Strat's 20 of 2016

This might be the worst year for films that I've come across in over a decade (weakest year since 2005) Lots of fine films, but the amazing for this year is very few.

20. The Salesman (foreign drama)
A worthy film out of Iran, proving simple and intense family dramas can still be interesting without being terribly edgy.

19. Captain America: Civil War (action/adventure)
Finally we start to see a divide in the hunky-dory comic book series and the lines are being drawn.

18. Doctor Strange (action/adventure)
Cumberbatch exudes great skill, allowing an Inception-like world to co-exist with the superhero universe.

17. Star Trek: Beyond (sci-fi)
A solid addition to the Star Trek universe, but a film that struggles to elicit genuine feelings other than sentimentality.

16. War Dogs (comedy)
This film is one part joke and one part warning about the excesses of military contractors and how greed fuels much of our need for warfare abroad.

15. Knight of Cups (drama)
Kick back and have a glass of wine, knowing that Terrence Malick will take you on an amazing visual and symbolic journey through various philisophical meandering on fame today.

14. Nerve (drama/thriller)
A film few may pick up, proves to be a potentially disturbing tale of where teen culture is headed in this new century and the dangers of peer pressure.

13. Hail, Caesar! (comedy)
The Coen Brothers are back to some of their favorite periods with some of their favorite actors in this story about communism and Hollywood.

12 Passengers (sci-fi)
Definitely a film that I did not expect much from. Leave it Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt to make this is a film that will leave you debating their choices for awhile.

11. Weiner (documentary)
The mistakes and stupidity of politicians are nothing new.  What's interesting here is seeing how those stupid mistakes can be magnified tenfold by the media. 

10. The Jungle Book (adventure)
A retelling of the Disney classic with a live-action update. The film is amazing in how after awhile, you just accept that animals can talk and emote like people. 

9. Rogue One (fantasy/adventure)
The Star Wars prequel that never was. This film is a worthy installment to the franchise with a side of the universe that we haven't seen prior. 

8. The Edge of Seventeen (drama/comedy)
A film that by any stretch of the imagination wouldn't normally be this high up. While it's a solid film and the performances by Woody Harrelson and Hailee Steinfeld are excellent, it is 2016 after all.

7. The Barkley Marathons (documentary)
Not to be overlooked is a story of a bizarre contest with characters galore.  Definitely lighter documentary fare.

6. Deadpool (action/adventure/comedy)

The first comic book film that goes out of it's way to break the fourth wall of cinema. Not to mention one that's rip-roaring entertaining and well executed.

5. Moonlight (drama)
A coming of age story that never tries to telegraph itself to you and forces the audience to work for the information. It's a unique story in American cinema with the bonus of an excellent all around cast.

4. Hell or High Water (drama)
A heist film that finds new heights in its gritty realism and excellent chemistry with surprise performances by Chris Pine and Ben Foster.

3. The Founder (drama) 
Based on the true story of the founding of an American business Empire, a fascinating dive into the greed and corruption of principles for the sake of being on the top of the fast-food world.

2. 10 Cloverfield Lane (sci-fi/thriller)
One of the best scary films in a long while. Heart pounding action in an enclosed environment that resurrects the Cloverfield franchise from being a Blair Witch Project knock off.

1. Zootopia (animation)
Disney steps up to the plate to compete with Pixar, delivering a film that not only plays to the general public and to kids, but offers a socio-political message that is rather timely and portrayed without holding back. Not to mention the film is a whole lotta fun.

Strat's 20 of 2015

2015 was all over the place. Animated, docs, quirky, but for the first time in awhile, not a single noteworthy foreign film to my surprise. Some honorable mentions are Terminator: Genysis, Trainwreck, The Walk, Paddington, Going Clear, and Amy. The Academy Award winner for best picture is nowhere here in my book.

20. Bridge of Spies (drama). Spielberg helms a competent script by the Coen Bros creating a strange mix of quirky humor and Spielberg "Americana" reverence.

19. The Peanuts Movie (animated comedy) You honestly are expecting this movie to be a letdown, but the movie emobodies the spirit of the classic Charles Schultz characters and successfully translates them to a 2 1/2 world.

18. 99 Homes (drama) Set during the housing crash in 2007-08, the film follows a man once thrown out of his own home to becoming a henchmen for the rich. The internal struggle to survive versus doing the right thing in modern America for the average man has never been more clearly on display. 

17. The Age of Adeline (drama)
A pseudo fantasy film with a simple promise with solid acting and good twists. 

16. Dope (drama)
A fun film that is one of several films that break away and show a different side of American life within the geek community.

15. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (action/adventure)
Just when you thought the films had run out of interesting stuff, comes this gem. Tom Cruise once again rises to the occasion and delivers a film with heart-pounding action/suspense and some great character movements with the IMF team that's finally grown beyond just Ethan Hunt.

14. Brooklyn (drama)
A wonderful story about coming to America from Ireland with solid female standout performances and a story that never tries to be something that it's not.

13. The Force Awakens (fantasy/adventure)
Star Wars finally gets back into form, introducing us to a host of new characters and giving us a few new twists and questions that are sure to keep the curious guessing for awhile.

12. Creed (drama)
Michael B Jordan once again proves while he is one of this generation's best actors. He is able to take the torch from Rocky (Sly Stallone) and boldly run with it.

11. An Honest Liar (documentary)
A surprisingly emotional tale about illusions, frauds and the lies we tell ourselves and others. A must see film.

10  Ant-Man (action)
The only Marvel film that is worth your time and is exciting/fun and has anything new to ad to an overly bloated comic book universe.

9. Cartel Land (documentary)
A mesmerizing documentary that trancends telling a story about the cartels and gives us a fascinating view of how someone with bold/noble and just intentions can eventually succumb to corruption and missteps of their own.

8. Sicario (drama)
Another story set within the drug trade wars between the back dealings of the US/Mexican governments, cartels and people that end up being just pawns to the powerfully corrupt.

7. Ex machina (sci-fi)
A simple, intense psychological film that is one part well acted, one part philosophical sci-fi classic and one part psychological/scary film. This film will definitely be a touchstone of sci-fi in the future.

6. Room (drama)
An intense, small film that involves a world of those imprisoned by deranged people and the psychological impact that these events have on the captives.

5. The Revenant (drama)
A raw survival tale in the cold colonial America with memorable performances including Leonardo DiCaprio and few graphic scenes which have to be seen to be believed.

4. The Martian (sci-fi)
This is one of the rare sci-fi stories that does not break down into a dystopian future tale that is somewhat a warning or cautionary tale. Matt Damon's positivity and Ridley Scott's surprising joyous comedy never fails to delight.

3. Inside out (animated)
It's a wonderful animated film that finds a fun/emotional journey into the very psyche of what feelings are inside all of us. Truly a film only Pixar can deliver.

2. Straight Outta Compton (drama)
A riveting and fascinating biopic about one of the most influential music acts of all time - NWA. With the attention to detail and the twists that could only happen in real life to be believed, this is a 2 1/2 hour film that you can easily sit through another hour of the story.

1. The Big Short (drama/comedy) 
A deftly told film that portrays the economic crash of 2008 from the perspective of those that saw it coming.  Extra credit for taking a rather dull economic story and turning it into one of the most entertaining and important films of the past decade.