Our Top 10 Films of 2016

Hey, this is Steve Blum and you are listening

to the Geekcast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to another episode of The Cinema Geeks. I am

one of your Cinema Geeks optimists, Solo, and

joining me today for this very special year -end...

Record is Hard Candy Mandy, hello. Hey. And year

end in the sense of 2016 films, not as in December

31st. Movie revolt, Dan, hello. Hey, how's it

going? It's not going too bad and hard at work,

cram session, went into full effect. How we doing,

Matt? I'm tired. So today, like we teased in

last week's episode, this is the culmination

of our 2016 film look. So we're going to be going

through our top 10 films of 2016. Hopefully you

guys enjoyed last week's episode when we talked

about our different movie awards. If you haven't

checked that out, make sure you do so after you

listen here and then find out some fun and creative

awards that we were able to hand out for various

things about 2016 films. A lot of times when

we do this and we kind of do our top 10 of the

year, it seems like then we almost immediately

transition into the next year and then, I don't

know about Amanda and Dan and how you guys feel,

but then it's like you just start immediately

watching the next year's films and... very rarely

get to look back and kind of take a breath and

see what happened once you did catch up with

all the films that you didn't quite catch up

with in the calendar year. So we thought it would

be fun to kind of take a look back at 2015, the

list we did last year, and see what exactly happens

over the course of a year. You know, you watch

more films, you sit on things, you have time

to think about the films that you did watch.

You don't have to deal with the fact that maybe

there were some that you watched immediately

before doing it that were fresh in your mind.

So we wanted to see how much they stay the same,

how much things change. So that's how we're going

to start today is a quick look back at our 2015

list to see exactly how things stand a year later.

Amanda, let's start with you. Ladies first, as

always, with the Cinema Geeks. So when we go

back to your 2015 list, we had number 10, you

had Danny Collins. Nine, you had Star Wars Force

Awakens. Eight was Testament of Youth. Your number

seven was infinitely Polar Bear. Then you had

Sicario, Chappie, Spotlight. And your top three

were Brooklyn, What We Do in the Shadows, and

Suffragette. A year later... Is the list the

same? Is it different? What has happened? I think

for the most part I would keep it the same. That

was a pretty solid list I think. One thing I

think we caught up with late or maybe after we

did the record was Legend, Tom Hardy and Tom

Hardy. I really did like that movie and I wish

we would have done a review or something on it

because it definitely was super cool seeing two

sides of Tom Hardy at once and uh it was a fun

fun and gritty story so that that might have

made it somewhere in there um also The Room i'm

not really sure if i would want to put it on

my list but it was a solid movie i just don't

know if i want to put something that was like

that disturbed by on my list you and i have uh

completely opposite um rationale when it comes

to those types of movies, I think. You weren't

disturbed by the shit that happened in that movie.

Right, but I'm just saying, like, being disturbed

about a film almost makes it more likely to end

up on my list, I think, than it does to not.

But I think it's, again, how you take movies

and what you kind of want your experience if

you want to escape from reality or if you want

a heavy dose of it. Well, with this list, we

just watched Birth of a Nation. Superpowerful

movie really solid film, but I refuse to put

that on my top ten Not because it wasn't a good

movie, but just because I was so Disturbed by

it that like I don't know. I don't even I don't

want to think about it again So yeah, so the

disturbing part like for me doesn't play in a

factor It's more I would I think there's problems

with that film overall which would be why it

wouldn't make my list But it's never the disturbing

part for some reason doesn't bother me ever But

we're freaking weirdo. I mean there's there's

things on my list that are it's not all happy

fun movies either I'm not saying that I'm not

gonna put a movie on there that isn't a heavy

dose of reality or emotion or anything But there's

just some movies that are just too much for me

and they are disturbing and I just I think I

can't I can't put them on a list like this. I

can't do it. What about if you're looking back

at your 2015 list, is there a film that you have

not thought about since then? Is there a film

that has kind of dropped out of your mind that

maybe would fall if you were rethinking it? I

think one that I forgot about was A Testament

of Youth. Which I really really liked actually

it was one that we caught up later in the year

maybe that's why it was kind of towards the end

and then the transition happened into the next

year and I was already geared up for that. So

what do you think that like does that does that

for you affect the way you think about a movie

if it does kind of fall out of your mindset and

you kind of forget that it exists a little is

that less than the impact that you think I had

overall and it was it more so just something

you liked in the moment versus something that

stuck with you like you obviously still are talking

or have thoughts about the room. I think it just

makes me want to re -watch it again to see what

I connected with and that I really like from

it because I have memories of it but like I said

it was kind of late in the year and we were already

transitioning so it wasn't something that I was

able to really internalize because it was cram

session time and we had all these films we were

getting into but I definitely remember the impact

it had on me and the vibes that I got from it

and I liked it. Interesting Dan I know you were

in a cram session of your own a year ago As you

were trying to catch up with a lot of the 2015

movies towards the end because of your busy 2015

schedules So now that you've had a chance to

catch up with a bunch of them, you know streaming

or you know video etc How has that affected your

list and do you want to go down what it was originally

last year? Sure. So last year it hasn't changed

a lot like last year Mine 10 were starting at

10 The movie with the most pretentious name ever

made, but Pigeon sat on a park bench while reflecting

on existence was my number 10. Every time you

say that name. Yeah, The Hateful Eight was nine,

then What We Do in the Shadows, Ex Machina, Creed,

The Revenant, Star Wars, The Force Awakens, Slow

West, Mad Max, and then The Martian was my number

one movie of the year. I did end up, and when

that happened, there were a bunch of 2016 films,

15 films I didn't... check or see yet and still

after listening to Amanda's list I'm like wow

there's still some more I haven't seen but one

of the biggest ones that I missed that is now

firmly in the top without not in the top but

probably around you know two or three on that

list would be spotlight you know I love movies

about journalism and investigation and you know

I love all the presidents been and that has a

lot in common with spotlight so Once I caught

that, I was very excited and enjoyed it a great

deal. Two that didn't necessarily make it but

came very close would probably be The End of

the Tour and Truth, which is another movie about

the news and journalism and investigation with

Dan Rather and Rob Rushford, which I think we

got overall negative reviews, but I liked it.

And then there's just one documentary that kind

of I ended up finding very fascinating which

is that welcome to Leith which I still think

is on Netflix which is like this documentary

of this group of white nationalists go into the

small Dakota town and try to kind of take it

over and it's it's kind of insane it's it's really

fascinating and that ended up probably being

my favorite documentary of last year so I think

for me, if you look at my top 10 last year, I

don't think a lot has changed, maybe the order

of a few of them, but I don't think I would drop

anything. out of my top 10. If you look at my

11 through 20, there would be a lot of changes,

though. That's where I think the most movement

would make for me over the course of the year.

Last year, my top 10 was What We Do in the Shadows,

Brooklyn, Infinitely Polar Bear, Mad Max, Hate

Plate, Spotlight, Star Wars, Z for Zachariah,

X Machina, and Beasts of No Nation. I think just

looking at those 10, what would happen is Beasts

of No Nation probably would slip a little bit.

I think over time X Machina and Spotlight have

been the two that have stuck the most with me.

So I think those would probably be my number

one and my number two. And then after that, it

would pretty much follow suit. I think as far

as ones that I saw. After the fact, we saw Carol

after that. And I think that would sneak into

my top 20, probably around number 11 or 12. Are

you talking about 11 and 12 or talking about

1 through 10? I'm just saying it would be really

close. We saw 99 homes after the fact, which

I think might crack my top 20, 25 somewhere in

there. And I think Revenant would have moved

up significantly. It was still... in my top 30

last year, but I think it would definitely be

in my top 20 to 15 right now. I think the ones

that kind of dropped a little bit too, Bridge

of Spies, Love and Mercy, Inside Out, I would

drop a little bit to make room for those three,

Carol, Revenant, 99 Homes, kind of making them

up some ground because they've stuck with me

a little bit more than some of those other films.

But I was interested. I thought there might be

more changes, but my top 10 is just a little

bit more about the ordering and kind of which

ones I think resonated with me over. in the course

of a year and kind of stuck with me when it comes

to that. Matt, you weren't with us last year

on the record for the top 10 films of 2015. Curious

to see what were some of your favorite films

from 2015 since you didn't get a chance to highlight

them. Then what ones would you highlight now

that you saw from 2015? So my list on these things

are always a little bit different because I don't

go to the theaters nearly as much as everyone

else does. That said, 2015 resonated with me

probably more than 2016 ever will. I would say

there are at least two of the movies I saw in

2015 made it in my top 20 all -time movies. That's

how much I loved 2015. Some of my favorites in

no particular order, Fury Road, Force Awakens,

Inside Out, Age of Ultron was good. even if it

wasn't as good as the first one. I also happen

to see Minions, I guess, and The Hateful Eight,

which I've got very mixed feelings on. And then

Jupiter Ascending, which should have been three

movies, but instead was one terrible mess. It

was one terrible mess. That is a good summation

of that film. Yeah, there was definitely a lot

of big blockbusters. I think the blockbusters

did better in 2015 overall, maybe. I'd have to

kind of go back, I think, a little bit, but it

seems like 2016 has had the stigma of blockbusters

that might not have lived up to the full potential.

Which one was your favorite out of all those,

Matt? It's not fair if there's a Star Wars. But

say if we're discounting The Force Awakens, which

I would probably put a lot higher than most people

would put it in my Star Wars favorites, it's

got to be Fury Road. I saw Fury Road two or three

times within the first week of when I saw it.

That's your problem, Matt. You spend too much

time going back to the theater for one movie

and not going to see more movies. I mean, between

Fury Road and The Force Awakens, I did go to

the theater seven or eight times, just those

two, but I really liked them, guys. And they

are experience that is obviously better on the

big screen than maybe some of the other ones

that will be just as good. on a smaller screen

later on, so can't blame you there. All right,

well, shifting our attention a little bit to

2016. A lot of people have made different comments

on what kind of year it was and how it stacks

up to some of the more recent years. Dan, let's

start with you. What did 2016 end up looking

like for you and how high are you on your top

10? Are you loving it? Are you a little skeptical

of a few of them? Or how did it all turn out

for you? Actually, as I caught up with a bunch

these last few weeks, I'm pretty impressed with

2016. It wasn't looking good there for a very

long time. It's like that game that's awful for

three quarters, but the ending's amazing. It's

like, wow. And so you kind of leave on a high

that I think weren't great. Like it wasn't a

great year for Blockbuster as a whole. The summer

was kind of dull. But I think there was a huge

variety of different, really great films. And

I'm really actually quite happy with my top 10.

And it became very difficult to fit them into

10. So surprisingly, I thought a month or two

ago, I'd be like, wow, 2016 is kind of dull.

But as I was looking at it as a whole, I'm like,

wow, this is actually pretty impressive. I saw

about 100 movies this year. About 70 of them

I gave a positive review of, which is a pretty

good batting average. Yeah, I think the biggest

thing that struck me is because I was kind of

under the same impression as we were kind of

making our way through. Yikes, this is going

to be a rough year, and you're hearing that from

a lot of other circles and people out on Twitter,

Facebook, and different podcasts, et cetera.

But when I was going through and looking at all

the scores that I gave different films, if you

looked at 2015, I think I probably not just positive,

but significant movies I would recommend. There

might have been maybe 30 last year. 30, 35 at

the most that I was high on. When I was doing

it this year, I'm in the 50s. I'm at least 55

deep where I would still feel completely good

about recommending any of those 55 films to people.

That's how much I liked them. So I think overall,

when you kind of add it all up, man, there was

a lot more good movies that kind of found a way

to theaters or you know on demand etc etc that

made it there so I think overall for the year

I feel pretty good about it in my top 10 specifically

I'm pretty happy with that too I mean yes there's

a few films that I haven't seen yet that maybe

would be able to sneak in there and grab a spot

but I like my top 10 and like I said I like the

majority of films that came out I think that

I like you did I have more positive reaction

to films than the negative so I I think 2016

might be getting a bad rap just for more of the

mainstream blockbuster films that didn't live

up to what some people thought was their potential.

