Saturday, January 7, 2017

Weekend Open Thread

Sho'nuff!

This was a fun week of "best of" lists and everyone getting sick of La La Land. It was also a pretty terrible week in the U.S. at large -- the first of many to come, I suspect. So for now let's focus on the fun stuff and talk about movies. If you haven't yet shared your list of favorites for the year, do it now! If you have -- or if you aren't making a list -- feel free to talk about anything you want. And kiss my Converse!

86 comments:

  1. Honourable Mentions: Sing Street, The Neon Demon, The Mermaid.

    10. La La Land
    I really like this movie. More than some people, not as much as other people. Had to see this a couple times just to make sure I wasn’t just reacting to the hype, but I dig it.

    9. Kubo and the Two Strings
    I am always in awe of Laika’s work. I love how lived in their worlds feel, and this one really has a scope to it. Saw this a second and third time with a room full of kids. This movie played well both times.

    8. Your Name
    Body swap anime rom com…. Hey wait, where are you going?! Seriously, it plays it quite charmingly and then goes into an interesting turn. (Think “the Lake House”, but you know… better). There’s a surprisingly spirituality to the body swapping as well as an aching longing that pervades the entire movie.

    7. Shin Godzilla
    I enjoyed the “Thick of It”/”Veep” tone of the politicking. I loved having a physical model Godzilla. I loved the “B-movie” feel of this.

    6. Moana
    Full disclosure: I am a 90’s Disney child. I enjoy the feel of these movies, I enjoy motions they go through. I love seeing how the “Disney” mould can be applied to new contexts. I feel like it’s the most solid Disney animated musical in terms of melding animation, character, plot and song since the 90’s. And sooo refreshing to not have a romantic subplot. At all. Baby steps away from the formula.

    5. Hail, Caesar!
    I’m a sucker for the whole “one man against the world” shtick The Coen Brothers like doing. It’s no wonder that Inside Llewyn Davis and A Serious Man are my favourite Coen flicks. It’s a fun caper that’s as deep as you are willing to think about it, as in it works at a superficial level but it is highly rewarding the more you mull it over. I really like thinking about it.

    4. The Handmaiden
    This movie has everything. Totally indulgent and thoroughly engrossing. Unlike all of the other movies on my list I only saw this once, but it certainly left an impression!

    3. The Boy and the Beast
    Mamoru Hosoda is doing an alright job filling in the void left by Studio Ghibli while keeping his own distinctive voice. Angry orphaned boy stumbles into a hidden world of beasts where he is taken as an apprentice by a warrior beast. Very light and funny before reaching for those feels.

    2. The Nice Guys
    Everyone’s firing on all cylinders here. It’s great and stuff.

    1. Girl Asleep
    Quirky little Aussie flick based upon a stage play. Centered around a shy, awkward 14-year-old girl in an extended Alice in Wonderland riff. Probably not to everybody’s taste, but it really clicked with me.

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    1. Girl Asleep was great! Almost made my list.

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    2. Yeah, what a surprise to see it on someone's list, let alone in the number one spot! A real sleeper, and had the number ten spot on my list for a hot second.

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    3. Girl Asleep was fun, but I liked the family stuff in the first half a lot more than the fantasy second half.

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    4. I wanted the fantasy aspect to go deeper and longer. It's a short movie as it is, but I felt with more of a budget (maybe?) they could have gone further. All in all though, great film. It was the most conflicted viewing I had all year and ultimately I ended up loving it.

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    5. I was fine with both aspects of the movie! For me part of the fun was wondering when the switch was going to happen. I'll admit though I thought it would be much earlier than it ended up being, but the family stuff was enough to keep me invested.

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  2. You know you touch my heart whenever you mention The Last Dragon. "You just get that sucker to the designated place at the designated time, and I will gladly designate his ass" RIP Julius Carey.

    Here goes nothing. I've revisited these movies at least once before the end the of last year just to keep them fresh and make sure.

    Best of 2016
    1. Too Late - Nothing I watched this year made more of an impact on me. Just an amazing debut in all regards.

    2. The Witch - To me, a modern masterpiece that will be much more respected as it ages.

    3. February a.k.a Blackcoat’s Daughter - Everything about this worked for me. It’s genuinely creepy and heartbreaking at times. Performances are fantastic. Finally getting a limited US release next month.

    4. The Nice Guys - Haven’t laughed this hard at a movie in a very long time.

    5. Darling - Beautiful, classy, haunting and another excellent performance from LAC.

    6. London Has Fallen - Yep. They gave me a full on R-Rated action film with people getting blasted in the face while being cursed out by our hero. Love this movie.

    7. The Man in the Orange Jacket - Latvia hits the scene with what I believe is the first Horror film from there. Eerie and stylish this is just my kind of Horror film.

    8. Mr. Right - Just the most goddamn disgustingly charming movie I saw all year. (I didn't see La La Land)

    9. Lake Nowhere - I know, I know, another throwback film but this was executed so perfectly that I cannot dismiss it.

    10. Southbound - My favorite Horror anthology of the year. Typically, anthologies always go for jokes or a jokey punchline, this one plays it serious which was super refreshing to me.

    Honorable mentions: Intruders, The Mind’s Eye, Crush the Skull, “San Junipero” from Black Mirror Season 3.

