End of the Year Movie Survey 2016

I’ve adjusted Jamie’s End of the Year Book Survey to TV and Film since I also blog about those and want to cover all of my bases. Check out my TV Survey here, my Movie Survey below, and my Book Survey is coming soon!

Number of Movies/Documentaries I Watched in 2016: 85, If I Counted Correctly (Not Including TV Movies/TV Documentaries) & not nearly enough 2016 releases. I need to self correct in 2017 and get back to watching movies the same year they come out instead of being 6 months to a year behind in watching everything ha ha ha. Terrible. I need to surpass 100 movies/documentaries in 2017 in order to catch up in the way that I want to. Cheers to a much better movie year next year!

1. Best Movies I Watched In 2016?
*My goal: List five or less shows per category.
Drama (Includes Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, etc): The Last Five Years, Tomorrowland, Room, Joy, ARQ
Comedy: Trainwreck
Animation: Inside Out, The Angry Birds Movie, Zootopia
Documentary: Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, 13TH, Hillsong: Let Hope Rise, A LEGO Brickumentary, The Wolfpack

2. Movie I Was Excited About & Thought I Was Going To Love More But Didn’t?
10 Cloverfield Lane was good but I was looking forward to more of a twist and more originality. Overall, the film was quite predictable and boring because of that and all of the anticipation led up to an exciting ending but even still, it felt underwhelming.

3. Most Surprising (in a good way) Movie I Watched in 2016?
Drama: Midnight Special had quite the revelation at the end. With much time having passed since I last saw the movie, I can say that I appreciate the movie as a whole a lot more than I initially did. My full review is here for my initial jumbled thoughts on the matter. But wow, what an ending.

4. Movie I “Pushed” The Most People To Watch (And They Did) In 2016?
While I didn’t rec many movies this year, I think I’d say Inside Out was one that I did rec which got views and positive feedback that I was excited to hear about. If you haven’t seen Inside Out, please get to it.

5. Best Sequel of 2016? Best Movie Ending of a Movie I Watched in 2016?
Sequel: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Movie Ending: Perfect Sense

6. Most Action Packed/Thrilling Movies of the Year?
Captain America: Civil War and The Wave

7. Movie I Watched in 2016 That I Am Most Likely To Re-Watch in 2017?
Without repeating my favorite movies of the year, I’ll say Pitch Perfect 2 in preparation for Pitch Perfect 3.

8. Favorite Poster for a Movie I Watched in 2016?

9. Most Memorable Characters/Talent of 2016?
Marina Abramović – Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present

10. Standout Writing / Directing of a Movie I Watched in 2016?
Writing: Phyllis Nagy (screenplay), Patricia Highsmith (novel) – Carol

Directing: Ryan Coogler – Creed

11. Most Thought-Provoking/Impactful Movies I Watched in 2016?
Without repeating any title that I’ve already mentioned, I will say the documentary, Forks Over Knives really impacted me. I hope to talk about this more in the new year.

12. Movie I Can’t Believe I Waited Until 2016 To Finally Watch?
Galaxy Quest

13. Favorite Scene From a Movie I Watched in 2016?
When the men are rescued in The 33…let’s just say that you might want to watch this movie with some kleenex, it’s a possible tearjerker.

14. Movie That Shocked Me The Most? (Because of a plot twist, character death, etc.)
Midnight Special

15. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year?
Best Friends, Sin-Dee and Alexandra in Tangerine

16. Best Movie I Watched In 2016 That I Watched Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody?
Cowspiracy, which was recommend by my friend, Natalie over at Nutritiously Natalie was fantastic.

17. Most Exciting Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting?
Inside Out and Tomorrowland

18. Movies That Put A Smile On My Face/Were The Most Fun To Watch?
Various Genres: Star Wars: The Force Awakens was highly anticipated because, well, it’s Star Wars and the most diverse Star Wars movie to date…and overall, I really enjoyed it. The 5th Wave as well as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl were fun to watch after having read the books. Finally, Vacation and True Memoirs of an International Assassin were pleasant comedic surprises, though Vacation is a hard R, FYI.

Documentaries: Hillsong: Let Hope Rise was so much fun! I’ve literally grown up singing Hillsong’s songs so to put more faces and names to the songs, to see the people living their lives as they write these songs, was so great.

19. Movie That Made Me Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?
The 33 may have led to tears welling up.

20. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
I was quite moved by Perfect Sense, which came out five years ago but I just recently watched on Netflix. It follows a chef and epidemiologist who fall in love as the world slowly loses all five senses.

21. Movie That Crushed My Soul?
So it wasn’t necessarily the movies that did it but the fact that these were based on true stories. Everest and Spotlight.

22. Most Unique Movie I Watched In 2016?
Tomorrowland

23. Notable Mentions of the Year?
The Last Days, In the Deep, The Last Survivors, Mr. Right, Keanu, Food Matters, All Things Must Pass, He Named Me Malala, Amanda Knox, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things

Blogging

1. Favorite Movie Site/Blog I Discovered or Post I Read in 2016?
Why It Matters When Women of Color Play Love Interests – Nerds of Color

2. Favorite Movie Review That I Wrote in 2016?
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2Blu-ray Review

3. Favorite Movie Related Post I Wrote in 2016?
Black Actors in 2016 Movies (Note though that I still haven’t edited to strikethrough the movies that I have seen from the list!)

4. Favorite Movie Related Event That I Participated In (signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.) This Year?
SDCC

5. Best Movie Discovery (Movie related sites, stores, etc.)?
The Alice Initiative

Looking Ahead

1. Ten Movies I Didn’t Get To In 2016 But I Will Make a Priority in 2017?
Moana, Moonlight, Fences, La La Land, Arrival, Star Trek Beyond, Sully, The Edge of Seventeen, I Am Not A Serial Killer, Swiss Army Man

2. Five Movies I Am Anticipating in 2017?
Hidden Figures, Before I Fall, Wonder Woman, The Dark Tower, Kong: Skull Island

3. Sequel or Series Ending That I Am Most Anticipating in 2017?
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

What are your movie standouts of the year?