Amanda, what do you think about 2016? I definitely

agree with the blockbuster aspect not doing so

well this year. I had really high hopes for a

few of the comic book movies and some of these

blockbuster type films that were supposed to

be coming out. for sure that they would be making

my top 10. And you guys will probably see that

that wasn't the case. Not that I didn't exactly,

you know, not, I didn't dislike them, but I was

more moved or blown away by some other films

that I wasn't expecting. All right. Matt, how

do you feel about your top 10 now compared to

48 hours ago? Well, it's funny, as Kevin's implying

and furring, as of yesterday, I had been to the

theaters in 2016 10 times. Just counting 2015

movies, because I saw Force Awakens twice and

Hateful Eight all in January. But for 2016 movies,

I had been to the theater 10 times, and two of

those were Rogue One, so it's like I didn't even

have a top 10 list, because I've only been to

the theater nine times. And so today I took the

day off work and crammed a couple more blockbuster

movies in because that's what you do rather than

go for the cool ones that Dan's gonna have on

his list. Go for the blockbusters that everyone's

disappointed in. So I don't know, I guess I'm

not super pleased with my list, but I at least

managed to get Batman V Superman and Suicide

Squad off of it before we recorded tonight. And

that's an accomplishment to me. We're happy for

you to be able to accomplish that because otherwise

we're gonna have to pull some shenanigans with

our rules and allow you to do some some strange

things when it came to your top ten list. So

I think another thing worth noting is I mean

obviously there's a billion films so there's

a ton that we haven't seen there's no way you

can see them all but I think there's always a

few that can arise above as far as what people

are talking about and we should highlight those

so people aren't upset when they or at least

that they understand the purpose for them not

appearing. in our top 10. So for Amanda and myself,

I think the biggest ones that we missed so far

have not been able to see that they're getting

a lot of buzz, whether it be in the award circuits

or the different podcast circles. Moonlight we

have not seen yet. We did not see The Handmaiden,

Certain Women, Fences, Neon Demon, Jackie, 20th

Century Women. Sing, Edge of 17, or Nocturnal

Animals, and Silence and the Founder, I mean,

those are just being released I think in the

next week or two, so most people haven't seen

those, so I don't think that's kind of a fair

to even kind of put them in this group. But Dan,

what about you? What are some of the biggest

regrets so far that you haven't seen? It looks

like, for me, Moonlight and La La Land are probably

the two biggest ones I haven't seen. Silence,

as you mentioned, Edge of 17. And trying to think

if this is those are the ones that kind of come

to my mind of the big ones That I've heard a

lot of great things for but I have not checked

out myself All right. So with that out of the

way anybody else want to throw out any caveats

or any Criteria or anything that they want to

know before we start getting into our actual

numbers Amanda You're good to go special. All

right, Dan anything else that we need to throw

out before we start the countdown No, I think

we're good. All right, Matt Why don't you start

us off here? What eat in to number 10 kicking

out? Batman versus Superman. All right. So my

number 10 pick is not a movie I wanted to go

to Nor was it particularly thrilling though.

It was you know, it was decent wholesome movie.

We went with my wife's aunt because she likes

to go to kids movies every couple of months,

and so she'll take us to some kids movies. That's

Pete's Dragon, the remake of the classic Pete's

Dragon. Yeah, that was much better than I thought

it was going to be. Yeah, I mean, it was predictable.

It was kid stuff. But it was, I guess, less predictable

than I would have assumed. It's not unenjoyable,

and it's not like I didn't tear up a couple of

times, especially towards the end. But at the

same time, it's just, it's not a wowing movie

by any means. No, I can see that. But it was

like, there was a group of those, like BFG and

Pete's Dragon, that I just had no interest in

seeing. And when we caught up with them, I was

pleasantly surprised by that. I mean, you had

a positive reaction to Pete's Dragon too, right?

Yeah, Pete's Dragon is my number 11. I didn't

think I was really going to enjoy it, but I ended

up really investing in it. cried my freaking

eyes out like the entire fucking movie. I was

in like some state of tears. That's your theme

for this. It really is. Like, I don't know if

I'm just getting old and hormonal or like what

it is. I'm just crying about everything. And

I don't know, it had a lot of heart and I felt

really, really bad for like Pete and his struggle.

And I felt awful for his dragon. Elliot was super

cool looking and I thought the relationships

that built up were super good, and I think it's

a solid film. All right. Well, that's how we

start off, and you said that that was number

11, so why don't we just transition right into

your number 10? All right. Well, this is going

to be the one I'm going to get the most hate

for. How many times are you going to say that?

Just once. OK. Just once. And I really wasn't

sure if I wanted to put this in my top 10, because

I normally get some crap for it. But I think

what actually changed my mind and had me put

it on the list was I needed something that was

a little bit more lighthearted because some of

my stuff gets a little serious. So my number

10 is Ghostbusters. A ton of fun in the theater.

Loved all the characters. Holtzman is like my

spirit animal now, and I really thought the group

dynamic was awesome, and the cameos were super

cool. Chris Hemsworth, pretty to look at, but

really didn't do anything for the film. Yeah,

I think I had a really positive reaction to it.

Yeah, I didn't understand the amount of hate

that some people want to dispute towards that.

I think a lot of it was coming before they even

saw the film. But I thought it did a good job

of what it was trying to do. I was pleasantly

surprised with that one, just like Pete's Dragon.

I thought they both exceeded my expectations.

So Ghostbusters at your number 10. I'll go next.

My number 10, man, my 9 through 12 are almost

interchangeable, so I spent probably the most

time trying to decide which two were going to

make it into the actual countdown. This one did

not get as well reviewed as you might think when

we're talking top 10 type films, but for some

reason I enjoyed it throughout. I'm going to

go with... the film allied as my number 10. I

just thought it was an interesting story. I thought

it was pretty well done for the whole part. It

kept you guessing. There was some suspense there,

obviously. I thought the performances, especially

from the main two there, were phenomenal. I think

they did a good job of kind of... Playing those

parts in in not Revealing anything too early

and I just I enjoyed the film is it's also another

one like you said Amanda that has some heart

-wrenching moments and some I kind of like films

that do that where they put you into a situation

where you have to question how you would react

or what choices would you make in this given

situation where you're confronted with something

like the character that Brad Pitt plays it is

confronted with and how do you choose how to

go about your decisions once you're at that stage.

So it's something that's easy to say if you're

not in that situation and it's easy for you to

talk about, oh, I would do this or I would do

that. But when you find yourself somehow unintentionally

involved and into that situation like he is,

I think it becomes a whole new ballgame. So I'm

trying to dance around a little bit because I

don't want to give anything away. But I thought

allied was was far better than it got credit

for, so that's my number 10. Dan, what about

you? I have not seen Allied, so that's interesting.

I missed that one. A lot of people did, and it

did not get good reviews, so I don't blame most

people for not even being on the radar. So I

think this will become interesting really quickly,

because I'm pretty sure my number 10 was hated

at least by one person on the podcast, and my

number 10 is American Honey. When you made that

tweet, I was like, which film does he think I

hate? I just assumed that I'm the hater Yeah,

so American Honey is a type of movie that I think

will have as many people more people than it

that will detract and attract It's got a nearly

three hour running time. It's hidden holiday

at documentary style It's use of unimpressional

unprofessional actors and the fact that a lot

of the characters are could be aggressively annoying

in one way or another, unlikable. But for me,

I was kind of transfixed by this portal to the

subculture that we're kind of brought into. And

I thought this is Andrea Arnold's first film,

and she's kind of a raw style, like I mentioned,

very documentary -esque, that there is a sense

of realism, especially with the use of unprofessional

actors. a little money's the water a little bit

between what's real, what's fake, and obviously

certain scenes that I think were shot like realist

style. And I'm thinking I'm pronouncing her last

name correctly, but Sasha Lanay, which was her

first time as an actor. And I think she used,

the director used that, like her novice to the

world of acting as a benefit, because she has

a sense of like authenticity that... it's challenging

to get for, I think, a professional actress.

Kind of reminds me of something like, um, the,

the, uh, Cuginelli, while I'm pronouncing it,

John Travolta, that name, but, uh, Beast of the

Southern Wild kind of, um, similar to how that

used a lot of unprofessional actors. And although

Shilala Buff may have had the worst hairstyle

in movie history, and he may be an actual crazy

person in real life, he can actually act when

given the opportunity. He was great in Fury.

He was great in this. And I know it's kind of

cliche, but even though it was three hours, I

never felt the length. And I just kind of enjoyed

the journey that it took me on. So that's my

number 10. I think he was very important to the

film, too, as like a presence to hold it all

together amongst a lot of obviously, like you

said, inexperienced actors, et cetera. I think

his role was crucial. I mean, not just thematically,

but from an ascetic standpoint, too. And I think

he was very good as far as the acting goes. But

I'm going to let Amanda talk first, because she

had the strongest reaction out of the two of

us when it came to American Honey. Oh, God. Why

are you making me talk about this again? No offense

to Dan. I mean, I'm glad that somebody could.

to could really get, you know, something solid

out of this, but I couldn't even get into it

because the filming style was making me so motion

sick and like nauseous that it gave me a headache.

And like I had like a physical like reaction,

negative reaction to this. So I couldn't get

involved at all. And all I was seeing were these

reactions and and choices and decisions that

just were ridiculous. And like I myself was not

an angel when I was growing up. I probably should

be dead like a couple times over because I've

made some stupid decisions too. Like we all have

gotten some, you know, a convertible with four

older cowboys and decided to, you know, eat the

fucking tequila worm. Some of the decisions of

their actions, an example would be the first

house that the girl and Shia LaBeouf were trying

to sell the magazines to and how she acted when

like, like this, you ain't got no money, you

need to go out there and make that paper and

all you're doing is acting like a fool. And so

I just didn't understand many of the motivations

and I was pissed like from the get go when she

kind of just like. Dump these kids off and bail

like I get it like she was trying to just have

a life. You know what I mean, but Those are her

brothers and sisters like what about them? Like

if she was the one that it was left to take care

of them and she dumps them off They were already

jumped off on her like what's gonna happen to

them? So I was already pissed at her like from

the beginning. So I don't know. I just get behind

it Yeah, I think the filming style is was something

that kind of turned you off. Maybe right from

the get -go. I I wasn't as As thrown off by the

filming style, I did find it unnecessary at some

points, the amount of shakiness or not necessarily,

it wasn't necessarily shaky, but the amount of

jumping around that is going on. I get that it

kind of adds to the aesthetic that they're going

for, but at times I think they could have done

it in a less jarring way. But I do think there's

a lot that you can unpack from this film. I think

there's a lot that you can kind of... I know

it's not necessarily one that you want to revisit

a lot since it's like Dan said, this is like

a three -hour film, but I think there is a lot

of layers to peel back if you wanted to go there

and kind of get to what was being presented and

kind of that time and that location, the setting

and what it was saying about our culture in that

situation and as well as the coming -of -age

things and stuff like that. I agree with Dan.

I never necessarily, it's hard not to realize

it's three hours, but it didn't necessarily drag

for me from a thematic standpoint because I was

still interested to see what was going to be

the ramifications of certain decisions that people

were making. And it didn't always go the way

you thought it was going to go. Like she put

herself in a lot of situations that could have

ended up very much worse than they did at times.

So it was, it kept you guessing enough where

I was intrigued by it. And I think there is,

More there to want to unpack that it would make

it a valuable pick. So I don't necessarily Have

as adverse of a reaction to that one as you did.

So I want all the floppy wieners that was going

on Any adverse reaction to that? Alright, Game

of Thrones has numbed me, I'm sorry. It was just

like flapping it out all over the place. Alright,

those are all of our number 10 picks. Let's go

back to Matt. Let's start our number 9 picks

with your choice, Matt. Alright, my number 9

is X -Men Apocalypse. Probably the weakest one

of all of the recent X -Men movies. I actually

have X -Men on them. I haven't seen The Wolverine

or any of those. But it's not Days of Future

Past by a lot. And it's not X -Men First Class

even. But there are some pretty good things in

it. And it was interesting enough. And I saw

it. And that's good enough to get it on the list.

Didn't realize it was Oscar Isaac playing apocalypse

until like one of the close -ups in the last

like 20 minutes of the movie maybe 25 like I

was just like oh That's that poe dameron guy

and like that but like I don't know. That's like

the most memorable moment. I have with that movie

well the opening scene with all the crazy like

power mutant crazy Kills that happened You remember

that? In the pyramid scene? Oh, oh, I remember

that. Now that you bring it up, I do remember

the pyramid scene. The other one that actually

is more memorable than either of those was Magneto's

return to evil, I thought was really well done,

even if that probably should have come later,

because it was just like, Magneto's not evil

for one minute! Because it was just like, he

was pretty much evil at the end of the last movie,

and then he shows up, but he's not evil, and

then he is. Other than that, the crazy Egyptian

scene was good, even if I didn't remember it

six months later. I think you have them in the

right order. I don't think it holds up to First

Class or Days of Future Past, for sure. We can

definitely agree about that. I think there were

some memorable things about that. I do like the

backstory they give us with Magneto, but I think

with Magneto, it's become... a sticking point

for a lot of people. I mean, how many times do

we want to see that he's bad and that Xavier

or somebody talks him into being good for a minute

and he helps out and then he's bad again. You

got to be very careful when you're doing that

over and over again to make it still compelling

each time. But I thought there was some crazy,

memorable scenes from him with his family, et

cetera. So I don't think it was nearly the worst

comic book film that came out this year. So it

does have that going for it. Amanda? Number nine

number nine. It's already been talked about Karen.

