2016 was the year I FINALLY bought an Odeon Limitless card, £17.99 to see how many films you can physically fit into a month. I managed to fit thirty-eight films into the year. It was also the year where I was confident enough to go alone; to be independent and not rely on someone else to help me in a situation which once upon a time made me very very nervous (it’s now just routine). It does not in any way make me a loser or a loner, it means I’m comfortable enough to do something I love and do not feel judged by anyone. Admittedly, my first time alone was to see X Men Apocalypse; while the film may have been a mess (apart from the Quicksilver scene), it was a moment that I will remember for life.
But anyway, let’s get down to business of my top ten films of 2016. These are just from the selection I have seen, and I’ve also attempted to pick a range of genres.
STAR TREK BEYOND
Without any doubt, this HAD to make the list. Star Trek Beyond was personally my most emotional film of 2016. Anton Yelchin’s passing just a month before the release just changed my whole perspective of the film. At this point of the year, I was unable to control my emotional instability, and my ability to cry for hours on end; so I foolishly booked myself tickets for the Star Trek Double Bill of the first two Star Treks of the new film series, with a midnight screening of the new one. I was a mess. From the second, Anton came on screen until the end titles, ‘For Anton’. This addition is 1000000% the best of the new series, written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, they truly captured the adventure side of ST. The message conveyed about unity of race and gender against a bigger evil was especially poignant, as it was released during Trump’s race to the presidential seat.
GREEN ROOM
Admittedly, I didn’t see this in the cinema this year, but I did get it on DVD as soon as it was released. The only reason I didn’t see this, was because Lincoln Odeon didn’t screen it (one of the main problems with such a small cinema is that you don’t get to see the smaller, lower budget films). The story follows a punk band, The Ain’t Rights, as they perform at a Neo-Nazi club and witness the murder of a young girl. They are then locked in the green room by the club’s owner, the not-so-sweet-now Patrick Stewart, and now they must fight to escape alive. There are machetes, guns and pitbulls on the other side of the door and all they have is a pocket knife and whatever they can find in the room. There are deaths, and you have to be prepared that not everyone can make it out in one piece.
I, DANIEL BLAKE
Screen Unseen is one of the perks of having Odeon as the local cinema, you pay £5 to see a film before it’s released but you don’t know what film it is until it starts (unless you work it out from the clues on Odeon’s twitter). On this occasion, it was I, Daniel Blake, a low budget British film about the life of a man on benefits following a heart attack, and his struggle with the government system. I had first read about this in Empire last year, with the article stating that Ken Loach had come out of retirement to make this film and my god, was it worth it. The documentary style makes you immediately connect with the characters, watching their every-day lives unfold on the big screen. Hayley Squires and Dave Johns are the realistic leads, giving effortless performances as people who are not supported by a system supposedly created to support them. When the film ends, you’re left thinking about how the government should change their regulations. Jeremy Corbyn asked that Theresa May watches the film and understands where the system is failing.
MOANA
I know that Finding Dory was the most anticipated animated film of 2016 but it didn’t even come close to Moana. The film follows a teenage girl on a journey to restore a heart of the goddess Te Fiti, with only the ocean and a demigod, Maui, lending a hand. It is littered with musical numbers composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, with my favourite being Shiny by Tamatoa, a giant crab. Another appealing aspect of this film is the lack of romantic plot, there is no need for the girl to fall in love with a dashing young prince. The pig, and the chicken are the most adorable sidekicks, which makes me very jealous that I don’t have a cute pig to tell all my secrets to. Every scene is visually beautiful, it makes the idea of just sailing across the ocean with only the stars to guide you seem like a very good idea.
DEADPOOL
The superhero genre isn’t exactly the epitome of humour, but Deadpool clearly shows that it’s possible. Ryan Reynolds is the perfect fit for Deadpool with his crude and dry humour, I mean have you seen his twitter? I attempted to use this film to make my best friend, Isobel, believe that superhero films are actually decent, unfortunately it didn’t do that. This is because it follows the predictable plot, everything is alright in the end. However, I think this isn’t just for the superhero genre, I feel many films end too happily and everything is resolved. The fourth wall breaks are what makes this film truly special as you yourself feel like you’re part of the film. But I’m not gonna describe this to you because if you haven’t seen this yet, I don’t want to know you.
