While 2016 certainly had its fair share of disappointments, to only look at those would be to miss all of the greatness that we saw this past year in cinema. There were plenty of amazing performances, outstanding set pieces, incredible direction, sinister villains, and unforgettable songs. If you saw a lot of movies in 2016, what you saw was an embarrassment of riches, and it took some debate between Matt Goldberg and Brian Formo to figure out who deserved to be crowned “the best” in various categories.
So without further ado, let’s get to the best performances, villains, and more of 2016!
Best Director
Moonlightis a delicate film that could’ve easily been overwrought, following a young black Miami boy into manhood as he continues to struggle to form his sexual identity. Instead of having the big telegraphed scenes,Barry Jenkinsfavors secondary bits of dialogue to fill in the community’s narrative of funerals and prison sentences that are uttered like it’s just a natural progression. Instead of letting the great Mahershala Ali overtake the film with his beguiling presence as a neighborhood drug dealer who gives a safe space to Chiron, Jenkins lets us see the characters pain from his absence. And in the third act, Jenkins doesn’t give us an easy solution but instead we see two bodies that have carried the burden of self-denial for far too long.
Trusting to keep his asides wrapped up in silent observations is what puts Jenkins atop our list in a very impressive year for the above mentioned directors who gave us a splashy and heartfelt musical (Chazelle), cerebral sci-fi (Villeneueve) and two tonally different traumatic character studies (Verhoeven and Longergan).— Brian Formo
Best Actor
Denzel Washingtonis explosive inFences, a film about the echoes of slavery and oppression turn into anger at structural limitations placed on African Americans; it’s completely necessary for now, despite the stilted still-a-play-like presentation of August Wilson’s work. Washington’s Roy gives tough love to his sons in a way that shows his toughness is on their pursuit of a life that he would’ve loved to have but never had available to him. This is one of those performances that Washington, after playing Roy on Broadway and winning a Tony, feels in his very foundation.
A strong foundation of conviction is indicative of our lead actor runner-ups, from Affleck’s conviction that he deserves no redemption, or Gosling’s conviction that jazz still has an audience, to Garfield’s conviction of his own faith and Farrell’s conviction in quiet rebellion against anyone’s rules against his heart.— Brian Formo
Best Actress
While Paramount may be submitting Davis in the Best Supporting Actress category (where she’ll surely win), we see her turn in Fences as a lead, and one that’s absolutely essential to the film’s success. If Washington brings the film’s angry mind and outrage, Davis’ performance as Rose is the movie’s heart. The film shows two people who have been dealt a bad hand, and while Troy chooses to rage against the world and everyone in it for his misfortunate, Rose greets her bad breaks with resolve and compassion. She’s not a doormat, but she’s the tempered resilience that that makesFencesan oddly uplifting story rather than a bitter manifesto.
Of course, this year’s Best Actress race isn’t hurting for strong performances. Emma Stone and Natalie Portman are both at the top of their games in their respective movies, while Adams is a true marvel inArrival(you have to see the film twice to appreciate just how brilliant her performance is). And while it didn’t get much of an audience, you’d be missing out if you didn’t see Hall’s stunning turn inChristine. –Matt Goldberg
Best Supporting Actor
“Tom Who?” you might be asking, but you’re probably asking that because you haven’t seenLove & Friendshipyet. While Whit Stillman’s latest film has a collection of strong performances, Bennett is the true scene stealer that comes out of nowhere to create a memorable moron for the ages. His turn as the lovably dim-witted Sir James Martin had us roaring with laughter every time he came on screen, and in a just world where the Academy was more appreciative of a comic performances, he would be a shoo-in for a nomination. Sadly, he’ll likely be overlooked when nominations are announced, but Bennett is an actor you should absolutely keep your eye on.
There wasn’t a shortage of strong supporting actor performances this year. Alden Ehrenreich stood out among a murderer’s row of acting talent inHail, Caesar!, John Goodman’s villainous turn in10 Cloverfield Laneunnerves us just thinking about it, Ryan Gosling deserves recognition just for the scene where he discovers the dead body inThe Nice Guys, and Michael Shannon capped off another outstanding year with his gritty turn inNocturnal Animals. –Matt Goldberg
Best Supporting Actress
Naomie Harrisis the only member of theMoonlightcast who gets to act in all three sections of the film, opposite boy Chiron, teen Chiron and adult Chiron. Shockingly, Harris only had three days to shoot her role with all the different Chirons. As Chiron attempts to finally start his own story, it’s apparent that Harris’ struggling, then terrorizing single mother to former crack addict gets the most complete character arc of this tender film. And Harris miraculously earns Paula’s redemption. It might’ve only been three days on set, but Harris is able to make each life transition feel entirely real.
