The 2010s were a transformative decade for movies as directors like Damien Chazelle, Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele hit the mainstream, and many actors exploded into stardom or gave career-defining performances in movies like theirs. Now, it’s time to celebrate some of the best films of this decade and the performers who starred in them. 

Emma Stone – La La Land 

This ode to Old Hollywood and modern romance from Damien Chazelle is widely beloved in part because of Emma Stone's performance. If you go back to reviews for La La Land, you’ll see Stone and Ryan Gosling praised for their work as they played Mia and Sebastian, two aspiring artists who fall in love with each other. Notably, Emma Stone won her first Oscar for the film because of the wonderful performance she gave as the up-and-coming actress. 

Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids

When it comes to Bridesmaids and all its hilarious lines and gags, we all need to say a collective thank you to Kristen Wiig. Not only did the Saturday Night Live alum lead the stellar ensemble cast of this 2011 flick, but she also wrote the movie with Annie Mumolo, and they got an Oscar nomination for it. 

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Moonlight, which famously won Best Picture in 2017, is a coming-of-age film that follows Chiron through three stages of his life, focusing on him exploring his sexuality and identity. In it, Mahershala Ali plays Juan, a man who has a pivotal role in Chiron’s early life. Famously, Ali won his first Oscar for his moving performance in this film. 

Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out

Get Out is considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and it marked the directorial debut of Jordan Peele. While this film about the deeply dark turn a trip takes after a white woman brings her Black boyfriend home to meet her family is career-defining for its director – as he’s gone on to become quite the name in the genre – it also marked a major breakout for Daniel Kaluuya who played the film’s lead, Chris. 

Amy Adams – Arrival 

Arrival is unquestionably one of Amy Adams’ best movies, and to this day, folks are still livid that she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for it. She plays Louise, a linguist assigned to decipher and translate an alien language. However, as Arrival’s ending makes abundantly clear, there’s way more to it than that, and one of the major reasons this movie works is because of Adams’ masterful, emotional and nuanced performance. 

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

In Whiplash, one of J.K. Simmons’ best films, he plays a brilliant and brutal jazz conductor and instructor named Terence Fletcher. During the film, Miles Teller plays a young drummer named Andrew who is determined to become great, and his intense relationship with Terence and the notion of being the best is what makes Damien Chazelle’s film magnificent. On top of its overall acclaim, Simmons also won an Oscar for his performance.

Hugh Jackman – Logan 

Logan was Hugh Jackman’s last ride as the Wolverine, and it was basically perfect. While he’s returned to the role since in Deadpool and Wolverine, Logan still serves as a wonderful conclusion to the iconic X-Man’s story. It was also a game-changing Marvel film, as it brought a level of grit and intrigue that we hadn’t really seen in a movie from this universe before. 

Ben Affleck – Argo 

Much like Good Will Hunting, Argo marked a major milestone in Ben Affleck’s career. It was one of the films that solidified him as a top-tier director, and on top of that, he also starred in the film about a CIA agent disguised as a producer who goes into Tehran on a mission to save a group of Americans. Oh, also, the film went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars too. 

Jesse Eisenberg — The Social Network

The Social Network cast is stacked, however, it wouldn’t be what it is without Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Mark Zuckerberg at its center. His nuanced performance which is somehow both collected and chaotic compliments Aaron Sorkin’s fast-talking script perfectly, and he expertly helped build up tension in the film that director David Fincher is known for. All around, that made for a perfect, heart-pounding drama about the rise of Facebook.

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf Of Wall Street  

While Leonardo DiCaprio has a long list of career-defining performances, and he and Martin Scorsese have made many great movies together, you can’t deny that his portrayal of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street tops that list. 

Brie Larson – Room

The film Room, which is about a mother and her son escaping captivity, is masterfully led by Brie Larson, who plays Ma. Both she and Jacob Tremblay, who played her son Jack, were praised for their performances, and in 2016, the actress won an Oscar for her work. 

Daniel Craig – Knives Out

Now, I know that Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond was still happening in the 2010s. However, an equally important and brilliant role he took on was as detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s first whodunnit Knives Out. Now, after leading the cast of Knives Out, Craig has gone on to reprise his role as the Southern detective on multiple occasions, because he loves it and so do we. 

Ryan Gosling – Drive

If you look over Ryan Gosling’s best movies, on one side you’ll find his brilliant comedic films – like Barbie and The Nice Guys – and on the other side, you’ll find his stoic and dramatic performance, like the one he gives in Drive. Put simply, Drive wouldn’t work without the actor’s lead performance, because the entire film hinges on him and his abilities. 

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

After years of working to get it made and some well-timed leaked footage, finally, in 2016, Deadpool came out and we got to see Ryan Reynolds in his element as the Merc with a Mouth. 

Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea 

In a film about a man returning home to reckon with his past and grief after losing his brother, Casey Affleck gives an emotional and commanding performance. Not only did he win an Oscar for his work in this drama, but it’s also one of the big defining roles of his career. 

Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Chris Evans began and ended his tenure as Steve Rogers in the 2010s. While all his outings as the star-spangled man with a plan were excellent, nothing tops his performance as Cap in the political thriller that is the Russo brothers’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is easily one of the best Marvel movies ever made. 

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Under Wes Anderson’s precise direction, Ralph Fiennes occupied the pastel world of the Grand Budapest Hotel with grace and style. His fast-talking M. Gustave went on quite the adventure in this film, and he won over the hearts of audiences with his quick wit, smooth charm and impeccable work ethic. 

Natalie Portman – Black Swan 

Throwing it back to the beginning of the decade, Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan showed us Natalie Portman’s talents in a new light. While she had been on the scene and in big movies for years, this film marked a major milestone in her career as her performance as a tortured ballerina got her an Academy Award. 

Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buys Club

Obviously, for a couple of decades before this, Matthew McConaughey was known and beloved for fun movies like Dazed and Confused and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. However, in 2013, Dallas Buyers Club marked a notable shift in his career. Not only did he win an Oscar for this dramatic turn as a man who finds out he has AIDS, but he also went on to star in acclaimed projects like Interstellar and True Detective one year later, cementing himself as a magnificent dramatic actor with serious range. 

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence leading The Hunger Games cast is one of the biggest triumphs of her career. However, amid all of that, she starred in the beloved dramedy Silver Linings Playbook with Bradley Cooper, and that’s the film for which she won her Oscar. This magnificent film about two people learning to live and thrive through grief and mental illness, is a thoughtful and funny film that Lawrence steals with her amazing performance. 

Brad Pitt – Moneyball 

Moneyball is the story about the general manager of the Oakland A’s using his business savvy and what little money his team had to assemble a rag-tag team of MLB players. Brad Pitt plays said manager, Billy Beane, and I mean it when I say the movie really wouldn’t work without him. He’s at the center of it, and he carries it to victory just like his character did with the A’s.  

Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther 

We sadly lost Chadwick Boseman way too early, however, his legacy will live on forever. This is in part because of his performance as the King of Wakanda, T’Challa. Black Panther was a historic moment in modern movie history, and his incredible take on the titular hero is a big reason why. 

Margot Robbie – I, Tonya 

Before I, Tonya, Margot Robbie was beloved for her supporting and ensemble roles in films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad. However, one of the movies that helped solidify her as both a leading lady and super producer was I, Tonya. She played Tonya Harding and produced the film under the banner of her company LuckyChap – which went on to make films like Barbie and Promising Young Woman. 

Florence Pugh – Midsommar

Florence Pugh exploded onto the scene with the haunting Ari Aster film Midsommar. The movie is now considered one of the best horror movies of all time, and a big reason why is Pugh’s performance. 

Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Talk about a dynamic duo. Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan are a match made in heaven, and that was solidified into fact when the actress played the titular Lady Bird in the director’s breakout film. Not only did fans fall in love with Ronan’s performance as the defiant teenage gal, but she also received wide acclaim and an Oscar nomination for it. Plus, it was the beginning of a glorious partnership between her and Greta Gerwig as they then went on to make Little Women together. 

Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name

These days, when people think of Timothée Chalamet, they likely think of him as Paul Atreides, the leader of the Dune cast. However, before that (and in a different decade) the film that sprung him into the mainstream was Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The deeply romantic and tender coming-of-age drama was led beautifully by Chalamet, and since then he’s taken on more roles that have helped cement him as one of the top-leading men of his generation. 

Anna Kendrick – Pitch Perfect

If you were a kid in 2012 (like I was), odds are you learned the “Cups” song. The movie about college acapella was a phenomenon in the early 2010s, and it served as a big breakout leading role for Anna Kendrick. Not only was she funny as Becca, but everyone also became aware that she had the singing voice of an angel.  

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years A Slave

Lupita Nyong’o’s first feature film was 12 Years A Slave. Her performance in the movie by Steve McQueen won her an Oscar in 2012 and solidified her as a top-tier dramatic performer. Since then, she’s gone on to star in massive blockbusters like Black Panther and A Quiet Place: Day One. 

Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

There have been many amazing takes on the Joker, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was a totally new one. In Joker, we see the villain’s origin story, and it’s a film that’s unlike any other DC project. The haunting performance ultimately won the actor an Oscar, and he reprised the part again in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

The movie is named after Mad Max, and he’s great, don’t get me wrong, but Furiosa steals the show. Charlize Theron’s performance as the driver in Mad Max: Fury Road is fierce and jaw-dropping, and she’s one of many reasons why George Miller’s movie is considered one of the best action films. 

Michael Cera – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

You can’t have Scott Pilgrim vs. The World without a perfect Scott Pilgrim and that’s who Michael Cera is. He perfectly played the awkward yet heroic protagonist in Edgar Wright’s beloved film, and to this day, it's considered some of his best work.

Matt Damon – The Martian

This Ridley Scott movie is literally about one man who is stuck on Mars. Yes, there are other people in the film trying to save him. However, overall, The Martian is Matt Damon’s movie. He plays the stranded astronaut and scientist, and the heart, charisma, intelligence and even humor he brings to the space drama is unforgettable. 

All around, the 2010s were full of films that are on their way to becoming all-time classics, and it’s in part thanks to the brilliant actors who starred in them. 

Over the years, Best Picture winners, some of the most iconic Studio Ghibli movies, and even superhero epics have not only entertained audiences but also made them cry. Like, we’re talking ugly, “Thank heavens I’m in a dark theater” level of sobbing. That being said, we have put together a list of 32 movies we dare you not to cry while watching. It may be easier for some movies than others, but each of these decorated films will surely make you shed a tear. 

The Impossible (2012)

J. A. Bayona’s 2012 disaster film, The Impossible, serves as an emotional and intense retelling of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 227,898 people following one of the biggest earthquakes in modern history. The film centers on a British family (played in part by Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and a young Tom Holland) and their harrowing quest to reunite following the devastating disaster. It’s impossible to not cry during this one.

Field Of Dreams (1989)

Phil Alden Robinson’s Field of Dreams is one of the great sports movies filled with one unforgettable and emotionally charged scene after another. But there’s a moment at the end of this 1989 Kevin Costner classic that brings us to tears just thinking about it. Of course, it’s the iconic “Wanna have a catch” line just before the credits roll.

