Top 5 Movies that Were Released in 2016

Happy New Year, everybody! Now that 2016 is officially over, I have decided to release a list of my five favorite movies that were released this year. Now, I have not seen every movie that came out this year (thank God) and I have yet to see a few that I wanted to see because I decided to wait for the home media releases of those films. So this list is only for movies that were released in 2016 that I actually watched in theaters. With that disclaimer out of the way, here are my top five favorite movies from 2016. (Side note: Read to the end for an important announcement.)

#5: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
I was really excited for this movie, but I left the theater feeling disappointed. This was due to the fact that I found the movie predictable. Half an hour into the movie, I knew exactly how the rest of the movie was going to go down. That's just bad storytelling. I should not walk away from a movie and feel like the movie didn't have more than one draft. To add insult to injury, we now know that there was enough alternate footage that the film could have been completely different. I only know a little bit of what could have been different, but from what I've heard, I'm not convinced the executives at Lucasfilm and Disney made the right decisions with regards to what to keep and what to leave out. There could have been so much more depth to this movie, but instead it was just a cookie cutter story that I could have written when I was ten. Enough about the story, though. Why is this in my top five? Because it was fun to watch. It was genuinely suspenseful, even though that suspense was building up to predictable results. The cast did a great job with their performances, and the action is some of the best to be found in a Star Wars movie. However, I cannot excuse the predictable storyline, and so this goes at the bottom of my list.


#4: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - The Ultimate Edition
I'll be more brief going forward because I have already reviewed the other four films on this list. I enjoyed the theatrical release of this film, but I had to watch it twice in order to understand what was going on. However, the Ultimate Edition - which added 30 minutes to the film's run time - was so much smoother in terms of flow and it resolved several plot holes that were present in the original version. Is this a perfect film? No, it isn't. Is it (for the most part) well-made? Yes, it is.


#3: Arrival
I was genuinely surprised by this film. I had seen a video on Youtube where someone was talking about that film and saying how excited they were about it, so I went and watched the trailer. I decided to give it a shot, and boy am I glad I did. While it is quite brainy and told in a non-linear fashion, it is quite original in its take on the popular "aliens come to Earth" story. Don't watch this one if you just want to passively watch a movie, but if you are willing to put your thinking cap on, this is one of the best movies to be released in 2016.


#2: Jason Bourne
I had finally gotten around to watching the first four Bourne films at the end of 2015, and I was really excited to see that a fifth was coming out the following year. I was even more excited for it when the first trailer dropped during the Super Bowl. And it did not disappoint. As I said in my review of the film, it is an interesting character study into why Jason Bourne is Jason Bourne. It had depth that none of the others had, and it is definitely my favorite film in the series.


#1: Captain America: Civil War
Not only is this my favorite film from last year, this is my favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Russo Brothers had quite challenge when making this movie because they had to juggle a large returning cast and introduce several new characters. But they absolutely nailed it, topping what Joss Whedon managed to do with Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film hits all the right emotional beats, the pacing flows well, and the film looks amazing visually. I could go on, but suffice it to say that this film does the superhero vs. superhero story better than BvS, while also being a good thriller. And for that, it ranks at the top of my list.


Obviously, this is all based on personal preference. That being said, I would love to know what your favorite movies from 2016 were, so feel free to let me know on Twitter (tweet me @chadsmovies) or in the comments to this article.

Before you go, I have some good news, and I have some bad news. The bad news is that this will be my last post on this blog. For various reasons, I have decided that maintaining this blog is not the best use of my time, so I will be leaving the blog up so you can still see my old posts, but I will not be continuing to write posts on it. The good news is that I will still be releasing movie-related material on my Youtube channel. If that sounds like something you might be interested in, you can subscribe to my channel here. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully read this blog, and I look forward to seeing all of you over on Youtube.

The "Star Wars" Movies, Ranked

With the impending release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and since I did something similar for the Marvel movies back when Captain America: Civil War came out, I thought it would be appropriate to put out my list ranking all of the Star Wars films. In order to qualify for this list, the film must be a theatrically released, canon film in the Star Wars franchise. Therefore, to paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, that little business of the Star Wars Holiday Special doesn't count (though if it did, it was most surely be on the bottom of the list). Also, please note that I do love all of the Star Wars movies (yes, including the prequels), so in a handful of cases, I have given the film its ranking simply because I enjoy watching just a little more than the film the preceded it on the list. Alright, now that we've established all of that, let's dive into the list.

