The Best Movies Of 2016!!!!

Here they are---the best films of 2016. These are the films that reminded me why I love going to the theater so much. For such a terrible year in so many ways, these films provided a great escape for me. Before I get into the meat of the list, here are a few honorable mentions----White Girl, Almost Christmas, Don't Think Twice, Sing Street, Arrival, Deadpool, Nocturnal Animals, American Honey, The Edge Of Seventeen and Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened.

(10) Midnight Special

An inventive, original science fiction drama that harkens back to the 1970's, Midnight Special is a blast from start to finish. It also has amazing performances all around and is directed with such flair by Jeff Nichols that you can't help but ask how he did it all.

(9) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

The funniest film I saw all year and quite possibly one of the funniest films I have seen period, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping may feel like a series of "Saturday Night Live" sketches quickly glued together but it had me laughing out loud from start to finish. When 99.8% of the jokes in your film land, you know you've accomplished something.

(8) Moonlight

A powerful, immersive drama with a great storytelling structure, Moonlight hit me so emotionally that I just had to walk around for a bit thinking about it after I saw it. For a guy who sees 300+ films a year, that's an achievement worth bragging about.

(7) Born To Be Blue

Unlike its fellow jazz musician biopic, Miles Ahead, which was a total mess despite good intention, Born To Be Blue is an amazing, damn near perfect film about Chet Baker. Ethan Hawke gives a performance that is sure to be studied in acting classes for decades to come as Baker and the whole film is hypnotic as hell.

(6) Take Me To The River

Sadly under seen, Take Me To The River is not a fun film to watch. However, it is a powerful drama about how even your own family may be harboring dark secrets and what could happen if those secrets come out. I dare anyone to watch this film and not be gripped from start to finish.

(5) Manchester By The Sea

Speaking of emotional and powerful films about family, Manchester By The Sea is a drama about dealing with the loss of a beloved family member that works so well, it's impossible to imagine the film being made any better. If all is right with the world, Casey Affleck will win the Best Actor Oscar for his understated performance as Lee, a man who is completely stricken with grief while newcomer Lucas Hedges will at least get nominated for his equally strong performance as the nephew Lee must take care of.

(4) Other People 

Featuring incredible performances from Jesse Plemons and Molly Shannon, Other People is a riveting, devastating drama about a son and mother dealing with the hand they've been dealt. Written by "Saturday Night Live" writer Chris Kelly, the film also manages to find levity in the best of places. 

(3) In A Valley Of Violence

One of two incredibly badass films from this year (see #2 on my list for the other,) In A Valley Of Violence doesn't do anything new with its western premise but it lays the groundwork and builds around said groundwork so perfect, I dare call the film an amazing achievement. Director Ti West has always been one of my favorites and this film cements him as maybe the most natural at making cool, slick entertainment (sorry, Quentin Tarantino.)

(2) Hell Or High Water

The other incredibly badass film this year, Hell Or High Water features three performances that could all be nominated for Oscars. Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster create three of the best characters from 2016 and the film as a whole is an unpredictable, incredibly entertaining, brilliantly old fashioned rollercoaster ride.

(1) Everybody Wants Some!!

Richard Linklater once again shows why he's the king of indie comedies. Featuring a cast of relative newcomers (Ryan Guzman from The Boy Next Door, Blake Jenner from Glee and Wyatt Russell from 22 Jump Street are the best known of the cast,) this is one awesome film. Linklater sets this comedy at the beginning of the 1980's as a baseball player (Blake Jenner) moves into college and pals around with his teammates. The film is mostly just teammates having conversations but oh how engrossing they are. Pitcher Willoughby (Russell) talks about chord progressions in song for 15 minutes and it may very well be the most engaging scene from the past five years. Everybody Wants Some!! opened in limited release around me. After catching a showing of it I had to travel an hour to see, I was quite literally itching to see it again once it expanded. If that isn't high praise, I don't know what is.