Top 5 Best Films Of 2016
Title says it all. Let’s get to it.
5. Fences
Did you know that Denzel Washington is one of the most talented actors of our lifetime? It’s true, and Fences proves it. Not only does Washington star in this film, he directs it. He’s also responsible for gathering up a killer ensemble of great performers in this faithful stage-to-screen adaptation of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of 10 plays that document the African American experience in America.
Washington stars as the proud and deeply flawed head of a working class household in the 1950s. Ultimately, he’s struggling with his personal demons and the havoc they wreak on both himself and on his family. It’s a strong, vibrant and fearsome performance matched only by Viola Davis as his equally imposing wife. The film also manages to maintain the deliberate, lived-in feel of the play without sacrificing its cinematic gravitas. It’s a hell of a film.
4. Moonlight
Moonlight is a film that is profound, devastating, moving and ultimately life-affirming in many ways. By taking a small and relatively quiet story about a youth raised in the ghettos of Miami and utilizing three different actors all playing the same role at different intervals, the film follows the main character from his childhood into adulthood.
It zeros in on a couple of key dates and moments, not only telling the story of his life, but also the broader story of how our environment shapes our manifestations of race, sexuality, masculinity, emotions, strengths and vulnerabilities. To say more would spoil the movie that’s all about a gradual reveal. A special note must be made of the supporting performances by Naomi Harris and Mahershala Ali. After you see this film, you are guaranteed to be talking about it for a long, long time.
3. Arrival
Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors to hit cinema in years. If his previous film Sicario didn’t prove he was an excellent choice to helm the much anticipated sequel Blade Runner 2049 (due out next fall), then Arrival will. It is a timely, riveting and dizzying sci-fi parable on the intermeshing of language and life that is fantastic well beyond its complicated Christopher Nolan-esque concepts.
Thus, it’s up to Amy Adams as a language college professor to decipher what they are saying before the world tries to blow them away in fear of them blowing us away first. Adams gives a solid performance and has great chemistry with her companion played by Jeremy Renner. With its hyper-elegant design and the typically excellent tone and tension we always get from Villeneuve, Arrival is literally mind-bending in what it suggests about humanity. Don’t miss it.
2.Hell Or High Water
I have a soft spot for the genre that film geeks call Neo-Western. Films like No Country for Old Men and shows like Justified fit this category, but Hell or High Water will be my definitive answer from now on as to what a Neo-Western can and should be.
It works not just because of the powerhouse trio of actors, but also because of the fine line it walks when the film attempts to capture the modern cultural, political and societal zeitgeist while also telling a genre story.
The film’s lineup features like Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster and Chris Pine. Bridges is trying to capture a duo of bank robbers (played by Foster and Pine) who are delivering some good ol’ Texas justice in trying to pay off their dead mother’s mortgage by robbing the same bank that provided it to her in the first place.
Loaded with a traditional Texan atmosphere, smart dialogue and acutely observed relationships, director David Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan crafted a damn near perfect American character study that features the best final minutes of any film this year.
1. Hacksaw Ridge
The one film that spoke out to me more than any other film this year was Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge. Say what you will about Gibson in regards to his personal life, but the guy knows how to make a movie. Plain and simple. His movie of choice was an epic biopic on World War II hero Desmond T. Doss, who became the first and only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for actions above and beyond the call of duty during the war. This was given to him after saving more than 70 men all without firing a single bullet at the battle of Okinawa. This was due to his refusal to hold a weapon because of his religious beliefs.
Andrew Garfield plays the role of Doss beautifully, as his intensity and dedication cannot be ignored or faulted. He embodies the life force and temperament of a true serviceman. Gibson stages the battle scenes with a nauseating effectiveness — an R rating for this gore seems unforgivable — that makes for some of the year’s most gripping cinematic images. Viewers can probably relish in Doss’ faith and convictions: you feel simultaneously browbeaten and uplifted into the creed as Bibles fly in and out of different scenes and conversations are held about the Ten Commandments.Despite being far from perfect, the script’s Sunday school heavy-handedness is exactly what I needed in this rather rough year and through it, Gibson ultimately comments on the fortitude that people are capable of.
