With 2016 slowly but surely drawing to a close, it's now time to stop and take a look back on cinema from the last twelve months. While most people have generally come to an overall consensus that this past year hasn't been great for a wide variety of reasons, 2016 hasn't slacked in the film department. To properly close out the year, the American Film Institute has officially announced its picks for the Top 10 movies of 2016. Here they are:
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As you can see, the American Film Institute's Top 10 best movies of 2016 is nothing if not a prestigious ensemble. It's also in incredibly diverse selection of films, consisting of sci-fi epics like Arrival, visceral true stories like Hacksaw Ridge and Sully, the beautifully crafted musical La La Land, Martin Scorsese's period drama Silence, as well as several dark family dramas in the form of Moonlight, Fences, Hell Or High Water, and Manchester By The Sea. Finally, for the kids, the list is rounded out by Disney's incredible socially relevant animated feature Zootopia. There's something for every single type of moviegoer.
None of these AFI selections should really surprise anyone who spent a fair amount of time at the movies this year. The race to make it into the Top 10 selection of films in 2016 has become a highly contested competition, but all ten of these films definitely earned their spots. With the 2017 Oscar season in high gear, we can likely expect quite a few of these films to garner more honors over the course of the next few months.
Personally, I think quite a few of my own favorite movies from the last year didn't make the cut, and I look at that as a great sign. Even in the face of 2016's critical misfires (looking at you, Suicide Squad and X-Men: Apocalypse) there were so many amazing films this year that a Top 10 list wasn't even big enough to hold them. The American Film Institute made some impeccable choices this year, but let's not forget other overlooked darlings like Green Room, The Nice Guys, Swiss Army Man, and Finding Dory. If nothing else, it instills quite a bit of confidence with regards to what 2017 has in store for us.
What do you think of the American Film Institute's choices for 2016's top movies? Did your favorite film of the year make the cut? Let us know what you think in the comments section below so we can keep this dialogue going!
CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant news related to the year's best movies as more information becomes available to us. Stay tuned for more details!