Simon Birch (1998)

A ‘90s movie often forgotten, Mark Steven Johnson’s 1998 coming-of-age-drama, Simon Birch, tells an incredible story about two friends and the unlikely bond they shared. Ian Michael Scott’s portrayal of the titular young boy with dwarfism, as well as Joseph Mazzello’s as his best friend, is magical, endearing, and poignant, to say the least. From good times to bad, there’s a lot to make you cry in this one.

Radio Flyer (1992)

If you’re looking for a great Richard Donner movie that’s going to make you laugh, cry, and feel everything in between, then Radio Flyer is going to do the trick. This remarkable drama about two young brothers (played by Joseph Mazzello and Elijah Wood) as they attempt to escape the vicious wrath of their stepfather will break your heart into a million pieces before attempting to put it back together.

Up (2009)

One of the best Pixar movies, Up features what could be the most emotional prologue of any movie ever made, both animation and live-action. The montage of Carl and Ellie Fredericksen’s relationship over the years is perfect in every way, even if it concluded with a gut punch that some of us haven’t gotten over more than a decade later. 

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

We’ll try not to give too much away about Manchester by the Sea, but please note that this 2016 Oscar-nominated film will wreck you. The entire movie is full of sorrow and grief, but there’s a scene partway through the movie where you find out why Casey Affleck’s character is so down on himself that it has to be one of the most traumatizing movie moments of all time. Gutted.

Steel Magnolias (1989)

A powerful movie about female friendship and the unbreakable bond shared by mother and daughter, Steel Magnolias is one of those ‘80s movies that just never gets old. Sure, the movie will make you cry like never before, but this timeless classic starring Sally Field, Julia Roberts, and Dolly Parton also has a lot of heart and soul.

Coco (2017)

Coco, one of the best music movies of all time, as well as a charming addition to Pixar’s collection, is an enchanting, enlightening, and emotional experience that will leave you with a desire to reconnect with your ancestors and make the most of your time with the family who’s still around. Plus, “Remember Me” has to be one of the best Disney songs in years.

Philadelphia (1993)

Is it possible to watch Philadelphia and not go through a box of tissues as you wipe away the tears? Possibly, if you’re some kind of emotionless fool who lacks empathy or compassion. But for the rest of us, this 1993 movie starring Tom Hanks as an attorney trying to prove he was fired because of his sexuality and AIDS diagnosis makes us cry every single time.

Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father (2008)

Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father is technically a documentary, but it’s more than deserving of a spot on this list. Kurt Kuenne’s 2008 documentary tells the story of Andrew Bagby, the filmmaker’s best friend who was murdered by a former lover, and his parents’ journey to gain custody of his son who was born after his death. We’ll leave it at that…

Big Fish (2003)

Some would say Big Fish is Tim Burton’s best movie, and you know what, they’re not wrong. There’s something special and magical about this 2003 drama about a man coming to terms with his father’s tall tales and reconciling their differences before it’s too late that just warms your heart. Both fantastic and fantastical, this moving father-son will do a number on ya.

My Girl (1991)

One year after we were introduced to Macaulay Culkin’s most famous character with Kevin McCallister in Home Alone, we met perhaps his most tragic in My Girl. Howard Zieff’s 1991 coming-of-age drama about Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) has everything you’d expect from a movie like this, including a heartbreaking funeral scene where the 11-year-old is forced to come to terms with a friend’s tragic passing.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Before working together with the Creed and Black Panther movies, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan teamed up for the 2013 biopic, Fruitvale Station. Retracing the final hours of Oscar Grant’s (Jordan) life before he was shot and killed by police, this heart-wrenching drama doesn’t let go.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

There have been some tremendously emotional movies in the MCU over the years, but few hit as hard as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Not only does Ryan Coogler’s 2022 superhero movie allow us to mourn the loss of King T’Challa, but it also offers up a place for us to honor the life of the late Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in August 2020.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

A great fall movie if there ever was one, Dead Poets Society is a must-watch for some whenever autumn first rolls around, With great characters played by Robin Williams, a young Ethan Hawke, and several others, this endearing coming-of-age drama set in a boys prep school is still wonderful after all these years. At the same time, it’s just as emotional and likely to bring a tear to your eye.

Beaches (1988)

Though the movie is mostly remembered for the hit song it spawned with Bette Midler’s “Wing Beneath the Wings,” Beaches is still a great experience. In fact, the story of two longtime friends coming to terms with a terrible tragedy adds a great context to the song that is so fondly remembered.

Schindler's List (1993)

Quite possibly Steven Spielberg’s best movie, Schindler’s List is one of the rawest and most authentic films about the Holocaust to ever hit the big screen. Whether it’s because of the scenes of tragedy and heartbreak or from the rare uplifting moments, it’s impossible to watch this 1993 movie without being overwhelmed by emotion.

Amour (2012)

One of the finest foreign language Best Picture nominees, Amour throws you into the middle of a terrible crisis experienced by a longtime couple (played by Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant). As the pair begin to deteriorate and begin to accept their own mortality and fragility of life, they are forced to make a series of difficult decisions.

Terms Of Endearment (1983)

The bond shared by mother and daughter is at the heart of James L. Brooks’ Oscar-winning 1983 drama and it creates some of the cinema’s most unforgettable and touching moments. Chronicling 30 years of the relationship shared by Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and Emma Greenway (Debra Winger), Terms of Endearment has moments of joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)

Don’t be fooled into thinking that All Dogs Go to Heaven is a happy and joyful movie just because it’s an animated kids film, as it will shatter your heart and leave you in a state of despair. Like, you know why the dog goes to heaven in this Don Bluth classic, Right?

Avengers: Endgame (2018)

There are dozens of emotional moments in Avengers: Endgame, a movie that could best be described as a cathartic experience. Its three-hour runtime has moments of loss, sacrifice, goodbyes, new beginnings, and tear-jerking reunions. Pretty much everything from the “I am Iron Man” moment to the closing credits will make longtime MCU fans cry.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

For a lot of us, Toy Story 3 felt like the end of a chapter of our lives. There are some moving moments throughout this 2010 Pixar adventure, especially when it comes to Andy finally agreeing to donate his cherished toys and him letting go of his childhood hits like a ton of bricks to the chest.

The Farewell (2019)

The Farewell combines humor and heart to create a unique cinematic experience that is prone to make you cry for a variety of reasons. Basically, the movie follows Billi (Awkwafina) as she and her family return to China to say goodbye to her grandma, who only has weeks to live. However, the soon-to-be-departed has no idea she’s about to die or why her family has actually traveled across the globe to see her.

Moonlight (2016)

Barry Jenkins’ 2016 coming-of-age drama, Moonlight, follows Chiron (played by Travante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex R. Hibbert in different phases of his life) as he comes to terms with his place in the world and his sexuality. This mesmerizing and emotional film is full of triumph, tragedy, and several of the most tear-jerking scenes of the 21st century.

Old Yeller (1957)

Old Yeller, one of the most beloved films of generations of boys, is one of those live-action Disney movies that will make even the toughest of men break down in tears. Even though many of us know how this story ends, all the great and lighthearted moments that lead to that heartbreaking scene keep us coming back time and time again.

Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies, like other classic Studio Ghibli movies, doesn’t shy away from touching on difficult and distressing topics, which is what makes this animated war drama such a powerful experience. Set during the final months of WWII, the movie follows two siblings as they adjust to their new lives as orphans and try to survive long enough to see the end of the fighting.

The Family Stone (2005)

Upon first glance, The Family Stone appears to be nothing more than a standard Christmas comedy, but as the story progresses and the stakes are made clear, you begin to see this as a moving drama about a family spending the holidays together one more time. This is definitely a movie that’s better the second time around knowing what’s happening.

One True Thing (1998)

Carl Franklin’s One True Thing follows Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger) as she puts her life on hold so she can take care of her dying mother (played by Meryl Streep). This eye-opening experience sheds new light on the dynamics of her family and forces the young writer to reassess everything she’s ever known. There are happy moments, but not enough to way out the sorrow and death that wait around the corner.

Marley & Me (2008)

If you were to go by the trailers, Marley & Me would seem like nothing more than a light-hearted comedy about a couple (played by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston) adopting a dog. And while that is true for the first two-thirds of this movie, the final act will leave you an emotional wreck.

The Neverending Story (1984)

There should probably be a trigger warning for the picture of Artax getting stuck and sinking into the Swamp of Sadness in The Neverending Story. That scene has emotionally scarred millions of young children over the past 40 years.

The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006)

Will Smith and Jaden Smith playing father and son in The Pursuit of Happyness led to one of the best on-screen pairings of 2006 and helped make this touching biopic one of the most emotional the genre has ever seen. The story of Chris Gardner, though full of minor tragedies and obstacles, is one of the most empowering and beloved of the 21st century.

The Fox And The Hound (1981)

The subtext of The Fox and the Hound turns this 1981 animated Disney movie into one of the most powerful and emotionally charged children’s films of all time. The story of Copper and Tod, which goes from happy-go-lucky to tragically tense, is still astounding after all these years.

Sure, these 32 movies will make you cry and leave you a blubbering mess, but isn’t that what makes these classics so good in the first place?

There are just some movies, that despite how great they are, are just impossible to watch more than once. Either the subject is too heavy, like a holocaust film, or the violence is too much, like some horror movies, or any other number of reasons. This is a list of 32 of those amazing films that you just can't watch a second time. 

Schindler's List (1993)

The Steven Spielberg classic Schindler's List is one of the most difficult movies to watch ever. It's absolutely brilliant in the way it depicts the horrors and personal costs of The Holocaust, and while it's completely gripping and an amazing story, it is really hard to watch, emotionally. I've actually seen it twice after swearing to never watch it a second time, but I don't think I have it in me to watch a third time. 

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

The Rwandan genocide of the '90s is still very raw in that part of Africa. The movie Hotel Rwanda is like other movies about people trying to save people from such events, like Schindler's List, is both heartwarming and completely heartbreaking. You really feel for everyone viscerally when you watch, and because of that, it's really hard to watch a second time. 

The Green Mile (1999)

The Green Mile is a very different story than we are used to coming from the mind of Stephen King. It's not scary, in a traditional sense, but boy is it emotionally fatiguing. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is what makes this heartbreaking movie about a prisoner on death row. The raw emotion he plays the role with is spectacular but absolutely draining.   

The Zone Of Interest (2023)

The 2024 Oscar winner for Best Sound, The Zone Of Interest, is one of the most worthy recipients of that award in history. The way that director Jonathan Glazer told the entire menacing part of the story with sound is simply incredible. It is also not for the faint of heart. Not seeing the horrors of the Holocaust depicted on screen makes it all the more powerful because it's all in your mind, making it much more real somehow. 

Uncut Gems (2013)

There is little harder than watching one man's decent in desperation and despair, like Howard (Adam Sandler) in Uncut Gems. You want to just reach out and hug and tell him to stop making things worse for himself. Audiences see every bad, desperate decision coming and are helpless to stop it. Sandler's performance is so good, that you completely forget this is the guy who played Billy Madison and is known for being funny more than a dramatic actor. 

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave should be required viewing for every American. It should be taught in schools, it's that important. Chiwetel Ejiofor's depiction of the real-life Solomon Northup, a free Black man kidnapped and enslaved for 12 years in the American South. Slavery is America's original sin, one we still are grappling with a century and a half after it ended, and seeing the way Ejiofor and McQueen show it is really, really hard, but really important to do.  

