Black Ribbon's Best Films of 2016: Part Two

Best Films of 2016: Part Two

Concluding our cinematic features for the year of 2016 is the second part of our countdown of the best films the past twelve months have had to offer, and whilst the likes of Tarantino, Star Wars and Marvel haven't made the top ten, it just reasserts the power and strength of cinema in the modern era. Beginning our final foray into the best of 2016 therefore, we start with...

10. Creed

Not only does Ryan Coogler's Creed gain kudos for putting Goodison Park, the home of my beloved Everton, on the big screen, it also deserves a rafter of plaudits for reinvigorating the Rocky franchise, resurrecting it from the dead-end many had thought it had drove itself into and proving that with enough solid elements holding it together, such a series can continue to thrive. With Stallone arguably giving the best performance of his career, alongside a superb physical performance from Michael B. Jordan, a continuing collaborator with Coogler, Creed is a thrilling masterclass in how to create a successful sports movie, one which boasts impressive cinematography and sets things up nicely for Coogler's venture into the MCU with Black Panther, a film which of course also stars the magnetic screen presence of Jordan in a leading role.

9. The Revenant

As many predicted, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's visual masterclass The Revenant was indeed the movie which finally brought Oscar success for Leonard DiCaprio, and whilst perhaps in my own opinion the prestigious gong should have gone to Michael Fassbender instead, the reality is those Oscar lot just love a man to suffer before rewarding him, and boy does he. Whether it be being ripped to shreds by a bear, swimming in freezing water or eating a bison liver, a brave decision considering DiCaprio's vegetarian ways, The Revenant takes delight in punishing poor old Leo, yet the movie really shines when admiring the simply stunning cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki who too walked away with a deserved Oscar win, one which made him the first person in history to win three consecutive Oscars for his respective cinematic craft. Not a bad way to enjoy Christmas I suppose. 

8. The Big Short

Whilst there are those who are clever enough to dissect and understand the financial crisis of 2007/8, films like The Big Short act as the sort of gateway many of us cry out for when it comes to understanding an event so critically important yet so fundamentally confusing. With a top-end cast featuring the likes of Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Steve Carell holding it together, Adam McKay's comedic take on the unfolding drama works perfectly, creating a film which not only requires the audience's utmost attention throughout but one which is clever enough to not underestimate its' subject matter by resorting to cheesy basil exposition. How does the film manage to bypass this? By not only breaking the third wall but knocking it down completely, with guest stars such as Margot Robbie turning up and doing the explanations for us, something of which seems strange on first watch but suitably fits the feel of the film on repeat viewings, an easy feat when considering the superb nature of the movie.

7. The Neon Demon

As with High-Rise, Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon is undoubtedly a movie viewers will either really love or really hate. Whilst Refn has some done some superb work in the past with the likes of Bronson and Drive, films like Only God Forgives prove that every once and a while even the most gifted of film-makers can make a real stinker. Fortunately for Refn, The Neon Demon is most definitely a film which sides on all the good things the great Dane can accomplish, with its' simply marvellous cinematography rivalling that of the most accomplished movie-makers, whilst the Cliff Martinez soundtrack continues the solid collaboration between director and composer which began on Drive. Part Lynchian fairytale, part exploitation horror, The Neon Demon is an engrossing and overly arty B-Movie which puts to shame all the weaknesses of his past and poorer attempts to create such. Not only does god forgive Mr. Refn, but so does your trusted audience.

6. The Witch

"She's a witch!". Trying to avoid thinking up that particular famous Monty Python scene when it comes to anything resembling witchcraft is a particularly hard feat, yet Robert Eggers' unbelievably tense cinematic debut The Witch is a movie which creeps you out from beginning to end, destroying any hopes of a break from its' melancholic appeal by being just too darn intense and oppressive from the outset. Set in the remote outset of a secluded 17th century New England settlement, one camped right next to the freakiest looking forest of all time, The Witch is a superb and intelligent piece of horror film-making, one which doesn't rely on cheap cattle-prodding as its' main selling point and instead one which focuses on the oppressive state of madness and the ambiguity of an age in which witchcraft was a notion taken very, very seriously. If you want the full effect, turn the ligths off and listen with headphones. It's a guaranteed creeper. 