    Top “New To Me” films of 2016:

    A Night To Dismember (1983)
    Bad Girls Go To Hell (1965)
    She (1982)
    Black Roses (1982)
    Death Screams a.k.a House of Death (1982)
    Ghostkeeper (1982)
    Rocktober Blood (1984)
    There’s Nothing Out There (1990)
    Eaten Alive (1977)
    Demons 5 (1989)
    Paprika (1991)
    Dial:Help (1985)

    Top Eleven Worst of 2016:

    Knight of Cups
    Martyrs remake
    Independence Day 2
    Hangman
    Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
    The Fifth Wave
    Point Break remake
    The Girl in the Photographs
    The Boy
    The Darkness
    The purge 3

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    1. Yea Knight of Cups just kind of came and went. You're the only person I've heard mention it all year.

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    2. I think Dichen Lachman gave my favorite performance this year. That badass girl. Loved that her unusual - beautiful - face was "a thing" in the movie.

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    3. She was great, absolutely, and I think everyone shines in that movie!

      Knight of Cups is like watching Malick vomiting, however, less interesting.

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    4. Ballsy pick with London Has Fallen. I really enjoyed it as well, a stupid, violent, profane throwback to when big budget #HeavyAction movies were a thing.

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    5. I really enjoyed Too Late and it was a contender for making my list thanks largely to the Down with Mary scene (and everything leading up to it). The Witch is another one that might have made it but I feel like I'd need to rewatch it first.

      I'll have to check out The Man in the Orange Jacket at some point this week.

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    6. Too Late and The Witch are such competent, beautifully made films from first time directors that my mind was just blown with both of them. No two movies gave me a reaction in 2016 like those two in which I wanted to rewatch them right away and thought about them for days after. MITOJ isn't for eveyone, but if you check it out, I hope you dig it.

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    7. Just got through watching MITOJ. It may not come together completely, but there's a lot to like there. There's some stuff I could nitpick (some of the camera work early on in particular distracted me), but it's not easy to make a movie that keeps your attention with very little dialogue and focusing almost entirely on one unsympathetic character so I can forgive some of those faults. I tried to track down the writer/director's previous film People Out There, but didn't have any success in the brief time I looked, but I'll check again when I have more time.

      Although not really too similar, watching this kind of reminded me of watching Next Door (Norwegian film originally titled Naboer) last year. If you haven't seen it, it's a bit hard to track down since I had to pick up a used DVD off Amazon, but seems like something you might be interested in.

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    8. Yes! I have seen Next Door! Definitely an overlooked and tense little film. I'm surprised it's so hard to find now. I remember streaming it somewhere years ago.

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  3. 10. Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping
    9. Train To Busan
    8. Captain America Civil War
    7. Green Room
    6. Nice Guys
    5. Hell Or Highwater
    4. La La Land
    3. Sing Street
    2. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
    1. The Edge Of Seventeen

    Honorable Mentions
    Moana, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Zootopia, The Witch, Krisha, Star Trek Beyond

    Havent Seen Yet
    Moonlight, Manchester By The Sea, The Handmaiden

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    1. Ooh! I'm dying to see Edge of Seventeen. Glad to see it make #1 on someone's list. It seems to be the perennial #11 on a lot of lists I see on the interwebs.

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    2. Yeah its really a completely personal pick for me. I just felt very connected to the characters in the edge of seventeen and it made me so happy to watch it. Its a great teen movie and i hope more people check it out that havent seen it yet.

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  4. My top five:

    5) Kubo and the Two Strings -- A much more complex film than it appears on the surface. While watching, I remember thinking, “That’s right, this is what fantasy adventure is supposed to be.”

    4) Overwatch: Dragons -- Of course I know that Overwatch is a game and not a movie, yet it was the biggest entertainment event of 2016. The short films have done a terrific job of making the characters and their world feel alive, and not just a mega-violent shoot-em-up. I especially liked Dragons, a throwback to old school kung fu flicks, because in eight minutes it has more satisfying action filmmaking than in all two hours of Suicide Squad.

    3) Hail Caesar -- Would that it were… you know the rest.

    2) Captain America: Civil War -- Yes I’m biased because I grew up reading Marvel comics. Still, this movie has the Marvel machine firing on all cylinders, with emotional stakes just as big as the world-ending stakes.

    1) The Witch -- I’m surprised (and a little bummed) that this movie didn’t feature more prominently in the F This Movie lists. It’s beautifully filmed and really damn scary, but also has great acting and a script open to multiple interpretations. No other movie had more of a “wow” factor for me this year, and that makes it my number one.

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    1. The Witch was around my #15 if that helps. It's a really good movie.

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    2. I've watched two-thirds of The Witch and I like it so far.

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    3. I just don't get people 'loving' The Witch. It was different (and that's a good thing), but to me there isn't a whole lot to love, enjoy, or take away from it. Maybe I'm missing something, maybe I need to re-visit it. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it though, I'm not hating, guess it's not for me.

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    4. Modern masterpiece. One of the best Horror films in the last 20 years. Kubrick would've loved it. It will be important, give it time. A product of marketing hype (well done by A24 however) and not one, but two theatrical releases. Had A24 decided to put this DTV, people would have lost their shit. I like the balls of putting this in the theater and it's the best movie I saw in the theater last year. I understand why people don't like it now...but they will, eventually.

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    5. I think your views on religion will have a lot to do with how much you enjoy the film. I happen to be very anti-religion so the movie really worked for me because I feel that this film was the most anti-religious movie to come out in a very long time, possibly ever. For that, I aploud it and love it.

