Baumer's best 42 films of 2016 (and 12 worst) and Ruk's breakdown of 2016 films (Finished!)

[baumer]

41) Green Room

Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier

Starring:  Anton Yelchin, Professor X, Imogen Poots

Box office:  3.2 million

 

In a year of good horror films, this makes the list at the bottom.  It's tense in parts and it also stars Anton Yelchin in one of his final roles.  That alone makes it worth seeing.  The one thing it has going for it is that it is quite violent and there is some good graphic depiction of what happens and the ending of it while kind if subdued, was very well done.  I didn't love this movie either, but it is still worth seeing.

 

[Jason]

Admittedly, I don't think I was the intended audience for Sausage Party because that type of humour doesn't usually work for me anyway. But the problem was, even the other humour (political, ethnic) didn't work for me. Saw the jokes coming from so far away that by the time the punchlines arrived it was like "yeah, knew you were going there, surprise me for a change". Apparently delaying the punchline is part of good humour (I'm no expert), but in any case, the timing didn't work for me all. Nothing did. A "comedy" where I didn't actually laugh even once.

[Plain Old Tele]

Wow, that's crazy low for GREEN ROOM.

[baumer]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

Admittedly, I don't think I was the intended audience for Sausage Party because that type of humour doesn't usually work for me anyway. But the problem was, even the other humour (political, ethnic) didn't work for me. Saw the jokes coming from so far away that by the time the punchlines arrived it was like "yeah, knew you were going there, surprise me for a change". Apparently delaying the punchline is part of good humour (I'm no expert), but in any case, the timing didn't work for me all. Nothing did. A "comedy" where I didn't actually laugh even once.

 

I don't recall laughing either.

[baumer]

2 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Wow, that's crazy low for GREEN ROOM.

 

Not my favourite of the horror films this year.....TBH, the horror crop this year was good, but nothing overly memorable imo.

[baumer]

I'll be back in a little bit.

[Porthos]

3 hours ago, baumer said:

42) Sing

Directed by Gareth Jennings

Starring:  All right all right all right, Reese, Scarlett, JC Reilly

Box office:  358 million and counting

 

Here's a film, kind of like SLOP, that is kind of just okay for much of the film, but then the last act it really picks up.  I found myself singing along with the characters for much of their auditions and then performances in the film.  I enjoy Illumination films at times.  At times, they leave something to be desired.  But then again, I'm not big on most animation so for this to make my list is saying something.  It's not terrific but it is entertaining.

 

 

For a split second, for the briefest of seconds, I thought you had this as your 10th worst film of the year.

 

Needless to say, I was very confused by the first couple of sentences before I moved back up a bit and realized what was going on. 

[baumer]

#40

Triple 9

Directed by:  John Hilcoat

Starring:  Everyone

Box office:  23 million

 

Triple 9:   Triple 9 is a dark and gloomy story, which feels strongly inspired by Michael Mann's Heat. Unlike Heat, the film/script doesn't give the characters enough substance to make us really care for their outcome in the film. The ordeals of the characters came and went without me feeling any real emotions towards any of them.  This isn't a bad movie but it's not brilliant. There are a few of gun battle/action periods that are really well shot and entertaining enough to keep you interested in the film as a whole. It's not too predictable but there are not enough shocks or tense moments that you would expect from a thriller.  However, one thing this film does have is a terrific cast.  I am pretty much in awe of Casey Affleck in every film he's in and he's terrific in this one as well.  Then you have a sleezy looking Gal Gadot, Daryl from The Walking Dead, Kate Winslet, the ridiculously talented and beautiful Teresa Palmer, Woody Harrelson and so many others, that the film just works in so many ways because of the fine cast.  As I said, it's not a great film, but it is a good one.
 

[baumer]

#39

The Finest Hours

Directed by Craig Gilespie

Starring:  Casey Affleck, Chris Pine, Eric Bana

Box office:  52 million

 

 Finest Hours:  February 1952. Bernie Webber is a boatswain/Petty Officer at a Coast Guard station on the coast of Massachusetts. A massive storm is in progress out to sea, damaging two tankers to the point that they appear likely to sink. On one tanker, the Pendleton, the chief engineer, Ray Sybert, is using all his ingenuity, resourcefulness and experience to keep the ship afloat and buy time until help arrives. Unfortunately for him and his crew, the Coast Guard have sent their best crew and rescue boat to the other stricken tanker. When the Coast Guard discover the Pendleton's situation, Webber and a 3-man crew are sent to help. The odds are stacked against Webber - just leaving the harbour in those seas will require large amounts of skill, courage and luck. Then they have to find the Pendleton, without a compass, rescue the crew and somehow make it home safe.

An enthralling (true) story of courage and survival. Compelling viewing - once the danger strikes, you're glued to your seat. What makes it so interesting is that they don't just focus on the efforts of the rescuers but also on the rescued. I found the Pendleton crew's story much more interesting than that of Webber and co - the ingenuity, resourcefulness and (reluctant) leadership of Sybert was amazing. This is helped by a great performance from Casey Affleck.
He is the standout again, just as he is in perhaps every movie he is in.  This is his second but not last appearance on this list.  