5. Son of Saul

Cinematic interpretations of one of history's most appalling acts are always a tough watch and whilst Son of Saul adheres to such a notion, this Hungarian Oscar winner is perhaps one of, if not, the definitive Holocaust movie, one which completely disregards the Hollywood based nature of a film like Schindler's List and instead goes for a much grittier approach, one which boasts some outstanding cinematic qualities and a standout performance from its' leading man. With its' sheer harrowing and shocking fundamental nature not exactly being the most enjoyable cinematic experience, Son of Saul rewards the audience in a range of different ways, not only by giving some sort of cinematic justice to the terrible events of the Holocaust, but also confirming the hype surrounding first-time director and actor double of László Nemes and Géza Röhrig respectively who between them leave the audience feeling numb and in awe of such a monumental and powerful depiction of the horrors of war. 

4. Nocturnal Animals

Whilst director Tom Ford is perhaps best known for creating some lovely looking suits in the fashion industry, Nocturnal Animals continues the critical success achieved by Ford with his debut feature A Single Man with this dark, white-knuckle tale of revenge and hatred, one which features top-form performances by both Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal respectively and a movie which revels in its' Kubrick-esque attention to detail. Some may say indulgent, I say beautiful, and with obvious nods to the likes of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick himself in terms of art direction, cinematography and narrative, one which features all the ambiguity and mystery of a film such as Mulholland Drive, Nocturnal Animals is one of those rare cases of going into a film knowing absolutely nothing about it only to be blown away completely come the end. Aside from an opening title sequence which is a rare obvious mis-step, Tom Ford's second feature is a superb piece of drama and one which deserves all the awards recognition it can get, particularly for the performances from its' leading actors. 

3. Room

Arriving during Oscar season at the beginning of the year, Lenny Abrahamson's cinematic adaptation of Emma Donoghue's critically acclaimed novel went on to receive rapturous plaudits from pretty much everyone, resulting in a deserved win for Brie Larson for Best Actress at the Academy Awards and more importantly, a place in Black Ribbon's top three films of the year. Whilst Room begins in a melancholic and overtly dark manner, yet one which is necessary to the overarching narrative, the concluding half of the movie is an expertly managed portrayal of discovery and wonder. Featuring arguably one of the best performances from a a child actor ever, one which undoubtedly will see young Jacob Tremblay being a name to remember in the future, Abrahamson's latest is an uplifting tale of the unbreakable bond between mother and son, even in the darkest of moments, resulting in Room fully deserving its' place within the best the year has had to offer. 

2. Arrival

Along with Christopher Nolan, Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has swiftly become one of the most interesting and reliable film-makers working out there today, and with Arrival, Villeneuve ventures into the realm of science fiction and pulls it off spectacularly, a particularly good omen when thinking ahead to the much anticipated Blade Runner 2049 in the coming year. Based on Ted Chiang's short story, "Story of Your Life", Arrival takes its' ques from the best of sci-fi cinema, choosing to thrive on the understated rather than the spectacle and featuring a powerful leading performance from Amy Adams, an actress who has really taken 2016 by storm. With its' heartbreaking narrative and time-bending twists, Villeneuve's latest is a beautifully crafted gem, one which stays with you long after leaving the cinema and really emphasises its' brilliance by being a film you simply have to keep coming back to. 

1. Spotlight

And here we are at last. Who would have thought that after the widely panned bore/cringe-fest which was The Cobbler last year, director Tom McCarthy would have redeemed himself completely with his next cinematic outing, a film which bucked the trend at the Oscars by actually being the deserved winner of best picture and a film more than deserved of being top of the pile for the best films released this year. With an absolutely outstanding cast including the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton, all of whom could have potentially walked off with Academy Awards themselves, Spotlight tells the tale of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal and its' subsequent exposure by The Boston Globe during the early years of the 21st century, and whilst the subject matter is fundamentally hard to examine on any platform, Spotlight manages to mix the winning formula of understatement and unrelenting drama in portraying a story so integral to recent history. With 2016 being such a stupendous year for cinema, picking the top spot may have been a unforgiving challenge, yet with Spotlight the choice was clear, resulting in a winner that concurs with those on the Academy Award board. Who'd thunk it? 

