Top 10 flicks of 2016
‘Arrival’ lands at No. 1; revisit the rest with us
THE REST OF THE TOP 10 (in alphabetical order) CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Marvel is again the class act of the comic-book ranks, with the superhero battle to end all superhero battles involving an airport, a Spider-Man, a Giant-Man and a
Star Wars reference. But the movie at its core is a powerful narrative about personal freedoms and one man having the back of his best pal.
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
Just as Richard Linklater introduced the world to Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck in Dazed and Con
fused, the filmmaker debuts a stable of future stars — including Glen Powell, Tyler Hoechlin and Wyatt Russell — in a baseball comedy with more deep thoughts than double plays.
HIDDEN FIGURES
The 1960s space-race drama is as important as it is feel-good with Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe combining talents as a trio of black mathematicians who helped America reach for the stars and put in place anybody who dared to underestimate their talents.
LA LA LAND
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are luminous in the old-school Hollywood musical done magically right in modern day. La La
Land is a grand love story boosted by a moving soundtrack, a dream- er’s heart and a bittersweet epilogue that shows how one kiss can affect an entire life.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
The ticket should come with a warning label: “This film causes extreme crying and laughter.” The drama taps a spectrum of emotions as it explores a family dealing with death in the present but also in its tragic past. Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams are phenomenal, but Lucas Hedges is the kid who makes it special.
MOANA
Thanks to my 4-year-old daughter, I’ve seen Disney’s musical adventure at least 25 times now, and it’s still just as good as the first because of Auli‘i Cravalho’s spunky title adventurer, Dwayne Johnson’s cocky demigod sidekick and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s instant classic show tunes.
MOONLIGHT
Director Barry Jenkins’ stunning movie experiments with conventions of a three-act narrative as it explores the maturation of a gay black man from lost child to bullied teenager to intimidating drug dealer. It’s impossible not to root for the character, and the film earns its ending like perhaps no other in 2016.
SING STREET
Irish eyes are smiling and singing in John Carney’s sparkling coming-of-age musical tale. Boy meets girl, boy puts a band together to impress girl, and both find themselves broken in ways they never knew. The young romance and a bunch of ’80sinfluenced tracks make the film a smile-inducing delight.
THE WITCH
Only in this Puritan horror movie would the disappearance of a baby be the least scary thing about it. Anya Taylor-Joy proves herself a female force as a teenage girl struggling as her family crumbles, and the goat Black Phillip joins the likes of Freddy and Jason as a fright-fest icon.