The best (and worst) from 2016

Image courtesy Cohen Media.

Looking through this list the one thing that strikes is the breadth of options to pick from. The top film is about five sisters struggling in Turkey, and the rest of the collection incorporates a punk band under siege, a pair of pretty great musicals with wildly different themes and presentations, and a profile of one of the saddest politicians in recent years. Depth and variety are great things to have when hitting up theaters, and 2016 brought a broad palate to theaters.

The films below are all ones reviewed from 2016. I kept the list to the top seven to focus on the films most worth a second look, which cut out a few rather good films. Movies missing the cut include The Neon Demon, Pete's Dragon, The Nice Guys, Rogue One, Hail, Caesar! and Everybody Wants Some! So below are the best films I reviewed this year, along with the absolute worst film I laid eyes on in 2016.

No. 1: Mustang

This one was actually nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Academy Awards, meaning that the film was up for competition among 2015 nominees. I'm keeping it though because the stateside release came in 2016 and to recognize it as the best film I've watched in the last 12 months.

Mustang is a tender and melancholy look into the lives of five sisters being thrown into marriages with little to no choice and a lot of implied violence. There is a hint of fatalism and a lot of danger if things go wrong, but in the end the little victories are what matter in this film. Mustang lifts and drops viewers on such a frequent basis that the relatively positive ending feels like rapture.

Image courtesy A24.

No. 2: Green Room

Director Jeremy Saulnier's follow up to his terrific revenge film Blue Ruin shocks viewers with its sudden bursts of violence between lulls of peculiar black humor. It's tough to find a film this balanced and this effective at what it wants to do; keep the audience on edge and with little clue of what’s really going on.

Despite the oddity of the premise – a punk band led by Anton Yelchin stumbling into a Neo-Nazi murder in the middle of the woods – everything feels natural and logical, the acts of violence ramping up in a strangely grounded fashion. This is one of the better horror films in recent years too, featuring one of the scariest boogeymen to come along recently in Patrick Stewart's Neo-Nazi leader Darcy.

Image courtesy Lionsgate.

No. 3: La La Land

A probable front-runner for a ton of awards, La La Land keeps its soulful analysis of the divide between romance and ambition hidden just underneath a sunny, musical surface. The cheeriness does just enough to disguise the film's true theme – although those sometimes sneak in through the lyrics – and the result is a complex, enchanting musical.

Writer/director Damien Chazelle deserves credit for folding in the tenants of musicals of the past – the big numbers and those little flirty bits of dancing – into a modern setting and doing so in a smooth, logical fashion. That Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are both charming as all hell and showcase a rather engaging rapport just adds to La La Land's many charms.

Image courtesy IFC Films.

No. 4: Weiner

Somehow this film became even more noteworthy in the months after its release. The film didn't predict Anthony Weiner's role in the 2016 election, but it set the table for how the man could muck up enough to become entangled in that morass of awful.

What makes the film so engrossing is watching Anthony Weiner fall apart over the course of a few months and the tragedy of the self-inflicted crash. He is depicted in Weiner as a politician with his heart at least close to the right place, so his second fall from grace impacts a whole lot of people outside of himself and his family. The documentary ably captures his failings, his inability to handle his faults, and the fact that his personal foibles sink any chance of his message catching on.

Image courtesy Fox Searchlight.

No. 5: Jackie

Jackie is the film I hope proves to people that Natalie Portman is a terrific actress. She absolutely nails a difficult performance, being a woman who must show a pretty and calm face to the nation and still have enough verve to fulfill the legacy of her husband.

Even though Portman is the heart of Jackie, the film is strong enough independent of her performance to remain a worthwhile experience. It offers one of the more interesting glimpses into the John F. Kennedy legacy, playing around with the concept of Camelot while pointing out why that ideal was seized upon by the public. Kennedy's election came at a difficult time in American history, so a little romanticism worked to assuage the fears of the voters while pushing for vital changes.

Image courtesy Disney.

No. 6: Moana

This film and the next are pretty close to being toss ups, but I liked Moana a little bit more than the next one. For one thing, it has a great performance by the unfairly charismatic Dwayne Johnson, and that tends to push many films up a level or two.

Moana's real selling point though is the eponymous princess who takes decisive action to save her people even against the recommendations of her father. Even though the film sets things up to have her be Mad Max to Maui's Furiousa, it makes a quick and effective shift that is logical and important. Add that to some terrific vocal performances (particular Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho) and killer songs courtesy Lin-Manuel Miranda and the result is a wicked good animated film.

Image courtesy Disney.

No. 7: Zootopia

Like Moana, one of Zootopia's main selling points is a complex message delivered in a bright, often rather humorous fashion. This film addresses racial stereotypes and how easily those characteristics become ingrained in societal fabric, an important topic given how easy it is to ignore or miss such biases. The film doesn't offer any definitive answers, but it at least works as a gateway for understanding the issue and inspecting one's own biases.

The message wouldn't really work without the rest of Zootopia's charms, as it has so many jokes and clever references it is worth watching just on the surface level. Adding depth to it just makes for a more interesting and rewarding viewing experience.

Image courtesy Lionsgate.

Worst film: Norm of the North

The fun thing with this year's contenders for the worst film was the depth of the terrible. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice suffer from a terminal case of dourness and some tremendously asinine plot twists. Patriots Day is an insensitive, dumb film about a complicated moment Boston history. Dirty Grandpa has the great Robert De Niro at his nadir, while films like Sing and Zoolander 2 are obnoxious at best.

None of those films though fail on the same level as Norm of the North. This animated monstrosity is ugly to look at and is lacking narrative cohesion, talented voice actors (the awful Rob Schneider is the headliner), and any coherent themes. This film is a garbage dump of an animated flick that insults the intelligence of its young target. At least it seems to have drifted away from public eye in the last 12 months, fated to rest in the depths of online streaming services for some unlucky soul to stumble upon.

