2016 is the year I cracked 50 films for the first time, and the Top 10 is especially strong. Not only that, but the quality of the movies continues very deep into the list, making this the best year for cinema in quite a while in my book.

 

1. Sing Street

A lesser known Irish film from 2016, but a delightful tale of a young man in 1980s Dublin who forms a band to impress a girl. Its an original script in an era where such things are rare, and includes excellent music and a great cast. Not the biggest movie of 2016, but the one I’m most fond of. The release of the soundtrack on vinyl was a nice touch.

2. Brooklyn

Another film with an Irish connection, this was my pick for Best Picture Oscar (but I haven’t agreed with the Best Picture winner since 1997, so clearly Brooklyn wasn’t going to win!).

The film stars Saorise Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson and Julie Walters, and shifts between 1950s New York and Ireland. The characters and story are truly engaging and delightful.

3. The Big Short

The movie which tells the story of the Global Financial Crisis whilst being interesting, information, funny and gripping, but which also avoids being preachy. Another strong cast that includes Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Brad Pitt, each of whom you feel is enjoying the chance to play against type.

 

4. Room

Another from the strong list of Best Picture Oscar nominees this year, Room is part thriller and part family drama, and works equally well doing both. Brie Larson deservedly won the Oscar for her role, but it’s the young Jacob Tremblay’s amazing performance which makes this film work.

 

5. Spotlight

The actual Best Picture Oscar winner, there’s no doubt that this film has strong performances by Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams. It also tells an important story, and does that very well, however in my view drops to 5^th because the script is constrained by the somewhat undramatic reality of the story.

 

6. Star Trek Beyond

The first sci-fi film and the first blockbuster on the list. An excellent adventure film in its own right, but in my opinion certainly the best Star Trek movie of the re-booted franchise (and the first to really feel like a Star Trek film), and arguably the best since Star Trek VI in 1991. Its also the first of the movies to really give the whole cast something to do, and show’s the excellent cast to best effect.

 

7. Arrival

Another sci-fi movie, Arrival is perhaps the most realistic depiction of a first contact scenario we’ve seen in a very long time. There’s a Carl Sagan feel to the narrative, in a very thought provoking and clever film, with cool and original looking aliens.

 

8. War Dogs

What would be a pretty good and funny movie becomes and excellent movie due to the performances of Miles Teller and Jonah Hill. Effortlessly shifts between tension and gags, making for a very easy watch.

9. Sully

A movie that completely drags you into the story, with the usual excellent performance from Tom Hanks. Uses narrative structure very well to maintain the audience interest.

 

10. Zootopia

Its rare I have animations in the top 10, but it would have been unfair to leave Zootopia out, as its an incredibly enjoyable film. Jason Bateman’s voice work is especially worthy of note.

 

11. Deadpool

Deadpool is too shallow a movie to make the top 10, but its shockingly entertaining and makes for a great couple of hours in the cinema.

The one big concern is that just as the Nolan Batman films condemned us to several years of films trying to copy the Nolan tone even when the story didn’t need it, we’ll now get a spate of films desperately trying to “do a Deadpool”.

 

12. A United Kingdom

In part a love story, in part the story of the fall of the British Empire in Bechuanaland (Botswana). The story flows well, and the location filming is beautiful. The lead performances of David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike should receive Oscar nominations in the new year, but the secondary cast of Jack Davenport, Tom Felton and Nicholas Lyndhurst also make this film thoroughly engaging.

13. Rogue 1

Rogue 1 lacks the strong structure and performances of The Force Awakens, but makes up for it by giving Star Wars fans everything they could want in a prequel to 1977’s Star Wars. Incredibly enjoyable, visually stunning. But I suspect in time it will look shallow compared to its saga cousins.

 

14. Sausage Party

An absolutely hilarious movie that doesn’t pull any of its punches in the name of comedy, and also squeezes in a bit of a message. Misses my top 10 because it goes completely off the rails in the final act. Nice to have Michael Cera back, if only has a voice.

