Academy Award Reactions

Wow. I think that pretty much sums it up. If you were living under a rock for the past 48 hours than you missed the greatest upset in Oscar history as well as perhaps the most unexpected moments in all of televised award shows. It was quite a night. In an historical moment that few (if any) could have predicted, the night that was all but a coronation for La La Land quickly took a turn and instead chose a different winner: Moonlight. 

The fact that the La La Land producers were already announced the winners before making the realization is somewhat besides the point. Never before in Academy history has an envelope error caused the wrong winner to be announced, and only once before was a presenter given the wrong envelope (Sammy Davis Jr mistakenly received and announced the Best Original Score winner instead of the presented nominees for Adapted Score way back in 1964). That wasn't Best Picture. The perfect marriage of errors on Sunday night seemed all too perfect: that the alleged front-runner was still named Best Picture (it was revealed to be Emma Stone's envelope for Best Actress that Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway received by accident). It was clear that Beatty knew something was wrong, but what were the chances that La La Land would have lost anyways? 

Slim to none...

As long as Oscars have been predicted and going all the way back through Oscar upsets in the past, never has a film won Best Picture without winning either SAG or PGA or DGA or BAFTA or Critic's Choice. Yes, Moonlight won for Drama at the Golden Globes, but it couldn't even muster the strength to win the Ensemble SAG prize from Hidden Figures. How could it possibly win the Oscar?? La La Land had the clear support all year, winning PGA and DGA, sweeping the guild awards and standing unopposed virtually all year. Had Moonlight won anything, perhaps we could have seen it coming. I can't even recall the last time a Best Picture winner strayed so far from BAFTA results, seeing as Moonlight won zero trophies. How did this upset happen?

Evidence points to the Preferential Ballot system which is employed for Best Picture voting, a ranking system where math and averages score each voter's choices ranked 1-9 and then calculates a consensus winner. It's tedious and confusing, but essentially rounds down to the fact that more people had Moonlight ranked higher on their ballots than La La Land. The movie with a record 14 nominations that was expected to win at least 10 Oscars walked away with 6, missing in key categories that were surprises in themselves and began an award ceremony where it was evidence early on that anything could happen. Maybe the backlash against La La Land (which many people brushed aside) proved to be all too real. When a movie gets 14 nominations and is heralded as one of the all-time great films, expectations can prove hard to match. 

We had some tea leaves to go off of, namely the snub of La La Land for Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards (only 1 movie has won the Oscar without this nomination: 1995's Braveheart). This initially cast some doubt on La La Land's chances, but we brushed it off since the film only really had 2 actors. Never again will we doubt. For 2 years in a row the Oscar favorite has lost after being snubbed by SAG (remember last year when the Revenant was our expected winner?). Next year, no matter how popular the film, if it doesn't get SAG, drop it like a hot potato. 

Shocks rained down throughout the night across categories. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ranked 4th on our predictions for Costume Design and yet pulled off an upset that even took Colleen Atwood, the winner, by surprise (a Harry Potter film has never won, and previous indicators showed it to be a close race only between La La Land or Jackie). Even the sound categories were bombshells. Rarely, if ever, does a nominated musical lose Best Sound Mixing, and yet Hacksaw Ridge upset in an early indicator of La La Land's lack of support. In Sound Editing (where Hacksaw Ridge seemed locked), the award instead went to the quieter yet deserving Arrival. We were thrilled to see Arrival not walk away empty-handed, but who could have seen it coming?

The show itself was fun, lively, and Jimmy Kimmel proved a worthy if not traditional host. Whether it was his continuing feud with Matt Damon or his surprise tour bus visitors (Gary from Chicago is a living legend), the show ran extremely long but rarely dropped the ball (well, except for the last 3 or 4 minutes). 

Still, the night proved historical in so many ways. Moonlight, on top of it's groundbreaking upset, is now the first LGBT-themed film to win Best Picture (a feat even Brokeback Mountain couldn't achieve in perhaps the second-biggest Oscar upset when it lost to Crash). Damien Chazelle as expected became the youngest Director winner in history. OJ Made In America became the longest film to ever win an Oscar (467 minutes). Mojo only had a 66% accuracy in regards to it's predictions, but the night was full of twists and turns that no one could see coming. Where we expected a sweep, the Oscars instead spread the wealth and awarded arguably more deserving films with trophies (Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Moonlight, and La La Land all won multiple awards). It's a year I don't think anyone will ever forget, and in the end, the Best Picture prize went to a film that was beyond deserving. 