 

[rukaio101]

4 hours ago, Telemachos said:

Wow, that's crazy low for GREEN ROOM.

Yeah, Baumer, I can't imagine anybody having Green Room that low on their list.

 

*whistles innocently*

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, rukaio101 said:

Yeah, Baumer, I can't imagine anybody having Green Room that low on their list.

 

*whistles innocently*

 

 

 

[robertman2]

I haven't even seen it

[rukaio101]

60. The Finest Hours

 

Boy… this movie sure existed didn’t it?

 

Okay okay, jokes aside, let's talk about the movie. Chris Pine, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated leading men out there. He brings this sense of charm and fun to so many of his roles and he’s effortlessly watchable and memorable for me. That said, he was badly miscast in this movie. I don't know exactly what the casting directors were thinking. 'Hey, here’s a charming outgoing, funny actor. Let’s give him a dreary, introverted role where he doesn’t smile once! That seems like common sense!' (Side note: Please ignore that they also did this in Hell or High Water and that it somehow worked amazingly. That movie was actually good.)

 

Aside from that, there’s really not much else memorable about this movie. I do remember enjoying some of the action scenes and the story on the actual shipwrecked boat was fairly gripping, but aside from that the movie left very little impression on me. Not exactly something you want from your ‘Finest Hours’.

 

 

P.S: It's weird that me and Baumer both have this and Triple 9 right next to each other.

 

P.P.S: I am going to piss off so many people with these next two entries. Warning you now...

[rukaio101]

59. Don't Breathe

(Told ya it'd piss people off)

 

 

Ah, this was a disappointment. I’m one of the people who actually really liked the Evil Dead reboot and this follow-up by the same director looked like it would be even better. It had a great trailer, a great premise and great reviews. But when I finally got around to watching it… I was pretty underwhelmed.

 

I’m not sure exactly why it didn’t click. Perhaps it was the broad unlikeable characterisation, perhaps it was the way the film attempted to keep the blind guy a genuine threat/stop the protagonists escaping way past the point where it felt believable (despite how badass Stephen Lang admittedly clearly is). Perhaps I just built my expectations up too much. Whatever the reason the film just didn’t grip me. The tense sequences didn’t feel tense, the horrifying stuff felt more squicky than horrifying and by the time we got to the stuff with the dog in the car, I was just waiting for it to end already.

 

It's a shame because I know a lot of people really enjoyed this movie and I really wanted to too, but I just didn't find it that impressive. Especially since there were a lot of much more enjoyable horrors around this year.

[rukaio101]

58. Green Room

 

Wow, I'm just shitting over all the underrated favourites today...

 

Honestly though, I'm just going to say it straight. Jeremy Saulnier is a director who I just don’t get. Everyone goes out of their way to praise his movies, but I hated Blue Ruin and I thought this movie was just kinda eh. Perhaps it’s just Red Turtle all over again and I’m just failing to get into the atmosphere provided, but both movies came off as relentlessly dull and mumbly to me with character decisions that make little sense and tropes subverted seemingly just for the sake of it rather than because it in any way improves the film (which often it doesn’t). I didn't get that interesting in the characters, I didn't get that interested in the action, I just didn't get that interested in this movie.

 

That said, there are a few reasons I’m putting this above Blue Ruin. Mainly because Patrick Stewart is awesome in this. Also there were a few genuinely tense and affecting scenes here and there. But ultimately, the whole thing is just wrapped up in that dull, mumbly atmosphere that affects Saulnier’s films and it just does not work for me.

 

Also, please send any hate mail for this and Don't Breathe ranking so low to baumer@generic-email-address.com.

[rukaio101]

57. The Secret Life of Pets

 

 

There! Are we happy now? I assume nobody cares about me shitting on this movie? 

 

Seriously, I’m rarely one to begrudge any movie for making loads and loads of money, but why of all animation studios does Illumination have to be the one making it so big? I’ve only seen one movie of theirs that I actually liked (the original Despicable Me), yet each movie of theirs seems to be practically made of gold. I probably wouldn’t even have looked at this movie twice had it not been for its box office take because it’s just feels so… meh.

 

Honestly, this just feels manufactured by a machine. I know people like to throw ‘studio-formula-driven’ and ‘designed by committee’ to every blockbuster they dislike (Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc (none of which I particularly feel deserve said label (yes even for DC)), but that’s really what this movie feels like. Everything is bland and safe. The animation style, bland and safe. The characters, bland and safe. The storyline, bland and safe because it’s fucking Toy Story rehashed. And even the more out-there elements, like Chris Rock’s rabbit, feel out-there in a bland and safe kind of way. It feels like the very epitome of a studio project. Bland, safe and profitable. And if you enjoy it, that’s fine. Sometimes a movie like that can be just what you’re in the mood for. But really, this movie was completely unmemorable, aside from how much money it made.

