The Top Twenty Films of 2016

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mpowell
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The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by mpowell »

Forget the Oscars; winning the love of the Criticker community is the only thing which really matters! This year's list kicks off with a couple great animated films, and then quickly gets international. Germany, South Korea, France, Chile, Japan, Ireland, Romania, Iran, Brazil and the USA are all represented in the Criticker Community's top films of 2016.

Did your favorite film of the year make the cut? Anything you're horrified to see on this list? The discussion is open!

And here's the list of the year's ten worst films.

20. Moana - 7.0387 Average Tier

"Moana knocked me off my feet. Its a spellbinding journey of friendship and self discovery with a beautiful voice cast, fantastic animation, and whimsical scenes throughout. Not to mention the sure to be fan favorite characters. Its like Wind Waker by Disney, with beautiful music by the immaculate Lin Manuel Miranda. What is there to hate?" - Groovy_Souls



19. Zootopia - 7.0454 Average Tier

"A hilarious, heartfelt movie that's solidly written scene after scene. To top that off, the visuals are just phenomenal - I was routinely distracted from the film by the beauty of a wide shot, or the bunny's adorably quivering nose. Definitely fun for all ages (there's references to AMC/HBO shows!)" - VorpalKitten



18. Jackie - 7.0588 Average Tier

"Phenomenal. A genre defying and unconventional look at a very dark and personal time for one of history's most iconic women. The music, the camera, the story; all were executed in a way that kept the emotions high and in your face." - yoohoo883



17. The Red Turtle - 7.0896 Average Tier

"Even if the narrative closes on nothing but universalities, the intermingling of men and turtles creates a deep feeling for life in nature, for the hurt and joy that unites all creatures." - schnofel



16. Aquarius - 7.1081 Average Tier

"KMF's political allegories are all over -- from the class issues to the rotten state of mind of the Brazilian elites --, and he manages to frame them as a both sober and sentimental chronicle about Recife. He zooms in and out reshaping the urban tension of Neighboring Sounds in a more personal and intimate scale. Sonia Braga shines in different levels -- she is strong, bright and fragile -- while the film is eager to narrate her memory -- in three parts, hair, love and cancer." - felipelahm



15. Neruda - 7.1429 Average Tier



14. 13th - 7.1494 Average Tier

"Extremely powerful stuff (even if there are a small handful of admittedly baffling editing choices). Ava DuVernay is obviously a very talented filmmaker, and though much of this isn't new information, it's a very bold film in that it pulls no punches against the prison-industrial complex and white supremacy in America." - VengefulKBM



13. The Edge of Seventeen - 7.2586 Average Tier

"The Edge of Seventeen is the best teen movies in a good while - perhaps since Mean Girls. For its dark humor, interesting characters, great acting, and fantastic understanding of what it's like to be in its characters' shoes, it's a very enjoyable experience. There isn't a whole lot that detracts from the experience and it wraps up before it begins to get tiresome. The Edge of Seventeen is a very enjoyable comedy, even if you aren't the age of its protagonists." - Matthew Parkinson



12. Sing Street - 7.3095 Average Tier

"For decades musicians have shared why they got into music in the first place & they always say the same 3 things: they wanted the girls; they wanted to escape; & "music saved my life". Other films may have captured some of that, but there's never been a film that better conveys all of that & how profoundly exciting it feels to be so young & seemingly helpless, but slowly discover that you're capable of having a power you could scarcely imagine before." - INDYATMN



11. Sieranevada - 7.3256 Average Tier

"This is haunted by a feeling of claustrophobia and impotence of individuals, demise of church, demise of trust in states and armies, ending up in an absolute nihilism where family members can only find any consolation by quarreling and yelling each other. Every scene creates a feeling of ensnarement: opening scene with traffic on the street, 2 hours long home 'sequence', and Lary and his wife trapped in their car. Very pessimistic and full of black humor but somehow not that satisfying as well." - SirRobbie



10. Weiner - 7.3429 Average Tier

"This is absolutely phenomenal, from the slow campaign trainwreck, the marriage in crisis, Huma's fierce glares and despondence ("it's like living a nightmare"), the shrewd interview calculations, and rookie campaign operatives trying to make a name for themselves. This is like a Greek tragedy that no writer could come up with because the material is often too surreal to be believable." - bobpage



9. American Honey - 7.4148 Average Tier

"A road trip well worth taking. Even though the film is virtually plotless, I was immersed in and held transfixed by the world of this teenage girl for every single one of its 163 minutes. It's probably the best glimpse into the lives of fucked up young people since Larry Clark's masterpiece 'Bully'." - KasperL



8. The Handmaiden - 7.5406 Average Tier

"Park's sense of style serves the story well, and the script is a good adaptation of a brilliant novel too, wisely skipping at least one level of twistiness and changing British class strugglles to Japanese imperialism but keeping the story set on the women rather than the men manipulating them. Everyone cons everyone and the audience wins." - bof



