What will rank #1 as my favorite movie watched in 2016? We're almost there.
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#20
I first learned of this movie while reading a clickbait article about the ten most disturbing films that were hard to sit through. I am a fan of the disturbing so I immediately decided to check it out, even though the article didn't really go into much detail about what the movie would be about.
The movie is about two young boys who just happen to be psychopaths. They dress nicely, they act politely. They show up at people's door steps, asking for a favor. And then they weasel their way into the house, take over, and psychologically torment the family before killing them.
In the movie they seem to be making their way through the inhabitants of a gated community. The main character, played by Naomi Watts, sees these guys at her neighbors' house. The neighbors seem to be acting strangely. Later on, when these guys show up at her door and start terrorizing her, she realizes that her neighbors must have been going through the same ordeal.
The movie is not all about gore or physical violence. There is physical violence, but not much of it. It instead focuses on the psychological horror side of things. The implied threat of violence. The two boys are very creepy. They remain polite and formal the whole time while doing these awful things. You think maybe they will see reason and go away, but no. They don't.
I liked the movie's tense atmosphere. The film will keep you on edge nearly the whole way as you watch it. That is not easy an easy thing to pull off. I would rank this movie higher, but I didn't like the ending much. No justice or revenge is served. Plus it is open ended. I've mentioned multiple times over the years on this blog that I prefer closure rather than having things finish open ended. That always bugs me.
#19
Again, if I was making a ranking of my favorite movies of all time, this would be right up there in the top ten. It is arguably the best Star Wars movie ever made. While I have a hard time picking my favorite Star Wars film, I can't necessarily say that people who love this one the most are wrong. It is a great movie.
I watched this right at the end of 2016. I had just finished Rogue One and a New Hope. I figured: eh, why not just keep going and watch the rest of the Star Wars films? Unfortunately I didn't get around to Return of the Jedi until 2017, so it won't appear on this ranking.
The first half of the movie, I was a little bored. I've watched the battle scene on Hoth a countless number of times in my life. It holds no surprises for me anymore. Luke's training on Dagobah: same. The parts I found most interesting were when Leia and Han were working on the Falcon in the asteroid. And everything after they arrive at Cloud City. Lando's betrayal is epic. The "I know" scene. The music. Luke and Vader's big lightsaber duel, followed by Vader's bombshell.
The whole second half of the movie is fantastic. But it did take me a while to get into. Not the movie's fault - it is my own for watching this so many times in my life. But its so good, I can't help it. I am going to try to let ten years pass before I watch the original Star Wars films again. I probably won't get that far, but I think it would be neat to watch this after not seeing it for ten years and having all the memories come flooding back at me.
#18
I am normally not into movies like this, but American Sniper was so built up and so talked about by people I know that I just had to break down and watch it.
This is definitely a big time propaganda film, and transparently so. I can't deny that. Woo go America. The superheroes and good guys of the world!
Not everything is that black and white in real life, but I could put aside that fact as I watched the movie. It tells the story of Chris Kyle. He is a Southern All-American rodeo boy who decides to do his part for the country and enlist in the military. He becomes the most decorated sniper of all time, racking up a large number of kills and saving a countless number of lives in the progress. The movie chronicles his achievements, plus the way he copes with all of the death in his life.
Again, he is shown as the ultimate American hero who can do no wrong for his country. Accurate or not, I don't know. But you can empathize with him as a character and feel the effect his job has had on his personal life. At the end of the movie he comes home and really struggles with the things he had to do.
The tragic thing about his story is that after all he survived overseas, he is killed by a fellow ex-soldier with PSTD when he gets home. It was someone he was trying to help to cope with affects of the war.
Say what you want about whether or not the movie glorifies war and death. If it is propaganda or not. Question its accuracy if you like. But if you just look at it as a movie, and nothing else, it does its job well. It is expertly filmed. You feel for the main character. The action is intense. I didn't find a dull moment in the whole movie. It hits home emotionally. I had a great time with it.
I wish Kyle's actual death would have been more than just grazed over. It is basically a footnote at the very end of the film. I feel as if they missed a big chance to get the audience to shed some tears doing it that way. But it is what it is.
#17
I didn't know a whole lot about this movie when I sat down to watch it. I vaguely remember hearing that it was unique because it was one of the first movies of its kind (a thriller) to feature a mainly black cast. Props to the movie for that. This is a genre that has historically been dominated by white actors and actresses. But once the movie begins, you forget about all that stuff. Because race aside it really is a fun movie.
