2016 MOVIE LIST -- The Top 200 So Far

THE STANDOUTS (19) - This should go without saying, but these are all must-sees.


O.J.: Made in America (ESPN) ****
Manchester By the Sea ***1/2
La La Land ***1/2
Patriots Day ***1/2
The Invitation ***1/2
Lion ***1/2
Sully ***1/2
A Monster Calls ***1/2
Weiner ***1/2
Deepwater Horizon ***1/2
Allied ***
Bleed for This ***
Jackie ***
The Jungle Book ***
Everybody Wants Some!! *** 

Sing Street ***  

Hunt for the Wilderpeople ***
Pete's Dragon ***
Goat ***


THE GOOD (59) - These represent quality filmmaking all-around.


20th Century Women ***
Arrival ***
Silence ***
Hacksaw Ridge ***
Kicks ***
The Meddler ***
Eddie the Eagle *** 

The Infiltrator ***
Captain Fantastic ***
Miss Sloane ***
Nocturnal Animals ***
Snowden ***
Cash Only ***
Raw ***
The Eyes of My Mother ***
Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart ***
Gold ***
Fences ***
Other People ***
Sausage Party ***
Don't Breathe ***
Hidden Figures ***
War Dogs ***
Serial Killer 1 *** 

13 Hours ***
The Accountant ***
The Wave *** 

Hello, My Name Is Doris ***
Miss Stevens ***
Sleight ***
Moana ***
Zootopia ***
Too Late ***
Midnight Special ***
Doctor Strange ***
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping ***
The 4th ***
Amanda Knox ***

Under the Shadow ***
Krisha ***
Colossal ***
In a Valley of Violence ***
Don't Think Twice ***
The Trust ***
Transpecos ***
Tower ***
The Hollars ***
The Clan ***
Department Q: The Absent One ***
Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith ***
Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes ***
Jane Got a Gun ***
And Then There Were None (BBC) ***
Captain America: Civil War ***
The Phenom ***
Sing **1/2
Finding Dory **1/2
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot **1/2
Me Him Her **1/2

THE GOOD... BUT SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTERS (26) - Why weren't these good movies better? I don't really know. But they should've been. Hence, the name of this section.


The Founder ***
Moonlight ***
Hell or High Water ***
The Comedian ***
The Birth of a Nation ***
Elle **1/2  

Loving **1/2
10 Cloverfield Lane ***
The Nice Guys **1/2
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children **1/2
The Finest Hours **1/2
Money Monster **1/2
Hands of Stone **1/2
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising **1/2
Deadpool **1/2
Keanu **1/2 

Triple 9 **1/2
The Hollow Point **1/2
All the Way (HBO) **1/2
Confirmation (HBO) **1/2
Operation Avalanche **1/2
Always Shine **1/2
Band of Robbers **1/2
Wild **1/2
Hello, Destroyer **1/2
The Witness **1/2


THE GUILTY PLEASURES (29) - These are movies that I shouldn't like but I do, for one reason or another. I only feel ashamed because the Internet tells me I'm supposed to.


The Belko Experiment ***
Pet ***
13 Cameras ***
Headshot ***
The Magnificent Seven ***
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates **1/2
Criminal **1/2
The Shallows **1/2
Emelie **1/2
Intruders **1/2
Central Intelligence **1/2
Blood Father **1/2
The Autopsy of Jane Doe **1/2
Hush **1/2
Why Him? **1/2
Office Christmas Party **1/2
The Take **1/2
The Good Neighbor **1/2
Dog Eat Dog **
I.T. **
Holidays **
Search Party **
The Preppie Connection **
The Do-Over **
31 **
Nerve **
London Has Fallen **
Term Life **
I Am Wrath **


THE UNDERWHELMING DISAPPOINTMENTS (48) - Chalk it up to expectations but these movies just didn't cut it for me.


Split **1/2
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story **1/2
Live by Night **1/2
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back **1/2
The Girl on the Train **1/2
American Pastoral **1/2
American Honey **1/2
The Edge of Seventeen **1/2
The Wailing **1/2

A Bigger Splash **1/2
Christine **1/2
Tickled **1/2

Where to Invade Next **1/2
Race **1/2
The Purge: Election Year **1/2
Hail, Caesar! **
Passengers **
Rules Don't Apply **
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk **
The Light Between Oceans **
Mascots **

Joshy **
Ghostbusters **
The Boss **
Bad Santa 2 **
Masterminds **
Bad Moms **
Star Trek Beyond ** 

The Neon Demon **
Blair Witch **
White Girl**
Carnage Park **
Message From the King **
Lights Out **
Solace **
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows **
The Secret Life of Pets ** 

Frank and Lola **
Mr. Church **
The Fits **
Paterson *1/2
The BFG *1/2
The Brothers Grimsby *1/2
Ride Along 2 *1/2
Now You See Me: The Second Act *1/2
How to Be Single *1/2
Marauders *1/2
Get a Job *1/2


THE BAD (19) - For better or worse, I just don't know what these movies were thinking.


