For all of the great and underrated pop culture that popped up in 2016, the year still sucked. And that sucky-ness seeped its way into movies too. There were plenty of cinematic let-downs throughout the year — movies that showed promise before leaving us feeling dead inside. Here are 9 of those films. We're not even mad, just disappointed.
9. I Saw the Light
(dir. by Marc Abraham)
The subject and genre didn't build up hopes for this movie. Every year, music biopics come out and can be good, great, or awful. In 2016, we had three in quick succession: the great Born to Be Blue, the middling Miles Ahead, and I Saw the Light, a movie whose performers at least promised some quality. Generally, Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen deserve a class of film worthy of talents. (Then again, after the former's cringey "They watch The Night Manager in South Sudan, too" Golden Globes speech, who's really to say what he deserves these days?) But this retelling of the life of country music star Hank Williams can't even sell out to convention properly. Instead, the leads offer muddled accents, making this worse than a Walk the Line retread. (Read more.)
James Brotheridge
8. American Honey
(dir. by Andrea Arnold)
American Honey is a frustrating watch: a nearly three-hour, meandering journey in a van across the American South that desperately wants to paint a rich tapestry of the lives of disenfranchised youth. Scenes that seem to confront capitalism, appropriation and classism never pay out in a meaningful way, there is no character development or growth and plot threads are introduced and never resolved. The film's cinematography is beautiful and sweeping, and a scene in which protagonist Star parties with some rich Texans is the film's best, and would do well as a twenty-minute short. The rest of American Honey, however, plays out like a film your cool but clueless aunt made about "the magic of today's youth." (Read more.)
Laura Di Girolamo
7. American Pastoral
(dir. by Ewan McGregor)
Without question, first-time directors deserve a modicum of patience while they work out the kinks in their craft. But when said director is a veteran actor, and when they fail on this spectacular of a level, it's tough to forgive. They said that Philip Roth's novel was "unfilmable," and they were right. Here, Ewan McGregor has crafted one of the most inept films to hit the screen in years. The acting, lighting and pacing are all off, and Dakota Fanning is downright offensive as a young woman with a speech impediment. The film is so bad that it's almost worth a watch, but that doesn't mean we're not deeply disappointed in Mr. McGregor's directorial debut. (Read more.)
Josiah Hughes
6. Wiener-Dog
(dir. by Todd Solondz)
There was a time, probably right around the release of his 1998 masterpiece Happiness, when writer-director Todd Solondz seemed like one of the most audacious and daring filmmakers out there. But then he could never seem to escape the daunting presence of his own shadow, bringing back characters from his breakthrough debut Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness in later efforts Palindromes and Life During Wartime respectively, and generally just treading water. And with this year's Wiener-Dog, here is Solondz again having the character of Dawn Wiener from Dollhouse return (this time played by Greta Gerwig, and despite the fact that Wiener was killed off in Palindromes) for yet another encore no one requested. While the film does have some inspired moments of pitch-black humour, it's impossible to shake the feeling that what once seemed bold has now grown rather boring and that Solondz seems increasingly incapable of making films without leaning on the crutch of his successful past efforts. (Read more.)
Kevin Scott
5. The Neon Demon
(dir. by Nicolas Winding Refn)
The Neon Demon is one of the most stunning, visually arresting films I've ever seen, and one could argue that its substance being secondary to its style is a moot point. But The Neon Demon can't work visually if it doesn't work thematically, and there are a number of ideas introduced that don't lead to a satisfying conclusion or payoff. Is the film about the high-stakes modelling world preying on the innocent, or is innocence a construct that savvy young women use to manipulate men? It doesn't really commit to either idea, and although The Neon Demon is a dreamy mess, it's so incredibly gorgeous that it's worth a watch if you can turn off the part of your brain that wants to make sense of it all. (Read more.)
Laura Di Girolamo
4. The Magnificent Seven
(dir. by Antoine Fuqua)
For some fans, reading the cast and crew of this remake-of-a-remake should wind you up to a fever pitch. Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and on –– mix in director Antoine Fuqua, who's managed some good, violent entertainments on occasion, and there should be little impeding this from at least being a competent movie. It mostly rises to that bar without surpassing it, wasting the charms of Washington and Pratt, the conflict in Hawke, and a curious, idiosyncratic performance from Vincent D'Onofrio. The Magnificent Seven: The New Batch could've held onto some gravity, grappling with a reconciliation of America's violent past it and so many neo-westerns toy with. It could also be a shoot-'em-up crowdpleaser. It's a little bit of both, without any conviction. (Read more.)
