2016

Jackie (Director: Pablo Larraín)

Nominees: Sing Street, Personal Shopper, Arrival, Zootopia, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Nocturnal Animals, Tower, Love and Friendship, Cameraperson

Oscars Pick: Moonlight

Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea

I was not on the same page as others in regards to this film year. Several movies people called great, I saw as good, and their good I saw as okay or flat out awful. So 2016 was at times about being disappointed to some degree or another -- and yeah, with 1 exception, my nominees differ from Oscars. Not that I disliked anything the Academy nominated (Lion being the exception) I was simply in a different groove.

Picking my best was difficult as I was torn between two: Sing Street and Jackie - an unconventional biopic, historical piece and character study that exposes the myth builder, while also extolling the need for such myths. And it manages to juggle this seeming contradiction without being contradictory. (I think many people know myths are just that, but also acknowledge that we buy into them because they can strengthen us, give us hope, give us something to believe in when times are dark).

Compelling nightmarish storytelling coupled with (IMHO) Portman's greatest performance, and an evocative score, made this one of the best movies of the year. In truth, I don't have a big review in me, and this film deserves one, which critic Guy Lodge provided with his insights posted at Variety

My Top 75 from 2016

Actors? Don Cheadle's directorial debut is often described as chaotic or messy, but I think that was the intent. I believe Don was trying to make a movie as music, to mirror the jazzy, free-form style of its subject. Like Jackie, Miles Ahead is not a straightforward biography and was more about capturing the spirit, the magnetism of the man. While the film isn't a masterpiece, it earns its points for Cheadle's impressive tour de force performance.

Note: While it did play theatrically, I elected to place, and award O.J.: Made in America in the miniseries category

Best Actor: Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead
Honorable Mentions:
Bridges, Pine & Foster, Hell or High Water * Shahab Hosseini, The Salesman * Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic * Ryan Gosling, La La Land * Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea * Masahiro Motoki, The Long Excuse * Joel Edgerton, Loving

Supporting Actor: Sam Neill, Hunt For the Wilderpeople

Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie (pictured top)
Honorable Mentions: 

Elina Vaska, Mellow Mud * Amy Adams, Arrival * Paula Beer, Frantz * Sarah Paulson, Blue Jay * Narges Rashidi, Under the Shadow * Ruth Negga, Loving * Viola Davis, Fences * Adèle Haenel, The Unknown Girl * Rebecca Hall, Christine * Sandra Hüller, Toni Erdmann 

Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone, Certain Women (pictured left)

Other Actresses I liked: Kate Beckinsale, Love and Friendship * Emma Stone, La La Land * Sally Hawkins, Maudie * Madina Nalwanga & Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe * Sabine Timoteo, The Chronicles of Melanie * Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane, and the ladies from "In Between"

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