1 - Hell or High Water

I’ve always loved heist films.  I’m not sure what it is, I just find them fascinating on so many levels.  Hell or High Water deserves to be on any list of the best heist films. It doesn’t have the action of Heat, the comedy of Ocean’s Eleven or the resonating impact of a Bonnie & Clyde, but it’s just a well made film.

Hell or High Water is written by Taylor Sheridan, who also wrote one of my favorite films of 2015 in Sicario.  Like Sicario, Hell or High Water is a slow burn, but it also has that gritty realism that Sicario had.  The film takes its time building the story and the relationships between the characters.  At its core, that’s what the film is really about.  The bond between men.  The bond between two brothers, the friendship of a Texas Ranger and his partner, and the relationship between a father and son.

Chris Pine doesn’t get a lot of attention as an actor.  He often finds himself in big budget films like Star Trek, but he’s really solid here.  It’s probably the best performance of his career. That said, it's Ben Foster who steals the film.  Foster is one of the more underrated character actors working today.  I’ve loved him since his performance in 3:10 to Yuma.  The cast is rounded out by Jeff Bridges, who’s always great.  Hell or High Water is also a timely film about the financial landscape of the country and the hardships of the working class.  Not enough people saw Hell or High Water and that’s a shame.

2 - Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea doesn’t follow the normal structure that most films employ.  There’s no three act structure. There’s no main villain or anything like that.  Instead, what we get is what I like to call a “Day in the Life” film.  These are films where we literally follow somebody as they live their life.

The result of that is a film that doesn’t feel like a movie.  It feels like you are actually watching real people, and that’s where Manchester by the Sea’s emotional punch really hits you.  There’s no better evidence of this than Casey Affleck’s performance.  It’s one of the more understated performances you will ever see an actor give, and it’s remarkable.  I’ve always liked Casey Affleck, he’s been great in films like the underrated Gone Baby Gone and the Assassination of Jesse James.  It’s inevitable that he will always live in his brother’s shadow.  Ben’s off dating famous actresses, playing Batman and directing great films, but Casey just does his thing quietly.  That said, there’s no hiding this year.  Casey Affleck gives the best performance of the year by an actor.

The other thing that I wanted to mention that rarely gets brought up when discussing this film is the fact that it’s really funny despite its heavy subject matter.  Many people will be turned off by the film’s mundane, meandering plot. However, if you’re like me and you love great acting and great writing, then you will marvel at Manchester by the Sea.

3 - 10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane came out really early in the year, but still managed to hold a top 5 spot for me all year.  I’m not going to lie, I was kind of surprised how much I loved this film.  I wasn’t a fan of the original film, but 10 Cloverfield Lane is completely different.  It really only shares very slight DNA with the first film.

Essentially, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a stage play between 3 actors.  You may have seen me mention in my “Most Underrated Films of 2016” list, but I love films that take place in one location.  Cloverfield Lane does an excellent job of building tension and it really keeps you guessing as to what is truly going on.  Those with no knowledge of the first film might either be rewarded, or left feeling cheated.

Maybe the best part of 10 Cloverfield Lane is a fantastic performance by the greatest living character actor - John Goodman.  He’s equal parts terrifying and lovable.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also great here as a strong female character that refuses to accept her fate.  She uses her creativity and her intelligence to get out of the situation.  I’m not sure where the franchise goes from here, but it’s going to be hard to top 10 Cloverfield Lane.

4 - Arrival

Here’s the part where I gush over Denis Villeneuve’s films.  I’m going to keep talking about him until everybody knows who he is, so get over it.  Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today.  Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy and Incendies are some of the best films released in recent years.  Well, you can add Arrival to that list.

If you went into Arrival expecting Independence Day, then you left feeling severely disappointed.  Arrival is not an action film.  In fact, what Villeneuve has given us is an arthouse film disguised as a mainstream alien blockbuster.  Arrival most closely resembles films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  For that reason alone, Arrival kind of has an older Hollywood feel to it.  It resembles films from an era where audiences didn’t need big explosions to hold their attention.

Amy Adams also gives a great performance here, which we have all become accustomed to at this point.  I don’t want to give too much away, but Arrival is the kind of film we need more of.  It’s challenging, thought-provoking and easily one of the year’s best.  Next up for Villeneuve is his first big budget film in the Blade Runner sequel.

5 - Nice Guys

The Nice Guys is the most fun I had at the movies this year.  The chemistry between Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling is through the roof.  Unfortunately, The Nice Guys bombed at the box office because it didn’t have any superheroes in it, nor did it have any lightsabers or Minions.

It’s a shame too because if this were the 80’s, The Nice Guys would have probably been the #1 movie at the box office. That was a time when buddy films ruled the cinema.  The Nice Guys shares a lot in common with films of that era.  It should, it’s written and directed by Shane Black, who wrote the Lethal Weapon franchise.

