema than mainstream. Last year I watched an Asian drama about a grandma suffering from leprosy while teaching a chef to cook perfect biscuits . Great movie, but it's not in the multiplex.
There are "diverse" movies that have a wholly different approach to filmmaking. And you can see them all around the world. They're just not found at the big "buy me places". I just can recommend to watch out for other marketplaces to find "different". It's just logical.
Anyway, I don't watch those flicks because I want to feel so clever, more it is due to the fact that 2016's commercial filmmaking didn't offer a lot to my personal taste.
Then I remember times before, when there were big pictures like Gravity: I mean, hell, what an opening scene alone… Have I seen something like that before? Definitely not. Fantastic stuff.
The point is I think that people take no time for choosing which movie may be good for them. They rather like to consume and are later surprised it's the usual stuff.
In the Heat of the Night, Kiss of the Spider Woman, All About my Mother, Midnight Cowboy, The Crying Game, The Grapes of Wrath, Mississippi Burning...perhaps The Handmaiden this year...
They've more recently skewed towards boring Issues movies, but I think even the Academy has made plenty of picks that prove you wrong.
Of course. Mississippi Burning is one of my favorite movies.
In the Heat of the Night, Kiss of the Spider Woman, All About my Mother, Midnight Cowboy, The Crying Game, The Grapes of Wrath, Mississippi Burning...perhaps The Handmaiden this year...
They've more recently skewed towards boring Issues movies, but I think even the Academy has made plenty of picks that prove you wrong.
Not really.
I've seen all of those films. None of the others I've seen over the last two/three decades has added a single thing.
I like genre films, and I like very strange films... But the types of issue Films that the academy likes bore me to tears.
I just don't understand the concept of them. Slavery is bad? Poverty is dehumanising? The Holocaust was a bit of a low point? No shit.
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