Best of 2016: Film

There no beating around the bush- 2016 was a rough year and movies were no exception. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed all of the movies on this list but unlike previous years, it wasn't a tough task to whittle the list down to my favorite ten of the year. It was also a year in which the good movies had to be sought out. The Jungle Book, Deadpool and Doctor Strange were all commercial successes and entertaining but only two of my favorite movies in 2016 were among the top 50 in domestic box office.

10) The Nice Guys


The Nice Guys is not the Ryan Gosling movie that's expected to win a half dozen Academy Awards but it is the movie he starred in that I enjoyed the most this year. Gosling and Russell Crowe are a perfect pairing with both actors showcasing more humor than they have in any movie prior to this one. Writer-director Shane Black does a great job in making a film that is a hybrid of film noir and a buddy cop comedy (even though neither character is an actual police officer).

9) Zootopia


It's hard for a movie to contain a positive message and still be engaging and funny but Zootopia walks that fine line just right. There's also some clever jokes that probably go over the heads of younger viewers but enough silliness and slapstick to make sure the target audience never loses interest. I went in know it had received great reviews but I was still pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Zootopia from beginning to end.

8) 20th Century Women


Writer-director Mike Mills feels to have perfectly captured the essence of Santa Barbara, CA in 1979 and the struggles of an older single mom trying to raise a teenager. Annette Benning turns in another fantastic performance in what feels like a companion piece to 2010's The Kids Are All Right. The ensemble cast of 20th Century Women also includes Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning, Billy Crudup and newcomer Lucas Jade Zumann are all terrific in a film that feels truly authentic.

7) The Edge of Seventeen


It's rare that a movie made primarily for and about young people rings true but writer and first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig appears to be drawing from personal experience as the whole movie never hits a false note. Hailee Steinfield, who first garnered attention in the 2010 remake of True Grit, is excellent as the lead character Nadine struggling trying to figure out her emotions several years after the passing of her father. Don't let that fool you though as the movie is also sharply funny with an excellent supporting turn from Woody Harrelson.

6) Lion


Lion is an expertly crafted film. The pacing, visuals and music are all executed superbly by Australian director Garth Davis who was making his first feature film. Another surprising first is the performance from first time actor Sunny Pawar which is nothing short of extraordinary. The second half of the movie wasn't quite as enthralling to me as the first half but I was still fully invested in the outcome and very much enjoyed it.

5) Green Room


It's hard to classify Green Room when someone asks what kind of movie it is. It's not exactly a horror film or a thriller but it lives in that realm and it's made all the more terrifying because of how real it feels. Green Room has a terrific ensemble cast led by the late Anton Yelchin who's probably best known for his role as Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek franchise or the lead character in Alpha Dog but he really shines here as the terrified punk rocker.

4) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping


Ever since seeing Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on opening weekend, I've been wracking my brain to remember the last comedy that I enjoyed as much. I probably laughed harder when I saw There's Something About Mary in the theater but that's going back to 1998 when I was in high school. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the modern day version of This Is Spinal Tap and is a biting satire on not only pop music but pop culture. It also doesn't hurt that the songs are not only very funny but much better than they have any business being.

3) Midnight Special


Writer-director Jeff Nichols is getting a lot of acclaim and awards nominations for his film Loving, and rightly so but it'd be a shame to overlook the brilliance of his movie Midnight Special that came out earlier in the year. Nichols does a masterful job on sucking the audience into the story in the very first seconds of the film with a local television commercial followed by a news report that only starts to explain this very bizarre story that unfolds over the next two hours. Michael Shannon has been in all five of Jeff Nichols films and he shines in this one as the protective father figure.

2) Moonlight


Within the very first scene of Moonlight, I wasn't exactly sure who the characters are or what time period the movie is taking place but you recognize that you are in the hands of a very skilled filmmaker. Writer-director Barry Jenkins in just his second full length film shows not only a tremendous eye for stunning visuals but a clear grasp of knowing how to let the emotions of his characters breathe for the exact right amount of time. I walked into theater knowing nothing about the plot and was blown away by the story of Chiron which went in a fascinating direction that I never saw coming.

1) Arrival


Last year director Denis Villeneuve was behind one of my very favorite movies Sicario and this year he directed my favorite movie. Arrival is a masterpiece that unfolds before your eyes in a truly original way. Based on "The Story of Your Life" by writer Ted Chiang, screenwriter Eric Heisserer and Villeneuve take a somewhat familiar story of an alien arrival on earth and make it wholly original. The dialogue is smart, the cinematography is beautiful, the acting is engaging and the score is phenomenal.

