The Best of 2016

My Top Twenty Favorite Movies of 2016

The Top Five


1.  Arrival
Director: Denis Villeneuve

 Evocative of early Christopher Nolan work where editing style and structure reflect the film’s themes, Dennis Villeneuve’s Arrival is an intelligent, brilliantly constructed, and emotional genre piece which easily earns a slot among the greatest Science Fiction films of all time. Mesmerizing cinematography by Bradford Young, a tight script by Villeneuve and Eric Heisserer (adapted from the short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang), and top notch performances by Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Amy Adams (the Academy committed a felony by not nominating her for a Best Actress Oscar), tell the story about mysterious aliens arriving on Earth and the struggles faced by the world’s scientists in an effort to decipher their language. A story about how learning a new language teaches you more about a culture than just their words, the importance of peace and cooperation over war, and why trying to understand those foreign to us must always be our first reaction instead of fear.

2. La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle

An absolute sucker punch and emotional roller coaster, so few musicals have ever spoken with an audience on such a human level as Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. The film is hailed by critics a magical throwback to the musicals of yesteryear but the cast, writing, and direction find so much more heart to raise it higher than just a fun nostalgia trip (unlike 2011’s Best Picture Winner The Artist). Chazelle, Emma Stone, and Ryan Gosling take a familiar story of struggling artists to whom success means everything and infuses it with real drama, creating something we have never seen before. Truly beautiful music, choreography, and cinematography (including an opening dance member consisting of one long tracking shot filmed ENTIRELY ON AN L.A. FREEWAY), La La Land will make your eyes light up and your feet dance, but man that ending will hit you harder than all of the Oscars this film is about to win.

3. Hail, Caesar!
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

It’s safe to say that no one working today understands the mechanics of Hollywood better than the Coens, the ones who have made a career of creating work both for and outside of the system of Tinsel Town. In Hail, Caesar! the brothers have created a genuine piece of satire on the Golden Age of Film Studios, where actors and actresses were no more than assembly line workers churning out products to be sold. But there is no mean spirited cynicism in the film. Rather, the Coens personify their love for the movies in the character of Josh Brolin’s Eddie Mannix, crafting the message that being an artist for a living is no less honorable (and no less important) than working within a practical trade. With long time collaborator Roger Deakins (whose cinematography here still proves he’s the best in the business) and a loaded chamber of former Coen alumni and newcomers such as George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson (and introducing future star Alden Ehrenreich, who drives the funniest scene of 2016), Joel and Ethan Coen remind us time and time again that they are the true heart of modern cinema.

4. Nocturnal Animals
Director: Tom Ford

While most of 2016 belonged to Marvel and DC, November and December belonged to Amy Adams. She is the star of Tom Ford’s complex psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals and gives her second Oscar worthy performance of the year. In fact, writer and director Ford leaves so much off of the page that he has to entirely rely on Adams to tell his emotionally wounding story, which she does with grace, subtly, and pain. Kubrickion in its style and completely unconventional in its structure, half of the movie is a fictional novel (written by the protagonist’s ex-husband, played by an equally compelling Jake Gyllenhal) read through the lens of Adams. Michael Shannon has received the only acting nod from the Oscars this year, playing the novel-in-a-film’s fictional detective who embodies the metaphorical anger and frustration of his creator, and I will always appreciate the Academy for recognizing how brilliant of an actor Shannon is in almost any role. But the supporting nomination should have gone to Gyllenhaal, for playing up the strength (and bitterness) in a character branded as weak and for also essentially giving two different performances (and in a way, they’re the same performance). But ultimately, the film belongs to Adams and Ford (who should have at least received an Adapted Screenplay nomination). Nocturnal Animals is about how society and people define weakness versus strength, but also about how art and creativity can be used to heal oneself…and hurt the ones who’ve hurt us.

5. Silence
Director: Martin Scorsese

Easily the most important religious movie ever made, and one that every Christian needs to see, Martin Scorsese’s decade-long passion project affected me in a way that I never believed a movie about faith ever could. Adapted from the novel by Shusaku Endo, Silence is a period piece where Scorsese and his production design team completely immerse the audience into Seventeenth century Japan. Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, Ciaran Hinds, and Tadanobu Asano are just a handful of this film’s multitude of talented supporting cast members. Andrew Garfield is perfect in the lead role of Father Rodrigues, his youth being ideal in representing a naive mind engrossed with the institution of Christianity until he finally sees what the world looks like outside of the Church. But Issei Ogata steals the show as Inquisitor Inoue, whose one goal is to convince Rodriques to break his faith and assimilate himself into Japanese culture. The decision Rodrigues ultimately makes is painful, but one that is the difference between what makes someone a Christian in name and what makes them a Christian at heart. 

Runners Up


6. Hell or High Water
Director: David Mackenzie

7. The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos 

8. The Neon Demon
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

9. Everybody Wants Some!!
Director: Richard Linklater

10. Midnight Special
Director: Jeff Nichols

Honorable Mentions 



11. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 
Director: Gareth Edwards 

                         




















12. Manchester By The Sea 
Director: Kenneth Lonergan

     




















13. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
Director: Taika Waititi

     




















14. Jackie
Director: Pablo Larrain

       




















15. The Nice Guys
Director: Shane Black

   




















16. Fences
Director: Denzel Washington

        




















17. Kubo And The Two Strings
Director: Travis Knight

 




















18. Sing Street
Director: John Carney

 




















19. Moonlight
Director: Barry Jenkins

20. Right Now, Wrong Then
Director: Sang-soo Hong

         





















Best Director

Denis Villeneuve for Arrival    

      
Runners Up

Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Joel and Ethan Coen for Hail, Caesar!
Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals
Martin Scorsese for Silence




Best Actress

Amy Adams for Arrival

Runners Up

Emma Stone for La La Land
Natalie Portman for Jackie
Viola Davis for Fences
Elle Fanning for The Neon Demon




Best Actor

Ryan Gosling for La La Land

Runners Up

Andrew Garfield for Silence
Josh Brolin for Hail, Caesar!
Michael Shannon for Midnight Special
Chris Pine for Hell or High Water




Best Supporting Actress

Rachel House for Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Runners Up

Lucy Boynton for Sing Street
Kate McKinnon for Ghostbusters
Rachel Weisz for The Lobster
Jena Malone for The Neon Demon




Best Supporting Actor

Issei Ogata for Silence

Runners Up

Alden Ehrenreich for Hail, Caesar!

Glen Powell for Everybody Wants Some!!

Mahershala Ali for Moonlight

Donnie Yen for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story