Midsommar (2019)

Horror movies are a lot of different things to different people. They can be campy and fun, or they can be psychologically terrifying. Midsommar is the latter, by a mile. There is nothing "fun" about Midsommar. It's one of the most disturbing movies made in the last decade, and it's a movie that will sit with you for a long, long time. So long, that you probably don't want to put yourself through it again. It's so good at doing what it sets out to do, you never want to see it again. Even star Florence Pugh was greatly affected by it. 

Inside (2023)

2023's Inside is one of those movies I went into knowing virtually nothing about, save for the fact that it starred Willem Dafoe. Wow was that a tough watch to see a man trapped in a gilded prison cell of his own making when Dafoe's character finds himself unable to escape a penthouse apartment he was trying to rob. Dafoe's performance of a man driven to madness is both brilliant and terrifying. 

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Manchester By The Sea is one of those stories that just when you think things can't get worse, they do. One tragedy after another is revealed as the movie goes on and Casey Affleck's performance is one of the all-time greats in Hollywood history as the man who just can't seem to ever get a break, and is living one of the saddest lives you've ever seen on film. It's such a good movie, but too emotionally draining to watch more than once. 

The Passion Of The Christ (2004)

Even for non-Christians The Passion of the Christ is an incredibly difficult watch. The sheer amount of violence so viscerally depicted is stomach-churning and disturbing. I do think it's worth watching once, despite the controversy that has always surrounded it and its director Mel Gibson, but once is enough. 

The Revenant (2015)

Like a few others on this list, The Revenant is here not because of the story it tells, but rather how it's depicted. It's raw and violent and bloody and disturbing. It's a (mostly) true story, which makes it almost too incredible to believe, and Leonardo DiCaprio puts in one of his finest performances, but it's not a movie you watch over and over. 

The Machinist (2004)

2004's The Machinist is worth watching - and impossible to watch again - for one reason, really, Christian Bale's performance. The actor legendarily lost 62 pounds for the role, playing an emaciated, delusional factory worker who is unable to sleep, ever. It's one of the most incredible acting jobs you'll ever see, and never want to see again. 

Requiem For a Dream (2000)

Watching a decent into drug addiction can be among the most harrowing things to see in a movie and no movie is better (and scarier) for that than Requiem For a Dream. Viewers not only watch Sara's (Ellen Burstyn) downward spiral, but they feel it with Darren Aronofsky's direction and Burstyn's amazing performance. 

Oldboy (2003)

When a movie starts out as unsettling as the 2003 South Korean masterpiece Oldboy and only gets more harrowing from there, you know it belongs on this list. Choi Min-sik is amazing as the man imprisoned in what looks like a hotel room for years. As he learns the disturbing fate of his wife on TV, he sinks further into despair. Things only get worse when he is finally freed from the room. 

Civil War (2024)

Alex Garland's Civil War has garnered huge praise that it is worthy of, but the movie's premise and action are so tough to watch, that I'll likely never see it again. That sickness in my stomach I felt as I watched is both high praise and the reason for my decision. Seeing some of the images of a country at war that you never expect to see is haunting and scary. 

The Whale (2022)

Like other examples on this list, The Whale is carried by the performance of its lead actor, Brendan Fraiser. The Academy Award-winning role is played with such raw emotion, that it's impossible to look away from, yet it's not something I ever want to relive. 

Whiplash (2014)

There was a ton of praise for Whiplash when it was released in 2014, and it's deserving of all of it. The depiction of a student learning drums from an impossible taskmaster is nothing short of fantastic, yet you can't watch the movie and not feel all the violence and mental anguish right in your gut for the runtime of the movie. JK Simmons is terrifying in his role as the sadistic conductor pushing Andrew (Miles Teller) to the brink of sanity. 

Happiness (1998)

Though it's billed as a comedy, Happiness is as dark as a comedy can get. It's praised for its bold decision to cover issues that are rarely talked about, and so disturbing I'd rather not do that here, and the cast, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris, Lara Flynn Boyle, and more. Still, it's hard to watch even once, much less twice.  

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

It's rare for a movie as funny as Life Is Beautiful to be so hard to watch again, but that's exactly what is it. The movie was controversial for the comedic elements within telling a story about the Holocaust, but Roberto Benigni is so good at the tragic clown that it's impossible to appreciate the movie. Even if you never want to see it again. 

American History X (1998)

While some movies are too hard to watch a second time because they are emotionally draining, American History X is impossible to watch again because it's just too disturbing. We don't want to believe that people like Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) exist, though we know they do and that makes it really hard to digest once, much less twice. 

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

The level of self-destruction that Nicolas Cage's character in Leaving Las Vegas is astounding. When I saw it, it both repulsed me and made me want a drink, which is disturbing on a lot of levels. It's so heartbreaking to watch anyone so depressed and hopeless as the character is. 

The Pianist (2002)

Like other movies about The Holocaust, The Pianist is incredibly heartbreaking and hard to watch. Unlike movies like Schindler's List, it's really about one man's trials through the whole event and that makes it even more tragic to see everything happening around him. It's not just those murdered in the Holocaust, the survivors are also victims. 

Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler asks a lot of important questions and despite being almost a decade old, it's still questions we need answers to about the role of the press in our society. For that reason, it's an important movie to watch. The violence and disturbing images make it both critical and appalling to watch and for those reasons, once is enough. 

My Girl (1991)

Everything is tougher when it's kids. The death of a child is among the most heartbreaking things in the world, and My Girl is brutal in that respect. What makes it even harder is how sudden the death is in the movie, making it a wonderful movie, but one that you never want to watch again. 

The Saw Movies

The name of the company that produces the Saw franchise is Twisted Pictures and that name says it all. The horror movies are stone classics in the genre, but for anyone even a little squeamish, these movies are unwatchable nightmares. Even those of us that can stomach them once, have had enough by the end. 

Steel Magnolias (1989)

There is no question that Steel Magnolias has an amazing cast, led by the great Sally Field in one of her best roles. It's still a movie you only want to watch once. It's a little more rewatchable than some of the other movies on this list, but only due to the performances. It's truly one of the most iconic tear-jerkers in Hollywood history. 

The Act of Killing (2012)

Most of this list is fictional movies, but The Act of Killing is a documentary and that makes everything even more visceral. It's not only a true story - and a disturbing one at that - it features the real people involved. It's a naked look at the worst humanity can be and for that it's necessary viewing, but not multiple times. 

Marley & Me (2008)

There are millions of families that can directly relate to Marley & Me, which is what makes it both wonderful and sad. Many people know exactly how important dogs can be, especially to young families, and even though we know in the back of our heads that our dogs won't live forever, yet when we lose them, it really hurts. Marley & Me would be very rewatchable if it ended with the family moving the farm and Marley happily running around. But that's not how it ends and for that, it puts it in the same category as Old Yellar. Once is enough. 

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

There is no question that the role of Sophie Zawistowska in Sophie’s Choice is one of the finest performances of Meryl Streep's career, and that is really saying something. It's a revelation to watch her play this incredibly difficult role, and for that, everyone should see the movie. The "choice" she has to make wouldn't be wished on anyone's worst enemy and for that, we know we can only watch it once. 

Fruitvale Station (2013)

2013's Fruitvale Station forces the audience to confront, viscerally, some of the worst aspects of life in America for African Americans. It's not a pleasant thing to watch, though like others on this list, should be required viewing. It's hard to get through, but completely worth it in the end. It's a movie that will stick with you forever, so once is all you need. 

Mother! (2017)

There is a genre of movie, like Mother!, that are so hard to watch for mothers especially that they deserve their own sub-category of movie. That's not to say it's easy to watch for anyone else. The ending is so disturbing, that I still have nightmares about it, despite loving the movie. 

127 Hours (2017)

Danny Boyle's 2017 film about the harrowing ordeal Aron Ralston (James Franco) went through is so well told and shown that audiences can feel the scariest moments. The scene of Ralston cutting through the nerves on his arm is to this day the most squeamish I've ever felt in a movie. Another movie I absolutely loved, along with many of Boyle's movies, but the only one I never want to watch again. 

Amazon Prime has some fantastic original movies – and we’re here to discuss it.

There are many outstanding original projects from streaming platforms, considering the sites have been on top of the world, and Amazon Prime (as well as MGM studios) has plenty of great options.

From heartbreaking dramas to hilarious comedies to horrors unlike any other, Amazon Studios has produced and made some seriously impressive original movies, all of which you can watch with your Amazon Prime subscription. Keep in mind that some of these did have theatrical releases, but Amazon (or their movie company, MGM) still made them.

Uncle Frank (2020)

First up on this list is Uncle Frank. The comedy-drama released in 2020 details the story of a man named Frank in the 1970s and his journey of self-acceptance as he travels across the country with his niece to the funeral of his family’s patriarch. But along the way, he runs into his past.

Uncle Frank was such an under-the-radar film and so good. Not only is it something you should watch if you like Paul Bettany, considering he's the star of it, but the story is almost like an adult coming-of-age story. It has a lot of heart and a lot of lessons that anyone can understand.

Not only that, but it stars the amazing Sophia Lillis, who has been on a roll since she first broke out onto the scene with the Stephen King adaptation of IT: Chapter One in 2017. Her chemistry with Bettany is unlike any other.

Stream Uncle Frank on Amazon Prime.

The Big Sick (2017)

If you want a romantic comedy, then The Big Sick is the film for you. Starring Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, the film is inspired by Nanjiani and his real-life partner Emily Gordon's relationship. It follows the couple after one of them is placed in a medically induced coma, and it documents the complexities they face as they navigate their families and cultural differences.

The Big Sick is one of those movies that, once you see it, you’ll fall in love with it. You should watch it if you like Kumail Nanjiani, who has been blowing up over the last few years. But besides that, the cast is full of life, and there’s plenty of hilarious comedy that balances itself out with the drama.

Stream The Big Sick on Amazon Prime.

Challengers (2024)

If you were online in 2024, chances are, you have heard of Challengers. Released in theaters by MGM and directed by Luca Guadagnino, this sports romance drama follows the story of a love triangle that takes place over thirteen years, and how it all comes down to one big match in the ATP Challenger Tour.

Starring big names like Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Conner, Challengers was a cultural moment back in early 2024, from the drama to the memes to people taking up the sport of tennis due to the way it was shot in the film made it look so amazing. The movie itself is full of some awesome cinematography, and the acting performances are top-notch.

Stream Challengers on Amazon Prime.

One Night In Miami…(2020)

This Academy Award-nominated film is a must-watch. One Night In Miami… is Regina King's directorial debut, and it is based on the meeting between some of the most influential people of the 1960s – Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke -- in a Hampton room in Miami when they were celebrating Ali’s win, and what might have happened that night

Regina King kills it in everything she does, but her directing is fantastic. This movie will not only grip you from the beginning, but you’ll want to watch it again because it’s unlike anything else. The One Night In Miami…cast is brilliant – especially Leslie Odom Jr. You must watch this movie if you like him.

Stream One Night In Miami… on Amazon Prime.