That's allied I really thought the we have to

like put a little chime in for a crossover pick

I didn't want to say anything in life. No, it's

the first time we've had a crossover. There we

go. Continue. Okay, so I Thought the players

here were super excellent big main cast really

and I mean for the main the main two stars and

I think they did a really awesome job of setting

up a chemistry and it wasn't just like all of

a sudden we're in love it was this kind of not

necessarily like a slow burn but you see it kind

of happening and then you see like the spark

take off and and I really like that and it it's

set in motion or it set the tone for their love

throughout the the film too and it really made

you sit and ask yourself what you would do in

the situation. And you really see that if it

hadn't been wartime, how different things would

have been for them and their life and how tragically

some things played out. And I was pretty moved

by it. Obviously, I agree. Yes, sir. All right.

Dan, you mentioned with your number 10 that it

was going to be one that at least one person

on the panel did not appreciate. Don't worry.

I'm gonna do that multiple times. So this is

gonna be one of them that I think Amanda will

not appreciate as well So for my number nine,

I'm gonna go with everybody wants some the link

later. What do they call it? Sequel spiritual

sequel to Dazed and Confused Dazed and Confused

is one of my favorite films from my high school

days probably I just loved almost everything

about Dazed and Confused and now you're gonna

kind of put a similar thing and then kind of

throw some sprinklings of baseball around it,

even if it didn't have much to do with the overall

story. But I just think everybody wants some,

does what it's trying to do very well. And I

think you do get a lot more. Danny said this

on Twitter, it's the year of the coming of age

films, I guess, because there was a ton of them

and you could lump this one in with that group.

But I just think there's some good deal of humor.

healthy dose of reality and authenticity when

it comes to what's being portrayed here. I just

think it's a film that could be watched more

than once. It's a film that could, I don't think

it necessarily, too many people know about Linklater

at this point, that it's not gonna be like a

cult film like you would maybe consider Days

and Confused back when it came out. But I just

think there's a lot to love here. I don't know

if you were to kind of. paired up against all

of the coming of age films that came out in 2016,

if it would stack up to some of them. Like I

said, I have not seen Moonlight and then a couple

of those other ones. But for me, at this point,

it rose above quite a few of them. Was a fun

experience from from beginning to end and I think

anybody that either played sports or went to

college or had to deal with You know just went

through that time period We'll find something

to relate to that's what I say I don't know how

well it would resonate with the female audience

and obviously you didn't resonate with you as

At all because I went to college and I played

sports and I dealt a lot of stuff that was not

in this movie Right, so I'm not going to relate

to everyone, not everyone's going to relate to

it, but for me, there was enough there that I

could, even if I didn't experience it, I knew

other people that experienced it or witnessed

it or kind of vicariously saw some of these things

happening. So it was relatable for me and an

enjoyable experience overall. So everybody wants

something that's good enough for me to be in

the top 10. Amanda, anything you'd like to say?

Count that as the second time that we're making

Amanda mad, and it will not be the last. You

guys are missing out on all the horrible faces

that I'm making over here. That's all right.

Dan, what do you have coming up at your number

nine? I didn't enjoy everyone who wants them.

It was in my top 10 for quite a while until I

caught up with a few, and it hurt me, but I had

to bump it out. My number nine is a movie. I

feel it's getting kind of I hear really no one

talking about and I Checked it on an Amazon Prime

and enjoyed it a great deal and well enjoys the

wrong word But it is called the club or el club

from director I'm gonna butcher this name Pablo

Lauren, Lauren. Maybe that's not that bad. Yes,

I don't know but it The story surrounds this

small home that exiled priests are forced to

basically reside in. It's almost like a pseudo

jail that is headed by a nurse who's also had

her troubled past. If Spotlight was like this

analytical takedown of the moral corruption of

the Catholic Church, this is the emotional aspect

of that. It's a Chilean film. you know, a certain

culture to it. And it actually has one of the

best Asaman cast I think of the year. Just the

acting prowess that's throughout is pretty powerful.

And what's odd about it too is that you kind

of like you learn about these characters, you

really don't know exactly why they're there.

And they start out, there's also like there's

almost a charminess to them. There's a likeability.

And even though you kind of have an idea that

they've done some really awful things and then

as the story progresses, that starts to come

out. And also within the first 15 minutes, there's

a sequence that is probably, if I were to look

at sequences that stuck with me the most, it's

certainly there. And I will say it is called,

I would just categorize it as a Gillian confession

if someone comes to their home to kind of reveal

his issues with someone who's new to the home.

Currently streaming on Prime, like I mentioned,

it's certainly not the most enjoyable film to

watch. It's hard to sit through at times because

of, as we talked about, the emotional impact

it does have. But I thought it was really well

-crafted and also has a really effective score

as well. So it's my number nine at the club.

Interesting. Yeah, I've not even heard of that

one, so I'll have to jot that one down and put

it on the list. Amanda? I finished the the Exorcist

TV series on Fox. And there's a couple of scenes

where you see one of these priests who is an

exorcist who had like a couple failed exorcisms,

was actually living in one of these homes. And

I didn't know that it existed, but they all are

like wearing these like, you know, plain gray,

like sweat suits. And they all have just like

a room and the door has to be open and everything's

like monitored and they can't just come and go

when they want. I didn't even know that things

like that existed, so. Interesting. All right,

Matt, back to you for your number eight pick.

All right, my number eight pick. Honestly, I

would have expected it to be a little bit higher.

I'm just glad it happened, because it's a weird

one. And that's Doctor Strange. I wasn't a huge

fan of Doctor Strange comics growing up. They're

a slog sometimes as an adult I can appreciate

them like one of my favorite stories is a doctor

strange doctor doom team -up story where they

have some mutual understanding by the end of

it, but they're still the same characters and

I didn't know what to expect from this movie.

It's it's a movie I would have never thought

would ever come out like he's I mean, he's huge

in the Marvel universe, but at the same time,

he's not huge. Like, who buys stock Strange Comics?

He rarely has a monthly issue. I mean, the movie

was fun. It was funny. It was interesting. They

did really weird things. They did a great job

with the CG that they used. Like, it kept me

interested and entertained, even if it's not,

like, top five material. I still enjoyed it enough

to put it above X -Men Apocalypse. Yeah, I think

a couple things that that film had going for

specifically I think like you said with the CG

or some of the visual effects the we have to

see stuff that we've not seen in any other comic

book film with the you know the kind of interdimensional

or I don't know how you want to term that but

as they're kind of going through things the fights

you know almost like a matrix type innovation

there when with some of those fights and I also

think Mads Mikkelsen made a pretty good comic

book villain where normally that's one of the

kind of soft spots in a lot of these Marvel films

is the villain a lot of people don't think Holds

their weight and I think Mads Mikkelsen did in

this one. So I like those aspects I think it's

one of the better comic book films we got this

year I would probably put it in the Top three

as far as the comic book films that came out

this year. I mean any thoughts on dr. Strange

I think that I really didn't have super high

hopes because I thought it looked too much like

Inception in the trailers and stuff and I'm like,

I don't really know if I'm going to like this

because I didn't know much about Doctor Strange

either so I didn't have anything backing my interest

but I think that I was entertained. I wasn't

clamoring for another movie or anything but I

think I'll see the sequel if it comes out and

I think Mads Mikkelsen did a super cool job too.

Dan, what did you think about my statement as

far as Dr. Strange being in top three for comic

book films this year? Do you think so or not

quite? I think so. I enjoyed it a lot. I mean,

I know the argument is that it kind of sticks

to that Marvel formula. And I know there's a

lot of comparisons to Iron Man. And that's really

kind of the classic superhero origin story. But

I thought what it added to it visually and performance

wise and character wise, I liked a lot. You meant

right like most dr. Strange comics don't aren't

very successful There is a really great one on

right now why Jason Aaron than I would would

recommend. That's a I think that's really kind

of like put the character in a really interesting

direction but I think visually it may be Marvel's

best film and I think it has the best one of

the best if not the best ending maybe outside

of the Avengers just because it's completely

different really smart and kind of a cool way

to end it that felt very much like a Dr. Strange

comic. All right so all of us feeling pretty

good about Dr. Strange. Amanda how are you feeling

about your number eight? Feeling pretty freaking

depressed about number eight here, but it was

definitely a super powerful movie and it It was

difficult for me to choose Which order that my

eight and nine were gonna go in but no my number

eight is a light between oceans Had a very similar

tone to allied where there was this really heavy

choice to make and truth was involved and lies

were involved and You know family was at risk

and also family was made like it the choices

that they had to make in this where we're just

so heavy and The potential for you know such

good things to come about from for their family

it just couldn't take off for them and it was

so tragic and it was it was really enthralling

and I was really captivated by what was going

on in the struggle that this internal struggle

that all the characters are really going through.

So I felt really bad for the kid. I felt really

bad for everybody involved. And it's one movie

that you can't shake the feeling when you leave.

You still feel what you were feeling, what the

characters are feeling when you leave. It's something

you take with you afterwards. So I thought it

was something that I definitely had to put on

my list. Yeah, I think I had a lot of emotional

gravitas in this film. Again where you have these

films where you can talk to the people that have

watched on whether you watched with them or whatever

and kind of debate What kind of choices you would

make or what but it's also something that I think

is somewhat problematic because I I don't know

if anyone can really say What they would do and

like for example in this film what they would

do in that exact situation Because it's a situation

you cannot possibly wrap your mind around actually

being involved. So I think it's sometimes unfair

to say that someone else is acting unrealistic

or you don't buy into the character motivations

or stuff like that because I have heard some

of those complaints about this film. And those

just seem bizarre to me because I don't know

any human being that could really wrap their

minds around being in the situation that they

find themselves in to make that type of commentary.

I think this movie is also greatly aided by the

performances here by Michael Fassbender and Alicia

Vikander. They are phenomenal here. Rachel Weisz

is good as well. I think there was a lot, like

you said, to think about during the film, but

also that left the theater with you that you

were trying to grapple. I think it's a solid

film. This is easily in my probably top 25, so

I liked it a lot. I think there are a couple

things here and there that could have been improved

on, but overall, I think just the emotional weight

and the thought -provoking nature it has to kind

of get you to re -examine what you would do for

... Certain things that you love or certain people

that you love and how that would all boil down

It is very fascinating to kind of dig deeper

into Alright, so for my number eight Amanda you

won't hate this one so we can take a break from

the from the films that you're against. Well,

thanks No problem. I think just like in 2016

had a bunch of coming -of -age films. It also

seemed like it was a year where thrillers and

suspense films kind of reemerged into the forefront,

not just as, you know, fun entertaining films,

but films that can also be talked about in conversations

like this, like we're having with our top 10

films of the year. And one example for me that

fits that to a T is my number eight, and that

would be Green Room. I just think that there

was so much to enjoy in this film. I think Patrick

Stewart was freaking phenomenal as the villain

here. And I think, too, just, again, a situation

where characters find themselves involved in

something that they weren't planning, that they

didn't expect, and then we have to deal with

the fact that now we're in that situation, how

are we going to react? And I think right from

the beginning, it sets the tone when, you know,

obviously they're trapped in this building with...

skinhead group kind of calling the shots, but

I think the very first time when they tried to

get out of that room, the amount of visual, the

depiction of violence that we get immediately

kind of sent the message to you that this is

not just the typical film that you're used to

in this type of context. Like it hit a real note

right from the beginning with that violence and

it kind of set you back on your toes a little

bit. The movie was riveting throughout, the characters

were interesting, and it was just a fun, I don't

know, fun's the right word, but it was just an

entertaining, thrilling ride the entire time,

and it stuck with me. This is something we saw

very early on, and a lot of times those will

fade as you see more and more films, but Green

Room stuck with me the entire year, and it's

something that I am interested to revisit. We've

only seen it one time, and I'd be interested

to see what kind of impact it has on the second

viewing, but Green Room is my number eight. Yeah,

I didn't think it was really gonna be like that.

And then, you know, the crazy started happening

and I was like, whoa, it's gonna be like that,

huh? So it definitely, it gets you. It does.

Dan, what is your number eight? Well, you're

talking about coming of age films and my last

two films were kind of depressing. So let's get

a little bit lighter, a little more enjoyable,

a lot more enjoyable, a lot funnier. With my

number eight, I'm gonna go with Hunt. for the

window welder people last year what we do in

the shadows was in my top 10 and Getting a number

of another film from the same director Gotta

love the New Zealand guys. It's yeah as mentioned

it is another I guess it's coming of age Perhaps,

but I think there's a little bit more to it than

that. Sam Neill comes back from the proverbial

career grave to show that, yeah, he's a really

great actor. And Julian Demerson, there's this

great list. Withcoming of age films, you get

a lot of great debut performances. And his may

not be the most emotional, powerful performance,

but he's just naturally funny, has a great presence

to himself. I don't know what type of career

he has, but he's really great in that. And it

just has this kind of fantastical atmosphere

to it almost like a pseudo fairy tale That that

really launched itself really it just it's a

joyous good time It's you know, but there are

some more serious parts to it to not never I

think ever gets too serious But it's just I think

a one of those movies has a universal appeal

without being corny and ever going too far. I

had some issues with the third act or really

some specific character, but on me watching it,

most of those issues, I kind of washed away.

