Top 10 Movies of 2016
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- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.The director of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, also adapted the writing of a piece by Tarell McCraney 'In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue' to make the screenplay of this film. Usually when the directing is so important to the film, the writing is faulty, but the cinematography and screenplay blend flawlessly in Moonlight. Don't expect anything from this movie, let the tone and dialogue wash over you and enjoy the experience and thoughts Moonlight will leave you with.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsKim Min-heeHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongA woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.The Handmaiden is actually on par, directing and script, to Moonlight. Through no fault of its own, as i'm not a native Korean or Japanese speaker, the subtitles can detract the tiniest bit from the symmetry of the visuals. Min-hee Kim and Tae-ri Kim are both exceptional actresses and have undeniable chemistry. Chan-wook Park shows phenomenal foresight and artistic understanding in adapting Fingersmith, a victorian era novel in Britain, to 1930's Korea occupied by the Japanese. The film is fresh and unique and avoids all the expectations that the audience puts onto the script or cinematography. A tie for the best movie of 2016.
- DirectorRon ClementsJohn MuskerDon HallStarsAuli'i CravalhoDwayne JohnsonRachel HouseIn ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the demigod Maui reaches Moana's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out Maui to set things right.Disappointed with a vast majority of animated films, Moana was a completely unexpected joy to watch. Auli'i Cravalho and Dwane Johnson are light on their feet and carry the energy of the movie from the opening shot to the credits. After years and years of watching storytale movies and romantic interests that clicked the off button in my brain, the protagonist and story hit all the right notes and it's enjoyable for any age.
- DirectorTim MillerStarsRyan ReynoldsMorena BaccarinT.J. MillerA wisecracking mercenary gets experimented on and becomes immortal yet hideously scarred, and sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks.Deadpool was the perfect movie for 2016. It's sarcastic, it's rude, and unapologetically relatively explicit in both sex and violence. Ryan Reynold's love for the character was palpable and this is a depiction of deadpool that could not be more perfect (aside from the one joke about happy international women's day that seems like a trace of a more simplistic, childish movie that the script perhaps expanded on later). It's the movie i've seen the most times and the jokes still hit every time even though I expect them.
- DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsCasey AffleckMichelle WilliamsKyle ChandlerA depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.Would be higher on the list but Casey Affleck's record of sexual assault makes it difficult to see him as a vulnerable or innocent character. There's a lot of actors that could have turned in a performance of the same caliber or better, namely Jake Gyllenhaal, James McAvoy or Charlie Cox. However the directing and script is a masterclass in "show don't tell" and respects the audiences intelligence and ability to understand subtleties, which is a rarity.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.I thought I didn't like Amy Addams, I thought she didn't have the chops for a leading performance like this. 2017 proved me wrong with both Arrival and Nocturnal Animals. The story of Arrival is original, the direction is fresh and clean in a way that allows the movie to seem realistic without feeling like a soap opera. Can't wait to see what Villeneuve does with Blade Runner.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.Again this was a movie I avoided viewing because I wasn't particularly fond of either of the actors, and yet again I was proved extremely wrong. Loved Damien Chazelle's previous film Whiplash a bit more, but thats personal preference as both films on a technical level are absolutely phenomenal.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsElle FanningChristina HendricksKeanu ReevesAn aspiring model, Jesse, is new to Los Angeles. However, her beauty and youth, which generate intense fascination and jealousy within the fashion industry, may prove themselves sinister.To be honest, I hated it after the initial viewing. It's a film that gets better after you watch it, if that makes sense. So much of the film is open to interpretation that you only really get a handle on it after a few days of letting it sit. Not a movie to watch when you're bored, or if you don't feel like putting in the work of sifting through the visuals for the backbone. Nevertheless its gorgeous, and it has much to say. Perhaps too much, and it gets muddled by trying to be so vague, but it's ultimately a idiosyncratic film to a fault.
- DirectorTom FordStarsAmy AdamsJake GyllenhaalMichael ShannonA wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.Nocturnal Animals had a style that was absolutely magnetic. The makeup and hair while being simplistic, also had a story to tell by itself, which one can only expect from a Tom Ford movie. The story could have been a bit more concise, with additions from Amy Adam's characters mother bloating the film a bit unnecessarily when reflections in dialogue tell the viewer enough about the situation to understand the context. A movie that demands to be watched a few times, and one that I'll happily return to when it comes out on DVD.
- DirectorBilly O'BrienStarsMax RecordsChristopher LloydLaura FraserIn a small Midwestern town, a troubled teen with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer while keeping his own inner demons at bay.The best indie film of 2016. Low budget movies usually show through special effects, directing, and acting. But for a small scale movie, the actor was perfectly picked, uncertain and awkward but still confident at the same time. The directing got away with a bit of grain and used natural light properly (over exposed scenes are a pet peeve of mine) and the final scene used effects properly. A lesson in nuance.