Best and Worst Movies of 2016 (1 Viewer)

[jbutler]

I have so, so many movies I've missed this year, but I have no hope of putting time enough together in the next week to make any kind of dent in the list, so before I jump back into the work week tomorrow, here are my lists, which I wanted to post separately from my main movie thread since I'm sure most people don't care to wade through that unwieldy mess.

I don't really do a top ten list. I just separate my best of lists into those that I think are truly essential viewing from the year (best of) and a list of the very, very good (honorable mentions). Then a few more positive lists (best surprises/actor/etc.) and finally the worst of the year and biggest disappointments.

All lists are in order starting with the best of the respective category except for the worst lists. I just couldn't bring myself to think anymore about those movies.

BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
The Witch
Arrival
Manchester by the Sea
Green Room
Elle
Krisha
The Handmaiden
The Nice Guys
The Light Between Oceans
Fences
La La Land
Midnight Special

HONORABLE MENTION
Everybody Wants Some!!
Hell or High Water
10 Cloverfield Lane
Weiner
The Edge of Seventeen
Moonlight

Spoiler: Where to watch online

BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
The Witch (stream on Amazon Prime; rent on iTunes, Google Play, Vudu)
Arrival (unavailable/still in theaters)
Manchester by the Sea (unavailable/still in theaters)
Green Room (stream on Amazon Prime; rent on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu)
Elle (unavailable)
Krisha (stream on Amazon Prime)
The Handmaiden (unavailable/still in theaters)
The Nice Guys (rent on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu)
The Light Between Oceans (unavailable)
Fences (unavailable/still in theaters)
La La Land (unavailable/still in theaters)
Midnight Special (stream on HBO Go; rent on iTunes)

HONORABLE MENTION
Everybody Wants Some!! (stream on Epix; rent on iTunes, Google Play)
Hell or High Water (rent on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play)
10 Cloverfield Lane (stream on Epix; buy on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu)
Weiner (stream on Showtime; buy on iTunes, Google Play)
The Edge of Seventeen (unavailable/still in theaters)
Moonlight (unavailable/still in theaters)

BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Denzel Washington (Fences)
Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys)

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis (Fences)
Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
Alicia Vikander (The Light Between Oceans)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Tom Bennett (Love and Friendship)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
Namoie Harris (Moonlight)

BEST SCORE
Arrival
Krisha
The Witch
The Fits
Jackie

MOST UNDERRATED
The Light Between Oceans
Don't Breathe
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
The Edge of Seventeen

BEST SURPRISES
Criminal
Don't Breathe
Deepwater Horizon

WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
The Boss
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
The Do-Over
Yoga Hosers
Jack Reacher: Never Look Back
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Snowden
Sully
Suicide Squad
Equals

MOST DISAPPOINTING
Snowden
I Saw the Light
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru
Suicide Squad

Spoiler: Movies I missed, but wanted to see (39)

The Neon Demon
Creative Control
Maggie's Plan
Mountains May Depart
Cemetery of Splendour
Sunset Song
Embrace of the Serpent
American Honey
Toni Erdmann
Tale of Tales
The Clan
Hail, Caesar!
Our Kind of Traitor
Desierto
Denial
Certain Women
White Girl
Silence
The Founder
Gold
Things to Come
The Sea of Trees
Zero Days
DePalma
Paterson
Aquarius
Blue Jay
Julieta
Cameraperson
Knight of Cups
Little Sister
Christine
Personal Shopper
Things To Come
20th Century Women
I, Daniel Blake
Weiner-Dog
The Eyes of My Mother
The Meddler

Spoiler: Movies I watched (60)

The Nice Guys
X-Men: Apocalypse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Warcraft
The Shallows
Midnight Special
The Purge: Election Year
The Infiltrator
La La Land
Star Trek Beyond
Criminal
Weiner
Jason Bourne
Blood Father
The Lobster
Suicide Squad
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru
Tickled
Where to Invade Next
Yoga Hosers
Don't Breathe
Love and Friendship
High Rise
The Invitation
The Light Between Oceans
Hell or High Water
The Duel
Sully
Snowden
Blair Witch
Deepwater Horizon
The Girl on the Train
I Saw the Light
The Birth of a Nation
Morgan
The Accountant
Equals
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Miss Sloane
Inferno
Doctor Strange
Moonlight
Loving
The 13th
Nocturnal Animals
Elle
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
The Handmaiden
Arrival
The Edge of Seventeen
Krisha
Jackie
Incarnate
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Bleed for This
The Fits
Passengers
Manchester by the Sea
Fences

 

[acl1904]

I would add Rogue One to the most disappointed list. I think my expectations may have been set too high and the movie failed to deliver.

 

[Psypher1000]

I would add Rogue One to the most disappointed list. I think my expectations may have been set too high and the movie failed to deliver.

I think Rogue One was mildly disappointing (on average) to major Star Wars fans, and three-out-of-four stars good for casual/non-Star Wars fans.

 

[jbutler]

I would add Rogue One to the most disappointed list. I think my expectations may have been set too high and the movie failed to deliver.