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  5. Here I am, working three jobs and sleep-deprived (finished work at 7AM, have to start second job at 2PM ET), to post my annual list of every new 2016 release that I managed to see, listed in descending order from worst to best. This was a damn good year at the movies, so much so that by the 50's and 40's in my list I'm already listing titles that would have been Top 20 material in years past. That said, this is the first time I saw my favorite movie of 2016 early in the year and called it. That's never happened before. I missed a few titles I really wanted to see ("Edge of Seventeen," "The Birth of a Nation," "Fences," "Patriot's Day," etc.), but such is life in the age of Netflix and Trump. :'(

    So, let's start the climb up the '16 ladder with the single biggest piece of shit that I saw at the movies all year long:

    84.- Knight of Cups
    83.- Blair Witch
    82.- Zoombies
    81.- Yoga Hosers
    80.- Central Intelligence
    79.- Hardcore Henry
    78.- Phantasm: Ravager
    77.- Criminal
    76.- Sausage Party
    75.- Southside With You
    74.- Green Room
    73.- Rifftrax Live! Carnival of Souls
    72.- Office Christmas Party
    71.- Pete's Dragon 3D
    70.- Midnight Special
    69.- Ben-Hur '16
    68.- Rifftrax Live! Mothra
    67.- Suicide Squad
    66.- Sully
    65.- Everybody Wants Some!!
    64.- Hail, Caesar!
    63.- Deepwater Horizon
    62.- Race
    61.- The Nice Guys
    60.- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
    59.- Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
    58.- The Frontier
    57.- Miss Hakusa
    56.- The Legend of Tarzan 3D
    55.- Blue Jay
    54.- Rifftrax Live! Time Chasers
    53.- 10 Cloverfield Lane
    52.- Tower (documentary)
    51.- The Man Who Knew Infinity
    50.- The Infiltrator
    49.- Nuts (documentary)
    48.- The Jungle Book 3D '16
    47.- Homo Sapiens
    46.- The Accountant
    45.- War Dogs
    44.- The Witch
    43.- Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (documentary)
    42.- Morris from America
    41.- The Lobster
    40.- Where to Invade Next (documentary)
    39.- Collateral Beauty
    38.- Holy Hell (documentary)
    37.- The Secret Life of Pets
    36.- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 3D
    35.- Passengers 3D
    34.- Nocturnal Creatures
    33.- X-Men: Apocalypse 3D
    32.- The Neon Demon
    31.- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
    30.- Café Society
    29.- Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them 3D
    28.- Hell or High Water
    27.- Ghostbusters 3D '16
    26.- Arrival
    25.- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 3D
    24.- Equity
    23.- Kubo and the Two Strings 3D
    22.- Moonlight
    21.- Independence Day: Resurrection 3D
    20.- Gods of Egypt 3D
    19.- Lion
    18.- The Magnificent Seven '16
    17.- Eye in the Sky
    16.- Monoa 3D
    15.- Under the Shadows
    14.- Free State of Jones
    13.- Toni Erdmann
    12.- Hacksaw Ridge
    11.- La La Land

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    1. 10.-THE WAILING
      The first time you see "The Wailing" you don't know where it's going and what surprises it will pull from the most unexpected places, giving it an air of danger and exhilaration few movies released in theaters this year could match.

      9.-DEADPOOL
      Patrick is right, it's basically an extended, feature-length comedy sketch. But "SNL" skits that are one tenth this movie's running time usually run out of gas and outgrow their welcome. A welcome breath of 'R' rated fresh air into the sanitized-by-Hollywood-committee 'PG-13' superhero world.

      8.-CHRISTINE
      Two great Halls (Rebecca and Michael C.) give this 70's period-accurate depiction of a mentally-unstable young woman's bout with self-doubt and inner demons while working at a tiny Florida local TV station a seldom-seen giant heart. Best indie movie I saw all year.

      7.-CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
      "Civil War" pays with huge entertainment dividends the events and characters from the otherwise-underwhelming "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Ant-Man." Cap and friends (including Queens neighbor Spider-Man) put an almost Shakesperean superhero spectacle that never lost track that it's second reason for existing is to entertain.

      6.-RIFFTRAX LIVE! MST3K REUNION
      Between the improved writing, great team-ups and show-ending riff-a-thon this was the most fun I had at a movie theater all year long. Shame no movies were played (public domain shorts only) but whatever. Too bad the rest of the shows all year long paled compared to this one.

      5.-Pixar's FINDING DORY
      Andrew Stanton erases the debacle that was 2012's "John Carter" with a fun and heart-moving sequel to "Finding Nemo." Directing like a man possessed, Stanton and his team deliver a perfect marriage between the Pixar of old and the new Pixar. Most iconic Sigourney Weaver cameo ever? Yep.

      4.-MARVEL'S DR. STRANGE 3D
      This has catapulted to the top spot as my favorite superhero origin movie of all time, ahead of even "Superman: The Movie." A dense mythology and reliance on magic/mysticism that seems too far out for even the studio that brought you a talking raccoon. Alas, between Benedict Cumberbatch's performance and solid filmmaking this turned out to be a glorious cap on a banner year for the superhero genre.

      3.-UNDER THE SUN (documentary)
      Knowing that North Korean censors approved this (on camera!) would be enough to recommend this as my favorite documentary of 2016. It's the cinematic equivalent of a desperate cry for freedom for those capable of reading within the cracks of a censorship wall that bred its creation. Mesmerizing.

      2.-MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
      Kenneth Lonergan's back, and he has built on the strengths of 2011's "Margaret" to deliver his most assured and compelling work to date. Looking incredible (no digital look in its polished cinematography) and with Casey Affleck delivering what could end up being his best performance ever, "Manchester by the Sea" is a canvas of raw human emotion anyone who has ever loved and lost family will see themselves in. Which only makes its funny parts stand out even more.

