1. Elle Director Paul Verhoeven never holds back when it comes to his onscreen exploration of sex and violence. This humor-laced drama, though, succeeds where Basic Instinct and Showgirls failed because Verhoeven steers clear of turning the situation at hand into a lurid spectacle. Isabelle Huppert gives the best performance of 2016 as a divorced woman whose unexpected response to being raped results in a sly and revealing examination of gender politics and sexual violence. Elle works because the no-nonsense Huppert always seems to be in control of the cat-and-mouse game she engages in with her attacker, and Verhoeven refuses to judge her businesswoman for the unusual course of action she takes. This is not a comfortable film to sit through. But this means it is unafraid to tackle a taboo subject in a surprising and engaging manner that is design to create a conversation about sexual assault.
2. La La Land Director Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash boasted the best ending of any film released in 2014. Chazelle’s La La Land boasts the best opening of any film released in 2016. Not bad. Original musicals are a rarity--Sing Street’s John Carney is the sole director who has specialized in them during the past decade—and Chazelle gleefully rises to the challenge of crafting a High Society or Singin’ in the Rain for this new century. His is a truly profound romance that is driven both by song and a passion for an underappreciated genre of music, jazz. It is also a love letter to Los Angeles, and it embraces the city’s inherent glamorous nature and its ambitious streak as means to bring together and potentially tear apart the couple played by perfection by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. La La Land doesn’t offer the happy ending we want but the future its lovers deserve.
3. Sing Street A master of original, grounded musicals, director John Carney follows up Once and Begin Again with this 1980s-set Irish young love story that rocks as hard as it rolls with the punches thrown at its awkward but charming protagonist, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo’s aspiring musician Conor. Music proves to be both an outlet for Conor’s frustrations and the way out of an unforgiving city that doesn’t offer the bright future that its children deserves. And, boy, are the songs Conor and his pals perform—such as “Girls” and “Drive It Like You Stole It”—are earworm worthy. Yes, there are times when Sing Street takes a Goldbergs-ian approach to the pop culture milestones in 1980s, but Carney captures the essence of a decade that offered so little to so many and applies it to a warm, energetic and humorous pursuit of one’s dreams.
4. Manchester By the Sea Grief has rarely been articulated with such striking eloquence. Writer-director Kenneth Lonergan takes us inside the head of a man who has internalized the pain and suffering he has endured as a result of a past and fatal mistake. The result is a quiet and moving meditation on the grieving process and the damaging effects of guilt and shame. Lonergan allows Manchester By the Sea to unfold at its own pace, which gives Casey Affleck the time he needs to slowly peel back the layers of defense that his Lee Chandler has built around him since his personal tragedy. He reveals Lee to be a deeply hurt man who is in desperate need of human contact, one that he is afforded in Manchester By the Sea.
5. Moonlight Director Barry Jenkins’ three-act drama skillfully, decisively and effectively tells an emotionally honest story of a young boy’s journey into adulthood. Jenkins’ vivid dissection of the politics of sexual identity brings further weigh to a character study tied to the African-American experience that asks universe questions about how the traumatic events of our childhood shape and inform our adult life. Moonlight features career-best performances by Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, as, respectively, Chiron’s drug-addled mother and father figure. It also introduces us to the remarkable talents of Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes, who portray Chiron from childhood to pubescent to adulthood with assurance, sensitivity and vulnerability.
6. Captain America: Civil War Summer blockbusters don’t usually dabble in politics. Or force us to pick one good guy over another good guy in regards to how their character, philosophy and ethics dictate the way they fight evil and tyranny. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe is 13 films old—OK, 14 when you factor in the recent Dr. Strange—so Marvel can afford to take the risk of turning superhero against superhero in the bid to tell a timely and effective allegory on the post-9/11 war on terrorism. Unlike Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Civil War asks us to root for and against superheroes we have invested our time and interest in. We know and like Captain America and Iron Man, and they see them clash over how best to protect humanity not only proves painful to watch but provokes pertinent questions about the way the United States walks a fine line when it comes to the violation of personal privacy in the name of national security. The most important question remains: whose side are you on?
