Ernie's picks for the Best Films of 2016
Another year closes which means it's time to look back at 2016's cinematic offerings and choose the best of the bunch. Of course, films are very subjective so there's that grey area between being the best, insert your favorite THE ROCK quote here, and being a favorite. As is this case with any year, one person cannot see every film released which results in missing some films that would have likely appeared on this list. Films I have yet to see include MOONLIGHT, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, FENCES and LION. My cut off is the stroke of midnight on December 31st so if I hadn't seen a film at that point it doesn't make the list and I don't like to amend.
With that being said, here are my picks for the Best Films of 2016. You may notice some interesting inclusions as it's the first time in a long time where horror films were good enough to make the cut and a Michael Bay film was on my list.
THE 25 BEST FILMS OF 2016
(in alphabetical order)
THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
THE HANDMAIDEN
HELL OR HIGH WATER
I, DANIEL BLAKE
JACKIE
THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016)
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
LA LA LAND
LAND OF MINE
THE LOBSTER
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
MISS SLOANE
MOANA
A MONSTER CALLS
THE NICE GUYS
PATRIOTS DAY
THE SALESMAN
SILENCE
SING STREET
SWISS ARMY MAN
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI
TRAIN TO BUSAN
ZOOTOPIA
THE TOP TEN BEST FILMS OF 2016
(in alphabetical order)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
THE HANDMAIDEN
HELL OR HIGH WATER
I, DANIEL BLAKE
LA LA LAND
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
THE NICE GUYS
SILENCE
SING STREET
ZOOTOPIA
AND THE BEST FILM OF 2016 IS...
It's true that I actually rated CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR higher, ***** stars, but that was my initial rating which has since cooled to a more reasonable ****1/2 rating. The film was easily the most fun I had with a movie all year. Yes, far more enjoyable than DOCTOR STRANGE or ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. However, it was Martin Scorsese's film that completely engaged me mentally. The film fired on all cylinders and presented a thought-provoking, engrossing, poignant and haunting examination of the meaning of faith and the extent one may go to profess it. You can read my review of the film here.