      1.-Disney's ZOOTOPIA 3D
      The fusion between the Pixar approach at storytelling and Disney's muscle at creating appealing CG worlds and characters ("Hero 6," etc.) achieves full integration with this entertaining kids movie that also happens to be the most astute and well-hidden commentary about current social inequalities (bullying and racism are key parts of character dynamics, although they're not called that) I saw in movies all year long. Great characters, a new world in which to lose ourselves, peppy songs (but not a musical) and a story that pays off everything it sets up from its very first scene made "Zootopia" my favorite movie of 2016.

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    2. other than the "peppy songs" part (which I guess they were, but I didn't really care for them. Go away, Shakira). I agree with everything you've said about Zootopia! It was my #3, and I found it funny, exciting, interesting, and beautiful. Loved it.

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    3. 61.- The Nice Guys.
      21.- Independence Day: Resurrection 3D

      You never let me down, Vargas! :)

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    4. Honestly, I'm happy to see Gods of Egypt as high up in the list as number 20. I can't say that I personally liked it, but I'm glad someone kind of does. It's a special snowflake of a movie.

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    5. You gotta go with your heart and gut sometimes. I had high expectations for "The Nice Guys" and they were deflated, I had zero hope for "ID4 2" and it was dumb, amusing popcorn fun. And hey, I expose myself to ridicule by ranking ALL the 2016 movies from worst to best. I've got balls the size of lovely coconuts, don't I? :-P

      BTW, reading other top lists I realized I forgot two 2016 movies in my list: "The Invitation" and "London Has Fallen." For what it's worth, "London Has Fallen" would have ranked somewhere between "War Dogs" and "The Witch" in the mid-40's spot. "The Invitation" would have been around "Holy Hell" or "Secret Life of Pets" in the high 30's. Yikes, apparently I've forgotten more movies that I've seen this year than most people have seen all year long. :-O

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    6. You know I love breakin' your balls, man. All in fun cause who can judge taste, right?!

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    7. I also got to see the Rifftrax MST3K reunion and it was glorious. Thanks for reminding me.

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    8. Gil, I'm surprised I ended up ranking "Gods of Egypt" so high. But placement in my list has a simple rule: would I rather watch the movie before the one I'm looking at? And every movie before "Gods of Egypt" I simply couldn't bring myself to say that I'd rather see them than "Gods of Egypt." Only bought a handful of 2016 movies on BD this year (no time!), but the 3D version of "GOE" is one of them. Indefensible, cheesy and very dumb Alex Proyas fun. I didn't know until it ended and the credits rolled that Nikolas Coster-Waljau wasn't Aaron Eckhart! :-P

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    9. YES! Manchester By the Sea at Number 2! Love it, it was my favorite movie of the year.

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  6. 1. Shin Godzilla
    2. Neon Demon, The
    3. Witch, The
    4. Blood Father
    5. Hail, Caesar!
    6. Green Room
    7. Shallows, The
    8. Hell or High Water
    9. Sully
    10. Nice Guys, The

    Can't get enough of everyone's year end lists. Really fun reading.

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    1. I just recently saw Godzilla and thought it was so much fun.

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    2. I've always loved Godzilla movies and have seen all of them. Shin Godzilla is the greatest Godzilla movie ever made.

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    3. I've only seen a handful and the old ones I saw a long time ago so I really don't have a good frame of reference. But I really liked Final Wars for how nuts it was and then this latest was tons of fun as I mentioned. The latest American one was terrible. I think that's a universally accepted opinion.

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    4. Nice to see Blood Father on there! I had a lot of fun with that movie. Say what you will about Mel Gibson as a person, but that dude has charisma to spare and it such a badass to this day.

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    5. I also thought Blood Father was underrated. Pretty decent action movie.

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  7. I already posted this once, but here's a repost just because lists are so fun! :)

    10.) Green Room
    9.) Kubo and the Two Strings
    8.) Arrival
    7.) Don't Think Twice
    6.) Life, Animated
    5.) The Nice Guys
    4.) Hell or High Water
    3.) Zootopia
    2.) 10 Cloverfield Lane
    1.) La La Land

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  8. Hey everyone. Love checking out your lists. I only saw a handful of new movies. Here's my humble list followed by my favorite "New to me" picks from junesploitation and SMM:

    10. Zootopia
    9. Mascots
    8. Pop Star
    7. Gimme Danger
    6. Don't Think Twice
    5. Star Trek Beyond
    4. Everybody Wants Some
    3. The Meddler
    2. Green Room
    1. The Witch

    SMM:

    4. Tourist Trap
    3. Sleepaway Camp
    2. Demons
    1. Magic

    Junesploitation:

    5. Kung Fu Zombie
    4. Virgin Witch
    3. Xtro
    2. Piranha
    1. Re-Animator

    It was a great year to be an F Head in spite of everything. Thanks all!!

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    1. Great stuff! I love "new to me" lists.

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    2. Dennis! Where's your list my man?!

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    3. Just watched Hail Caesar. I think Zootopia just fell off the list:)

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    4. @Charles Lewis: Would that it were so simple ;-)

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    5. I've not had time to do it Chaybee, the genuine reason is there are so many films on peoples lists that I have not seen and need to see, I spend to much time watching 80s stuff, I can say my number 1 so far is The Invitation by a long shot

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  9. Honorable mentions:

    Horace and Pete
    Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace

    A lot of noise gets made about how high quality modern television is, but in my experience it's all consistently been the same soap opera, "what's gonna happen next??" crap in glossy new packaging. These two shows were both smart and original on a rare level, as well as hilarious, existential, occasionally scary, and willing to do and say things nobody else even tried to this year.