I think Rogue One was mildly disappointing (on average) to major Star Wars fans, and three-out-of-four stars good for casual/non-Star Wars fans.

Agree with @Psypher1000. I was hardly the biggest fan of Rogue One, but it doesn't come close to those on the most disappointing list for me. The four I have listed (Snowden, I Saw the Light, Tony Robbins, Suicide Squad) all had huge potential and were bad to horrific. Rogue One had huge potential and was mediocre. If it's being judged against the expectations of huge fans of the franchise, perhaps that's a huge disappointment, but when judged as a film, I think it's well overboard to consider it one of the most disappointing watches of the year.

Also, I updated the OP with notes where the moves on the best of and honorable metion lists can be streamed online. Spoilered because it cluttered up the lists.

EDIT: And I had to move The Handmaiden up a couple of spots. Too good.

 

[detroitdad]

The Witch
Arrival
Manchester by the Sea
Green Room
Elle
Krisha
The Handmaiden
The Nice Guys
The Light Between Oceans
Fences
La La Land
Midnight Special

HONORABLE MENTION
Everybody Wants Some!!
Hell or High Water
10 Cloverfield Lane
Weiner
The Edge of Seventeen
Moonlight

The wife and I watched the "The Witch". I didn't like it at all. Neither of us did. RT's game it great reviews. You loved it, a couple of my friends really like it. For some reason it didn't connect with me. Maybe I'll try re-watching it again.

The only other movies I saw on your list was Green Room, The Nice Guys, and Midnight Special. I liked all of those. My favorite being "The Nice Guys'. I thought the acting and the way the story was told was fantastic.

I thought Hell or High Water was good, not great. Probably a solid "honorable mention" movie. 10 Cloverfield Lane was an excellent thriller .

BEST SURPRISES
Criminal
Don't Breathe--------we watched this one on a whim with low expectations. WOW. Whether this is your type of flick or not I think it should be given a chance.
Deepwater Horizon

WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
The Boss
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
The Do-Over
Jack Reacher: Never Look Back
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Snowden
Sully
Suicide Squad
Equals

On the worst movies list I only saw Suicide Squad. How is a superhero movie about villains just plain boring? A missed opportunity for DC.

@jbutler , thanks for the movie write ups and these top movie lists. It adds to my movie viewing experience .

B

 

[jbutler]

I would imagine lots of people would not like The Witch, but for different reasons: some won't care for the period-accurate dialogue; some will find the accents difficult to understand; some will be offended at some of the imagery; some will dislike the merging of tones (typical horror/suspense transitioning into magical realism). I tried to explain what I liked so much about it here (spoilers in that discussion).

I will say that of the movies in each list, the most accessible to a general audience will probably be: The Nice Guys; Everybody Wants Some!!; Hell or High Water; Weiner; and The Edge of Seventeen. Anyone who has a stomach for horror/suspense will like Green Room and 10 Cloverfield Lane and if you can watch a movie with subtitles The Handmaiden is very accessible and an exciting watch. Obviously I'm a big fan of Arrival, but from what I've seen it really hinges on people being on the same page as the director during the "reveal" scenes. If you can sync up with where he wants you to be, it is enormously rewarding.

If you're looking for a movie to watch before dinner and want something to spur discussion, there were some goods ones this year. Weiner is an easy win in this category, but Elle is just as provocative (if, as with The Handmaiden, you can do subtitles) and a discussion of Arrival will probably even make you want to rewatch the movie again to rediscover all the reveals from the beginning.

If you enjoy discussing character development and motivations, Manchester by the Sea, Krisha, The Light Between Oceans, Fences, and Moonlight are fantastic in that regard. Some very good conversations will come from trying to dissect what's going on with all the leads and some of the supporting cast from all of those.

 

[detroitdad]

Thanks

 

[Toby]

I would imagine lots of people would not like The Witch, but for different reasons: some won't care for the period-accurate dialogue; some will find the accents difficult to understand; some will be offended at some of the imagery; some will dislike the merging of tones (typical horror/suspense transitioning into magical realism). I tried to explain what I liked so much about it here (spoilers in that discussion).

I will say that of the movies in each list, the most accessible to a general audience will probably be: The Nice Guys; Everybody Wants Some!!; Hell or High Water; Weiner; and The Edge of Seventeen. Anyone who has a stomach for horror/suspense will like Green Room and 10 Cloverfield Lane and if you can watch a movie with subtitles The Handmaiden is very accessible and an exciting watch. Obviously I'm a big fan of Arrival, but from what I've seen it really hinges on people being on the same page as the director during the "reveal" scenes. If you can sync up with where he wants you to be, it is enormously rewarding.

If you're looking for a movie to watch before dinner and want something to spur discussion, there were some goods ones this year. Weiner is an easy win in this category, but Elle is just as provocative (if, as with The Handmaiden, you can do subtitles) and a discussion of Arrival will probably even make you want to rewatch the movie again to rediscover all the reveals from the beginning.

If you enjoy discussing character development and motivations, Manchester by the Sea, Krisha, The Light Between Oceans, Fences, and Moonlight are fantastic in that regard. Some very good conversations will come from trying to dissect what's going on with all the leads and some of the supporting cast from all of those.