#8: Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Despite a few hacks I discovered that make this film more watchable, this is still by far the weakest film in the franchise. The main problems are George Lucas's poor directing and the poor choices that were made with regards to how Anakin and Padme's love story was handled (for example, in post-production, some scenes that would have helped the storyline work better were cut for time, while scenes that didn't work as well were left in). I do still like some aspects of the film, such as the action scenes, the scene where Anakin is briefly reunited with his mother, and the storyline that sees Obi-Wan Kenobi trying to track down an assassin. Ultimately though, none of these elements are good enough to save this film from ranking at the bottom of this list.

#7: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

A lot of people forget about the existence of this film, and that's probably because it's basically a theatrically-release pilot for the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series that aired on Cartoon Network and Netflix. Despite its underwhelming storyline, the film is a fun ride and effectively introduces us to new characters like Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress. Also, the animation is beautiful. Therefore, the film ranks at number seven.

#6: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Or as many fans like to call it: "Help! Jar Jar Binks! Everybody run!" To which my reaction is: "Seriously? You're going to hate on a fun movie over the presence of one character?" Sure, he's basically just comic relief and does nothing useful for most of the movie, but the same could be said of C-3PO for a lot of his screen time in the original trilogy. The only real difference between the two is that Jar Jar is clumsier, has a weird voice that most people would call annoying, and is poorly animated. So, now we're deciding whether or not we like someone based on the sound of their voice and how they look? If you did that in real life to a real person, that would be called bullying. But since it's a fictional character it's OK, right? Wrong. People still get hurt. You can find a video of an interview with Ahmed Best (who played Jar Jar) in which he says that he feels bad because he feels like he single handedly ruined Star Wars for everybody. Wait, when did this article become a defense of Jar Jar? Anyway, despite its bad CGI (which can be forgiven given the time it was made and the sheer ambition of what Lucas was trying to do with CGI technology), the film is fun prologue to the rest of the saga films that does a good job of setting up the world, our hero (Anakin Skywalker) and our villain (Palpatine). It's a fun movie, so it ranks number six on this list. SIDE NOTE: Stop bashing Jar Jar. He doesn't deserve this much hate, and it hurts Ahmed Best's feelings.

#5: Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

Yes, I did put the original Star Wars film right in the middle of the list. But hear me out. Despite all of the nostalgia we all feel for it, I think we can all admit that when you take all of the original trilogy films together, this is the weakest one of the bunch. The pacing is slower than the other films in the franchise, which isn't a bad thing all by itself. However, this film had to play it safe because there was no way to tell that Star Wars was going to become such a pop culture phenomenon when it first came out. Therefore, the film doesn't take a whole lot of risks and tries its darnedest to end in a way that satisfactorily finishes the story in case no sequels were picked up but that still sets up the possibility of sequels. The end result was a good film that just doesn't impress in the same way the other Star Wars films do. Therefore, I have put it at number five. Please don't kill me.

#4: Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

My only problem with this film is that it tries so hard to disassociate itself from the prequel trilogy that it ends up being a remake of the original Star Wars film. However, it is still a fun movie and it does a good job of bringing Han Solo's storyline full circle for a satisfying conclusion. Plus, I think it does the original film's storyline better than the original film. Therefore, this film ranks just above the original for no other reason than that I like watching it a little more than the original.

#3: Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Now we're getting into the movies that were really hard for me to rank. Honestly, this film and the film I put in second place are tied for second. But, since I can't do that on this list, I had to pick one of them and this one drew the shorter straw. It's a great film, though, and deserves its status as one of the best Star Wars films in the galaxy.

#2: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Basically, I love those Ewoks. In all seriousness, though, this is great movie that does a great job of bringing Anakin Skywalker's story to an emotional end.

