From big-budget flops (Ghostbusters) to surprise indie hits (Bad Moms) this has been one of the more interesting years for films. But which were the best?
Here, in no particular order, is Chris Newbould's pick of the year's top 10, chosen from the movies that opened in cinemas or screened at festivals from the start of the year up until last weekend (so big releases this week and next – including La La Land, Passengers and Assassin's Creed – were ineligible).
Best films of 2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Compared with the levels of hysteria that accompanied the release of The Force Awakens a year ago, Rogue One did not quite match up, even with a red-carpet premiere to close the Dubai International Film Festival. However, this first, standalone spin-off – the story of how the rebels stole the plans for the original Death Star – is perhaps the Star Wars movie fans of the saga have been waiting for since 1980's The Empire Strikes Back proved that the franchise works best when it embraces its own dark side.
Best films of 2016
Anomalisa
Anomalisa set a record as the first R-rated animated film to earn an Academy Award nomination. David Thewlis provides the voice of world-weary motivational speaker Michael Stone, who sees everyone in the world as the same person, until Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) comes into his life. It is an odd set up, all the more so given that it is based on a one-act stage experiment from writer and co-director Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and the stop-motion puppets look like they were made by primary-school children. Ultimately though, the film's claim that "the most human film of the year doesn't feature a single human" proves utterly correct.
Best films of 2016
Under The Shadow
This might be the first and only year you find a Farsi-language social commentary/horror crossover on a year-end top-10 film list, but I suspect Under the Shadow will feature on more than one. At the height of the Iran/Iraq war, an unexploded missile brings terror to a Tehran apartment block, in more ways than one. Babak Anvari's unique offering debuted to a rapturous response at the Sundance Festival in January. It has been picked up by Netflix for global streaming, and a Hollywood remake is on the cards.
Best films of 2016
Free Fire
There's always a nagging fear when one of your favourite purveyors of quirky, verging on downright weird, British cinema is lured to Hollywood – in this case, Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, High-Rise). Will a defiantly indie spirit be diluted with a legend such as Martin Scorsese on the list of executive producers? Not this time. Wheatley delivers an admittedly derivative (tip of the hat to Quentin Tarantino), ultraviolent, funny masterpiece that despite a Hollywood production team and all-star international cast (Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer) retains an undeniably British sense of dark humour.
Best films of 2016
Deadpool
There is no shortage of Marvel movies, and while most are enjoyable to varying degrees (aside from last year's Fantastic Four), they rarely bring anything new to the table. Deadpool was different, bringing cynicism and a wry, adult sense of humour to the genre, plus self-awareness of the fundamental silliness of the genre. Producer and star Ryan Reynolds spent more than 10 years trying to get the project off the ground, and his perseverance paid off – the film made US$783million (Dh2.8billion), a record for an R-rated film – and a sequel is on the way.
Best films of 2016
Manchester by the Sea
Writer-director Kenneth Lonergan delivers a touching, hyper-realistic study of small-town New England life, as Casey Affleck’s Lee Chandler is forced to take in his orphaned nephew. The characters are so intricately drawn, and the movie so understated, that at times it appears to be a fly-on-the-wall documentary, following the everyday lives of the residents of a decidedly ordinary Massachusetts town. The film picked up armfuls of awards on the festival circuit, and screened at Diff. An Oscar nomination or two is a reasonable possibility, with Affleck’s performance particularly noteworthy.
Best films of 2016
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
This time next year Taika Waititi will probably be best known as the director of Thor: Ragnarok (it is due out next year). For now, the New Zealander director/actor/writer took time out, with Hunt for the Wilderpeople, to remind audiences that he can make fine low-budget indie movies as well as Hollywood blockbusters. Juvenile delinquent Ricky (Julian Dennison) and foster carer Hec (Sam Neill) find themselves hiding out in the New Zealand bush after Ricky runs away to avoid being taken into care. There are postmodern nods aplenty, with Crocodile Dundee, Rambo and Thelma and Louise all given a referential wink as the odd couple evade their captors.
Best films of 2016
I, Daniel Blake
Veteran British director Ken Loach returns with a typically uncompromising study of the cruel, faceless bureaucracy of the British welfare state. Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is seriously ill, and his doctor warns him that returning to work could kill him. Assessors at Blake’s local benefits office disagree and his social security payments are blocked. He befriends a similarly-sanctioned homeless single mother, Katie (Hayley Squires) and together they try to negotiate the bureaucratic maze and appeal against their benefits bans. It is powerful stuff, scathing of the effect that austerity politics are having on the most vulnerable people in the UK, and was even raised in the UK parliament. The film also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Best films of 2016
The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos’s bizarre comedy, the English-language debut from the Greek director, has more in common with mid-20th century absurdist drama than early-21st century cinema, but it is a delightfully funny detour into the surreal, while also offering biting social commentary on the unwritten rules of modern society. When his wife leaves him, Davis (Colin Farrell) is taken to a strange hotel where single people have 45 days to find a partner or they will be transformed into an animal. The film is quite unlike anything else seen on screen this year.
Best films of 2016
The Witch
Horror often gets short shrift from critics, perhaps understandably as there is an lot of dross in the genre. Not so The Witch, the story of a 17th-century puritan family who encounter a terrible evil presence in the woods. The Blair Witch reboot (see box out below) aside, witches have been overlooked in horror films in recent years, with vampires and werewolves in the spotlight – perhaps this movie could be the start of a revival.
Worst films of 2016
The 5th Wave
An alien-invasion young-adult dud in which Chloe Grace Moretz tries to save the world. It had the usual YA tropes of teens vs evil adults, blossoming romance and empowered heroines, but they looked more tired and predictable than ever.
Worst films of 2016
Warcraft
The latest video-game movie lives up – or down – to the stereotype of such big-screen adaptations being dire. Yes, it is highest-grossing video-game movie to date but that doesn't mean it is good – and it was still considered a financial failure. Let's hope Assassin's Creed (out next Thursday) fares better.
Worst films of 2016
Blair Witch
There had already been been one awful sequel to 1999's genre-defining The Blair Witch Project. This reboot was meant to erase its memory and relaunch the franchise. Better luck next time.
Worst films of 2016
The Brothers Grimsby
Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of Ali G and 2012's The Dictator, is not to everyone's taste but usually a reliable source of laughs – albeit simplistic and often tasteless ones. Not so in this terrible spy spoof.
Worst films of 2016
Independence Day: Resurgence
Spaceships? Check. Aliens? Check. Brave pilots saving the world? Check. Much-loved franchise back from the dead? Check. Sadly, this is not Star Wars. Roland Emmerich's belated return to the ID4 franchise left us wishing the aliens would put us all out of our misery.
