Tag Archives: Drama

The 10 Best Films of 2016

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This is one of the first time in years I’ve had such a difficult period deciding which movies had to be cut from my top ten and which deserved to stay on. Of course I didn’t catch every thing I wanted to, as probably Manchester by the Sea and Edge of Seventeen may have been on the list, if I saw them. So while there are some omissions out of my control, this is the ten I ultimately stuck to. This is the ten best movies I saw in 2016, along with a big list of potential place holders I quite loved, just the same.

Movies in 2016 that almost made the list includes the moving science fiction thriller Midnight Special, the touching sequel Finding Dory, the elaborate and beautiful The Handmaiden, the fun Ti West western In a Valley of Violence, the superb and very scary sequel The Conjuring 2, the fun and moving Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the hilarious and raucous antithesis to the superhero movie Deadpool, the sweeping fantasy thriller Doctor Strange, the incredible crime drama Hell or High Water, the very fun Adam Wingard reboot Blair Witch, the moving and fun teen drama Sing Street, the teeth grindingly compelling 10 Cloverfield Lane, and the chaotic survival thriller Green Room. Kudos to everyone behind these top notch movies I plan to revisit again and again in the coming years.

Now on the Top 10…

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La Bamba (1987)

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I admittedly have a lot of sentimental value and nostalgia attached to Luis Valdez’s “La Bamba” as it’s a film that not only was continuously played in my family, but the soundtrack on record was also constantly replayed. “La Bamba” itself is a solid bio pic of Ritchie Valens, an LA teenager and Chicano rock and roll star who skyrocketed to fame, and died in one of the most infamous plane crashes in world history. Valens’ life was cut short way before he could even reach his twenties, but director and writer Luis Valdez does his best to explore the life of Valens before he stepped on to the ill fated “American Pie” with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

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Tommy (1975)

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Ken Russell’s adaptation of The Who’s rock opera “Tommy” is surreal, vivid, out of this world, and incredibly phantasmagorical. It’s everything you’d expect from Russell, and “Tommy” is every bit as unusual and mind blowing as the original rock opera is. What can you expect from a story about a young boy stricken deaf, dumb, and blind by his uncle Frank and mother Nora. With an irreversible disability, Tommy is left without the sensation to feel, or understand, or comprehend most things, so he’s a victim to everyone in his life, most of who are predators and sadistic monsters. Eventually Tommy becomes something of a deity when he gains the ability to sense certain elements of his environment, including the game of pinball.

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Times Square (1980)

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If anything, at least, “Times Square” is a remarkable time capsule of the titular New York block. In 1980 before Giuliani sold the city to the highest bidder to turn it in to Disney World, Times Square was a rough area with porn theaters and dark corners every which way. Director Moyle is able to film New York brilliantly, with a lot of great wide shots and dolly shots of the corners of New York and the setting for the film. In the film we meet Pamela, the mentally ill daughter of a local politician who is hell bent on cleaning up Times Square for the mayor. When she’s locked up in the hospital for mental evaluation, she meets street girl and musician Nicky, a rebellious and raucous punk rocker who is carried away by police after trashing a vehicle.

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Gerry (2011)

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Gerry Boulet is credited as being Quebec’s first rocker.  Of course he was not the only one at the time per se as the province saw that rise of Plume Latraverse, Michel Pagliaro, Robert Charlebois, etc.  Gerry Boulet and his cohorts made an impact on French-Canadian culture and music.  Boulet and his band Offenbach were a radio staple and strong concert presence in the 1970s and 1980s.  Boulet died of cancer in 1990 at what could be considered the peak of his solo career.  The film titled simple Gerry covers his life from childhood, through important events that shaped him, then through his career with Offenbach (2 different member line-ups) and his solo career.  The film portrays him in a way that seems genuine, with his good moments, his bad ones, and his problems.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1981)

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“The Fabulous Stains” is the classic story of a movie that was pushed in to the margins and rose to become one of the most elusive cult classics of all time. This is the classic story of how sometimes movies can avoid being cast out in to obscurity because of a strong fan base. “The Fabulous Stains” is a very strong rock and roll drama about the rise and fall of a band known as the Stains due to dubious circumstances. The drama originally tested poorly in audience screening, and the studios basically released it in a limited run, and the movie was almost never heard from again. That is until it began to replay over and over on late night cable television in America, and often on the legendary rock show “Nightflight.” Over the years, the movie’s repeated airings earned it a huge cult following. Especially from young women that viewed “The Fabulous Stains” as something of a statement about owning their sexuality.

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La La Land (2016)

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I don’t know if I’d ever call “La La Land” a masterpiece. I wouldn’t even call it a great movie. But it at least gets an A for effort, anxiously trying to evoke the classic musicals of Hollywood’s yesteryear that has a lot of first year theater students salivating over. “La La Land” is a neat and charming little novelty, and one I was thoroughly invested in, mainly for the fantastic photography. “La La Land” looks gorgeous, especially when characters Mia and Sebastian are sitting on a park bench at dawn, dancing and singing. But that’s about the entirety of the film’s merits. The cinematography and special effects are fantastic, but don’t actually compensate for a weak storyline, and forgettable musical numbers.

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