The 10 Most Entertaining Films Of 2016

The time has arrived to narrow down a solid slate of 2016 films into a thinly layered group of what I consider to be the most entertaining films of the year. I try to stay away from the term ‘Best’ for this list simply because it just feels like elitist nonsense. What I like isn’t necessarily what you like, so how are my choices any ‘better’ than yours?

I prefer to instead focus on what I consider to be the most entertaining movies of the past year. Some entertain me for artistic reasons, occasionally it’s the action, this year even won me over with dancing – ya just never know, but these are my favorites regardless. If you happened to listen to our 2017 Hollywood Outsider Awards podcast, you might have already been spoiled on a few of these. Regardless, allow me to elaborate on why I chose them.

Every year when I compile this final list, some yahoo always feels the need to point out how ‘You rated X movie higher than that OTHER movie in your written review, so HOW can it be a better movie?!’, so let me address that right now: You are absolutely correct. But it’s my list, so watch me do whatever I want with it. I might even throw Suicide Squad and Leto’s ridiculous Joker in here just to get crazy! Ok, I’m not that far gone. (Seriously, what was with that grill?!) The plain truth is that some movies play better the more times you have seen them – The Nice Guys is a prime example of this – while others roll the opposite way. Such is the way with life. So simmer down, whip up your own Top 10 and then we can compare.

It is a challenge every year to select these, and this year proved even more cumbersome as the slate of GREAT films really felt weak compared to the fantastic year at the theaters 2015 was. There were more than enough to craft a Top 20 list, but I’d be lying if I said there was much to brag about after #21. The slate looks phenomenal for 2017 though, so fingers crossed the road to greatness simply had to travel through 2016 to arrive. Until then, let’s take a look at what broke through and made the final cut as The Most Entertaining Films of 2016.

Aaron

Honorable Mentions: Everybody Wants Some, Snowden, Moonlight, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, DOOMED: The Untold Story of The Fantastic Four, Green Room, The Secret Life of Pets, The Shallows, Demolition

10. La La Land

You know how much I love musicals? If your answer is ‘not at all’, your prize is in the mail. This is a genre I rarely understand and typically avoid with the same quickness your ex-wife uses to dodge court hearings. Yet, every so often, one of these little gems sneak past my cynical nature and plugs directly into the inner glee that lies deep, deep down in the pit of my personal existence.

La La Land is the epitome of joy, a film that seems to exist solely to send a jolt of smiles coursing through your spine and force you to feel alive. Director Damien Chazelle orchestrates lyrical emotion as Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone summon every ounce of charm and talent they possess to reimagine the glow of the Golden Age of Hollywood in a modern story of music, love, ambition and choices. This is the movie for every person stuck in traffic humming a beat, playing a song on a loop when their soul mate walks away for the last time, or sings a few notes when they think the world isn’t watching.

La La Land is for you.

9. The Edge of Seventeen

Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is a dour teenager with little in her life worth enjoying. Her father died as she sat helpless next to him, and her inner fire was effectively extinguished. She bitches and moans her way through life, often torturing her favorite teacher (Woody Harrelson) with random anecdotes, except for the one bright light in her universe: her best friend Krista. When Nadine learns that Krista is dating her brother, she spirals off the deep end and leads the audience on a tale of discovery and coming-of-age.

The Edge of Seventeen is not one of those quirky wordsmith comedies that emote through sporadic vernacular. Instead, this is a portrait of a teenager with relatable inner struggles and demons, who also happens to be kind of annoying in a whimsical sort of way. Steinfeld captivated me in True Grit years ago, and she astonished me here as she brings Nadine boldly to life in a story that evokes the feel of an early John Hughes film. Don’t let the box office take scare you, this movie is a breath of fresh air, and if you haven’t yet, it’s time to inhale.

8. Captain America: Civil War

Even though this is basically the same plot as Batman v Superman (with 76% less Martha) AND it’s much more Avengers 2.5 than Captain America 3, it’s hard to deny that this is the 2nd most entertaining comic book flick of the year. Captain America stands for integrity and honor while Tony Stark stands for panic and fear in Marvel’s latest attempt to mesh every superhero they have currently in play, culminating in one of the most astonishing action set-pieces of the year as pages come to life amidst an intense airport rumble.

Once again, Chris Evans demonstrated why he’s my favorite in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe as his hero with a heart-of-gold chooses to stand steadfast against a government determined to control even those who risk their lives to save them. What works best about Civil War – and what ultimately hurt that OTHER cinematic rivalry – is that this conflict genuinely makes sense. We can see where both sides are coming from, and each has its merits. Though the last act falters a bit as the film catches a case of Marthaitis, this is still a helluva good time with some of our favorite Marvel heroes.

