by
Julien Faddoul
SPECIAL
CITATION – MOST OVERRATED FILM OF THE YEAR
Elle
Toss me sideways cause I don’t
get it. Many found Paul Verhoeven’s film to be…I don’t even know. Enlightening,
perhaps? I saw a fake and unconvincing thriller/character-study/provocation on
past trauma, sexual perversion and feminism that is saved from total clumsiness
by the indomitability of Huppert’s performance.
Runner Up: A Bigger
Splash
SPECIAL
CITATION – MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF THE YEAR
Finding Dory
It’s sad to me that many
wrote-off Andrew Stanton’s film as another cash-grab from Disney/Pixar (it did indeed go on to make a billion dollars). It’s a film I think about often, and I truly believe it to be a paean to anyone who is prone to anxiety or general existential loss.
Runner Up: Jason
Bourne
SPECIAL
CITATION – MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE OF THE YEAR
Star Trek
Beyond
Pretty much the only
big-budget franchise I am interested in anymore. All three of the Star Trek
films of the current era have problems but they have a modesty that is absent
almost everywhere else (especially Star Wars!). Justin Lin’s entry is the best
so far.
Runner Up: 10
Cloverfield Lane
SPECIAL
CITATION – BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR
Arrival
You will actually see Arrival being cited in several Cinema
Touch Awards this year. That’s because all my disappointment stems from the
last act, where I really felt the film became not only absurd but borderline
offensive. But Villeneuve is still a great craftsman and I hope his next film
proves superior.
Runner Up: Sausage
Party
SPECIAL
CITATION – MOST MISUNDERSTOOD FILM OF THE YEAR
La La Land
I would love it very much if
I never read another think piece about this film ever again. I have felt in
recent years that people have become too stupid for movies, in the same way the
culture seemed to resign itself to people being too stupid for literature near the
end of the 20th century. There is nothing – NOTHING – about La La Land that is in any way deadly or
prejudicial. I am up for anyone who feels the film is subpar on artistic
grounds, but the kinds of arguments that surrounded this film on the internet will
be seen as one of 2016’s biggest wastes of time.
Runner Up: Sully
SPECIAL
CITATION – THE YEAR OF THE GREAT DOCUMENTARY
I
have always felt non-fiction cinema to be a very tricky endeavour. Too often
documentary filmmakers waste my time by creating cinematic works that needn’t be.
“Why does this need to be a film?” is a question that too few ask themselves. The
medium of cinema warrants more than mere info-tainment. Luckily, this year
provided us with so many great works, all of which I urge you to check out!
To return to the main awards page, CLICK HERE.
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