100 Movies of the Decade: 2016.

If you’re new to this thread, you should know I’ll be compiling a list of 100 movies through this decade, but breaking it down to 10 movies per year. If you haven’t seen 2010,  2011, 2012, 2013,  2014, and 2015, feel free to check it out.

2016 was a significant year for me. It was the year we (AIS kids, again, I’m sorry if you can’t relate) graduated, so there were a lot of “lasts” involved. Last sports meet, last swimming meet, last prize-giving, last whatever. There was a collective feeling of unity in the air for at least several weeks despite what anyone previously thought of each other; it was really nice. 2016 also had a lot of firsts, and amongst them was my first job. Well, internship, but I treated it as a job. Through this, I met some very interesting, eccentric and talented people and it was a great experience; one I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

In terms of pop culture, we lost a lot of brilliant personalities including Alan Rickman, Anton Yelchin, Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, and dear our Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher. People stepped out and connected over PokémonGo, Beyoncé released Lemonade, Brangelina split up, and Leo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar. This was also the year the mannequin challenge became a thing, and everyone quite irritatingly dressed up as Harley Quinn for Halloween.

There were a lot of superhero movies this year, and Marvel and DC went head to head on multiple occasions. Aside from the animated movies released, there were two MCU movies, two 21st Century Fox’s Marvel movies, and two DCEU movies. Captain America: Civil War and Batman vs. Superman literally released within the same month. It was epic. I mean, I wasn’t allowed to watch any of it until exams were over, but still. I got my hands on the DVDs sooner or later. Listed below are my top picks for 2016 movies, in no particular order:

Captain America: Civil War	Jackie
Now You See me 2	Storks
Doctor Strange	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping	Moana
Me Before You	The Nice Guys

Captain America: Civil War (dir. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo)

After the events of the Age of Ultron, the United Nations draws up the Sokovian Accords, which calls for the regulation of the Avengers. Tensions build within the team when half of them want to sign the papers, but the others are against it. Steve goes off to find Bucky, who is framed for an explosion at the convention, and Tony and the gang try to find them. My explanation does no justice for how great this movie is, so if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must.

In the span of 3 years, I’ve seen this over seventeen times, and ten of those were during a three month period. This was the first movie in which Spider-Man and Black Panther we’re introduced to the MCU. Robert Downey Jr’s acting never fails to hit me in the feels and my heart breaks every time the last scene comes around. This movie also gave Sebastian Stan an unprecedented amount of screen time sans the mask and I really appreciated that. I’m currently on a self-imposed ban on watching Civil War, but hopefully you’re not, so enjoy this on my behalf.

Now You See Me 2 (dir. Jon M. Chu)

The four horsemen come back from hiding after their last debacle, and are close to being arrested. When they plan their escape, they are somehow misguided and end in Macau, where they’re taken to a former tech guru, who is completely off the grid. In exchange for their freedom, he needs them to get a valuable microchip for them, which results in one of the greatest heist scenes in cinematic history.

This cast works so well together, and with the addition of Lizzy Caplan as a new horseman, they become all the more entertaining. I was bound to like this movie because the first one was so epic. I loved the additional storyline and plot twist with Mark Ruffalo’s and Morgan Freeman’s characters at the end. I didn’t see it coming and it blows my mind every time I see it. The magic is really cool too.

Doctor Strange (dir. Scott Derrickson)

After a car accident leaves a narcissistic surgeon injured and unable to practice medicine, he goes to temple in Kathmandu. Here, he finds out how to tap into his emotions and mental capacity and learns to become a better person. Under the mentoring of the Ancient One, he becomes a powerful sorcerer, who eventually inherits the Eye of Agamotto, also known as the time stone.

Watching this movie felt like tripping out. I had a friend tell me that it was like doing LSD. The graphics were so brilliantly done, and all the scenes in which he’s traveling through space and time are so aesthetically pleasing. I’m also obsessed with the fact that he defeated his designated villain by annoying him into giving up. That’s 100% something my sister would do. At one point I was like if he says “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain” one more time, I’ll fight him myself.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (dir. Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone)

The Lonely Island is back and thriving in this mockumentary. The Style Boyz were a wildly successful boyband, but one of the members decides to break up and start a solo career. After seeing that his new album wasn’t received the way he intended, Connor takes a step back to re-evaluate all aspects of his life. This movie is on actual crack but it’s also super wholesome and so damn fun. I will say that it is an acquired taste, but I’m more likely to trust you if you enjoyed it.

At one point in life I tried to get everyone I know to watch this, and I’m pleased to say that only the ones who watched it are the ones who remain in my life. I want to say that’s a joke but not really? It’s not like I cut them off, it just happened. The universe always knows. With abundant cameos from some of the best people in the music industry, and the most hysterical music group of all time (The Lonely Island, don’t @ me), this movie will have you laughing from the minute it starts. The soundtrack is epic, Andy Samberg is epic, and this movie will blow your mind. Legendary.

