2016 was a wonderful year for
film, from fun blockbusters to innovative and engaging independent films. There
were so many good films, performances and technical feats that many that I
really liked did not make my top 25 in each category. I have put an “*” next to
my personal favorite from each category.
Favorite 25 Films of
2016
Arrival, a sci-fi thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve
Captain America: Civil War, an action adventure directed by
the Russo Brothers
Captain Fantastic, a comedy directed by Matt Ross
Certain Women, a character drama directed by Kelly Reichardt
The Conjuring 2, a period horror thriller directed by James
Wan
Deadpool, an adventure comedy directed by Tim Miller
Everybody Wants Some!!, a comedy directed by Richard
Linklater
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a fantasy adventure
directed by David Yates
Green Room, a thriller directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Hacksaw Ridge, a war drama directed by Mel Gibson
Hell or High Water, a modern western directed by David
Mackenzie
Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a comedy directed by Taika
Waititi*
The Jungle Book, a family adventure directed by Jon Favreau
Lion, a character drama directed by Garth Davis
The Lobster, a dystopian romance dramedy directed by Yorgos
Lanthimos
Loving, a character drama/romance directed by Jeff Nichols
Manchester by the Sea, a character drama directed by Kenneth
Lonergan
Moana, an animated family adventure directed by Ron Clements
& John Musker
Moonlight, a character drama directed by Barry Jenkins
The Nice Guys, a mystery comedy directed by Shane Black
Pete’s Dragon, a family adventure directed by David Lowery
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a sci-fi action adventure
directed by Gareth Edwards
Silence, a period character drama directed by Martin
Scorsese
Sully, a character drama directed by Clint Eastwood
The Witch, a period horror thriller directed by Robert
Eggers
Favorite 25
Performances of 2016
Amy Adams, leading performance in Arrival
Casey Affleck, leading performance in Manchester by the Sea
Mahershala Ali, supporting performance in Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, supporting performance in Hell or High Water
Laura Dern, leading performance in Certain Women
Colin Farrell, leading performance in The Lobster*
Andrew Garfield, leading performance in Hacksaw Ridge
Andrew Garfield, leading performance in Silence
Greta Gerwig, supporting performance in 20th
Century Women
Ryan Gosling, leading performance in The Nice Guys
Tom Hanks, leading performance in Sully
Naomie Harris, supporting performance in Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, supporting performance in Lion
Ruth Negga, leading performance in Loving
Sam Neill, supporting performance in Hunt for the
Wilderpeople
Dev Patel, leading performance in Lion
Natalie Portman, leading performance in Jackie*
Daniel Radcliffe, leading performance in Swiss Army Man
Margot Robbie, leading performance in Suicide Squad
Michael Shannon, supporting performance in Nocturnal Animals
Octavia Spencer, supporting performance in Hidden Figures
Hailee Steinfeld, leading performance in The Edge of
Seventeen
Emma Stone, leading performance in La La Land
Anya Taylor-Joy, leading performance in The Witch
Michelle Williams, supporting performance in Manchester by
the Sea
Favorite 25 Artistic,
Technical & Aesthetic Achievements of 2016
Volker Bertelmann & Dustin O’Halloran, composers of Lion
Jarin Blaschke, cinematographer of The Witch
Nicholas Britell, composer of Moonlight
Doug Chiang & Neil Lamont, production designers of Rouge
One: A Star Wars Story
Stuart Craig, production designer of Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them
Robert Eggers, director of The Witch
Greig Fraser, cinematographer of Lion
Mel Gibson, director of Hacksaw Ridge
Christopher Glass & Abhijeet Mazumder, production
designers of The Jungle Book
Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight
Johann Johannsson, composer of Arrival*
Mark Korven, composer of The Witch
James Laxton, cinematographer of Moonlight
Mica Levi, composer of Jackie
Mark Mancia, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Opetaia Foa’i,
composers of Moana
Seamus McGarvey, cinematographer of Nocturnal Animals
Rodrigo Pieto, cinematographer of Silence
Jeremy Saulnier, director of Green Room
Martin Scorsese, director of Silence
Shane Valentino, production designer of Nocturnal Animals
Patrice Vernette, production designer of Arrival*
Denis Villeneuve, director of Arrival*
Taika Waititi, director of Hunt for the Wilderpeople
David Wasco, production designer of La La Land
Bradford Young, cinematographer of Arrival*
10 Great
Under-the-Radar Indie films and Documentaries that are Must-Sees
Don’t Think Twice, a dramedy directed by Mike Birbiglia
The Edge of Seventeen, a comedy directed by Kelly Fremon
Craig
Jackie, a period character drama directed by Pablo Larrain
Love & Friendship, a period comedy directed by Whit
Stillman
Midnight Special, a sci-fi drama directed by Jeff Nichols
Nocturnal Animals, a character drama/mystery directed by Tom
Ford
O.J.: Made in America, a documentary directed by Ezra
Edelman
Sing Street, a musical comedy directed by John Carney
Swiss Army Man, a comedy directed by Dan Kwan & Daniel
Scheinert
13th, a documentary directed by Ava DuVernay
Good Films I Have Yet
to See (that probably would have factored into the above lists)
Christine, a character drama directed by Antonio Campos
Elle, a character drama/thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven
Fences, a period character drama directed by Denzel
Washington
The Handmaiden, a drama directed by Chan-wook Park
Paterson, a character drama directed by Jim Jarmusch
