OSCAR 2017 - Pre-Show Thoughts & Predictions & Rants

OSCARS 2017 Thoughts and Predictions:

2016 was somewhat of a mixed-bag year for movies (especially for movies in the prestige, Oscar-bait category), which makes this year's Oscars feel slightly underwhelming on paper. The good news? The Oscars finally got diverse this year: movies about minorities are finally being recognized - with fantastic films like Fences, Moonlight, and Hidden Figures getting major Oscar love. In this post-Trump era, in which our government is comprised of white-nationalist, alt-right racists - the diversity represented in film's most prestigious awards ceremony is encouraging and much-needed. That said, the less encouraging thing is that the Oscars still feel too much like a political campaign rather than a pure reflection on what was good and what was great in the past year. Once again, outstanding films that were too genre, too indie, or too under-campaigned-for by big studios were shut out. It's a shame, because I genuinely loved this year's shoe-in favorite, La La Land. But I also get the weariness people feel when it seems like one movie is predestined to win it all. Also - so ... Hollywood has already forgiven Mel Gibson? Come on. This guy spewed the most vile hate-speech this side of a KKK rally, and has done little to make the case for a full exoneration. No major studio should be working with him. Hacksaw Ridge's nomination for Best Picture, in my mind, sours this year's Oscars. Meanwhile, any film fan worth his or her salt knows that some of 2016's best films included the likes of The Witch, Green Room, 20th Century Women, The Handmaiden, Hail Caesar!, Sing Street, and Hello, My Name Is Doris. But ... and this is not all that unexpected, given the Oscars' track record ... those films were snubbed.

Speaking of movies that got ignored ... here are my Top 10 OSCAR SNUBS for this year:

1.) The Witch - Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Anna Taylor Joy), Best Director (Robert Eggers)

- Horror movies have occasionally been nominated for Oscars, but it's still rare. That said, if any recent horror movie felt genuinely "Oscar-y," it was THE WITCH. It was not just a great, bone-chilling horror film - but a meticulously-assembled period drama and a hyper-relevant allegory about paranoia and division. In an age of modern-day witch-hunts, it's a shame that The Witch isn't getting wider recognition (it did, however, win two Independent Spirit awards). Also - Anna Taylor-Joy in this delivers a breakthrough performance ... as much as Hailee Steinfeld did in True Grit or Jennifer Lawrence did in Winter's Bone. She should have been nominated.

2.) Annette Benning - Best Lead Actress for 20th Century Women.

- Annette Benning kills in 20th Century Women, in an absolutely tour de force performance. Did the Oscars really give Meryl Streep a nomination for Florence Foster Jenkins over this? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the timing of the film's release - but again, this is where the Oscars are fundamentally broken. Let critics and journalists vote on the nominees, not Academy members who only see the movies that have been fed to them by studios long before ballots are due.

3.) Captain Fantastic - Best Picture

- It was nice to see Viggo get a Best Actor nom for this one. But, really, why not a Best Picture nom as well? Captain Fantastic was one of 2016's most affecting, memorable films. It should have been in the mix.

4.) Best Director - Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals

- Here is why I feel strongly about this: no film sequence in 2016 had me more on the edge of my seat than Nocturnal Animals' harrowing roadside abduction sequence. I could barely breathe. That's some masterful directing by Ford, and it should have been recognized.

5.) Green Room - Best Picture, Best Director (Jeremy Saulnier)

- Classic example of a grindhouse-y genre film that should have been nominated but wasn't, because it was directed by someone other than Tarantino. Well guys, it's time to start talking about Saulnier as a new-era Tarantino. Sure, this is only his second film - but La La Land is Chazelle's second film, so ... In any case, the fact is that Green Room is a master-class in tension-packed filmmaking. It's a white-knuckle thriller that kicks all kinds of ass.

6.) Hail, Caesar! - Best Picture, Best Director (The Coen Bros.), Best Original Screenplay

- The Oscars' biggest bias? Comedy. The Coen Bros make The Big Lebowski, and it gets zero Oscar love. They make No Country For Old Men, and it gets Oscar noms left and right. Both are masterpieces, but for whatever reason Oscar never awards comedy - even when it comes from two masters like the Coens. Hail, Caesar is a great film, a deeply layered film, and another example of how The Coens are cinematic geniuses.

