Ryan’s 2016 Movie Rankings

Turns out this wasn’t a great year in terms of me making it to the movie theater. Yet another way 2016 sucked. But I managed to see 35 and a half movies this year. Yes, a half (full story linked at the bottom). Here’s how I rank them.

1. La La Land

Blew me away. Part throwback musical, part modern comment on LA, all amazing in its treatment of dreamers and artists.

2. The Arrival

Totally in my wheelhouse and done superbly. I came out of the theater fully expecting this to be my favorite movie of the year. I saw La La Land the next day.

3. Moana

Yes, I’m a Lin-Manuel Miranda fan. Still, this is a fantastic film and incredible soundtrack.

4. Captain America: Civil War

This had everything I wanted in a Marvel film. Great story, believable conflict, great action mixed with humor. The fact that they nailed Spider-Man put this over the top.

5. Deadpool

Shockingly awesome. Funny, intense, great pacing, George Michael.

6. Kubo and the Two Strings

I see a lot of kids movies as this list proves. I don’t know what I was expecting for this film but it blew me away. Surprising, emotional, and an amazing family story.

7. Rogue One

Everything worth saying was said in the chatroom. I still rank it fifth of all five Star Wars movies but that’s good enough for top ten this year.

8. Now You See Me 2

I like this series a lot. While the first one was better, the sequel had an absolutely amazing sequence that was enough to catapult it to the top tier.

9. Ghostbusters

It wasn’t as funny as the original, but there’s a reason why the original is one of the greatest comedies of all time. This one had plenty of laughs and even a kick-ass finale with Kate McKinnon stealing every scene.

10. Mr. Right

This movie made less than $35,000 at the box office. No surprise, most of you never heard of it. I hadn’t. But when I was on a plane they had this film and since I’m an Anna Kendrick fan I watched it. It shocked me. Dark and funny, I could see why it flopped at the box office–there’s literally no way to market this film. Sam Rockwell is an assassin who falls in love with crazy (seriously) Anna Kendrick. I thought the casting was perfect and the movie is a ton of fun–I’ve even found myself rewatching it on HBO a few times.

11. Sausage Party

Funny, adult, and the perfect counterpoint to all of the kids movies I saw this year.

12. Don’t Think Twice

I like movies that show the real, dark side of comedians. This one was even better than Funny People by showing a group of improv comedians dealing with the success of one of their group.

13. Zootopia

A fun kids movie with some sincerely great moments. Sloth humor FTW!

14. Kung Fu Panda 3

I went in with low expectations but this was actually pretty good. Might even be my favorite of the three movies.

15. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Another movie I caught on a plane. Some fun moments but missing something essential.

16. Star Trek Beyond

I love Star Trek. I love the Fast and the Furious films. When Star Trek stole the director of the last few Fast and the Furious films I was over the moon. Then the trailer came out showing a motorcycle involved in the movie and I was really looking forward to it. So this was a bit of a disappointment. It felt a bit too close to Star Trek Nemesis, and I had a hard time when a central plot point involved the ship playing a Beastie Boys song that was on the same album as another song making Star Trek references.

17. 10 Cloverfield Lane

Interesting psychological drama but a bit muddled.

18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows

This movie wasn’t painful to watch. That’s what you look for in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, right?

19. Independence Day: Resurgence

Also, for some reason, getting a sequel.

Some decent action sequences, but so much of it is a setup for the next film that they forgot to make this film.

20. X-Men: Apocalypse

I wanted to like this more but it just felt so pessimistic. And talk about your Deus X-Machina ending (see what I did there? literally more clever than the whole film).

21. Jason Bourne

I love the Bourne films but this one was a mess. In one scene Jason Bourne knocks out a monster of a man in one punch. A few scenes later he can’t figure out the simplest of ruses.

23. Doctor Strange

This was the best Marvel film in terms of special effects, but otherwise it’s a Marvel origins film and they’re kinda boring.

24. Passengers

I said everything that needed saying over in the chatroom. The only reason this isn’t dead bottom is because people should see the film so they know not to allow this kind of film ever again.