Best Films of 2016 So Far...

Somehow tomorrow everyone who still owns a calendar will rip off June and July will begin. As for the rest of us it's still a new month but just without the outdated calendar. July also represents the beginning of the second half of the year so after yesterday's most anticipated films of the remaining part of 2016 here are my top films of the year so far. (Which can be found here)

Film that I saw in advance at Sydney Film Festival are included here.

So here are my top 10

10. Midnight Special (Dir. Jeff Nichols)

With only three films to his name before this, Jeff Nichols is quickly becoming one of the top indie directors in America. On first glance Midnight Special might come off as Nichols copying Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind but when go deeper it's really Nichols making it his own.

Midnight Special also marks some of the biggest additions to Nichols's repertoire of actors with Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver and Joel Edgerton all starring in a Nichols film for the first time. Also Michael Shannon is obviously in it. However each of the major actors will probably be overshadowed by a different movie in this point of their careers. Dunst for Fargo, Driver for Star Wars and Paterson (more on that later) and Edgerton as well as Shannon for Loving (also directed by Nichols). Child actor Jaeden Lieberher makes a career high performance but he really only has two others to go off.

9. The Handmaiden (Dir. Park Chan Wook)

If you like erotic-South Korean-thrillers this one is straight up your alley. Based off the English novel 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters the story follows a con artist and a handmaiden as they try to defraud a Japanese heiress. The movie's British setting has been changed to Japanese occupied Korea and it really works for the movie.

The movie at points does have some slightly cheesy moments but if you're going in expecting a Korean thriller and not Citizen Kane you'll be more than pleased. When the movie premiered at Cannes the movie received an award for its set design and it deserves it. The camera work does a great job of making use of the sets as it pans and tilts all across the set to create a very visually entertaining movie.

8. Julieta (Dir. Pedro Almodóvar)

Julieta is a return to form for Pedro Almodóvar after his dismal 'I'm So Excited'. The movie is a great example of so many of Almodóvar's traits as a film maker. Broken up story fragments, the colour red and strong female characters to name a few. The movie is lead by two actresses as the titular character (which is another trait of Almodovar's), the actresses are Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte who show the transitions quite seamlessly.

The film manages to be a very personal story as the main two characters are Julieta and her daughter even with its decade spanning story and multiple supporting characters. When the film gets a release in Australia, which it most likely will, it's a must see if you like your drama films.

7. High-Rise (Dir. Ben Wheatly)

If you look at user reviews on IMDb or Metacritic you will see that there seems to be a disapproval of the film but I don't get it. I think this is the work of a visionary director who has adapted the unadaptable. Unlike movies like Snowpiecer or Dredd that have society contained in an object and heavily concentrate on that theme, High-Rise puts it's character forward first and foremost. This led to some great performances from Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss and Sienna Miller.

Ben Wheatly hasn't been in the spotlight much as his breakout film was released in 2011 but he's kept him self busy with two films and two episodes of Doctor Who between Kill List and High Rise. He also has another upcoming film later this year, 'Free Fire' starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy. Ben Wheatly is a director you should be keeping tabs on but High-Rise might not be the best place to start but it sure is a great movie.

6. The Witch (Dir. Robert Eggers)

Great horror movies are rarity these days but recently the art house circuit has been giving us some good one. First was A Girl Walked Home Alone at Night then It Follows and now The Witch. The Witch is a movie that relies on its imagery to creep you out. The film does a great job of presenting it's 1:66.1 aspect ration with strong compositions along with mostly natural lighting.

I would like re use a quote from Brian Keene on his thoughts on The Witch to sum up how I feel about it; "The Witch is a gorgeous, thoughtful, scary horror film that 90% of the people in the theater with you will be too stupid to understand". I did right a review for The Witch back when it was out in cinemas so if you want more detail check it out here.

