What's Left in 2016?

Considering the kind of year it's turned out to be, surely no one wants to know the answer to that question. For the remainder of December I'm basically doing my best Heather Donahue, at once afraid to open my eyes and afraid to close them. The same could be said of the next four years, but I can't allow myself to revel in that horror. Still, Top 10s are beginning to emerge and I've only seen 65 movies from this year so, in an attempt to get myself caught up, I've drawn up a list of everything I'd like to see from 2016 before I begin devising my own Best Ofs. I'm usually much farther along, but personal and professional troubles have gotten in the way over the past few months making trips to the movies increasingly demanding. Hoping the holidays give me more opportunities to catch up.

Here's a list of titles currently in theaters that I need to see (films highlighted in red are ones I've now seen):

·         Moonlight – The year’s big critical darling that also happens to be a new queer cinema classic? Yay!

·         Manchester by the Sea – You Can Count on Me and Margaret are two of my tip-top favs. Great to have Lonergan back!

·         Things to Come – Hansen-Love’s movies are so beautifully humanistic. Viva Huppert!

·         Elle – Verhoeven’s movies are so brutally confronting. Viva Huppert!

·         20^th Century Women – Equally mature, warm and comic about 70s life as Beginners was about grief and love?

·         Fences – Been there since the “I’ve been standing with you” scene in the trailer.

·         Toni Erdman – Everyone Else totally floored me, so I’m looking forward to more people learning about Ade.

·         Julieta – Almodóvar does Alice Munro? I like. Even skeptics seem to be getting on board with this one.

·         Jackie – Trailer and director choice immediately dispelled concerns over lead and stills. Best Actress loyalties.

·         The Salesman – Which is apparently getting a one-week qualifying release? Nothing like confusing people as to whether your movie is coming out or not, right distributors?

·         Paterson – Only Lovers Left Alive was a real surprise and Driver looks like he’d fit well in the Jarmusch-verse. Golshefti!

·         La La Land – Stone and Gosling are completely adorable to me, and in a musical?

·        Voyage of Time: IMAX Experience – An experience which never graced my local IMAX screens. Better luck with Life’s Journey?

·         Neruda – As if Larraín wasn’t having a good enough year before he went and cast Gael García Bernal. Can I buy a ticket now, please?

·         Moana – The one-two-three punch of Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia certainly doesn’t hurt. Looks charming.

·         Loving – Because it’s important for these stories to be told now more than ever. Excited for Negga! Ideal material for Nichols?

·         The Edge of Seventeen – Glad to see Hailee avoiding True Grit typecasting. The trailers were funny.

·         Christine – The true story it’s based on was deeply unsettling when I read about it. Points for nerve.

·         Lion – Few things makes me happier than the notion of Kidman excelling in an emotionally tricky part.

·         Hidden Figures – One hopes for a moving, entertaining, and informative tale like The Help without patronizing. Taraji!

·         Miss Sloane – Chastain is on fire and reviews seem to be strong despite reports of a dud earlier. Mbatha-Raw!

·         Allied – Lame title and trailer, but with actors this hot and the terrible year we’ve had audiences have earned it. Emotional emergency!

·         Nocturnal Animals – Adams is an intriguing asset, but the ugliness might turn me off.

·         Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – The Force Awakens was a hoot and a half. Like seeing different stories from this universe, especially if directors keep getting more interesting.

·         Rules Don’t Apply – Prestige Actors Going Period to Hammy Results can be fun, but also enervating.

·         Silence – Scorsese is always an event, but my mileage always varies. The Departed was the last one I liked.

·         Assassin’s Creed – Video Game source is an albatross, but Kurzel’s last two were mesmerizing, as were Fassy and Cotillard in Macbeth.

·         Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Because Harry Potter is in my blood, like a horcrux or a love potion.

·         A Monster Calls – The potential for irritation is high, but as is the potential for awe and creativity.

·         Miss Pergrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Reviews were more interesting than expected. Green a big selling point.

·         Passengers – I like J-Law and Pratt enough to be curious, but is there any other reason for this movie’s existence other than to have two uber-bankable stars together?

·         Live by Night – More Town-level tautness or Argo-level drabness?

·         Almost Christmas – Top three reasons I’m excited: Mo’Nique, Mo’Nique, and Mo’Nique.

·         Collateral Beauty – Under normal circumstances I’d avoid, but seeing the state the world is in makes me wonder if some optimism might not be so bad. Can Keira at least sell it?

And now a few titles I unfortunately missed in theaters that I hope to watch on DVD or VOD:

·         American Honey

·         Certain Women

·         Aquarius

·         Little Men

·         The Handmaiden

·         Mountains May Depart

·         Right Now, Wrong Then

·         The President

·         Tikkun

·         Neon Bull

·         In the Shadow of Women

·         Chevalier

·         Bang Gang: A Modern Love Story

·         Ixcanul

·         Closet Monster

·         Morris from America

·         Queen of Katwe

·         Sand Storm

·         White Girl

·         Kubo and the Two Strings

·         Cameraperson / Do Not Resist / Fire at Sea / Into the Infero / Tickled

·         From Afar

·         Other People

·         Spa Night

·         Glassland

·         Viva!

·         Eye in the Sky

·         Tallulah

·         The Invitation

·         The Little Prince

·         High-Rise

·         Miles Ahead

·         Lolo

·         Swiss Army Man

·         The Nice Guys

·         Ghostbusters

·         The Jungle Book

·         Indignation

·         Finding Dory

·         Genius

I tried so hard to see the first five, but each had limited windows in which I could see them, despite high profiles. American Honey and Certain Women only played one and two weeks respectively while Little Men didn't even open in Nashville. Aquarius had the misfortune of opening during the week of Thanksgiving (the second busiest time of the year for me) and playing only then. I will never understand what distributors gain by making their movies impossible to see!