'Batman v Superman' gets almost everything wrong

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Image courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

To lift a line from Commissioner Gordon, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is not the Batman and Superman film we need, nor is it really the one we deserve either. It represents what happens when a studio takes the Marvel formula (and this film is a vital cog in a Marvel rip off) and doesn’t understand how those pieces fit together to form a cohesive movie. “Dawn of Justice” strips away the qualities that have made the eponymous heroes so memorable, instead opting to turn these characters into hyper violent caricatures of themselves. “Dawn of Justice” fails its audience on almost every level, delivering a soulless flick directed by a man with nary a clue as to what to do with the characters he’s created.

That man is Zack Snyder, who has somehow found himself in charge of DC Comics’ three pivotal characters despite a legacy of mediocrity and hypocrisy as a director. “Dawn of Justice” is not his finest hour, a film with no rhythm and far too many little subplots chucked in despite a central plot that nowhere near justifies two and a half hours in theater. It’s clear Snyder and film writers David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio are setting up the impending “Justice League” franchise throughout “Dawn of Justice,” which is strange considering having Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in the same movie already accomplishes that feat.

The failures of “Dawn of Justice” as a film begin with those three, from the aforementioned pacing problems to some wonky dialogue to unimpressive special effects to burdensome dream sequences thrown in to make the film feel deep. The fact these dream sequences add little to the film besides precious minutes of our lives is not a factor Snyder, Goyer and Terrio appeared to consider. “Dawn of Justice” is also littered with plot holes and silly contrivances obvious enough to notice and mock while watching the film. Admittedly, those holes did offer the highest level of entertainment this film has to offer.

And then there’s the casting of the charmless Henry Cavill and the Ben Affleckian Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman, respectively. Cavill, who first donned the blue suit for “Dawn of Justice’s” precursor “Man of Steel,” lacks the inherent decency brought to the role by Christopher Reeve that provides some humility to what is otherwise a god. Without humility, you’re left with a cipher, a bland being whose most noteworthy features are a garish costume, laser beams, and the glasses he wears as a disguise. Affleck doesn’t offer much in the way of a performance as either Bruce Wayne or Batman, which is to be expected for the Affleck sibling better served behind the camera than in front.

Cavill and Affleck are so solemn in their performances it makes Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor even more flamboyant than expected. The Facebook founder appears to belong in a very different movie, taking Gene Hackman’s performance from the first two “Superman” flicks and adding even more scenery chewing to go along with very obvious hints at some level of autism. Everyone else is OK, with Holly Hunter underused as Senator Finch; Amy Adams stuck playing damsel in distress as Lois Lane; Jeremy Irons butles as Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler Alfred; Diane Lane worries as Martha Kent; and Gal Gadot doesn’t do a lot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, but just having Wonder Woman around is the best part of “Dawn of Justice.”

The cinematic issues for “Dawn of Justice” though are trumped by the decisions Snyder and his wrecking crew make to the characters themselves. It starts with the opening sequence that shows robber Joe Chill holding up Bruce, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Most versions have Thomas Wayne attempting to shield his family and negotiate with Chill, who shoots him in cold blood before murdering Martha as she screams. Snyder has Thomas Wayne attempt to attack Chill, who shoots Bruce's father out of self defense, then shoots Martha Wayne somewhat accidentally after she attacks him. The difference is minor on the surface, but it effectively inspires the more grotesque acts Affleck's Batman commits in this version and diminishes The Dark Knight's skills as a negotiator, as a hero who tries to avoid a violent confrontation when he can.

This version spreads throughout “Dawn of Justice,” with Batman wantonly murdering, shooting and even branding people out of cruelty. Batman as a character has very clear guiding principles developed not just through the death of his parents, but the strong influence of Alfred as a father figure and a nuanced understanding of justice rooted in his intellectualism. Snyder's version is a dolt who leaves the non-punching work to Alfred and gets duped into taking on a god. Then again, Superman isn't exactly all that brilliant either, and it's implied heavily that he is willing to murder if he deems it necessary. Like Batman, that contrasts greatly from a character who avoids acts of gratuitous violence when he can because he can at least empathize with humanity at some level and understands the horror he's capable of inflicting.

The psychopathic versions of the eponymous heroes comes to a head in an anticlimactic final act highlighted solely by the presence of Gadot's Wonder Woman. The big twist in the film is based on a very famous comic from the 90s featuring an iconic moment that Snyder, of course, fails to grasp. He misses the point of the exercise, the true danger of the villain the heroes battle against and the exhaustion the combatants face at that final draw. It's the biggest misstep in a film that spends 151 minutes going in the wrong direction.

Review: One and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 151 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: All of those people who've flocked to see “Avengers” movies in recent years, as well as Batman and Superman fans. In other words, everyone.

Take the whole family?: A lot of people die in this film, so I really wouldn't recommend this thing for kids. You'll take them anyway though, because this is a film with Batman and Superman.

Theater or Netflix?: Matinee if you really, really must.

Where does Ben Affleck rank as a Batman?: It really depends on how forgiving you are about George Clooney – he's tolerable given the circumstances in my view – but I would put Affleck at the bottom of the Batman hierarchy. My list goes Kevin Conroy (he voiced Batman in multiple TV series and video games), Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Adam West, Val Kilmer, Clooney, Affleck.

Watch this instead?: The first two “Superman” films are still quite good, as are “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” and Tim Burton's first “Batman” flick. For anyone who wants to dive a little deeper, find episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” from the 1990s and the “Justice League” franchise that ran on Cartoon Network last decade.