Here's to 2017! Bring on the movies. 

The Red Turtle (****1/2)

The Red Turtle is so close to being perfect, and of the Oscar nominees I have seen so far (Zootopia, Kubo, and Moana) this is certainly the best on a technical level. It's a story that isn't as straight-forward as you might expect from the trailer, and it left me thinking about the ideas and themes long after I had left the theater.

On the surface, it's a shipwreck story. A man washes up on the shore of a tiny island that provides all he needs to survive except a companion. On the beach, he has a picturesque view of the endless ocean, beyond is a dense green forest of bamboo. He has food, clean water, and shelter. He even has some crabs that become quite friendly as he plots his escape. Escape: that is his first and only plan.

With dried wood and rope he makes a raft and quickly drifts back out to sea. He has no supplies and doesn't seem apt to survive more than a day or two. As the ocean drops off beneath him, a force destroys his raft, and he is forced to swim back to shore. Time and again he tries to escape, and each time a creature below the water breaks up his boat. We finally see the force that keeps him on the island: a red turtle the size of a man. It doesn't act out of rage, it just floats there, watching this man attempt to leave.

What happens next is both poetic and enigmatic. An act of violence on the man's part leads to a guilt that lasts the remainder of the film. A mysterious woman appears on the beach and the two form a relationship that is almost a reconciliation on the man's part. They have a child. They grow up. The story becomes something that reflects the role of a family as well as the importance of human bonds.

Told entirely with sound effects and a haunting score, the movie achieves great storytelling without the need for dialogue. It's very much reflective, told from the perspective of the man. We often see his dreams and the ideas he has while on the island, and nearing the end of the film we wonder what, if anything, was factual and what was imagined. I will say that while I can't fully say that I comprehend the final moments of the film, the emotional impact it had is lasting. This is produced by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation house known for Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. It's the first film by the company directed by a non-Asian filmmaker (Dutch's Michaël Dudok de Wit). We feel the European sensibility about the film, and we also can't deny the strong visual style that Ghibli has over it. It's a marriage of styles and art forms, and unlike most cartoons we see today not everything is spelled out for us.

MoJo's Official Oscar Predictions

After the "Oscars so White" controversy that shrouded the last 2 ceremonies,  this might be the most diverse year yet. 7 people of color nominated for acting. 4 Best Picture nominees with minority characters as the focus. Funny enough, the whitest movie of the bunch (La La Land) seems like it is on it's way to make Oscar history. It's only the third movie since "All About Eve" (1950) and "Titanic" (1997) to earn 14 nominations. Eve won 6. Titanic won 11. Can La La Land break the record and win a dozen trophies?




BEST PICTURE

1. La La Land
2. Moonlight
3. Manchester By The Sea
4. Arrival
5. Hacksaw Ridge
6. Lion
7. Hidden Figures
8. Fences
9. Hell or High Water

DGA + PGA victories are very telling, especially when coupled with Best Picture wins as the Golden Globes, Critic's Choice, and BAFTA. La La Land is set to be the first Best Picture winner without a correlating SAG Ensemble nomination since Braveheart in 1995 (the winner this year was Hidden Figures). Manchester by the Sea has done nothing but lose steam in the past few months (and missed a crucial Best Editing nomination). Moonlight is still strong but has won virtually no awards thus far. Some may still think Arrival is a strong contender, but the snub of Amy Adams (and the fact that sci-fi movies don't win) definitely doesn't make a strong case. Records are made to be broken, and the Oscars have shown in recent years that anything is possible. One of the evening's biggest locks as far as we can see.



BEST DIRECTOR

1. Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
2. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
3. Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
4. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)
5. Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

The inclusion of Mel Gibson was a shock, but evidence that Hollywood has finally forgiven him. Barry Jenkins is the first black filmmaker to be nominated for Picture, Director, and Screenplay which is worthy of praise of itself (Alejandro G. Iñárritu was the last person to achieve this feat for Birdman). Denis Villeneuve has finally received a nomination in light of his impressive body of work (Prisoners, Sicario, Enemy), and Kenneth Lonergan would have made a deserving winner in any other year. However: DGA don't lie. There isn't any logical way that Mr. Chazelle can lose. His win will make him the youngest recipient of this award in Oscar history (at only 32 years old!).