    New to Me:
    1. Buddha's Palm
    2. She (1982)
    3. The Pit
    4. Night Train to Terror
    5. Needful Things
    "How's it going?" "I killed my wife... is that wrong?" "Hey, these things happen!"
    6. War of the Wizards aka Phoenix
    7. Beyond the Door
    8. Female Market: Imprisonment (nsfw)
    9. Underground (1995)
    10. Age 13

    Worst of 2016:
    Ghostbusters

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  10. I didn't see nearly as many movies as I would have liked this year but I'm glad I saw these:

    10. Swiss Army Man
    9. Rogue One
    8. The Lobster
    7. Don't Breathe
    6. Green Room
    5. Arrival
    4. La La Land
    3. 10 Cloverfield Lane
    2. Hail, Caesar!
    1. The Witch

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  11. I don't care what anybody says, I think this was a terrific year for movies!

    1. La La Land
    2. The Nice Guys
    3. In a Valley of Violence
    4. Arrival
    5. Sing Street
    6. Don't Breath
    7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    8. Green Room
    9. Kubo and the Two Strings
    10. Hell or High Water

    Runners Up: The Witch, Beyond the Gates, Captain America: Civil War, Mr. Right, Pete's Dragon

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    1. Nice to see love for In A Valley Of Violence. I thought it was a really fun western and Ethan Hawke is the man.

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    2. Yeah man, I think that's a perfectly tight straight forward western and I loved it so much. Ethan Hawk is the badass of the year, and Travolta is the best he's been in years. I literally love everything about that movie.

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    3. I suspect the performances of the two main female characters was a callback to certain type of performance specific to the genre, but I'm so Western-illiterate that I didn't get it and/or enjoy it. They're basically what kept the movie off my list - I agree that Hawke and Travolta were da bomb tho.

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  12. 10. Baaghi
    The thing I love about Bollywood movies is their fucking audacity. The first half of this two and a half hour long spectacle is the typical overwrought Bollywood love story, with ridiculously good looking characters, wacky comic relief, and gaudy musical numbers. The second half is a just-as-violent remake of The Raid, whose producers sued. Americans just don't have the balls to make this stuff this schizophrenic.

    9. Pee-wee's Big Holiday
    The second best comeback of the year. If John Waters is the Pope of Trash, Pee-wee is the Cardinal of Kitsch. This was proof that the wholesome perversity of his act is as relevant as ever.

    8. 13 Cameras
    Truly great horror movies always have a streak of true sickness running through them. This one achieves its greatness by subtly siding with its grotesque villain, a mutated personification of old-school masculinity. Neville Archambault deserves instant horror icon stardom for his bug-eyed, sweaty commitment to his character.

    7. Shin Godzilla
    The best comeback of the year. Godzilla is my favorite film franchise, and this is easily one of its most unique entries. Godzilla and Hideaki Anno are a match made in heaven.

    6. Swiss Army Man
    Definitively unique, heartfelt, with great performances, music, cinematography, and a big, humanistic, philosophical, grimy heart. Why are there people who don't like this again?

    5. Antibirth
    If it was up to me, Natasha Lyonne would win the Best Actress Oscar this year. She pulls a Robert Downey Jr.-esque rebirth by embracing her image as a lunatic-inebriate fuck-up, and pulls off being sexy, funny, and sympathetic. The movie itself feels like a throwback to the punky satires of Gregg Araki's heyday.

    4. Cemetery of Splendor
    Magical realism handled in a near-documentary style. Compassionate, hypnotic, and gently disorienting.

    3. Too Late
    This is clearly on its way to cult classic status. Cerebral, flashy, cinema-literate, personal, and undisputably impressive.

    2. Embrace of the Serpent
    A diagram of the nature of belief and identity and their relationship to time, and the value and politics of knowledge. I feel like everything you need to know about life is somewhere in here.

    1. Hardcore Henry
    This and Deadpool were the only two movies I saw in theaters this year that felt genuinely modern. Once this gets going, it spends the rest of its runtime breaking its neck trying to keep you entertained. Ilya Naishuller crams stunt and setpiece ideas into this movie like he knows he's never going to get to direct again. It's goofy, crass, enthusiastic, daring, and envigorating.

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    1. I love that 13 Cameras made your top ten! Great list. When I have 4 hours to spare (pee breaks included) I'll watch Baaghi, haha

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  13. Amazon Prime Video is trying to step up their game - Some of the top tens are on there now to watch including favs Neon Demon, Green Room and The Witch. Just a heads up.

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    1. Yea! I just finished Neon Demon and it takes the cake.

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    2. Amazon is how I caught up with "The Neon Demon."

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  14. yes! was pleased to catch Neon Demon and Green Room back-to-back on Prime. That was a solid 4.5 hours of my life.

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  15. I had kind of a crazy busy year, and my movie watching definitely suffered for it. But hey, I graduated college at least, so it's not all bad. Out of the WOEFUL 37 2016 releases I watched this year, here are my ten favorite.

    10. NERVE
    I think this might just be a symptom of not having seen enough movies this year, but I really enjoyed NERVE. It was fun for the entirety of its run time, and I felt quite satisfied by the end. I feel really embarrassed having it on my top ten given how many (hopefully) incredible movies I have yet to see from this year, but here I bare my shame.

    9. COMPADRES
    This weird little Spanish language action comedy sneaked up on me and made me realize that I really vibe with Mexican humor. I have no idea what it is about it, but it is so over the top and for some reason resonates with me. And there is a slow motion gun fight at the end that is better than at least half of the gunfights I saw in major Hollywood releases this year.

    8. THE WITCH
    I wasn't sure if this would be on my list, but I thought back on it and realized that THE WITCH found a place in my brain and didn't leave it for months. This movie got way under my skin, and for that alone I think it deserves a spot on my list.