This is perhaps my favorite Idris Elba role. He is menacing and very intimidating. You can't help but feel uncomfortable and on edge watching him. He plays a brutal, violent criminal who escapes from prison and comes back home to find the woman who left him behind. He sees her with another man, and that throws him into a frenzy and he kills her. He then leaves, only to crash his car in the woods on his way out of the city. He comes to the door of a woman who is at home with her child after her husband has left out of town. She lets him in, only to realize something is not right with the man. He begins to terrorize her and the little kid. Things get messier when a friend pops by the house to visit.
The movie seems like a standard "don't open the door!" thriller type movie until we get to the end, and then there is a relatively big twist. Things aren't as random as they seem, with this man showing up at this particular house. It is clever how things are tied together.
So I enjoyed the movie a lot. There are a few moments where you have to shake your head in frustration because the main character keeps doing things that seemingly go against what every woman should do when faced with a threat to herself, her home, and her child. It is so unrealistic and eye-rolling that it takes you out of the movie a little bit. But other than that, I thought this was great.
#16
With all the issues about race swirling around the United States these days, I figured it would be a good time to go back and watch a movie like American History X. Even though this movie came out nearly 20 years ago, it is sad to see that not much has changed since then.
The film follows a white supremacist who is thrown in jail after brutally murdering some black men who were breaking into his house. Anyone who knows what a curb stomp is... well that came from this movie. He comes out of jail several years later a reformed man. He is dismayed to see that his younger brother has followed in his black hating footsteps in his absence.
The younger brother, who is doing horribly in school, is pulled into the principal's office. The principal (Captain Sisko from DS9! Great actor, don't know why he is not in more stuff) gives the boy a do or die assignment: to write about his brother, his jailing, and his experiences with race.
The boy talks to his brother, who is trying to reform him and get him to change his racist ways. The two butt heads, but the paper gets written. Just when it looks like he is starting to turn the corner with his viewpoint, the younger brother is shot and killed by a group of black kids who he had previously given a hard time about the color of their skin.
It is a powerful and hard hitting movie that isn't afraid to tackle a particularly touchy subject. It can be hard to watch, but there are lessons to be learned from this film. It touches on hate and why hate exists in the world. It touches on the fact that everyone has a reason for their views, no matter how much you may disagree with them. It shows the good in even the most vile individuals. And it shows that no matter how lost someone may appear, anyone can change. You just have to make sure you do it before its too late.
#15
I think I watched this shortly after I had finished my epic rewatch of the entire series run of the Walking Dead. I was on a big zombie kick at the time. I watched Zombieland in that time frame too. It only made sense to then sit down and watch the grandfather of them all: Night of the Living Dead.
I know this movie is old. If you are some young kid you may think this movie is cheesy, especially some of the lines at the beginning. I, however, think it is perfect. It is the first zombie movie I ever saw, so it is the movie by which I judge anything zombie related.
It is a very creepy movie. I think it has aged well. The black and white adds to the movie's authenticity. You really feel that there could be a zombie outbreak, and if there was - this is kind of how it would go down. There is gore, but the movie doesn't overwhelm you with it. Mostly it is the hopelessness of what the heck is going on and how are we going to survive this?
The film focuses on a group of strangers who are holed up in a lonely farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. All they know is that there is some kind of outbreak causing people to turn into mindless zombies who attack and eat other people. Some in the house want to hide in the cellar until things pass over. Some want to fortify the house and fight off the zombies, knowing that if they hide in the cellar they could be trapped forever.
The hero of the movie, Ben, is the one who wants to fortify the house. He is portrayed as the good guy the whole movie, and rightfully so. He seems to be the only one tough enough and smart enough to survive this thing. But you get the feeling that other people disagree with him even when they know he is right, if only because the color of his skin.
The tension level is high in the house. It is even higher outside as the zombies are gathering and trying to get in. In the ultimate twist of fate, the characters fail to defend the house and the zombies get in. Ben, the lone survivor, is forced to retreat to the cellar and take shelter. It turned out to be the right move after all, as a rescue party shows up the following day. Ben, however, is taken for a zombie and shot on sight.
Everyone dies. The end.
It is a great movie, and it still holds up today. It all seems so believable in this film. It holds the distinction of being one of the few movies out there capable of being able to legitimately scare me while watching it.
#14
I'm sure this seems an odd choice to rank so highly to some people. It is very comic book-y. It's over the top. It's not very well acted. It is silly when its trying to be serious.
