2016
IN FILM
Greetings,
everyone! Well, we’re rounding out the year of 2016 tonight and entering the
year of 2017. And it’s that time of year when film critics/fanatics discuss the
best and the worst of the year. Unfortunately, though, I have not seen enough
films to make two separate lists. So instead, I’m just going to discuss the
most noteworthy films of the year by breaking it up into different categories,
such Best Movie Overall, Worst Movie Overall, Best Musical Score, Most
Disappointing Movie, Most Underrated Move, etc. Think of it as my version of
the Academy Awards, except with more categories. With that said, let’s get
started!
Best
Movie Overall:
Zootopia (dir. Byron
Howard and Rich Moore)
Okay, I’m
gonna be very honest. When I saw the first teaser and poster for Zootopia, I was a little skeptical. Not
that it looked like it was gonna be a complete trainwreck, but it just didn’t
look like my thing. Well, suffice it to say, it totally won me over. Not only because
of its characters, animation, and comedy, but also because of how it pulled the
rug out from under the audience with a relevant message about tolerance, racism,
and prejudice (which is unfortunately very necessary now that the Donald has
made it to presidency). But that’s not the only reason that I rank this film so
high. Without this film, I might not have started the 433 Films blog (formerly
known as Elijah’s Film Corner), because that first article I wrote got so many
readers and even a thumbs-up from Rich Moore himself. So, lo and behold, this
blog was born. So, thanks Zootopia!
Here’s hoping for a sequel!
Worst
Movie Overall:
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (dir.
Zack Snyder)
For the
past couple of years, I had been struggling with my feelings about Man of Steel. And this year, I finally
came to the personal conclusion that I don’t think it’s an awful film or a
complete disaster. It’s just not particularly good, which was a huge letdown
because of how awesome and even somewhat spiritual those three trailers were.
The dialogue is very preachy, the story just sort of meanders aimlessly, way too
much time is spent on Krypton, and they managed to turn Superman, the ultimate
symbol of hope aside from Jesus, into a brooding Batman wannabe. But, the film
also has enough things in its favor – i.e. the Kryptonian visual style, Cavill’s
acting ability, the action scenes – so that a better sequel could be made from
it. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is everything I didn’t like
about Man of Steel amplified to
eleven. The dialogue is even more preachy, they still haven’t allowed Henry Cavill
to use his natural charisma that made The
Man from U.N.C.L.E so enjoyable, and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor might be
the goofiest comic book villain we’ve seen in a while (seriously, he’s so unintentionally
hilarious, it almost makes the whole film worth it). Fortunately, though, the
film isn’t without its positive elements. Snyder’s signature visual style is
more present, Ben Affleck makes an awesome Batman, Gal Gadot shows great
potential as Wonder Woman, and Jeremy Irons is deliciously dry and funny as
Alfred. But for me, those positive elements weren’t enough to save the film.
Let’s hope the DC Extended Universe can make up for it with Wonder Woman this June!
Best
Musical Track:
“Witch’s
Coven” from The VVitch (composed by
Mark Korven)
Full
disclosure, folks: I have not seen The
VVitch in its entirety, nor do I intend to do so. My reasons stem from
personal issues which I don’t wish to discuss. However, the one thing about
this film that I feel like I can endorse fully is the music by Mark Korven. I
like how minimalist and subdued it is, especially for a horror film. However,
the track that most gives me the chills is the final track, “Witch’s Coven”,
which plays at the film’s ending. This track is nothing more than the
percussive hitting of bows against stringed instruments and female vocalists
chanting an invocation of Satan’s powers (this detail should give you a hint as
to why I will not watch this film). The music very much reminiscent of Krzysztof Penderecki’s music, specifically Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima,
mixed in with a dash of Gyrogi Ligeti’s Requiem
for good measure. It truly makes you feel like you’re in a nightmarish
atmosphere from which there is no escape. Just make sure you listen to
something lighthearted afterwards to take some of the edge off.
Most
Underrated Film
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (dir.
Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone)
Sometimes,
the old adage “keep it simple, stupid” is all you need to make a good film.
This is a great example. Popstar is
probably one of the better comedies of 2016…that virtually nobody went to go
see. And that’s kind of a shame because this was a funny and entertaining film.
It brilliantly satirized the crazy lifestyle and trends that occur in the music
industry today. But aside from all the comedy and jokes, there’s also a
relatable, heartfelt story about going back to your roots and not getting a big
head once you hit the big time. What else can I say? Sometimes, less is more.
Most
Disappointing Film (that’s not a DCEU film)
X-Men: Apocalypse (dir.