So probably my most remarkable movie of the year

as well. So that's my number eight. What are

people? I think I was looking back, you know,

we're doing the movie awards, blog posts, and

different things, and last year one of my categories

was the Where Have You Been Award, and I'm like,

well, there's no way I can do that this year

because there's not the same amount of people,

because last year I could talk about Harrison

Ford with Han Solo and... rocky making his his

comeback and there was a couple other people

that kind of showed up that we hadn't seen a

lot of before and I didn't even consider 2016

to do that award again because I'm like who would

I have and I completely forgot about Sam Neal

coming out of the woodwork for this one and I

agree it's a great year for child performers

as well and I think unfortunately his performance

in Hunt for the Wilder people might get left

behind a little bit in those conversations because

there was some more maybe more emotional powerhouse

or dramatic movies that other children were involved

in and this one has a little bit more of a whimsical

taste but I think you have to have good timing

and you have to have almost even more acting

chops to be able to pull off what he was in in

some of this with both serious moments and comedic

moments so I agree he did he did fantastic in

this one and anybody that was doubting Taika

Waititi and thought that maybe he was just a

one -hit wonder or whatever not a thing he's

produced a couple good films now in a row back

-to -back so that's impressive I'm glad you said

his name and not me. All right, Matt, what do

you have for your number seven? My number seven

is one you loaned to me, so I'm sure you could

guess it. I was surprised by how much I loved

Deadpool this year. I've read a lot of Deadpool

comics. I got a buddy who's really into Deadpool.

And also, Brian Fosain did a run for years, and

I love him as a comedian. He's not one of my

favorite characters. I don't know. I go back

and forth on the humorous comic book. Things

because like some of the things like the super

buddies that the DC did was amazing But also

like I feel like Deadpool is kind of a one -note

character And it's not something I want to spend

money on even if I will enjoy from time to time

So I was surprised at how well this movie was

like how perfect of an adaptation of that character

It was how interesting it was like they did great

jobs breaking the fourth wall when they did they

like I enjoyed that movie wholeheartedly from

beginning to end, and I am very worried about

the sequel. Something that Deadpool, right from

the get -go, the marketing for Deadpool was absolutely

extraordinary. Just the lengths that they went

to and the work that Ryan Reynolds put into that.

Opening credit scene is was fantastic Amanda

I think you were the only one that wasn't as

high on as the rest of us on Deadpool has anything

changed over time or do you need to rewatch it?

I'd like to rewatch it. I just was not super

impressed at all and I mean the the R rating

I was really excited about and I just felt like

They made it are just with language and sex like

they could have done a lot more with it. I think

and I don't know, some of the scenes I felt were

pretty cool, but I don't remember sitting there

going, oh, this is fricking awesome. I just,

I feel like I was - That was probably the most

shocked I was as far as one of your reactions

to a movie all year, because I'm still shocked

that you didn't like it. I feel like I was just

in the theater. We were in a packed theater in

the middle of the fricking day, and I'm pretty

sure it was Valentine's Day, wasn't it? I felt

like I was sitting there looking at everybody

around me like, why the fuck do people like this?

I felt like I was the only one sitting on a little

island flabbergasted that everybody else was

blown the hell away by it. I don't know. Revisit

is necessary. All right, Amanda, then what is

your superior number seven pick in your book?

Superior number seven? I'm not the one trying

to say that my list is better than Matt's. What

the fuck is going on here? No, you're hating

on all of our films. It's okay. You guys just

picked movies that I don't like. You probably

have it out for me. That's what it is. Anyways,

I did something. I don't know. It just seemed

right. Number seven for me is Magnificent Seven.

I didn't even realize that was what yours was

when I was saying Superior Seven. I didn't. OK,

continue. It was Magnificent. Maybe not Superior,

but it's freaking Magnificent. It was my birthday

movie. I had a lot of fun with it. Denzel, I

was... kind of skeptical on how he would be in

a Western, but I think he wasn't just like Brooklyn

Denzel, you know what I mean? He still had his

swag, but I think he did the Western justice,

and I loved the parts of the team, I loved everybody

involved, and I thought they all did a really

good job of showcasing their individual personalities.

I also liked how they worked together and I thought

that the action in it was was amazing and It

surprised me like some of the people that that

don't make it I was like man because I don't

remember the original very well So it it was

it was in a new watch for me really and it was

great to see those those sweeping landscape scenes

on the big screen and in IMAX and I had a really

good experience with it. You know in the world

that we live in when it comes to films with the

sheer volume of adaptations as far as sequels,

spin -offs, remakes, reboots, etc. etc. If you

were to tell me at the beginning of the year

that Magnificent Seven was a superior film to

so many of the other franchise films that we

got I would not have believed you because this

seemed like it had all the workings to be a disaster

and in my book it was far better than most other

big -budget blockbuster type franchise films

with a few exceptions. I was so pleasantly surprised

with how much I had. I think if you can just

allow yourself to have fun, Magnificent Seven

is a fun ride regardless of your opinions on

the previous films that it draws from. I think

Denzel was great. I don't know if it's a problem

that the first thing I think about when Magnificent

Seven comes out, the first thing I think about

is Vincent D 'Onofrio's entrance every single

time. I don't know if that's a good thing for

the film or not. It was just so charring. That

I'm not remembering anything else, but it was

one of the biggest laughs I had the entire year

and not in a bad way. I absolutely loved when

he started speaking. He's actually the wizard

in that new Emerald City TV show. Didn't know

it was him at first and once I saw in the credits

that it was him. I I was then like waiting for

His voice to be something crazy like this and

it wasn't I like your pick Magnificent Sevens

in my top 25 right now So I I think that's a

great Fun ride for anybody that likes their Westerns

or likes any of the actors that are involved

with that one. So Alright for my next one. Like

I said, I was only taking a brief hiatus from

not making Amanda upset That's the theme I guess

today. So let's go right back to it my number

seven I'm afraid to even say the title. So Amanda,

just let me say my spiel first, but my number

seven is going to be La La Land. Obviously, swept

the awards at the Golden Globes. I'm getting

the look of death right now. Ryan Gosling and

Emma Stone, I think, were amazing in their acting

performances. Amanda has stopped everything she's

doing just so she can stare at me in disdain.

All right. Now, do I think it was deserving of

sweeping all the awards at any of these award

ceremonies? I would say no. All right, I do think

that that's a little bit ridiculous. I don't

have it in my top one, top three, top five. I

don't think it's that worthy, but I do like Damien

Chazelle as a director. I loved Whiplash. I do

think there's a lot to love about this film.

I do think that it also plays to all the things

that all the awards circuits tend to like. They

like movies made about movies. They like movies

that kind of pay... homage to classic Hollywood

etc etc but I gotta support the idea that we

have a modern musical being made like this that

did resonate and did get some attention I do

like that I'm not a big fan of I'm a big fan

of musicals but I'm not necessarily a big fan

of everything about musicals and I do think there

were some misses along the way with Wildland

it definitely was not a perfect film but I think

there is enough to speak to anybody that has

dreams, anybody that has hopes. And also, I think

the biggest win for this film is the way that

it illustrates or depicts how So many little

choices that come up in your life or on your

journey to achieve this or achieve that can completely

impact and almost become a new journey for you

or a Complete sidetrack for you or throw you

off course or get you back on course And it's

just so interesting to see kind of how all of

those little like detailed Decisions can kind

of interweave with each other and create a new

outcome for you. I think Ryan Gosling is magnetic

on screen. I think he really sells this. I know

Emma Stone's the one that's getting ... Not that

they both didn't win awards, et cetera, but everybody

seems to be saying it's Emma Stone's film and

ranged in raving. And while she was good, I think

Ryan Gosling was arguably better. I think he

displays a bigger range of emotions. I think

he's more convincing. He was phenomenal. This

is one of his best performances I've ever seen.

And even though there's little nitpicks I would

probably draw out if we were doing a full review

of this, not enough for me to completely discount

it. I think it's a worthy film. I think it's

unique. And I think there's a lot to love here,

even if I'm not putting it in my top five. Amanda,

anything? No, I don't want to say shit about

that movie because I fucking hated it. Don't

tell me it's about how You had to not, you know,

be in love with somebody because you were out

trying to get what you wanted and achieve your

dreams and then showing a fucking flashback scene.

No spoilers. That, you know, everything could

have been different. I don't understand your

argument, but I don't want to spoil anything

for people. People haven't seen this film, so

I don't want to spoil it. Whatever. We can't

do this because of this. But then we're going

to show you in a scene that it really all was

possible. We just didn't do it that way. Well,

I think that's reality things don't always happen

the way that they could have happened in life

But this is a fantastical film. It's all about

this like glamour and All this this fanciful

nature so I don't understand why you had to just

go in and It just made no sense also why they

they couldn't do what they were trying to do

together Yeah, I think you're getting too hung

up on that one specific Point of it, but I mean

I think all these like stupid like sweeping scenes

where they're just like a circle And you can't

even see what's going on. It's just like the

sweeping scenes. It's making me frickin dizzy

One thing we're learning that the camera needs

to stay still for you I don't need to be so like

stark still the whole time But don't be panning

around for no reason when all you see is like

colors And it's just like it's a it's a guy holding

a camera and spinning in a circle Okay Just a

lot of it. I didn't need to make total sense,

but it a lot of it didn't just didn't click Yeah,

I mean I kind of I understand what your Argument

is, but I I guess even though this is a musical

and you love freaking musicals No, there's a

lot of musicals. I hate there's a lot of musicals

I hate and though I actually the the opening

number to this even though people are ranting

and raving at the highway scene the big musical

scene open it I hate that type of musical scene

in musicals. I hate it. I that's my least favorite

type of musical number in those types of films

but I'm going back to the point like I get that

you're saying it's it's fanciful it's it's supposed

to be kind of this mystical not necessarily grounded

in reality world but I think that's part of the

magic of what he did here is he did all that

but then he also did have these underlying strings

that are so based in reality on how things would

play out in a real situation where you're not

gonna make every perfect decision. You're not

gonna make every decision that's gonna end up

in your fairy tale ending. You're gonna... Go

off track here. You're gonna get distracted here

You're gonna have roadblocks here, and I think

that's why this film works for me because it

does show those realistic But it wasn't because

there was really no reason for them to make the

choice a lot of times There's no reason for people

to make decisions that they make that divert

them from a certain course, but it's life and

it happens It was ridiculous all right. It's

my number seven Dan save me and change topics,

please I Yeah, I wish I could chime in, but I

have not seen it, so I can't really say anything

No you don't Dan because I don't want to hate

you, okay? I don't want to hate you. I wanted

Dan to support me. All right, Dan, what's your

number seven? All right, so when I see that I

just want to tell both of you. Like I still haven't

seen it. I have no idea. It's weird. All right,

so we talked, I think you mentioned that a lot

of coming of age movies this year and kind of

see that with the fact that my Two films are

eight and seven or both coming image movies for

number seven I have what I would probably call

maybe my most overlooked movie of 2016 and it's

King Jack it it is this kind of slice of life

film about kind of just this kid growing up and

his life and it's Very reminiscent of like a

David Gordon Green or Jeff Nichols type of film

again from a Davey director Phil Thompson with

a lot of brand new actors, Charlie Plummer is

the main Jack, and you know, he's just kind of

following his life, he's just, he's into the

middle of summer, he's kind of dealing with going

to summer school, and there's this girl he's

trying to get, and what I really love about the

movie is what it says about the importance of

parental relationships, and especially that of

male relationships. male role models without

ever really approaching the topic, never even

mentioning it, but it's always there lingering

in the background. Because what you kind of realize

by the end is that there are actually very few

adults in the entire film. And I just enjoy this

type of movie. It's probably a movie maybe I

enjoy more than I should. I just like how it

kind of brings you into this world. And it's

somewhat every day it's not like all that. I

would say glamorous or fantastic. It's it's very

kind of down -to -earth and but it's kind of

what I liked about it and has a great bully and

he had this bully relationship going on and I

just Kind of just lingered with me because of

that and so it's currently streaming on Netflix

If you do want to check it out and it's King

Jack This is not the first time I've heard this

one brought up, but I completely like you said,

went under my radar, overlooked this one, so

I have not seen this one yet. I'll put it on

the list, but when you hear films being thrown

out here and there, and then all of a sudden

you get wrapped up in what the next film is you

see, and you forget to write things down. I've

got to do a better job of writing things down.