The other bright spot with the film is the performance of newcomer Angourie Rice.  She steals every scene she’s in.  I would have loved for The Nice Guys to have spawned a franchise, but that’s likely not to happen at this point.  At the very least, do yourself a favor and rent The Nice Guys.
 

6 - Sully

There’s a lot of great films on my list, but many of them are pretty dark.  Sully is the complete opposite of that.  It’s one of the truly feel-good films of the year.  Sully tells the true story of American hero Chesley Sullenberger, who safely landed a plane in the Hudson, saving the lives of hundreds of people.

It was a story that grabbed headlines, what we didn’t see was the rigorous investigation that Sullenberger endured after the cameras and newspapers went away.  The pedigree of names attached to this film is phenomenal.  Tom Hanks plays Sullenberger, a perfect role for an actor that has made a living on playing America’s Everyman.  First Hanks plays a boat captain who saves the lives of his crew, now a pilot.  All he needs to do is play a train conductor to complete the trifecta.

Sully is directed by legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood.  Eastwood never wastes a frame in this film.  It’s easily one of the more well paced films of the year.  This is also a credit to writer Todd Komarnicki.  It’s not easy to bring such a recent, well known film to the screen, but Komarnicki succeeds where many fail and that’s in making the main character feel like a real person. A living, breathing man who did an extraordinary thing, but at the same time, not making him out to be superhero.  Sullenberger used his expertise and his judgement in order to do his job, and that is making sure every person aboard that plane walked away.

7 - Hacksaw Ridge

Like Sully, Hacksaw Ridge is another one of the more uplifting films of the year.  Ridge tells the incredible true story of a World War II medic that refuses to carry a gun into battle.  Like Sully, who stood by his decision to land the plane in the Hudson, Desmond Doss stands by his belief that it’s wrong to kill another human, no matter what the circumstance may be.

Doss is played by Andrew Garfield who gives the best performance of his career.  He’s so conflicted at times, yet so steadfast in what he must do.  Garfield is having an amazing year, he’s also getting Oscar buzz for his performance in the Scorsese film Silence.

Ridge is directed by Mel Gibson, who is in the director’s chair for the first time in a decade.  I really wish Gibson would direct more films, he’s truly talented.  Especially when it comes to shooting fight scenes.  Like he did with Braveheart, the battle scenes in Hacksaw Ridge are just fantastic.  It’s right up there with the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. The film as a whole doesn’t quite reach Ryan, which is the greatest war film of all-time in my opinion, but it’s certainly the best World War II film since Saving Private Ryan.
 

8 - Nocturnal Animals

Here’s one that will make your head spin.  Animals tells the story of a lonely gallery owner, played by Amy Adams, who has become disenchanted with the art world.  One day, she receives a manuscript in the mail from her ex-husband, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who pulls double duty in the film.  The novel is dedicated to her and revolves around a man, also played by Gyllenhaal (who Susan pictures as the main character in the book), trying to find his wife and daughter who have been kidnapped.  As she reads the book, we see it play out from the perspective of the characters in the book. The film also mixes in a story thread from when the real-life couple first met.

If you’re not into films with multiple storylines intersecting at once, pass on this one.  For everybody else, you’re going to get one of the more interesting, thought-provoking films of the year.  It’s also one of the better looking films, as well as one of the better acted films of the year with standout performances by Gyllenhaal, Adams and Michael Shannon.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.
 

9 - Deadpool

I’m not sure what more there is to say about Deadpool.  It’s easily the best comic book movie of the year.  Deadpool came along at the perfect time.  As much as I love these comic book movies, they’ve started to feel a little stale and just too safe.  Well, Deadpool throws all of that out the window.

Right from the opening credits, you know you’re in for a wild ride.  This ain’t your daddy’s superhero.  Any parent who thinks this is another Marvel film is going to get a rude awakening, not to mention quite a few hard-to-answer questions. Deadpool is a perfect example of how you can succeed when you have passionate people making and producing a film. Deadpool doesn’t get made if Ryan Reynolds didn’t care so much about the character and the film.  The only bad part about Deadpool is that it might just make every other comic book film to come after it look a little wimpy.

10 - Captain America: Civil War

Out of all the Marvel films, the Captain America franchise might be the best of the bunch.  Every film has been strong and Civil War might be the best of the three.  In a way, Civil War kind of felt like an Avengers film.  In fact, it blows Age of Ultron out of the water.

Some people complained that there were too many characters, but I thought Civil War did an excellent job of giving each character his or her chance to shine.  Even Ant-Man has his chance to get in on the action.  However, it’s Spider-Man’s long awaited introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe that everybody wanted to see.  I’m happy to say he didn’t disappoint.  The buzz going into 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming is going to be crazy.

My biggest complaint is that we live in an age where there’s no surprises anymore.  I know it’s almost impossible to keep something like that a secret, but it would have been so cool to not have seen Spider-Man in the trailer and to be surprised when he came swinging into a scene.  Oh well.  Either way, Civil War is one of the very best comic book films the genre has to offer.