BEST ACTOR - Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
One of my favorite eras of film history that I explored in film school was the Italian Neorealist movement of the post-WWII period. In contrast to their Hollywood counterparts, often "real," non-professional actors were cast in the lead and supporting roles, lending these films an unprecedented level of truth to the story, melting away at the artificiality of movie-making. A similar feeling of human authenticity washed over me while watching Manchester by the Sea, but somehow director Kenneth Lonergan was able to capture that same level of realism with Hollywood actors like Casey Affleck. In the most devastating performance of the year, Affleck doesn't play Lee, an emotionally complicated Boston handyman, he just is Lee. I might be at risk of sounding hyperbolic in my praise, but I was reminded of Brando's performance in On the Waterfront - it's seriously that good, and it would be a travesty if he lost the Oscar this year!
Runner-Up: Tom Hanks, Sully
I think sometimes we take Tom Hanks for granted. In Sully, he delivers a reliably great performance that takes a deep look into a man thrust into the spotlight and heralded as a hero. Hanks completely sells Sully's internal conflict regarding his emergency plane landing - often conveying a range of conflicting emotions with only silent, nuanced facial expressions.
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water
Michael Fassbender in The Light Between Oceans
John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane
Jake Gyllenhaal in Nocturnal Animals
Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes in Moonlight
BEST ACTRESS - Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
There are certain movie roles you just can't picture anyone else portraying. Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark - and I can now add to that list Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine in The Edge of Seventeen. Steinfeld is able to authentically convey the roller coaster of emotions that being a teenager is like, and brings a ton of charm and wit to balance out the awkwardness and self-centeredness of her character. Even though Steinfeld, being a child actress and pop star and all, in reality probably had the least "relatable" teenage years imaginable, you would never be able to tell that from her fantastic performance here.
Runner-Up: Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Streep's performance in Florence Foster Jenkins is the opposite of Ricki and the Flash, in which she effortlessly rocks out alongside Rick Springfield like it was NBD; here she plays a character with an overabundance of effort who, let's just say, may be somewhat delusional about her abilities. Florence is such a fascinating character and I love how Streep avoids mocking her, instead embracing her as a quirky, but sincere person with hopes and dreams no different from the virtuosos around her.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Amy Adams in Arrival and Nocturnal Animals
Rebecca Hall in Christine
Natalie Portman in Jackie
Alicia Vikander in The Light Between Oceans
BEST SCORE - Nocturnal Animals, Abel Korzeniowski
I'd never heard of Abel Korzeniowski before listening to his outstanding work on Nocturnal Animals, but I'll be on the lookout for his name from now on (his previous credits include the show Penny Dreadful and A Single Man, both of which I need to catch up with). This score for Nocturnal Animals is stunning in an "Old Hollywood" kind of way, reminiscent of elegant Hitchcock thrillers like Vertigo and Psycho. The movie slowly reveals itself in a unique and mysterious manner, connecting three distinct plot lines involving the art world, a violent tale of revenge, and a rocky marriage or two, and the overtly melodramatic and sweeping score really adds to the heightened emotions at work in the film.
Top Tracks:
1. "Wayward Sisters"
2. "Table for Two"
3. "Mothers"
Runner-Up: The Neon Demon, Cliff Martinez
Cliff Martinez's score for The Neon Demon is perfect for those times you just want to feel like you're stuck in a showbiz fever dream. This primarily electric, 70-80s sounding soundtrack is cool and creepy, just like the movie it represents, fitting perfectly with Nicolas Winding Refn's glitzy, hypnotic, nightmarish visuals.
Top Tracks:
1. "Demon Dance"
2. "Neon Demon"
3. "Messenger Walks Among Us"
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Handmaiden, Jo Yeong-wook
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Moniker
In a Valley of Violence, Jeff Grace
Kubo and the Two Strings, Dario Marianelli
La La Land, Justin Hurwitz
Moonlight, Nicholas Britell
Swiss Army Man, Andy Hull & Robert McDowell
BEST SONG - "City of Stars" from La La Land
I've been whistling the melody to "City of Stars" to myself since watching the first trailer for La La Land, which is Ryan Gosling's bittersweet, melancholic tune simply wondering about his future, and if he'll ever "make it" as the jazz musician he's always wanted to be. Simple, elegant, catchy, and captured beautifully in the film against a dying sunset (as shown in the above screenshot), I defy anyone not to like this song!