The Idea Of You (2024)

The Idea of You, based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee and directed by Michael Showalter, is a romantic comedy about a woman who winds up engaging in a whirlwind romance with the lead of a popular boy band after attending one of their concerts at a music festival, and the struggles they face in their non-conventional relationship, as he’s significantly younger than she is.

I think what I love about The Idea of You is that it shows an older woman out there, having the literal time of her life, and paints the picture that fun can happen at any age. You don’t need to hold off on your dreams or your wants just because you’re older – and that can also mean that you have a crazy romance that you never expected. Plus, the chemistry between the two leads, Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, is off the charts that you almost feel like you have to turn away during the steamy scenes.

Stream The Idea of You on Amazon Prime.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is the sequel to the legendary movie Borat. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, it marks the return of the Kazakh journalist Borat, who travels to the United States with his daughter to offer her as a bride for the former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence.

This movie is just so out there. You have to be a fan of Cohen’s comedic style to enjoy it, but it’s clear there are plenty because of how successful it was. While it is weird in many ways, it surprisingly has a lot of heart and genuine moments. Also, Borat's sequel received good reviews, and it was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Maria Bakalova, who plays Cohen’s daughter, scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. And that perfect Tom Hanks cameo is just amazing.

Stream Borat Subsequent Moviefilm on Amazon Prime.

American Fiction (2023)

Starring Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction is an Academy Award-winning film that tells the story of a Black novelist who writes a satire book that is based on many “Black” books that are published in America – but his satirical novel winds up becoming popular and leading to massive sales.

The movie is based on the book Erasure, and quite simply, this is one of the best films of 2023. It’s expertly paced, brilliantly acted, and of course the story is fantastic – which is why it won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, as well.

Stream American Fiction (through MGM+) on Amazon.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

In a gut-wrenching pick, Manchester By The Sea is directed by Kenneth Lonergan and stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and more. The movie, which won two Oscars for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, follows a man who has gone through the worst loss imaginable, and now he has to become the legal guardian for his nephew after he loses his brother.

This movie will wreck you. I mean that in the best way possible. Is it a great movie overall? Of course it is. But God, it will break you to pieces, and you will struggle to place all of them back together. You’ll need a few moments to collect yourself afterward. The story is heartbreaking, and the acting is out of this world. No matter what, you will most likely cry. But that’s a good thing, right?

Stream Manchester By The Sea on Amazon.

Saltburn (2023)

Directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn is a black comedy/thriller film about a student at Oxford who attempts to get close to a high-class student – who ends up inviting him to his family’s estate, Saltburn, for the summer, leading to an eventful stay full of twists and turns.

I feel like Saltburn is one of those films that you only watch once, but man, when you do, it sticks with you. This movie has a fun story, but you’ll end up watching Saltburn just for the shock factor alone. There are plenty of moments that make you just stare at the screen with your mouth open and ask out loud, “Did they really just show that?” Because yes, yes they did.

Stream Saltburn on Amazon Prime.

Beautiful Boy (2018)

While everyone has been loving Timothée Chalamet in either the Dune franchise or Wonka, I’ve been loving him since Beautiful Boy in 2018. Starring Chalamet and Steve Carrell as his father, the movie tells the story of how their relationship strains as the son grows up and becomes addicted to drugs.

Look, I won’t sit here and tell you that this movie is a fun watch – Beautiful Boy is a hard watch. It’s great, but you need to know what you’re getting yourself into because it picks at your heartstrings like it’s a guitar at a concert. The performances are powerful and the story will make any parent – or child, really – cry at some point.

Stream Beautiful Boy on Amazon.

Música (2024)

Directed by Rudy Mancuso, Música is the coming-of-age romance film that will make your day even brighter. Starring Camila Mendes and J.B. Smoove, Música tells the story of a young man who suffers from synesthesia and how it impacts both his personal life but potential professional life, and the woman he winds up meeting who understands his struggles all too well.

For those who don’t know, synesthesia is when your brain processes multiple senses at the same time, so much so that they interact – like seeing colors when you hear music, and Música does an excellent job of showing what that’s like on the big screen. But what really makes this movie so fun is the great chemistry between Mendes and Smoove. Truly such an underrated gem.

Stream Música on Amazon Prime.

Being The Ricardos (2021)

Directed and written by Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos is another great biographical drama you should check out. Starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, the movie documents the relationship between the real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and their time on the iconic and legendary show I Love Lucy.

As someone who grew up watching reruns of I Love Lucy with my dad and mom, I loved watching this film. It’s still a biographical drama, so you must take it with a grain of salt for certain things, but there’s no denying the captivating story. Also, this is one of Nicole Kidman’s best movies. She earned that nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

Stream Being the Ricardos on Amazon Prime.

Red, White, And Royal Blue (2023)

Oh, is that the sound of BookTok I hear, coming to watch Red, White, and Royal Blue? Yes, my friends, come and join me.

Red, White, and Royal Blue became a huge hit on social media in the early 2020s and it wasn’t long before the book received the film adaptation it deserved. The movie tells the story of a prince and the son of the American President starting off as enemies but creating a fake friendship in order to prevent a media incident. And, of course, feelings begin to develop.

This movie is exactly what you think it is – classic rom-com, a couple of steamy scenes, the typical tropes we all love, and so much more. Truthfully, this is the best feel-good movie here and I would rewatch it over and over. There’s even a planned sequel in the works, so you might as well check out the first film.

Stream Red, White, and Royal Blue on Amazon.

Sound Of Metal (2019)

Starring Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal is something that I’m pretty sure anyone can get behind. It follows a young man who loses his hearing after being a drummer for an avant-garde metal band, causing his life to turn upside down.

The movie was nominated for six awards at the Oscars, and it won two for Best Sound and Best Film Editing. Not only that, but it’s undoubtedly one of Riz Ahmed’s best movies, and he did earn a nomination for Best Actor for his performance.

Stream Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime.

Road House (2024)

Last but not least, we have Road House. This action film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name and follows an ex-UFC fighter who decides to take a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse, and the trouble he gets into.

Look, Road House isn’t a film that’s going to win any Academy Awards or is going to make you cry but this movie is so much fun. The action is off the charts and Jake Gyllenhaal is just as energetic as an action star as he always is. There’s even a Road House 2 already in development so you might as well check out the first.

Stream Road House on Amazon Prime.

These are just some of the best movies Amazon Prime offers, and I’m sure the streamer will release more awesome films soon.

Michelle Williams could very well be the most underrated actress in Hollywood today. Sure, she’s been nominated for five Oscars, won two Golden Globes, and been in some of the most impactful movies of the 21st century, but Williams seems to always fly under the radar, only to fly up unnoticed with the release of each Academy Award-nominated performance that seemingly catches everyone by surprise. 

We shouldn’t be surprised, though. Not in the slightest. The list of the best Michelle Williams movies and TV shows streaming is one that goes back a little over two decades at this point, with outstanding performances ranging from a symbiote superhero to a slight dramatization of Steven Spielberg’s mother. To celebrate Williams, we’ve put together a quick list of the very best performances from her incredibly versatile career. 

The Fabelmans (2022)

Told through a series of vignettes, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, The Fabelmans, takes audiences back to where it all began for Hollywood legend. The good, the bad, the magical, and the heartbreaking are all on display in this sprawling drama about a young boy finding his voice while his family falls apart.

Michelle Williams is the real scene-stealer in The Fabelmans, with her portrayal of Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman, a character based on Spielberg’s late mother, Leah Adler. She is a tour de force in several of the movie’s most memorable scenes, including the tornado chase sequence, the camping trip, and during a foreboding nightmare about a certain family member.

Rent/buy The Fabelmans on Amazon.
Buy The Fabelmans on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar-winning Manchester by the Sea is in the running for the most gut-wrenching movie of the century with its heartbreaking story about an already broken man trying to come to terms with the death of his older brother, which leaves him the guardian of his teenage nephew. That is just part of the story, however.

Casey Affleck received heaps of praise for his portrayal of Lee Chandler, and rightfully so, but Michelle Williams’ take on his ex-wife, Randi, is one of the most heartbreaking and harrowing performances I’ve ever seen. The scene in which Randi finally opens up to Lee about their shared tragedy is without a doubt the most powerful speech of her career.

Stream Manchester by the Sea on Prime Video.
Rent/Buy Manchester by the Sea on Amazon.

My Week With Marilyn (2011)

Set during the heights of Marilyn Monroe’s (Michelle Williams) career, Simon Curtis’ 2011 biographical drama, My Week with Marilyn follows the ill-fated actress as she is given a brief respite from her career, her shaky marriage to Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), and the exhaustion brought on by both.

Williams would go on to win her first Golden Globe and be nominated for an Oscar for her captivating portrayal of Monroe, a performance that is in the top tier of portrayals of the Hollywood starlet, and at times, it feels as if this is a documentary instead of a painstakingly crafted docudrama.

Stream My Week with Marilyn on HBO Max.
Rent/buy My Week with Marilyn on Amazon.
Buy My Week with Marilyn on DVD on Amazon.

Blue Valentine (2010) 

Told through a nonlinear narrative structure, Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 drama, Blue Valentine, jumps between past and present to tell the story of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), a couple with a string of bad luck and major blowups. 

Though the movie does tear you down emotionally with one grueling scene after another, the performances by Williams and Gosling make it to where you just can’t stop watching. You won’t find it on the list of best romantic comedies or anything like that, but this Oscar-nominated drama is something you just have to see, even if it’s only once, and even if it’s just to see Williams and Gosling feed off one another’s grief and anger.

Stream Blue Valentine on Freevee.
Rent/buy Blue Valentine on Amazon.
Buy Blue Valentine on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Shutter Island (2010) 

Though it just missed the cut on the list of best Martin Scorsese movies, the acclaimed filmmaker’s 2010 psychological thriller, Shutter Island, is a movie you just can’t afford to miss. Set at the isolated Ashecliff Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the movie follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he tries to get to the bottom of a missing persons case, or so he believes.

Here’s another example of Michelle Williams being the emotional anchor of a movie with her heartbreaking portrayal of Dolores, Teddy’s late wife, who haunts him in his dreams through intense visions. To prevent giving away the Shutter Island ending, I’ll just say that Williams’ performance only gets better as the movie goes on.

Rent/buy Shutter Island on Amazon.
Buy Shutter Island on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Ang Lee’s 2005 neo-Western drama, Brokeback Mountain, details the tumultuous relationship shared by rugged cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) over the course of several decades as they try to hide their true feelings from their respective families, their fellow sheepherders, and themselves.

The movie did take home three Oscars, but Brokeback Mountain should have won Best Picture for its transformative story and incredible performances by its two leads, as well as Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. Williams is particularly powerful in her portrayal of Ennis’ wife, Alma, and was given plenty of time to show her expansive acting skills in some of the movie’s key scenes.

Stream Brokeback Mountain on Netflix.
Rent/buy Brokeback Mountain on Amazon.
Buy Brokeback Mountain on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Charlie Kaufman’s mind-bending psychological drama, Synecdoche, New York follows theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as he deals with the recent departure of his wife and daughter by hiring a group of actors to create a fictionalized version of society in a massive New York City warehouse. Over time, the production grows to the point where the line between reality and fantasy is nowhere to be found.