But damn it, the movie is FUN. It is about a scientist who is working on perfecting human skin masks or prosthetics for the disfigured. These masks are indistinguishable from real human skin, but the only problem is they break down and melt if they spend enough time in the light.
The scientist's girlfriend catches wind of some kind of mobster real estate scheme and she is thinking about blowing the lid on it. It would be a huge news story. Unfortunately, the mobsters come looking for her, and they find the scientist instead. They destroy his lab and kill his assistant. They torture the scientist and leave him for dead, setting up a bomb to destroy the place as they leave. The bomb detonates and the scientist is tossed into the water. Everyone believes him to be dead.
Turns out he survived the blast. He comes back burned to a crisp, all nerve endings scorched so he can't feel pain anymore. He goes back to his lab and salvages enough of the equipment to make masks of the mobsters. He uses these masks to infiltrate the gang and take revenge on the men who destroyed his life.
It is a really fun movie. I was probably sitting there watching it with a big goofy grin on my face the whole time. It is fast paced. Violent. The bad guys get what's coming to them. As I mentioned, the movie seems silly in parts where it is trying to be serious. But that is part of its charm and appeal. It all just works for some reason.
Fun movie. Obviously it is no cinematic masterpiece but I really enjoyed it a lot.
#13
I've brought up the point a couple of times while writing this blog that scary movies often don't scare me at all. I like scary movies and I think they are fun, but they just for whatever reason flat out don't scare me.
That changed with the Nightmare. I had read that this was a haunting documentary about night terrors and sleep paralysis. I had never experienced either of these things, but the topic did intrigue me.
The movie interviews several people, and they talk about their experiences while sleeping. Many of these stories involve a heightened sense of tension. They are in bed but can't move. A dark figure enters the room. Crazy things happen. The dreamer thinks he or she is about to die. And then they wake up, terrified out of their damn minds. This happens to them every single night.
A lot of the reenactments are very spooky. Especially considering that these are things that have happened to actual people. I was skeptical at first but the fact that it happens to so many people who don't even know each other makes me think. How can so many people have the same dream where they can't move, and the same mysterious dark figure comes into the room and torments them?
It is a very freaky movie that sent chills down my spine more times than I could count. It is a rare thing for a movie to legitimately creep me out like this. But The Nightmare accomplished that task and I have to give the film makers props. Great job.
#12
I know that this is a classic comedy and all, but I had never watched Coming to America until last year.
I figured it was time to finally give in and watch the film since I had always heard how funny it was and how much everyone loved it. Comedy is not my favorite genre, but I really liked the movie too.
My favorite comedy films tend to be movie with "fish out of water" characters. And Coming to America definitely fits that bill. Eddie Murphy plays a rich African prince who is unhappy with his prearranged wedding and comes to America to find a bride of his own choosing.
He comes to New York City, where no one knows he is a prince or he has money. The interactions he has with people are amazing and hilarious. The prince is such a relatable and lovable character too. You can't help but root for him during all his misadventures.
You know a movie is good when it leaves you wanting more. When this movie ended I went through Prince Akeem withdrawals. He is such a great character I was hoping there was a sequel, a spinoff, SOMETHING I could watch with more of him in it. But no.
I had a great time with this movie. It left me wondering how I had never seen it before. If I had to rank my favorite comedies of all time, this would definitely make my top 10.
#11
I had seen Platoon before, but it had been several years since my last viewing. So it was essentially like I was watching it for the first time.
Unlike Saving Private Ryan, this movie is less about big battles and more about the individual struggles of war. It is more about the characters. How they interact with each other under inhuman conditions. How they laugh, fight, agree, disagree. How they struggle with each other for power.
Each character in the movie has his own unique, well fleshed out personality. Sure there are some caricatures (the bad guys are 100% bad and evil) but for the most part everyone seems well thought out. How all these different personalities react during such trying times is fascinating to watch.
It is a hard hitting movie with a lot of emotional moments. The film is definitely not for the faint or weak of heart. A lot of moments will make you smile. Most of them, though, are very uncomfortable and deal with subjects we don't see a lot from the comfort of our homes and couches.
I often measure a movie's greatness by how much I think about it after the closing credits. Some movie I am just like "oh that was fun" and then I move on to other activities. Some really affect me and make me think and reevaluate my opinions in life. This was definitely one of the latter types of movies for me.
Ten films to go. Here are the remaining movies still in contention for my favorite film watched in 2016:
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Quills
Green Room
Captain America: Civil War10 Cloverfield Lane
The Shallows
The Rock
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
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