My Top 8 Movies of 2016

My Top 8 Movies of 2016

          So the year is coming to a close, and with that, it’s time to write up some top lists as we look back on the best and worst entertainment of the year. This year, I’m starting out with my top 8 favourite movies! Just a reminder that I haven’t seen everything that came out this year (including some big name stuff like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), so if there’s a movie you enjoyed and it isn’t on this list, it’s because I either haven’t seen it yet or didn’t enjoy it as much. Without further ado, let’s get started!

8. Kung Fu Panda 3

          I’ve always considered the Kung Fu Panda movies to be the absolute crown jewel of DreamWorks Animation. Yes, the How to Train Your Dragon movies get more publicity as their best of the best and Shrek 2 remains one of the greatest animated comedy films of all time, but for whatever reason, these goofy movies about roly-poly panda Po and his quest to become a kung fu master have always really resonated with me.

          The story follows a few familiar beats, but it overall feels like a culmination of the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, and if it truly is the final movie in the franchise, it goes out on the highest note possible. The characters are the same excellent ones you know from the first two, and the new characters are equally as lovable and memorable, especially Po’s true father, as played by Bryan Cranston.

          But the real star of the movie is the absolutely gorgeous animation and music. The Kung Fu Panda movies have always done a great job at capturing the spirit of China in their art design, and this third movie is no different. Between the beautiful yellow and green hued landscapes to the amazing look of the location of the movie’s climax, this is truly one that is a sight to behold.

7. Warcraft

          Maybe it’s just because I’m a fan of Warcraft lore, but I found myself really enjoying this one. Director Duncan Jones and his team really captured the spirit of the games onscreen, and while it did get a bit talky at times (and I imagine it could get confusing if you’re not familiar with the games), I felt that overall it was a very satisfying fantasy film with lots of fanservice for gamers.

          Taking place at the dawn of the franchise’s story, as the orcs invade the human home of Azeroth, several famous characters in the Warcraft universe make their way to the big screen, including Medivh and Gul’dan. Each is adapted well from the games, allowing their personalities to shine through towards the audience.

          I do feel that a bit of entry-level knowledge of the Warcraft universe is necessary to get the full enjoyment out of the movie, though. I showed it to my mom, and while she enjoyed it, she did say that she likely wouldn’t have liked it as much had I not have been there to explain some of the story that didn’t translate as well from the game to her. Regardless, Warcraft really is a love letter to fans of the lore of the games, and if you enjoy that, I’d say ignore the reviews and check it out.

6. The Jungle Book

          It wouldn’t be a proper end-of-2016 best movies list if I didn’t include the very first thing I ever reviewed on this blog! The Jungle Book will likely hold a special place in my heart for a very long time, as the need to write out how much I loved it gave me the final push I needed to finally create this site.

          My personal attachment to it aside, Jungle Book really holds up not only as a masterclass work of CGI, but as an excellent adaption of the 1967 Disney classic to the modern day. It really feels like the next step in CGI after Avatar, as the animals and jungle around them looked so impressively real you could almost reach out and touch it.

          In addition to the visuals, a literal dream cast rounded out the movie, each filling their roles well. I think I even prefer Bill Murray’s Baloo and Ben Kingsley’s Bagheera to the originals, although they are ultimately very different takes on the characters. Idris Elba is incredibly menacing as Shere Khan, creating one of the best villains of the year, and while I doubt many would agree with me on this, Christopher Walken completely steals the show with his portrayal of King Louie.

          Right now, Disney are 2 for 3 in terms of the recent live action adaptions of their movies in my book (I loved Cinderella and hated Maleficent), so at the moment I am very cautiously excited for next year’s Beauty and the Beast. Considering the original is one of Disney’s most perfect adaptions of a fairy tale ever made, I’m not sure if this movie can improve on or even compare to it. Still, I’ll go see it if the reviews are good.

5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

          Rogue One is a really interesting, really different take on Star Wars. The 7 movies we’ve had before this have been mostly light and happy affairs, with lots of bombastic and in-your-face action sequences with lots of lightsabers and witty banter between the leads. This movie throws all that out the window in favour of what is easily the darkest thing Star Wars has ever seen put to film.

          Taking place just before A New Hope, Rogue One tells the story of just how the Rebellion got their hands on the plans to the Death Star, as well as the origins of that pesky exhaust port that ruined Grand Moff Tarkin’s day. Given the time period, the set designers spared no expense on ensuring the movie looked like it jumped straight out of 1977. Computers and consoles blip and bloop electronically just like they did in the Original Trilogy, and the overall designs of the ships and droids are straight out of George Lucas’s imagination. There’s even some surprise cameos of iconic Original Trilogy faces, like Ponda Baba! …Anyone know who that is? The guy who got his arm cut off by Obi-Wan in the Mos Eisley Cantina?

          Honestly, at times talking about Rogue One feels like talking about 2 different movies. The opening 40 or so minutes crawl forward at a snail’s pace, as the movie spreads itself far too thin in trying to gather all the main characters at Saw Gererra’s fortress. But after that, all bets are off as the movie gives us one of the most insane climaxes in Star Wars history in a madcap hybrid of the best parts of the opening to Revenge of the Sith and the Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi. To say it will leave you on the edge of your seat is an understatement, and it all ends with what may very well be the greatest scene in Star Wars history, one I dare not risk spoiling for anyone reading this that may not have seen the movie yet.

          While it’s not exactly as much of a success as last year’s Force Awakens was, Rogue One is an extremely dark take on the Star Wars formula that anyone who enjoys the Original Trilogy deserves to see.