7. Your Name - 7.6250 Average Tier

"Wow, Makoto Shinkai finally made a movie that wasn't a maudlin/contrived but gloriously beautiful fuck-fest for my eyeballs. Like I'm baffled, really. This diet fantasy film is absolutely stunning, but what really shines are the characters. I mean seriously, the characters are funny, flawed, and they hold their own personalities even when they're body swapping and feeling out their genitalia. The ending is great, the twist felt earned, and it's sooo gorgeous. Finally, quality visuals AND story." - bakcheia



6. The Salesman - 7.8750 Average Tier

"Another great movie by Farghadi. Same structure of "A Separation" works very well." - le mami



5. Arrival - 7.8970 Average Tier

"A beautifully shot and written film, that's acted superbly. Will get compared to Close Encounters due to the communication aspect of it, but this movie goes way deeper than the surface level stuff you find in Close Encounters. Also is surprisingly emotional." - SirStuckey



4. Toni Erdmann - 8.0584 Average Tier

"TE circles around the task to make someone smile. Humor as the center of human interaction. Taking its time characters and camera alike crawl toward each other while being aware of the hurtful fact that they will never really meet each other. Which turns TE into complex micro and macro analyse of our time. Everyone is aware of what they are doing and still can't deal nor change anything about it. And on top all this is illustrated with verve and a neck for not giving into the excepted solutions." - Hofschneider



3. Moonlight - 8.3117 Average Tier

"It's been a long time since I've watched a film that reminded me of the form's divine abilities. Moonlight is art at every frame, beating with a genuine purpose. There are no judgments, no crudely injected social commentaries, no agendas here, and the film isn't even sentimentalized. Only a desire to illuminate a certain human being and his condition is explored through Jenkins' inspiring expertise." - Filligan



2. La La Land - 8.3814 Average Tier

"A dazzling and magical tribute to Golden Age Hollywood, musicals and most of all; the dreamers. Chocked to the brim with majestic colours, superb choreography and lovable performances, Damien Chazelle's La La Land is a trip down nostalgic memory lane filled with love, passion, artistry and the pursuit of dreams at any cost. Though not quite as blindsiding as Whiplash, Chazelle is two for two with a wondrous ride that is bound to capture hearts in cinemas across the globe." - HaydenGV



1. Manchester by the Sea - 8.7266 Average Tier

"Can we start calling Lonergan a master? What to appreciate : Casey Affleck's performance. The restraint, the internalization. The characters, with mannerisms like shallow water above vulnerability and pain. But the water never dissipates. The details : three framed photos we don't need to see to understand. The meat in the freezer. The window views. Things that blew me away: the dream at the end. The final shot. Most profound line of dialogue in 2016 : "I can't beat it." A fleeting masterpiece." - sellis

schnofel
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by schnofel »

Didn't expect to make it with a mini-review this year. Thanks!

bowfinger
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by bowfinger »

My problem with this list is a lot of these title have less than 100 rankings (here I go again with the number of rankings), some even have around 30-40 rankings, so I don't think this really represents the community's top 20, simply because it is made up of movies the community has just not seen yet. Personally, I hadn't even heard of 6-7 titles that made it to this list.

May I suggest that you set a min rankings limit, say 500 or somewhere in the ballpark, so that you have a list that actually represents (or at least tries to represent) the general views of the community?

What do you think?

PS. I dont think this should apply to the worst 10, because if people hear it's bad, they may just avoid it so no point in doing that there.

cagedwisdom
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by cagedwisdom »

I agree with bowfinger. I often haven't heard of a lot of the favorites by year's end because a lot of films are released very late where I live. But this is the first time I can recall not having heard of most of the films on the list (14!). Seems a bit meaningless.

BillyShears
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by BillyShears »

A disturbing lack of Popstar: Never Pop Stop Popping Toppings

paulofilmo
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by paulofilmo »

oh gosh new Shinkai movie

#weeaboo

paulofilmo
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by paulofilmo »

and an honourable mention for Horace and Pete

Image

dardan
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by dardan »

bowfinger wrote:May I suggest that you set a min rankings limit, say 500 or somewhere in the ballpark, so that you have a list that actually represents (or at least tries to represent) the general views of the community?


This kills the arthouse. This would mean no Moonlight, no The Salesman, no Toni Erdmann, and no [bunch of other major films], films which, for a sizeable minority, are the sole films that keep them interested in this site. Don't necessarily disagree with the principle--a minimum of 50 sounds somewhat reasonable--but then, on the other hand, there's merit in giving attention to niche films that they wouldn't have otherwise gotten, like just happened with that Japanese film paulofilmo is interested in.

edit: Sieranevada, a Cristi Puiu film, has 43 rankings, so forget what I said about the minimum of 50 sounding reasonable :D .

paulofilmo
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by paulofilmo »

i feel bad for Pablo Larraín, who has apparently made two juicy flicks that no one has seen

poor pablo larrain

dicks out for pablo larrain

djross
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Re: The Top Twenty Films of 2016

Post by djross »

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