‘Phil’s Quick Capsule Review’ (a nod to legendary comedian Bill Hicks who coined the phrase when he reviewed ‘Piece Of Shit’ movie Basic Instinct)… where a perfect 10 is rarer than a rain free British summer!
Written by Phil Hobden – UK based podcaster, writer and former filmmaker. Part of the All Things Film network…
Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five. This time out: Movie Funko Pops!
Close but no cigar: Pinhead (Hellraiser), Jack Burton (Big Trouble In Little China), Ash (Evil Dead), Groot (Guardians Of The Galaxy), Eleven (Stranger Things), The Joker (The Dark Knight)
So 2016 may be in the rear mirror but having now seen a few of 2016’s last few must see movies I’m having a do-over and republishing my list of the best films of 2016.
So here it is: my FINAL pick of the BEST films of 2016.
Film of The Year: The Nice Guys In Brief: It was pretty much Room or The Little Prince all the way this year until The Nice Guys came along. But then any film directed and written by one of my favourite filmmakers in Shane Black was always going to have a fighting chance. Smart, funny and sharp as a tack… The Nice Guys is the best film you probably didn’t see this year!
2. Kubo And The Two Strings In Brief:: Paranorman, Coraline, The Boxtrolls and now Kubo. That was high bar for sure but amazingly Kubo sets it higher still. Near perfect.
3. The Little Prince In Brief: Who saw this coming? Adaptation of a popular kids book, released almost exclusively on Netflix. But man it knocked it out the park. Brilliantly animated and heart wrenchingly performed, Little Prince is up there with the best of the genre.
4. Sing Street In Brief: Much like Sunshine Of Leith a few years back, Sing Street brings the songs, the charms and the heart and brings them all in spades. One of the best films of the year for sure.
5. Hunt for The Wilder People In Brief: A coming of age family drama that will spawn a million “Shit Got real” T-shirts. Worth all the amazing reviews…
6. Room
7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
8. Moana
9. Green Room
10. The Girl With All The Gifts
Bubbling Under: Deadpool, The Big Short, Arrival, Doctor Strange, Train To Busan, Eddie The Eagle, Midnight Special , Creed, Bad Moms, Spotlight
So 2016 is almost over and it’s that time a year again where everyone reflects back on their best and worst films of the year.
So here it is: my pick of the BEST films of 2016.
Film of The Year: The Nice Guys In Brief: It was pretty much Room or The Little Prince all the way this year until The Nice Guys came along. But then any film directed and written by one of my favourite filmmakers in Shane Black was always going to have a fighting chance. Smart, funny and sharp as a tack… The Nice Guys is the best film you probably didn’t see this year!
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story In Brief: Holy wow. Blockbuster of the year, the 4th best Star Wars film and a film that **spoilers** managed to raise a horror icon from the dead. A War film, a hiatus movie, a Star Wars story. Yup… Rogue One is THAT good.
3. The Little Prince In Brief: Who saw this coming? Adaptation of a popular kids book, released almost exclusively on Netflix. But man it knocked it out the park. Brilliantly animated and heart wrenchingly performed, Little Prince is up there with the best of the genre.
4. Room In Brief: Was a contender from the moment I saw it and one of the few times that Oscar bate lives up to it’s billing. It’s touching, masterfully made and beautiful.
5. Moana In Brief: A stunningly well made animation from Disney with heaps of charm, laughs and catchy songs. A late entry into my Bets Of for 2016.
6. The Big Short 7. Green Room 8. Deadpool 9. Doctor Strange 10. Arrival
Bubbling Under: Eddie The Eagle, Midnight Special , Creed, Bad Moms, Zootropolis, Star Trek Beyond, Spotlight
So this is my semi-regularly updated of the BEST and WORST of 2016’s movies, in my very humble opinion.
Best Films Of 2016… So Far:
The Nice Guys (9/10)
Room (8/10)
The Big Short (8/10)
Green Room (8/10)
Deadpool (8/10) Honourable Mentions: Creed (8/10);Where To Invade Next (8/10); Midnight Special (8/10); Spotlight (8/10); Eddie The Eagle (8/10); Zootropolis (8/10), Zero Days (8/10), Money Monster (7/10), Star Trek Beyond (7/10), Batman Vs Superman Dawn Of Justice (7/10), Finding Dory (7/10); Eye In The Sky (7/10); Captain America Civil War (7/10); Blood Father (7/10); Angry Birds (7/10); The Shallows (7/10)
Worst Films Of 2016… So Far:
Point Break (3/10)
Central Intelligence (3/10)
The 5th Wave (3/10)
Kickboxer Vengeance (3/10)
Cabin Fever (4/10)
Dis-Honourable Mentions: Divergent Allegiant (4/10); Triple 9 (4/10), Bastille Day (4/10); London Has Fallen (4/10); Independence Day Resurgence (4/10); Dad’s Army (4/10); Huntsman Winters War (5/10); Warcraft (5/10); Gods Of Egypt (5/10); Suicide Squad (5/10); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out Of The Shadows (5/10); The Neon Demon (5/10); Zoom (5/10)
The Sharknado Award for Films So Good They Cant Be Rated:
Sharknado The Forth Awakens
Great Films of 2015 I didn’t see in2015
Honourable Mentions: The Lady In The Van (8/10); Straight Outta Compton (8/10); The Survivalist (8/10); The Seven Five (8/10); 99 Homes (7/10)
So this is my semi-regularly updated of the BEST and WORST of 2016’s movies, in my very humble opinion.
Best Films Of 2016… So Far:
Room (8/10)
The Big Short (8/10)
Green Room (8/10)
Creed (8/10)
Dead pool (8/10)
Honourable Mentions: Spotlight (8/10); Eddie The Eagle (8/10); Zootropolis (8/10), Batman Vs Superman Dawn Of Justice (7/10), Eye In The Sky (7/10); Captain America Civil War (7/10); Kung Fu Panda 3 (7/10)
Worst Films Of 2016… So Far:
Point Break (3/10)
The 5th Wave (3/10)
Cabin Fever (4/10)
Triple 9 (4/10)
Divergent Allegiant (4/10)
Dis-Honourable Mentions: London Has Fallen (4/10); Independence Day Resurgence (4/10); Dad’s Army (4/10); Warcraft (5/10); Gods Of Egypt (5/10)
The Sharknado Award for Films So Good They Cant Be Rated:
Great Films of 2015 I didn’t see in2015
Honourable Mentions: The Lady In The Van (8/10); Straight Outta Compton (8/10); The Survivalist (8/10); The Seven Five (8/10); 99 Homes (7/10)
Phil’s Quick Capsule Review: Formally known as Zootopia, Zootroplois arrives in the UK with an impressive 99% (as I write this) on Rotten Tomatoes. So pretty impressive stuff. So is it that good? Well I’ll hand over to my daughter at this point who proclaimed it “The best film I’ve ever seen”. Best film ever? Probably not. But damn it gets almost everything it does right. Charming, smart and beautiful to look at Zootroplois is Disney Animation back on form, showing the creative influence of Pixar and executive producer John Lassiter. In fact you’d almost believe this WAS a Pixar film. And that’s one hell of a complement even now…