7.) Hello, My Name Is Doris - Best Picture, Best Leading Actress (Sally Field)

- Speaking of comedy ... this film features perhaps the greatest Sally Field performance of her storied career, and no recognition? It's funny, moving, unique - brilliantly scripted by the great Michael Showalter. So where is the love, Oscar? Can no one other than Woody Allen or Wes Anderson get nominated for quirky comedy?

8.) Sing Street - Best Picture, Best Original Song

- Okay, WTF Oscars. Sing Street was one of 2016's most delightful, uplifting, original movies - an infectious 80's-rock inspired musical that had me downloading its original tunes and playing on repeat. AND IT WASN'T EVEN NOMINATED FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG?! I mean, what?! Did Oscar voters even *hear* the insanely awesome "Riddle of the Model" --?! This one is up there with La La Land for 2016's best musical, yet it got no love. Shame, Oscars - shame!

9.) The Handmaiden - Best Picture, Best Director (Chan-Wook Park) Best Foreign Language Film

- It's weird enough that Elle was nominated for Best Leading Actress but not Best Foreign Language Film. But the real travesty is that The Handmaiden - maybe the best film yet from legendary director Chan-Wook Park - got zero Oscar love. I mean, it's just baffling. The film is gorgeously shot, incredibly acted, and absolutely unforgettable. It's funny too how Hollywood seems eager to remake Park's films (the Spike Lee version of Oldboy, anyone?), but can't seem to nominate them for Oscars.

10.) Edge of Seventeen - Best Picture, Best Leading Actress (Hailee Steinfeld)

- Teen movies are another genre that rarely get noticed, but when they're this good - why not?! Edge of Seventeen is probably the best coming-of-age teen movie since Juno (which did get a Best Picture nom in 2007), but was pretty much ignored by the Academy. Steinfeld is fantastic in this, and the film is funny, smart, sad, and all-around great. Should've been nominated.


2017 OSCAR PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:

BEST PICTURE:

Should Win: Hell or High Water

- It won't win. But Hell or High Water was my pick for Best Film of 2016. It had it all - an amazing script, a great cast, harrowing action, social/political relevance ... I loved this movie. I was glad to see it get a Best Picture nomination, but my guess is it feels too "genre-y" for most Oscar voters.

Will Win: Moonlight

- My sense is it's a two-horse race between Moonlight and La La Land. But I'm going to bet on the slight underdog here. Oscar voters, I think, will ultimately recognize just how unique of a film Moonlight is - a meditative drama about a gay black man trying to rise up out of a broken home and make something of himself? I mean, how often do you see that in an Oscar nominee? I finally watched Moonlight this week, and it truly is the real deal - an amazingly shot, superbly acted movie that shows us the power of films to create empathy and a sense of commonality. I think it will win. And if it does, it will be deserving.

BEST ACTOR:

Should Win: Tie: Denzel Washington (Fences) / Viggo Mortenson (Captain Fantastic)

- Both of the above performances were powerhouses, so it's hard to pick a favorite. Denzel was a force of nature in Fences - it's a theatrical, memorable, earth-shaking turn from the legendary actor. Viggo, meanwhile, was quietly incredible in Captain Fantastic. Such a multilayered, complex role - you both love and hate his hippie character. Not many other actors could have pulled it off.

Will Win: Denzel Washington (Fences)

- Casey Affleck was probably the favorite originally (and he is pretty great in Manchester By the Sea), but it feels like, for various reasons, the tide has turned to favor Denzel. But after seeing Fences, I can't really argue. See above for why.

BEST ACTRESS:

Should Win: Natalie Portman (Jackie)

- I'm not sure why, but Jackie seems to be flying under the radar. It's an incredible film, and it's up there with Black Swan as the best-ever Natalie Portman performance. I've heard people call it a horror film, and it's not a far-off-the-mark assessment. Portman brilliantly plays Jackie Kennedy as a person torn between a need to uphold a specific public persona and a person who knows that that persona is mere facade. This was, perhaps, the single best performance in a film in 2016. And by the way, I say that also having loved Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Ruth Negga in Loving, and Emma Stone in La La Land.


Will Win: Emma Stone (La La Land)

- I think this is where the La La Land hype will be too strong to stop. I actually think that Emma Stone is awesome in La La Land - how many other young actresses could have pulled off what she did? I also think that, in general, Emma Stone is the real deal, acting-wise. Anyways, though Portman should win, and if not Portman, Huppert, I am guessing Stone will edge them out since she may be viewed as having "carried" La La Land. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Should Win: Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

- Like any film/TV nerd, I'm a huge fan of Michael Shannon. The guy can do no wrong, and he always brings an unparalleled intensity to any part he plays. Actually, it's weird, because he was so great in Midnight Special in early 2016, yet there's another movie that got totally ignored by the Oscars. Anyways, Shannon is one of those guys who should probably *always* be nominated, yet never is. So it's awesome to see him get some recognition for his ultra-badass turn in Nocturnal Animals as a broken-down lawman with nothing left to lose. I mean, he flat-out owns in the movie, and while Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also good, it was baffling that Johnson (and not Shannon) got a Golden Globes nom. The right man was picked here.