Next Time: Looking Forward to 2017

88th Academy Awards: Best Picture

Best Picture

So this time tomorrow, we here at Black Ribbon will be fully stocked up on coffee, energy drinks. those small cocktail sausages from Asda and perhaps the contraption that keeps Malcolm McDowell's eyes open within A Clockwork Orange in a brave attempt to keep awake during the early hours to which the latest incarnation of the Oscar ceremony will no doubt take place unto. For now however, it is time to examine the last and perhaps most important category of the 88th Academy Awards; the Best Picture category, a category which features a wide range of brilliant cinematic achievements, all of which have shocked, thrilled and stunned audiences across the world over the course of the past cinematic year, ranging from the all-out action craziness of Mad Max: Fury Road to the understated drama of Spotlight, two completely different movies, but both exceeding in critical acclaim nonetheless with the former being the favourite film of last year for two of Black Ribbon's leading contributors. 

As for the bookies, The Revenant is all set to continue its' success at the BAFTA's and walk away with the prestigious award yet it may face stiff competition from The Big Short and Spotlight, the film I believe deserves to win. There is no doubt that The Revenant is an excellent piece of cinematic achievement but Spotlight is a film that arks back to the fundamentals of film, one that believes telling a story in a straightforward fashion with a superb ensemble cast on top form is the most organic way to achieve true drama. Much like Whiplash last year, Spotlight is a film nominated for best picture and one that I hope wins against all the odds. We shall see. As for those who may have been overlooked, Inside Out, although odds on to win Best Animated Feature, should have been part of the Best Picture nominations, whilst films such as Sicario, Macbeth, The Gift and Straight Outta Compton all would have been on my own personal Oscar list for their achievements but in the eyes of the "prestigious" Oscar voters (See Link Below) such films were not worthy of Oscar stardom. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the ceremony as much as we will, and for the last time until this time next year, here are the nominations; 

Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller

The Revenant -  Alejandro González Iñárritu  

Spotlight - Tom McCarthy

The Big Short - Adam McKay

Room - Lenny Abrahamson

Bridge of Spies - Steven Spielberg

The Martian - Ridley Scott

Brooklyn - John Crowley

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/oscars-2016-voter-admits-not-watching-some-films-praises-the-room-and-shuns-whats-her-name-from-a6897016.html

88th Academy Awards: Best Director

Best Director

Within this penultimate examination into this years' Oscar ceremony, with the annual event set to take place this Sunday evening and heading ever so early into the bright and early hours of Monday morning (Screw you time zones!) we finally come to the nominations for Best Director, a category currently filled with the winning shoes of one Alejandro González Iñárritu for his work on last years' big winner Birdman. Once again Iñárritu is one of the five nominees for his work on The Revenant, a film which may indeed walk away with the top trio of awards in which it is nominated for with it standing a solid chance of winning Best Picture, Best Director and of course, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Although Iñárritu may indeed carry on his success at the BAFTA's and win at this years' Oscar ceremony, being only the third director to win consecutive directorial awards after John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, there are of course four other nominations in the directorial category with Adam McKay for The Big Short, George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road, Lenny Abrahamson for Room and finally Tom McCarthy for Spotlight. 

Inevitably, the odds are stacked highly in the favour of Iñárritu for The Revenant who is on course to make Oscar winning history, yet both Abrahamson and McCarthy shouldn't be forgotten for their understated yet brilliant work on both of their respected films. As for those who may have been overlooked entirely, Denis Villeneuve should have had a look in for his brilliant work on the sublime Sicario whilst F. Gary Gray should have been rewarded for keeping control of the egoistic mayhem that must have ensued on the set of Straight Outta Compton. Looking further afield, maybe J.J. Abrams could have been praised for getting the Star Wars franchise back on track. I mean the decision to have no Jar Jar Binks in the latest entry deserves some recognition right? Right? Anyhow, here are the nominations:

Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Lenny Abrahamson - Room

Next Time: BEST PICTURE!

