I couldn't help thinking of the ones that didn't make those coveted top spots. Some films dropped the ball. Others just missed the net.
So, with the exception of the one above the cut, and some direct to DVD kids' films, let's talk about the other movies that didn't make the cut.
But first - mentions go to the two movies that technically had releases in 2016, in the final weeks of December, angling for award season looks.
Hidden Figures (Good, enjoyable, treated defeating racism like a spectator sport for people to cheer at and pretend they're the good guys) did score a fair amount of nominations, though no wins.
That's still far better than A Monster Calls (Sad, sad, and very sad, I read the book and thought "Hey, this movie can't do shit to me," and here I was just crying in the theater.), which got absolutely no love anywhere because Focus moved it around about twice, and already had their work set against them for trying to advertise a children's book about cancer and loss as a fun, imaginative movie.
I could probably host everyone who saw it in the continental US in my home. If it wasn't for this technicality, it would have been #4 on the list instead of...what was it?
Anyway.
11 - War For the Planet of The Apes
This just missed the mark, and I'm sad about it. Not because everything else was so good, but because this well and truly dropped the ball in its final act.
Avoiding spoiler territory - the Colonel turns into a dumbass, Caesar himself gets helped by a lot of contrivances, which, in the end, brought down the best trilogy of the decade to .... still being the best, just not as good as it could have been.
But that's only the third act of a trilogy. There's also a bonus cameo ("cameo", can we call it that?) that made my day.
Now, to get out of order!
Geostorm - This was just flat out fun. People bemoaned the little amount of Geostorms that were present in the movie, but I enjoyed all the talking and seriousness given to something that was clearly stupid as hell.
This movie worked for me and a certain other one that I saw in 2018 did - It's really, clearly, superbly outlandish. Also, the bad guys are actually bad, not just poor people.
Ride, ride, yeah we gon' ride.
Cars 3 was better than Cars 2, but what does that mean, really?
If you want a movie that's actually far less engaging than its source material, check out both My Little Pony: The Movie and The Star. For all the bullshit the Christian Bible preaches...nah, fuck it, the latter is bland.
IT - I was a little taken aback by some of the gore, but Pennywise's mannerisms after the iconic opening scene came off as hilarious instead of menacing, even when it went monstrous. They really should have kept that bit where he eats the baby in.
The kids were alright. Kind of miffed that older Beverly will not be played by Amy Adams. Seriously.
The Lost City of Z would have been more aptly titled something akin to "This Man Can't Find Shit", but that's just me still being annoyed that it was less adventure and more maniac obsession. It's not bad though. Very, very long.
Thor: Ragnarok
I feel like giving it another chance.
It takes a rare person to not totally hate The Book of Henry, and I didn't. I thought it had an interesting premise. The troubles come with it being very tonally jarring and important plot points not being well established or followed through with.
When you take a fairly inventive premise and throw another "Your missing parent is evil" plot into it, you get Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Lindsay Ellis made a very good video about the underlying familial themes and very slow character growth of the film. She put more thought into the concepts that were just mildly touched upon - if that - than the screen writers.
I think that's about it -
No. There's one more I haven't touched upon, simply because I'm considering rewatching it. Or, attempting to. Because I know that my expectations for it were vastly skewed, and I want to give it a fair chance.
Hint: Also apes.
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