My Top 10 Films Of 2016

MY TOP 10 FILMS OF 2016

The Christmas tree is finally up, the Terry's Chocolate Orange is almost gone and the New Year is thankfully on the horizon. But before we celebrate the arrival of 2017, its time to look back at the best films of 2016 - and believe me, there has been a lot of good films to choose from. To prove just how good this year really has been, here are a few movies that didn't quite make it into the final 10 but are still pretty damn great nonetheless :

'The Hateful Eight'
'Deadpool'
'Creed'
'Kung Fu Panda 3'
'10 Cloverfield Lane'
'Spotlight'
'Moana'
'Captain America : Civil War'
'Eye In Sky'
'Bone Tomahawk'
'When Marnie Was There'
'Green Room'
'A United Kingdom'
'Mustang'


Any of these deserve to be on any respectable list of the best pictures of the year but for me personally, there were 10 others which were even better. Without further ado, here is my list of the very best films 2016 had to offer -

10) 'THE BFG'

Spielberg does it yet again with this beautifully colourful and simply squiffling adaptation of Roald Dahl's scrumdiddlyumptious classic story. Newcomer Lucy Barnhill is great as the little yet loyal Lucy while Academy Award winner Mark Rylance delivers a pitch-perfect motion-capture performance as the titular giant. This is what dreams are made of. 

9) 'HELL OR HIGH WATER'

Jeff Bridges is well on his way to another Oscar nomination thanks his brilliant supporting role in this gripping and thrilling Western drama. Chris Pine and Ben Foster have terrific chemistry as two bank-robbing brothers while the aforementioned Bridges gives his best performance in years as the world-weary cop chasing them across the deserts. 

8) 'THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS'

While the current economic climate may have proved financially disastrous for my home county of the West Midlands, it has made it the perfect place for filming atmospheric high-quality horror. Expertly shot in and around the small towns of the Black Country and Birmingham, 'The Girl With All The Gifts' is a creepy, moving and surprisingly thought-provoking zombie movie that owes more to the high-end thrills of 'The Last Of Us' than it does to the traditional Romero picture.

7) 'KUBO & THE TWO STRINGS'

While 'Coraline' and 'ParaNorman' are indeed great, 'Kubo & The Two Strings' is undoubtedly Laika Animation Studios masterpiece. Utilising the art of stop motion to mind-blowing effect and filled to the brim with mythology, intrigue and adventure, 'Kubo & The Two Strings' is not only the best animated movie of 2016, it is also, arguably, one of the best animated movies ever made. I just worry that Disney's aforementioned 'Moana' will ultimately steal Oscar glory from under 'Kubo's feet next February. 

6) 'SON OF SAUL'

The film that effortlessly won the Best Foreign Language Academy Award earlier this year, Laszlo Nemes' extraordinary directorial debut is a devastatingly powerful and ferociously frank Holocaust drama that miraculously manages to find a glimmer of humanity during the most inhumane of times. 

5) 'ARRIVAL'

Despite a wealth of terrific stories and the exponential rise in the quality of computer graphics and storytelling methods, science fiction hasn't exactly been taken very seriously in cinema recently but with 'Arrival', director Denis Villeneuves has taken the genre back to its cerebral, intellectual roots. The luninous Amy Adams is a deadlock for an Oscar nomination thanks to her brilliant performance as a linguistics professor who is charged with translating the language of the extraterrestrials which have spontaneously landed in various places around the planet. The special effects, direction and acting are all terrific but makes 'Arrival' truly great is the conviction of it's complex narrative and the way in which it subverts almost every genre cliche to create something utterly unique and totally unforgettable. The long awaited 'Blade Runner' sequel is in very safe hands indeed. 

4) 'THE VVITCH'

Robert Eggers' bizarre and disturbing folk horror 'The Witch' is a film that may have divided audiences upon its release but has all of the trademarks of the next cult classic. It's direction, acting and cinematography are all fantastic but there is one simple reason why I love the movie and that is that, much like 'Arrival', it takes the genre I love the most deadly seriously; something which seems to have been bypassed, or simply ignored by the past decade of standard crash-bang franchise fare. What you get from 'The Witch' solely relies on what you, in turn, are willing to give to it. Yes, it may have a lower jump ratio than the more conventional horror fare such as the financially successful Blumhouse productions or the many James Wan projects. But if you stick with it, you will come to discover a brilliantly acted, stunningly directed and utterly chilling study of paranoia and fanaticism that is sure to linger in the darkest reaches of the subconscious long after the film reaches its extraordinary, if not, divisive apotheosis. 

3) 'I, DANIEL BLAKE'

Ken Loach's second Palme D'Or winner is a rage-filled call to arms - a vicious attack on Britain's broken benefits system and a voice for those let down by it. Comedian Dave Johns is simply terrific as the titular joiner who is continually rebutted by the employment department while Hayley Squires give the best performance of 2016 as a single mother driven to poverty and desperation but finds salvation in the kindness of Blake. Deeply upsetting, beautifully performed and containing the single most moving scene I have ever seen, 'I, Daniel Blake' is a profoundly liberal and desperately vital piece of modern British cinema. 

2) 'SING STREET'

Coming in at a very close second is the wonderful 'Sing Street', John Carney's funny, uplifting and bittersweet musical comedy that easily stands up as the most joyous release of 2016. Ferdia Walsh - Peelo shines here as a young Irish lad who, despite strife both at home and at school, forms a new romantic band to impress the new love of his life (Lucy Boynton). Much like last years 'Whiplash', 'Sing Street' manages to distill the curative power of music to great effect and while the movie does have its sad moments, for the most part, it is a gleefully positive, nostalgia-laden masterpiece chock full of endless charm and charisma - much like the eponymous band itself. 

1) 'ROOM'

It was a very, very close call but narrowly beating 'Sing Street' to the top spot is Lenny Abrahamson's unbelievably moving masterpiece 'Room', the heart-breaking adaptation of Emma Donaghue's equally moving (and seemingly unfilmable) 2011 novel of the same name. Brie Larson fought off stiff competition from the likes of Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence to deservedly win the Best Actress Oscar but it is the sorely overlooked 8 year old Jacob Tremblay who proves to be the real star of the show here - delivering a startlingly naturalistic performance that rivals that of his contemporaries many decades older. While it's themes of forced captivity and sexual abuse may imply a harrowing and deeply upsetting watch, 'Room' is is a beautifully crafted parable that centres on the most fundamental of human relationships - the undying, unwavering and  unconditional love between a mother and her child ; a love that can destroy boundaries, emblazen the spirit and overcome seemingly impossible odds. And that is why, in my humble opinion, 'Room' is the best film of the year.

COMING SOON - My bottom 10 films of 2016. Be afraid...