{"id":23793,"date":"2017-01-06T00:59:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T05:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=23793"},"modified":"2017-01-06T00:59:55","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T05:59:55","slug":"emilie-blacks-top-10-favorite-feature-films-of-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/06\/emilie-blacks-top-10-favorite-feature-films-of-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Emilie Black\u2019s Top 10 Favorite Feature Films of 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This year brought a lot of film festival coverage opportunities for me which means I was able to attend and\/or cover twelve film festivals\/events.\u00a0 That being said, these paired with a ton of good independent titles meant I had very little time for wider theater releases.\u00a0 This not mean the latter were not good, it only means that I saw a grand total of three major releases (Deadpool, Rogue One, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) on the big screen.<\/p>\n

First, here are my special mentions:<\/strong> L\u2019Elan, Deadpool, Saving Mr. Wu, The Laundryman, Realive, Bed of the Dead, Let Her Out, Alena, Corp Etranger (Foreign Body), They Call Me Jeeg Robot, Karate Kill, The Eyes of My Mother, Rogue One, The Witch, Southbound, Antibirth, The Love Witch.<\/em><\/p>\n

With no further ado, here is my top ten favorite movies from 2016:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>10. Zinnia Flower<\/strong>
\nOriginal Review<\/a>
\n<\/a>This emotional drama about grief and learning to let go is touching and will make you feel.\u00a0 It\u2019s beautiful with great performances and it pulls the heartstrings without trying too hard.\u00a0 It\u2019s well written and well done, its subject is approached with class and it treats the viewers with respect, letting them live through the grieving progress with the characters.\u00a0 It\u2019s even oddly uplifting as the story moves along.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>9. Los Parecidos
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>Los Parecidos is a beautiful looking, paranoia laden Mystery\/Sci-Fi cross over that feels almost like an old Twilight Zone episode made by a talented crew of cinema lovers with modern effects.\u00a0 The attention to details is great and adds a lot to the story and its development. The acting and effects are good and it will keep you guessing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>8. Beyond the Gates
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>This 80s\/90s nostalgia fest hits on all the fronts: A VHS board game, the score, the colors, the practical effects, the lovely Barbara Crampton, etc.\u00a0 This film is fun and it\u2019s not ashamed of just going for the gore and the happy, fuzzy memories it will rustle up in the viewers.\u00a0 This adult, horror Jumanji is best enjoyed with friends and maybe even at a party.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>7. Miruthan
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>A Bollywood zombie film that totally works, need I say more?\u00a0 It\u2019s a film with a ton crammed in its runtime, it\u2019s fast-paced, funny, has decent zombies, crazy fight scenes, an entertaining musical number, etc.\u00a0 The acting is good, the story is fun and funny, the ridiculous is there, but it just adds to the whole.\u00a0 This film is a good way into the Bollywood scene for many as it is Bollywood, but not the extreme and it includes everyone\u2019s favorite (or favorite to hate) horror monster, the zombie with which they do a few new things and keep a few tropes creating something with them that is highly watchable and enjoyable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>6. Mon Roi
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>Mon Roi is an effective film with a passion and a bundle of emotions that has the viewer thinking about their own emotions, how they would deal with such a situation, but only after the film is over as the story grabs them and doesn\u2019t let them go until the credits.\u00a0 The acting is stellar and shows the Vincent Cassel can do anything and Ma\u00efwenn\u00a0is a great filmmaker.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5. Two Lovers and a Bear
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>Two Lovers and a Bear is one of those dramas that subtly grabs the viewer and doesn\u2019t let them go until its last frame.\u00a0 The performances drive the story and the emotional impact of the film.\u00a0 This is one that is absolutely worth seeing and on the big screen if possible at all for its fantastic shots of the Great Canadian North and to almost feel the cold the characters evolve in.\u00a0 The film is sad and does not try to create a fake hope for its characters. It\u2019s real, a bit raw, and it works.\u00a0 Also, you get to see Tatiana Maslany outside of Orphan Black, proving she has the chops to do anything she wants.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4. Green Room
\nFelix\u2019s Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>I did not review this one as Felix did, but I absolutely loved it.\u00a0 Knowing little going in worked, letting the film develop itself and throw the pushes it has and just slam my eyeballs with surprises like the great amount of very well made gore and Patrick Stewart as a Neo-Nazi leader.\u00a0 His accent is still charming, but his ruthless interpretation is just perfectly calm and scary.\u00a0 He gives the film a center almost with being there not as a lead but almost as a supporting character.\u00a0 Anton Yelchin gives a fantastic performance that will make most viewers miss him even more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>3. I, Olga Hepranova
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>This film approaches a tough subject, a woman who is not taken seriously when she asks for help loses it and kill and maims a crowd of people.\u00a0 This story is the basis for the film all about one woman and the people around her.\u00a0 Lead Michalina Olszanska\u00a0gives a tour de force performance here and just shines in the hard part of Hepranova, giving her humanity.\u00a0 She does not build Hepranova as a martyr or anti-hero but simply as a complex human being in need of help.\u00a0 The film is sober and somber, bringing a tough story to the screen perfectly with its black and white images and beautiful cinematography.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2. The Sound of a Flower
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a>The Sound of a Flower is a beautiful movie, well cast, well acted in stunning settings, with high quality costumes.\u00a0 Fans of historical dramas will love this musical and most viewers should learn a few things about Pansori opera.\u00a0 In all of this, it\u2019s also a tragic love story based on historical facts that tugs at the heart and makes you want to see it all.\u00a0 The images are stunning and the music amazing. \u00a0This is not something most people would check out of the blue, but it is absolutely worth looking for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. The Lure
\nOriginal Review<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe Lure is a great film, like a long form music video that works, reminiscent of Bjork and Mylene Farmer with a true Polish spirit.\u00a0 It offers a lot and is fun while remaining touching.\u00a0 It must be noted that it is Polish cinema\u2019s first musical.\u00a0 It\u2019s a genre musical but it blurs the genre lines and works so well, it makes you want to see more or at the very least see it again.\u00a0 Thankfully, The Lure has been picked up for US distribution in 2017 so everyone in the country can see this colorful, musically pleasing, insane, fun film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year brought a lot of film festival coverage opportunities for me which means I was able to attend and\/or cover twelve film festivals\/events.\u00a0 That being said, these paired with a ton of good independent titles meant I had very little time for wider theater releases.\u00a0 This not mean the latter were not good, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1514,219,302,335,349,367,477,501,1008,1012],"class_list":["post-23793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-year-enders","tag-bollywood","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-experimental","tag-fantasy","tag-foreign","tag-horror","tag-indie-film","tag-supernatural","tag-survival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23793"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23808,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23793\/revisions\/23808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}