This year has seen some stellar animations but only a handful stood out for me. One of these was the very funny, and way more enjoyable then I was originally expecting, Storks. I'm a fan of Samberg's work in general but I love him in animation. Storks was laugh out loud funny throughout, with an emotional ending and some brilliant voice acting. I personally found this more enjoyable than Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets, which is the reason this film has beat both films onto this list
A late entry on to this list Sully pushed The Secret Life Of Pets of the list and bumped Storks down to 10th place. Sully followed the story of the events of the Miracle on the Hudson. The Tribunal scenes were eye opening, the events of the crash were gripping and Tom Hanks proves yet again why he is the best in the business.
Wow...Just WOW. Room is one of the best dramas I have seen in a long time. Heart poundingly tense throughout this film has created a true little star in Jacob Tremblay, who in my opinion should have got an Oscar for his role in this. Brie Larson very much deserved her best actress award for this. If you haven't seen Room then get online and download this or buy it on disk NOW.
So Fantastic Beasts could have gone one of two ways, really shite or amazing. I am so glad this was amazing. I have never been a huge fan of the Harry Potter films, however Fantastic Beasts really peaked my interest. My wife has been getting me to watch the Potter films and after seeing this I am more than looking forward to seeing the earlier films (Yes I have not seen all the Harry Potter films! so sue me). Great story, great acting and I can't wait for a follow up.
Well this was a million times better than anyone thought it was going to be. Starting life as a short film, Lights Out finally got a big screen adaptation. A throwback to early 00's horror films like Darkness Falls we were treated to one of the best supernatural horror films I have seen in years. The film felt original and fresh with an ending which doesn't set up a sequel or piss over the genre. My second favourite horror film this year.
The only decent MCU film out this year (Sorry didn't think much to Doctor Strange) Civil War was a Marvel Master-class. With one of the best fight sequences in Marvel history at the airport, The return home of the companies most beloved characters in Tom Holland's Spiderman and the final emotional showdown between Cap, Stark and Bucky, this film has set
My second favourite Marvel film of all time! there I said it. I LOVED Deadpool. This film has changed the face of the Fox side of the Marvel films and has led the way for More R-Rated Mainstream comic book movies, something which may go in Fox's favour after the bad critic reviews to X-Men Apocalypse (which I personally enjoyed). Ryan Reynolds is the perfect fit for the Deadpool character and has the same comedic timing as the comics. Deadpool has just made himself the new face of the X-Men franchise. Funny as hell.
The Buddy Cop movie sub-genre is back to the heights of films like Lethal Weapon. The Nice Guys has one of the best performances from Russell Crowe I have seen in a very long time, with Ryan Gosling playing the hapless Private Investigator Holland Marsh, the second funniest man in film this year (because....Deadpool). The stand out performance though belongs to Angourie Rice as Marsh's daughter Holly. This was a refreshing break from he summers utter shit box of sequels and terrible comedies.
Horror in 2016, if we are being totally honest, has been fucking awful. The genre has been so bad it has made me totally rethink my reviewing stance on several occasions. Thank god for Hush. Hush has everything. Hush is Perfect. One of the most gripping and original horror films in a very, very long time and is in my top 10 horror films of ALL TIME. Hush takes a whole new take on the home invasion horror sub-genre, taking the one thing you need to fight a knife wielding psycho and stripping our lead of it. The use of sound and deafness is so well put together in this film. I was actually on the edge of my seat with a knot in my chest for the first time in god knows how long. You feel for the character, you want her to live and get this bastard, a trait you don't see often in the horror genre any more. Netflix NOW!
The best animated film in my opinion since My Neighbour Totoro, Kubo crept into cinemas right at the end of the summer season, and blew me away. The animation was stunning, the storytelling was Ghibli-esque and overall this film made no mistakes. The paper style and look of all the characters is just beautiful and there is no better example of animation in 2016 than this film right here. The trailer really let this film down as it in no way did the film film justice. Stunning, Beautiful and Original with a soundtrack which just finishes it off nicely. I would like to see 2017 beat this film.