#1: Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Yes, this one is a prequel, and no, it is not total crap. This film left the biggest impact on me emotionally of all of the Star Wars films. Anakin's descent into evil is heartbreaking to watch, and on my first viewing, I was literally shaking by the end just because of the emotional intensity of the film. However, despite this intensity, the film ends with a glimmer of hope that one day everything will be made right in the galaxy. In many ways, the film's ending reminds me of Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve plunge humanity into sin, and yet God promises a way of redemption. Besides the impact of the film's ending, the CGI is excellent in this film (most of the time), and the lightsaber duels toward the end have a level of suspense to them that no other Star Wars film has been able to pull off. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Star Wars has a lot of depth to it, and a lot of that depth comes from this installment, and so this films gets the top spot on this list. Again, please don't kill me.

"Arrival" - A Review

This isn't like in the movies.

When alien ships descend upon the Earth without taking any hostile action, Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) are recruited by the United State military to ascertain the aliens' purpose on Earth - and do so in a peaceful manner. Unfortunately, the language barrier between the humans and the aliens is making it difficult to complete that task. So begins the quest of Dr. Banks as she tries to decode the alien language so that communication can be established.

Arrival is not your typical alien disaster movie where the aliens arrive on Earth and start destroying stuff. This is not a film about humanity trying to defend themselves from an alien horde. Instead, this film is about trying to establish peaceful first contact. This gives the film's story a rather original feel. It's not often that you see a movie about two scholars trying to understand a language.

This is all probably making the film sound really boring, but it is not. Though the pacing is a little slow, the film takes full advantage of it. Prolonged sequences of the main characters' first look at and inside the aliens' ship is used to masterful affect, actually instilling a sense of awe in the viewer (unlike a certain Star Trek film that just so happened to be the first one ever made...). Elsewhere, the slow pacing gives the film a grounded feel. As a matter of fact, everything about this film feels really grounded - an uncommon trait amongst sci-fi films. Everything from the dialogue to the visuals to the lighting to the camera work gave the film a very real feel. Throughout the film, I could not shake the feeling that the events that were unfolding in front of me could believably be happening, which is not a feeling that most movies give me. In fact, this may the first film I have ever seen that did so.

On the whole, I thought the writing in this was really good. The story is told in a non-linear fashion, which means you have to be paying attention while watching this film. However, I do not think this detracts from the film. Rather, it enhances the film by adding to its intensity. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on, and by the end everything is very clearly explained, giving the feeling of a journey being completed. It made the film a very rewarding experience.

In addition to the story, the acting is wonderful. Amy Adams totally nails her character, injecting her character with a perfect combination of nervousness and wonder. Jeremy Renner is fun to watch (as usual) in the supporting role. The chemistry between the two is also excellent. These two actors carry the film, and they do so to perfection.

Before I conclude, I want to mention the score as well. I don't mention film scores in my reviews very often, but this is one of those times when the score deserves some recognition. This is not one of those scores that is in your face throughout the film. Rather, the score is quieter and more subtle. It appropriately sets the tone for each scene and keeps you on edge as you watch the film. Of the film scores I have listened to, it also has the most unique sound, so there's that too.

It is unfortunate that Arrival came out when it did because it came out right in between the new Marvel film (Doctor Strange) and the new Harry Potter film (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). As such, this film will probably go unnoticed by a lot of viewers. I think that is very unfortunate. While I can't speak for Fantastic Beasts because I haven't seen it, I can say for a fact that Arrival is a much better film than Doctor Strange. (Although I can say with a bit of certainty that Arrival is probably better than Fantastic Beasts as well... sorry, Potter fans). I know it's easy to ignore standalone films when big franchise films are out, but please don't cheat yourself on this one. Arrival is a stunning, well-made film that deserves as much recognition (if not more) as the franchise films that are out right now. This film deserves to become a classic. Go see it.

"Doctor Strange" - A Review

Doctor Strange is the fourteenth installment in the film division of what has now become known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or as the fans call it, the MCU). Honestly, it's impressive that Marvel Studios has managed to build such a massive film franchise and have it last for so long. Not only that, but they've managed to crank out consistently good films - with a few exceptions in the beginning (looking at you Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2). However, since then Marvel has been on a roll with their films - until Doctor Strange. That's right, Doctor Strange is the first bad film Marvel has released in a while. And yes, it's worse than Thor: The Dark World.