Will Win: Dev Patel (Lion)

- This is a tough one to predict. Part of me thinks Mahershala Ali could get it, as the guy has been on an incredible roll lately. But having watched Moonlight, his part just didn't feel substantial enough for an Oscar. And ... I still have not seen Lion. But my sense is that Dev Patel - so great in movies like Slumdog Millionaire - really knocked it out of the park. So he's my pick, but it's a toss-up.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Should and Will Win: Viola Davis (Fences)

- Easiest pick of the night. Viola Davis was fantastic in Fences, and had a couple of scenes that were absolutely chill-inducing. While I liked some of the other performances in the category, Davis here is in a class of her own. Meanwhile, she's a super well-respected and loved veteran who has earned the admiration of her peers. She'll win it.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Should and Will Win: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

- Chazelle deserves this one. The guy has made two features (Whiplash and La La Land), and both are incredible works of cinema. The guy can direct like nobody's business - and, already, he's a master of combining images and sound to create mesmerizing, kinetic, hypnotic worlds that exist in some sort of hyper-real dreamscape. To me, what separates La La Land from your run of the mill movie musical is its surreal, breathtaking direction. You've got to appreciate it. Chazelle should and will win this one. And I can't wait to see what he does next.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Should Win: Hell or High Water

- Loved this screenplay. Reminded me of old-school, dialogue-driven movies like Five Easy Pieces. I mean, how about that scene where Jeff Bridges and his partner pull in to some ramshackle southern-fried restaurant and try to order from their cantankerous waitress? Gold.



Will Win: Manchester By the Sea


- My preference is Hell or High Water, but I'll also acknowledge that Manchester had a hell of a screenplay, and that Kenneth Lonergan is a hell of a writer. He makes Manchester sad-as-hell but also gives it moments of raw hilarity. He gives it literary depth but also a stunning realness. He's the kind of autuer writer-director that Hollywood is lucky to have, and so I believe they will reward him for his singular vision here.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Should Win and Will Win: Fences

- Maybe Moonlight will take it, but I've got to think that Fences - adapted from a play and dependent in full on its pairing of powerful words and performances - will win here. Fences' dialogue is rich and colorful, full of memorable anecdotes, rants, arguments, and soliloquies.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Should Win: Moana

- Moana was the best traditional Disney animated musical in years - to me, it was up there with the all-time classics. Gorgeously animated, it had memorable songs, an empowering message, and incredible visuals. It was my pick for the Best Animated Film of 2016.

Will Win: Zootopia

- So of course, Moana will not win. Instead, Oscar voters will likely reward the even-more-woke Zootopia, which had an ambitious premise that strove to be an allegory for racial prejudice. But to me, Zootopia overreached and never fully nailed the central metaphor. It was a strange tonal and stylistic jumble. Moana, elegant in its simplicity, was the superior film.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

Should Win: TIE: Doctor Strange or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

- Doctor Strange wowed me with its trippy, Steve Ditko-esque visuals. Rogue One wowed me by having the most life-like CGI'd human character to date, bringing Peter Cushing back from the dead so that Tarkin could torment the galaxy once again.

Will Win: The Jungle Book

- But, given some of the moral questions that including CGI-recreated dead actors in a film inevitably raises, my guess is that Oscar voters will opt instead for the easier-to-praise talking animals of The Jungle Book, which was also one of 2016's biggest box office successes.