So I'll add this one to the list to watch early

on here this year. Matt, what do you have? Number

six. Continuing my list of the biggest grossing

movies. 2016 I saw Captain America Civil War

this year. I don't know man. It's it's another

Avengers movie It's the Avengers movie that Avengers

2 should have been Because it was way better

than Avengers 2. I really liked Civil War I guess

I should make an asterisk here for the next Handful

of movies. I'm a little like the the placements

a little in flux because I saw two of them today

But I currently have Captain America at number

six. I really loved it I thought they did a great

job with the with spider -man, which I was very

worried about I loved how they were able to include

Ant -Man after his great movie because he's not

necessarily Avengers material like I don't know

Everyone's seen it right? It was great. It was

good Civil War man Yeah, I think it is too. I

just had this one miss in my top group. I think

it's in my top 20, top 25, somewhere in that

range. But I think that's the best. I think you

can make an argument between that one and Deadpool

as far as which one's the best comic book film.

But for me, I give the edge to Captain America.

I think there were some fight scenes that are

not easy to forget, both with... big ensembles,

which show a lot of the choreography, etc. And

then also some more intimate fight scenes that

go on. They're to an underrated villain as well.

I think there's a lot to love about Captain America

Civil War. I know a lot of people have already

tuned out to the Marvel formula and they're writing

it off and they don't want to see any more comic

book films and everyone's the same, but it's

really not. So you just got to be able to...

I mean, that's just like saying every coming

of age film is the same or every... Yeah, there's

formulas for all movies, but if you look closely,

there's differences that you can find, and there's

a reason why Captain America Civil War stands

above something like Batman vs. Superman, X -Men,

etc. from this year, so I like that one. Amanda?

Yeah, I mean, definitely solid. Civil War definitely

had some super cool fight scenes and some action

stuff going on that I like that motorcycle scene

was lucky one in my mind and Introduction of

like some new characters and stuff. So pretty

dope. So it's all a choice. What do you have

and your next pick? number six I've already been

talked about a little bit. I'm gonna share the

love here with Dan. My number six is Hunt for

the Wilder People. I was super shocked by how

much I liked this movie. Didn't know anything

about it going into it. Surprised that Sam Neill,

back from the Perumio movie grave, and I think

that he did an awesome job showing Showing us

what he can really do and the the new child actor

that we get a taste of here was really awesome

and I think that it had the right kind of humor

humor was very well placed and always was was

light -hearted in its humor, but definitely has

some heavy hearted moments and carries that that

That love in the field that the good feelings

that are built up throughout even even to the

end and I really was pleasantly surprised. that

I even liked it, so I'm glad that I enjoyed it

so much. So my number six is Hunt for the Wilder

People. Also had one of the most surprising plot

twists, I think, of the whole year that at least

I did not see coming. There's been a lot of movies

that thought they had twists in little plot turns

and stuff throughout the year, and some of them

were very predictable, and some of them caught

you off guard, and this was definitely one that

caught me off guard right towards the beginning

where I was like, okay, that's a different way

we're going here with this film than I expected,

but yeah. I think there's a lot of good to say

about Hunt for the Wilder people. I'll go to

my number six now. I don't know, I think this

one grew more on me after watching it. It wasn't

necessarily the initial reaction, but the more

I thought about it, the more it kind of rose

up the ranks for me. And I think there's a lot

to like about this one. A lot of people champion

this one, so I won't be alone here, but my number

six is gonna be Hell or High Water. I just think...

I don't know how much of a Western I would call

it, but that's where it's getting lumped into,

I guess, but I just think there's a lot to say

for a film that gives you characters that are

doing bad things or committing crimes or... having

questionable morals or ethics that at the same

time can get you in a position where you're completely

understanding the motives and the decision -making

process and the rationale behind it. And it puts

you as a viewer in an interesting predicament

where you have to try to reconcile those two

things, like why am I rooting for someone, the

whole anti -hero thing, why am I rooting for

somebody that is clearly not someone that is

a good role model or not someone that I should

be supporting. but I think this film does a very

good job of displaying that in a way that's also

natural and doesn't seem like they're forcing

anything or pulling the wool over your eyes or

anything like that. I think there's some standout

performances. I think there is, for some reason,

you would never label this as a comedy, but there's

some great comedic moments. in this film, I think

of specifically the diner scene where the waitress

basically asks them what they're not going to

have. I think that's one of the most memorable

scenes of the year and it was hysterical when

it was happening. And also some catch -off guard

type dramatic moments as well. I think it's one

of the best endings of any film this whole year

with the little epilogue between the two main

characters and kind of... Where they leave it

at is is a great artistic choice. So I was very

impressed I didn't really have a lot of expectations

one way or the other It wasn't one that was really

on my radar at the beginning of the year, but

hell or high water Definitely delivered for me

and that's my number six Yeah, I really wanted

to find a place for that in my top ten. It was

it's very close because The director who did

he did start up which was my favorite film of

that given year But yeah, hello, but I agree

pretty much with everything you said. That's

great film Alright, and where do you go next?

My number six is a movie I recently caught up

with again from a director that I think well

we've talked about I think some of his films

previously with things like old boy and Stoker

was an honorable mention for me years ago for

my top ten, but his recent film from 2016, The

Handmaiden, is my next movie on my list. And

that, of course, is Chan Hu, director of Chan

Hu Park. And with Handmaiden, there's a lot to

experience. You can be captivated by its really

intricately woven mystery. It has this tranquil

visual beauty. It's he knows how to set up shots

It's it's just amazing seeing just how intricate

he can become very essentially sensationalized

with the depiction of sex and at times the exploration

may seem excessive, but I think there is a point

to what where he's going and I think really also

these characters are fully realized and you never

truly know where people stand in large part due

to the performances. It's really hard to really

grasp, okay, where is this going? What are people

really feeling? And a lot of that's due to just

how great all the performances are. It's hard

to kind of talk about the movie without getting

anything away, but it basically involves this

plot, try to marry this woman who is... possibly

mentally unstable, and the handmaiden is brought

in to try to help that occur, but a lot more

happens, and it's broken up into three separate

stories, and it's one of those things where it's

an unreliable, not necessarily narrator, but

kind of depiction of events, because as it unfolds,

you find out that certain things were not told

to you, but it's really smartly developed and

designed. And it kind of really gets into the

magical provision of sex in the way it can become

kind of a downside of the obsession that people

can have. And again, similar to American Honey,

I think it's probably a movie that will probably

turn a lot of people away because it gets graphic

at times, maybe unnecessarily so at certain points,

but I ended up quite enjoying it. I was really

just really impressed with filmmaking in its

finest. So that's my number six. Yeah, I heard

a lot of people talking high praise about Handmaiden,

but we just couldn't find a way to access it

in time to see it for this. So high on the queue,

but we have to have it become available first.

But a lot of people definitely are not alone

in that camp with the high praise for the Handmaiden.

Matt, that means we're into our top five territory.

So how are you going to start it off? Another

movie I saw with Amy's aunt that I did not expect

to like, but I mean, here it is in the top five.

And that would be Zootopia. This movie took me

100 % by surprise. It's, I don't know, it's so

interesting. Especially if you go back to the

very first ads that explain what anthropomorphism

is and stuff and it's really weird because it's

like these are animals that walk and they talk

and it's like... So unlike what the movie ended

up I mean, you know, it is what the movie ended

up being but it's like it doesn't show you I

I think One of my favorite things about this

movie is the marketing because the first ads

just explained a weird concept that people might

not understand if they're not in the furry community.

By the last ad, they're just like, here's one

scene from the movie cut down so it's a minute

long so you can digest the scene and see how

it's funny. And we're not going to ruin all the

jokes of the movie. I think that's the best way

to advertise any comedy ever. Why is that not

the thing that they do for every comedy? They've

ruined it so much in the tr - trailers and a

lot of movies. But then the movie itself holds

up. It's great. The humor is solid for adults

and kids. The story is, I would say, less predictable

than a lot of kids' movies are. I didn't expect

to like it, and by the time I was done with it,

I loved it. Zootopia. Yeah. I think a lot of

people are in that same camp. Amanda, what did

you think of Zootopia overall? I thought it was

pretty good. I think it was something that we

saw kind of early in the year. it maybe got a

little overshadowed just because of the fact

that we pumped so many movies into the year.

But I think that it had some really awesome visual

things going on. I think it had a really cute,

you know, fun storyline and relationship between

the two main characters. And I think that it

had stuff for both kids and adults, which is,

you know, the great great mix that they always

try for. So definitely a solid choice. I struggled

with trying to figure out how I would rank the

animated movies that I saw this year. And I think

Zootopia would definitely be towards the top,

for sure. Yeah, I think it's definitely in the

top couple animated films of the year. And interesting,

too, another little different style of a movie

for Disney, too, from kind of like they have

been doing over the last three, four, five years,

where they're sprinkling in these more kind of

off -the -beaten path from what we're used to.

And I think it definitely worked out well for

that. I've shown up on a lot of people's top

tens that I'm hearing. So a lot of love for Zootopia

out there. for sure. Dan, what are your thoughts

on Zootopia? Yeah, it's great. I enjoyed it a

lot. It was my top 10 of the year so far, halfway

through the year. And for me, it's the second

best animated movie of the year. Yeah. I think

I would probably agree with that statement. So

all right, Amanda, what is your first in the

top five? Another one that I was surprised that

I liked so much and really didn't know too much

about going into. because I hadn't seen the first

kind of installment of this and I don't really

know how it intertwines exactly yet because I

hadn't seen that, but my number five is 10 Cloverfield

Lane. John Goodman was absolutely amazing in

this. Never seen him really from that light.

I've seen him kind of be, you know, stern and

not like the lovable Dan from Roseanne all the

time, but this really took it to a whole new

level and it was... The suspense in this was

built up superbly and it was another one of those

where you had to struggle with, is this a good

guy, is this a bad guy, do I know what's going

on? And it would give you a taste of something

and you would think you had it figured out and

you would set yourself up and you told yourself

you knew what was going to happen next and then

it would flip the script and something would

come out of left field and change everything

for you. So it was a definite thrill ride. kept

me hanging on until the end. The end was a little

sketchy for me but you know I think the the meat

of the movie was what was most important there

and that really did it for me so Ten Clover Field

Lane. Yeah I think like I was saying before the

year of the re -emergence of the thriller Green

Room, Ten Clover Field Lane probably both leading

the way in that pack but I would just say that

I'm in agreement because it's also my number

five. So Ten Clover Field Lane will be my number

five. I edged out green room slightly for me.

I don't know if it's John Goodman or if it's

more so the fact that in this one, like you're

talking about, there's a much blurrier, grayer

area as far as who's good, who's bad, and what's

actually going on. And like you said, they try

to give you hints here and hints there, but a

lot of times what your interpretation of those

hints might not be. actually what is factual.

I agree with the Molotov cocktail not being necessary

at the end. That was a little bit of an absurd

moment towards the climax, but I think, like

you said, if you can kind of think back to the

whole of the movie and the meat and potatoes

of what was going on, that's a minor detail,

so I'm not going to get hung up on it. So it

was one of the most fun and unexpected because

I was not... I almost had negative expectations

going into this one. Just based on not knowing

much about the I guess quote -unquote universe

But I left absolutely having a lot of fun and

light greener with something that we saw very

early on in the year It stuck with me for the

entire year. It was a fun ride I would see John

Goodman play this type of character a thousand

times over. I thought it was he was mesmerizing.

I thought there's Who else could could pull off

just how? How impactful it is to show up with

different amounts of facial hair like that. That's

all it took like To change his look a little

bit completely freak you out and also some unexpected

moments too along the way as far as some of the

violence goes. So I was a huge fan of 10 Cloverfield

Lane. It's one of the ones that we've purchased

on Blu -ray. We don't purchase a ton of movies

every year on Blu -ray, but this was one of the

first ones that we bought this year. So in 100

% agreement, 10 Cloverfield Lane, my number five

as well. Dan? I guess we'll stick with the theme

of people trapped into a room, but I'm going

to go with the other movie of people trapped

in a room that's also been mentioned, and that's

Green Room. I love Jeremy Sonier's Blue Ruin.

Again, it was in my top five that year as well.