5. The Eyes of My Mother (Dir. Nicolas Pesce)

The Eyes of My Mother falls into that category art house horror that I just talked about with 'The Witch' and it was a really close call on deciding which is the better film. Both use great compositions and imagery and both don't rely on simple jump scares to freak you out. So where I drew the line was the performances. The main actress here doesn't appear for approx. 20 to 30 minutes in the film but the supporting actor of Will Brill makes up for that gap. When the main actress Kika Magalhaes comes up, it's hard to forget her.

I'm not sure if The Eyes of My Mother will ever get a release in Australian cinemas but I sure hope a DVD release will happen because I want to be freaked out by this gem again and again.

4. Captain Fantastic (Dir. Matt Ross)

Viggo Mortensen is a actor that doesn't show up often as he is very picky with his roles, but he always seems to know what he's doing and here is no exception. I think the movie may to be small in terms of scale to be considered for the Oscars but I wish it was. As I said in my review the movie is a reworking of several themes from Wes Anderson's movies - in particular families - and Matt Ross does a great job handling those themes.

The movie manages to test your knowledge on basic philosophy and literature as the kids in the story are well above their age in terms of intellectual ability and it even finds some humor in that respect too. Captain Fantastic's mixture of a heartfelt story, intelligence and humor make the movie hard to resist.

3. Paterson (Dir. Jim Jarmusch)

It's hard to define what makes a Jim Jarmusch film, but whatever it is you'll be sure to find here in his latest film. Paterson, played by Adam Driver, is a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey who is also a poet. The movie follows his routine for a week as he wakes up, goes to work, comes home, spends time with his girl friend (brilliantly played by Golshifteh Farahani), has dinner and take his dog for a walk.

The film is compacted with filled so much charm and deadpan humor that Jarmusch is famous for it's hard not to fall for this movie.

2. Toni Erdmann (Dir. Maren Ade)

By the time I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival I had already seen 30 movies over 11 days and three others that day alone. I was pretty tired but after watching this I wasn't. I wanted to see it again. This German-Austrian, comedy-drama is one that will stay with you long after seeing it. It's comedic timing is so original and perfect I don't know why I should ever bother making a comedy.

The film is heavily carried by it's lead performances (Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller) of a father and daughter who have been falling out and they try to reconnect. Simply I have never laughed so hard before while watching a movie, or at the very least, it's been a long time. The movie gained not one but two standing ovations during the film itself when it premiered at Cannes which lead some critics to cite that the Jury made the flat out wrong choice when it came to the awards.

1. Everybody Wants Some!! (Dir. Richard Linklater)

If being a first time director is hard: having certain expectations put on you to make it as a first-time director doesn't make it easier. Can you imagine how Richard Linklater must've felt when this film was in production. Coming off the perfect trilogy ending Before Midnight (the before trilogy) and the modern classic Boyhood, you would think expectations would be high for Linklater but it gets worse. The movie is also a spiritual sequel to Linklater's second film Dazed and Confused which is seen as a classic in the hangout movie genre.

Thankfully Linklater pulls it off by giving us everything that you would expect from an ever maturing film maker. The characters, while they might be dicks at points, are the guys you want to hang out with, just like Dazed and Confused. The plot... actually there isn't a over hanging plot, Linklater chooses to concentrate the characters and themes. There are more ways Linklater managed to live up to his expectations for Everybody Wants Some!! but just too many to name here.

Everybody Wants Some!! was my most anticipated film of the year and it was for last year (behind Star Wars) too until it was pushed back for this year. I can't wait to revisit this film again because it will be like catching up with old friends.

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So those are my favorite films of the year so far, a lot of great films are typically released in the later half of a year so we'll see what makes the top 10 of the year later on.

Special/Honorable Mentions -

Swiss Army Man

Hail Caesar!

A War

Fire at Sea

The Nice Guys

Zootopia

Neon Bull

Lo and Behold: the Reveries of the Connected World

What are your favorites of 2016 so far???