 

15. La La Land

Sumptuous is the word to describe La La Land. Sumptuous filming. Sumptuous costumes. Sumptuous story. And Sumptuous performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Sometimes a little strange, sometimes a little forced, but one to just throw yourself into and enjoy.

 

16. Captain Fantastic

Viggo Mortensen stars in this strange film about a couple that choose to drop out of society, and raise their family in the wilderness of Washington State, and now confronting the realities of that decision. Brilliantly directed, and with a stronger than usual child cast led by George MacKay, this film is thought provoking, and gains points for making the main character a less than perfect or sympathetic one. Not always an easy watch though, and stretches credulity a little too far in the final act as the story searches for an ending.

17. Hail, Ceaser!

Stupid, but fun.

 

18. Indignation

One of the films I was most looking forward to in 2016, Indignation features rising star Logan Lerman as a Jewish student at a 1950s college in a film about faith and sexual awakening. There’s much that’s good about this movie, and Lerman gives another wonderful performance, but the whole thing is taking itself far too seriously to be really enjoyed.

19. The Revenant

This film won the Oscar for cinematography, which was absolutely deserved. Filmed around the Montana and Alberta regions, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous, and captured to stunning effect by the director and crew.

DiCaprio also won the Oscar, but I have to feel as though this was an award for his career more than this specific movie. The supporting actors Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson (now with three films in my top 20!) and Will Poulter arguably add more to the film.

The story is perfunctory at best… just sit back and enjoy the visuals.

 

20. X-Men: Apocalypse

In what was really a disappointing year for the superhero/comic book genre (the outside the box Deadpool aside), I personally enjoyed X-Men Apocalypse, which told a good action adventure story.

 

21. The Founder

The story of the founding of the McDonalds chain, this is very much a vehicle for Michael Keaton, and he does a lot with the role. The film wisely doesn’t pass judgement on Keaton’s Ray Kroc character, allowing the audience to see various sides of him. But there’s a certain inevitability about the whole story that is interesting, but dramatically unfulfilling. BJ Novak underused in his supporting role.

 

22. My Scientology Movie

The only documentary on the list this year, this is an entertaining look at the Church of Scientology which uses some interesting techniques, and left me better informed, whilst being reasonably fun to watch. However, I couldn’t help but feel at the end that writer and host Louis Theroux could have gone much deeper into the subject matter.

 

23. The Danish Girl

Eddie Redmayne gives a performance that should have won him his second Oscar, whilst Alicia Vikander also performs in a way that won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and Ben Whishaw is excellent.

Beyond that the story struggles, being at times emotionally distant, or tonally adrift. But worth it for the performances.

 

24. Departure

A low budget film made in rural France, and starring another up and coming UK actor Alex Lawther. It’s a coming of age film that tells a simple story and tells it well, making good use of the French location to make it seem different in a crowded genre. Nothing special, just nice.

25. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Coming right in the middle of this top 50, Fantastic Beasts has proven a difficult film to judge. There’s nothing bad about it, and indeed there’s a lot of good about it – performances from Eddie Redmayne and Ezra Miller, along with the creation of an American Wizarding world that is a part of the Harry Potter universe but stands on its own.

But there’s nothing really outstanding about the film either, and the whole thing feels a little self-conscious.

 

26. Captain America: Civil War

Not a miss from the Marvel world, but not a hit either. Yes, the airport scene is probably the best scene in any comic book movie yet, but the lead-up to that was very dull, and rather obvious. The second half isn’t too bad, but lacks the fun of a good Marvel movie.

 

27. David Brent: Life on the Road

If you like Ricky Gervais’ work, there’s a lot to enjoy in this movie, as David Brent tries to get his musical career going again. Gervais actually makes the story work in a reasonably believable manner, and there’s a lot of laughs – especially in the office scenes in the early parts of the film.