ME BEFORE YOU
I made the biggest mistake by going to see Me Before You on my birthday. It is the ultimate tear jerker, and me being emotionally unstable, it was too much. I couldn’t even contain my tears afterwards, when we went for a cheeky Nandos. Emilia Clarke’s acting was amazing but her eyebrows stole the show. Her ability to move them so much to express herself was not what I was expecting, but it added a whole other level to her character and made her so pure and innocent, and I instantly felt I needed to protect her from the world. Unfortunately, she fell in love with Sam Chaflin’s character, Will, who was paralysed from the neck down in a motorcycling accident and doesn’t have the will to live. It’s a tragic love story I will remember for the rest of my life (as it made me look like a complete fool on my 20th birthday).
THE CONJURING 2
The most frightening film of 2016 was a toss up between The Conjuring 2 and Don’t Breathe, but ultimately The Conjuring 2 made me physically jump the most whereas Don’t Breathe just literally made me stop breathing. This time round, the action takes place in England in 1977, and is again based on a true story, this time of a little girl being possessed by an angry old man. The twist is that people don’t believe that the little girl is possessed and that the family are doing it to make money, this adds to the tension as you realise that she really is possessed and needs saving. There was one particular character that frightened me and that was the nun, who might be getting a whole film dedicated to her, she definitely makes you feel very uncomfortable in your seat. I would have probably wet myself if I saw it in 3D.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2
Now You See Me was easily one of my favourite films of 2013. The allure of magic enticed me in and I’ve been hooked ever since. I had so many questions about the sequel: how was it gonna match up to the beauty of the first? How would they continue the story with everyone in the world knowing who they are and what they did? How were they gonna explain Isla Fisher’s absence? Well, everything was cleared up in the first twenty minutes with Isla’s absence explained in a sentence or two. The Four Horsemen recruited another female to replace the old one, Lizzy Caplan. The magicians were laying low, waiting for the perfect moment to return. A new challenge comes their way in the shape of Daniel Radcliffe, and causes them to end up in Macau. My favourite bit of the entire film is the card trick scene, where they are trying to remove a computer chip with only a playing card and their own skills. It is the tensest ten minutes. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuDKElFcm1E. While Radcliffe is a great addition to the cast, I would prefer a more diverse cast with more than one strong female lead.
THE NEON DEMON
The Neon Demon was definitely the unique film of the year. It was heavily focussed on being an artistic film (which some people obviously couldn’t handle, as three people walked out of my screening). The story line takes its time to reach the climax, and the unexpected plot twist was so out of the blue. Elle Fanning is the perfect lead, as a charming young woman who wants to make it in the modelling world. This is a film where every single shot has been carefully thought out and planned, where everything has a meaning. There is a warning label attached to this if necrophilia and cannibalism are not something you’re keen on witnessing any time soon.
BRIDGET JONES’S BABY
The third instalment of the Bridget Jones’s franchise is a must-see. Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth reprise their roles as Bridget and Mark Darcy. Patrick Dempsey as Jack Qwant replaces Darcy’s old love rival, Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver. The whole premise of the film is that Bridget unexpectedly falls pregnant after a night of passion with both gentlemen, while using her old, dolphin-friendly condoms. It creates an air of rivalry between the men, as they both try to show their competent fathers and worthy of being a father. It wouldn’t be a Bridget Jones’s film if there wasn’t an iconic scene, such as the bunny outfit in the first one, and Cleaver and Darcy’s water fountain fight in the second; this time both men carry Bridget to the hospital after the London roads have been shut down by a women’s rights march. We then have to witness them trying to fit into a revolving door while holding her, and it caused me to involuntarily laugh out loud. The film on the whole felt like a satisfying ending to Bridget’s story and the twelve year wait was needed to show that the now more mature Bridget was still dealing with the same problems with her relationships and her job. It reminds you that life has no pre-set schedule.
So these are my favourites of 2016, but I also want to give a little shoutout to Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Plus here are a few TV series I recommend: Stranger Things (Netflix), This is Us (currently showing on Channel 4, Tuesdays, 9pm), and Barracuda (BBC iPlayer).
Casey Blogs About Everything 