BEST FILM EDITING:

- Should and Will Win: La La Land

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

- Should and Will Win: La La Land

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

- Should Win: Hail, Caesar!
- Will Win: La La Land

BEST ANIMATED FILM SHORT:

- Should and Will Win: Piper

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

- Should and Will Win: 13th

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

- Should Win: ?
- Will Win: Watani: My Homeland

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:

- Should Win: ?
- Will Win: Silent Nights

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

- Should and Will Win: Tony Erdmann

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

- Should Win: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
- Will Win: La La Land

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:

- Should and Will Win: Star Trek Beyond

BEST SOUND MIXING:

- Should Win: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Will Win: La La Land

BEST SOUND EDITING:

- Should and Will Win: Arrival

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

- Should Win: Jackie
- Will Win: La La Land

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

Should Win: How Far I'll Go (Moana)
Will Win: Audition (The Fools Who Dream) (La La Land)

So, there you have it. I'm always hesitant to do the whole "Should Win / Will Win" thing, because I'd rather just root for my favorites, and not speculate too much on how things will play out based on politicking, etc. My guess though is that La La Land, Moonlight, and Fences will dominate most of the major awards - though who knows, there is always the chance for a curveball or two. As always though - remember that the Oscars are not the end-all, be-all of films. They are fun to watch, and fun to speculate on - but ultimately you can't buy too much into the backlash for the winners, and you also have got to look elsewhere to find a lot of the best films from a given year.

THE BEST OF 2016 - The Best MOVIES Of The Year

THE YEAR IN MOVIES - 2016

- We all know it: 2016 was not a good year. We lost icons like David Bowie and Carrie Fischer. We had a stressful, maddening, endurance-test of a presidential election that produced nightmarish results. 2016 was a rough ride. But hey, at least we had great movies. 

No question - 2016 produced a metric ton of great films. It didn't seem that way at first - there were a couple of early-in-the-year standouts, like The Witch, Green Room, Hail Ceasar!, and Hello, My Name Is Doris - but the Summer movie season mostly fizzled. Blockbuster season got off to a shaky start with the uneven, ill-conceived Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and with only a few exceptions (Finding Dory, Star Trek: Beyond, Captain America: Civil War), most of the other most-hyped movies of 2016 fizzled. Ghostbusters? Well-intentioned but flawed. Suicide Squad? Margot Robbie and Will Smith tried their best to save it, but the movie was a mess. Warcraft? Amazing visuals, flat storytelling. X-Men: Apocalypse? Not quite apocalyptic, but not exactly a franchise-saver. The Jungle Book? A box-office success story, but a tonal nightmare that failed to live up to the potential of its visuals. Suffice it to say, the Summer of 2016 had nothing that could match the awesomeness of the previous year's Mad Max: Fury Road.

But in the Fall, a steady stream of good and great movies released regularly. The later-in-the-year blockbusters hit the mark where many of those in the Summer did not - I really enjoyed, among others: The Magnificent Seven, Dr. Strange, Fantastic Beasts, Rogue One, Moana, and Passengers. And then came the usual tidal wave of Oscar hopefuls, and this year brought some great ones: Nocturnal Animals, Jackie, The Handmaiden, and La La Land - to name a few. 

This was a year in which we got notable new films from masters like Scorsese, Spielberg, The Coen Brothers, Linklater, Black, and Chan-Wook Park. But this was also a year in which new efforts from up-and-comers like Chazelle, Eggers, Carney, Ford, Villeneuve, Saulnier, Nichols, and more shone a spotlight on names that now have to be in the conversation when it comes to best directors working today. 

This was also a year where a variety of movies seemed to grapple with the big questions of our time - with the fears and anxieties of a country and world headed towards uncertain and, in many ways, scary times. Hell or High Water portrayed a new American South descending into desperation, decay, and lawlessness. The Witch looked to the earliest days of America to create a parable for modern times - about paranoia, divisiveness, and the seductive power of evil. The Handmaiden told a story of women fighting against an oppressive patriarchy, and Green Room pitted punk-rock against neo-Nazism in a literal battle to the death. Sing Street was a rousing reminder about the ways in which we can stand up for ourselves and resist bullies. Everybody Wants Some was a meditation on how to become a man without becoming an asshole. Arrival spoke of the need to understand and empathize rather than destroy. Even Captain America: Civil War was a red vs. blue superhero saga about staying true to one's moral compass rather than being a tool of someone else's agenda. 

As I sat down to write this list, I realized that I had seen a huge amount of fantastic films this year. So many that ranking them really became a challenge. And of course, the usual disclaimer that I've seen a lot, but not everything. Some notable 2016 movies that I still haven't seen include: Fences, Moonlight, Elle, Lion, 20th Century Women, Hidden Figures, Patterson, and American Honey. 

The one thing that kind of bummed me out was that I was only able to review a small handful of the movies I saw in 2016. Starting in the Spring, work got so busy and my hours got so crazy that I just wasn't able to churn out the volume of reviews I had in years past. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd continue with this blog. But I will also say that, sitting down to write these Best-Of posts - the first real posts I've done in months - well, it's felt good to be writing on here again. Hopefully in the year ahead I can figure out a compromise where I can still provide regular reviews and updates without straining myself too much. I've got a few ideas ...