Me Before You (dir. Thea Sharrock)

Louisa Clark takes on the role of a caretaker for Will, a cynical quadriplegic. They grow to be friends and share intimate details and become an important part of each other’s lives. Having had an exciting life prior to his accident, he doesn’t enjoy being contained to a chair so decides to go to an assisted suicide facility. He promises family one more year, and when Louisa finds out about his plans she tries to make him feel some form of joy again because she doesn’t want him to die.

I read this book and it broke my actual heart, and I watched the movie and it did it all over again. Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin will hit you in all the feels with their portrayals of their respective characters. There are some pivotal points in the book that didn’t make it to the movie, but other than that the screenplay pretty much when hand in hand with it. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking movie and if you need to cry a little this movie is the one for you.

Jackie (dir. Pablo Larrain)

Following JFK’s assassination in 1963, this historical drama walks through everything former First Lady, Jackie Kennedy went through before, during, and after the death of her husband. It shows her recalling the shooting, and how she’s concerned for the well-being of her children. Natalie Portman’s acting in this is hauntingly brilliant, and it’s such a well written, and interesting movie.

I knew little to nothing about the Kennedy’s other than the fact that they’re probably cursed because several of them have died in some pretty unfortunate ways. This movie was so gripping and insightful that all I wanted to do after watching it was know more of what happened that day, and the time period that followed.

Storks (dir. Doug Sweetland, Nicholas Stoller)

After a stork goes rogue and gets attached to a baby, he loses her tracker and the kid grows up in their warehouse. Because of this,  storks stop delivering babies and start sending out packages instead. After accidentally creating a baby with some ancient technology, the task is up to Junior to secretly deliver the baby without his superiors finding out.

This movie is so wholesome, funny, and surprisingly educational. Like, I didn’t know birds couldn’t see glass. This is one of the cutest animated movies of the year with some pretty exceptional people voicing the roles. Notable mentions include Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and actual ray of sunshine, Andy Samberg. My favorite scene is when the baby ends up in the wolf den, but none of them want to eat her because she’s too cute.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (dir. Garett Edwards)

This movie is a Star Wars prequel set right before Episode IV: A New Hope. The Rebellion finds out about the Death Star and the magnitude of its possible destruction, so they must find a way to stop it. Once they find out that there’s a weakness in the foundational structure, the Resistance sends some forces to steal the blueprints of the Death Star.

The first thing that struck me in this movie is how beautiful the names of some characters are. I really took a liking to most of them. With Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, and Diego Luna amongst the cast members, this movie was an actual delight to watch. My favorite thing from this was the sassy droid K-2SO, and Chirrut Imwe, the blind Jedi. There’s also a scene in which Darth Vader is being dramatic and uses the force to choke one of his commanding officers, and just walks away like nothing happens and in the process says, “don’t choke on your aspirations, director.”. We stan one dramatic edge lord.

Moana (dir. Ron Clements, John Musker)

After the fish around the island disappear and the crops start dying, Moana embarks on a journey to find Maui, the demigod. According to legend, he once stole the heart of Te Fitti and was banished to an island. The movie follows Moana on her journey to restore the heart and bring back the natural resources of her island, Motonui.

This movie is creative and so aesthetically pleasing. Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the soundtrack for this and it is so beautiful, not that I ever doubted his talent. I’m glad Moana didn’t fall victim to the absurd Disney marketing strategies that befell on Frozen; I think it would have taken the joy out of watching this movie. I can listen to Auli’i Cravalho sing How Far I’ll Go and The Rock sing You’re Welcome forever. I also felt a spiritual connection to the crazy grandmother, as well as the chicken. I love them.

The Nice Guys (dir. Shane Black)

Set in 1977 Los Angeles, a private investigator and muscle for hire reluctantly join forces to find Amelia, a girl in hiding. It’s a buddy cop comedic drama, without the cops. Directed by the same genius that did Iron Man 3, this movie is filled to the brim with violence, fruitful language, and some hilarious one-liners.

I love how much of a trainwreck Ryan Gosling’s character, Holland March is. I also love how Russell Crowe’s role, Jackson Healy the hitman, has no moral compass at all and was fully willing to fight a child for $20. I only came across this movie when I was making my way through Matt Bomer’s filmography, and I must say, he makes a pretty good villain. An attractive one too.

What do the 2016 movies have in common? Well, I’m glad you didn’t ask.

• Andy Samberg has a lead role in two movies (Popstar and Storks)
• Mads Mikkelsen is in two movies (Doctor Strange and Rogue One).
• Alan Tudyk has voice roles in both Rogue One and Moana.
• Two actors from the Harry Potter franchise have roles in movies from this year. Daniel Radcliffe in Now You See Me 2 and Matthew Lewis in Me Before You.
• Four movies are owned by Disney (Captain America, Doctor Strange, Moana, and Rogue One)
• Two movies from the list are animated (Moana and Storks).

For more movies that came out in 2016, click here.

Image from LetterBoxd.