The 2016 Halftime Top 5: From 80 bros to drone strikes

Green Room is one of my favorite films of the year but where does it land on the halftime top 5?

 

Is it really June already? It sure does not feel like it. Not even from just a “time flies” perspective, but from a quality film release perspective as well. It is not as if there have not been good films to come out over the course of 2016 but I have not been this unenthusiastic about a collection of film releases to open up a year for a while. Sure generally the release of excellent films in any good year tends to be concentrated near the back half of the year but this spring has felt rather uninspired to me. It may be that I am becoming more jaded for whatever reason which is something that has been creeping in the back of my mind as the year gone by or it may just be a dry year. That being said the films that ultimately populate my halftime top five I enjoyed a great amount. A lot of the films on this list have been hidden gems and actually represent a diverse amount of filmmaking styles and voices. here are the films that have managed to transcend an otherwise mediocre year. Here is my list of the top five films of 2016 so far:

Honorable Mention:
Midnight Special

5. Everybody Wants Some
 

Richard Linklater is the best “time capsule” filmmaker going today. There is no one right now who is able to capture a time, place or feeling the way that he can and Everybody Wants Some is another great example of it. Sure it is not nearly as great as his previous two offerings, Before Midnight and Boyhood, but the film was still charming and a ton of fun. Linklater has a great sense of how to make even the most background of characters likeable and three dimensional. It makes a film that could have been an average 80s bro comedy into something that is more interesting and fun. Sure these characters have some less than ideal elements, the sexism of college athletes in the 80s is on full display, but Linklater makes them unique and interesting enough to make them seem like they would at least be interesting to hang out with. Everybody Wants Some was just a blast to watch from beginning to finish, a really good nostalgia romp through the 80s and one of the best films of the year so far.

4. Eye in the Sky

Quiet thrillers are often the most effective. Nothing truer could be said about Eye in the Sky, the first good film from Gavin Hood in a long while. Eye in the Sky brings the extraordinary tension of preforming a drone strike to life through fantastic performances from Helen Meeren, Aaron Paul, and the late Alan Rickman along with a great script that ramps up the tension in the most fantastic fashion. Eye in the Sky does all this while almost solely focusing on people sitting in rooms talking and observing the situation on screens. The film is a fantastic example of how to create tension without having to be too flashy and is ultimately one of the year's very best films so far.

3. Love and Friendship

Whit Stillman and Jane Austin are a match made in heaven. Love and Friendship is just an absolute delight from beginning to finish. I laughed out loud at this film more times than I have since Wolf of Wall Street and had a smile on my face throughout the entire film. Whit Stillman has always been known for characters with acid tong and Love and Friendship is no exception. The film is quippy and the dialogue beautifully written from start to finish. It is so great to have Stillman’s voice back into the filmmaking space and Love and Friendship is yet another great film to add to his resume.

2. Green Room

Jeremy Saulnier is the young filmmaker to watch and Green Room is yet another huge reason why. Easily the tensest thriller of the year Green Room is a perfect example of hitting every note that allows for such a film to be successful. Saulnier’s characters are actually intelligent, both the good guys and the bad guys allow no point in which the viewer has to ask, “why the hell would they be stupid enough to do that.” His plot is unpredictable, anchored by a great script that tires and succeeds at completely subverting thriller tropes while also ramping up tension at just the perfect pace. The result of all of the brilliant ingredients is a near masterpiece in thriller construction and execution. Green Room is as brilliant as a 95 minute white knuckle thriller can be and easily one of the very best of 2016.

1. Lemonade

Is Lemonade really a film? In my book Beyonce’s masterful “visual album” is not just a film but it is easily the most unique and fascinating piece of filmmaking to be released in 2016. Setting music to visuals is nothing new but doing to tell such deep overarching personal story has never been done at even a fraction of this level. Filmmaking is often not ideal for showing internal struggle which makes Beyonce’s perfect stream of conscious storytelling so remarkable. Her struggle with the infidelity of her husband is not just represented by a series of external events like it would be in most filmmaking projects. Rather her mind wanders, her emotions develop and change minute to minute, and the progression of her feelings feels like it progresses in the most natural way. On top of that the filmmaking itself is gorgeous and the actual musical album is the best that Beyonce has ever produced. Lemonade is simply brilliant from beginning to finish, a unique and powerful piece of art and easily the best film of the year so far.