    7. PETE'S DRAGON
    I almost cried two different times watching this. Mind you, this is at an employee showing at the movie theater where I work, with at least 10 of my co-workers who would not have let me hear the end of it if I was caught teary-eyed. And still, I was barely able to hold back the tears. This movie hit my emotions so hard, and that feeling on its own gets it a spot on my top ten. On top of that, it is also one of the prettiest movies I saw this year.

    6. I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER
    This movie has a ton going for it. The story of the main character on its own is fascinating, but add a crazy monster man and it becomes something else entirely. That might be what I like so much about it. Although the monster is introduced fairly early on, the tone of the film is completely different when the monster is on screen than when its not, and I think that combination works extremely well.

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    1. 5. 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
      If not for a movie that is a few spots higher, this would be the tensest I felt in a movie theater this year. All of the performances in this were fantastic, the direction was excellent and really made you feel the claustrophobia of it all, and the stress level never went down. I didn't have a problem with the ending like some folks appear to have, as a matter of fact I think it sort of helps pay off what was a very intense, very small first hour and a half or so. I admit that the shift in focus could be jarring, I think it is well earned by the rest of the film.

      4. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
      This one for sure made me cry. What a gut punch of a movie. All the characters feel so very real, so conflicted, and all of them are brilliantly portrayed. I had such a complex reaction to this movie that when it ended, I sat through the entirety of the credits, talking with my mom trying to process it. If it wasn't for how crushingly sad it made me feel, it would be higher on my list. But it is an incredible film that everyone should seek out.

      3. GREEN ROOM
      Remember when I said there was a tenser movie than 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE? Well, I think this movie gave me muscle cramps, so GREEN ROOM wins that contest. Once the shit starts to hit the fan in this, it does not let up, even a little. I was so tense that my chest kind of hurt as the credits rolled. What a ride.

      2. THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN
      No movie going experience this year made me happier than this one. There really seems to be a lot of emotional truths in this, but it never has to sacrifice its wit or sense of fun for it. I had a huge grin on my face walking out of the theater and I just felt happy for the rest of the night. Much like MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, this movie stuck with me emotionally, albeit in a very different way.

      1. THE NICE GUYS
      Anyone who knows anything about me could probably have guessed that this was going to be on the top of my list. This is the movie I saw by far the most in 2016, with three theatrical viewings and four home video viewings. Incredible performances from both actors, wonderful dialogue, and a true sense of fun in the action scenes. Shan Black is my writing idol, and THE NICE GUYS did not disappoint in any way. This film has probably two or three of the funniest moments of any movie this year, and for all those reasons, THE NICE GUYS is easily my favorite movie of the year.

      P.S. New Years resolution: get back in the habit of posting and contributing on the site. I listen to the podcast religiously, but really fell out of the habit of hanging out on the site more this year. I miss this silly place.

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  16. My favorite older "new to me" movies of 2016:

    1. The Mist
    2. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
    3. The Exorcist III
    4. Enter the Dragon
    5. Pieces
    6. Raw Force
    7. Xtro
    8. Death Race 2000
    9. Joe Versus the Volcano
    10. The House of the Devil

    Honorable mentions: Suspiria, Night of the Comet, Coffy, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Dead of Night, Revenge of the Ninja

    Predictably, most of those I saw during either Junesploitation or SMM. Plus one during FThisMovieFest and one in the lead-up to it.

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    1. I'm getting the feeling that I'm no longer cool and in with the kids of FTM unless I watch "Xtro."

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    2. Nice to see Xtro making lists still, you might be one of the last JM, you and Riske, but were waiting for Patrick to give it another shot too, maybe once it hits bluray in Feb after it has the 4k first showing at the Berlin film festival the revival will start, I think it's gonna be The Mutilator release of the year or Bloodrage, Xtro in HD looks amazing, the test footage looks stunning

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  17. favorite movies of the year

    1. Moonlight - No film moved or stunned me more this year and no film felt more original. idk i've gone back to see this like three times and every time I simultaneously turn into an emotional mess and geek out over all the great acting and cinematography and THAT FUCKING SCORE god man i just love this movie so much

    and then the other ones

    2. Kubo & the Two Strings
    3. La La Land/The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (these movies give me fuzzy wuzzy feelings)
    4. Zootopia
    5. Swiss Army Man
    6. Arrival
    7. Green Room
    8. The Witch
    9. Shin Gojira (i love you so much Hideaki Anno)
    10. The Nice Guys


    Still need to see The Handmaiden, American Honey, The Neon Demon, Operation Avalanche, and Hacksaw Ridge

    good as hell year for movies even if not for a lot of other aspects in my life. here's to hoping for an even greater 2017.

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    1. Watched Operation Avalanche this weekend. Wasn't really into it but glad I saw it as I like to support indie cinema.

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  18. Great lists everybody! Here's mine with the caveat that I only watched a little over 30 movies from 2016 this year and thanks to largely curating those choices based on reviews and comments from this site, I watched very few outright stinkers (the worst being BvS:DoJ, Suicide Squad and Girl on a Train).

    It was actually super-hard to narrow down so I've got a bunch of honourable mentions:

    Zootopia - Just watched it this morning so it's hard for me to find a place for it in my list - another week and it might be in my Top 5 - super important message so well-told and never ham-fisted - one of Disney's best in a while.

    Don't Breathe - One of my best theatre experiences of the year - just falls short of being an interesting enough movie to make my Top 10.

    Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - The most I've laughed during a movie all year, but somehow it doesn't feel like the funniest movie I saw this year.

