Originally published in Cinema Knife Fight, January 20, 2017
Well, we’ve had some
major releases at the end of the year, but unfortunately the holiday season has
been crazy at the Keohane household, so most of these I haven’t seen,
including ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016).
Yes, me, not having seen this, yet. Quite a few others,
like PASSENGERS, THE ACCOUNTANT and SULLY,
all on my list of January catchups. But… of the films I have seen,
here are ten of my favorites. Caveat: some of these were 2015 films which, like
the above list, I had to wait until 2016 to see. So my list is six from this
year, four from last year. And a bonus.
DOCTOR
STRANGE (2016) By far my
favorite of the superhero genre films in a long time. Like the comic, the film
treads on new, rather surreal ground, and as such gives it the appeal of
standing out from the crowd, much like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014).
In the wrong hands, this film—you could say it’s The Marvel Universe
meets INCEPTION (2010) —could have gone way too far
down the rabbit hole, but it didn’t. Loved it.
SPOTLIGHT (2015) This film from 2015
caught everyone by surprise at the last Oscars by snagging the Best Picture
trophy, and deservedly so. Having seen the church sex scandal unfold myself,
for the most part thanks to the reporters of the Boston Globe’s
Spotlight team—to go through this again, seeing how detailed and
obstacle-ridden their investigation was, the passion around the layers slowly
exposed the deeper they dug—it was riveting from beginning to end. SPOTLIGHT is
an old-school movie about old-school reporting, the likes of which we might
never see again.
THE
VISIT (2015) Ah, welcome
back, my dear favorite filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan. Clever, funny and at
times intense, everything you (or, at least, me, who never
gave up on you, M, even after DEVIL (2010)!) could
want. It was developed quietly and released as such, but people saw it, and
liked it. That year he also did an excellent series based on the WAYWARD
PINES books. Let’s hope momentum is on Shyamalan’s side, since he
has a new release coming up this year.
ARRIVAL (2016) An intelligent
and beautiful science fiction film which might leave some folks scratching
their heads, but, so far, surprisingly few. Strong performances all around, and
some awesome settings, scope-wise. It’s a film meant to be watched on the big
screen. I will admit to leaving the theater with my son not sure if I really
loved the movie or not. I was… uncertain. Hard to explain,
especially without talking about the ending, which I won’t. But it got made, a
film that doesn’t spell everything out for you (actually, they do, quite well,
otherwise no one would leave the film knowing what just happened!).
DEADPOOL (2016) was exactly what
I expected it to be. Usually when there’s so much hype about a release it never
lives up to our ramped-up expectations, but this one did. Ryan Reynolds’
dialogue is pivotal to the success of the movie, so listen carefully or you’ll
miss much. Fun film that in no way takes itself seriously—except as a
faithful Deadpool comic book adaptation.
THE
WITCH (2015) This one was
dread-filled and scary. Just now, I had to ask my wife and daughter sitting
beside me as I write this, if it was a foreign language film, because I
remember not understanding what they were saying. No, it was English, but old
Pilgrim language, so we watched it with captions turned on. That probably
helped. This is not your standard horror movie, and I mean that in every good way.
Smart, dark and original.
10
CLOVERFIELD LANE (2016) is another clever and original film. Another one made
under the radar by the master, J.J. Adams, it’s not a sequel/prequel/tie-in
to CLOVERFIELD (2008). Or maybe it is. Take out this
slight misstep of vaguely tying it to an earlier work and watch it for the
curl-in-your-seat intensity of John Goodman’s performance. You are stressed
from the beginning and hardly dare to breathe for most of the movie. See it. If
the last five minutes annoy you, that’s OK, it didn’t hurt the rest of the film
(and that says a lot coming from me).
BEN-HUR (2016) I had to review
this for CKF earlier this year, having never seen the original film from the
1950s, and I will admit I was blown away (here, of course, is an example where
the last few minutes probably hurt the film, but see my full review for
why). Large in scope, breathless action scenes, and solid acting. Really
enjoyed it, even if most everyone else in the world didn’t care for it much.
CONCUSSION (2015) Not a genre
film, but a quiet, intense (and important) film about the man who exposed the
injuries sustained by professional (and amateur) football players. Will Smith
stopped being Will Smith for these two hours. He was incredible. If nothing
else, his performance made this movie shine.
Other films I would
have liked to highlight but had no room, but which I enjoyed (in order of
almost-made-the-above-list): BRIDGE OF SPIES(2015), THE
LOBSTER (2015/2016), FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016), CAPTAIN
AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN
OF JUSTICE (2016).
Bonus Recommendation:
THE GOOD LIE (2014) a very human drama about the plight of a group of
Sudanese children fleeing a thousand miles across the country to escape
escalating violence after their village is destroyed and families murdered—and
their eventual settlement in the United States, where they need to adapt and
struggle to remember who they are. Acted, primarily, by men and women who were
themselves Sudanese refugees at one point. Headlined by Reese Witherspoon (who
wisely takes a back seat to these other stellar performers). If this film
doesn’t warm your heart and make you cry at least once, you aren’t human. By
far the best film I happened to stumble upon this year, and really am better
for it.
Let’s hope this sharp,
angular year is a good one, everyone!