James Brotheridge
3. Passengers
(dir. by Morten Tyldum)
Despite the many charms of Arrival, the year-end sci-fi film has got to die. After all, Passengers shows that space movies are getting made even if they have deeply offensive, rapey narratives. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence banter around a giant soundstage with the same sort of people-pleasing charisma they'd bring to The Ellen Show, and Michael Sheen makes the most of his incredibly stupid role as a robo-bartender. At its core, however, Passengers carries a horrendous message that suggests consent doesn't matter if you can win someone over in the end. You won't just be disappointed in the movie — you'll be disappointed in life itself. (Read more.)
Josiah Hughes
2. Snowden
(dir. by Oliver Stone)
As the director of JFK, Nixon, W. and the documentary series The Untold History of the United States, it's pretty obvious Oliver Stone knows a thing or two about American conspiracies, politics, and the ways in which the two have influenced the current state of the world over the past 100 years. That's part of the reason why his latest film is so disappointing — he should know better. In an attempt to show the human side of Edward Snowden and the steps, thoughts and fights that lead him to make the biggest decision of his life, Stone muddles the message the NSA whistleblower was trying to make with his infamous leak. I've said it before and I'll say it again: just watch Citizenfour. (Read more.)
Matthew Ritchie
1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(dir. by Gareth Edwards)
Let's get one thing clear: as the first standalone Star Wars film as part of Disney's multi-year revival of the universe, its characters and their stories, Rogue One is certainly meant for fans of the series. But after taking a step in the right direction following three lacklustre prequels with last year's The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm's latest felt like a bit of a cop-out. Yes, the action is fantastic and the special effects are strong (as is the movie's star power, thanks to appearances by established and rising actors like Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed and Ben Mendelsohn), but all of it seems like a distraction from the fact that the dialogue, as A.O. Scott of the New York Times has already pointed out, is absolutely atrocious, the story is stale, the character development is non-existent, and for a movie with a female character front and centre, you'll have a hard time finding any other women in the movie. Rogue One's only real innovations seem to involve bringing a dead guy back to life and de-aging Carrie Fisher, both of which are problematic. The force is not strong with this one. (Read more.)
Matthew Ritchie
9. I Saw the Light
(dir. by Marc Abraham)
The subject and genre didn't build up hopes for this movie. Every year, music biopics come out and can be good, great, or awful. In 2016, we had three in quick succession: the great Born to Be Blue, the middling Miles Ahead, and I Saw the Light, a movie whose performers at least promised some quality. Generally, Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen deserve a class of film worthy of talents. (Then again, after the former's cringey "They watch The Night Manager in South Sudan, too" Golden Globes speech, who's really to say what he deserves these days?) But this retelling of the life of country music star Hank Williams can't even sell out to convention properly. Instead, the leads offer muddled accents, making this worse than a Walk the Line retread. (Read more.)
James Brotheridge
8. American Honey
(dir. by Andrea Arnold)
American Honey is a frustrating watch: a nearly three-hour, meandering journey in a van across the American South that desperately wants to paint a rich tapestry of the lives of disenfranchised youth. Scenes that seem to confront capitalism, appropriation and classism never pay out in a meaningful way, there is no character development or growth and plot threads are introduced and never resolved. The film's cinematography is beautiful and sweeping, and a scene in which protagonist Star parties with some rich Texans is the film's best, and would do well as a twenty-minute short. The rest of American Honey, however, plays out like a film your cool but clueless aunt made about "the magic of today's youth." (Read more.)
Laura Di Girolamo
7. American Pastoral
(dir. by Ewan McGregor)
Without question, first-time directors deserve a modicum of patience while they work out the kinks in their craft. But when said director is a veteran actor, and when they fail on this spectacular of a level, it's tough to forgive. They said that Philip Roth's novel was "unfilmable," and they were right. Here, Ewan McGregor has crafted one of the most inept films to hit the screen in years. The acting, lighting and pacing are all off, and Dakota Fanning is downright offensive as a young woman with a speech impediment. The film is so bad that it's almost worth a watch, but that doesn't mean we're not deeply disappointed in Mr. McGregor's directorial debut. (Read more.)
