Top 10 Movies of 2016 So Far

The other day, I released my mid-year top TV shows. After putting that together, I figured it would be fun to do the same with the movies I've seen. While the TV list is overflowing, the movie list was not nearly as difficult to assemble. There's a few reasons for that. To start, the beginning of any year belongs to movies released the year before that are finally expanding out. That means The Hateful Eight, Anomalisa, and The Revenant don't count. The latter part of any year also includes more of the top tier movies. There's more of the throwaway weeks early in the year than late. More specific to 2016 is the fact that it just hasn't been that strong, with an especially week summer. There's been a few gems though. So let's see where I stand.

Note: I'm sticking with my top 10 only, as opposed to my end of the year list with ranks everything I saw. I don't want to be too redundant on this blog.
Other Note: I wrote this all last week and took a few days to format it. That's why Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates isn't in the top 10. Otherwise, it would probably be in the middle of the pack.

1. Zootopia

Would it be hyperbole to call this the crown jewel of Disney Animation's New Renaissance?* With a March release, I thought Disney was trying to bury this. It turns out, they have just mastered the yearlong domination model in the box office. Zootopia in particular is a smart and funny movie with a terrific voice cast. It looks great and has a story that went places I didn't see coming.

*I do not include Pixar under the Disney Animation umbrella.

2. Eye in the Sky

This blew away my expectations. I saw it on a slow week in April on a whim and I'm glad I did. I can almost call this a "bureaucratic thriller" which sounds worse than it is. The film's great strength is the way that it continues to expand out the story then masterfully contracts it back down to personal beats. This is the hidden gem of 2016 so far.

3. The Nice Guys

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe make a much better comedy duo than I ever would've expected. For anyone who likes buddy cop movies, LA noirs, or black comedies, I can't recommend this enough.

4. The Witch

I like dread over scares. I'd rather see a scary movie that leaves me confused and unsettled than one that gets an immediate reaction with a jump cut and a musical cue. That makes The Witch my kind of movie. It's light on answers but heavy on atmosphere, using the colonial setting to great effect.

5. Capt. America: Civil War

I just need my Marval movies to be fun. My investment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in how they are able to stay profitable while creating such a large interconnect series of films. I don't care at all about if the comics do a better job making a certain point or if the dramatic elements in the film are a little muddled. As long as it can include something as fun as the fight at the airport between all the heroes, that's all I need to put it here on my list. Overall, I think the Marvel movies benefit from my relative apathy for them as anything but a fight and joke delivery service.

6. Hail Caesar

Like any good Coen brothers movie, I'm likely to only like this more over time. All the actors are having a great time, no matter what the size of the role. Josh Brolin navigates the Hollywood backlots in the Golden Age like the old-pro that he is. And I get to see a young Han Solo.

7. 10 Cloverfield Lane

I love the idea of this "franchise". There's not really anything else like it. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr. keep this claustrophobic thriller interesting from beginning to end.

8. Finding Dory

Ellen Degeneres is delightful enough to make me ignore most of the weaknesses in the script. There's an undeniable heart to the movie that all the best Pixar movies have.

9. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Tina Fey is the best. I didn't always know where this movie was going or what it was trying to do, but with Fey, Martin Freeman, and Margot Robbie in the middle of it all, it worked.

10. The Legend of Tarzan

I doubt this will stay here by December. Even in July, I'm putting it ahead of the delightful Jungle Book, the efficient Hush, and the anarchic Deadpool, and that doesn't feel right. I'm still trying to crack the code on Tarzan though. I normally don't have this much trouble placing what exactly I like about a movie, but when it happens, it tends to mean it's doing something very right. Until I figure it out, I'm keeping this in the top 10.