 

Probably would’ve been better just sticking as a short film.

[rukaio101]

56. Hardcore Henry

 

 

Probably the main judge for how much you like this movie will be how long it take for you to tire of its gimmick. For me… it didn’t really take that long. A movie shot in all FPS style is a neat idea, but it kinda feels like that’s all there is to the movie. (Well, that and the unrelenting action.) And, even if the constant shakey cam doesn’t make you queasy, the action isn’t really varied or unique enough to stop the whole thing from just getting old after a while.

 

That said, there are two major reasons it's ranked here rather than much lower down on the list. First of all, it really went all in with its premise and I have to genuinely respect that (plus I do kinda love mindless violence). Secondly, and most importantly, Sharlto Copley. Jesus Christ, that guy was amazing. If there was a Oscar for sheer entertainment value in a performance he would be right up there this year. He doesn’t so much chew the scenery as he as goes fucking Hannibal Lecter on it. Every moment he’s on screen is a delight in batshit insanity. Seriously, the guy makes the fucking movie. If there’s anything worth watching this for, it’s him.

 

In the meantime, let’s just hope the gimmick stays buried. Or at least gets handled in a less obnoxious way.

[rukaio101]

55. Phantom Boy

 

 

While I thought this year was fairly disappointing in terms of films overall, it was notable to me personally for one major reason. This year was the first year I started to take an active interest in animated films made outside of America/Japan. Sure, I’d seen a few here and there, like last year’s supremely disappointing The Boy and the World, but this time I actually actively sought them out. And, as you’ll see later in this list, found a few genuine gems. This… was not one of them.

 

Phantom Boy, a film by the directors of the Oscar nominated 'A Cat in Paris', is about a sick kid with the power to astral project himself out of his body, who aids a crippled detective in hunting down a villain. It’s ostensibly supposed to be a superhero movie, but comes off more like a detective/crime story with a superpower involved (kinda on the sidelines as well). Honestly, it’s really fairly average and I get the impression the filmmakers were far more interested more in the drama of the sick kid stuff (which doesn’t really come majorly into play until the final act) rather than actually exploring the interesting possibilities of an unusual power. The side cast is decent, albeit pretty damn cliche. The loose cannon detective, the nosy reporter who constantly gets in trouble, the asshole police chief, etc etc. I will say the villain (voiced in the english dub by Vincent D’Onofrio doing his best Christopher Walken impression) is fun but also kinda hard to take seriously as a threat. And the animation is just okay and feels a bit like a kids cartoon rather than anything breathtaking.

 

I'll admit I never saw A Cat in Paris so I can't tell you whether this is better or not (although I'd doubt it) but there are much better examples of interesting animated movies to find this year.

[rukaio101]

54. Swallows and Amazons

 

 

Hey look! Another nostalgic British property I loved as a kid getting a rather ‘eh’ remake! 

 

I’ll admit, I don’t remember much of the original Swallows and Amazons movie these days, but I definitely remember enjoying it a lot, in part because the movie had an adventurous yet grounded sense of charm and childhood to it. This movie tries to capture that charm but, like Dad’s Army, doesn’t quite succeed. It certainly works better as an overall movie than DA, but again it feels a bit too Hollywoodised and fail to capture the fun of the original film (as well as, I assume, the original book which I've never read). In particular, the drama feels a lot more exaggerated and uncomfortable and the characters come off as a lot more unlikeable. In the original movie there was drama and arguments among the kids yes, but was it realistic, like a real tiff between younger siblings and everyone remained likeable. Here, the drama is exaggerated to make it easier for the audience to follow and, again, it just feels uncomfortable to watch at times.

 

Still, it is a fairly well made movie and not nearly as unfunny as Dad’s Army, so I’ll give it that. But really, I'd just recommend rewatching the old film to be honest. Or, I don't know, reading the book or something.

[rukaio101]

53. Trolls

 

 

I’ll be honest, this movie was kind of a surprise. I really wasn’t expecting much, but once I sat down and started watching, I actually found myself quite enjoying it….. for about the first 30 minutes. See, the thing I liked about the first 30 minutes is that underneath all the sparkles and glitter and colour, the world of Trolls was dark as shit. Pretty much everything is out to get the Trolls, climaxing in a chirpy musical number where the main character walks through a jungle of shit actively trying to eat her. And that’s honestly kind of hilarious and entertaining. It was sugary sweetness, yes, but it was sugary sweetness hiding a wicked edge. And that's pretty fun to see in a kids movie.

 

Unfortunately, once they get to Bergentown, the movie stops being amusingly twisted and pretty much just goes in all the directions I was originally expecting from the movie. Makeovers, uninteresting romances, saving the day with the power of love/dance/seizure-inducing colours. It’s about as dumb as you’d expect. I won’t say the remaining movie is terrible but it’s really not that good. That said, I’m still willing to give the movie a lot of credit for a very enjoyable and inventive first act, I just wish they’d kept it up for the rest of the movie.