We started off watching The Witch. Interrupted twice by children waking, we gave up. Not long after the mortar and pestle scene.

Amazingly, Keri still wants to watch the rest of the movie! Maybe it's because all our kids are girls...

Plan to watch it end to end before the end of the week.

 

[jbutler]

We started off watching The Witch. Interrupted twice by children waking, we gave up. Not long after the mortar and pestle scene.

Amazingly, Keri still wants to watch the rest of the movie! Maybe it's because all our kids are girls...

Plan to watch it end to end before the end of the week.

Mortar and pestle scene is such a great, bizarre, creepy moment.

 

[Psypher1000]

How is a superhero movie about villains just plain boring?

Partly because one actual villain - the Joker - was neutered in this particular plot and/or written to be generally incoherent in thought (even for a "damaged" madman); partly because one actual villain was poorly casted/performed; partly because there was little/no character development for the anti-heroes; and partly because there was a bit too much focus on Harley's ass.

(FWIW, a movie focusing purely on Harley's ass would have been more entertaining and less confused about what it was. In this case, however, it was one of the things impeding the movie's potential.)

I'm not a huge fan of what the DC Flarrowverse has become on TV, nor a particular DC fan in general, but the Arrow's television treatment of ARGUS and the Suicide Squad was far superior, IMO, as has been their takes on supervillains in general, save for Tim Burton/Jack Nickelson's Joker and Nolan/Neeson's Ra's Al Gul.

 

[jbutler]

A couple surprises (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Isabelle Huppert) among the Golden Globe winners last night.

BEST FILM (Drama): Moonlight
BEST FILM (Musical/comedy): La La Land
BEST FOREIGN FILM: Elle
BEST ACTOR (Drama): Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea)
BEST ACTOR (Musical/comedy): Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
BEST ACTRESS (Drama): Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
BEST ACTRESS (Musical/comedy): Emma Stone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis (Fences)
BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
BEST SCREENPLAY: La La Land
BEST SCORE: La La Land

Sadly, all the La La Land nominations were a lock from day one. Not that the movie wasn't very good - it was - but it's just unfortunate how predictable awards voters are. Give them a movie about movies and it gets graded on a giant curve.

But it's plenty fair that La La Land took best musical/comedy film and the acting awards (though I haven't seen 20th Century Women and Annette Benning is said to be phenomenal, so maybe I'll feel differently after seeing her). I don't at all agree that it should have gotten best score. Give it best song, sure, but the score, while exceptional, wasn't at the level of either Arrival or Moonlight (both also nominated). Getting best director is also fine since organizing that shoot had to have been a giant clusterfuck, so that it appeared so structured and seamless demonstrates Chazelle's significant talent. I probably would have given it to Lonergan for Manchester or Jenkins for Moonlight, but it's no huge injustice.

Moonlight also gets a boost, I think, because it's about a gay black guy and awards voters think that's some kind of a novelty. To be fair, it is a novelty to the extent that gay black culture isn't depicted music in movies, but I can't help suspect that their support is more because think they "should" support it than because they actually love it. Of course it's also true that the movie is very good, so while it wouldn't be my pick - even among their limited nominations - it's a worthy choice.

I don't know why Viola Davis is considered supporting cast in Fences. She's a co-lead with Denzel imo. But maybe the Globes work like the Oscars and the studios submit certain films/actors in certain categories and her placement was strategic. In any case, I certainly agree she should have won her category as she was fantastic. And it works out well because Isabelle Huppert gets to take the award for best actress (drama) in Elle which is beyond deserved.

I have less a problem with Aaron Taylor-Johnson than you might suspect given how much I didn't care for Nocturnal Animals. He was one of the bright spots in the movie, but imo the brighter spot among the supporting cast was Michael Shannon who didn't even get a nomination here. I still think Mahershala Ali in Moonlight killed both of them and everyone else. Hopefully he takes the Oscar.

Not sure why I follow these things honestly. I can't stomach actually watching the awards shows, but who gets recognized does have an impact on what producers pick up in the next year, so I suppose some level of interest can be justified.

 

[mummel]

If you start a worst movies of all time thread, Im throwing in 'The Counselor". Watched it last night. Goes into the WTF did I just do with the last hour of my life category......

 

[jbutler]

If you start a worst movies of all time thread, Im throwing in 'The Counselor". Watched it last night. Goes into the WTF did I just do with the last hour of my life category......

Didn't come out in 2016, but fair game for the main PCF at the movies thread here.

FWIW The Counselor improves significantly on rewatches. I wasn't a huge fan on first watch either, but when Cormac McCarthy and Ridley Scott team up, it's worth giving it another go or two.

 

[jbutler]

If I'd seen them in time, The Meddler would have made the best list and Silence would have made honorable mentions. And Susan Sarandon and Andrew Garfield both would have been in the best performance categories as well as JK Simmons (Meddler) and Adam Driver (Silence) for supporting cast.

No excuse for The Meddler, but Silence didn't come out until after Jan 1 here, so I had no real chance.