WAMG’s Best Films Of 2016

2016 shaped up to be another fantastic year for moviegoers. As in past decades, every genre appealed to both fans and Academy voters right up to the biggie of all award shows, the Oscars. Below is a sampling of what AMPAS voters went for in the past fifty years.

1966’s A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS won Best Picture
1976’s ROCKY won Best Picture
1986’s PLATOON won Best Picture
1996’s THE ENGLISH PATIENT won Best Picture
2006’s THE DEPARTED won Best Picture

This year three hundred thirty-six feature films are eligible for the 2016 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced recently.

To be eligible for 89th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Global ticket sales also proved to be impressive at the box office. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY crossed the $500 million mark globally after just 12 days in theaters. 2017’s lineup of upcoming releases is looking to be the year of the blockbuster. We just love to go to the movies!

The films on the Geeks list of the Best of 2016 had us laughing, had us crying, had us horrified, had us cheering and had us on silvery journey to La La Land.

Honorable Mentions:

LOVING

A warm, touching intimate portrait of the couple at the the center of the Supreme Court case that struck down laws against interracial marriage, director Jeff Nichols’ moving film is more a romance than a courtroom drama. A very private couple, Richard and Mildred Loving only want to be allowed to live a simple life and raise their children in the rural country where they grew up, but must engage in a persistent, dignified battle to do so. Ruth Negga is particularly striking as shy, sweet Mildred Loving, in a breakout performance.

ARRIVAL

Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, ARRIVAL is a beautiful story about death and nature, and the mystery of life. Director Denis Villeneuve utilizes cinematographer Bradford Young’s photography to embrace with sensitivity and delicacy the relationship between a mother and her child in one of the most unique sci-fi adventures to come along in quite a while. Together the two filmmakers bring a lot of humanity and beauty to the movie.

10. HIGH-RISE

What if the party never ends? What if the apocalypse was happening around us and we were completely ambivalent to it because we were more focused on popping another bottle of champagne and not letting the music stop? More importantly, what if the guests actually want to drive themselves to the point of no return? HIGH-RISE is a masterful satire of society’s instinctual lust for depravity. Made with Kubrick-like precision, HIGH-RISE is an uncompromising look at an apocalyptic dystopia where the “party” is both a status symbol and an escape from the fire looming right outside our door.

9. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

Director Gareth Edwards energizes the long standing franchise with its first live-action spin-off based on just a line of dialogue from the 1977 original. Although the ending is known, this rollicking adventure packs plenty of surprises and humor (thanks to the snarkiest droid ever, the scene-stealing K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk), while giving us heroes who must make morally questionable choices for the greater good. There’s noble self-sacrifice tempered with a final scene that’s been made achingly poignant by recent events. Plus, fans finally get a no-holds-barred “sith lord” rampage!

8. THE WITCH

THE WITCH was the best horror film in a decade. Drawing on “The Crucible” to investigate religious hysteria in the 17th century, writer/director Robert Eggers (making his feature-length debut) delivered an atmospheric film that conjured a sustained feeling of dread, as is presented the unraveling of innocence as paranoia and the possible presence of the supernatural conspire to destroy a vulnerable family.

7. ELLE

Isabelle Huppert is riveting as a woman plotting a complex revenge on her attacker, in director Paul Verhoeven’s twisty revenge thriller,. ELLE is a film that upends all expectations and Huppert’s character is far from a conventional victim, a woman who seems to go about her regular life as the head of a company designing violent fantasy computer games while planning her revenge. Both unsettling and electrifying, ELLE is filled with a wicked dark humor and relentless, clever surprises.

6. HELL OR HIGH WATER

In this gritty modern-day Western, two brothers played by Chris Pine (proving he’s much more than a starship captain) and Ben Foster (superb as a violent loose-cannon) hit back at the greedy bankers by embarking on a multi-state robbery spree. Their story is heart-breaking and compelling, but director David Mackenzie gives equal time to their dogged pursuers played by a laid-back, drawling Jeff Bridges, a Texas Ranger overdue to retire, and Gil Birmingham, a mixed-raced lawman who bares the brunt of his partner’s un-PC ribbing. Writer Taylor Sheridan delivers a taut crime thriller that’s also a biting commentary on the economic demolition of small town USA.

