2016 in Review

  1. Rogue One, A, another great chapter of Star Wars
  2. Zootopia, A, great neo-noir story, characters, and setup
  3. Hidden Figures, A, a lot of ingredients come together for a fun movie
  4. Manchester by the Sea, A-, slow moving but well made character study
  5. Moana, A-, simple plot, but well made and entertaining
  6. Queen of Katwe, A-, well made, well acted, and genuine underdog movie
  7. Jackie, A-, well-made small story about a very big story
  8. The Jungle Book, A-, surprisingly good as an action movie
  9. My Life as a Zucchini, A-, well crafted movie about foster kids
  10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople, A-, funny, touching New Zealand adventure
  11. A Monster Calls, A-, heavy plot, but good acting and visuals
  12. Finding Dory, A-, good story and characters, over the top action
  13. Arrival, B+, good alien contact movie with some twists
  14. Doctor Strange, B+, a new kind of Marvel hero, but somehow the same
  15. Lion, B+, interesting story about a lost kid from India
  16. Captain America: Civil War, B+, good movie, but getting a little tired
  17. Hell or High Water, B+, slow and simple, but some very good acting
  18. The BFG, B+, well-made children's fantasy
  19. Deepwater Horizon, B+, well made real life action move
  20. Central Intelligence, B+, fun buddy comedy wth Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart
  21. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, B+, goofy, but mostly funny takeoff of pop stardom
  22. La La Land, B, good story and romance, but a little amateur
  23. Star Trek Beyond, B, good, but starting to feel like a series
  24. Pete's Dragon, B, predicatable but very nice piece of fluff
  25. Paterson, B, extremely slow but artfully simple movie
  26. April and the Extraordinary World, B, cool graphics and imagination can't save this
  27. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, B, fun action movie still feels like a partial story
  28. Hail, Caesar!, B, interesting, silly period piece about Hollywood
  29. The Nice Guys, B, funny, entertaining, 70s detective movie
  30. 10 Cloverfield Lane, B, suspenseful and keeps you guessing
  31. Batman: Bad Blood, B, a lot of moving parts, but story is lacking
  32. Deadpool, B, grittier, but familiar Marvel movie
  33. Hacksaw Ridge, B, clumsily made story of incredible bravery
  34. The Secret Life of Pets, B-, good animation and characters, not much plot
  35. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, B-, another flawed, kind of gruesome, Tim Burton movie
  36. Nocturnal Animals, B-, some very good performance but not my thing
  37. The Accountant, B-, flawed movie is still fun to watch
  38. Fences, C+, great performances, but a loathsome leading man
  39. Keanu, C+, over the top silly crime comedy from Key and Peele
  40. Trolls, C, slow and kind of dark with fun music
  41. Sully, C, false drama inserted into amazing true story
  42. Sing, C, not original or that funny, but kind of cute
  43. The Red Turtle, C, this is why I own so many Disney movies
  44. The Edge of Seventeen, C-, did not care about the selfish mean main character