But for now, let's get to it. Here are the best movies I saw in 2016.

DANNY'S BEST MOVIES OF 2016:

1.) Hell or High Water

- The biggest existential question of the year was likely this: how was it possible that America - the greatest country in the world - could become a place that would vote a man like Donald J. Trump into office? Hell or High Water, though not an overtly political movie, feels like the movie that most represented the central crisis of our time: America, decaying and desperate, crawling lost soul by lost soul towards apocalyptic end-times. Hell or High Water tells the story of desperate men in a decaying Texas, trading morality for money. But they come up against Jeff Bridges' last-real-lawman, who soon learns that this is no country for old men. Bridges is at his best here, and Chris Pine and Ben Foster do a hell of a job as the two outlaws he's up against. It's a classic Western for modern times, an apt parable for an uncertain, lawless age.

2.) The Witch

- The Witch stunned me. If it hadn't been a horror movie, it still would have been a gripping look at the power of fear and paranoia to divide and conquer us. It it hadn't been a horror movie, it still would have been a fascinating look at an age long past - a painstaking recreation of early America, a look at what life was like for those first settlers. But The Witch is all that - and one of the scariest, most evil horror movies ever made. A true look into the heart of darkness, The Witch feels like something that you maybe shouldn't be watching. And therein lies its power. Anya Taylor-Joy is a breakout as a girl who feels the pull of the dark side, and writer/director Robert Eggers is undoubtedly one to watch.

3.) The Handmaiden

- We should be talking about Chan-Wook Park - director of Oldboy, Stoker, and now of The Handmaiden - in the same breath as other modern greats like Tarantino and The Coen Brothers. He's that damn good - a master of pure cinema - and his latest is another masterpiece. The Handmaiden casts a spell from moment one, and thought it is a 2 1/2 hour film, it leaves you wanting more. It's got twists and turns a-plenty - turning its entire story on its head halfway through the movie, making you question everything you thought you knew about its characters. What seems like a simple story of a lowly handmaiden sent to serve a wealthy noblewoman in 1930's Korea is anything but. What this movie really is is an epic story of lust, love, perversion, awakening, enslavement, female empowerment, and (since this is a Chan Wook-Park film ...) revenge. Anchored by two phenomenal lead performances from Min-hee Kim and Tae-ri Kim, The Handmaiden is yet another unforgettable classic from Wook-Park.

4.) La La Land

- Director Damien Chazelle quickly became one to watch after the seminal Whiplash. Now, he's done it again with La La Land - another music-driven tour de force that radiates energy and emotion, and dazzles with visual brilliance and imagination. On paper, La La Land might not seem that exciting - another musical about Hollywood? Really? But La La Land both pays homage to and cleverly subverts the classics, using nostalgia as a tool but never as a crutch, and blending Old Hollywood glamor with modern-day sophistication and emotional nuance. In this movie, Hollywood dreams still exist - but they come with a price. Emma Stone turns in a career-best performance here, and Ryan Gosling is great as well. The musical numbers are clever and infectious. I can't wait to see what Chazelle does next. 

5.) Hello, My Name Is Doris

- If you've read my reviews over the years, then you probably know I'm a huge fan of the comedy troupe The State and all the various projects its members have worked on. Wet Hot American Summer is my gold-standard for absurdist comedy, and I always look forward to any new stuff from any of the primary members of the group. But even with that said, Michael Showalter's movie Hello, My Name Is Doris was a surprise. Blending absurdist comedy with genuine pathos and poignancy, Doris is an absolute knockout. Sally Field crushes in this one - turning in one of the year's best performances (which will, surely, get totally overlooked come awards time).

6.) Everybody Wants Some!!

- Here's one that, for some reason, got largely overlooked by both critics and moviegoers. Maybe people were expecting Richard Linklater to follow up Boyhood with an even more ambitious project? But don't dismiss this one - because it's another amazing film from Linklater. A spiritual sequel to Dazed & Confused, this one is a brilliant and hilarious look at a college baseball team enjoying the last moments of total freedom before the official start of the school year. A celebration of being young, carefree, and totally malleable, Linklater looks at how we form our identities and how men can balance traditional ideas of manhood with a working moral compass. It's a potent idea, ripe for exploration in the age of (cough, vomit) Trump.