 

28. Finding Dory

It’s a nice film. Its nice to see these characters again, and you won’t have a bad time watching it. But it does lack some of the originality of Finding Nemo, and the “plot device Octopus” becomes rather annoying by the end.

 

29. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

The movie continues to prove my theory that there’s no such thing as a good Superman movie. However, there were some great Batman scenes, and I really liked Jesse Eisenberg as the villain. Overall a number of good set pieces, that didn’t quite hang together.

 

30. Now You See Me 2

A fun but forgettable sequel. With Daniel Radcliffe.

 

31. Eddie The Eagle

It was good to see Taron Edgerton show his acting abilities in a role completely different to his lead in Kingsmen, and as a feel good movie this piece more or less works. The director films the ski jumps very effectively.

 

32. The Jungle Book

Its very well made, but I can’t help but wonder what the point of the remake was?

 

33. The Boy

A reasonable horror film, with a reasonable twist.

34. Deepwater Horizon

The first half is full of considerable amounts of phenomenally unsubtle foreshadowing, but the second half is a visual spectacle, with a point. Nice to see Dylan O’Brien turn up.

 

35. Me Him Her

Max Landis makes interesting movies, and this is interesting, though not an especially original take on the premise of an LA actor coming out of the closet. Highlight is Scott Bakula and Geena Davis as the parents.

 

36. The Shallows

It’s a cool movie with a shark. And I’m ok with that.

 

37. Suffragette

The importance of the subject matter, and the inspiration of the characters, helps keep this movie afloat, however in the end it is rather flat.

 

38. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

The direction is stunning, and Joe Alwyn performs well in the lead. A worthy story, but one that struggles to fill the two hour run time.

 

39. Independence Day: Resurgence

One of the films I was most looking forward to this year, but lets face it, it wasn’t very good. The second ending was both needless and silly, and the whole subplot with the old guy and the kids on the bus was stupid.

Could have worked better if they’d given the new characters more room to breathe and tell a fresh movie.

40. Allied

The pacing on this movie is its biggest problem, as it changes up and down gears at various strange times. Not helped that neither main character is very sympathetic, and the twists are spotted a mile off.

Still not a bad movie, though. Just… obvious.

 

41. Snowden

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does well, as you’d expect. But this movie totally fails to really get inside Snowdon’s motivation, or make any sort of a point. Could have done a lot more with the material and lead actor.

 

42. Allegiant

I quite like a good YA dystopian film, but this installment of the Divergent franchise spends a lot of time spinning its wheels, and doesn’t do justice to a cast that includes Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort. Sadly, this poor third movie has meant the series finale is now in limbo, meaning we may not get an end to a series which started quite well.

 

43. Paterson

As a chance for Adam Driver to show of his acting chops in between Star Wars saga films, this indie movie works well, and there’s some nice ideas and filming in the New Jersey locations. However, it is VERY slow, and probably twice the length it needs to be.

44. Dad’s Army

Some nice references to the original series, and a cast clearly delighted to be playing the roles, but the script is terrible.

 

45. Risen

An interesting take on the post-crucifixion story of “Yeshua”, told from a Roman perspective. Never really engaging though, although Tom Felton puts in a solid performance.

46. Suicide Squad

What was the point of this movie? Who are these characters? The movie didn’t bother answering these questions, and delivered a stupid plot with a really stupid ending.

 

47. Spin Out

Xavier Samuel does well in the lead role of this Australian film, but sadly the film is a collection of the usual Australian movie sins – over the top direction, characters that are meant to be lovable but are just bogans, and generally being dull.

48. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Reasonably harmless fun, but utterly unoriginal and instantly forgettable. Zac Efron even seems to realise it half way through and gives up.

 

49. Love and Friendship

Meant to be twee, but utterly terrible. Xavier Samuel’s second flop of the year.

 

50. Inferno

Stupid.