BEST ACTRESS

1. Emma Stone (La La Land)
2. Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
3. Natalie Portman (Jackie)
4. Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)
5. Ruth Negga (Loving)

What a race. People just didn't like Jackie, but in another year Portman would win in a cakewalk. The biggest award she's won so far was the Critic's Choice, and that was back in December... Streep and Negga are lucky to be nominated, and Huppert missed out on SAG and BAFTA nominations which really hurts her despite the Golden Globe upset. It's a light role (especially considering the stiff competition) but this is going to be Emma Stone's year. Best Actress in particular is not always known for awarding the "best" acting, instead favoring the hot new Hollywood star. Think Brie Larson, or Jennifer Lawrence, or Sandra Bullock... At least we know she'll have a great speech.



BEST ACTOR

1. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
2. Denzel Washington (Fences)
3. Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
4. Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
5. Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

One of the year's closest categories. It's very likely that Ryan Gosling will be one of the few weak links in a night where La La Land wins everywhere else. Denzel won the SAG in a predictable upset (this was the first time the Screen Actors Guild ever awarded him. Maybe they felt he was 'due'). However, he's not nominated at BAFTA and hasn't won any major awards anywhere else. Casey Affleck won the Golden Globe, BAFTA and the majority of critics prizes throughout the season, but his sexual assault charges are certainly leaving many people with a bad taste in their mouths. If Denzel wins, he will join an exclusive club of having won 3 Oscars for acting. If Casey wins, it might be the only place that Manchester can be rewarded. This is truly a coin-toss situation.



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Viola Davis (Fences)
2. Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
3. Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
4. Nicole Kidman (Lion)
5. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

This category is locked up in a way that no other acting races are. For her impressive body of work, it's no wonder the Academy will finally give Davis her Oscar, overdue since her breakthrough in Doubt in 2008. If you can believe it, Viola is the most nominated black actress in history (with just 3 nominations), and her costar (Denzel) is the most-nominated black actor with 7 nominations total. Is it that hard to see a scenario where they both end up Oscar winners? (They both won the Tony award for their roles on Broadway, after all).



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
2. Dev Patel (Lion)
3. Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
4. Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)
5. Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

This is the first year since 1975 that the Golden Globe winner (Aaron Taylor Johnson in 'Nocturnal Animals') hasn't been nominated at the Oscars (Richard Benjamin in 'The Sunshine Boys' won the Golden Globe in 1975, while his costar from the same film, George Burns, went on to Oscar gold that year). Does this spell good news for Michael Shannon, the surprising-but-deserving nominee from Nocturnal Animals? Mahershala Ali is the front-runner, but in all fairness, his only major win was the SAG Award. Dev Patel won the BAFTA last week and it seems like his odds are rising. The love for Moonlight might help the results in the end, but I think this is maybe one of the closest races of the night.

As the rule has gone in years past: if you play a real person you win an Oscar. This will be the first year since 1997 where none of the winning performances will have been based on a real-life person (curiously, 1997 was also the last year a film received 14 nominations (Titanic)).



BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. La La Land
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Hell or High Water
4. The Lobster
5. 20th Century Women

Manchester by the Sea may be a more accomplished script, but the evidence points more to the fact that La La Land may become the first musical since 1958 to win a writing award (Gigi). The last musical to win an original screenplay was actually 1951's American In Paris (a movie that clearly had great influence on La La Land's style). There's hope for Manchester in that it recently won the BAFTA, but La La Land won the Globe, it won Critic's Choice. Why wouldn't that momentum carry through here?



BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Moonlight
2. Hidden Figures
3. Fences
4. Arrival
5. Lion

There's really only one viable candidate. Barry Jenkins' achievement will win him a much-deserved award for Moonlight. The box office success of Hidden Figures (and it's SAG Ensemble win) may give it some clout, but the writing wasn't one of the film's highlights. At the Guild Awards where Moonlight was nominated as an original screenplay, it beat out both La La Land and Manchester. This is very much the screenplay of the year.