Honorable mention:

10 Cloverfield Lane
Deadpool
Doctor Strange
Hail, Caesar!
Hidden Figures
Kubo and the Two Strings
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Rogue One
Swiss Army Man

Best of 2016: Television

Making this list was kind of difficult this year because with several of my favorite shows leaving the air for good (Hannibal, Parks and Recreation, Justified, and The Knick) as well as some other shows not airing any new episodes this year (Fargo, Nathan For You and Review) it cut down my list of old standbys considerably. That being said, there were some returning favorites as well as a few great new shows.


10) Brooklyn Nine-Nine

After working as a producer and writer on The Office, Michael Schur went on to co-create Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and most recently The Good Place. There's a common thread in all of these shows which is that the characters are allowed to do silly and preposterous things as long as they are within the boundaries of their character. Following in the footsteps of his previous shows, Schur and co-creator Dan Goor always make sure that on top of being funny the audience ends up caring about the characters used to populate the world.

9) The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

I seemed to have more problems with this anthology series than most viewers and critics but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. There were winks at the camera with references to the Kardashian family and some subpar performances. However, stellar performances from Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran and Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden helped to elevate the source material and make a story we all know the ending to infinitely watchable.

8) Game of Thrones

I can't really describe why but despite the insane cult following, many awards and and generally universal critical acclaim, Game of Thrones has always been a show I enjoyed but felt it more as a guilty pleasure than the standard bearer for great television. However, in the sixth season, I believe they put forward their best work to date. Several episodes in the season were as good as anything on television.

7) Man Seeking Woman

If there's a more surreal or absurd scripted sitcom on television then I'm not aware of it. Man Seeking Woman followed up a very strong first season with another hilarious 10 episodes. Creator Simon Rich and his writing staff take some big swings and they aren't always home runs but it consistently makes me laugh which is why it made my top ten shows for a second year in a row.


6) Better Call Saul

In a way, I feel bad for the creative team behind Better Call Saul. Even though they've put out two very good seasons of television with some great moments, they'll never be judged on their own because of the show's connection to Breaking Bad. That being said, I've enjoyed the show a great deal and tried to judge it on its own merits even with the numerous winks and nods to the show's predecessor.

5) The Night Of

Another terrific outing from HBO who enlisted talented writers Richard Price and Steve Zaillian to adapt the British series Criminal Justice into the miniseries The Night Of. The writing is excellent in giving the audience just enough rope to speculate as to the outcome of the murder in question. A cast including John Turturro, Riz Ahmed and Bill Camp do tremendous work as the attorney, the suspect and the detective respectively. 

4) Atlanta

I didn't get around to watching Atlanta when it was airing but I caught up later and loved it. It's a show that has moments that feel incredibly real that are juxtaposed with some absurdist satire. Creator and star Donald Glover is great as the down on his luck producer but his co-stars Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz and especially Keith Stanfield are all perfectly cast. Slowly but surely FX has built a roster of TV shows to rival or exceed just about any network.

3) Mr. Robot

Following up an excellent first season of a creative new show is very difficult but that didn't slow down Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. It was not a perfect season but it had contained several of my very favorite and ambitious scenes of anything that I saw this year including the insane opening sequence during the season's sixth episode.

2) Stranger Things

No show seemed to have exploded this year quite like Stranger Things. After being rejected by several cable networks, creators Matt and Ross Duffer found a home at Netflix for the series set in 1983 that plays like Stephen King's greatest hits. Despite having some very familiar elements Stranger Things manages to succeed on its own without feeling derivative. The score and cinematography push it to another level.


1) The Americans

Despite being among the very best shows on television for four years in a row, The Americans has yet to find a wide audience. Thankfully the President of FX John Landgraf seems to be less concerned with ratings than making a quality product as the network has renewed the show for a final two seasons despite declining ratings. Everything from the writing to the acting to the set design is nearly perfect in every episode. As the show continues further and further you become more invested in the characters. Given the recent developments politically between the United States and Russia the content of the show is as timely as ever.

Honorable mention:

Animal Kingdom
Comedy Bang Bang
Halt and Catch Fire
Search Party
Silicon Valley
Westworld