    I Am Not a Serial Killer - I still love it but that ending...

    Don't Think Twice - Again, enjoyed it a lot and couldn't really point out a flaw but it just wasn't that interesting.

    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - I love Star Wars.

    Also a few I didn't see that probably stand a chance: La La Land, Manchester by the See, The Handmaiden, Hail, Caesar! and The Wailing

    The Top 10:

    10. 10 Cloverfield Lane - Great performances, compelling mystery - initially it's tenuous connection to the original Cloverfield befuddled my expectations but a rewatch allowed me to see it standing on its own.

    9. The Fits - It's been a few days and I can't stop thinking about this - I loved it - I'm just completely sure why yet...

    8. Train to Busan - The first zombie movie to make me cry. And that shot where we just see the shadow of...damn good stuff.

    7. Green Room - This movie just kicked so much ass and met all of my expectations.

    6. The Nice Guys - I came for Shane Black I got some GREAT fucking Shane Black. I didn't come for Gosling and Crowe but those two birds killed it with this...stone. Boom! Funniest movie of the year for me.

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    1. 5. Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Second funniest movie of the year and the damn sweetest and most endearing. I already know Sam Neill is great but this was a good reminder of why.

      4. Hell or High Water - It's only real flaw is maybe being a bit too in love with Texas, but the great story and performances make me love Texas more than I thought was possible.

      3. Arrival - Sorry detractors, this movie is as smart as it's trying to be - hit me right in the brain and the feels. SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER*In regards to guys' discussion on the podcast regarding why Adams seems so sad when what we think already happened hasn't actually yet - I think it's a bit oversimplifying to suggest we're just projecting that sadness on to her - I think the movie is deliberately conveying a sense of emptiness to her life and given the omni-directional flow of time stuff the movie is about aren't we just being shown that the void in her life without the daughter can exist both before she was born and after she died? Doesn't it make her "choice" make more sense when we realize that the apparent sadness we saw earlier on had to do with her daughter not being in her life YET, which is perhaps worse than having her and losing her (i.e. It's better to have love and lost...etc.). I guess my point is I don't think they were so much playing a temporal fast one on us as pre-emptively developing a theme that we then understand better retroactively. *smokes joint* Or something like that, man. *ENDOFSPOILERSENDOFSPOILERS*

      2. The Witch - Beautifully stark, dreadfully enthralling - great movie in general; spectacular HORROR movie.

      1. Elle - Where the hell is Elle on everybody's list? Hoping it's just that no one's seen it yet? Hands down the most interesting movie I saw all year. I can't even try to give it a little blurb review, it's so complex and paradoxical. Watch it yourself!

      Top 3 New 2 Me:

      Possession - What can I say, Elric Kane is right about this one. Some of the most amazing acting moments I've seen in any movie ever.

      Mulholland Drive - Holy crap this is a great movie. Made even greater by listening to Patrick and Erica's podcast about it and getting a better understanding what the hell it all meant!

      Joe Versus the Volcano - This was my Cloud Atlas movie of 2016 - one of those rare movies that makes you look at life differently. I've known of the movie since it first came out - always assumed it was your standard Tom Hanks romanticish comedy - hands down my worst book-cover judging ever.

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    2. Joe Versus The Volcano is so great and you just reminded me how awesome the Mulholland Dr. podcast was. Cheers!

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    3. Uh..agree on Arrival interpretation :)

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  19. Watched "The Snare" this weekend. It's an indie, psychological Horror that has been on my watch list for two years and finally got a release. I can recommend it as it's a pretty personal and interesting film. They actually pulled one of my 3 deadly sins of Horror within the fist 30 minutes but then the film shifts into really uneasy territory in which they actually make up for that "sin" by revisiting it within context. Really impressive film for the most part.

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  20. Alright I think I'm finally happy with my list enough to post it. The only movie I feel like I missed out on this year is The Nice Guys. I really regret that, and I will get to it soon, but here we go anyway.

    10. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
    Best comedy I saw this year. Hilarious and annoyingly catchy music, great cast, and some of my favorite movie moments of 2016.

    9. The Neon Demon: One of my two "I need a shower" movies of this year. Surprisingly powerful message packed into a sinister and deceivingly beautiful package.

    8. Sing Street: This movie just makes you feel good. I love the cast, and its one of those films that you just want to live in for a day and play music with them.

    7. Green Room: "I need a shower" movie number two. The most on-edge I've been all year. Holy shit that violence too.

    6. Arrival: One of the movies I thought about the most this year. Fantastic style and structure. Really flips the concept of story on its head.

    5. Nocturnal Animals: Look, I went in with zero expectations. This movie is something that I really think only worked for me and the situation I was in at the time. When I saw it I had just been through some really confusing relationship stuff, and this movie was the embodiment of some of those untapped emotions for me. It spoke a lot about letting go and facing your problems. I realize that it was just for me though.

    4. Star Trek Beyond: "Come on Patrick, do you like Star Trek or not?" "Yeah.. yeah... I like Star Trek."

    3. 10 Cloverfield Lane: Fantastic performances, great direction, and it just works for me. I warmed to the ending after watching it again later in the year.

    2. Manchester by the Sea: Grief sucks and family can be hard. This is another movie that really only works for you or it doesn't. The reasons I like this might be different from others, but it just connected with me someway. Surprisingly hilarious at times too.

    1. La La Land: I may not feel original, but I'm more positive than ever before about liking a movie. I really can't remember the last movie I enjoyed more. Its all I can do to not see it again and again. There's also nothing original that I can contribute to the gushing over this movie.

