Ten Favourite Films of 2016

Title: Ten Favourite Films of 2016

This year my "favourite films" list is very late. The reason being is that I had to see Martin Scorsese's Silence. It looked like a film I would love and likely put on the list. I waited until the end of May 2017 to view the picture and I was very impressed. It will certainly make the list, as will Academy Award "Best Picture" winner Moonlight. 

2016 was a fairly good year for film. My year started with with going to the cinema and seeing The Coen Brothers' Hail Caesar!, a movie about faith (or lack thereof) in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Pictures that centered on faith were actually pretty damn good in 2016. Sure, we may have got the ludicrous kiddie propaganda film God's Not Dead 2, but serious pictures about crisis' of faith like Hacksaw Ridge and Birth of a Nation hit me like a ton of bricks. 

Speaking of Birth of a Nation, it's very unfortunate that Nate Turner's near masterpiece was not nominated for any Academy Awards due to political issues at the time. 2015's #Oscarsowhite controversy should have easily made this a contender. They did right by giving Moonlight some glory by the end of the night (albeit not without controversy) however. 

A very overrated film that you will not see on my list is La La Land. I know there are many people who love it, but I just found it dull dribble that loved to reference Old Hollywood and its musicals but didn't have any of the charm. Damien Chazelle is no Vincente Minelli. Albeit I will give credit to the picture's unique set design and cinematography. It is technically well made, despite having 0 charisma.

Anyways, on with the show! The following are my ten favourite films of 2016. Please note that while some of the pictures may have been released internationally in 2015, I am only counting the general North American release date.

10. Rams (Iceland, Grimur Hokanarson)

Two isolated brothers unite to save their sheep

9. Aferim! (Romania, Radu Jude)

In 19th Century Romania, a policeman is hired to find an escaped gypsy slave

8. Remember (Canada, Anton Egoyam)

An elderly survivor of Auschwitz seeks revenge against the nazi who killed his family

7. Shin Godzilla (Japan, Hideaki Anno) 

Toho Godzilla is back and better than ever!

6. I, Daniel Blake (UK, Ken Loach)

A man must fight bureaucracy to get his employment allowance

5. Silence (US, Martin Scorsese) 

A priest has a crisis of faith in 17th Century Japan where Christians are murdered for their beliefs.

4. Hacksaw Ridge (US, Mel Gibson)

A religious man fights in WWII without a weapon at his side

3. Birth of a Nation (US, Nate Parker)

A priest must teach his own people that God approves slavery, but he has a great crisis of faith in doing so.

2. Embrace of the Serpent (Columbia, Ciro Guerra)

The story of an amazonian shaman, the last survivor of his people

1. Moonlight (US, Barry Jenkins)

The life of a poor, gay black man