BEST EDITING

1. La La Land
2. Moonlight
3. Hacksaw Ridge
4. Arrival
5. Hell or High Water

This will be Tom Cross's second Oscar (his first win coming from Chazelle's other film, Whiplash). Joi McMillon is the first black woman to be nominated in the category for Moonlight. Usually war films fare well in editing (Hacksaw Ridge could upset), but musicals historically have a better track record, especially those that win Best Picture.



BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. La La Land
2. Lion
3. Arrival
4. Moonlight
5. Silence

The Cinematography Guild chose to award Lion, a deserving upset that might give La La Land a run for it's money. The Guild's accuracy is barely 50% though, and La La Land benefits from the more colorful, flashy camerawork and long takes that the Academy has loved in recent years. Bradford Young's nomination for Arrival makes him the first African American to ever be nominated in this category.



BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. La La Land
2. Jackie
3. Florence Foster Jenkins
4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
5. Allied


The running joke is that La La Land's nomination is obscure because the actors literally wore regular clothes the whole movie. What's there to award? Conventional knowledge would have us go with the BAFTA winner (Jackie) which has been correct the last 9 years in a row. However, Jackie failed to even win the Guild Award (Hidden Figures, not nominated, beat it for Period Costumes), and Jackie wasn't nominated for Art Direction (only a few films in history have won costumes without this coordinating nomination). No film since 1994 (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) has won Costume Design for a contemporary film. Usually it's the bigger, sparklier dresses that win. Florence Foster Jenkins and even Fantastic Beasts seem more typical. If voters love La La Land as much as we think, why would they stop here if they want to award it for everything? Musicals still do well in this category.



BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. La La Land
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
3. Arrival
4. Passengers
5. Hail, Caesar!

Like Costumes, this is a category that doesn't like to reward contemporary films. The last film set in present day to win was another musical: 1979's All That Jazz. That's a hell of a long streak standing in the way of a La La Land win. The only thing going for it is that none of the other nominees have any passion behind them. Does the Academy really want to give the Harry Potter reboot an Oscar?



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. La La Land
2. Moonlight
3. Lion
4. Jackie
5. Passengers

Ignoring last year (The Hateful Eight), the past 12 winners have been Best Picture nominees. Many would argue that this is the biggest lock of the night, considering La La Land is the first wholly original musical nominated as a dramatic score since The Lion King in 1994 (which won, by the way).



BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. "City of Stars" (La La Land)
2. "Audition" (La La Land)
3. "How Far I'll Go" (Moana)
4. "Can't Stop the Feeling" (Trolls)
5. "The Empty Chair" (Jim: The James Foley Story)

Can vote splitting hurt La La Land's chances? As long as there's a consensus a film can always win with multiple songs nominated (Slumdog Millionaire did it with "Jai Ho," so did Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Flashdance, etc., etc., etc.). It just depends on which song voters will consider the better option. However, vote splitting could help Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) win for Moana and become the youngest EGOT winner in history. Who doesn't like Lin?



BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Star Trek Beyond
2. A Man Called Ove
3. Suicide Squad

It's a toss-up. None of these three films were seen as front-runner prior to nominations, and as in years past we are forced to take a shot in the dark. When in doubt, go for the most makeup.



BEST SOUND MIXING

1. La La Land
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3. Arrival
4. Hacksaw Ridge
5. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Musicals have been thankful for this category for years. They always win, even the bad ones (Les Miserables, Dreamgirls, etc). This is an easy pick.



BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Hacksaw Ridge
2. La La Land
3. Arrival
4. Deepwater Horizon
5. Sully

In an evening when La La Land is potentially going to break Oscar records, even Sound Editing might be a hurdle too high for this film to overcome. The most recent musical nominated in this category was Aladdin in 1992 and it didn't win. Prior to that? Nothing... This is only the second musical nominated in this category ever. What usually wins Sound Editing? War movies. The more bullets the better. I suppose we shouldn't count out La La Land just in case of a sweep. If it's going to win 12 Oscars, this is the category it can't lose.



BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. The Jungle Book
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3. Deepwater Horizon
4. Doctor Strange
5. Kubo and the Two Strings

The foolproof way to determine a winner here was to select the Best Picture nominee of the bunch. That was completely thrown out the window last year when both Mad Max and The Revenant were nominated and Ex Machina won in one of Oscar's biggest shocks in years. Luckily there isn't a Best Picture contender in the lineup, and The Jungle Book seems to have had this prize in the bag since Spring. Jungle Book also won the Guild award. The divisiveness in Rogue One's facial effects might prove too controversial, but it serves as a strong potential upset.



BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

1. Zootopia
2. Kubo and the Two Strings
3. Moana
4. The Red Turtle
5. My Life as a Zucchini

Regardless of personal opinions, Zootopia has been the front-runner nearly all year and only one film has challenged that record. BAFTA's award going to Kubo might indicate that Zootopia is less universally-loved than we believe (especially considering BAFTA's near-perfect record in this category), but Disney has been on a non-stop role (having won the last 4 awards in a row). There really isn't a logical case to be made for any of the other 3 films, as deserving as they might be.



BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. O.J.: Made In America
2. I Am Not Your Negro
3. 13th
4. Life, Animated
5. Fire at Sea

This is a category that is an interesting one to watch, especially considering that the front-runner would become the longest film to ever win an Academy Award. There's some controversy though, as the film was released on ESPN as a multi-part series. Are voters really going to get behind a movie like that?



BEST FOREIGN FILM

1. The Salesman
2. A Man Called Ove
3. Toni Erdmann
4. Tanna
5. Land of Mine

Toni Erdmann has been the critical darling all year, but the prospect of a 3 hour German comedy might sway voters, plus the movie itself doesn't have the gravitas of recent winners like Son of Saul or Ida. A lot of people think that the backlash to Trump's travel ban will actually benefit The Salesman, an Iranian film written by the same man who won an Oscar for A Separation. He has been very vocal about his boycotting of the Oscars, and this seems like a place where Hollywood can actively voice their disapproval of the White House. A Man Called Ove is the only nominee that received multiple nominations - maybe that means more support?



BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECT

1. Watani: My Homeland
2. Joe's Violin
3. The White Helmets
4. Extremis
5. 4.1 Miles

There is a lot of back and forth predicting the short categories, and documentary can always be difficult. Historically this category chooses personal stories full of emotion (last year's winner was about the survivor of an honor killing, the year before it was about a suicide hotline) and they also choose Holocaust-themed stories. This year's front-runners tell the story of an Aleppo family relocated to Germany as refugees (Watani) and a Holocaust survivor passing on his violin to the next generation and the healing powers music has (Joe's Violin). It's a really close race.



BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

1. Piper
2. Blind Vaysha
3. Borrowed Time
4. Pear Cider and Cigarettes
5. Pearl

Someone said that to predict this category one should always go with the cute animals. If that's the case, then Piper certainly wins that award - the Pixar short featured in front of Finding Dory was a dazzling display of photorealism and spectacular ocean scenes that was arguably better than the film it preceded. Pixar doesn't have a strong track record with shorts (2001 with "For the Birds" was it's most recent win), but perhaps it's time for another victory for the studio. Blind Vaysha can certainly upset with it's unique style and imagery.



BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

1. Sing
2. Ennemis intérieurs
3. Timecode
4. La Femme et le TGV
5. Silent Nights


Enemies Within is the presumed front runner amongst experts, and without having seen the shorts, sometimes they are the best indicator of victories. Sing, a story of two young girls in a choir standing up for what they believe in, might still have enough political undertones that could push it ahead. Then again, Enemies Within is more of a taut thriller deals with the sheltering of terrorists in the 1990's. Which sounds more appealing?



total wins

La La Land: 11
Moonlight: 2

John's Top 10 Movies of 2016

It took a bit longer to post this list, but there were a few last-minute movies that had delayed release dates that couldn't be overlooked.

I think it was around early November when I realized how great 2016 was for movies. Regardless of all that this year will go down in history for (politics, mass shootings, celebrity deaths...) I hope it is also remembered for the endless array of movies that continued to surprise me every time I went back to the theater. Comedies, foreign cinema, big-budget flicks, documentaries... There wasn’t a wrong note.  I was genuinely struggling to pull together a list of just 10 movies to highlight such an extraordinary year... Without any further delays:

*****

10. Deepwater Horizon

I wasn’t expecting much, but after Deepwater Horizon ended I was convinced that it’s one of the greatest disaster movies I’ve seen. A true story about the recent tragedy from 2010, the movie has a perfect setup (including a clever scene in which we learn how oil rigs work from a can of coke and a straw) that helped keep us engaged even when the dialogue was thick with exposition. Contrasted to a lot of other disaster flicks, this one also had genuine heart. 

