THE BEST OF 2016

Well, you've waited long enough, here's my Top Ten Films from 2016, keep in mind I didn't see everything, I won't fully agree with your list so without further ado, here's my... HONORABLE MENTIONS!

Okay, if you're unaware of how I do my honorable mentions, here's the basics.

-These aren't necessarily the runner-ups, though some may be.

-These are movies I want to highlight because I feel they aren't getting a lot of love.

-It's my list, so don't be mad, if you disagree.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

-Batman:Return of the Caped Crusaders-Oh wow, DC had a good movie in 2016, joking aside, yes this was a funny film for longtime Adam West fans, but it works even on new fans, trust me.

-The Founder- A great vehicle for Michael Keaton, while also being a solid film about the rise of McDonalds, it's not often we see biopics of despicable men who win in the end, despite their vile nature.

-Ghostbusters- A fun but flawed film, screw the misogynistic idiots, give this a chance before you write it off.

-Hail Caesar!- The Coens are great, their tribute to classic Hollywood may have been forgotten, but trust me, it's a fun film filled with great scenes.

-The Little Prince-This film was sadly pulled from a full theatrical release, but Netflix put it out mid-summer and trust me, you should watch it, the animation is beautiful, featuring a variety of styles, plus it is one of the year's most charming tales.

-Neighbors 2-Easily one of the most feminist movies of the year, I'm surprised this didn't face a large backlash from the MRA community, also, yes it is funny.

-Pete's Dragon-Not a whole lot of people saw this, but trust me, it's a charming, emotional little film and I hope more people come to watch it in the years to come.

-Popstar:Never Stop,Never Stopping-This was easily one of the year's funniest movies (the Equal Rights music video easily is funnier than a majority of 2016 movies), it's just a shame it was also a major bomb.

-The Shallows-A great thriller where a woman must survive as a shark circles around her in the shallow water, yes, this kicked ass, the slow build-up definitely is worth it once the thrill comes.

-10 Cloverfield Lane- Another great thriller, if John Goodman ever deserved an Oscar nom, this was it, sad he didn't get one here, but you should still check this one out.

10.HIDDEN FIGURES

Race in movies has become an important topic, partially because there are some people who are bothered to see non-white male leads, largely because more people of color are demanding representation, which matters, it truly does. Hidden Figures, is a damn good film showing a piece of history we rarely hear about. This isn't just important because it tells us history, it's important because it is useful to inspire children, especially girls, the future of this world, it may not matter to you, but not everything should to be important. Add to all this great performances, great writing and an entertaining story to learn and you get this great film.

9.WAR DOGS

This movie's not for everyone, I understand that, but personally I dug the entirety of War Dogs, a fun, twisted film about a couple of 20-something year olds selling weapons to the army during the Bush-Cheney administration. There's a few other movies like this (The Wolf of Wall Street) and by no means is this the best of its kind, but sometimes seeing actors act as total assholes is fun enough to be a highlight for the year.

8.MOANA

A majority of people preferred Zootopia, I totally understand why, but for my money, I loved Moana a lot more. Sure, the former is more original, but the latter just felt more perfectly put together, from the story to the music, I loved this movie. At first I felt the music was forgettable, but considering I'm still humming the songs, I now feel that statement was a bit premature, sure it's not "Frozen" levels of memorable, but I can't deny the music is good here. The biggest weapon the movie has though, comes from its lead, Moana herself sets a new standard for Disney princesses, one that I hope inspires young girls to be adventurous, to reach out to other parts of the world, to just be amazing people.

7.ARRIVAL

DO NOT HAVE THIS MOVIE SPOILED! There's plenty of things that are good in this film including its approach to the aliens, but I still feel the best way to get into this movie, is not knowing the twist, sure it's great regardless, but the thrill of finding out what's really going on is just impressive. Arrival can't help but feel relevant in a world that seems to be growing increasingly afraid to reach out to people of different nations, making this feel all the more important now, than it would have had 2016 gone in a much better direction. Again though, the biggest thrill is finding out just what is going on, which I imagine most won't catch on until you are flat out told.

6.DESIERTO

Speaking of relevant, Desierto is a thriller that feels all too real. A group of immigrants try coming to America, hard enough but made even more harsh when an American decides to hunt them down. That's the movie, a visceral hunt on immigrants that doesn't slow down much once the hunt begins. There may have been greater monsters, but Desierto's Sam is a ruthless killing machine that is just too real, regardless of what you may assume, this monster has existed before Americans realized racism was alive and well last year.

5.SILENCE

See, religion can be good in movies. Silence is Martin Scorsese's latest, a beautiful looking film that is intense and incredibly emotional, case in point, without giving it away I wanted to repeatedly scream at one character who always shows up to make things worse, that's when you know your film is effective, when you just want to scream at the character who sets everything bad in motion. I loved this film, and while most faith based films try to make bullshit scenarios to be persecuted, this one doesn't need to, there is actual persecution here, shocking, really.

4.SAUSAGE PARTY

I don't care if you think I'm immature, I loved Sausage Party, easily the best comedy of the year. A smart film that tackles religion, while commenting on the flaws of atheism, this was easily one of the smartest films of the year, while just being funny as all hell. I could name multiple sequences that could easily fill out a list of best gags for the year, but the real highlight here, outside an amazing third act is the film's villain, Douche, played by Nick Kroll. Douche isn't just a great villain, he was 2016's best, a perfect jab at Disney animated villains, while also just being a funny caricature of, well, douches. Also, Alan Menken made the opening song, which is just all kinds of hilarious.

3.HELL OR HIGH WATER

Hell or High Water is easily one of the year's most complex films, a modern western where there are no heroes, yet in some ways there are no real villains. Yes, the leads are criminals, but the film makes them feel justified in their mission. On the other side we get Jeff Bridges as a racist cop, making his mission to bring these men down feel just as wrong, as we learn just how much of a bigot he is, after all, can we fully root for a guy who is just throwing slurs all around? It's uncomfortable, but in an entertaining way.

2.THE NICE GUYS

I love this movie, in many ways I'd say it's the best film of the year, but I can't say it's my favorite, it's just too much fun. Crowe and Gosling are just amazing in The Nice Guys, always bickering at each other while sharing a common goal we want to see them succeed in, despite their lack of competence. I could go on, honestly I could, but trust me, watching this is better, so go do that, I know a lot of you didn't.

1.CAPTAIN AMERICA:CIVIL WAR

Was this a perfect film? No, but no film got me more emotionally involved in 2016 than this did. The perfect example of what the MCU can be, Captain America:Civil War is a complex film that balances a large cast in such an amazing way that I feel confident in saying that studios should be brave enough to take bigger and bolder chances, they won't, but when the studio who has no reason to take chances anymore continues to take them, why aren't you? The exact opposite of DC's counterpart, I was engaged with this film all throughout, amazed by how small Zemo's plan ends up being, but amazed by the films greatest strength, making us hate that our heroes are beating each other, saddened by the rifts between them, it may not be the best, but it definitely was my favorite of the year.

Well there you have it, thanks for your patience, and I hope to please you with the rest of 2017.

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Written by Octaviano Macias