Bryan Singer)
The X-Men franchise has been one of the most
inconsistent film franchises ever, at least in terms of quality. Sometimes, you
get a great film (X-Men: Days of Future
Past), and sometimes you get a complete disaster (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). But both First Class and Days of
Future Past gave me hope that we may start getting a more consistent line
of good X-Men films. But, nope! Instead, we got the complete opposite. Now, I still
stand by original statement that this is a fun movie, but my overall assessment
of it has only decreased over the past few months. Oscar Isaac looks completely
bored as Apocalypse, nothing of real consequence is achieved aside from
Professor X turning bald, the new X-Men are either completely uninteresting or
totally underdeveloped, and by the end, like I said, we’re still in the same
place we were when the film started….
Sigh…but
at least Logan looks good!
Film That
was Most Fun
The Magnificent Seven (dir.
Antoine Fuqua)
The original
Magnificent Seven was really good,
but not really all that different from any of the other Westerns that were
coming out at that time. Which is why nobody really called foul when they
announced a remake with Antoine Fuqua in the director’s chair. And…I’ll be
danged if it doesn’t work spectacularly! Now, don’t get me wrong, folks. This
is not really a classic in any sense of the word, but for something that didn’t
need to exist, this is actually a lot of fun. The strength of this movie is the
cast, which has been given a very welcome diversity boost with Denzel
Washington as the leader. Chris Pratt was practically born to play a cowboy,
Ethan Hawke does great as a PTSD-stricken former sniper, but in my opinion, it’s
Vincent D’Onofrio who steals the show as the ultra-religious, detached Jack Horne.
I had real fun with this movie and I suspect you will too. Check it out!
Film That
was Least Fun
Suicide Squad (dir. David
Ayer)
Under
normal circumstances, I would have named this as the most disappointing film of
the year. But after a bit of thought, I have come to the conclusion that this
movie does know to have fun, unlike its DCEU predecessor Batman v Superman. What really drags it down, though, is some very
clunky editing, the worst live-action Joker in the history of Batman, and some
very underdeveloped characters. What really confused me about this, however, is
the ending when characters like Harley Quinn and El Diablo are talking about
family, loyalty, and friendship. But this falls apart for two reasons: 1. They
barely know each other, and 2., they’re SUPERVILLAINS!!! They shouldn’t be
talking about friendship and stuff like that. Despite all that, there are some
good performances (particularly out of Will Smith, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez,
Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnamen, and Jai Courtenay), and the film is just laid
back enough to where I can say that I had some fun with it. But, it still did
leave me with concerns as to whether or not those at Warner Bros. even know
what they’re doing anymore with the DCEU.
Best
Superhero Film
Captain America: Civil War (dir.
Joe and Anthony Russo)
Man, have
there been a lot of superhero movies this year! And many of them were actually
pretty darn good. But the one that stood out the most to me was Captain America: Civil War. This film
actually took a pretty big risk by having the superheroes go up against each
other rather instead of a larger-than-life antagonist. This makes for some
thrilling tension, and possibly one of the best action scenes in any Marvel
movie. But this film is also thematically riveting as well. We as the audience
both empathize with Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America, but
we also acknowledge that neither is completely in the right. And like I said
before, it makes for some great tension. Also, I would be remiss to not mention
this film’s portrayal of Black Panther, which was amazing! Chadwick Boseman
carries himself with the correct amount of regality, but also does well when it’s
time for him to suit up. I can’t wait for his film! And Tom Holland does
awesome as the MCU’s version of Spider-Man. To say that he’s the best
live-action Spider-Man is fairly hyperbolic, considering that we haven’t seen
him carry a film on his own. Also because I still personally view Tobey Maguire
as the best Spider-Man. But he definitely has potential to be a very good
Spider-Man. Here’s hoping he fulfills it! So, yeah, this film was pretty
awesome!
And now
for the last category…
The
Biggest Surprise of the Year
The Jungle Book (dir. Jon
Favreau)
Well,
this came out of nowhere. Granted, when I heard about this film project, I was
hyped, but also sort of cautious. Because I didn’t know if they would just be
retreading the original Disney film beat for beat, or if the effects would look
too fake, or if Neel Sethi could hold his own against a CGI cast, or…yeah,
there was a fair amount going against this movie. But, it succeeded! I think
the biggest advantage this film had was that the original 1967 film had a
fairly thin plot, so the filmmakers were free to add more elements, but not so
many that it would detract from the spirit of the original. So, they decided to
add some elements from the Kipling stories, while also darkening the film a bit
to Lion King levels (huh…maybe that’s
why they chose Favreau for this new TLK remake). All these elements make for an
engaging, fun, uplifting film. All the actors do a great job, the standouts
being Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, and Christopher Walken. The musical
score is great at being its own thing while also paying homage to the George
Bruns score from 1967, and I like how they handled “Bare Necessities”. What
else can I say? This movie’s awesome and I can’t wait for the sequel!
So, there
is my summation of 2016 at the movies! Here’s hoping for a fantastic year in
2017! Happy New Year, everyone!
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