And with this, I think he's shown that he's really

great at subverting expectations when it comes

to filmmaking. He's clearly a fan of the types

of movies he makes, and by that he's able to

kind of... take that type of film and bring it

to another level. And there, I don't know, I

just was fascinated by this. And you mentioned

thriller and that, you know, it's edge of your

seat. That's kind of a cliche, but I think it's

true in this. And one of my favorite moments

is that it's a spoiler, but it's, it comes near

the end and I won't go in a great detail, but

it just involves a dog and the buildup. And it

just, you think certain things going to happen

and it ends up kind of leaving more on a humorous

way to great way to end it but it's he uses a

lot of small details and atmosphere rather than

kind of the glissade jump scares like even just

the feedback of a microphone and really knowing

how to bring you into the room and give you an

idea of space which I think ends up playing a

big part as the movie goes on so I loved it and

I'm really excited for any time he's coming out

with a movie, I'm going to be there because two

movies in so far, I love both of them. Yeah,

he's definitely got a good track record so far

and I think there are some I completely forgot

since I said I need to rewatch this because I

forgot about some of those moments but you're

right that it was a great touch on on that scene

that did involve that dog and that's just one

example of a lot of times where he didn't necessarily

go with the way that you would expect a director

to go especially a young director and someone

that doesn't have a huge you know filmography

behind him to make some of those choices and

show the restraint is It's very interesting to

see and it makes you excited for more of what

he's going to be doing So obviously an agreement

since it was in my top 10 as well Matt. What

do you have at your number four? And my number

four was already mentioned as a controversial

one and that's Ghostbusters Which if you had

asked me yesterday, it was my number two I loved

this movie and you know, I went and saw it with

you Kevin and Amanda and It was great and I wish

we'd see more movies together, but that's more

on me than it is you I just, I really enjoyed

this. I had real low hopes. I was very upset

with the idea of it. Because, you know, I feel

like if you're gonna do an all, like if you're

like, we're gonna do an all -female ensemble

cast, like that's great. Do it. Give them their

own movie. Give them an original story. Don't

just remake an old story. Like... Especially

if you've got a cast this strong, just give them

an original idea. Or even a cheesier, give them

a sequel rather than a reboot. And I think that

they blurred the line between sequel and reboot

enough in this that it didn't piss me off too

much. I wish it would have made more money because

I would love to see a sequel. I enjoyed Ghostbusters

and I ain't even mad. No, I think we're all at

least Amanda myself had just as an enjoyable

experience as you did in theater with that one

and Like she said it was in her top ten and it

was one for me that Far exceeded my expectations

to I was I was kind of going in somewhat trepidatious

and I Was entertained I liked the odes the homages

they did I like the cameos I like the way that

they kind of blurred that line as well Amanda

What do you got next? My number foe is a robe

one. I think that It definitely set up the hope

for a new hope. I think it did an awesome job

of that it I think that it It was surprising

in its humor. I think that the action was really

solid I really got vested in in a lot of the

characters and I think that I don't think I was

as prepared for the level of, I don't know, things

not ending so happy for everybody. I don't think

I was as prepared. I mean, I think people could

say that was kind of obvious, but it didn't really

click for me until it was happening and I was

like, oh crap, this is happening. So I think

it did exactly what it was supposed to do and

it did it very well. My biggest frustration with

the Rogue One is the critiques that it's getting

unfairly I think in some situations because I

think a lot of people were viewing that the spin

-off Star Wars films were going to be able to

go in these completely different directions and

show us a completely different type of Star Wars

movie and that might happen with some of the

spin -off movies but this wasn't the one that

was going to do that and this wasn't the one

that should have done that. It's still so closely

tied into the events of the original trilogy

that I don't understand why people would think

it's going to be a completely different feeling,

a completely different type of film. I mean,

I think they did some of that. I mean, I think

from some of the war standpoints, they kind of

did some stuff that we haven't seen before, obviously,

but I think that's an unfair criticism. I get

the criticism a little bit more about the character

development, but at the same time, this is just

such a finite moment in time and these characters

... We're going to have a very short moment in

the sun, so to speak, so I don't understand quite

to the level that some people might have wanted.

I mean, this isn't gonna feel like your regular

Star Wars characters. These aren't gonna be characters

that you get three, four, five, six movies to

learn about. This is characters that you're gonna

get a couple hours to learn about, and that's

all that you're gonna get. So I think sometimes

it's like a subconscious way that we're comparing

them to other characters in this universe, and

I don't think that's a fair comparison. I think

even if you were to kind of... put yourself into

the universe and ask people in the Star Wars

universe who Jyn Erso was or who some of these

other characters were, they're going to know

as little about them as we did over the course

of the movie. It did so many things that I wasn't

expecting that I enjoyed and I think the humor

was so well balanced that you never got that

Jar Jar Binks type of humor. You never got the

annoyance that you did maybe from some people

find out of like even like a C3 feel or something

like that. I think there was a lot of very well

timed, very well written humorous moments. I

think that there was a couple missteps when it

came to some of the cameos, but overall, I was

a huge fan. I did not expect to enjoy this film

as much as I did. I mean, that's silly to say,

because I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so I expect

to enjoy all of them, but I was not expecting

to enjoy this one more than the number of Star

Wars movies. I do enjoy it more than, so I guess

that's how I'll put that. I like it. I like seeing

Star Wars in your list. All right, for my number

four. Matt you talked about Zootopia and I said

that it was the number two Best animated film

this year my number one best animated film comes

in here at number four and that is Kubo and the

two strings I was absolutely freaking blown away

by Kubo and the two strings Man, I mean I am

a fan of like studios and I am a fan of what

they've done in the past I haven't seen everything

but I've seen a majority of it and I've liked

it but this one just like knockout punch to me

as far as People were talking about Zootopia

and people are getting excited about finding

Dory and this was the one that you needed to

watch guys and gals like cool on the two strings

hit on so many different elements and Dan I don't

remember if it was a letterbox review or a Facebook

or a tweet or what that you were mentioning after

you saw it and you can you illustrated it much

better than I did but there was From a visual

standpoint from a storytelling standpoint from

an emotional standpoint It knocked it out of

the park on every level So I'm not gonna go too

much more into it. But kubo and the two strings

is my number four Dan. What do you have it yours?

For my number four I'm a huge fan of like you

guys talking about la la land. I know that let

people talk about I was a throwback It's a you

know, it's a musical and which is very much is

but To me, at least of what I saw so far, the

throwback film that I loved was Hail Caesar by

the Coen Brothers. Not necessarily musical, does

have musical bits though. No Dames, for example,

definitely deserves an Oscar nomination for best

song, maybe choreography, but I love this type

of humor. I know Coen Brothers' comedic films

tend to not do well when they first come out

and then they tend like things like I'm trying

to think the Kentucky proxy like people wouldn't

but then years as years go on people seem to

appreciate them more and I love this now it has

some of my favorite comedic scenes of the year

being the Jesus reputation representation scene

or there's a sequence with refines and pronunciation

which is genius It's wacky. It's weird it which

could I think could throw some people off. It's

totally kind of off -putting but I love this

like this type of old fashioned Hollywood. I

love learning about it. I love just this movie

about it. Josh Brolin is great. His performance

is really being overlooked this year. This entire

movie is really being overlooked this year, in

my opinion. So it's my number four, Hail Caesar.

Yeah, I agree. I think it did somehow for some

reason get lost. I don't know if it was just

the time of year it came out and people didn't

give it huge reviews right out the gate. So then

people either avoided it or just kind of wrote

it off. But I think it's much better than people

gave it credit for very much. genius in both

the choreography, like I said, the comedy, the

dialogue, some great scenes and some great performances.

I think it deserves more love than it's getting.

I agree with you. But I don't know what it is.

I don't know, like I said, if it was the time

of the year or if people were expecting something

different or what, but I think it's an instant.

As far as throwback to classic Hollywood, so

I think it like when you had had the cast that

it did and it's not I think a mainstream movie

But it was presented as one so I think that kind

of that kind of caused it because you have this

gigantic cast with pretty much Every major star

so it but I think it's not necessarily designed

for that type of audience so I think that's why

I kind of got rejected but I know a lot of people

didn't like it and but I I fell in love with

it Absolutely good pick there with hail Caesar

Matt. We only got time for three more here in

our countdown What are you gonna have at your

number three? I think everyone could guess everyone

in this college field guess what my three are

Because two of them I saw today and the other

one is obvious my number three Currently is magnificent

seven already been mentioned I think I had a

revelation during Magnificent 7, not about it,

but about Rogue One, because everyone talked

about how Rogue One, you know, they're like stealing

a thing, Rogue One should be like Ocean's Eleven,

it should be this like, like campy heist movie,

and though I would love to see that, I would

love to see that, and that's what they're talking

about this Han Solo movie being, I think Rogue

One's way closer to Magnificent 7, just on a

grander scale, because it's in a giant universe

rather than the Old West, it's this like ensemble...

war movie about a very small group of people

overtaking impossible odds. It's a great movie.

They did a great job with the cast. They did

just the right amount of tragedy and comedy.

We talked about it already. It was good. Did

you have a favorite character or performance

that stood out to you? Denzel did an amazing

job, but I think what I loved was um Chris Pratt's

character just because like he he was he was

like Chris Pratt or he's like I'm joking I'm

gambling I'm having fun but then he turned serious

and he turned serious hard and like every time

he did that it was shocking like it was so good

can we put to bed the argument that some people

are making that Chris Pratt's not a movie star

can we stop that nonsense he was a Barely a television

star three years ago Burt Macklin come on. That's

that's that's it. That's right there They can't

buy Chris Pratt as a like this Hollywood movie

star that's can carry a film on his own and I

just am confused by that statement because I've

seen it like three or four times now, so I don't

Anyways, but yeah, I like Magnificent 7 like

we said so some agreement amongst the panel with

that one Amanda Your number three. Number three.

Then I get back. Definitely on board with the

sad train and I'm gonna use train as a pun here

almost. My number three is the girl on the train.

Definitely another movie where you had to keep

trying to piece things together and you think

everything's one way and then all of a sudden

the twist happens and this reveal happens and

I was blown away by it. I didn't even see that

aspect coming and seeing the struggle that Emily

Blunt's character went through and how things

in her life affected her in a way that changed

her and seeing how her life was and how destroyed

she was and how brilliantly Emily Blunt emoted

all those things was just amazing to me. It's

another one of those films where it was very,

your experience is you're not sure who you're

supposed to be rooting for, who's good, who's

bad. You're in that blurry state where you're

not sure what reality is compared to what you're

getting. It's similar to what you get when you

have an unreliable narrator where you're not

sure what you're supposed to be feeling or emoting

or reacting to. All right, and for my number

three, we're gonna go to a film that has already

been talked about two different times, so there's

not a lot. left to add to it. I guess a common

thread here, my number three, will be Hunt for

the Wilder people. I was just kind of going into

this one open -minded, carefree, you know, not

really sure what I was going to make out of it.

I knew it was, you know, Taiko Waititi, and I

knew what we do in the shadows resonated with

me. I knew I was a big fan of Flight of the Concord,

so I thought I'd give it a shot, and I fell in

love with this film almost instantly. I do think

that they're, like Dan was, I think, alluding

to. partly when he was talking about it. After

first watch, there was the one character and

the one sequence that I thought the movie would

have been better without. It being part of it,

but maybe on multiple watches afterwards maybe

that like you said will diminish a little bit

But I at first I was just like I I don't get

why they had to include I understand He's part

of the group and he's part of the pack that kind

of runs together with these couple individuals,

but it seemed a little giant but overall like

you guys talked about the the comedic moments

the serious moments the Stuff that you weren't

ready for the child performance of Sam Neal's

performance the just a social commentary that's

involved I thought by far it's the best comedy

I saw this entire year if you want to just kind

of group it under a comedy so For me hunt for

the Wilder people is good enough to be all the

way up at number three I Mean or not Amanda next

Dan you go next. What's your number? Great we

just give Amanda though, right? No, we did not

What did that happen? I didn't think so. You

know, you could have left after the whole lala

thing. It just could have burned, you know. Finally

just be like, all right, I'm done. As much as

I wanted to. So My Number 3 is another one that's

already been talked about, and it's an animated

film. And as Kevin mentioned... I guess we're

locked. Stephanie comes to animation this year.

My favorite animation film in my number three

is Kubo and the Two Strings. I too, I've seen

everything Laka has done and I've enjoyed it

a great deal. Box Trolls, I wouldn't say was

a disappointment. It to me wasn't to the level

of their other films, but. Kubo Into Two Strings

is just on another level. You give you the warning

of not blinking to start the film, and I think

that's something to follow, because it is a beautifully

rendered movie. It's a good combination of both

stop -motion animation, of course, some CGI,

and the opening sequence with these massive waves.

I was just, wow, this is kind of taking stop

-motion animation to a new plane. Also just love

the story. Like it has like an ancient style

to it. Like it feels like this fable that's been

passed down generation to generation with great

characters and love the final theme of it. And

I don't know if it's me getting old, but I seem

to enjoy a lot of movies that have to deal with.

some sort of parental aspect to them and this

has it very much so. Just great world, great

characters, great voice performances as well

and I just, I don't know, I'm really impressed

with what they're doing and I don't know if this

is gonna win best animated feature at the Oscars.

I know there's, you know, I enjoyed Moana as

well, I thought that was really good but I thought

Kubo and Two Strings was just far and away best

animated film of the year for me. Yeah, I think

unfortunately it might be one that they're not,

I don't know. I feel like it's going to get overlooked

by some of the more, you know, like obviously

Disney had two films and you have that going

for it. But I think it's definitely deserving.