88th Academy Awards: Best Actress

Best Actress

After last years' predetermination at the BAFTA's, with Julianne Moore winning the prestigious Best Actress award for Still Alice, a film that hadn't hit UK cinemas at the time of the ceremony leaving the choice of winner solely in the hands of preview-screened critics, the Oscar's soon followed suit and awarded Moore with her first award after many nominations for films such as Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights and Far From Heaven. Completing this years' nominations is a variety of talent ranging from rising stars to cinematic gems with each film definitely getting the vote of confidence from here at Black Ribbon, even Joy, the newest release from David O. Russell, which although features a riveting leading performance from Jennifer Lawrence has been regarded by many as a limp entry into the impressive canon Russell has already established, with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook doing particularly well at the prestigious ceremony in previous years. Could his and Lawrence's success at the Oscar's continue this year? Let's ask the people in the know.

In the wise eyes of the bookies, Brie Larson is set to carry on her success at the BAFTA's with her being odds on to pick up the Oscar for Best Actress in Lenny Abrahamson's simply brilliant Room, a film which manages to carry the balance of the dark and the twisted yet ultimately proclaims itself as a life-affirming drama, featuring a world-class performance from young Jacob Tremblay who along with Larson brings the brilliance of the film to light, resulting in the rare occasion whereby I completely agree with the Academy. Sure, Cate Blanchett is rather flawless in Todd Haynes' Carol and Saoirse Ronan continues her streak of being perfect in every way possible (CRUSH INCOMING) within the beautiful Brooklyn, but Larson is the stand-out, pulling in a performance that those at the Oscar voting table love; no make-up and a lot of crying. It might just be the start of something magical. Cringe. 

Next Time: Best Director

Film Review: Room

"Hello Jack, Thanks For Saving Our Little Girl..."

Starting slightly off topic, Lenny Abrahamson's latest, Room, based on the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue, is a strange case of reminding me of the success of Disney, particularly that of the works by Pixar, in regards to how films such as The Lion King, Wall-E, and most recently, the simply wonderful Inside Out, could take important and sometimes dark subject matters such as loss, human consumption and the development from child to adult, and present them in a fashion both uplifting and engaging for everyone no matter what their age. With Room, a film that similarly has a disturbing, twisted narrative at its' core, its' one of those rare cases in cinema in which a film brings with it an abundance of different meanings, whether it be psychological, mental, or particularly, social, and that alone succeeds in making Abrahamson's latest a riveting success, one that is both emotionally draining as well as being undeniably life affirming, a strange yet incredible combination if ever there was one.

Beginning by delving straight into the lives of Joy and Jack, the mother and son combination held captive by "Old Nick" within the less-than spacious titular "room", Abrahamson's latest begins by showing us the world in which the young Jack is all but used to, a world in which life begins and ends with that of the four walls of "room", a world in which mother Joy has had to endure ever since her kidnapping at age seventeen. From such a setup, a fundamental fear began to arise in fearing what Room could have potentially become if left in lesser hands, with it perhaps playing out in a Panic Room style thriller, one in which substance was left behind in favour of drama and thrills, yet the true winning formula of Room is in its' tendency to show the events of the film from that of young Jack, where the dark subject matter, although inherently present, is left in a somewhat ambiguous, confused state in line with our young character's state of mind, brought on by his sudden change of lifestyle and the existence of, Aladdin reference inbound, a whole new world. It is this point of view that allows the film to present a wide range of sociological and psychological problems that the all too real crime of kidnapping and captivity brings across the world. It's a film that encourages to think outside the box.

Although Brie Larson has understandably been taking all of the plaudits for her simply brilliant portrayal of the captive mother, caught between making a better life for her son in that of "room"whilst being entirely aware of the power of the outside world and its' effects it potentially could have on her young child, the film no doubt belongs to Jacob Tremblay, the nine year old actor who, in the face of an intelligent, thought-provoking script, portrays the character of Jack in sheer heartbreaking fashion, with his ability to convey the emotions of a socially-inept child, one who is simply baffled and completely frightened at the prospect of understanding the newly found world, truly outstanding. It's a performance worthy of examination from a wide range of angles, whether it be from that of one either sociological or psychological, and one that deserves all the attention it can possibly get. Tremblay's performance is one of the many talking points which results in making Room a truly exquisite experience and one that won't be quickly forgotten. Room is a film of sheer, unquestionable power and one of the strongest of the year so far in the race for Oscar supremacy. 

Overall Score: 9/10