It would be fair to say that I watch a shit load of movies. I don't always watch new movies though, so I don't get to the cinema as much as one would imagine. However, last year I still managed to watch about 220 movies over the course of the year, which is a pretty good effort I think, especially since I also watched about 30 TV series as well.
In my pursuit of quality viewing, I naturally encounter some pretty dodgy shit as well, and I had more than my fair share of disappointments both at the cinema and on the couch over the past year.
I felt that it was only fair to share my highlights and lowlights of 2016 with you, so that I may steer you in the right direction for any future viewings.
Please note that these are in no particular order.
The Best Movies of 2016:
The Hunt for The Wilderpeople
La La Land
Kubo and The Two Strings
Deadpool
The Jungle Book
The Lobster
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Finding Dory
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
The Little Prince
10 Cloverfield Lane
Midnight Special
Zootopia
The worst films I saw in 2016 (not all 2016 releases):
Assassin's Creed
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Zoolander 2
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Nice Guys
Central Intelligence
Suicide Squad
Chappie
Anomalisa
The Dressmaker
The best movies I watched in 2016 that were not actually released in 2016 (aka. catch-up movies) :
Youth
There Will Be Blood
American Hustle
The Revenant
Sightseers
Adaptation
Raging Bull
Scarface
Apocalypse Now
Tangerine
Hateful 8
The Room
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
Straight Outta Compton
Wages of Fear
The Skin I Live In
The Best TV Series of 2016:
Stranger Things
Broad City
Game of Thrones
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Preacher
Twin Peaks
Haters Back Off!
Upper Middle Bogan
Love
Peaky Blinders
The Night Of
Better Call Saul
Raised by Wolves
Black Mirror
TV Series that I Tried to Endure 2016 but just couldn't:
Westworld
iZombie
Wayward Pines
Scream Queens
So there you have it, the best and the worst of 2016 for me. Hopefully, you will be inspired to watch something on my good list, and even though the bad list stuff was shithouse to me, I know that many people will totally disagree with my choices.
In truth, I believe that all movies deserve to be seen, even the bad ones, because someone put their heart and soul into making them, so who am I say that they aren't worthy? At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's good, bad or ugly, it's all entertainment and that is never a bad thing in my mind. So with that, I will leave you with what I consider to be the most shamefully overlooked movie of 2016, a gem of a film and one that the whole family can enjoy.
In my pursuit of quality viewing, I naturally encounter some pretty dodgy shit as well, and I had more than my fair share of disappointments both at the cinema and on the couch over the past year.
I felt that it was only fair to share my highlights and lowlights of 2016 with you, so that I may steer you in the right direction for any future viewings.
Please note that these are in no particular order.
The Best Movies of 2016:
The Hunt for The Wilderpeople
La La Land
Kubo and The Two Strings
Deadpool
The Jungle Book
The Lobster
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Finding Dory
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
The Little Prince
10 Cloverfield Lane
Midnight Special
Zootopia
The worst films I saw in 2016 (not all 2016 releases):
Assassin's Creed
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Zoolander 2
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Nice Guys
Central Intelligence
Suicide Squad
Chappie
Anomalisa
The Dressmaker
The best movies I watched in 2016 that were not actually released in 2016 (aka. catch-up movies) :
Youth
There Will Be Blood
American Hustle
The Revenant
Sightseers
Adaptation
Raging Bull
Scarface
Apocalypse Now
Tangerine
Hateful 8
The Room
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
Straight Outta Compton
Wages of Fear
The Skin I Live In
The Best TV Series of 2016:
Stranger Things
Broad City
Game of Thrones
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Preacher
Twin Peaks
Haters Back Off!
Upper Middle Bogan
Love
Peaky Blinders
The Night Of
Better Call Saul
Raised by Wolves
Black Mirror
TV Series that I Tried to Endure 2016 but just couldn't:
Westworld
iZombie
Wayward Pines
Scream Queens
So there you have it, the best and the worst of 2016 for me. Hopefully, you will be inspired to watch something on my good list, and even though the bad list stuff was shithouse to me, I know that many people will totally disagree with my choices.
In truth, I believe that all movies deserve to be seen, even the bad ones, because someone put their heart and soul into making them, so who am I say that they aren't worthy? At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's good, bad or ugly, it's all entertainment and that is never a bad thing in my mind. So with that, I will leave you with what I consider to be the most shamefully overlooked movie of 2016, a gem of a film and one that the whole family can enjoy.
THE LITTLE PRINCE
Release Date: 2016
Rating: PG
Running Time: 108 mins
Thank you Netflix for this hidden gem. This wonderfully realised stop-motion/ animated fantasy was directed by Mark Osborne and based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Premiering at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in 2015, the film mysteriously went out of circulation, and then over a year later, Netflix acquired the distribution rights and voila, we finally got to enjoy it.
An intelligent and studious little girl and her meticulous mother move to a new location to ensure that they are correctly zoned for a prestigious private school. Their new neighbour, The Aviator, proves to be a curious and eccentric character and soon befriends the little girl. Meeting in secret, the two unlock the girl's imagination and sense of adventure through The Aviator's tales about The Little Prince.
Heavyweights like Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro and Ricky Gervais have perfectly voiced many of the main characters, but it is the brilliant and whimsical animation style that really sweeps you up here. This is such a touching and lovely movie, and certainly one that shouldn't be missed.
FINAL SAY: Growing up is not the problem, forgetting is.
3.5 Chilli Peppers
Release Date: 2016
Rating: PG
Running Time: 108 mins
Thank you Netflix for this hidden gem. This wonderfully realised stop-motion/ animated fantasy was directed by Mark Osborne and based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Premiering at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in 2015, the film mysteriously went out of circulation, and then over a year later, Netflix acquired the distribution rights and voila, we finally got to enjoy it.
An intelligent and studious little girl and her meticulous mother move to a new location to ensure that they are correctly zoned for a prestigious private school. Their new neighbour, The Aviator, proves to be a curious and eccentric character and soon befriends the little girl. Meeting in secret, the two unlock the girl's imagination and sense of adventure through The Aviator's tales about The Little Prince.
Heavyweights like Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro and Ricky Gervais have perfectly voiced many of the main characters, but it is the brilliant and whimsical animation style that really sweeps you up here. This is such a touching and lovely movie, and certainly one that shouldn't be missed.
FINAL SAY: Growing up is not the problem, forgetting is.
3.5 Chilli Peppers
RSS Feed