The general consensus is overwhelming that 2016 was a bad year for film, and after the overwhelming sense of bad sequels and reboots it looks that way. Yet this year there have been some fantastic big budget films and even better limited releases.
10. Captain America Civil War
One of the best films ever to be released in the MCU, but after thinking about this without a re-watch since the release the film has sunk from my No.1 position down to No.10. That aside the film is really spectacular the first act of the film acted a lot like the previous installment Winter Soldier. A heist film but it kinda falls from that throughout the film and feels a tad bit disjointed. It really advances the MCU and has such great fight choreography and the renowned airport scene deserves all the praise it gets. Also Spiderman was INCREDIBLE.
9. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
This film had absolutely fantastic characters in both the humans especially Dan Folgers character Jacob and beasts. Along with a fantastic screenplay by J.K Rowling this film was as whimsical as it was real. A pure joy throughout almost the whole thing with a great sense of adventure. Yet by coming almost two unrelated stories into one it severely broke the flow and for that reason only I have it at 9.
8. Deadpool
Deadpool was bold, it re-established that superhero films do not have to be one-liners and mild action. It can be hard core violence and f-bombs. Even thought that gimmick Deadpool succeeded it had me laughing hysterically at the great writing and laughing at how awesome some of the action is. Ryan Reynolds is fantastic and what really stands out as his passion project has succeeded.
7. Zootopia
I had little expectation for Zootopia passing it off as something like Secret Life Of Pets, but I was pleasantly surprised that the film had such a great underlying theme and message of racism. The film teaches kids about Racism and treating people equal with out blatantly saying it and portrays such a sensitive topic in such a fantastic way. Along with great animation and great characters and great Breaking Bad references, Zootopia is a modern disney classic that felt like something straight out of Classic Disney.
6. The Little Prince
The Little Prince profoundly moved me, it explored society and humanity greater than almost anything before it, incredibly eye opening and personally touching. A great combination of two different worlds coming together and a great array of emotion being shown fluently. Not to forget the all star cast including Rachel McAdams, Dave Franco, Paul Rudd, Jeff Bridges, Ricky Gervais who all transform themselves into these characters. Not to forget a beautiful art style of 2D animation and 3D combination. A stellar job.
5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One is a prequel to Star Wars the last time that was tried….. it didn’t turn out that well, yet Rogue One was so absolutely breathtaking the first two acts of the film are good, really good set-up with enjoyable characters like K2-SO. The greatness of the film lies in the third act with the greatest Star Wars action scene ever so amazing, not even to mench the single greatest scene of the year in the return of Darth Vader.
4. Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping
Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping is in one word HILARIOUS, I laughed the most in this film then I had in any other for a long time. Almost every joke works and it is just a continuous flow of great comedy. Really well executed mockumentary style, and amazing songs. Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island have done it again coutos to you.
3. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
A very well done stylised comedy, with a very great New Zeland feel, all the comedy is really well done but it has a great lot of heart, as well as a great cohesive plot. All the performances are really well done ant everyone gives their best performances of their career. All the comedy is really well crafted by the incredible Taika Waititi each scene has a new joke that plays out very well.
2. La La Land
Damian Chazelle, has now established himself as one of the greatest film directors ever. This film is a genuine journey throughout following a couple from the first date to the last. Every scene every moment is created so well every little detail is looked after, and the visuals and sounds are so beautiful and such a great accompaniment to the film and quite frankly this film is the closest thing to art we will ever see on screen. Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone have fantastic chemistry and performances throughout and I have to reiterate the soundtrack that I have on repeat. Truly Beautiful.
1. Sing Street
This spot was such a close call between this and La La Land but in the end I really had to give it to Sing Street because no other film ever has connected to me on such an emotional level, I became so attached to all the characters and the plot that I wanted him to succeed and get the girl, the premise is so simple Boy Likes Girl Boy Starts Band, but it is executed so well especially the performance of the older brother played by Jack Reynor. The songs are also really well done, they establish the sound of the band and they have a progression of songs getting better as the band matures. Fantastic film and I urge everyone to see this film because you will enjoy it.
Top Pop Blog 