    Honorable mentions:
    Hell or High Water
    The last 15 minutes of Rogue One (minus the last minute and a half).
    Hail, Caesar!
    De Palma
    Zootopia

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  21. Top 5 "new-to-me" movies:

    5. Brick
    4. The Naked City
    3. Rushmore
    2. A Serious Man
    1. 25th Hour

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    1. And my Top 5 for 2016:

      5. Manchester by the Sea
      4. Arrival
      3. Hail, Caesar!
      2. Everybody Wants Some!!
      1. The Nice Guys

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  22. This list was hard. Honorable mentions up front:
    Rogue One, Moonlight, Silence, Train to Busan, 10 Cloverfield Lane, In a Valley of Violence

    10. Shin Godzilla
    It's a crazy movie to read--er, watch because of the satirical nature of it, which by itself is brilliant and hilarious. But it also manages to add some new flavor to the King of Monsters in a way we haven't seen before and it was very exciting to see.

    9. The Neon Demon
    My favorite part of this movie was the hours of discussion my friend and I had after we saw it. From the opening shot of the male gaze and the violence it portends, I knew I loved this movie.

    8. Everybody Wants Some!!
    I love Richard Linklater. I want to live in his movies.

    7. The Edge of Seventeen
    If I had been able to see this movie in high school, perhaps my life might have been easier. I felt more of a connection to Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) than any other character this year.

    6. Hail, Caesar
    If I had watched this movie again, it may have been higher on my list, but I haven't seen it since opening night. The Coen's comedic sensibilities are everything and they cram in a lot to think about on top of it.

    5. Arrival
    Beautifully shot and well-crafted, this movie has a lot more to say than I have heard people give it credit for. It's impossible to discuss without spoilers, but the combination of science, emotion, and Louise's (Amy Adams) ultimate decision make this movie palatable and timely. Sicario was on my list last year, and here's hoping that 2017's Villeneuve picture also makes it on my list.

    4. The Nice Guys
    Unlike Hail, Caesar!, I re-watched this, which sent it way up my list. Funny, violent, and noir-ish, I can't help but think there need to be more movies like this. Ryan Gosling steals the show, but Russell Crowe and Angourie Rice are similarly excellent.

    3. The Handmaiden
    The only other Park Chan-wook film I have seen is Oldboy, so, needless to say, I had expectations going in. In the best way possible, this movie was not what I expected. The twists and turns of the plot had me on the edge of my seat and Park's camera work is exquisite. Also, it gets me excited about my next dentist appointment.

    2. La La Land
    What more can be said about this charming film? I'm not exactly sure how there are people who are living, breathing human beings and don't swoon over this. Can't wait for the IMAX run so I can see it a third time.

    1. Green Room
    Green Room and La La Land are the only two movies on here that I saw twice in theaters. I could not stop thinking about them. I saw Green Room opening weekend at the Music Box and it made my heart race (like, to an unhealthy degree). I have seen plenty of horror movies, but none have horrified me as viscerally as this movie. In the theater, there was a grown man nearby who screamed (although a combination of howl, wail, and cry might be better way to describe it) every time something happened. It was without a doubt the best movie going experience I have ever had.

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  23. I've posted my Top 86 and Top 10 of 2016 lists at my Google Plus blog. Took the chance to tweak the list. The top 10 remains unchanged but expanded on the comments posted here. The top 86 has been altered slightly, with some movies moving a little ("Toni Erdmann" dropping from 13 to 16) and some dropping a lot ("Ghostbusters" from 27 to 36). Can you spot other movies that were moved around? ;-)

    I soooo wanted an excuse to sneak "Moonlight" into the Top 20, but I genuinely like every movie ahead of it more. Them's the heartbreaking of ranking feelings toward movies. :'(

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  24. Spoilers for The Lobster...so yeah, I watched it last night thinking it had a last minute shot at my Top 10 and...no. Maybe being out of the dating scene for over 12 years and completely missing the on-line thing kept it from being relateable to me? I don't know there were some things to like about it for sure, a few really good moments, but on the whole it left me cold. Does it say something about me that I read the last scene of the movie to be that he said fuck this and just bailed, leaving her blind and helpless? Or were we supposed to think about how fucked up it was that she was sitting there all serene waiting for him to gouge his eyes out?

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  25. Grossed out by Casey Afflecks win tonight. I don't really know what the standard should be, but this doesnt feel good.

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    1. I think I said the exact same sentence verbatim back in November but with Drumpf's name instead of Affleck's.

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  26. I´m so late on everything this year. Seems like I´m still in 2016.
    I made a Top 29 list, strictly reduced to everything I saw on the big screen in 2016, no video, streaming or whatever.
    Not my best year is quantity and quality. I still can´t sort out what drove my to watch Ben Hur in a theater, one of the cheapest looking 100 million Dollar movies ever.

    1. Captain America _ Civil War
    2. Star Trek Beyond
    3. 10 Cloverfield Lane
    4. Deadpool
    5. Arrival
    6. The Accountant
    7. The Nice Guys
    8. Dr. Strange
    9. Deepwater Horizon
    10. Sully
    11. The Hateful 8
    12. Rogue One
    13. The Shallows
    14. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
    15. A Hologram For The King
    16. The Revenant
    17. The Magnificent Seven
    18. Jason Bourne
    19. The Legend Of Tarzan
    20. Money Monster
    21. X-Men Apocalypse
    22. Suicide Squad
    23. Jack Reacher – Never Go Back
    24. Batman V Superman – Dawn Of Justice
    25. 13 Hours
    26. Independence Day Resurgence
    27. The 5th Wave
    28. The Huntsman: Winter`s War
    29. Ben Hur

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