Synecdoche, New York is full of brilliant performances, including those from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dianne Wiest, Emily Watson, Catherine Keener, and Michelle Williams, who plays an actress who enters into a relationship with the struggling theater director.

Rent/buy Synecdoche, New York on Amazon.
Buy Synecdoche, New York on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Station Agent (2003)

Tom McCarthy, who would go on to direct Academy Award-winning newspaper drama Spotlight more than a decade later, made his directorial debut with 2003’s The Station Agent, a dramedy about a young and nihilistic train enthusiast named Fin McBride (Peter Dinklage) as he moves to a small rural town in New Jersey.

The movie features a who’s who of future stars including the aforementioned Dinkalge, Bobby Cannavale, and John Slattery, and Michelle Williams, the latter of whom is phenomenal in her portrayal of a local librarian named Emily. Though not the central character, Williams steals the show whenever on camera.

Stream The Station Agent on Paramount+.
Rent/buy The Station Agent on Amazon.

Take This Waltz (2011) 

A little more than a decade before writing and directing the Academy Award-nominated Women Talking, Sarah Polley came out with the 2011 romantic drama, Take This Waltz, which saw Michelle Williams play a woman named Margot, who finds herself being torn between her husband, Lou (Seth Rogen) and a mysterious stranger named Daniel (Luke Kirby) she met on a work trip.

Both charming and tense, the film features stellar performances from all involved, Williams especially. And if you were a fan of the dynamic shared by Williams and Rogen in The Fabelmans, this is something you want to see.

Stream Take This Waltz on HBO Max.
Rent/buy Take This Waltz on Amazon.
Buy Take This Waltz on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Wendy And Lucy (2008) 

Kelly Reichardt’s 2008 drama, Wendy and Lucy (which is a brisk 80 minutes in length) follows Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams) as she attempts to make it to Alaska with her dog, Lucy, so that she can find work and make a better life for herself. But hopes, dreams, and aspirations are no match for the harsh realities of poverty and the unforgiving road, which Wendy finds out the hard way on her cross-country odyssey.

Though not talked about as much as some of Williams’ higher-profile movies, Wendy and Lucy features one of her best performances to date, one that features one of her rawest and most vulnerable characters. Plus, it’s one of the best dog movies of the past decade-and-a-half.

Stream Wendy and Lucy on Peacock.
Rent/buy Wendy and Lucy on Amazon.
Buy Wendy and Lucy on DVD on Amazon.

Dawson’s Creek (1998 - 2003) And Fosse/Verdon (2019)

These final two performances are technically TV shows, but both are musts when talking about Michelle Williams’ career, and leaving them off would be a disservice to her legacy. First is Dawson’s Creek, which is undeniably one of the most iconic ‘90s shows. Throughout the series six-season run, Williams played Jen Lindley, Dawson’s (James Van Der Beek) neighbor and close friend with whom she has an on-and-off relationship. 

Stream Dawson’s Creek on Prime Video.
Buy Dawson’s on Amazon.
Buy Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series on DVD on Amazon.

Williams would have one-off TV appearances over the years, but she wouldn’t return to the format in a more involved manner until the 2019 biographical limited series, Fosse/Verdon, which chronicled the romantic and working relationship shared by Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Williams). The actress would go on to win multiple awards for her performance, including a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Stream Fosse/Verdon on Hulu.
Buy Fosse/Verdon on Amazon.
Buy Fosse/Verdon on DVD on Amazon.

Only time will tell if Michelle Williams will hear her name called at the 2023 Oscars. Even if she’s not rewarded for her incredible performance in The Fabelmans, though, Williams has quite the body of work that makes a case for her being one of the best actresses of her time.

There is just something magical about Massachusetts, a special quality that makes one of the country’s oldest states perfect for the big screen. From the open waters and tight-knit fishing communities of its coastal areas to the unique charm and fighting spirit of the greater Boston area, Massachusetts looks absolutely stunning on film and has long provided for some of the best movies of all time.

It is hard to imagine something like CODA, Good Will Hunting or several other movies set in Massachusetts taking place anywhere besides The Old Colony State. In honor of the Apple TV+ movie's surprising yet well-deserved big win at the Academy Awards, now seems like a great time to take a look at a little more than a dozen of those great films and go over all the different ways you can watch them.

CODA (2021)

The only member of her family who can hear, Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) finds herself in quite a situation in CODA when given the opportunity to attend a prestigious music school, which would mean she would no longer be able to help her family’s fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Sian Heder, who won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, focuses her coming-of-age drama not just on Ruby's decision but also on her family and a community where fishing isn’t just a way of life, it’s a matter of survival.

Stream CODA on Apple TV+.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a misunderstood and ill-prepared genius with a level of intellect unrivaled by his peers or a certain math professor who attempts to take him under his wing in Good Will Hunting. Following a string of run-ins with the law, the South Boston native is forced to undergo therapy where he learns way more about himself than he could have ever imagined.

This movie is just oozing with that Boston feeling. Thanks to Sean (Robin Williams) recounting how he missed one of the most iconic Red Sox moments because he met the love of his life and all those thick accents, the city becomes another detailed character that feels so alive.

Stream Good Will Hunting on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Good Will Hunting on Amazon.
Buy Good Will Hunting on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Following the death of his older brother, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) returns to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts to take care of his teenage nephew. But in doing so, Lee is forced to relive a traumatic memory and come to terms with his past.

Manchester by the Sea is one of those movies that’s best not knowing what you’re getting yourself into before you press play. Absolutely stunning in every sense of the word, does a fantastic job of capturing that feeling of a small town, and how someone can go from the favorite son to an outcast because of one tragic incident.

Stream Manchester by the Sea On Amazon.
Buy Manchester by the Sea on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Departed (2006)

As one Boston cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes undercover in one of the biggest criminal enterprises in the greater Boston area, one of the outfit’s most ruthless members (Matt Damon) becomes a mole within the Boston Police Department, setting up a collision course where no one will be left unscathed.

With The Departed, Martin Scorsese did for Boston what he did for New York, New Jersey, and Las Vegas with his earlier crime epics, creating not only one of the best movies in his filmography but also one of the most beloved crime dramas of all time. Scorsese and the cast do a wonderful job of making you feel like you’re on the streets of Beantown and not in a dark movie house.

Stream The Departed on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The Departed on Amazon.
Buy The Departed on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Perfect Storm (2000)

Seeing one last chance at saving the season, Billy Tyne Jr. (George Clooney) and his crew go back out to sea in search of a massive catch while other ships are heading back home to weather a deadly storm. 

The Perfect Storm, which is also set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, is another movie that captures that never-say-die attitude of the men and women raised in the commercial fishing community. Full of heroics, poignant speeches, and an underrated cast of “that guys,” the movie makes for an exciting way to spend a couple of hours.

Stream The Perfect Storm on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The Perfect Storm on Amazon.
Buy The Perfect Storm on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Social Network (2010)

Following a bitter breakup, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) drunkenly decides to build a website allowing Harvard students to judge their peers by appearance and unwittingly create the large social media platform the world has ever seen.

Although only the first half of The Social Network is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before Facebook moves on to Silicon Valley, David Fincher finds a way to transport the audience to the Harvard campus (even if he didn’t actually film on the historic campus). Walks through Harvard Square, teams rowing along the Charles River, and the depiction of America’s ultra elite go a long way.

Stream The Social Network on Netflix.
Rent/Buy The Social Network on Amazon.
Buy The Social Network on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Spotlight (2015)

A group of intrepid Boston Globe journalists uncover the biggest scandal within the Catholic church in centuries as they dig up information showing how the church not only knew about systemic sexual abuse, but also how its most powerful leaders tried to sweep it all under the rug.

Tom McCarthy’s Academy Award-winning drama Spotlight doesn’t necessarily paint the city of Boston in the best of lights, at least not its ruling class and Catholic officials, but it does an incredible job of showing how a scandal spread throughout the city as well as how its fallout rocked the city to its core.

Rent/Buy Spotlight on Amazon.
Buy Spotlight on DVD on Amazon.

Little Women (2019)

When her sister’s condition worsens, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) returns to her childhood home in Concord, Massachusetts, where the young writer is flooded with memories of her upbringing with her three sisters and extensive group of family and friends.

There have been multiple adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s timeless novel Little Women, but Greta Gerwig’s 2019 spin on the classic is in a league of its own. The quaint towns, rolling hills, and crisp autumns all add to the story with the landscape becoming a character of its own due to its influence over the characters as they figure out life and love.

Buy Little Women on Amazon.
Buy Little Women on DVD on Amazon.

The Fighter (2010)

Up-and-coming fighter Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is finally given a chance to prove himself in the professional boxing world, but only if his family, especially his drug-addicted half-brother Dickie Eklund, doesn’t get in the way first.

Although technically a gritty drama about a boxer trying to make a better life for himself, The Fighter feels like “Lowell, Massachusetts: The Movie” with its depiction of the working class city and its downtrodden residents. It’s rough around the edges and doesn’t have the best manners, but it sure is beautiful.

Stream The Fighter on Starz.
Rent/Buy The Fighter on Amazon.
Buy The Fighter on DVD on Amazon.

The Town (2010)

South Boston bank robber Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) lives his life one heist at a time, but that all changes when he takes a liking to a hostage. But even though Doug may have had a change of heart, his partners-in-crime and a morally bankrupt FBI agent aren’t going to let him get out so easily.

There’s a lot going for The Town, but the two things that stand out the most are Jeremy Renner’s amazing accent and that brilliant final gun battle at the consecrated grounds of Fenway Park, which is honestly up there with the best shootouts of all time.

Stream The Town on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The Town on Amazon.
Buy The Town on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Mystic River (2003)

Three childhood friends, forever connected yet torn apart by a shocking event, find themselves facing another crisis when one of their daughters goes missing and is later found dead.

Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful, and the director does a marvelous job of showing the good, the bad, and the in-between in Boston’s blue-collar stomping grounds. Unsettling at times and triumphant at times, the movie stands as one of the Eastwood’s best efforts.

Stream Mystic River on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Mystic River on Amazon.
Buy Mystic River on DVD on Amazon.

Fever Pitch (2005)

Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) thinks she has met the man of her dreams, but little does she know but her boyfriend, Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon) is not only a Boston Red Sox fan, he’s the biggest fanatic in all of New England.

What The Farrelly brothers’ adaptation of Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch does really well (besides being a superb romantic comedy) is it captures the obsessive behaviors of sports fans and how the outside world sees them. Add in the fact it was filmed the year the Red Sox broke the curse, and you have something special.

Stream Fever Pitch on Starz.
Rent/Buy Fever Pitch on Amazon.
Buy Fever Pitch on DVD on Amazon.

Patriots Day (2016)

When the 2013 Boston Marathon ends in tragedy, a police officer (Mark Wahlberg), an FBI agent (Kevin Bacon), and hundreds of other law enforcement professionals race against the clock to track down those responsible and bring them to justice.

Peter Berg’s 2017 thriller, which was based on actual events, brilliantly depicts the unprecedented response from a united Boston in the wake of a senseless terrorist attack. From the first explosions to the final moments of the days-long manhunt, this fast-paced thrill ride shows Boston, Massachusetts, and New England at its best.

