As it’s the last day of 2016, I want to look back on what cinema has given us this year – both the triumphs and the turkeys. But whilst it would be monotonous of me to list every film I’ve seen on the silver screen, it must be said that I’ve visited the cinema a total of sixty-eight times in the past twelve months, and within that number have seen sixty-one films. Okay, one was Back to the Future in Lydiard Park, but it still counts. And I’m not bragging – it’s simply my way of trying to emphasise just how many said-films have been surprisingly good, making 2016, for once, not such a big stinker. That, and how cost effective a cinema membership card really is.
But before I reveal my best and worst of 2016, let’s remind ourselves of this year’s juggernauts – both good and bad – and look ahead to those that 2017 has to offer.
The start of the year saw Leonardo DiCaprio get viciously-mauled by a massive bear in The Revenant, the silver-lining of which saw him bag his first Oscar; Deadpool dropped in on Valentine’s Day, making quite an impression to the guys and the girls, but perhaps not so much our grandparents; Pixar took us on a trip to the wonderful “Zootropolois” – or “Zootopia” depending on what part of the world you’re from; Mary Elizabeth Winsted battled John Goodman underground in 10 Cloverfield Lane, the surprise-sort-of-sequel-but-not-quite to 2008’s Cloverfield; Batman and Superman had a bit of a fight – but mostly talked it out – in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice; Jon Favreaux brought the pages of The Jungle Book to life in a live-action-CGI hybrid retelling; Spider-Man was rebooted once again (again) in the best MCU entry to date, Captain America: Civil War; everybody’s hardly-favourite mutants bored us to death in X-Men: Apocalypse; the heroes-in-a-half-shell surprised everyone when they came out of the shadows with their sequel to 2014’s teenage mutant ninja turkey flick; Independence Day: Resurgence redefined the disaster movie genre and not in a good way; the Ghostbusters reboot, the most hated then-unseen film of all time hardly proved anyone wrong; we star-trekked beyond boredom and forgetfulness with the second sequel to Abrams’ once-awesome reimagining; the Suicide Squad did a mediocre job at building on the DC Universe while Jared Leto’s Joker was a laughing stock for all the wrong reasons; Matt Damon was Bourne again in perhaps the best film in the franchise so far; Spielberg brought new life to Roald Dahl’s The BFG; like 10 Cloverfield Lane, the Blair Witch also made a surprise comeback, and one scary enough to make you afraid of corners – yes corners; Bridget Jones had both a bump and a bumpy ride; Doctor Strange brought a whole new dimension to the MCU – pretentiousness and complete twoddle; the Harry Potter franchise was given a fantastic spin-off that was somehow better than all previous eight films; Moana proved that Pixar really need to let it go when it comes to the age-old formula of an inexplicably-woeful girl with super-powers and the best singing voice in the universe; and Rogue One took us back to a galaxy far, far away, on something of a wasted journey.
So, without further ado, here are my top three best films of 2016, followed by my top three worst…
Deepwater Horizon
I always thought of the term “edge-of-your-seat” as a slight exaggeration when it comes to films, that was until I saw the insanely-gripping and hard-hitting Deepwater Horizon, far more immersive than any 3D blockbuster to date.
Don’t Breathe
Quite possibly the most hard-as-nails horror-thriller to have emerged in years. It’s like Panic Room on steroids, and of course with roles reversed.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Where films are concerned, this film simply made my year. A truly magical experience from start to finish, and a reminder as to why we fell in love with the Harry Potter franchise in the first place.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Perhaps the most surprising film of the year – and not in a good way. But then maybe I was naive. The worst sequel to your favourite alien invasion sci-fi classic imaginable.
The Girl with All the Gifts
Irritating, unoriginal and boring. Those are only a few words to describe this uninventive, undead British zombie flick that only makes 28 Days Later look even better.
Marvel’s Doctor Strange
Marvel’s worst entry to date – and that’s saying something when you consider the likes of the Iron Man sequels and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Of course, there have been many more films this year; some good, some not so much. But in the coming months, we’ll see King Kong rampaging through cinemas in the follow-up to 2013’s Godzilla; Disney classic Beauty & The Beast will come bursting to life on the big screen; 90’s classic The Power Rangers will be getting morphed into a big-budget sci-fi actioner; Batman will get an interesting makeover in The Lego Batman Movie; and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine returns for one last outing in Logan. There are countless more, too, from Alien sequels, more DC and Marvel movies (of course), to more in the way of reboots from Baywatch to The Mummy (yes, The Mummy), yet-another Trans-Formers sequel and, of course, Star Wars: Episode VIII. But here’s what you can expect in the first few months of 2017:
