2016, apart from being the year we just won’t talk about when our grand kids ask us about the past, was the year of the long awaited film project. As shit as the year was, we did finally see some things that we’ve been waiting a while for, and also, that the filmmakers have been waiting a while to do. It was a mixed year for me in terms of picking my top 10 films, this list is more of a round up of the films I was happy to finally see get a chance, and a few that really just reminded me why I love film.
It’s also a chance for us to round up some of the films we didn’t have time to write in detail about during the year, likely because we spent most of 2016 drinking to forget about 2016.
Here is my roundup of 2016.
10. Batman V Superman – Dawn of Justice
I’ve been the first to say that I didn’t exactly LOVE this film, BUT, it was yet another chance for the man-child part of me to take over and completely nerd out to finally see the epic question answered of ‘who would win??’
Now…of course many cartoons have already answered this questions- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 is the film that DOJ should have been if you want to see a version of this film that doesn’t suffer from Z. Snyder’s compulsion to mix up cinematic moments and exposition and use them interchangeably.
The biggest thing that ruined this film is explained quite well by the NerdWriter on YouTube (shout out; he’s great) and that is that the film focuses too much on creating ‘visual moments’ in place of storytelling- translating a graphic novel format to screen is always challenging and this is the biggest pitfall of the task.
Check out the full review here.
9. Nocturnal Animals
Now…I’m biased, I did some work with this film and went to the premiere…but even if that didn’t happen this film would still be all over this list. It was the best tension builder I’ve seen since The Drop and 2016 was finally the year that Amy Adams started playing her age. The highway attack scene is still one that pops into my head when I’m driving at night now thanks to the acting and suspense in that scene. Potentially the best thing I saw in 2016 (apart from the other day when a dog came into the office, that was dope).
Happy guests at the #NocturnalAnimals premiere! https://t.co/kMEIIFNeQb—
Reel Time Movies (@ReelTimeDublin) November 01, 2016
8. Bleed For This
Boxing films are very hard to do, this isn’t a boxing film though. It’s a comeback story and one based on true events which I always love. All credit to Miles Teller who whipped himself into amazing shape for this role but the true star is Aaron Eckhart who supports him beautifully in this redemption story. Unlike Southpaw this film focuses on an ACTUAL thing for the fighter to overcome. Pound for pound Southpaw is the better movie but there’s a raw honesty to this film that overshadows the sports element. Spliced in with real footage, very Ron Howard style, the whole ensemble just makes this slightly more palatable as a film. That being said…while we’re on the subject of Miles Teller…Bleed For This is about a car crash…Whiplash contained a car crash…and Fantastic Four was a car crash..maybe he’s trying to tell us something?
7. Anthropoid
The premiere of this was fantastic because we got to sit through a Q&A with Cillian Murphy and the Director of this film, Sean Ellis. Sean Ellis shot nearly the whole film in a handheld fashion which adds a huge feeling of uneasy tension to an already superb thriller. As we’ve said in our review- this film evokes a strange motivation in you for an outcome that you wouldn’t normally root for. They pay a lot of respect to the true events of the film and like Calvary…created something I’m not sure I could sit through again for the sheer and powerful emotion of some of the scenes.
Check out the full review here.
6. Captain America: Civil War
Like Batman V Superman, this film was a long awaited retelling of a key comic canon moment. Marvel turned the genre on its head slightly by showing that you don’t have to level a city to have a super hero epic…then again, maybe if they didn’t rely on that format for nearly a decade they wouldn’t have had to pull away from it in the first place? Of all the films in this list though, Civil War had maybe the best marketing of the year, with the team stunts and the short videos being released I don’t think I was as excited for anything else in 2016.
Also, this totally happened to me while watching it.
5. 10 Cloverfield Lane
Unlike Nocturnal Animals, which was completely rooted in dramatic tension, Cloverfield Lane was full of horror based tension. Probably the only time this year (other than a 9am screening of Ouija 2) that I was genuinely muttering under my breath from behind my popcorn ‘bitch don’t go in there!!!’ while watching a scene unfold. John Goodman has always had an incredibly intimidating presence about him on screen but it really shines through in this film.
4. Deadpool
If Civil War puts the genre on its head then Deadpool flips it off and dances on it while it tries to fix its image. I loved Deadpool, it was a much needed injection of meta-irreverence to the genre, and the first of the films in this list that both the creators and the audience have been waiting years for. Ryan Reynolds has been wanting to fix his image as the merc with a mouth ever since Wolverine Origins…which much like 2016, we just won’t tell our kids about.
Check out the full review here.
3. Bridget Jones Baby
Ashamed to say possibly the funniest thing I’ve seen all year, also yet another in the theme of continuing franchises that 2016 brought. I won’t lie, I didn’t expect to love this film…I’m a grumpy 25 year old who owns too many cardigans but this brought me right back down to earth with some good old fashion awkward comedy!
2. Swiss Army Man
The most abstract thing I’ve seen all year sits in this conceptual piece. I had mixed thoughts on it, but it absolutely takes the cake for one of my favourite cinematic themes/soundtracks of the year!. If you enjoyed it then check out Ben Stiller’s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- its similar in visual concept and the journey motif but not as abstract as SAM.
Check out the full review here.
1. Sausage Party
The start of something new in the cinema has happened as adult based children animation style became one of the top films of the year. Like Deadpool, Seth Rogan spent YEARS trying to get someone to make this film. I love anything that takes a pop at religion but this really goes on all out war on it.
Check out the full review here.
Check out Tony & Shaun’s top films of 2016, be sound.
Tweet us your #Top10 films of 2016 @ReelTimeDublin and we’ll judge you publicly for them!
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