Rent/Buy Patriots Day on Amazon.
Buy Patriots Day on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stronger (2017)

After losing both legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) goes on a powerful journey that tests him physically, mentally, and emotionally as he attempts to move on from the tragedy.

Jeff Bauman’s story is one about someone who found a reason to fight and carry on even when so much was taken from him in emotionally powerful Stronger, which perfectly sums up the attitude of those impacted by the incident.

Stream Stronger on EPIX.
Rent/Buy Stronger on Amazon.
Buy Stronger on DVD on Amazon.

Ted (2012)

Years after wishing his teddy bear would come to life, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (Seth MacFarlane) are still best friends, but these days he’s a drinking, weed-loving, foul-mouthed party monster who encourages John’s slacker lifestyle.

The outrageously hilarious Ted plays out like a greatest hits of all things Boston, Massachusetts, and New England with icons and iconic locations around every corner. Probably not the first movie you think of when it comes to the area, but Ted doesn’t a damn good job of making you feel like you’re there.

Rent/Buy Ted on Amazon.
Buy Ted on DVD on Amazon.

Like the state itself, a list of movies set in Massachusetts is full of diverse characters, legendary locations, and all kinds of surprises. This also happens to be the case for the 2022 new movies schedule.

There is no way to get around it — depression sucks. I, like millions of others, have battled with mental health issues for most of my life and have come to terms with the fact that it will always be that way. Some days are better than others and vice versa, but one thing I always tell myself is that I’m not alone in this fight and that family, friends, colleagues, and the various doctors I have visited over the years are more likely than not to have gone through the same exact thing at one point in their lives. Another way I have found to cope is by watching different movies about depression and other issues like anxiety, loneliness, and just about everything else under the sun.

Sometimes turning on a movie that features a character in a fit of self-doubt or dealing with depressing thoughts is enough to hold me over until the storm breaks and I am able to move on in life. Here are 16 movies that handle depression (and other mental health issues) in a thoughtful way..

Aftersun (2022)

Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut, Aftersun, spends a week with Calum (Paul Mescal), a 31-year-old single father, as he goes on a trip to a Turkish resort with his young daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio). The movie centers on Calum as he struggles with a number of different aspects of life, including fatherhood, depression, and his approaching 31st birthday. Meanwhile, his 11-year-old daughter attempts to find her place in the world while also making sense of her father’s depressed state. 

Wells leaves things ambiguous with the Aftersun ending, and never outwardly reveals Calum’s fate. However, the subtle and nuanced approach to the story, as well as her handling of depression, is worth noting. 

Stream Aftersun on Paramount+ with Showtime.
Rent/buy Aftersun on Amazon.

Sideways (2004)

Two friends – struggling writer and wine snob Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) and the soon-to-be-married Jack Cole (Thomas Haden Church) – embark upon one final hoorah before the latter gets married. Over the course of Alexander Payne’s 2004 Oscar-winning comedy, Sideways, the two friends find themselves tested in a number of ways after they become involved with a pair of friends who don’t know Jack is engaged. 

The way that Miles, a teacher who’s still not over his failed marriage and stalled writing career, wears his depression is incredibly honest and genuine, if that makes sense. The way in which Giamatti brings the character to life and shows the various sides of someone living in a downed mental state resonates so well.

Rent/buy Sideways on Amazon.

The End Of The Tour (2015)

American writer David Foster Wallace, the author of the acclaimed Infinite Jest, committed suicide in September 2008. James Ponsoldt’s 2015 drama film, The End of the Tour, doesn’t center on Wallace’s (Jason Segel) passing (though it is the story’s catalyst), but instead a period of time 12 years earlier when writer David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) went on a book tour with the late writer. 

Over the course of a few days, the pair of writers explore the American landscape, hold insightful conversations, and learn a great deal about each other and themselves in the process. The movie does a masterful job of portraying a successful and well-respected author struggling to deal with depression while also diving into how, despite his fractured state, he impacted so many people.

Stream The End of the Tour on Kanopy.
Rent/buy The End of the Tour on Amazon.

A Star Is Born (2018) 

In 2018, Bradley Cooper directed, co-wrote, and starred in the most recent, and perhaps heaviest, adaptation of A Star Is Born yet. In this version, successful musician yet struggling addict Jackson Maine (Cooper) discovers Ally Maine (Lady Gaga), a talented singer who becomes his protege, muse, and wife on her path to superstardom. Though Ally and her meteoric rise are at the center of the story, A Star Is Born also focuses a great deal on Jackson’s fall from grace as he stumbles through life.

The way the movie touches on the effects of untreated depression may be extreme for some, but it brings the conversation of mental health to the surface, a conversation that oftentimes needs to be had.

Rent/buy A Star is Born on Amazon.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Not long after a bitter breakup, Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) learns that his ex-girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) has taken extreme measures to get over the shattered relationship: wiping all memory of Joel and their past from her memory. Distraught and depressed by the news, Joel decides to undergo the same procedure in Michel Gondry’s 2004 transfixing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However, letting go is easier said than done as the heartbroken Joel begins to have second thoughts about the process and fights to save the memories (both good and bad) before they’re lost to time in one of the best movies of the 2000s.

Though the movie takes a more sci-fi and fantastical approach to its handling of depression, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind does bring up a good point about depression, in that like the good memories, the bad ones are what make us who we are.

Rent/Buy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Amazon.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Following the death of his brother, grief-stricken loner Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) returns to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-sea where he discovers he has become the legal guardian of his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). The reason behind Lee’s bleak demeanor and departure from his family’s longtime home is not immediately revealed, but when the truth comes out, it is easy to see how someone could fall into a deep, dark abyss of depression. Also while he’s back home, Lee runs into his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams), leading to one of the most heartbreaking movie meltdowns in recent memory.

Undoubtedly one of the most emotionally grueling movies on this list, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea doesn’t shy away from devastating topics. Instead, it faces them head-on.

Stream Manchester by the Sea on Prime Video.

Lost In Translation (2003)

Sofia Coppola’s 2003 drama Lost In Translation deals more with chronic loneliness than depression, but since the two go hand-in-hand so often, the movie is more than deserving of a spot here. The Focus Features classic centers on Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a washed up movie star whose career has reached the point where all there is left to do is appear in Japanese commercials and drink at a Tokyo hotel bar. His life is given new meaning when he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), the wife of a famous and distracted photographer. The two unlikely friends strike up an immediate bond as they explore the sights and sounds of Tokyo and begin to learn more about themselves than they would have ever guessed.

Stream Lost in Translation on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Lost in Translation on Amazon. 

Garden State (2004)

Zach Braff’s 2004 directorial debut, Garden State, centers on struggling actor Andrew Largeman (Braff) as he returns to his family home in New Jersey to attend his mother’s funeral. While there, Andrew begins to come to terms with his role in an accident that left his mother confined to a wheelchair decades before her death and his father’s (Ian Holm) decision to put him on various antidepressants and lithium after the accident. 

Without giving too much away, there’s a scene near the end of the movie in which Andrew, his love interest Sam (Natalie Portman), and old friend Mark (Peter Sarsgard) visit a man guarding an abandoned quarry and Andrew tells him “Good luck exploring the infinite abyss” and the man responds with “You too.” Nearly two decades later, the weight of those words, as well as that moment, still get me.

Stream Garden State on Max.
Rent/Buy Garden State on Amazon.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ 2006 family road trip movie, Little Miss Sunshine, follows the Hoover family as they drive across the American Southwest so that the youngest member of the group, Olive (Abigail Breslin) can compete in a beauty pageant held in California, but the movie is about so much more than that. Sure, the central conflict that ties everyone together is a road trip in that iconic yellow Volkswagen Microbus, but each family member is dealing with their own personal demons. 

Two of the biggest and most thoughtful of these subplots are those of Frank Ginsberg (Steve Carell), who has just been released from a mental hospital after trying to kill himself, and Dwayne Hoover (Paul Dano), who has a rather extreme mental breakdown due to a certain visual impairment. Both of these characters learn to deal with their afflictions and are made better people because of it.

Stream Little Miss Sunshine on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Little Miss Sunshine on Amazon. 

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

David O. Russell’s 2012 romantic comedy, Silver Linings Playbook, tackles a myriad of different topics and mental illnesses as well as how the characters’ conditions affect practically every aspect of their lives. There’s Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), a recently divorced Philadelphian dealing with bipolar disorder and all the issues that stem from it, Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence), a grieving widow still coming to terms with her husband’s death, and Patrizio “Pat” Solitano Sr. (Robert De Niro), Pat’s father whose life is in disarray because of his OCD and gambling addiction. Each of these characters eventually come to terms with their illnesses and the depression that spawns from it in this perfectly-balanced dramedy.

There are some key differences between the movie and book on which it was based, but this all-time great Philadelphia film gets a lot of things right when it comes to depression.

Rent/Buy Silver Linings Playbook on Amazon.

The Skeleton Twins (2014)

Craig Johnson’s 2014 dramedy The Skeleton Twins follows Milo Dean (Bill Hader) and Maggie Dean (Kristen Wiig), a brother and sister who are brought back together after years apart just as each are experiencing their own crises and failed suicide attempts. To better take care of themselves (and one another) the estranged twins begin to confront the people and situations that pushed them over the edge while also coming to terms with their own relationship and how two people who were brought into this world together could drift so far apart. And then, there’s the amazing scene where Milo and Maggie lip-sync “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”

Stream The Skeleton Twins on Max.
Rent/Buy The Skeleton Twins on Amazon.

Inside Out (2015)

You may be asking yourself “Why is a Pixar movie on a list of movies about depression?” but there’s a good reason for it. Peter Docter’s 2015 emotional, animated feature, Inside Out, takes a look inside the brain of a young girl named Riley whose life is completely upended when she and her parents move from the Midwest to San Francisco. Told mostly through Riley’s emotions (played by an all-star cast including Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and others) the movie dives into issues ranging from loneliness to the brink of depression when the young girl’s feelings get all out of whack.

One of the best Pixar movies to date, Inside Out is an incredible exploration of human emotion and the human spirit through characters like joy and fear, and how our feelings make us who we are.

Stream Inside Out on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Inside Out on Amazon.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Stephen Chbosky’s 2012 coming-of-age drama, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which was based on his book of the same name), tells the story of awkward high school freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) as he breaks out of his shell and begins to explore all life has to offer after befriending a group of seniors who forever change his life. During all of this, Charlie is battling severe depression brought on by his best friend’s suicide as well as repressed memories from a traumatic childhood event. The film, like the book, also deals with the way in which isolation, loneliness, and an inability to express one’s true feelings can have on the mind and soul of a young teenager.

Rent/Buy The Perks of Being a Wallflower on Amazon.

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Charlie Kaufman’s sprawling and mind-bending psychological drama Synecdoche, New York follows down-on-his-luck theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who develops a rather unique and arguably unhealthy coping method after his wife and daughter leave him: construct and produce an elaborate stage production of his life that slowly becomes more and more complicated and blurs the lines between fiction and reality. 

This truly bizarre (even for Kaufman’s standards) film is as transfixing as it is convoluted, but it offers a new spin on the idea of a tortured artist finding a way in which he can block out the pain of his own life.

Rent/Buy Synecdoche, New York on Amazon.