7.) Green Room

- And here is the most purely badass movie of the year - brought to you by Jeremy Saulnier, who is quickly becoming a rising star for fans of pulp-action. Green Room is one of those great movies with a premise that sounds so awesome that you've got to see how it plays out: a down-on-their-luck punk rock band reluctantly takes a gig in a venue known for its Neo-Nazi clientele. Things go south, and the band soon finds itself trapped and on the run from Nazis with a bloodlust. And, oh yeah, the head Nazi cult-leader guy is Patrick Stewart. Green Room is pure adrenaline-pumping, bone-crunching, rock n' roll insanity. The one horrible terrible depressing tragedy here is that this film has what would have been a star-making turn from Anton Yelchin in the lead role. Yelchin is fantastic, and that makes his tragic death this year hurt all the more.

8.) Sing Street

- If you needed a little bit of life-affirming uplift this year, well, John Carney's latest, Sing Street was your movie. This feel-good, fight-the-power rock musical is the story of a group of misfit kids in 1980's Dublin - who band together to form a rock band and go from zeroes to rock n' roll heroes - finding friendship, brotherhood, and even love as they ride the rock new-wave to glory. The music that inspires the kids - everything from Duran Duran to The Cure - is great, but the original songs here are even better. I dare you to watch Sing Street and not have "Riddle of the Model" on heavy rotation for days. 

9.) Nocturnal Animals

-Tom Ford's dark, disturbing, moody, and ultra-intense neo-noir sort of floored me. It's a multi-layered story that weaves a very tangled web, but the various threads come together to form a totally engrossing tapestry about love, loss, and lurid crime. Amy Adams is at the top of her game here, and Jake Gyllenhaal is even better - delivering a shattering performance. But it's Michael Shannon - having a banner year between this, Midnight Special, etc - who absolutely destroys as a badass sheriff with nothing left to lose. Tom Ford may only be a part time director, but if this is the kind of movie he's capable of, I hope he's got a lot more films in him.

10.) Hail, Caesar!

- All hail the Coen Brothers. As per usual, their more comedic movies tend to get overlooked upon initial release, and Caesar is no exception. But that's a crying shame, because this is another piece of heady, ambitious brilliance from the Coens - with several great performances (Brolin, Clooney, Swindon, Tatum, and Scar-Jo all kill) - including a breakout turn from Alden Ehereneich, now poised to play young Han Solo. The thing is that Caesar is, sure, a tribute to Hollywood's golden age. But this is the Coens, so it has a lot more on its mind. In this world, the Hollywood actors are the people's golden gods, and its on Josh Brolin's no-nonsense fixer to keep them that way in the eyes of the people. This is a movie about faith and religion, about building and deconstructing myth. It's another Coen Brothers classic.

 
JUST MISSED THE CUT:


11.)  Jackie

- In a career-defining performance, Natalie Portman portrays Jackie Kennedy in the harrowing days following her husband's assassination. One of the most horror-movie-like bio-pics you'll ever see, this is a haunting tale of a woman trying to manufacture myth in the wake of tragedy. 

12.) Edge of Seventeen

- Hailee Steinfeld is fantastic as an angst-ridden teen trying to navigate the perils of high school. Yeah, we've seen this kind of thing before - but rarely done this well, and rarely with such a deft combination of humor and heart. Not your typical teen movie. 

13.) Captain Fantastic

- Not to sound cliche, but Captain Fantastic really is fantastic. A smart, funny, at times heart-wrenching film, this one tells the story of a family that lives totally off the grid forced to re-enter civilization and come face to face with what they've been missing. If you've been wondering what the great Viggo Mortensen has been up to, here's your answer - Viggo delivers an award-worthy performance as the family's stubbornly non-conformist patriarch.

14.) Moana

- To me, Moana felt like the classic Disney formula perfected. From the eye-melting visuals to the epic and mythic storyline, this one mixes kid-pleasing charm with thematic depth that will leave adults misty-eyed. Add in a fantastic set of songs (got to love the Bowie-esque "Shiny" sung by Jermaine Clement), and you've got Disney's best animated musical in years.

15.) The Nice Guys

- If Shane Black just made movies like The Nice Guys for the rest of his career, I'd be a happy camper. This one is classic Black - a grimy, smoky, action-packed noir with dialogue so sharp you could cut it with a knife. Gosling and Crowe make a two-fisted team for the ages, and newcomer Angourie Rice is a show-stealer as Gosling's too-smart-for-her-own good daughter. Basically, this movie is a movie-lover's dream. More please.