Runner-Up: "Drive It Like You Stole It" from Sing Street
If you're a fan of pop rock and new wave music from the 80s, Sing Street has you covered. John Carney's latest flick is dripping with 80s-style music that's sure to bring up memories of multi-colored arm warmers and massive permed hairdos. One of my favorite of the original songs created for the movie is "Drive It Like You Stole It," which sounds like a long lost Hall and Oates tune, complete with a sexy sax solo about 3/4s in.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land
"How Far I'll Go" from Moana
"Where You Are" from Moana
"I'm So Humble" from Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
"The Riddle of the Model" from Sing Street
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" from Trolls
BEST TRAILER - Rogue One (Teaser Trailer)
Clearly the folks at Disney are experts at building hype, as last year my "Best Trailer" superlative also went to a Star Wars movie. Rogue One's first teaser can be summed up in one word: EPIC. Taking place before the events of the original Star Wars, this amp-up to the rebellion from Episodes IV-VI feels like an intergalactic Hunger Games. The immediate danger the characters are sure to face is brilliantly supported by an eerie siren blasting off in the background music mid-way through, accompanied by slowly crescendoing deep strings playing a slowed-down version of the Imperial March. To cap it off, Forrest Whittaker's closing monologue edited in with the beautiful battle-centric action imagery is perfect and chilling - too bad it wasn't in the final cut of the film!
Runner-Up: La La Land (Teaser Trailer #2)
La La Land's trailer opens with an iris-shot looking out at a cool blue Los Angeles nighttime skyline, and you're immediately transported to the Hollywood of our dreams - filled with struggling dreamers yearning for a life in the spotlight. Returning to a pure classic Hollywood musical is just the kind of escapism our times are calling for right now, and La La Land's trailer dialoguelessly expresses all those warm feelings of youthful passion us cynics seem to forget about too often.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Sausage Party (Red-Band Trailer)
Suicide Squad (Teaser #1 - Comic-Con)
Suicide Squad (Trailer #1 - Bohemian)
Sully (Trailer #1)
BEST POSTER - Jackie
This elegant and classy poster for Pablo Larraín's biopic of Jackie Kennedy perfectly captures the spirit of its subject. Jackie O. was one of the only first ladies to ever set fashion trends, often displaying an outward facade of "movie star" glamor in interviews and public appearances. The fashionably red dress with white pearls, along with the title made up of Jackie's autograph, further suggests this theme of American "royalty." The stark red tone and her unsure posturing also possibly hints at the violence that's forever tied to our image of her. This poster conveys a lot with a little, which is exactly what you want to catch someone's eye.
Runner-Up: Lights Out
This is such an ingeniously simple way of promoting a horror movie! Taping a light switch, forcing it to stay on the "On" position - it not only fits perfectly with the movie's high concept of a monster that can only attack in the shadows, but it also plays on our primal human fear of the dark. Plus it's a damn creepy wall, and the switch doesn't even have a cover over it (get an electrician!). Looking at this poster makes you feel uneasy and vulnerable, which is perfect.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Deepwater Horizon #1
Finding Dory ("Have You Seen Her?" Posters) #1 #2 #3 #4
Moonlight #1
Now You See Me 2 (Character Posters) #1 #2 #3 #4
Star Trek Beyond (Comic-Con) #1
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It's the fight us fans have been waiting for for YEARS. Decades, even. Two of the greatest superheroes together on screen for the first time...but the reigns were handed to Zack "Sucker Punch" Snyder. It has ugly CGI, messy editing, idiotic plot twists, a supremely depressing tone (Superman looks miserable saving those people), too many characters and ideas, and I'm pretty sure 75% of this movie was purely a set-up for a future franchise. While Affleck makes for a good Batman, there's not much else to recommend about this movie. It's just a mess from top to bottom, and doesn't exactly bode well for the nascent "DC Cinematic Universe."