Melancholia (2011)

Released in 2011, Lars Von Trier's Melancholia follows two sisters — Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) — as they await their impending doom that will be brought on when a planet crashes into Earth, wiping out all life. On top of that, Justine is in the middle of a severe bout of depression brought on by the failure of her marriage in addition to other issues from throughout her life.

Stream Melancholia on Hulu.
Stream Melancholia on Prime Video. 

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Bobcat Goldthwait’s (yes, that Bobcat Goldthwait) 2009 dark comedy, World’s Greatest Dad, follows Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) after his son accidentally kills himself during an unorthodox sexual act. In hopes of avoiding the scandal that could potentially come out of the way in which his son died, Lance, who battles severe depression, decides to write a suicide note for his son, a note that channels a lot of the grieving father’s own problems with mental health. However, the situation gets out of hand and Lance becomes an overnight celebrity for being such a strong father all the while batting his own personal demons.

Stream World’s Greatest Dad on Hulu.
Rent/Buy World’s Greatest Dad on Amazon.

Each of these movies touch on depression in their own way, but hopefully all of them help show you that despite how you may feel at times, everyone goes through something at one point or another.

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You know, you really do have to hand it to Amazon for the perks that an Amazon Prime membership will get you. My personal favorite, is all the content you can stream at no extra cost with an subscription, including films like the acclaimed drama Sound of Metal or the uproarious rockumentary (a term I actually use a bit loosely in this case) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, among many others. The downside of all this free entertainment on streaming is deciding which of the many Amazon Prime movies at your disposal will be your main feature presentation on movie night.

Well, luckily for you, when it comes to the best movies on Amazon Prime, we certainly have an opinion over what you should add to your watchlist. Of course, our thoughts in the category tend to be subject to change with the availability for some of those fun and award-winning favorites either lasting up to a year or expiring after no more than a week. Yet, when focusing on just the Amazon Prime original movies, that opinion will forever remain exactly what the platform’s exclusive content literally is: priceless.

Let us celebrate this freedom by honoring our top 12 favorite Amazon Prime movies that will always be free, starting with the first film to put Amazon in the Oscar race, but certainly not the last, either.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Painful memories of the past catch up with an ill-tempered handyman from Boston after he is forced to return to his childhood home when a tragedy makes him the legal guardian to his teenage nephew.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: A total of six Oscars nominations with two wins (including Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Original Screenplay for writer and director Kenneth Lonergan) went to Manchester by the Sea - a gripping, beautifully executed portrait of the consuming nature of ugly truths which was also produced in part by Affleck’s other famous older “brother,” Matt Damon.

Stream Manchester by the Sea on Amazon Prime.

The Big Sick (2017)

As his traditionally minded parents search for his potential Muslim bride, a Pakistani-born struggling comedian (Kumail Nanjiani) puts his romantic commitments to the ultimate test when his caucasian ex-girlfriend (Zoe Kazan) falls deeply ill.

Why It's Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: The first Amazon original comedy to receive Academy Awards attention was director Michael Showalter’s hilarious and heartfelt The Big Sick, which earned star Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon nominations for their screenplay that they based on the true story of one of the most challenging moments from their relationship.

Stream The Big Sick on Amazon Prime.

Honey Boy (2019)

A young actor’s relationship with his abusive father and the pressures of the entertainment industry haunt him as he becomes one of the most famous and infamous figures in Hollywood.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Former Even Stevens and Transformers star Shia LaBeouf based the screenplay for Honey Boy, written as a therapeutic exercise during a rehab stint, on the most challenging moments of his own real life and even went as far as playing his own disgraced father’s fictional counterpart in this revealing autobiographical drama.

Stream Honey Boy on Amazon Prime.

Brittany Runs A Marathon (2019)

When her hard partier lifestyle, lack of a consistent career, romantic struggles, and, most importantly, her health reach a dangerous peak, a young woman (Jillian Bell) sets out to make the ultimate change by entering to run in the New York City Marathon.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Writer and director Paul Downs Calaizzo’s feature film debut Brittany Runs a Marathon is yet another inspirational tale of overcoming personal demons that is based on a true story and produced by Amazon Studios in 2019, but is easily the funnier of the bunch.

Stream Brittany Runs a Marathon on Amazon Prime.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

A rude, crude, and culturally inept journalist from Kazakhstan travels back to the United States to observe how things have changed since his last visit, encountering more extremely divisive opinions, political corruption, and a devastating pandemic along the way.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: One could argue that notorious prankster comedian Sacha Baron Cohen chose the worst time to bring his (in)famous character back to America, but the two Oscar nominations for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (including for Maria Bakalova as the title character’s daughter) seem to suggest he made the right call with this uproariously shocking and unsurprisingly controversial sequel.

Stream Borat Subsequent Moviefilm on Amazon Prime.

Sound Of Metal (2020)

A rock ’n roll musician (Riz Ahmed) who has wholly committed himself to his drumming talents begins to put his life and his purpose into question after he shows signs of going deaf.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Among its six Oscar nominations, Co-writer and director Darius Marder’s devastatingly authentic feature-length film debut Sound of Metal was rightfully recognized for its sound design, which gets progressively lower as Riz Ahmed’s character Ruben’s hearing grows weaker.

Stream Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime.

One Night In Miami (2020)

Activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), star football player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), and soul singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) come together at a hotel in 1960s Florida, where they ponder the future of the Civil Rights movement.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Oscar-winning actress Regina King makes a stunning directorial debut with One Night in Miami, a powerful, fictionalized historical drama offering an inside look at a major cultural shift in America inspired by the award-winning stage play by Kemp Powers.

Stream One Night in Miami on Amazon Prime.

The Vast Of Night (2020)

A teenage soundboard operator (Sierra McCormick) calls upon her classmate, a talented local disc jockey (Jake Horowitz), to help understand the origins of a strange sound heard over the radio, which sets them on the path to make a life-changing discovery in a small town in 1950s Texas.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: With its gripping Cold War era social commentary, eerily muted ambience, and grainy aesthetic, The Vast of Night has all the bells and whistles of the perfect The Twilight Zone tribute, but first-time director Andrew Patterson’s inventive narrative style makes it a much more unique experience.

Stream The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime.

The Handmaiden (2016)

Forbidden desires between a woman (Tae-ri Kim) and the heiress (Min-hee Kim) she works for as a live-in aid interrupt her original intentions to con her boss’ wealthy family 1930s South Korea.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: With its breathtaking production design and wonderful acting, the stirring and sexy thriller The Handmaiden is yet another brilliantly conceived crime drama that unfolds into a shocker of a taboo love story from Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park.

Stream The Handmaiden on Amazon Prime.

You Were Never Really Here (2018)

A disillusioned war veteran who has taken up a living finding missing young girls is driven to his breaking point by an assignment that takes a horrifying turn for he worse.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Before he won his first Academy Award for his incredibly unnerving performance in Joker, Joaquin Phoenix really brought down the hammer at the Cannes Film Festival as the troubled hero of You Were Never Really Here, from the acclaimed Scottish director of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay.

Stream You Were Never Really Here on Amazon Prime.

Paterson (2016)

One week in the seemingly average, routine life of a married bus driver (Adam Driver) with a lesser-known talent for finding the poetic nature in everyday situations.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: The fact the title character of Paterson is also a bus driver from Paterson, New Jersey, played by an actor with the last name “Driver” is not even the most fascinating aspect of director Jim Jarmusch’s unique and uplifting adaptation of a poem of the same name by William Carlos Williams.

Stream Paterson on Amazon Prime.

Late Night (2019)

At risk of losing her show after three decades on the air, a cynical talk show host (Emma Thompson) attempts to boost her public image by hiring a woman of Indian descent (Mindy Kaling) on her staff of predominantly white, male writers.

Why It’s Worth Streaming On Amazon Prime For Free: Mindy Kaling drew from her own experiences with seeing a lack of diversity behind the scenes in the entertainment industry to write the screenplay for Late Night, one of the funniest crowdpleasers of 2019.

Stream Late Night on Amazon Prime.

Probably the most refreshing thing about Amazon Prime’s original movies is the variety as there are very few similarities between any of the films on the list above, with overall quality being their unifying trait. Of course, any average audience member would be expected to like prefer some titles over others. Which of the above Amazon Prime originals do you prefer the most?

This poll is no longer available.

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Breaking up is never easy to do, but that doesn't mean we have to spend those first few days after a major breakup going through the whole gamut of human emotion on our own. Thankfully for everyone out there with a broken heart needing to be mended, there are countless movies out there that prove that we're not alone and that it's okay to pull down the blackout shades, grab a pint (or gallon) of ice cream, and spend a Sunday afternoon crying the day away. Movies like the Netflix original Marriage Story, the cult classic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the timeless Casablanca are just three that come to mind.

And while none of these movies can fix all of the problems of a serious and depressing breakup, they can offer us an escape, albeit brief, that allow us to escape the hurt, fear, and uncertainty that follows a breakup or divorce, and give great opportunities to laugh, cry, and learn to those who need it the most. Here are 12 such movies that are streaming right now.

Marriage Story (Netflix)

Set over the course of a bitter and emotionally exhausting divorce between playwright Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) and Nicole Barber (Scarlett Johansson), Noah Baumbach's 2019 Academy Award-winning Marriage Story goes into great detail about the emotions, realities, and struggles of a failed marriage. As the couple grows apart and their young son Henry (Azhy Robertson) is stretched across the country, the movie examines how quickly relationships can be upended when things no longer work. And while some sections of the movie are sometimes too real and raw to take in, the movie strangely offers one of the most hopeful conclusions in the genre. But still, the movie absolutely wrecks anyone with even the most closed-off hearts.

Stream it on Netflix.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Hulu, Peacock)

Released in 2008, Nicholas Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, quickly became a must-watch in terms of breakup movies, but not because of a depressing and heart-wrenching telling of infidelity and heartbreak (though those are both featured here). Instead, the movie, which stars Jason Segel (who wrote the screenplay) as composer Peter Bretter, a guy who escapes to a Hawaiian resort to try to forget his actress ex-girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), is a series of hilarious jokes and vignettes that tell the story of rebirth and new love at someone's lowest point. And with a cast that includes Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, and just about every celebrity in the early 21st Century, there's a lot to take in during this raunchy comedy.

Stream it on Hulu and Peacock.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Netflix)

There are breakup movies and then there is Michel Gondry's 2004 intricate and cerebral masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Starring Jim Carrey as Joel Barish and Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski, the film centers around two former lovers who undergo an experimental treatment to wipe each other from their memories following a painful breakup. Over the course of the movie, we follow Joel as he comes to terms with his decision to forget the love of his life just as the memories are deconstructed like sets on a stage. Beautifully written, shot, and edited, this unorthodox breakup story is just as much about love and new beginnings as it is about anything else.

Stream it on Netflix.

Manhattan (Amazon)

A lot of things can be said about Woody Allen's personal life, but nothing can take away from the fact that the writer-director gave the world some of the best breakup movies of all time. With films like Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters, Allen is a master at deconstructing doomed relationships even when the participating parties have no idea of the fate that awaits them.