9. Don't Think Twice

There was something really amazing about this ensemble and the story they told. This was a movie that followed an improv troupe and the turmoil that comes when one of them is cast on a late night variety show (think SNL). When you’ve worked your whole life to be mediocre at one thing, this movie asks whether or not it’s always possible to achieve your dreams and at what cost. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also painfully funny. 

8. The Edge of Seventeen

I will admit I have a small obsession for Hailee Steinfeld, and here is finally a movie that proves she is a great actress. From the moment it started I had a smile on my face. We have seen a lot of high school comedies in recent years, but this one joins the ranks of the best. Not only is it one of the funniest movies of the year, but it has a brilliant understanding of the way  high school minds work. Woody Harrelson as an English teacher is not to be missed. 

7. Tower

I saw a lot of documentaries this year, and in the end it had to be ‘Tower’ that made the list. In a lot of ways it’s very hard to classify it as a documentary, since it’s both rotoscoped and recreated by actors. It’s the story of America’s first school shooting when a sniper took an entire college campus hostage for over an hour during a hot Austin, Texas summer. We hear first-hand accounts from all points of view (many victims we learn are still alive) and see a story that could have easily been talking heads filmed in an explosively original way. 

6. Moonlight

It’s really hard only putting this movie at #6 when I think a lot of other years I would have probably considered it the best. It’s a story told in 3 parts following a young boy on his journey to manhood. Not only does it have the year’s strongest cast, it’s filmed in a way that set it apart from everything else I saw this year. There’s a lot to unravel and sort through, but it makes for a rewarding and heart-wrenching movie. 

5. Lion

The only reason this movie didn’t rank higher for me was because of... well, I don’t know. Out of every movie I saw this year, ‘Lion’ was the most heart-breaking. A young Indian boy is separated from his family by over 1,000 miles purely on accident, and only after getting adopted and maturing into a young man does he attempt to discover the fate of his long-lost mother and brother. I defy you to watch this movie and keep a dry eye, because the last 30 minutes of the movie absolutely ruined me. 

4. Little Men

Little who? Yes, even I admit that this is the smallest movie of the year, a little arthouse picture that played in probably 20 theaters in the country. If you can find it, definitely watch. It’s the story of two boys who become friends in the twilight years of their childhood, simultaneously dealing with the consequences of their parents’ legal battles. It’s a love story but in the most atypical sense. As small a movie as it was, it’s not without strong implications, mainly how the older generations can cause lasting effects on the next. 

3. The Lobster

For most of the year I was convinced that this was going to be the movie that would win the race. It’s so clever and inventive, how could it not? Set in a dystopian future (or maybe an alternate universe) where it is the law to be in a monogamous relationship, failure to adhere results in individuals being sent to a resort for rehabilitation. Either they meet a new ‘soulmate’ in the allotted timeframe or they are turned into an animal of their choice and released into the wild. It’s absolutely bonkers in the best sense, and so darkly-comedic that you can’t help but feel uncomfortable with each new absurdity. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz have never been better. 

2. The Handmaiden

This is another movie that defied conventional wisdom. Endlessly entertaining and deeply erotic, this was a South Korean movie about a wealthy maiden (Lady Hideko) and two thieves who pose as a maid and wealthy suitor in order to swindle her out of her fortune. Only that’s not the plot at all... The story takes twists and turns that are eye-opening and clever in ways we never see coming. A romance blossoms in the thick of the plot and yet we are still clueless as to what is to come around every corner. With flashbacks, altering points of view, and subtitles that cross languages and cultures, ‘The Handmaiden’ definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is by all definitions “movie magic.” 

1. Manchester By The Sea

And in the end, when I saw so many movies that were wild and creative and brilliant, this one topped them all. Not only is ‘Manchester by the Sea’ the best movie of the year by a mile, but it is also overflowing with talent in every respect. Casey Affleck is undeniably good and so is Michelle Williams. The director and writer Kenneth Lonergan wrote a story so perfectly-structured and achingly real that it’s hard to find a flaw. Yes, I cried, but I also laughed, and the amazing thing about this movie is how  all the characters feel so real, so lived in... No, it doesn’t have a happy ending or characters that are always sympathetic, but who said things are better with a pretty bow on top?