Oh yea, it also introduced a badass Black Panther and a fun new take on Spider-Man. Just in case you still weren’t convinced.

7. Hell or High Water

Chris Pine and Ben Foster as bank robbing brothers with a hidden agenda shouldn’t be this compelling, nor should we be as enamored with yet another Rooster Cogburn variation from Jeff Bridges and his partner Gil Birmingham as the Texas Rangers hunting them down. Yet here we are, sucked into this tale of brothers both in front of and behind the badge.

Slow burn is an exhausted term that gets bandied about far too often, and generally it’s code for ‘boring as hell’. Here that description stands for the mounting tension and dire stakes at play for everyone as the story plays out its final hand. Pine revels in the chance to downplay his natural charisma while Bridges wrestles with a wavering career and a stubborn determination to solve that last big case. Both actors elevate the film above what appears on paper to be a paint-by-numbers caper.

The critical raves aren’t hype, Hell or High Water was the best crime-thriller of the year.

6. Me Before You

Me Before You is everything I don’t want in a movie. A paralyzed rich guy named Will (Sam Claflin) hates the world, then the smoking hot caregiver strolls in and cures his dark pit of a heart with her blinding smile and whimsical nature. She might even be so amazing he’ll walk again, who knows? It stars some guy from the Hunger Games films or the CW, one of those, and that Mother of Dragons lady who’s always naked in Game of Thrones. Even hearing the plot synopsis caused my head to firmly hit my desk. But all things being equal, sometimes you have to give a clichéd block of cheese a chance.

I am soooooooooooo glad I did! Emilia Clarke plays Lou as an eternal optimist, while grounding her in the harsh realities of Will’s situation, and her performance is as enchanting as anything Disney has conjured up over the last decade. As their relationship and romance blossoms, every ounce of it feels genuine and heartbreaking. From the first to the final frame, this is easily the film I am most thankful I forced my inner elitist to allow.

Is the plot recycled nonsense from countless other films? It sure is. Do I care? Absolutely not. Me Before You is the kind of movie that keeps clichés alive.

5. The Magnificent Seven

The Seven Samurai was brilliant Asian filmmaking. The original Magnificent Seven was a high-point of Western filmmaking, as John Surges adapted Samurai for American audiences. So what could this third variation on the story (354th counting the copycats) possibly contain that would cause it to stand out in this already stellar field of cinematic gold?

Denzel F@#%ing Washington.

The very second Denzel stands stoic at a set of swinging doors, takes stock of the clientele, and then saunters into a saloon as if he had garnered ownership in the establishment, all bets are off and we know we’re watching greatness. His eyes tell the story his words do not as Denzel’s Chisolm takes on a suicide mission to save a small town besieged by good ole’ American greed. Having played numerous antiheroes over the past few years, it was sheer elation to finally witness this legendary thespian strap on a six-shooter and take on a bandit army in one of my favorite genres.

Toss in a surprisingly game Chris Pratt, an eclectic band of diversely merry men, and director Antoine Fuqua’s action pedigree and you have one of great standouts of 2016. Come for the cast and stay for the bonkers final showdown between a small town and a gatling gun of destruction.

Take note, Hollywood. The Magnificent Seven is how a remake is done.

4. Don’t Breathe

Last year at SXSW, I wandered into a darkened theater with little more information than I was about to watch Fede Alvarez’s new film. Yes, that’s it. No trailers beforehand, no literature explaining the plot, no character description details in the registration packet. The director of the latest Evil Dead has a new flick, and you’re about to watch it. Or suffer through it, as the case may be.

I don’t mean that with any negative connation mind you, not at all. For almost 90 minutes, I suffered along with Jane Levy’s Rocky as she spiraled around every corner and stumbled through the darkness for any semblance of light, desperate to avoid any contact with Stephen Lang’s middle-aged Daredevil. The twists to the story were dire, and even bordered on sadist, as Lang’s Blind Man remained in constant hot pursuit, with Rocky clawing her way to potential freedom.

On the surface, there is nothing exceptional about Don’t Breathe. It’s a basic story about a bunch of cocky thieving dumbasses robbing a sad old man in his sleep. The complexity of the film is how it plays out, trading our sympathy for empathy before ultimately succumbing to sodomy. It’s a movie where you are never quite sure who to root for – as everyone has a tangible motive – and every turn could be a character’s last. I’ve seen the movie three times now and I’m still debating who I want to live.

Some say this isn’t a horror movie, and I imagine these are people you don’t want to party with in the dark. Because for this guy, I was absolutely horrified throughout and finally had a film in 2016 that tingled those tiny hairs on the back of my neck as I anticipated the next jolt of terror. Don’t Breathe was a master class in simplistic fear.