5. JACKIE

The film unites award-winning director Pablo Larraín (NERUDA, NO) with Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman as they re-imagine the private side of one of the most profound moments of the 20th Century. Larraín gives a boldly unconventional spin to the biopic genre, mixing historical footage with complete fictional re-creations, and excavating just one critical moment in Jackie’s life, but in all its intricately woven layers. The centerpiece is Natalie Portman’s haunting, emotionally naked performance which gives the audience unusual access into Jackie Kennedy’s inner psyche in some of her most volatile, fragile, reflective and savvy moments. It is a performance filled with tiny, honest human details that underlie even the most imposing and carefully composed of public images.

4. HACKSAW RIDGE

HACKSAW RIDGE was both the most gruesome and inspiring movie of 2016. Combining a stellar and charming performances from Andrew Garfield, and Oscar-worthy direction from Mel Gibson, HACKSAW RIDGE showed WWII as a glorious character builder, a nurturing ground for male friendship, and an expression of man’s nobility and grit.

3. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Casey Affleck gives a remarkable, moving performance as a man who reluctantly returns to his New England seaside hometown after the sudden death of his older brother, a tragedy that leaves him in change of his teen-aged nephew. Director Kenneth Lonergan avoids expected movie conventions about grief and instead offers a realistic portrait of coping with loss, sprinkling their relationship with unexpected humor as real life often is, and completely believable “guy” interactions between them. The film also captures a strikingly sense of place, as well as painting a portrait of this New England working family. Every moment between the pair feels real and authentic, which makes the dramatic moments all the more powerful.

2. LA LA LAND

What makes LA LA LAND such an astonishing cinematic treat isn’t just the instantly palpable chemistry between Gosling and Stone, but it’s the pitch-perfect combination of casting, ambitious direction, and sumptuous design that harmoniously sing together. The film is about chasing your dreams despite what hardships may get in the way. Regardless of what happens, there’s a sense of happiness for what occurred and not sadness for what might end – as the “Audition” song states, “she said she’d do it again.” LA LA LAND is a romantic musical more in love with the journey than the destination. And what a magical journey it is.

1. MOONLIGHT

Director Barry Jenkins is not afraid to show an experience that is rarely seen in film, and in doing so, spotlighting the skin of his beautifully flawed characters. There are gorgeous shots of vivid colors being cast on their black skin, reflecting their situation and the internal conflict within each of them. This moving portrait of a man struggling with his identity subverts the “coming of age” tropes we have seen before, and presents a story in three parts that feels downright momentous. MOONLIGHT might be the quietest film of the year, but each frame is bursting with life and emotion in ways that few films have achieved this year.

Check out our contributors individual picks for the year that was 2016.

Jim Batts

Honorable Mentions: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, MOONLIGHT, and TOWER

10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. LOVING
8. HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
7. DEPALMA
6. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
5. THE WITCH
4. SING STREET
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
1. LA LA LAND

Tom Stockman

Honorable Mention: BIRTH OF A NATION

10. NEON DEMON
9. JACKIE
8. ELLE
7. THE LOBSTER
6. SHIN GODZILLA
5. HELL OR HIGH WATER
4. WEINER DOG
3. THE WITCH
2. CAFÉ SOCIETY
1. HACKSAW RIDGE

Cate Marquis

Honorable mentions: La La Land, The Handmaiden, Elvis and Nixon, A War, Weiner, Paterson, Captain Fantastic, Loving, Sully, A Monster Calls, A Man Called Ove, DePalma

10. JACKIE
9. BIRTH OF A NATION
8. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
7. HAIL, CAESAR!
6. JULIETA
5. LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP
4. ELLE
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
2. MOONLIGHT
1. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Michael Haffner

Honorable Mentions: 20th Century Women and Life, Animated

10. ARRIVAL
9. EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
8. GREEN ROOM
7. THE INVITATION
6. JACKIE
5. LA LA LAND
4. ELLE
3. MOONLIGHT
2. SWISS ARMY MAN
1. HIGH-RISE

Michelle McCue

Honorable Mention: NICE GUYS, NEON DEMON, LOVING and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

10. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
9. JACKIE
8. HIGH-RISE
7. THE WITCH
6. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
5. MOONLIGHT
4. LA LA LAND
3. HACKSAW RIDGE
2. HELL OR HIGH WATER
1. ARRIVAL