Runner-Up: Sausage Party
Writing/Producing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg had the chance to make a landmark film: the first R-Rated 3D animated movie. While I hope this genre doesn't disappear, Sausage Party was not a great place to start in my opinion. With unfunny, forced juvenile humor and a half-baked story meant to be some kind of hedonistic knock against religion, Sausage Party felt like it was written by an ambitious college frat boy. I'm typically a fan of Rogen's work (I even think The Interview is hilarious), but for me this talking wiener movie fell limp.
(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Birth of a Nation
Magnificent Seven
Midnight Special
Rob Zombie's 31
Suicide Squad
Warcraft
BEST PLEASANT SURPRISE - Pete's Dragon
This superlative is all about the ratio between how good you think a movie will be walking into the theater and how good it actually is. Pete's Dragon was certainly not a film high up on my summer movie radar, but surprisingly it become one of my favorite major releases of the entire year. David Lowery brings a gentle, independent spirit to a property that easily could have been yet another throwaway Disney remake. Without trying to step on the musical roots of the original, Lowery crafts a genuinely touching family drama more in the spirit of Room than Mary Poppins.
Runner-Up: Deadpool
I really wasn't into the advertising for this one (TJ Miller making scrotum jokes just isn't my bag), but I was shocked at how clever and funny Deadpool turned out to be. It's both a love letter to and complete mock-up of the superhero genre, standing out in a time when we're drowning in them.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Accountant
Ghostbusters
The Neon Demon
The Shallows
Sully
War Dogs
MOST "WTF" MOVIE - Swiss Army Man
Daniel Radcliffe plays a farting corpse that Paul Dano finds and uses as a human swiss army knife. Slowly Dano starts to form a sincere friendship with the corpse and the movie turns into a sort of necrophilic bromance. Yup, Swiss Army Man is one of the weirdest, most oddball movies ever created, but it's certainly unique and more well-made than you might think (although it's notorious for having several audience members walk out during its initial screening at Sundance). If this movie doesn't make you mutter "wtf" under your breath at least once, I don't want to know what would.
Runner-Up: The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos's previous film Dogtooth was quite a strange little movie (that shockingly earned an Oscar nomination), and The Lobster continues his seeming trend of surrealistic dark comedies about socially isolated characters. In the fantasy world of The Lobster, single people are forced to find a mate and marry or else they are sent to a hotel and turned into the animal of their choice. The Lobster is intriguingly abstract and definitely a bit off its rocker - in a good way!
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Brand New Testament
David (web short)
Elle
The Handmaiden
The Neon Demon
Tickled
BEST LOOKING MOVIE - The Neon Demon
Think what you want about Nicolas Winding Refn, but the guy knows how to make movies look amazing. Having already used plenty of neon-lined visuals for Drive and Only God Forgives, Refn cranks up his own style here to dizzying heights. I don't know how this would come off watching it at home on a TV, but in a darkened movie theater, I felt transported to an alternate crazy, creepy reality where high fashion and visually-striking horror comes in the same package. If you're going to go style-over-substance, do it like Nicolas Winding Refn!
Runner-Up: Kubo and the Two Strings
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Arrival
Doctor Strange
The Handmaiden
La La Land
The Light Between Oceans
Moana
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
WORST MOVIE - Gods of Egypt
Gods of Egypt is one of the most expensive piles of trash ever made. With a production budget of $140 million dollars, it only made $31 million in the US. It's regularly cringeworthy (at one point Chadwick Boseman unironically contemplates the universe while holding up a head of lettuce), it has visual effects that look like Playstation One-era cutscenes (Geoffrey Rush as a bald sun God has to be seen to be believed), features only hulking white dudes as "Egyptians," makes no sense, and to top it all off, this painful Clash of the Titans ripoff is over two hours long!
Runner-Up: The Do-Over
Adam Sandler's four-picture deal with Netflix continues with yet another turd to add to the pile. In The Do-Over he plays an FBI agent who fakes his own death alongside his old high school buddy (David Spade), and after taking new identities they're soon attacked by assassins. This "comedy" is not only unfunny, but it's openly homophobic and misogynistic! Yet another vacation for Sandler disguised as a movie.
(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS:
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Blair Witch
Warcraft
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So that's it for my 2016 movie superlatives! Hope you enjoyed reading it! You can expect my "Top Ten" of the year very soon. In the meantime, below I've provided you guys a Spotify playlist with the tracks featured in this post for easy listening! Enjoy!
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