16 Favorite Movies of 2016

OK. I had all but given up on my favorites lists for 2016. I had tried compiling my list of favorite movies in the same manner I had in past years, where I do a little write up on each movie explaining its presence and positioning on the list; but since I hadn’t written reviews on most of these movies, I found myself writing far too much about each one. It was taking me far too long. I had put off my favorite music so I could concentrate on my movies. I had pretty much decided I just wasn’t going to do it this year when it occurred to me, I had the lists. Why don’t I just present the films the same way as I present the music each year, just list them and let them speak for themselves? Well, duh.

So, it may be a little late, but here are my 16 Favorite Movies of 2016. As usual concerning omissions, there are a great many films I missed that would surely have replaced some of these films on the list, but to be sure, these are all great films in a year that was filled with them. It was a pretty mediocre year for big mainstream films, but the independents were in rare form.

These films run the gamut, from Oscar contenders to surprise horror entries, from a nearly 8-hour documentary of an American sports legend whose life turned toward infamy to a costumed comedy of manners made by a master of the genre, from a classic 70s-style crime drama, to one of the most original premises for a movie I’ve ever seen, from a sci-fi thriller about linguistics, to the greatest performance of Sam Neill’s rather odd career. It was a great year for film, and I’m glad I didn’t pass up this opportunity to share my favorites.

Moonlight

A24

Director/writer: Barry Jenkins

Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Based on the book “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Cast: Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali

Rated R

Release date: Oct. 21, 2016

Running time: 111min.

Manchester By the Sea

Roadside Attractions/Amazon Studios

Director/writer: Kenneth Lonergan

Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Kevin J. Walsh, Lauren Beck

Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler

Rated R

Release date: Nov. 18, 2016

Running time: 137 min.

Arrival

Paramount Pictures

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Producers: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde

Screenplay: Eric Heisserer

Based on “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang

Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma

Rated PG-13

Release date: Sept. 11, 2016

Running time: 116 min.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Focus Features

Director: Travis Knight

Producers: Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner

Screenplay & story: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler, Shannon Tindle

Voice cast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Matthew McConaughey

Rated PG

Release date: Aug. 19, 2016

Running time: 102 min.

O.J. Made In America

ESPN Films

Director: Ezra Edelman

Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Tamara Rosenberg, Nina Krstic, Deirdre Fenton, Libby Geist, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell

Rated R

Release date: May 20, 2016

Running time: 467 min.

Sully

Warner Bros. Pictures

Director: Clint Eastwood

Producers: Clint Eastwood, Frank Marshall, Allyn Stewart, Tim Moore

Screenplay: Todd Komarnicki

Based on “Highest Duty” by Chelsey Sullenberger and Jeffery Zaslow

Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

Rated PG-13

Release date: Sept. 9, 2016

Running time: 96 min.

La La Land

Summit Entertainment

Director/writer: Damien Chazelle

Producers: Fred Berger, Jordon Horowitz, Gary Gilbert, Marc Platt

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt

Rated PG-13

Release date: Dec. 9, 2016

Running time: 128 min.

10 Cloverfield Lane

Paramount Pictures

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

Producers: J.J. Abrams, Lindsey Weber

Screenplay: Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken, Damien Chazelle

Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher, Jr.

Rated PG-13

Release date: Mar. 11, 2016

Running time: 104 min.

The Witch

A24/Universal Pictures

Director/writer: Robert Eggers

Producers: Rodrigo Teixeira, Daniel Bekerman, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, Jay Van Hoy

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson

Rated R

Release date: Feb. 19, 2016

Running time: 93 min.

Hell or High Water

CBS Films/Lionsgate

Director: David Mackenzie

Producers: Sidney Kimmel, Peter Berg, Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane

Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

Cast: Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham

Rated R

Release date: Aug. 12, 2016

Running time: 102 min.

Swiss Army Man

A24

Directors/writers: Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan

Producers: Eval Rimmon, Lauren Mann, Lawrence Inglee, Jonathan Wang, Miranda Bailey, Amanda Marshall

Cast: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Rated R

Release date: June 24, 2016

Running time: 97 min.

Hidden Figures

20^th Century Fox

Director: Theodore Melfi

Producers: Peter Chernin, Donna Gigliotti, Theodore Melfi, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams

Screenplay: Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder

Based on “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly

Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali

Rated PG

Release date: Dec. 25, 2016

Running time: 127 min.

The Invitation

Drafthouse Films

Director: Karyn Kusama

Producers: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Martha Griffin, Nick Spicer

Screenplay: Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi

Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzi Corinealdi, Lindsay Burdge, Mike Doyle, Jay Larson, John Carroll Lynch

Not Rated

Release date: April 8, 2016

Running time: 100 min.

Sing Street

The Weinstein Company

Director: John Carney

Producers: Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Kevin Scott Frakes, Christian Grass, Martina Niland, Raj Brinder Singh, Paul Trijbits

Screenplay & story: John Carney, Simon Carmody

Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton

Rated PG-13

Release date: April 15, 2016

Running time: 105 min.

Hunt For the Wilderpeople

The Orchard

Director/writer: Taika Waititi

Producers: Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan, Leanne Saunders, Taika Waititi

Based on “Wild Pork and Watercress” by Barry Crump

Cast: Julian Dennison, Sam Neill

Rated PG-13

Release date: Jun. 24, 2016

Running time: 101 min.

Love & Friendship

Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions

Director/writer: Whit Stillman

Producers: Whit Stillman, Katie Holly, Lauranne Bourrachot

Based on “Lady Susan” by Jane Austen

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Xavier Samuel, Emma Greenwell, Morfydd Clark, Jemma Redgrave, Tom Bennett, James Fleet, Justin Edwards, Jenn Murray, Stephen Fry, Chloë Sevigny

Rated PG

Release date: May 15, 2016

Running time: 93 min.

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I also really enjoyed Into the Inferno, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition, Deadpool, Eye In the Sky, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Green Room, Hacksaw Ridge, Hail, Caesar!, High-Rise, The Jungle Book, The Lobster, The Neon Demon, The Nice Guys, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Trek Beyond, and The White Helmets