Our other best supporting actress selections are announcements of great new talent who should become bonafide movie stars ASAP (McKinnon, Kim and Monae) and a touching dramatic performance from a favoriteSaturday Night Livealum (Shannon).— Brian Formo
Best Villain
Goodman has played his fair share of antagonists over the course of his impressive career, but his performance as Howard in10 Cloverfield Lanewill likely go down as his most unnerving. Goodman masterfully uses both his restraint and his physicality to keep us constantly on edge. There’s a gentleness to Howard that puts at oddly at ease, but it’s just a feint before he explodes with rage. Another part of what makes him so compelling is that he’s wrong, but he’s also right. There’s no question that Howard is a monster, but he’s a monster with a bomb shelter. It’s a fascinating conflict, and Goodman expertly plays to our conflicting sympathies.
This year’s other great baddies included Patrick Stewart’s sinister turn as a neo-Nazi inGreen Room, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s grotesque redneck inNocturnal Animals, and the real-life villain Timothy Spall played inDenial. We’d also be remiss if we neglected to mention everyone’s favorite evil goat, Black Phillip. –Matt Goldberg
Breakthrough Performance
How big of a breakout was Ehrenreich inHail, Caesar? Big enough to get him the role of Han Solo in the Han Solo spinoff movie. That’s not to say that Ehrenreich didn’t have to give strong auditions for the part, but his tremendous turn in the Coen Brothers’ film definitely put him on people’s radars in a big way. Ehrenreich’s performance as Hobie Doyle made him the heart of a movie about a heartless industry, and you can’t help but root for the guy every time he’s on screen.
But I wouldn’t be surprised to see our runners-up having big careers in the future. Taylor-Joy already has a lead role in M. Night Shyamalan’sSplit, Trevant Rhodes is impossible to ignore if you’ve seenMoonlight, Hayden Szeto needs to be a romantic leading man in everything, and Lucas Hedges’ should probably be alright considering he’s likely to land a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. –Matt Goldberg
A Very Good Year
Isabelle Huppertis already one of the best actresses of all time, but she sure had a career year in 2016. Both her characters inElleandThings to Comeare delivered major traumatic events (a home invasion rape and a mother’s death inElleand a dissolved three-decade marriage and a mother’s death inThings to Come) and both characters react to that trauma in very interesting and character distinct ways. The two films are so different in tone and character strengths that they’d make a pretty remarkable double feature of how Huppert is able to make a character’s reaction to a life-stopping event and make us believe that, yes, Michele’s cold and sterile reaction to rape makes perfect sense for Michele, even if it’s not what you’d wish her character to do. Similarly, her shift toward comfort in being alone inThings to Come, feels like a quiet revolution in comparison to her former philosophy student’s more grave revolution. And it makes sense for where she is in her life.
Huppert gets the edge here for making entirely different characters from impenetrable to self-assured in stories where the entire success from the film depends on whether you believe her reactions. And we do. But big hats off to Adams’ embrace of genre, via the cerebral sci-fi ofArrivaland the pulpyNocturnal Animalsand the trio of charming gents, Ali, Gosling and Jenner who completely won us over with their personal codes of masculinity.— Brian Formo
Best Action Scene
The centerpiece airport fight inCaptain America: Civil Wargets top placement not just for expertly keeping track of all the Avengers who’re battling but also for giving each member of Team Cap and Team Iron Man a signature moment. And even though there is some comic relief via Ant-Man and Spider-Man, the Russo Brothers balance the levity by using this battle to set up Marvel’s Phase 3 with three tragic turns: Rhodey’s crash, Black Widow’s defection and of course the fallout between Captain America and Iron-Man.
Marvel properties had an extraordinary year in action, withDoctor Strangeproviding a whole different kaleidoscopic look to complement the action,Apocaylpseadded to the amazing centerpiece actioners in theX-Menuniverse, but 2016’s action highlights weren’t all superheroes, as Peter Berg and Mel Gibson found bravery amidst true horrors in oil spills and a bloody WWII battle in Japan.— Brian Formo
One of best movie memories of 2016 is seeing the “Drive It Like You Stole It” scene inSing Streetat Sundance. One of my least favorite memories is having the song stuck in my head for four months as I kept waiting for the soundtrack to be released. While it’s not surprising that a John Carney movie has great music,Sing Streethas an abundance of great songs with “Drive It Like You Stole It” being best among them. It’s just so effervescent and upbeat that you can’t help but bop along with it.
While not every year is packed with great songs, 2016 is an exception and we got the heartbreaking “Audition” fromLa La Land, Dwayne Johnson being surprisingly great at singing with “You’re Welcome”, the hilarious “Equal Rights” fromPopstar, and the it’s-a-pop-hit-for-a-reason “Can’t Stop the Feeling” fromTrolls. –Matt Goldberg