Also, I am now freaked out by turkey basters.  Thanks for ruining Thanksgiving, Alvarez.

3. The Nice Guys

Shane Black, with the exception of whatever the hell was going on in Iron Man 3, is easily one of my favorite filmmakers. Every single time this noir-loving nut gets behind a script or a camera, he takes a story, spruces it up with a whole lot of verbal sparring and repartee, tosses in a few clever misdirections and BAM! Movie magic.

The Nice Guys was a film I enjoyed the first time I saw it. Smart with fluid pacing, but nothing too special. Then it accomplished what almost every Shane Black movie – yea, I’m still not counting Iron Man 3 – does by improving on my second watch. As of now, I’ve seen the movie four times and love it more with each viewing. It’s a diamond in the rough, a throwback to 70s noir and Black’s own past successes.

The pairing of Ryan Gosling (who I’m now claiming as my spirit animal) and Russell Crowe (with his best performance in years) is stellar casting that I personally never saw working. Crowe’s boarish charm complements Gosling’s drunken buffoonery well, and throwing in Angourie Rice as The Goose’s noir-ledgeable beyond her years daughter was an absolute masterstroke. As our three amigos bounce around L.A. contending with various iniquitous hitmen, Black delivers a film worthy of its place on the shelf right alongside Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

These are my kind of Nice Guys.

2. Hacksaw Ridge

Mel Gibson is back, baby! Oh sure, you have a problem with the man’s drunken shenanigans, I get it. I’m also over it. Everyone knows the key to being released from movie jail is to make a phenomenal film stocked full of award-worthy performances, bombastic action, with a dash of heart and hope.

Welcome to Hacksaw Ridge.

Andrew Garfield made us completely forget how quickly he was wrongly discarded as Spider-Man by taking on the role of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector in World War II who wanted to serve his country, yet refused to fire a shot. As a former member of our military, the shadier nature of enlistment was no real shock to me, and neither was the pride and pure sense of duty Garfield emoted as he fought to not only save his men without violence, but also for his RIGHT to do so. Even as the love of his life waits in support, Doss plants his feet firmly in the ground, refusing to bend for some misguided machismo. Principles only matter when you stick to them at the most difficult times, and Doss was a hero worthy of a trip back to the WWII well.

Hacksaw Ridge is the most inspiring film of its kind since Saving Private Ryan. Consider yourself paroled, Mel.

1. Deadpool

What the ASS? Is it really the merc with a mouth sexily sprawled out at the top of my most entertaining list? Everyone heard how good Ryan Reynolds knocked the part out, but is that movie REALLY that good? Wasn’t it just a bunch of nerd hype? Surely Fox paid me to say this?

#NoFingWay

By now, every fan has heard the sordid tale of bringing Deadpool to the big screen ad nauseum. From a longtime fan’s perspective – one that existed long before that first hilarious trailer hit Comic-Con – let me just tell you how terrified I was of this movie. From the minute the test footage leaked, and the internet ceremoniously demanded their Deadpool movie, every bone in my being tensed up. I think a few even cracked. This is NOT a character that would translate faithfully to theaters, Wolverine: Origins kinda already proved that, didn’t it? Between Reynolds’ career having flop-after-flop, to the fourth wall smashing dialogue, to the hard-R rating a faithful adaptation would need, nothing about this film screamed good idea.

Then the marketing happened. Not that fluffy Hollywood branding where the camera pulls back lovingly with an angelic glow showering our leading man and his chiseled physique. No, Deadpool marketing. Ryan Reynolds in full costume, mocking everything from Valentine’s Day to testicular cancer. It was only then that I started to believe.

And when Deadpool finally released, it was like catching a new Harry Potter or the latest Marvel movie for many of you, pure elation. Director Tim Miller and writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese eschewed the typical comic book tropes and instead allowed Wade Wilson to do everything HIS way. F-bombs, sexual innuendo that borders on assault, dick jokes, and good old-fashioned murder by a Zamboni.

THIS was the Deadpool movie I’d always dreamed of, and Ryan Reynolds redeemed every bad career choice with this one performance in my eyes. Hell, I might even like Green Lantern now. Remember the first time you saw a Star Wars movie on the big screen? That tickle in your heart, that warmth in your soul as you realize all of your fandom fantasies have finally been visually delivered to your retinas? That’s exactly how I feel each and every time I watch this comic book masterpiece.

With nothing short of maximum effort, Deadpool is easily my most entertaining film of the year.

There you have it, my 10 most entertaining films of 2016. Now, it’s YOUR turn! Comment below and tell us what entertained or moved you the most this past year? No matter how big or how small, where was your movie magic? There just might be a few more gems in this wonder of a year.