My Favorite Movies of 2016 (so far)

[Chris Knipp]

Was thinking of you because I saw Zama day before yesterday wonderfully projected at Alice Tully Hall. You can see my review in the 2017 NYFF reviews of Filmleaf. I discovered that an English translation of De Benedetto's novel was only published early this year and J.M.Coetzee's long NYRB review of the translation helped me, only it was too much. I don't know if I'd ever like this film but I can appreciate its exotic and sometimes beautiful images. Anyway... a lot could be written about it. I don't find as much to say about Call Me by Your Name, also a big film at the NYFF seen last night, except to compare it with the book. I found it very well done, very touching, the chemistry between Hammer and Calmamet amazing, and I'll probably see it again, but it didn't shake me to the core the way Brokeback Mountain did, maybe it'll resonate more later.

I hated The Lobster. I think it's really nasty. We'll see The Killing of a Sacred Der when it comes out in early Nov. I'm still curious. I liked Paterson a lot. Loved My Golden Days and have seen it several times. I will see Ismael's Ghosts in the NYFF too, but it sounds like a stinker to me and several (French) friends saw it in France and didn't like it at all. Your other choices sound great to me for a change except The Fits, I was somewhat underwhelmed by that.

[oscar jubis]

This is more "common ground" than our usual critical responses. It's great that you've seen Zama. I'll see it in March probably. I watched Manchester by the Sea and continue to admire Kenneth Lonergan's writing and directing. However, like Margaret and You Can Count on Me, his latest film will remain just outside the top ten. A talented man he is, no doubt. I look forward to more films from him in the future. I will be showing The Killing of a Sacred Deer but I can't say I terribly excited about it. I plan to rewatch Kieslowsky's Dekalog now that it's available on Bluray. That'll keep me busy for a while. Thanks for all the work you do for this site. I'm sure a lot of people appreciate it. I am also reading philosophical books lately, when time permits, and watching baseball with my Dad. He's a Yankees fan and they are in the playoffs. The new movie I want to watch the most is the new Agnes Varda documentary. Ciao!

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks for the response and, as always, I wish you had time to contribute more to the site as you used to early on. We'll see what the rest of the year holds in new releases. There are some promising ones from the NYFF, coming out now or early next year. I just saw Chloe Zhao's The Rider, a very touching docu-drama about a young cowboy which I didn't realize was bought by Sony Pictures Classics at Cannes.

[tabuno]

I feel deprived that I haven't had a chance to attend Oscar Jubis's class. I would really have been excited and enthralled to hear about many of the movies that he has listed that I have included in my top movie list:

*Blade Runner (Ridley Scott/USA-UK/1982)
*Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer/Germany/1998)
*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry/2004)
*A History of Violence (David Cronenberg/2005)
*Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik/2010)
*Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson/2012)

Personally, I'd replace Ex Machina (Alex Garland/2015) with The Machine (Caradog James/2013).

[oscar jubis]

I feel deprived that I haven't had a chance to attend Oscar Jubis's class.

Personally, I'd replace Ex Machina (Alex Garland/2015) with The Machine (Caradog James/2013).

You are very kind and I thank you. I wish we could meet and talk movies in person. I am enjoying my teaching, even though it's very hard to make ends meet with the paltry remuneration I get. It's fun though. For example, I'm preparing a course for next semester titled "Visual Communication" that would allow me to incorporate material about the historical development of technique in the art of painting. This is quite a challenge for me because I've focused exclusively on cinema up to now.
I had not heard about The Machine and I am interested in watching it. Thanks for mentioning it.

[Chris Knipp]

I would put Manchester by the Sea above the indeed enjoyable Hell or High Water. Just watched Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. Best thing he's done in a while. Speaking of painting, you ought to see Loving Vincent, animated using rotoscoping or motion capture and paintings by Van Gogh. French version I saw was all in French (better - since it takes place in France) and it was called La Passion Van Gogh.

[oscar jubis]

I would put Manchester by the Sea above the indeed enjoyable Hell or High Water. Just watched Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. Best thing he's done in a while. Speaking of painting, you ought to see Loving Vincent, animated using rotoscoping or motion capture and paintings by Van Gogh. French version I saw was all in French (better - since it takes place in France) and it was called La Passion Van Gogh.

Loving Vincent aligns perfectly with my current intellectual explorations. So I am buying the BlueRay as soon as it's released in January. I am currently watching a series of 24 lectures about the greatest paintings in Western Art released on dvd in 2010 by a company named The Great Courses. I recently finished the course on Greatest Ideas of Philosophy. so much to learn.

[oscar jubis]

There are some promising ones from the NYFF, coming out now or early next year. I just saw Chloe Zhao's The Rider, a very touching docu-drama about a young cowboy which I didn't realize was bought by Sony Pictures Classics at Cannes.

You can always trust the NYFF selections. The relatively low number of films screened when compared to other festivals means that even if you don't like a film you are watching at the NYFF, you know that you are watching something many consider to be a high achievement. Sony Classics will release The Cowboy in April of next year. Thanks for introducing it to us.
As far as 2016 films, I recently watched HELL OR HIGH WATER and I highly recommend it to all readers of these forum. It's certainly a consistently enjoyable, well acted movie that is justifiably mentioned in lists of the best films of 2016 (#8 in Rosenbaum's list). Like MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, another film in indieWire's 2016 Top 10 of the year, it doesn't quite have the impact on me that MOONLIGHT, MY GOLDEN DAYS, THE FITS, PATERSON, I AM NOT YOPUR NEGRO and CEMETERY OF SPLENDOR have. I recognize that some of the reasons I hold these movies in high esteem are entirely personal.