Obviously it's the one I had the highest rated,

but you brought up something too that I almost

forgot to mention too. The voice work in this

film was better than it should have been. Like

when you just... kind of said everybody that

was involved at first you're like well I don't

know if that's going to be something or not but

I thought Matthew McConaughey was fantastic as

the beat. I thought Art Parkinson as Kugel was

great. I thought Ray Fiennes as kind of the the

main antagonist there and then the combination

of the the way that they did the two sisters

with Rooney Mara's voice and maybe one of my

favorite ones the grandmother, I guess you would

say, of the group Kameo by Brendan Vaccaro. I

mean, there was just voice work. Every character

was better than I thought they would be, and

it just all made it come together phenomenally.

So obviously, I'm in agreement we only had that

one slot off. So a lot of love on this panel,

at least, for Kubo and the two strings. Matt,

what do you have at number two? My number two

and what I... first added it to the list sometime

around 2 p .m. today. I had it at like number

six. It's bounced around a lot but I finally

settled at number two even though I don't know

if it's, you know, it's number two of the year

material but that's where it is on my list, my

special special list. That's Star Trek Beyond.

Fun movie. I think it's better than End of Darkness.

I think it actually might be better than Star

Trek 2009, honestly. I feel like they feel a

lot more comfortable with this franchise than

they have. I think they're embracing the fact

that it's an alternate reality, not the traditional

Star Trek reality. They're doing a lot of fun

things with it. Ultimately, I think the 80s will

kill them with rock concept at the end. Might

be one of my favorite things in movie history.

It just fucking gets off the rails at the end

of that movie and it's like I could see that

turning a lot of Average viewers off but me.

I'm just like I'm embracing this like this is

hilarious that I love it I got juiced up. I was

like, yes, we're gonna go punch people in the

face with a ship There's never a wrong time to

play Beastie Boys, I'm just saying that Nor is

there a wrong role for Idris Elba. I don't care.

He's just everywhere this year. But I think anybody

that... Man, it's so hard when you get into the

Trek movies because there's so rigid of opinions

when it comes to what you should do and what

you shouldn't do, blah, blah, blah. But I think

this paid perfect respects to what you would

have got with some of those episodes in the classic

series if you were thinking like, hey, let's

take this and make it a fun, you know, on the

big screen film. I enjoyed this one quite a bit

too. I think like I said that we talked about

how bad a lot of the blockbusters were and there

was a crap ton of them, but we mentioned a few

of them here with Magnificent Seven and Star

Trek Beyond, for me at least, that do not fall

into that category. They're enjoyable experiences.

So I didn't quite get some of the hate that Star

Trek Beyond got, but I guess I should expect

that it's Trekkies. So even though I am probably

one of them, I don't get the starch opinions

in some directions at that. film franchise, at

least this rebooted film franchise gets, but

I liked it. So Amanda, we only got two slots

left. What do you have left? Oh man, we have

survived all the way to number two. This movie

I had extremely high hopes for and was Definitely

not disappointed, which is kind of not the thing

lately at all with movies. But my number two

is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Super

love Harry Potter. Super love the movie universe

that they created. And I was excited to see something

different in the same magical world. And I was

kind of worried to get back into it without Harry.

all the characters that we kind of grew to love,

but I was really excited to see a more adult

side of the Wizarding World, and I think that

this did a really awesome job of showing the

difference between magic in Britain and then

magic in America, and how the two governments

were different, and how they do things is very

different, and also the time period was very

different. I thought that was really well done.

I loved all the characters. I loved all the beasts,

the little animals. They were super awesome.

I think Eddie Redmayne did a really good job

at being Newt Sumander. And at first I thought

he was a little weird and mousy, but then I read

something online that kind of made complete sense

after the fact in how he was behaving and what

somebody would do if they were in the career

of Dealing with animals and especially like,

you know ferocious animals and things like that

So it made a lot of sense after the fact and

also it did some really cool things are revealing

a concept that was only slightly touched upon

in the books and It made a lot of sense. It was

really really mind -blowing and awesome that

you get to see this concept that really isn't

dealt with much, especially not in the movies,

very little in the books. So it was a really

big concept if you think about it. So I was really

pleasantly surprised with how much I did like

the whole movie as an overall thing. So I'm glad

that I wasn't disappointed. It would have been

too brutal to have this be a disappointment for

you because you'd already gone through Alice

Through the Looking Glass. You'd already gone

through Ms. Peregrine's Home for the Peculiar's.

And there was at least another one that was very

high on your anticipated list that you did not

enjoy. Suicide Squad was an amazing one. Suicide

Squad. We needed at least one of them to pull

through for you. Oh, exactly. Fantastic piece

and where to find them. I know a lot of people

had some troubles with more so the ending and

maybe the villain, but... I didn't have any problem

with that at all. I actually had heard the rumor

that... Johnny Depp was supposed to be in it

and I wasn't sure what his role was going to

be and then when you see what his role is, I

thought it was very cool. Alright, so Harry Potter

finding some more love in your world. I like

it. So you're excited for future chapters in

this story? Yeah, definitely. My number two,

let's go as far from fantasy as we possibly can,

I guess, with this shift from the Fantastic Beasts

and where to find them to something quite the

opposite. Man, a lot of people are praising this

one, so I'm not going to be alone in this camp,

but my number two is going to be Manchester by

the Sea. Casey Affleck, tour de force in this

one. But man, this one... You know you're getting

involved in some tragic storyline when you're

seeing the previews and the trailers, et cetera,

and you're getting ready to watch this film.

Nothing can prepare you for what you actually

do see during the course of Manchester by the

Sea, though, and the performances are so authentic.

The direction choices and the dialogue are so

... There's nothing Hollywood necessarily about

this film. It's all just realistic, authentic,

and I think that works so well. The performances

are amazing. good performance by Michelle Williams

in a limited role, but Casey Affleck's really

the heart and soul of this whole experience.

And again, just another, maybe that's the theme.

I mean, we've talked about coming of age and

we've talked about thrillers and some things

like that, but so many movies this year where

you try to put yourself in the situation that

these individuals are going through and try to

figure out how you would cope with it or how

you would act. And I think another hidden gem

of this film is the way that they're somehow

able to string in some of the more humorous moments

or pieces of dialogue or things like that that

aren't forced but are just enough to allow you

to survive watching this whole film, just enough

to break up some of the absolute extreme emotional

stress. But I mean, if you think about this year

overall, some of the situations that characters

in these films have been put in, are just so

hard to wrap your head around. And this is a

prime example of that. I think we can make a

whole list just of those types of situations.

And I don't know, this one resonated a lot as

far as the emotional pull, but it was also still

something I think you can call entertaining or

at least transfixing as you're watching it. I

mean, he's depicted obviously as a simple, you

know, janitor for apartment building complex

or, you know, different properties, et cetera.

And just right from that, just the humor and

the authenticity that they're able to put just

from those scenes, let alone what happens when

we get involved with knowing more of his family,

is why this film didn't just resonate for me.

It resonated with a lot of people. It's getting

all kinds of award buzz, et cetera, on a lot

of people's lists, and it's justified because

Manchester by the Sea was easily. one of the

best films to come out this year. It's my number

two. Dan, what do you have in your number two?

Yeah, another one I should have mentioned that

I have not come up with. The ever growing list,

of course. My number two is, I'm loving the fact

that we can get smart science fiction still.

And my number two is Arrival. Last year, Denis

Villeneuve, can't say the name. Dennis V, as

we like to call him, gave us Sicario, which was

a great crime thriller, and Arrival was showing

he can go into pretty much any genre, really.

To me, it's brilliant. It shows that Hollywood's

still capable of making big movies with big ideas,

and he trades in the traditional alien explosion

for this really methodically paced narrative

that... kind of gets into the complexity of communication,

humanity's ability to save itself as well as

destroy itself. But I think really my feeling

towards the film kind of escalated sharply with

its ending. Not that its ending was surprising

or this great twist, and I guess you could say

it was, but it was more about what its ending

said and what it was kind of thematically exploring,

really about that idea of love and loss. as the

saying goes, it's better to love than and loss

and to not love at all. And I think it kind of

does that to the extreme without getting anything

away. And I thought it was just, I don't know,

I thought it was a beautiful sentiment to kind

of come out of nowhere really, but in some ways

kind of be building towards that through the

entire film. So Amy Adams is Easily one of the

best actresses of the year. I don't know if this

is one of her best performances ever It's great.

I thought she was great in this and external

animals She's pretty much great and everything

she does but I was this movie has Again cliche

to say but it stuck with me a lot because of

that last 15 minutes or so So it's I ended up

loving it. So it's my number two I don't think

it is how much of a Twist it is if you can see

it coming if you couldn't see it coming if you

could guess or not I don't think that has anything

to do with anything So that's why sometimes you

hear that, oh, the big reveal or the big twist,

it might throw the wrong idea there. It's not

about that, like you're saying. It's more about

what that's saying to the overall film and the

message that they're portraying and getting to.

And I'm in big time agreement. It's my number

11, so I just missed out. And I don't know maybe

if I rewatched a few of these, if they would

shuffle a little bit, but I... I think it's easily

the best science fiction film of the year and

I agree with everything you said. There's a lot

to love about Arrival and the choices that Denis

Villeneuve makes in this film just continue to

elevate him as one of the best directors in the

business today. So I don't think it's a shock

to anybody that a lot of us are looking forward

to every film that he puts out from here on out.

So great stuff about Arrival. That means it's

drum roll time. It's time for everybody's number

one pick of 2016. Matt, what do you have? My

number one, I don't think it was mentioned at

all, is obviously Rogue One. Now, it had to be

Rogue One and Star Wars. That's how I roll. I've

invested my entire life in this franchise. That

said, I am aware that it has problems. The problems

aren't nearly as big as the internet wants you

to think they are. It's a good movie. It's a

fun movie. I actually, the guy who I was into

Star Wars, the guy who got me into Star Wars

as more than just three movies as a child, says

it might be his favorite one. I don't agree with

that. It has some issues, but I do think it's

amazing. I think, like, heck, man, it's better

than the Ewok adventures, it's better than Clone

Wars. As far as non -episodic ones go, it's number

one out of four. Like, you can't beat that. Other

than number one out of five, I guess. Like, it's

good, it's solid, and I loved it, and I can't

wait for the next one, and the next one, and

the next one. Yes, Matt. It was my number four,

so it has been mentioned already, sir. That was

a joke. You don't even listen to me, Matt. You

don't even care about my list. No, I heard you.

You said you were disappointed with Suicide Squad.

This is the happiest I've been on a call. Matt,

where would you rank Rogue One? Oh, man. That's

the thing I've been struggling with the most.

I think... I've only seen it twice. I want to

see it a couple more times, but above the prequels...

Like if we're doing just canonical ones, it would

be above the prequels, below whatever one is

right above it, which is either going to be A

New Hope or Return of the Jedi. I'm not sure

about those two. Those two kind of fluctuate.

So like right in this dead center, I guess. I

also don't understand the argument that some

people made that this was boring or not entertaining.

I don't. get that at all me so i mean i get i

can get getting lost the beginning because it

says it's just like two seconds jump two seconds

jump but by about 20 minutes in like it's not

like there's it's unusual or there's things that

are gonna like it's way more straightforward

than fucking doctor strange like how many different

terms and phrases and alternate realities you

need to remember and no one complained at the

end of that one that i saw i mean i'm not like

trudging through all the reviews, but I didn't

see any complaints about that. This one makes

way more sense than that one, and it's still,

I don't know, it's fun. Yeah, see, I can understand

some of the critiques and some of the complaints,

but for a Star Wars fan or for a fan of this

universe to call it boring is mind -boggling

to me, so I've heard that from more than one

person. But I would rank this one much higher,

but I always try to handicap my Star Wars rankings

because I can't separate my fandom. From from

anything so it is probably one of my it was probably

my favorite experience in the movie theater all

year But I discounted it a bunch to try to make

it more Plus, I don't know to let my fandom less

interfere So I love that we're talking about

it a couple different times It was a great experience

way better than I thought it was gonna be and

my initial reaction was that it was like the

number three Best Star Wars film I'd ever seen

I don't know I'm still grappling with that and

it might be bumped down a couple spots into like

the number five range but I think it's great

and I think if you are a fan of this universe,

you should allow yourself to have fun and enjoy

it. Amanda, you're number one. I recently mentioned,

but this movie destroyed me really in a lot of

ways. I think about it so much even still. We

watched it not too long ago, but way longer.