THE NEXT BEST:

16.) Swiss Army Man

- An insane, darkly-hilarious oddity from rising stars Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Swiss Army Man was a true original in a Summer of me-too's. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are one of this year's best on-screen duos - impressive, considering Radcliffe plays a corpse.

17.) Captain America: Civil War

- While it packed in a ton of plot and an army's worth of characters, Civil War was in many ways the pinnacle of the Marvel cinematic universe so far - a comic book epic that paid off years' worth of build-up in a big way. Plus, it made Spider-Man cool again and had him fight Giant Man. Seriously though, Civil War had enough awesomeness to put it at or near the top of the comic book movie heap.

18.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

- Whereas The Force Awakens compensated for messy mystery-box plotting with stand-up-and-cheer character moments, Rogue One was just straight-up solid through and through. A tightly-told men-on-a-mission movie, the film delivered several flavors of badassery - from Felicity Jones' reluctant rebel to Donnie Yen's Force-worshipping ass-kicker. Plus: the greatest Darth Vader action scene ever put to film.

19.) Manchester By the Sea

- Part of me wants to rank this one higher - it's brilliantly acted and poetically scripted, not to mention gorgeously shot. It just left me feeling a bit empty, wondering what the ultimate point of the movie's endless barrage of heavy-duty sadness was. Even still, the little moments of Manchester are what really make the movie - and perhaps that is what makes this one special: the way it shows how the little moments still define us, even in the wake of shattering events that seem hopelessly big.

20.) Don't Think Twice

- For anyone (me included) who has doggedly pursued creative success, Don't Think Twice hits home and hits home hard. How does one balance the simple joy of creative expression with the driving need to be recognized (and paid!) for said expression? How does one be competitive without being an asshole? How do friends navigate the highs and lows together, rather than apart? Mike Birbiglia's funny, heartfelt film nails the dynamic and the challenges inherent in chasing the dream. And he's got a great cast along for the ride - Gillian Jacobs and Keegan-Michael Key are two of the standouts. 

21.) The Shallows

- The Shallows was perhaps the biggest surprise of the Summer - a perfectly-executed self-aware pulp thriller, this is the Blake Lively vs. Giant Shark movie you didn't know you wanted. Director Jaume Collet-Serra really nails this one - giving us a gorgeously-shot movie that isn't afraid to go awesomely over-the-top. A true crowd-pleaser, seeing The Shallows was one of my favorite theater-going experiences of 2016. Watch it with friends.

22.) Midnight Special

- Jeff Nichols' film Loving is the one getting awards hype, but truth be told his earlier 2016 film, Midnight Special, was the better of the two. Nichols' moody, intense filmmaking style is perfect for sci-fi, and this Close Encounters-esque head-trip is Nichols at his best. Michael Shannon is also, yet again, the perfect collaborator for Nichols - he meets Nichols' intensity levels with ease. Shannon's son has mysterious powers, but you get the sense that it's Shannon who could burn holes in you with his death-stare.

23.) Finding Dory

- I had few expectations for this Pixar sequel. I mean, the idea of a brilliant idea-factory like Pixar churning out sequels is not exactly that exciting. And yet ... Finding Dory is way better than it had any right to be, a fun, funny, at times incredibly affecting underwater journey - with amazing visuals - that is, incredibly, on par with (if not better than) Finding Nemo.

24.) Kicks

- One of 2016's tragically-overlooked gems, Kicks is a must-watch urban fairy-tale about a kid desperate to get back his prized stolen sneakers. Both funny and very, very dark, this film is uncompromising in its look at how violence can beget violence in the inner city - detailing the plight of young, urban, African-American boys in a way that leaves a big impression. 

25.) In a Valley of Violence

- Ever since I saw his retro-horror movie House of the Devil, I've been a major fan of director Ti West and his uniquely-styled genre films. Valley of Violence is a departure for him - a pulpy, grindhouse-y Western - but West's talents prove well-suited to this type of movie. This over-the-top, darkly funny tale of bloody vengeance in the Old West features a great lead performance from Ethan Hawke, plus John Travolta in his best, most entertaining role in years. If you like Tarantino-style genre subversions, then make sure to give this one a watch.

MORE GREAT FILMS OF 2016:

26.) Silence

- Martin Scorsese's latest - a longtime-in-the-making epic - is a flawed but often brilliant historical drama about Christian missionaries in Japan in the 1600's, and the violence and conflict that ensues when the Japanese powers-that-be reject the religion and outlaw its practice. Adam Garfield and Adam Driver anchor this long, ponderous, at times brutal film. They both turn in excellent performances, and Scorsese delivers some truly powerful and haunting imagery. This one is a trek, but it's a journey well worth taking. 