4. Star Trek Beyond

          While I definitely prefer Star Wars, I love me some Star Trek as well. It’s almost bizarre, having this year’s Trek movie be light, fun and happy and this year’s Wars movie be dark, slow and brutal.

          I’ve enjoyed all 3 of the rebooted Trek films (yes, I like Into Darkness despite its faults), and Beyond is my absolute favourite one yet. Being a self-contained story, it feels more like an awesome season finale episode for one of the Trek TV shows than just another filmographic chapter in the story of the reboot crew. The story is simple: the crew is stranded, the Enterprise is destroyed, and they need to get back together and escape before the dastardly villain’s plan is completed.

          While I was very nervous about the choice of Fast and Furious director Justin Lin to helm the next Trek movie after J.J. Abrams was called over to a galaxy far far away, he did a damn good job not only capturing the spirit of the series, but by also furthering the characters in ways the original 2 movies never did. I’m so happy Kirk and Spock’s friendship was put in the backseat for this adventure, as we got to see those two build relationships with other characters, like Kirk with Chekov in what was tragically Anton Yelchin’s final performance as the character, and the amazing and hilarious pairing of Spock and Bones. Add in Scotty, Uhura and Sulu continuing to be their excellent selves as well as fantastic new addition Jaylah, and you have a fantastic cast of characters that carry this movie.

           Oh, and the way they are able to stop the villain’s swarm of drones at the end is one of the most genius and smile-worthy methods I’ve seen in a movie in a long time. It encapsulates the overall feel of the movie perfectly: pure, unrelenting fun.

3. Doctor Strange

          Like I said in my review, the magical world of Doctor Strange was definitely the hardest to adapt into the more scientific and reality-based Marvel Cinematic Universe. But as seems to be the case with Marvel these days, they pulled it off in a way that both stayed true to the source material and welcomed newcomers.

          The visual effects were the best I think I’ve seen in any movie all year. Doctor Strange will likely be remembered in years to come thanks to its incredible CGI sequences. The scene where Strange first arrives at Kamar-Taj and the film’s climax are both sights to behold, and just as with Jungle Book, have made me very excited to see what movie will eventually top it.

          But crazy visuals aren’t enough to make a movie good, so Strange fires on all cylinders, delivering us a very funny and smart story alongside some fantastic characters and some of the best Marvel action scenes to date. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange is literally perfect. It feels like he jumped right off the comic page and onto the big screen flawlessly. The rest of the cast is also fantastic, even if some of them have roles that really do deserve either more screentime or more development. Doctor Strange is a big, fun movie that easily ranks up with Marvel’s best, and if you somehow haven’t seen it in theatres yet, it’s definitely worth seeking out a place that’s still playing it.

2. Captain America: Civil War

          How are they going to adapt the Civil War storyline to film with so few characters? That was the question I and many other Marvel fans asked in the years after they announced that it would be the basis for the final movie in the Captain America trilogy. But, Marvel being Marvel, they took their own interpretation on the storyline, building around the characters that have been previously established instead of trying to adapt the comic version word for word.

          While the beginning is a bit on the slow side (that’s why I gave it an 8/10 in my initial review), after watching the movie a few more times once the Blu-Ray came out, I’ve found the opening to be absolutely necessary to the rest of the film. You appreciate it far more when you know what comes later, because halfway through the movie, things are kicked into overdrive. Between all the Avengers gathering up in one movie to the mind-blowingly impressive airport battle to the introduction of Black Panther and Spider-Man, each of which were adapted pitch-perfectly, to the final battle that results in what may be Robert Downey Jr.’s best performance as Tony Stark in the 8 years since he first took up the mantle as Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War is amazing in that there’s so much great stuff in it that the titular character is just a small piece of a much bigger puzzle going on.

          Honestly, seeing how good both this movie and Winter Soldier are, I couldn’t be happier with Marvel’s choice to have the directors of those two, the Russo brothers, be the ones to helm Avengers: Infinity War. Their clear love and respect for the characters really make me feel like they’re the perfect choice to create the ultimate finale for everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been leading up to.

1. Moana

          What can I say about Moana that I didn’t already say in my review? It’s an incredibly solid Disney movie that easily ranks among previous princess flicks like Beauty and the Beast and Frozen by having some incredible worldbuilding and animation alongside fantastic characters and songs.

          The story is fantastic in the same way Frozen’s story was fantastic. While it definitely pays homage to some of the classic Disney tropes, there’s an air to adventure and excitement to it as well as a story that keeps the audience engaged the whole time. Moana herself is a particularly unique character in many ways, especially considering past female leads in Disney movies. She does what she thinks is best for her people, choosing to look at the world around her and go against other’s wishes to do what is right. In a world that’s so often telling kids to listen to her parents with no excuse as why you shouldn’t, here’s an empowering character that tells them it’s okay to bend the rules and make your own path for yourself, as long as you know what you’re doing is for the best.

          Moana also benefits from a fantastic supporting cast, including Dwayne Johnson’s brash demigod Maui and Alan Tudyk’s dumb-as-a-rock chicken Heihei. The soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame is one of Disney’s best ever. I’m still humming the songs over a month after actually watching the movie. This is easily the best Disney movie in years, and when they’re able to top something as good as Frozen just 3 years later, you know they’re really on a roll.

          Next year has a lot of movies to look forward to as well, including the next installments in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor movies, our first ever Marvel Studios Spider-Man story, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, a new Pirates of the Caribbean, a little movie called Star Wars: Episode VIII, and I’m sure plenty more I’m forgetting. Here’s to them all being good!