It stuck with me way longer than I think any

movie has in a long time, and that's Manchester

by the Sea. Definitely did not think I was going

to enjoy the film going into it. I had seen the

previews but really didn't see much of it that

I thought was really striking. But getting into

the film, I was really immediately vested in

Casey Affleck's character and You see the the

clip of him in the the trailer and you see him

as one one person very animated and personable

and then you cut him in the present and he's

a very very different man and he's he's really

just a normal guy and some really really awful

things have happened in his life and it really

turned him into somebody who was completely different

than the man that he was before the tragedy happened

and I was not prepared for the level of tragedy

in this film whatsoever because you get no inclination

of that from the previews. You know that there's

going to be some level of tragedy in there and

some heartache based on what you get from the

preview but that doesn't even really scratch

the surface of what you get into and and the

things that transpire that you see and these

kind of flashback scenes and You see him dealing

with these things and these things happening

to him in these flashback scenes and then you

see the man that he is in the present and the

things that he's dealing with and things that

he's having to to face that he hasn't had to

face in a long time and It really really moved

me and it was awful to see but it was something

I'm crying about it now, but it was something

that like I think about all the time and I really

can't recommend enough All right. Well, let's

stop there But obviously in agreement I headed

at number two you have it at number one. It's

a emotionally moving and I don't know it's Something

you just have to experience and then figure out

how you feel about it afterwards. I think so.

All right That leads me to my number one and

if we're not as already emotionally Scarred enough.

Let me see if I can join you in your tears But

I I was happy with my top ten going into this

last two weeks Regardless of if anything cracked

it. I mean I was trying to watch a whole bunch

of different films to see if something would

crack in there and take one of the spots. I was

not expecting for something to come in and take

the number one spot, but that is by far what

happened. It ran away with number one. It's not

even close for me. As much as I love Manchester

by the Sea and as much as moving as that was,

this one hit me on a different level. So for

my number one, I will go with the most recent

watch to the theater, and that would be A Monster

Calls. I did fib on our last episode, because

one of my categories for movie awards was vocal

performance, and I gave it to James Earl Jones

for Darth Vader, I think. No, it's Liam Neeson

in A Monster Calls, and it's not even close.

He's the best vocal performance, not only this

year, but maybe of the last three to five years

in a film. The stuff that Liam Neeson was able

to do in this role was freaking amazing. It just

shows, I think we forget sometimes, or some people,

maybe the general audiences forget. the caliber

of an actor that Liam Neeson is because we get

all wrapped up in the Takens and the action films

and this that and the other but this this guy

has another level when when he gets the opportunity

and That's just part of the film man. I don't

know how to describe this. I mean it's it's emotional

on another level for me, maybe then it would

be for some because of first -hand experience

to what's being depicted in here where you have

a a younger child who is observing a parent,

you know, suffer and die of cancer. So I mean,

I can relate to that firsthand. So that spoke

to me a lot. I wish this film would have existed

when I was dealing with that or maybe shortly

after I dealt with that or something to maybe

help me come to terms with what was going on.

talk about child performances. I mean, here's

another one that may be the best out of all of

them. I mean, the performance by this young child

is phenomenal in here. Felicity Jones is phenomenal.

Sigourney Weaver somehow even amongst all that

is fantastic. I think the way that they The way

that they artistically choose to depict what's

going on here from a visual standpoint and how

the quote -unquote monster looks to the watercolor

animation style that they go when they tell these

different stories that they're telling, it just

all works together so well. And I don't know,

I don't want to get into far to it because I'll...

do exactly what Amanda just did and start to

break down a little bit. But there's not many

movies that can make me well up or have an effect

emotionally on me, unfortunately, and this one

did in spades. There's so many different moments

that are emotional, but it's not, it doesn't,

it's not doing it to try to elicit your emotions.

It's not, it's not. Choosing its punches on we're

gonna make you feel emotional here or we're gonna

make you emotional here it's doing it in a much

more natural state which is very appreciated

and it's just the moments are allowed to happen

and you can react to them or not and there's

a couple of them that are just Cut punches beyond

belief. So I Haven't seen a film that has affected

me like this one has in a long time. So it and

that's indirect with what we were just talking

about with Manchester by the Sea, which is just

as equal as traumatizing, but for me, A Monster

Calls was just slightly on a different level,

probably just from a personal attachment, but

that is my number one A Monster Calls. Amanda,

you want to say anything about A Monster Calls?

Oh, because I probably start crying again. Like,

we were out of the theater and driving home and

we started talking about it, and I started crying

again just like talking about it because it was,

yeah, it was definitely a... an emotional ride

down a path that it sticks with you for a while.

All right. Dan, what do you have for your number

one film of 2016? All right. Well, I feel kind

of bad because my number one is nowhere near

that deep by any means. So this is the first

time that things ever happened to me where my

number one halfway through the year remained

my number one to the very end. which is a first,

I think. I've come close a few times, but never

to this extent. But my number one is Your Roast

Glance, the most kind of oddball, satirical,

super dry comedy, The Lobster. It's this story

of this kind of alternate slash future world

where basically people are forced to pair up

and get married or turn into the animal of their

choice. And it's kind of a weird concept. wholly

original and very much like everything he's done

up to this point. why it works for me is because

it hits on so many different levels. On the comedic

standpoint, just the utter dedication to the

tone of this movie I found extremely impressive.

Like you needed actors that would all be able

to kind of dedicate themselves to execute it

on the specific level because it's a really hard

type of style to pull off, but everyone did.

John C. Reilly, Colin Farrell, which I would

say I gained new respect for him as an actor

in... and even his ability to be a comedian.

I was rather impressed with his skills. Obviously,

it says a lot about marriage and the way we treat

relationships, but I think in the second half

of the film, which I know a lot of people aren't

as big of fans of, what I love about it, it expands

that out to show that it's not really just simply

about marriage or not a relationship, but I think

you can... Look at it at a greater context just

regarding how people tend to place themselves

into these different categories these different

subcultures these different And within those

cultures kind of creating a hierarchy of roles

that sometimes make sense sometimes don't but

then to kind of look at those outside of that

group as The enemy or the one who will ultimately

be destruction upon you and the way you want

to live your life And I think No Message probably

is more potent for 2016 than that, considering

just the landscape of the world we live in. So

I think it ends up being a very timely film as

well. So I look at it for all those different

reasons. I think it's got a lot to say, like

I said, and it's... I like Dog Tooth a lot, Alps,

I wasn't a huge fan of, but The Lobster to me,

I just found it to be the most original film

I've seen in some time. I know it's not for everyone,

because it's kind of odd and maybe a little off

-putting, but it kind of just hit me in that

sweet spot, so it ended up being my number one

of the year. I hated this one. In once upon a

time when it was brought up on social media I

did not actually hate this film, but it is one

that I need to rewatch because I've missed the

ending So I need to rewatch this one it unique

is a great word for it I think there is a lot

of humor there and definitely has a unique perspective

and a lot of social commentary So I need to give

this one another shot. I do have it in my I think

top 40 right now But it would probably fly up

if I if I got another shot and it was actually

able to finish it and watch the ending and see

how it all kind of came together. Amanda, you

saw the lobster. What was your opinion on that

one? I was actually pretty excited to watch it

because it was such a unique premise that it

was really intriguing. But then getting into

it, I think a lot of the dialogue and things

and their interactions kind of weirded me out

because it was so awkward that it was like painful

at some points and like the way that people like

spoke to each other it was almost like a Ben

Stein all the time like there wasn't a lot of

emotion up or down like it was kind of flat and

it got to the point where I was just like geez

like it's like a bunch of autonomous like robots

just talking to each other and it kind of got

to me it was a little bit grating and some of

the Especially how they gave you sex and things.

I don't know, it was a little odd to me. It wasn't

an intimate, romantic thing. It was almost like

an obligation. It was a little weird. I don't

know, I wasn't a big fan. Debate and delve into

a little bit and dissect for yourself or or you

know with somebody else I think there's a lot

to discuss with the lobster Dan. We want to go

through any of the honorable mentions or films

that just Just missed getting in your top ten

real quickly Sure, so I'll just go through like

my 11 to 20 real quick. So 11 I had an internal

animals I was I really wanted to find a spot

for that, but I couldn't how hard how hard Hell

or high water as Kevin mentioned probably, you

know, maybe best crime film of the year I don't

know a lot like there Sing Street another coming

-of -age film I Forgotten when I said Zootopia

was the second best animated film this one I

recently watched and may actually put ahead of

it and it's the little prince which I was I kind

of just do that on not thinking much of it and

that's Quite the movie. I think both of us would

agree with you on that. And I also just forgot

about that when I was talking about art, because

I was thinking just big budget or theater visits.

But Amanda and I both had Little Prince probably

as our number two. I don't want to speak for

her, but we put that on the same type of thing.

I'd been wanting to watch it for a while because

I'd heard about it and we put it on. And that

did some amazing both visual, voice work, and

just all the storytelling all the way across.

I was very impressed with that. Yeah, yeah 15

the witch then Civil War everybody wants um,

although I was disappointed with Jeff Nichols

midnight special I was that kind of washed away

because I loved loving that he did this year

Which I kind of forgot was coming out until recently

and I enjoyed that a lot Joel Edgerton and I

forget the address his name apologize, but both

were fantastic Yeah, and lastly for number 20

Morris from America. I just, I love that movie.

I got another coming of age movie. Craig Robinson

and the actor was just an amazing dad in that

movie. And I just love that relationship that

they had with his co -star. It was Marquis Christmas.

Again, similar to that of hunter -wilder people,

he's not necessarily giving you this powerhouse

emotional performance, but he just seems like

a real kid in a kind of crazy situation. Absolutely.

I had that one fairly high, too. Just going through

my 11 through 20 quickly, I had Arrival at 11,

then I had Loving at number 12, definitely the

better of the two Jeff Nichols films this year.

Rogue One, a Star Wars story I'll throw in there,

even though it probably would be higher on a

personal favorite list. I'm not going to stop

championing the film Remember, even though I

guess it had a very brief ... festival release

in 2015, but Christopher Plummer is amazing and

I just like that film a lot more than anybody

else did, so I'll keep championing that. Captain

America Civil War, The Light Between Oceans,

like Amanda had. The response was Army Man making

it into my top 20 just for complete bizarre and

uniqueness and some stuff to kind of delve into

with that one. Sing Street I also had in my top

20 Magnificent Seven eeked in there as well as

the girl on the train. So a lot of them that

you guys had brought up. Amanda, what about any

that just missed your list? Quite a few of my

11 through 20 have already been brought up, so

I'll just touch on the ones that haven't. Passengers,

I really, really enjoyed. A little bit predictable,

but I still saw it. It was kind of a unique story.

The Conjuring, too, I thought was pretty freaking

solid. Sully, I enjoyed that a lot more than

I thought I did, and it was a great telling of

that story. Don't say it. And I will. Batman

versus Superman is definitely... on here a little

bit. I enjoyed it. I don't care what anybody

else didn't. Matt, you're still a boy, but I

freaking loved it. Not enough for the top 10,

though, so don't freak out. But also Lights Out,

super awesome horror movie with some great shots

in it. All right. Matt, what two films just missed

your list? Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

The only other two that and that was the that

was the journey was to try to make sure that

those didn't make your top ten so we Accomplished

that seriously considered making rogue one on

there twice because I saw it twice in theaters

But I luckily managed to get the day off of work

and took that time to watch two more movies I

like the dedication to make sure that those were

not on your list. Alright, so those are all of

our favorite films of the year, minus obviously

some of those that we said that we just haven't

quite caught up with yet. You're going to have

to let us know what you think of our picks. Which

cinema geek do you most line up with? And overall,

what was your favorite film of 2016? Those are

the two things that we want to know. So go to

the website geekcastradio .com. Find this episode

post and click on the comments section there

and let us know which one you lined up with.

What was your number one? If you don't want to

go to the website, then... Go ahead and shoot

us a tweet. We're at Cinema Geekcast and we will

all get that and we get the notifications for

that, all four of us, and any of us can respond

to that. So we would love to hear what your take

is on that. If you want to individually comment

to what somebody said during one of the reveals

or further a discussion with any of us individually,

you can do that as well on Twitter. Amanda, how

would somebody keep the discussion going with

you? At Hard Candy Mandy, eyes no wise. Dan,

what's your Twitter? And move a revolt. Matt,

how about you? I am at Fridley Sen. And I am

at Optimus Solo. Like we teased last week, don't

stop listening because we got some more fun episodes

coming up as we kind of turn the page to 2017.

Next week, we'll be doing our box office predictions,

which will start with a look back at the box

office predictions from 2015. And I am ecstatic

to go over that because I have all of it. all

the work. I have all of our picks and how they

turned out and I can't wait to see your guys'

reaction when we go over that, as well as obviously

make our box office predictions for 2017. Two

weeks out, we have our most anticipated films

of 2017, which is by far my favorite record of

the year, I think. So that's what we have coming

up next. Let us know what you think about all

these episodes and what you'd like to see us

change or keep the same as we also get back into

our other series once we round out the 2016 -2017

preview and we'll get back to some more video

game film talk. even though it might be begrudgingly.

And on a more happy note, we will get back into

the Hayao Miyazaki spotlight, as well as continuing

our trek to reveal our top 100 personal favorite

films of all time. We're about at the halfway

mark with that. So lots of content coming up

in the beginning of the year while you go through

the doldrums of January and February theater

films. But until next time, this has been The

Cinema Geeks.