now that its been 2017 for 20 days, its time to make a list of my favorite films of 2016. timeliness is next to friendliness, as they say in my neighborhood. its a bad neighborhood.
obviously these are just tstout picks, it's a well known rumor the movies i like aren't exactly the movies you'd like, so take them all with a grain of salt. films like LALALAND or GHOSTBUSTERS probably aren't going to make the list because i haven't seen em yet. to quote the bard, 'my tastes are...singular.'
another caveat...some of these were "released" in 2015 but i didn't see em til 2016, i tacked those on at the end even though they're good. my list, my rules.
so, numero uno - green room. man, this movie was nuts. over the top violence and gore and just intense. i've watched it several times and am only just getting desensitized to it, but the first time i was covering my eyes and wincing. it really makes white supremacy look pretty bad. they're going to really struggle to recover from this one, let me tell you. punk rock on the other hand comes off ok, albeit a bit choppy in places.
2. the girl with all the gifts. i had the pleasure of seeing a preview of this and man, its cool, supercool. i like end of the world stuff, i like well done plague type zombie films. i like films that play out what happens next, after now. as a fan of older ray bradbury type short stories, this is my kinda film. also, it gives us hope in a brighter tomorrow.
3. my blind brother. that trailer doesn't sell it, and maybe its just me but man, i laughed. and not at the handicapped. WITH the handicapped. that's important, sarah has told me (multiple times). sometimes you see an onscreen relationship and it rings true and the brother dynamic in this film was humorous, to me.
4. the autopsy of jane doe. it wasn't what i thought i'd be, exactly, (i was really hoping to see more of the autopsy, like really 'get your hands dirty' stuff - but the father son relationship mixed with paranormal happenings mixed with an ax to the face were pretty freaky. sarah and i enjoyed it. i made her watch it.
5. don't breathe - this ones on a few lists, its one of those films that if it'd come out in 1992-93 would just be another judgement night / tresspass type film, but these days a competently told thriller is kinda rare. i realize that makes me sound like an old man, but hey, i am old. ish. er.
6. 10 cloverfield lane - again, in a different age this would have just been another ok genre film but nowdays, we'll take what we can get. in a world where suicide squad makes a billion bucks, the rules of decent storytelling have apparently been turned upside down. but i always buy what john goodman is selling and it had some fun parts.. overall though, this one kinda fluctuated on my list.
7. ok, deep breath....deepwater horizon. i know i know, its one of those trashy 'ripped from the headlines' crass cash grabs, and i usually avoid those like the plague. but, people said it was kinda a disaster flick, and i like disaster flicks, and it had some pretty good disastrous moments. the villainous john malkovich speaks in a villainy southern accent so you know he's bad (plus he has a goatee!). the always awesome kurt russell elevates this film far above the sentimental treacle it should have been (plus he rocks the horseshow stash, so you know he doesn't play by the rules). everyone played a good game. the ocean was angry that day, my friends! my only complaint was mark wahlberg lives. IN REAL LIFE. ha ha. just kidding mark. if you're reading this.
8. train to busan. if you like your south korean soul searcher films with a side of zombies, then this is probably for you. surprisingly earnest for a film that features a zombie outbreak on a train. but still, enjoyed by me. that's two zombie films on my list. just one of those years i guess.
9. kubo and the two strings. saw this with my kids, done by local ex-will vinton studios LAIKA. gorgeous film, super pretty. felt like something done in another country, i'm used to the more sunny feeling pixar kids movies, and this was different from that. but man, a feast for the eyes. featuring a giant eye actually.
10. captain america: civil war / 11. rogue one - these two are on a lot of lists, and i'm not ranking them below all previous films on this list because i liked them less. i just think its kinda pointless to point out huge gargantuan blockbusters as being films you should check out. obviously people did check them out. i did, and liked em alot. maybe someday i'd even consider doing a poster for civil war. someday, someday.
BONUS ROUND - some 2015 films that i didn't see til 2016
12. howl - hey, if you like zombies on trains (i know theres at least one of you that does) what about werewolves on trains? really well done. super atmospheric and just one of those movies i know i'll watch time and time again down the road. frankly i already have seen it numerous times. not to be confused with Howl's Moving Castle starring James Franco.
13. bone tomahawk - i'm pretty sure i saw Hateful 8 in 2015 (otherwise it'd be high on this list) but this one i didn't see til 2016 and it was kinda neat to see our man Kurt playing a more serious western role compared to his Hateful 8 counterpart. it really highlights how dangerous it was in the old west, with supernatural cannibalistic indians stealing cowboys women-folk. ok, don't take that from the film but it does actually happen. i'm sure it reads a lot differently on paper.
14. the invitation - a real slow boiler, but if you're in the mood for the long slow reveal, its pretty mesmerizing. nowdays its pretty hard to imagine people turning violent in pursuit of their beliefs, but this film really sells it. if i didn't already belong to several cults (the cult of john carpenter, the cult of prometheus), i'd definitely...well i wouldn't join this one actually.
15. people places things - our man in Masterton (new zealand), jemaine clement stars in this 'single art teacher dad raising his kids' feel good flick. obviously a work of fiction because if i was single my kids would be a pack of feral kids ala road warrior and i'd be the guy who gets his fingers chopped off by the bladed boomerang. and they'd all laugh at me. still, a fun rom com. no zombies though, otherwise it'd be a rom com zom. or zom romcom.
lastly, at 16 - just to mix it up, a somber documentary that follows our boys in blue working within their community to reach tomorrows youth... re-kill. also starring that guy from passenger 57 who apparently did not bet on black, and you can see exactly how that worked out for him. here's a hint, not great.
so, that's it. i'll make sure to turn comments off so all of you can chime in with all the great films i missed. sometimes its hard to even remember what films i saw in 2016, 'when exactly did i see Fury Road...last summer?' NOPE, two years ago. ah senility, i welcome you like an old friend.
