2016 Annual List of Favorite Movie Experiences

Happy New Year! Best wishes for a fabulous 2017!

Here is my annual list of favorite movies experiences from the past year.

Cheers, Ed

Category 1:
Indelible Narrative Storytelling

Manchester by the Sea—This family drama from writer/director
Ken Lonergan packs a wallop; a deeply layered and complexly emotional film led
by a superb wounded-soul performance by Casey Affleck and great supporting
roles by Michelle Williams and newcomer Lucas Hedges.

Moonlight—Poetic, intimate, and personal, this elegiac masterpiece
sensitively and tenderly portrays the life of a man as a boy, a teen, and then
as grown up, a portrait that powerfully addresses the nature of masculinity,
manhood, and gay identity in a slice of Black America.

La La Land—A dazzlingly vibrant and original musical about two Angelenos
(a musician and an actress, of course) chasing after love with its requisite
ups and downs while trying to “make it.” Writer/director Damien Chazelle’s
follow-up to Whiplash is a wonder to
behold with outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. From its
exuberant and audacious opening song & dance number on the traffic-jammed
105/110 interchange to its tour de force climax (and a soundtrack that I’ve
been playing non-stop), La La Land is
a beautiful, brilliant, jazzy thrill ride.

Hell or High Water—A contemporary Western cops vs.
robbers tale with a moralistic twist. Great performances by lawman Jeff Bridges
+ brothers-in-crime Chris Pine and Ben Foster + Taylor Sheridan screenplay (who
wrote last year’s Sicario) elevates
this genre pic through its authentic and rich characters and intricate
storytelling.

Special
Mention

Indignation—I’m highlighting this adaptation of a Philip
Roth novel just for that scene: an 18-minute long argumentative tête-à-tête between college
administrator Tracy Letts and student Logan Lerman. You may not see anything as intense or
gripping on stage or in film this year.

Category 2: Documentaries: Who Are We, America?—Putting
a Mirror Up to Ourselves

Two incredibly
compelling companion-piece documentaries feel especially timely and important in
2016 and rate as must-sees.

OJ: Made in America—Just when you thought you knew
everything about O.J. and “the trial of the century” (especially with the
parallel release of the engrossing FX Network narrative miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson), this nearly
eight-hour epic doc reveals a totally mesmerizing socio-cultural history of
race relations from the time young O.J. appeared on the national scene in the
mid-60s to present day America.

13^th –Ava DuVernay’s powerful doc on the sad state of race
affairs in America since the passage of the 13^th amendment covers a broad
swath of territory, weaving graphics, archival footage, and talking heads in an
eloquent and persuasive manner.

Category 3:
Animation That Leaves You Awed for Very Different Reasons

Kubo and the Two Strings—I love LAIKA pics (Coraline, ParaNorman), and Kubo sets a new artistic standard as a
masterful piece of story-telling through stunning visuals and stop-motion
animation. This epic fantasy/action/comedy adventure tale set in ancient Japan
finds a young boy named Kubo on a mystical quest to solve the mystery of his fallen
samurai warrior father with the help of his magical instrument, a wise monkey,
and warrior beetle.

Sausage Party—Yes, a sunny Alan Menken musical number opens the
film, but this is not for kids—it comes out of the twisted and hallucinogenic
mind of Seth Rogen and others who brought you This Is The End. Funny,
offensive, and ultimately, sweet, this adults-only feature with
anthropomorphized foodstuff (complete with ethnicities and sexual orientations)
is not what I expected. Yes, it was jaw-droppingly raunchy and profane
(warning: food orgy), but I did not expect the subversive and oddly
thought-provoking storylines with existential and religious overtones. The
question running through my mind while watching this was: who was asleep when
the green light was given by the studio? (But I’m glad they did.)

Category 4:
Quirky Off-The-Grid Tales

Captain Fantastic—An inspired Viggo Mortenson plays a fanatical dad
raising his six children in a demanding survivalist Pacific Northwest outpost,
educating them equally in the rigors of the outdoors as well as the intellect.
A family tragedy forces the whole free-thinking, iconoclastic clan (who
celebrate Noam Chomsky Day instead of Christmas) to confront the “real” world,
raising the question of whether the dad is a good parent or irresponsible loon.
An engaging dramedy with a wonderful cast of impressive young actors.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople—New Zealand outback meets Wes
Anderson and a little Thelma and Louise.
This is an amusing and charming off-beat tale about a rotund troubled “gangsta”
kid named Ricky who’s been in and out of foster homes and finally finds a “home”
on a remote New Zealand farm. A tragic turn finds him and his grumpy foster dad
(a terrific Sam Neill) the subjects of an absurd national manhunt, chased by an
overzealous, humorless welfare services officer. Thirteen year old Julian
Dennison who plays Ricky steals the movie.

Category 5:
For Those of You Looking for Dark and Twisted Tales

Elle—Paul Verhoeven’s provocative thriller/mystery tale of power
dynamics, splashed with some very dark humor, features a steely performance by
Isabelle Hubbert as a woman raped who refuses to be a victim. Hubbert is a thrill
to watch.

Nocturnal Animals—If you like a little dark and a little twisted (as I
do), you’ll like Tom Ford’s highly stylized follow-up to A Single Man. With its David Lynchian opening title sequence, you
know you’re in for a quite a ride with this neo-noir tale that intricately
weaves together parallel stories of revenge featuring Amy Adams and Jake
Gyllenhaal.

Category 6:
More Docs—The Bizarre and Unbelievable

Weiner—Wow. It’s amazing to be a fly on the wall in this
incredible “why did he agree to this access” documentary. Watching the repeated
downfalls of the politician Anthony Weiner is cringe-inducing and depressing, but
absolutely riveting.

Tickled—A New Zealand journalist’s simple inquiry into a
bizarre online fetish video about endurance tickling competitions results in a
strangely ludicrous homophobic written response with bullying threats from its
owner. Intrigued, he embarks on a fascinating and courageous pursuit to expose
this manipulative and abusive shadowy figure who ruins the lives of people who
engage him.

Category 7:
And Something For Foodies

Sour Grapes—An entertaining look at a bizarre counterfeit scandal
that rocked the high-end wine world a few years ago. Out of nowhere, a young
Indonesian man with impeccable connoisseur’s knowledge spills
onto the wine auction scene. He then spawns an elaborate con, spending crazy
amounts of money accumulating and then selling rare and expensive bottles of
wine…so rare, in fact, that they included vintages that didn’t exist.

Ants on a Shrimp—Watch as Rene Redzepi of Copenhagen’s NOMA moves his
restaurant to Tokyo for a five week pop-up stint. (If Redzepi or NOMA don’t
mean anything to you, you won’t care about this doc.)