The "Stevies"

The "Stevies"

With the Academy Awards a little under a week away, I figured it is time to release my nominations for the brighter side of the year in film in 2016. Some people say that this past year was not a good year for movies but I say to them that they just must not have watched very many movies.

(nominations are in no particular order and are my personal opinion)

Best Fight

One of the best things about movies is getting to see fantasies played out before your eyes. What you could once only dream of appears as reality for the runtime of the movie. And some of the most exciting of these realities involves a fight or two.

• Highway Fight (Deadpool)
• Batman Warehouse (Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice)
• The Airport Scene (Captain America: Civil War)
• Syntagma Square Chase (Jason Bourne)
• Final Shootout (Hell or High Water)
• Battle of Okinawa (Hacksaw Ridge)
• Watertown Shootout (Patriot’s Day)

Most Surprising

Walking into these movies, I was not expecting anything great. In fact for some of them I just wanted to get the movie over with. But I ended up having a lot of fun with them and would recommend that you see them as well.

• The Shallows
• The Accountant
• Star Trek Beyond
• Money Monster
• 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Best Ensemble

One person delivering a good performance is pretty standard in movies. But having the entire cast firing on all cylinders is a sight to behold.

• Sing Street
• Don’t Think Twice
• Nocturnal Animals
• Green Room
• Moonlight

Best Song

As you can see on my Soundtracks of 2016 post, this year delivered some high quality songs in almost every genre of movie.

• “I’m So Humble” (Popstar)
• “How Far I’ll Go” (Moana)
• “The Great Beyond” (Sausage Party)
• “Drive It Like You Stole It” (Sing Street)
• “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” (La La Land)

Best Looking

One of the most overlooked parts of a movie is ironically the way it looks. When a movie knows how to properly compose shots, it leads to some amazing works of art that could be framed and hung in living rooms around the world.

• Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice
• Hell or High Water
• Nocturnal Animals
• La La Land
• Silence

Best Special Effects

Bad special effects can essentially ruin a movie that otherwise had good performances and a compelling script. Luckily these movies put the time and effort to churn out something special.

• The Jungle Book
• Doctor Strange
• Arrival
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Passengers

Best Actress

• Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane)
• Rachel Weisz (The Lobster)
• Kate Siegel (Hush)
• Emma Stone (La La Land)
• Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Actor

• Colin Ferrell (The Lobster)
• Ben Foster (Hell or High Water)
• Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge and Silence)
• Woody Harrelson (The Edge of 17)
• Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Film

• Captain America: Civil War
• The Lobster
• Sing Street
• Hell or High Water
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Nocturnal Animals
• La La Land
• Green Room
• Silence
• Patriot’s Day
• Moonlight