22) Sausage Party
Yes. An animated movie that features a minutes-long food orgy 100% deserves my Best Of Year shout out. If not, then what is art even? Sausage Party is literal food porn, where supermarket items have wavy arms and talk like humans out of some demented kiddie movie. There are tremendous puns (“K, so?!” *Queso rolls into frame*), dynamite cameos (MEATLOAF!) and an abandonment of sanity that only Rogen/Goldberg collaborations can muster. It’s the Saturday morning cartoon you never got as a child, because if you did, so many people would be fired for all the right reasons.
Sausage Party is politically incorrect, unapologetic and so damn aggressive about it that everything still works. I mean, Edward Norton does a freakin’ Woody Allen impression the whole time – and he’s far from the best vocal talent.
21) The Wailing
*Taken From My Best Of 2016 Horror Article*
The Wailing plays so many different angles, and that’s why I love it. Genre movies can sometimes be rigid and nearsighted, yet this South Korean import blends together elements from a host of sources. What starts as a criminal thriller bursts in a finale of challenged faith and shaman warriors who fight possessions – a two-plus hour story that sustains its length with theatrical evolution. Movies this long shouldn’t be this tightly composed, but there’s rarely a scene I’d trim from Na Hong-jin’s Cannes showstopper. Take note, American cinema.
Every aspect of The Wailing is about transformation. Cinematography starts with a bright, jumpy presence, but come the film’s end, evokes dark, ominous dread. Sergeant Jong-Goo (Kwak Do-won) begins as a bumbling, almost half-wit lawman (or just lazy), but as time goes on, his guard is removed and seriousness is imposed. Hong-jin’s vision is all about telling a complete story, and he uses every aspect of cinema to do so. The kind of filling, rich horror tale that typically only exists outside the US, where “horror” doesn’t just mean slasher knockoffs and The Conjuring wannabes.
20) Pete’s Dragon
File Pete’s Dragon under Random Movies That Made Me Cry For No Reason. “Oh look, a giant Green Dragon. Aw, that’s cute, he cares for the kid! Wait, where are they taking the dragon? Why am I crying? Oh my god now they’re running away together. Matt, it’s an imaginary dragon, why are you crying. OH MAN, HEARTFELT DISNEY MOMENT, WATERWORKS SPARKED. STILL CRYING BECAUSE OF A DRAGON.” Welcome to my screening experience.
Biggest surprises from Pete’s Dragon – Disney finds another unknown child actor who shines, whimsical animation brings Pete’s pet to life and family-friendly spirit beats with vigorous power. Somehow this “remake” takes a goofy concept and tones it with hazy-eyed appeal, finding beauty in one boy’s fight for “normalcy.” Normal being a dragon who acts as his protector, who likes being read to. Grab onto imagination and hold on tight – this is one enchanting ride.
