i saw that 2016 movie

Out of all the movies released in 2016, I was able to see 141* of them. Here are what I consider my top 30 movies from the year. These are not exactly what I necessarily think are technically the best of the year, because this is more a subjective list of personal choices, as opposed to an objective one from a film making perspective. 
I've also included the hyperlink for the non-spoilers written review for the movie, as well as a link to the Spoilers Pleeze episode of it; if we did one for it that is. 

  1. Sing Street 
  2. Captain America: Civil War  (sp58) 
  3. Zootopia  (sp49) 
  4. Deadpool  (sp46) 
  5. The Edge Of Seventeen 
  6. Silence 
  7. Arrival  (sp86) 
  8. The Nice Guys  (sp62) 
  9. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  (sp91) 
  10. La La Land 
  11. The Handmaiden 
  12. Kubo and The Two Strings  (sp74) 
  13. Sausage Party  (sp73) 
  14. 20th Century Women  
  15. Lion 
  16. Kung Fu Panda 3  (sp44) 
  17. Moana  (sp88) 
  18. 10 Cloverfield Lane  (sp50) 
  19. Shin Godzilla  (sp81) 
  20. Elle 
  21. Green Room 
  22. Doctor Strange  (sp85) 
  23. Hardcore Henry  (sp54) 
  24. Train To Busan  (sp83) 
  25. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping 
  26. Don't Breathe 
  27. The Witch  (sp47) 
  28. Hunt For The Wilderpeople 
  29. Hell Or High Water  (sp75) 
  30. Hacksaw Ridge 

...and here are what I consider my least favorite movies from the year... 

137. London Has Fallen
138. The 5th Wave
139. The Purge: Election Year
140. Now You See Me 2
141. Zoolander 2

Alright 2017, what do you have to offer me in the movies? 

* = *EDIT* There are some 2016 movies that I did eventually see during January 2017, which bumped up the total number from the original 131 to the current 141. That includes "A Monster Calls," "Hidden Figures," "Silence," "Patriots Day," "Paterson," "Live By Night," "20th Century Women," "The Founder," "Toni Erdmann, and "Gold." I'll stop adding to the list by the beginning of February 2017.

Office Christmas Party

The reason most people will want to see this movie is just to see how hilariously crazy outrageous this office Christmas party is going to be. For a comedy, I only managed to laugh out loud a couple of times, and found most of the humor to just be in the mildly amusing category. The premise is technically a little on the crazy side, but it's just not crazy enough to really stand out among other high concept comedies. There are some outrageous things that do happen, but they don't show anything that will really blow your mind. Basically, this movie just does not live up to it's promise of entertaining craziness. 

Admittedly the movie does seem to try to be the best that it could be, but it's just not good enough. It just doesn't achieve that hilariously crazy and outrageous goal that it wants to meet, and unfortunately only somehow ends up being aggressively mediocre. It has a talented cast of actors, the story isn't really that terrible, and I generally did like the themes that the movie tried to convey to us. It's too bad that even with it's strengths, the overall whole of the movie just falls flat. Now, if only there was a Christmas miracle that could magically transform this inconsequential movie into a much better one. 

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

Southside With You

This is a charming film about a date, that is also a "non-date," that chronicles a day when future US President Barrack Obama goes out with future First Lady Michelle Robinson. Both Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter are excellent in this in their respective roles. There's good chemistry between the two, and the many conversations they have are entertaining enough to eavesdrop on. There are some ideological themes that are brought up, as well as some background stories that further bring the characters to life, and even some mild conflict when some of their ideas clash with each other. They talk, go to one place, talk some more, go to another place, talk some more, repeat and rinse. That's pretty much the movie. It's not a great experience, and it's not a horrible experience, but just a lighthearted enough experience to pass the time. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Can I just say that this is like a guilty pleasure of a movie, that mixes high brow English dialogue with zombies and martial arts? Just seeing these girls in their big dresses, fight zombies via kung fu moves, and have conversations about who they should marry, was very entertaining. That kind of mashup just sounds like fun doesn't it? In several ways, the answer is yes, but there are issues that dampen the overall production.

The story telling itself is rather lackluster, and falls into typical plot tropes that this movie could have done without. It's unfortunate because I really enjoyed the world building, and the overall premise. However, I didn't really like where they went with the zombies of this story, and I thought the romantic plot points just didn't work for me. The story takes risks with it's mashup of different genres and settings, but seems unafraid to really take things to the next level. Either way, I had some fun watching this despite it's flaws. 

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Fences

If you didn't already know, this movie will remind you that it's based on the stage play of the same name. It's not a very cinematic film at all. You basically have a story that's purely about conversations, story telling, and monologuing. It's all set in one location, with either one, two, or three actors present, taking turns saying what they need to say, when it's time to say what they need to say. No fancy visual effects or camera tricks here. It simply sounds and looks like a stage play. At first it might be a little boring if you're not into that, but once the story gets more and more dramatic, you're going to be in it for the long haul. 

This is without a doubt Denzel Washington's movie. He directed it. He is the main star in it. He is the main reason to see this. Wow, is he acting like the devil's out to get him if doesn't give it all his got. Arguably the best male performance in a movie from 2016, with one of the most dramatic roles I've ever seen him in. He can go from one acting spectrum of lightheartedness as the husband or a father you would want, to a full blown intensely dramatic moment as an indignant man or a friend that you are afraid for. Denzel gets your attention like nobody else in this movie, although Viola Davis has several incredible scenes as well. 

