How can it already be so close to 2017? Where does time go? Before I drift into an existential ramble — there is really only bit of 2016 left. And judging from the movies that will be released prior the year’s closing I feel comfortable in listing my favorite 2016 films. I saw a couple of them in 2015, but they didn’t get out the gate until this year. This time I am going for simplicity. I am just going to list them out. They are in no particular order. Art being subjective and every bit of it being unique, I’d rather not assign one as better than another. If you’ve not seen some of these — then I urge you to seek a viewing out.
A magical film… Royalty Hightower
The Fits
Anna Rose Holmer, 2015
Deeply disturbing, but often comical — there is a whole lot going on in this surprisingly unique film.
Do Won Kwak
The Wailing
Hong-jin Na, 2016
Unexpected take on Jewish folklore regarding dybbuk. Tragically this marks the final film of a brilliant young filmmaker.
DEMON
Marcin Wrona, 2015
A full feast of imagination…
Tale of Tales
Matteo Garrone, 2015
” A faggot is a word used to make gay people feel bad.”
Do not miss this exceptional film.
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins, 2016
“Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?”
Allegorical symbolism is seldom this dark or finely crafted.
The Witch Robert Eggers, 2016
“What about the oil on his floor?”
Profane, terribly wrong and impossibly entertaining. It’s not for everyone, but for some of us it is brilliant!
The Greasy Strangler
Jim Hosking, 2016
Today’s tantrum could be tomorrow’s bid for world domination.
The Childhood of a Leader
Brady Corbet, 2015
Familial dysfunction can be horrifying…
KRISHA
Trey Edward Shults, 2015
“Anything you want. The sky is the limit.”
A film that is close to perfect…
The Handmaiden
Chan-Wool Park, 2016
Colin Farrell ponders his choices…
The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2016
My Fave Films of 2016
The Fits
The Wailing
Demon
Tale of Tales
Moonlight
The Witch
The Greasy Strangler
The Childhood of a Leader
Krisha
The Handmaiden
The Lobster
And then some honorable mentions:
Darling, Swiss Army Man, High-Rise, The Love Witch and Elle.
An ode to a genre that somehow manages to be unique.
Lauren Ashley Carter
Darling
Mickey Keating, 2015
“OK Manny is not about sex!”
What’s more surprising: The fact that this movie is entertaining or the fact that it manages to inspire?
SWISS ARMY MAN
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheitert, 2016
So it doesn’t quite work, but where this film fails it makes up for by aiming to do so much. A brilliant cinematic error.
Tom Hiddleston
High-Rise
Ben Wheatley, 2015
A great ode to movies long gone plus a fascinating study of female fantasies and the cost of extreme narcissism.
The Love Witch
Anna Biller, 2016
“I have something to tell you all. I was assaulted at home…”
Yes, but is Isabelle Huppert all right?
Somehow the combination of the director’s sick humor firmly attached to a remarkable cinematic presence manages to make this film work. And it works very well.
Elle
Paul Verhoeven, 2016
Matty Stanfield, 12.1.2016