27.) The Conjuring 2

- I think at this point it's safe to call director James Wan a true "master of horror." He slays with his Conjuring films - and this is the rare sequel (let alone horror sequel) that's as good if not better than the original. Wan deftly weaves a moody, chilling film that earns its scares through craft rather than cheap tricks. But the real trick here is that these movies are character pieces, with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga playing an easy-to-root-for pair of real-life ghostbusters who we'd gladly follow into the abyss.

28.) Star Trek: Beyond

- Arguably the most tightly-crafted of the new-era Star Trek movies, Beyond feels like a bit of a throwback to OG Trek - with a pulpy adventure story, lots of two-fisted action, and plenty of wink-y humor that takes full advantage of the franchise's fantastic cast and their spot-on chemistry. This movie soars - whether in the hilarious Spock/Bones scenes or when Kirk saves the galaxy via the immortal power of The Beastie Boys. This one goes boldly, and made me eager for more Trek.

29.) Hunt For The Wilderpeople

- A great, hilarious indie movie from New Zealand, Wilderpeople is brimming with heart and humor and imagination. The story of a hard-to-love orphan (a breakout performance from Julian Dennison) who falls under the care of a crotchety, reluctant foster dad (a terrific Sam Neil) - the movie takes the oddball pair on a journey through the New Zealand wilderness as they fend off all manner of dangers. A funny-as-hell film that will also make you grin from ear-to-er.

30.) 10 Cloverfield Lane

- This one has grown on me over time, and I wanted to give it a shout-out. I really dug the tension-filled direction on this one from up-and-comer Dan Trachtenberg. I really loved the lead performance from the perpetually-underrated Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who positively kicks ass here. And I really, really loved the great John Goodman in this movie, he seriously brings his A-game as a may-or-may-not-be-crazy doomsayer and bunker-dweller. This is just a really funny, creepy, tense thriller that is a terrific slice of Twilight Zone-style fun.

HONORABLE MENTIONS - OTHER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIES FROM THIS YEAR:

Snowden
Southside With You
The Invitation
Sausage Party
Loving
Neighbors 2
The Magnificent Seven
Dr. Strange
Arrival
The Lobster
The Legend of Tarzan
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Kung Fu Panda 3
The BFG
Passengers
Deadpool
Zootopia
Keanu
A Monster Calls
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
The Girl on the Train
Ms. Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
The Free State of Jones
Kubo & The Two Strings
 

INDIVIDUAL 2016 AWARDS:

BEST LEAD ACTOR:

1.) Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
2.) Casey Affleck - Manchester By the Sea
3.) Jake Gyllenhaal - Nocturnal Animals
4.) Ryan Gosling - La La Land
5.) Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

BEST LEADING ACTRESS:

1.) Natalie Portman - Jackie
 2.) Sally Field - Hello, My Name Is Doris
3.) TIE: Min-hee Kim and Tae-Ri Kim - The Handmaiden
4.) Emma Stone - La La Land
5.) Hailee Steinfeld - Edge of Seventeen

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1.) Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
2.) Josh Brolin - Hail, Caesar!
3.) Daniel Radcliffe - Swiss Army Man
4.) Patrick Stewart - Green Room
5.) John Goodman - 10 Cloverfield Lane

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

1.) Anna Taylor-Joy - The Witch
2.) Michelle Williams - Manchester By the Sea
3.) Felicity Jones - A Monster Calls
4.) Angourie Rice - The Nice Guys
5.) Kelly Thornton - Sing Street

BEST DIRECTOR:

1.) Tie: Chan-Wook Park - The Handmaiden, Robert Eggers - The Witch
2.) Damien Chazelle - La La Land
3.) Jeremy Saulnier - Green Room
4.) Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals
5.) Richard Linklater - Everybody Wants Some!!

BEST SCREENPLAY:

1.) Hell or High Water
2.) La La Land
3.) The Handmaiden
4.) Hail Caesar!
5.) Hello, My Name Is Doris
6.) The Nice Guys
7.) Green Room
8.) Manchester By the Sea
9.) Everybody Wants Some!!
10.) Jackie 
 
And that's it for 2016 - it may have been a miserable year in many ways, but in terms of movies, it's going to be a hard one to top. Here's to a great 2017!