Inferno *1/2
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice *1/2
Dirty Grandpa *1/2
Free Fire *1/2
The Conjuring 2 *1/2
Jason Bourne *1/2
X-Men: Apocalypse *1/2
Suicide Squad *1/2
Batman: The Killing Joke *1/2
Yoga Hosers *1/2
Trash Fire *1/2
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies *
Independence Day: Resurgence *
Dark Night * 

Zoolander 2 *
Kindergarten Cop 2 *  

The Boy *
Flight 7500 *
Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 *


IN PROGRESS (6) - I started watching these but I never quite finished. Make of that what you will.


The Lobster (50 minutes)
Swiss Army Man (40 minutes)
Barry (30 minutes)
The Adderall Diaries (30 minutes)
The Handmaiden (20 minutes)
The Greasy Strangler (20 minutes)


OOPS, I MISSED (116): The 5th Wave, 13th, Anesthesia, Anthropoid, Assassin's Creed, The Automatic Hate, Backgammon, Being Charlie, Ben-Hur, Blue Jay, Burn Country, Cafe Society, Careful What You Wish For, Cell, Certain Women, The Choice, Clown, The Club, Collateral Beauty, Colonia, Coming Through the Rye, Creative Control, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Demon, Denial, Dheepan, The Disappointments Room, Disorder, Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words, Edge of Winter, Elstree 1976, Elvis and Nixon, Embrace of the Serpent, Equals, Equity, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fifty Shades of Black, First Girl I Loved, Five Nights in Maine, Flock of Dudes, Florence Foster Jenkins, The Forest, Free State of Jones, The Fundamentals of Caring, Genius, Ghost Team, Gleason, Gods of Egypt, Good Kids, Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee, Holy Hell, I Am Not Your Negro, I Daniel Blake, Imperium, Incarnate, Indignation, Into the Forest, Julieta, Keeping Up With the Joneses, Kevin Hart: What Now?, King Cobra, Knight of Cups, Kubo and the Two Strings, Lamb, The Land, The Legend of Tarzan, Les Cowboys, Life Animated, Little Men, Louder Than Bombs, Love and Friendship, The Lovers and the Despot, The Love Witch, Maggie's Plan, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Major, Man Down, Max Rose, Me Before You, Michael Moore in Trumpland, Miles Ahead, Monster Hunt, Moonwalkers, Morgan, Morris From America, Neruda, Oasis: Supersonic, The Other Side of the Door, Our Kind of Traitor, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, Pele: Birth of a Legend, A Perfect Day, Queen of Katwe, Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, Regression, Remember, Risen, Satanic, Seoul Searching, Shovel Buddies, Shut In, The Siege of Jadotville, Southside With You, Sugar Mountain, Tale of Tales, Toni Erdmann, Touched With Fire, Traders, Trolls, Tumbledown, Viral, Voyage of Time, Warcraft, Wiener-Dog


COMING SOON: 2017 Movie List

TheInSneider's Annual Last-Minute Oscar Nominations

This should sound familiar: T-minus 4 hours, so I'd better get these on the record quick! I haven't played The Alternate Game the last few years so I decided against it again this year despite the temptation with such a wide-open field. There are some categories that are really tough to call this year so I did offer some elementary analysis, though the trickiest question remains not which films will be nominated, but rather, how many. Thanks to all the bloggers I've enjoyed reading this awards season, including but certainly not limited to: Steve Pond, Scott Feinberg, Jeff Wells, Kris Tapley, Sasha Stone, Anne Thompson, Pete Hammond and the fine folks at The Playlist. I'd call this a work-in-progress but fortunately, we've run out of time and these will have to do. Good luck to all the contenders! And now, on to Phase Two...

BEST PICTURE

1. Spotlight

2. The Big Short

3. The Martian

4. The Revenant

5. Mad Max: Fury Road

6. Carol

7. Bridge of Spies

8. Straight Outta Compton

9. Brooklyn

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, The Revenant

2. Ridley Scott, The Martian

3. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

4. Adam McKay, The Big Short

5. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTOR

1. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

2. Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

3. Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

4. Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

5. Matt Damon, The Martian

BEST ACTRESS

1. Brie Larson, Room

2. Cate Blanchett, Carol

3. Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

4. Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

5. Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

2. Sylvester Stallone, Creed

3. Christian Bale, The Big Short

4. Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation

5. Jacob Tremblay, Room

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Rooney Mara, Carol

2. Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

3. Helen Mirren, Trumbo

4. Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

5. Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Spotlight

2. The Hateful Eight

3. Inside Out

4. Ex Machina

5. Bridge of Spies

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

1. The Big Short

2. Steve Jobs

3. Room

4. Carol

5. Brooklyn