2016 is almost behind us and I really didn’t watch (or review) as many movies as I wanted to this year. I mean, I can really only look back to about March and you know, my memory only goes back so far. I can’t rely on my brain, that’s just ridiculous!
So in honour of ringing in the new year (which hasn’t happened yet, but whatever, just go with it), I wanted to do a little recap post as my (probably) last post of 2016.
The Best Movie I Saw in the Year 2016 (That Was Also Made in 2016)
I’m really really torn. It’s a very close call between Arrival and Swiss Army Man. Neither are a flawless film, but both really affected me and I really, truly enjoyed them!
The Worst Movie I Saw in the Year 2016
Hands down, The Gallows takes the cake. It was so bad, so beyond bad that it was almost mediocre but actually it wasn’t, it was just the worst. The worst. I will not ever watch this movie again. Ever. Not even once.
The One I Couldn’t Believe I’d Never Seen Before 2016
I am almost ashamed to admit it took me 20 years to see The Frighteners for the first time. I had really dropped the ball for, like, 2 decades by not seeing it sooner. I’d never even HEARD of it. But this will definitely be a Halloween season classic from now on, thanks to Rhiannon and Mel who played it and introduced me to the wonderfulness that is Michael J. Fox’s adventures in the after life(?)
The Best Movie You Probably Haven’t Heard Of or Seen from 2016 That I Saw and Really Liked
Tallulah was a super pleasant surprise. I love Ellen Page, so I wasn’t expecting a garbage film or anything, it was just a movie I saw and watched on a whim without reading reviews (which doesn’t really happen too often). I can’t say I’ve ever seen a BAD Netflix original, but this was a really underrated (well, not really, it has 84% on RottenTomatoes) and really unmentioned film worth watching!
The Best New TV Series From 2016
Stranger Things – season 1 was absolutely fantastic. I am waiting what feels like endlessly for season 2. It feels like it’s never going to come! I can’t wait for the young stars of this hit new show to return and show us what they can do… they’ve made a fan out of me!
The Best Older TV Series I Fell in Love With in 2016
A show I hadn’t seen before this year (even though it premiered in 2013 and I’m obsessed with Norman Bates… I even have a betta fish – bate-a fish if you will – named Norman Bates) was Bates Motel and I’m SO sorry I hadn’t seen it before this year. It was so good! I can’t wait to watch season 4, hopefully in 2017!
The Weirdest Movie I Saw in 2016
The Housemaid was a super bizarre South Korean film I watched on Netflix this year. I am usually a pretty big fan of every Korean film I watch, especially Oldboy, Memories of Murder, A Tale of Two Sisters, and I Saw the Devil… they really do thrillers well there! They have that genre down… however, I did watch (half of) one just the other night – The Wailing – which I was less a fan of, but alas, another review for another time. The Housemaid was explicit, not what I expected, and had a super weird ending, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Honourable Mentions from 2016
In 2016, I didn’t see or review as many movies as I’d hoped I would… but some of the films I saw that made their way into my heart include The Den, local creation Sleeping Giant, the horribly underrated As Above, So Below, Andy Samberg’s satirical Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a wonderful horror that surprised me in how good it actually was in Don’t Breathe, and another that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen before, The Loved Ones. All of these (I hope) will be making their way into my Bluray collection. I already own Don’t Breathe as I picked it up at a local pawn shop on Boxing Day for $7! AND HEY, I have a birthday coming up ;)
I can’t wait for the films I will see in 2017! There are tons coming out which I am SO excited for… Split, A Dog’s Purpose, Rings, Beauty and the Beast, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, IT, Pitch Perfect 3… should be a good year in the film universe!
Joy Reviews Movies 