Don't get me wrong, the film has some stunning visual effects. It's a beautifully made film. However, underneath all of those flashy visuals is a half-baked story and almost no character development. The story is very formulaic. They basically took the basic formula of your typical superhero origin film and did nothing to make it stand out story-wise. That's not to say that the film doesn't stand out. The fact that the film is about a group called the Masters of the Mystic Arts ensures that this film will be at least a little unique from other superhero origin films. But I'm not talking about those kinds of differences. I'm talking about the storyline itself. The storyline is quite simple: arrogant jerk has something bad happen to him, he seeks to repair the damage, and then he becomes a superhero. If that sounds vaguely familiar, that's because it's also the storyline of such superhero origin films as Iron Man, Batman Begins, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The problem is that unlike these three films, Doctor Strange has just the basic plot elements of a superhero origin. The film is like a chicken dish without any sauce or seasoning.

The character development is also atrocious. We don't get to know any of the characters very well, except for Doctor Strange himself and (to a lesser extent) his friend Mordo. But even the way Doctor Strange is set up as a character is pretty shallow. They pretty much just showed him being arrogant and expected us to fill in the blanks by inserting character points from Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes (the version from the BBC's Sherlock series). Though, to be fair, they did a pretty good job of showing is journey from being a Stark/Sherlock mashup to being a hero who is willing to put his life on the line for the people of earth. And Benedict Cumberbatch was (as always) a pleasure to watch as Doctor Strange. Mordo, on the other hand, has an interesting development as a character throughout the film. Unfortunately, we feel nothing either good or bad for where he ends up in the film because we hardly know what he was like before the journey began.

As for all of the other characters, they are sorely underdeveloped. Tilda Swinton's Ancient One is just a boring mentor stereotype with no real development. Her character is an example of how NOT to write a character who is supposed to be mysterious. Swinton's talents were definitely wasted in this movie. Mads Mikkelsen's villainous Kaecilius has literally no character development whatsoever - which is really disappointing because the prelude comics for Doctor Strange set him up as a pretty sympathetic character, and then the movie totally ignored all of that development and did nothing with the character. It was almost like they were expecting you to read the comics in order to understand the character's motives. I shouldn't have to do homework before I go watch a movie. If I do, that's lazy storytelling.

I've been really harsh with this movie thus far. However, unlike what you probably think, I didn't hate it. I thought it was an entertaining movie. It was a lot of fun to watch. But the characters and the story weren't developed well enough, which means that the emotional moments just don't work. There was scene in particular that I mentioned to my friends that I saw the film with. I won't explain it here because it's a major plot point, but this scene was supposed to be really emotional. However, I literally felt nothing when it happened because I didn't care about the characters involved. The film was so focused on looking cool, that it forgot to tell a good story. It's like a painting that is beautiful to look at but does not stay in your memory because it doesn't convey anything.

"Kingdom of Heaven" - A Review

What happens when you are Ridley Scott and you take Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Eva Green, the history of the Second Crusade, and make a movie? You get awesomeness. OK, I'm exaggerating, but you do get Kingdom of Heaven, an historical epic based on true events.

Loosely based on the events surrounding the Muslim siege of Jerusalem during the Second Crusade, Kingdom of Heaven follows Balian de Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) as he joins his father (Liam Neeson) on a crusade in order to atone for his sins and the sins of his deceased wife. Along the way, he deals with political intrigue and a love triangle that all find their culmination at the siege of Jerusalem.

Unlike other modern epics, this film takes its time getting to the epic action scenes. Sure, there are some action scenes earlier on in the film, but they are more like small skirmishes. The reason for this is that the film is more focused on telling the stories of the characters involved than setting up epic fight scenes. In this way, the film flows in the same vein as Charlton Heston's historical epics like Ben-Hur and El Cid, not that that's a bad thing. It's a very good thing as a matter of fact. Considering that many historical war films these days are filled with action scenes, it's nice to see one that is more focused on the characters involved than the war they are fighting.

Another place where the film deserves praise is its excellent handling of the manipulation that was involved in the Crusades. The clergy is often depicted in this film as a manipulative lot; something I normally would not have cared for, but in this case that is how the clergy actually were at the time. Furthermore, we see the manipulation present in the hero's motivations. Balian is fighting in the Crusade to get his wife out of hell and to atone for his own sins. As all true Christians know, only Jesus' atoning work on the cross can do that. But during the time of the Crusades, the church was telling the people that if they went on a crusade, they got a free pass into heaven. It was a gimmick to convince people to help the church accomplish its political goals. And the film deals with this issue, but without dwelling on it or being preachy. It shows rather than tells.