"Fences" is a straightforward story, that's filled with thought provoking ideology about how to live life. There are some plot points that I thought were a little heavy handed, but the heart and soul of this story should leave a strong impression by the end of the film. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Assassin's Creed

A secret group of Assassins, secretly fighting a secret tyrannical group. A technologically advance machine that brings out visual memories of 15th century Spain, and a means to show us action sequences set in the past. A powerful artifact that needs to be kept hidden, but many want to find it. Lots of people wearing hoodies. This sounds like it could be an exciting and fun premise for an action adventure movie right? It could have been exciting and fun, if it wasn't so boring and dull. At least it did good in the people wearing hoodies department. 

The script for this film is a jumbled mess of expositions, mixed with heavy handed dialogue, filled with underdeveloped characters, plot conveniences just to move the story along, and a misguided attempt to treat the material way too seriously to the point of dourness. It seemed like it was way too busy just trying to string together a series of plot points that it needed to hit. The pacing and flow of the story telling just didn't feel like it moved in an organic way at all, and that hurt the enjoyment factor of the movie. 

With the script failing this film, the actors and the action scenes would have to save the day right? Well i'm sorry, but as talented as the actors are, the dialogue given to them are just bad bad bad. The action sequences are also not that memorable, and consists mostly of quick cuts that dilutes the choreographed fights. There is however this extended parkour filled chase sequence action set piece that was actually entertaining to watch, and is easily the main highlight of the whole movie. 

Fans of the video game series that this is adapted off from might have an added advantage of finding more things to like about this movie, due to their familiarity with the franchise. Those who aren't that knowledgeable about the property may find very few things in this movie to convince them to care about the game. Oh, for those interested to care, I myself have never played the game series.

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

Lights Out

This movie's premise is actually really good, and takes advantage of one of people's basic fears; the dark. There are some clever visual tricks with the lights going on and off, that play on some neat jump scares that are intended to frighten us. The characters are good in this, and you'll be more than willing to root for their survival in this horror thriller. The movie has a lot going for it to be an instant scary movie modern classic, especially considering the metaphorical theme that makes it even better when you are aware of it.

Unfortunately, the execution of the whole thing doesn't live up to it's promise. There are inconsistencies with it's logic, and plot conveniences, that just ruins the story. Regrettably, the film also relies too much on a one note series of jump scares that dilutes the actual horror aspect of the proceedings. The most disappointing aspect of Lights Out is that it had this potential to be a great scary movie. 

You're better off just watching the short film that it's based on... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fDzdDfviLI 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Passengers

For what seems to be just another typical sci-fi drama, the setup for this movie is actually really compelling, and plays on the isolation or castaway theme. The science fiction aspect and the visuals are all great in this, with several ideas that really sparked my imagination. There's some action set pieces, comedic moments, and there's also that romantic angle of pairing up two very attractive leading actors; Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. It seems like this movie has a lot going for it right? Well, that depends on one curve ball that the story throws at you, and how you will handle it. 

Not going into spoilers, but there is this major plot turn during the second act of the story that will completely determine how you will feel about this movie. One reaction would be that you might find the plot turn to be very compelling and only makes the movie more unconventional than you initially expected it to be. The other reaction would be one of dumbfoundedness that this story went in that direction at all, and that the film makers simply made a very very very poor decision. Maybe you'll have both kinds of reaction?  

The film makers clearly wants to push your buttons and do some critical thinking about the plot. I suppose that could be considered an artistic decision on their part, and they just simply wanted to go beyond the standard plot tropes. I can buy that rationale if it wasn't for the eventual plot conveniences that only made me think that they just wanted to have their cake and eat it too. It's unfortunate, because this could have potentially been a really enjoyable sci-fi movie. All the positive things I can say about it; like Michael Sheen for example, are regrettably undermined by that damn plot point. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Cafe Society

Great Woody Allen films usually excel on four factors. Dialogue. Characters. Insight. Eccentricities. This movie has all those factors, but doesn't really meet their full potential. It's an interesting premise for a movie, involving some relationship plot twists that people would just roll their eyes at when they consider who the Director / Writer is. I did want to see how the movie was going to resolve the story at the end, so I guess it was enough to capture my attention. 

For the most part, the characters are fascinating enough to keep watching. Jesse Eisenberg, Steve Carrell, and Kristen Stewart, all play interesting characters, but it's probably supporting actor Corey Stoll that's my favorite of the cast. I suppose you can consider that a little bit of a red flag when the supporting character who doesn't get a huge chunk of the screen time is my favorite. 

Hardcore fans of Woody Allen will undoubtedly check this out anyway, but it's at best a pleasant diversion of a movie. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Maggie's Plan

#isawthatmovie

During this movie, sometimes I wondered if I was actually suppose to take it seriously, when it made me feel like I shouldn't. The premise does play off like a madcap comedy after all, involving a very strange relationship between a woman who awkwardly gets in the middle of this married couple of interesting backgrounds. That woman is played by the always charming Greta Gerwig, and the married couple is played by the always good Ethan Hawke and the great Julianne Moore. 

The premise is simply amusing, and you'll want to see how it ends. Although you can probably guess how it resolves itself. The relationship between the three leads does play against convention, and even their characters are not exactly your normal archetypes. As odd as the story and characters can get, it is entertainingly fun if you can buy into what's going on. 

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