Rollo Tomasi’s Top Ten Films of 2016
The 2016 film season was a year of infrequent highs and deep, dismal lows. Like any film year, not every film met our expectations (Star Trek Beyond and Deepwater Horizon). Some films far exceeded what we thought they would be (The Witch). Some films were hidden gems (I Am a Hero). Other subtle surprises (Morgan). A few were tragic disasters (Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk).
The films that I have listed below are films that were fulfilling to me in some way, shape, or form. I like in films what I like in a great book: creative narrative, three dimensional characters, character arcs, and all the other regalia of thoughtful creation.
Rollo Tomasi’s Top Ten Films of 2016
10. I Am a Hero
Filled with quirky characters and an atypical lead character on the losing end of a relationship and job search, I Am a Hero sets a melancholy stage before mayhem ensues. I Am a Hero was one of the best looking horror films of the year, imbued with precise direction and crisp cinematography. It is rare to see a horror film that looks this good. I Am a Hero takes the zombie genre and adds multiple new elements. This is an extremely difficult feat because of the presence of The Walking Dead in the horror landscape but I Am a Hero did so.
9. Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War was the most entertaining Captain America film-to-date. Captain America 3 benefited from all of the Captain America films that came before it. It wasn’t the strongest Captain America film, though, narrative-wise. The first film holds that title. What Captain America: Civil War did have was an extremely surprising third act between Winter Soldier and Iron Man. Because of that and the monstrosities that DC regurgitated into theaters during 2016, Captain America: Civil War stands head and shoulders above the pack.
8. Allied
What started out as a assassination film set during World War II evolved into a is she / isn’t she thriller. The romance and intrigue in Allied were good and the action was brutal (fitting for war film). It was the spy versus domestic existence that became the most compelling aspect of the film.
7. Fences
Fences was a film that stood out immediately because of its dialogue and the amount of history told to the audience through normal conversation between characters. Dysfunctional family stories are a dime a dozen. What sets this one apart is how rich everyone’s background is. The main characters have Tarantino-style histories, full of joys and sadness with the latter dominating their formative years.
6. Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures was a retrofitted David and Goliath story set within the walls of NASA during the Jim Crow era of America. Taraji P. Henson‘s performance was fantastic as she eventually railed against the inequalities hampering her, her work, and her work environment. The Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) / Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) on-screen moments were especially noteworthy (they showed Johnson’s skill or something Harrison should have been doing as her boss. Cream rises to the top of the box office and within people’s awareness. Hidden Figures is an example of it.
5. Loving
Loving was a drama that captured the struggles of living in a bi-racial marriage during a time of racial adversity in America. As a strong human drama, the Lovings were consistently battered by circumstances that would have rocked most couples apart. Ruth Negga gave a great performances and Joel Edgerton was great and consistent as always. Like the protagonist in Rudy, the viewer began rooting for the Lovings to persevere.
4. Hacksaw Ridge
Hacksaw Ridge was one of the most intense, human, and gritty war films that I have ever seen. I have seen most of top war films: Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Braveheart, Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut, et cetera. Hacksaw Ridge is in that league. It’s not at the top (its towards the bottom end – it simply can’t touch Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut) but it tried to be with its mixture of human drama, romance, and visceral warfare. This is one of Mel Gibson‘s most impressive films and a return to Hollywood, as it were, for the beleaguered director. The narrative in this film was continuously surprising, with moments no one could have expected e.g. Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) helping an enemy soldier underground when they had every reason to hate each other.
4. The Witch
The Witch was a horror film of precision. Like the pioneering horror films before it, The Witch took the road less traveled. The Witch never shied away from setting up and executing the foulest of scenarios while keeping everything grounded within the bounds it setup at its outset. Like La La Land, the ending to The Witch was the apex of its narrative, the culmination of all that had come before it. In The Witch‘s case, its ending was even better than what had come before it because it revealed hidden elements that had been lurching in the narrative all along.
3. Jackie
Jackie contained Natalie Portman‘s best performance-to-date. Her character traversed an increasing complex array of emotions as the viewer was taken through key moments in Jackie Kennedy‘s life. During key traumatic and emotional moments in the film, the music swelled with a camera that picked shots and angles for maximum effect. Jackie was not an ordinary film about a historical figure. It was almost as if Jackie was trying to show the viewer who the real Jackie was (complex, thinking of perception and the future) while she was trying to discover that for herself during the worst moment in her life.
2. Moonlight
Moonlight was the story of transition and awakening anchored by the most unlikely and caring father-figure, at least for its first two acts. In its third act, the film was in the hands of Black (Trevante Rhodes), a person unintentionally imitating the person (his father-figure) that helped to destroy and transmogrify a large portion of his childhood. Moonlight‘s cinematography was top-notch but its story line and Mahershala Ali‘s performance made the film stand-out.
1. La La Land
Musicals are a rarity today. They are something from Hollywood’s past that many can’t connect with in the modern era. That was not the case with La La Land. The film had an opposites attract love drama at its heart, a heart that beat stronger as the film tap-shoed forward. La La Land‘s ending was its greatest accomplishment. La La Land‘s ending was a bittersweet nail driven home through love, loss, and suppressed sentiment that bubbled forth with life and vitality. Emma Stone‘s face during that moment said it all.
Honorable Mentions:
Anthropoid and Doctor Strange.
2016 Films I Have Not Seen
I can only rate the films that I have seen. I have not seen that: Manchester by the Sea, Train to Busan, Zootopia, Hell or High Water, Lion, Silence, and The Wailing yet.
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