Of course, the film is not without its problems. Since this is a Ridley Scott movie, the violence can be graphic - though the violence presented here is tamer than that which is shown in other Ridley Scott movies like Gladiator. There is also some problematic sexual content (though it can be seamlessly removed via VidAngel's filtering features). It should also be pointed out that this is a loose adaptation of historical events, so not everything depicted is totally accurate. This will undoubtedly frustrate any historians in the audience.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent look at the era of the Crusades. It is an enjoyable epic with great performances, beautiful cinematography, and a sweeping score. It is a shame this film has fallen into obscurity, because it is a great film that is well worth your time.

Note: This blog is in no way associated with VidAngel. I am not being paid to mention them.

"Nacho Libre" - A Review

When you are a monk, sometimes you compete in a wrestling match - just for fun.

All Nacho (Jack Black) wants is to be respected, and he thinks fighting in wrestling matches will earn him the respect he so desires - and possibly win the heart of a nun (Ana de la Reguera). However, he repeatedly loses in the ring. Worse, the crowds love it. Nacho Libre follows Nacho as he works toward becoming a champion so that he will finally get the respect he deserves.

If this all sounds cheesy, that's because it is. But Nacho Libre is one of those movies that is self aware of how cheesy its premise is and runs with it. And the results are hilarious. Jack Black especially deserves credit for injecting most of the humor into this film. His delivery is on-point, making him by far the funniest part of this movie. You might say that he makes the movie.

But just as beneath the man we find his nucleus, beneath all this comedy we find a story with real heart. As the film progresses, Nacho comes to realize how selfish he is being and selflessly chooses to use whatever success he gains to help orphans. Even Nacho's partner Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez) learns something about caring about others.

This is not to say that the film is without its problems. The film doesn't seem to have too much of a problem with deceit. Even when Nacho is caught lying, he is not even rebuked. As a matter of fact, the other characters seem more surprised than angry (except that one guy who gets excited because he "knew it!"). In addition, the film does contain a couple of jokes that parents may not want to expose little ones to.

These problems are not deal breakers, however. They play such a small part in the film that there is no reason that viewers who can discern good from bad can't watch it. It is a very entertaining, funny film with a good message. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you check it out.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" - A Review

What do you get when you combine fantasy film cliches, witty dialogue, CGI, and Ewan McGregor? You get Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer. Bryan Singer is best known as the director of several of the installments in the X-Men film franchise, but here he steps away from the superhero/sci-fi genre to present us with this Princess Bride-esque fantasy film. The premise is simple: a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) runs away and gets stranded in the land of the giants because of a freak accident involving a beanstalk. Now it is up to a witness of the accident named Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a soldier named Elmont (Ewan McGregor), and the princess's fiance (Stanley Tucci) to rescue from being eaten by the giants.

Like I said, this film in many ways is reminiscent of The Princess Bride. It pokes fun of various fantasy film tropes, contains over the top characters, and clever humor. Basically, this is a cheesy movie, but just like The Princess Bride it is cheesy in a good way. The film is well-executed across the board, and it is hilarious.

Arguably the best part of the movie is the performance of Ewan McGregor. He completely nails his character and the dialogue he is given. McGregor pulls off his lines in an overly serious manner that perfectly accentuates the hilarity of his dialogue. In fact, the only crime this movie is really guilty of is not giving Ewan McGregor more screen time (I'm kidding. The movie uses him as much as it possibly can).

The only real bad thing about this movie is the quality of the CGI. However, since the film is not meant to be taken seriously, it could be argued that the CGI is intentionally imperfect. Either way, it does get mildly distracting in a couple of scenes.

In conclusion, this film is hilarious and well done. The cast is great, with Ewan McGregor stealing every scene he is in. Also, Bryan Singer gives us some pretty unique action scenes that are pretty cool. Jack the Giant Slayer is definitely well worth a watch, especially if you are a Princess Bride fan.