Josiah Hughes
6. Wiener-Dog
(dir. by Todd Solondz)
There was a time, probably right around the release of his 1998 masterpiece Happiness, when writer-director Todd Solondz seemed like one of the most audacious and daring filmmakers out there. But then he could never seem to escape the daunting presence of his own shadow, bringing back characters from his breakthrough debut Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness in later efforts Palindromes and Life During Wartime respectively, and generally just treading water. And with this year's Wiener-Dog, here is Solondz again having the character of Dawn Wiener from Dollhouse return (this time played by Greta Gerwig, and despite the fact that Wiener was killed off in Palindromes) for yet another encore no one requested. While the film does have some inspired moments of pitch-black humour, it's impossible to shake the feeling that what once seemed bold has now grown rather boring and that Solondz seems increasingly incapable of making films without leaning on the crutch of his successful past efforts. (Read more.)
Kevin Scott
5. The Neon Demon
(dir. by Nicolas Winding Refn)
The Neon Demon is one of the most stunning, visually arresting films I've ever seen, and one could argue that its substance being secondary to its style is a moot point. But The Neon Demon can't work visually if it doesn't work thematically, and there are a number of ideas introduced that don't lead to a satisfying conclusion or payoff. Is the film about the high-stakes modelling world preying on the innocent, or is innocence a construct that savvy young women use to manipulate men? It doesn't really commit to either idea, and although The Neon Demon is a dreamy mess, it's so incredibly gorgeous that it's worth a watch if you can turn off the part of your brain that wants to make sense of it all. (Read more.)
Laura Di Girolamo
4. The Magnificent Seven
(dir. by Antoine Fuqua)
For some fans, reading the cast and crew of this remake-of-a-remake should wind you up to a fever pitch. Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and on –– mix in director Antoine Fuqua, who's managed some good, violent entertainments on occasion, and there should be little impeding this from at least being a competent movie. It mostly rises to that bar without surpassing it, wasting the charms of Washington and Pratt, the conflict in Hawke, and a curious, idiosyncratic performance from Vincent D'Onofrio. The Magnificent Seven: The New Batch could've held onto some gravity, grappling with a reconciliation of America's violent past it and so many neo-westerns toy with. It could also be a shoot-'em-up crowdpleaser. It's a little bit of both, without any conviction. (Read more.)
James Brotheridge
3. Passengers
(dir. by Morten Tyldum)
Despite the many charms of Arrival, the year-end sci-fi film has got to die. After all, Passengers shows that space movies are getting made even if they have deeply offensive, rapey narratives. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence banter around a giant soundstage with the same sort of people-pleasing charisma they'd bring to The Ellen Show, and Michael Sheen makes the most of his incredibly stupid role as a robo-bartender. At its core, however, Passengers carries a horrendous message that suggests consent doesn't matter if you can win someone over in the end. You won't just be disappointed in the movie — you'll be disappointed in life itself. (Read more.)
Josiah Hughes
2. Snowden
(dir. by Oliver Stone)
As the director of JFK, Nixon, W. and the documentary series The Untold History of the United States, it's pretty obvious Oliver Stone knows a thing or two about American conspiracies, politics, and the ways in which the two have influenced the current state of the world over the past 100 years. That's part of the reason why his latest film is so disappointing — he should know better. In an attempt to show the human side of Edward Snowden and the steps, thoughts and fights that lead him to make the biggest decision of his life, Stone muddles the message the NSA whistleblower was trying to make with his infamous leak. I've said it before and I'll say it again: just watch Citizenfour. (Read more.)
Matthew Ritchie
1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(dir. by Gareth Edwards)
Let's get one thing clear: as the first standalone Star Wars film as part of Disney's multi-year revival of the universe, its characters and their stories, Rogue One is certainly meant for fans of the series. But after taking a step in the right direction following three lacklustre prequels with last year's The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm's latest felt like a bit of a cop-out. Yes, the action is fantastic and the special effects are strong (as is the movie's star power, thanks to appearances by established and rising actors like Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed and Ben Mendelsohn), but all of it seems like a distraction from the fact that the dialogue, as A.O. Scott of the New York Times has already pointed out, is absolutely atrocious, the story is stale, the character development is non-existent, and for a movie with a female character front and centre, you'll have a hard time finding any other women in the movie. Rogue One's only real innovations seem to involve bringing a dead guy back to life and de-aging Carrie Fisher, both of which are problematic. The force is not strong with this one. (Read more.)
Matthew Ritchie