7. Zootopia It’s hard to make a message movie for kids without being too obvious or preachy. But with the topical Zootopia, Disney manages to entertain kids with an intriguing detective story that proudly promotes racial and gender equality without hitting them—or us parents—over the head to hammer home its valid points. Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore whisk us into a familiar world—one, of course, that is solely populated by anthropomorphic animals—that experiences instability with the reemergence of old prejudices that threaten to shatter the peaceful existence between former predator and prey. The Gennifer Goodwin-voiced cop Judy Hops fights back against institutional discrimination—is it worse that she is a rabbit or a woman?—to save Zootopia before neighbor turns against neighbor. At a time when Disney wants more for its princesses than true love, Officer Hops stakes her claim as the face of female empowerment for young girls who rightfully believe they can grow up to be anything they want to be. Including President of the United States.
8. Hunt for the Wilderpeople New Zealand director Taika Waititi follows up last year’s hysterical horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows with an equally funny look at the relationship that develops between Sam Neill’s grouchy widower and Julian Dennison’s juvenile delinquent, who was taken in by Neill’s late wife against his wishes. Waititi throws Neill and Dennison into a situation that requires them to work together in order for them to remain together against all odds. The bond they form grows organically out of the script that displays pure affection for two characters who are as quirky as they are headstrong. Neill makes for a delightful crank and the endearing Dennison gives as good as he gets from Neill. Judging by What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, it appears Marvel may have made the right decision entrusting its upcoming Thor sequel to Waititi.
9. Swiss Army Man Yes, Swiss Army Man is powered by flatulence. But there’s much more to writers/directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan’s humanistic comedy than Daniel Radcliffe’s bloated, farting corpse. Swiss Army Man takes an absurd idea—a suicidal young man seemingly stuck on a desert island turns to a corpse for company—and treats it as an imaginative and empathetic excursion into the mind of a lonely, possibly mentally ill person. While Radcliffe willfully allows himself to be treated as the film’s main prop, and boy is he abused at times, Paul Dano presents his castaway as a lost soul who gleefully embraces the opportunity at connecting on an emotional and psychological level with another person that is offered to him through this most unexpected friendship.
10. I, Daniel Blake With this uncompromising David vs. Goliath dramedy, director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty tear to shreds the UK government for the red tape that surrounds an allowance that is supposed to help those too sick to work but often forces them to go back to work against doctor’s orders. Stand-up comedian Dave Johns brings honestly and relatability to a role of a construction worker whose poor health is further compromised by the bureaucrats he confronts in his bid to receive the necessary entitlements to prevent him from being thrown out on the streets. Directed with a lightness that lends universality to this otherwise very British working-class tale, Loach finds both comedy and tragic in a welfare system that is designed to work against those who need assistance at a trying time.
Honorable Mentions 10 Cloverfield Lane 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 13th 20th Century Women The Age of Shadows Arrival Author: The JT LeRoy Story The Autopsy of Jane Doe The BFG The Brand New Testament Captain Fantastic Deadpool Deepwater Horizon Demolition Denial De Palma Doctor Strange Don’t Breathe Don’t Think Twice The Dressmaker Eddie the Eagle The Edge of Seventeen Embrace of the Serpent Everybody Wants Some!! Eye in the Sky Fences Finding Dory The Finest Hours The Fits Ghostbusters Green Room The Handmaiden Hello, My Name is Doris Hell or High Water Hidden Figures High Rise In a Valley of Violence In Order of Disappearance The Invitation The Jungle Book Keanu Krisha Kubo and the Two Strings Kung Fu Panda 3 The Last Man on the Moon Lion The Little Prince The Lobster Loving Pete’s Dragon Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Maggie’s Plan The Magnificent Seven The Meddler Men & Chicken Moana A Monster Calls Morris from America The Nice Guys Oasis: Supersonic Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Slash Southside with You Star Trek Beyond Toni Erdmann Too Late Tower Trolls The Wailing