As I make this list, please keep in mind These are not the top 10 movies that I necessarily think are the best, but these are my favorite movies that came out of the past year.

1. 10 Cloverfield Lane – Only two months before this movie was released, Paramount released the top secret trailer for this thriller. The original Cloverfield is my favorite film so needless to say I was eagerly anticipating this “sequel” that had been eight years in the making. Despite reading that it was only a spiritual sequel and wouldn’t have much to do with the first, that didn’t bother me, the hype train was rolling. Man, did it deliver! From the start of the movie, with no dialogue and only a musical score by Bear McCreary to narrate the events and get the ball rolling you can already tell this is going to be something great. As far as acting goes, and also only having three characters in the movie, all of them give great performances, having plenty of time and material to work with, the standout clearly being John Goodman. Acting as more of a psychological thriller for the majority of the movie and a tagline: Monsters Come In Many Forms, hints that human beings can be as big a monster as say, an actual monster. Great performances and a third act that will be talked about for years regardless of your love/ hate relationship towards it, Dan Trachtenberg has crafted my favorite and also in my opinion, one of the best Sci-fi thrillers of 2016.

2. Green Room – I must admit, the first time seeing the trailer for this movie it was hard to gauge what it was really about. Was it a horror movie, or a movie about a band, or both? Well, it is both! Starting off about a punk band struggling to get their feet under them towards the end of their tour, traveling through Oregon (also where the movie is filmed) the band makes a stop off for a show. Hearing word of a next venue the band arrives at a neo-nazi club and one thing leads to another and the rest of the movie functions as a fight for survival. Led by the Late Anton Yelchin, who gives one of his best and final performances, adding a new level of heroism and heartbreak to his role and making events in the film, for me personally, hard to view after hearing of his tragic death. He and his band mates have to get creative to escape the club and their owner, a great Patrick Stewart in a very transforming role for him. Supporting cast includes Alia Shawkat and Macon Blair (who is excellent in this film and Blue Ruin, director Jeremy Saulniers previous film. Check it out)! Special effects and make up in this movie are stellar, giving audiences and myself some of the most gruesome violence seen on film in recent memory. An excellent music score by Brooke and Will Blair as well as being beautifully shot, I highly recommend this film!

3. Captain America: Civil War – Marvel Studios has done it again! This time upstaging their 2014 hit Guardians Of The Galaxy. Initially, I thought this film wouldn’t work simply because at the time, and still, Marvel Studios hasn’t been in the game long enough to have the huge roster that the 2006 comic series had at its start. But as Joe and Anthony Russo proved with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they were more than up to the task. Rather than focusing on numbers, the characters that had already been introduced were grouped together to create a smaller, more intimate rendition of the massive comic book event. Make no mistake, I love the comic book event, debated to be Marvel Comics best event to date, the movie, with its near perfect writing and execution, manages to one up the comic. Rather than the Super-human Registration Act, the heroes of the MCU are given the Sakovia Accords, forcing them to register with the Government, or become outlaws. Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. both remind us why they earned their respective roles, giving their best performances as Cap and Iron-Man and managing to show a reasonable argument to both sides no matter which side you choose. Propelling the story further are new additions Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/ Black Panther and Daniel Brühl as Zemo. Zemo himself isn’t marvels best on-screen villain, but is the best the MCU has provided us with since Loki. Tom Holland, as the last and most excitable new addition as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man adds a sense of innocence to the films mid-way airport battle (arguably the best comic book movie fight seen put to screen) and gives us what looks to be the best adaptation of the wall crawler yet! Much like 10 Cloverfield lanes third act, this will be one that is talked about for years to come, not only for its dark tone, but the events that follow. Managing to juggle all of these characters new and old, and providing a compelling story, only based loosely on the Comic event of the same name, Marvel Studios and the Russo brothers gave us the best, most memorable comic book movie of 2016.

4. Midnight Special – Director Jeff Nichols specializes in the unorthodox and Midnight Special was no exception. Set around a boy with glowing eyes and multiple groups searching for him, including  standout performances by Michael Shannon,  Lovings Joel Edgerton and fresh out of Star Wars: The force Awakens, Adam Driver.Not much more can be said about this genius film for potential spoilers for those of you that haven’t seen it, I’ll simply leave that it is a smart, touching sci-fi picture that the less you know going in the better it will be, and really needs to be experienced for any movie fan.

5. Sausage Party – Honestly, I don’t know where to start with this movie, other than that it is easily the years best comedy, and like Midnight Special, needs to be seen with as little knowledge of what will come next to get the full effect. Even if you don’t like this movie and find it low brow, I feel it still deserves respect on account of it’s sheer originality. This movie in its writing is absolutely on point, giving us parallels to our lives and asking, what will happen to us when we reach the “great beyond”?, as well as poking fun at american history and gender/ race stereotypes. Like some of their other pictures, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg cast their usual group as the voices of our characters with some new additions, all of them fantastic! Seth Rogan and Kristen Wiig have hilarious chemistry and play well off each other as Frank and Brenda. One of the first of its kind, an adult targeted animation film, In my opinion, one of not only this years, but the most original film in many years, I would not recommend missing this one, although I would recommend keeping children away from it for a bit!

6. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – Released in the summer of 2016, it was understandable that with not much marketing for this film, and with big blockbusters like Suicide Squad and X-men: apocalypse taking the attention of most movie goers it was understandable that this hidden gem of the year was swept under the rug. Hopefully now that its been released on Blu-ray/ Dvd it will pick up a huge following that it deserves. Directed by The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer and starring both them and third member, Andy Samberg, this movie is truly this generations Spinal Tap. Chronicling the rise and fall of Andy Sambergs Conner4real, the movie never takes things to extremes that most comedies do these days to get laughs. Instead, this is something that, if a fan of The Lonely  Island, know what to expect, a silly, yet comical look at the music industry and how ego can ruin a career and alienate someone. With a highly original soundtrack and so many cameos, its amazing this movie did not receive more traction and a larger fan base. If given the opportunity, this hidden gem of 2016 is more than worthy of at least a viewing and I would be surprised if anyone didn’t after that, fall in love with this movie.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – What can be said about this movie that hasn’t been said already? Gareth Edwards has crafted one of the darkest, yet a fun and original Star Wars spin-off ; Rogue One.  Everyone knows the story, as i’m sure everyone has seen Episode IV: A New Hope. Rebels need to steal plans to the sinister death star, yada yada. You may think you know the story, but Gareth Edwards has crafted a story that, even with a pre-determined out come, feels so new and original, with only familiar characters making small cameos and a new band of heroes and villains taking center stage as well as delving deeper into Star Wars lore. As far as the cast goes, everyone from Felicity Jones’s Jyn Erso, to Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic deliver great performances and move a 2+ hour movie along briskly. Special effects have rarely been better, never better in the Star Wars universe, making something like, the death star destroying a planet look convincing. Michael Giacchino, who composed the score, albeit being very last minute, did an excellent job with what little time was given to him craft an original, touching, yet intense musical score, while still fitting in hints of John Williams memorable tunes. Being the first of what I assume will be a long line of Star Wars anthology films, Rogue One asserts itself near The Empire Strikes Back in terms of quality and shows viewers, that even in a galaxy far, far away, there are still plenty of stories to be told.

8. Kubo and The Two Strings – 2016 was a big year for animation, with hits such as Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets, and Zootopia. Among those and in my opinion topping said list of features is Kubo and The Two Strings. Directed by production company Laika CEO Travis Knight, this was yet another gem swept over by 2016 summer blockbusters. Art Parkinson voices the titular Kubo as he goes on an adventure, encountering a monkey (voiced by Charlize Theron) and a beetle (voiced by Matthew McConaughey). Without delving too much into spoiler territory I can’t reveal too much more about the films plot; another one of those “best to see/ experience it for yourself” deals. The animation put on display here is arguably the best in its kind, easily the best on display from Laika. A true adventure movie, and at its core, touching commentary on family, Kubo is recommended to be experienced by all ages.

9. The Nice Guys – Writer/ Director Shane Black, known primarily for 2013’s Iron-Man 3, has crafted a wonderfully original buddy comedy, following in the foot steps of the Lethal Weapon series, which Black wrote. The only similarities between the two being that Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling have great, if not better chemistry and work better together than Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Set in 1970’s Los Angeles, following Crowe’s Jackson Healy and Gosling’s Holland March, both Private investigators, following their own leads, upon inevitably crossing paths, make a decision to team up to solve the recent murder of a porn star. The film really captures the spirit and feel of L.A. in the 70’s and though it may not seem like much of a comedy, is easily one of the funniest movies of the year, on top of being action packed at times, but still grounded in reality. Moving back to his roots, Shane Black both wrote and directed one of the best buddy action/ comedies of the year. If anyone still has a bad taste left from Iron-Man 3, The Nice Guys is sure to do away with it!

10. Don’t Breathe – Going into Don’t Breathe, I had only seen the trailer very briefly, so there I was going into a movie had seen and knew virtually nothing about. Upon seeing the film I was pleasantly surprised. Aside from 10 Cloverfield Lane, this movie was by far my favorite and most original horror film in years. Director Fede Alvarez, on the heels of the mediocre 2013 Evil Dead reboot, has truly proven himself as a unique director with Don’t Breathe. When three kids ( Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto) learn that a retired, blind veteran has come into a huge sum of money, they take it upon themselves to break into his house to steal it, and escape their poverty ridden lives. They sooner, rather than later, learn that the blind man, perfectly play by Stephen Lang, isn’t as helpless as they believe. The blind man himself is so well written and viewers learn virtually nothing about him, giving him an entire mythos that could be explored in the future. Keeping viewers on the edge of their seat with suspense and a handful of shocking scenes not soon to be forgotten, and excellent directing, particularly a basement scene shot with something similar to night vision, this movie is not soon to be forgotten for its narrative or visuals, and rounds out my best/ favotite list of 2016!

Please feel free to comment and post your own list! Opinions are welcome.