Besides the aforementioned Annie Hall, none of Allen's films tackle this idea better than the 1979 black-and-white affair Manhattan. With a total of three breakups for Allen's Isaac Davis (a divorce from Meryl Streep's Jill Davis and a breakup with Mariel Hemingway's Tracy), the main love story focuses on that with Diane Keaton's Mary Wilke as the two become friends then lovers then former lovers all with a backdrop of New York City bustling around them.

Stream it on Amazon.

Casablanca (HBO Max)

When thinking about breakup movies, Michael Curtiz's 1942 Casablanca probably isn't one of the first to come to mind, but at the very center of this war drama is a brutal and heartbreaking story about a failed relationship that proved to be one of the biggest casualties of World War II.

Following Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine, a cynical American operating a nightclub of dubious legality in the city of Casablanca, the film picks up when the proprietor's old flame Ilsa Lunda (Ingrid Bergman) stumbles in with her famous husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). While trying to secure passage to freedom with Nazis hot on the tail of his former lover's new man, Rick finds himself recounting those good and not-so-good memories he shared with Ilsa in Paris. Try listening to "Time Goes By" without feeling a lump in your throat.

Stream it on HBO Max.

The First Wives Club (HBO Max)

There are a lot of breakup movies that are mopey, melodramatic pity parties and there are those like Hugh Wilson's 1996 revenge comedy The First Wives Club. When three middle-aged women (Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler) are left by their husbands for younger women, they don't lick their wounds… they get even. Inspired by the suicide of their college friend who took a plunge after being left by her millionaire husband, the three start a club of their own and set out for some old-fashioned payback for those who wronged them and others like them. The trio of scorned ex-wives will stop at nothing until they get back what was wrongfully taken from them by their no-good former husbands.

Stream it on HBO Max.

500 Days Of Summer (Starz)

On the surface, 500 Days of Summer looks like a quirky, hipster romantic comedy about a greeting-card writer named Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he falls in love with Summer (Zooey Deschanel), but it's anything but a happy-go-lucky story of young love. Sure, there's some of that in Marc Webb's 2009 indie darling, but the real heart of this movie is the breakup that takes up a large portion of the runtime as Tom tries to figure out what went wrong. And then there's the party scene where Tom thinks that Summer is inviting him over to get back together but soon realizes what is actually going on in the great "expectations vs. reality" scene.

Stream it on Starz.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before (Netflix)

Marriage Story isn't the only great breakup movie to be released by Netflix in recent years as the surprise hit To All The Boys I've Loved Before swept its way into viewers' hearts in 2018. The film, which is directed by Susan Johnson, stars Lana Condor as Lara Jean Covey, a girl whose love letters to her crushes are sent out by her younger sister. Lara and one of the recipients, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), begin "dating" to throw off the other boys and Peter's ex-girlfriend Gen. But don't you know it, the two fall in love, before breaking up and then ultimately reuniting in something out of young adult fiction novel. Though a little hokey, the movie works and is ultimately a lot of fun.

Stream it on Netflix.

La La Land (HBO Max)

Damien Chazelle's 2016 musical La La Land offers a look at a couple who are both connected and ultimately torn apart by their passion and drive to make their dreams come true. With the story of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a talented musician with aspirations of owning his own jazz club, and Mia (Emma Stone), an actress looking for their big break in Hollywood, this delightful treat of a movie is just as brutal and heartbreaking as it is bubbly. Going into it, the viewer is fully aware that in order for these two to make their mark in the world they will need to rip themselves from one another, no matter how much they love each other.

Stream it on HBO Max.

He's Just Not That Into You (Netflix)

There are certain movies that were tailor-made to be watched on a Sunday afternoon when you feel like you just ned two hours to escape the outside world and Ken Kwapis' 2009 romantic comedy He's Just Not That into You is one of those movies. Centered around a large ensemble cast that includes the likes of Jennifer Anniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, and Ginnifer Goodwin, the movie is split into four main sections all dealing with love, loss, and breaking up. While you shouldn't expect the complexity of other movies on this list,there are definitely worse options out there.

Stream it on Netflix.

The Holiday (Amazon)

You can't have a list of breakup movies without at least Nancy Meyers entry, and what better way of talking about the godmother of romantic comedies than with her 2006 drama The Holiday. While most of the movies listed here center around one breakup, The Holiday features two stories of failed relationships and new beginnings with Cameron Diaz' Amanda Woods and Kate Winslet's Iris Simpkins, who trade places to get away from the awful men in their lives. And who would have thought that they would fall in love (Jude Law's Graham Simpkins and Jack Black's Miles Dumont), but it does in fact happen. But honestly, everyone knows this movie is really about Eli Wallach's Arthur Abbot, who pretty much steals the show.

Stream it on Amazon.

Manchester By The Sea (Amazon)

Kenneth Lonergan's 2016 drama Manchester by the Sea isn't really a breakup story, but more of a movie about the awful event that ultimately led the dissolution of a marriage. Starring Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler, a broken man who is destroyed by a tragic mistake, the movie touches on his failed marriage to Randi, played by an emotionally-gutted Michelle Williams. It isn't until later in the movie that the former spouses come to terms with the event that completely changed their lives and everyone around them, making this perhaps the most unorthodox breakup movie to come out in recent memory.

Stream it on Amazon.

While different, each of these movies have one thing in common — they show people whose lives have been completely upended by a breakup and try to find a way to move on from the situation. If you have a movie that you think fits this mold, then make sure to let me know in the comments below.

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Sometimes we all just need a good cry. Not a single tear slowly moving down your cheek type of cry. No...a big, ugly cry that no one would mistake for allergies. Although attaining that level of tears can be difficult more times than not, we can always get a little help from sad movies that bring the waterworks and then some. Luckily, Amazon Prime is loaded with that very type of movie.

Maybe, just maybe, watching a movie that makes you feel an overwhelming sense of sadness could do us all a lot of good in a day and age when we treat bottling emotions like an Olympic sport. So, I've come up with this list of movies on Amazon Prime that you should watch if you just want to feel sad and shed a tear over something that has nothing to do with you. Grab your tissues, because we're about to explore the saddest movies streaming on Prime Video.

Terms Of Endearment (1983)

Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the 1983 mother-daughter drama Terms Of Endearment is a roller coaster of emotions that gave audiences one of the most tear-jerking endings in cinematic history. Starring Shirley MacClaine as Aurora Greenway, Debra Winger as her daughter, Emma, and Jack Nicholson as former astronaut Garret Breedlove, this riveting movie takes an in-depth look at love and loss through the eyes of a mother and daughter.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: If the broken romantic relationship between the central characters isn't enough to make you sad, the film's emotionally gutting ending will give you the perfect opportunity to let go and release all those tears.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

The 2016 drama Manchester By The Sea asks viewers to be patient in figuring out why Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is so hesitant to return to his hometown following the death of his older brother Joseph Chandler (Kyle Chandler). As the movie progresses, and the relationship between Lee and his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) begins to build, we, as the audience, discover the disturbing reason for the grief-stricken loner's reluctance to return home.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: I won't give anything away, but there's a scene about an hour into this movie that I still haven't recovered from nearly four years after the fact. To this day, my wife refuses to re-watch this film, not because it's a bad movie, but because she can't bear to feel that way again. And, the emotional conversation between Lee and his ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams) is enough to break you.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

My Girl (1991)

The 1991 coming of age story My Girl follows tomboy Vada Sulten (Anna Chlumsky) as she navigates her small town with her best friend Thomas J. Sennet (Macaulay Culkin). One would think that Vada would be used to death, as her father (Dan Aykroyd) runs his funeral service from their home, but the 11-year-old protagonist doesn't realize how death affects us until it's far too late.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: I mean, the scene with Thomas J. and the bees, and the aftermath, is enough to make a grown man cry. The look on Vada's face when she accepts that her best friend isn't coming back gets me every single time.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Dear Zachary (2008)

Unlike the rest of the titles on this list, Dear Zachary is a documentary about the 2001 murder of 28-year-old Dr. Andrew Bagby and the long, drawn out crusade his grieving parents embarked upon to gain custody of their grandson, Zachary, from his mother, who is also the woman who killed their son. The project initially started out as a way for Zachary to get to know his deceased father, but quickly turns into something much more heartbreaking.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: If you enjoy watching other people cry while talking about their murdered friend or son, Dear Zachary is for you. This tense and highly emotional documentary will have you in tears before it even gets to the most depressing and unsettling section of the film.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Mary And Martha (2013)

The 2013 British-American television drama Mary And Martha tells the story of Mary (Hilary Swank) and Martha (Brenda Blethyn) who both lost their only children after contracting malaria in Africa. The two grieving mothers turn their pain into action as they work towards raising awareness for the disease that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: Watching mothers deal with the deaths of their children is always a good way to make people feel sad, and it's no different here with Mary And Martha. You'll bounce between sadness and acceptance time and time again by the time this 90-minute drama wraps up.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Warrior (2011)

When estranged brothers Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), who haven't seen or spoken to one another in years, cross paths during an MMA tournament, the once-close siblings are forced to work through their personal issues with each other as well as their alcoholic father, Paddy (Nick Nolte).

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: You probably wouldn't think that a movie about the world of MMA would bring you to tears and overwhelm you with sadness, but Warrior doesn't pull any of its punches. Plus, the scene with a drunk Nick Nolte stumbling around a hotel room quoting Moby Dick is one of the most emotionally grueling scenes you'll see in a sports drama.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Last Flag Flying (2017)

The 2017 Richard Linklater-directed drama Last Flag Flying tells the story of Larry "Doc" Shepherd (Steve Carell) as he seeks out his old Marine buddies Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) in the hope that they will join him to recover his son's body after he was killed in combat in Iraq.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: Linklater is effective in building the relationships between the three estranged friends as well as building up the moment Doc finally sees his son's body at Dover Air Force Base. Everything after is an emotional gut punch.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Wonder (2017)

The 2017 drama Wonder centers around 10-year-old August "Auggie" Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), who was born with rare medical facial deformity and had to undergo multiple surgeries in order to gain the use of his senses. The film follows Auggie as he starts the fifth grade and how the teachers, students, and their parents learn to accept the young disfigured boy with a heart of gold.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: Wonder is a tremendously inspirational film, but there are scenes in the movie where you can't help but feel sympathy and pity for the young Auggie as he is mistreated and judged by everyone besides his parents.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

The Big Sick (2017)

The Big Sick is essentially a fictionalized version of the beginning of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's relationship, in which a character based on Gordon, Emily Gardner (Zoe Kazan), goes into a coma shortly after the new couple breaks up. Over the course of the following months, Kumail meets and forms a relationship with Emily's parents, Terry (Ray Romano) and Beth Gardner (Holly Hunter).

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: There's a scene after Emily comes out of her coma where Kumail thinks that everything is going to be okay, only for Emily to tell him that even though he went through this extremely transformative experience on her behalf, nothing has changed for her. After everything he went through, this makes it all worse.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

The Farewell (2019)

The Farewell centers around Billi Wang (Awkwafina) and the rest of her extended family as they travel to see their dying grandmother in China under the guise of a wedding so that her final days will be enjoyable and filled with family. As the family heads to mainland China, they begin to question decisions they've made in life and contemplate their future.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: There's a scene near the end when Billi agrees to keep her grandmother in the dark before she goes back to America, no matter how much it hurts to continue the lie during what might be their final meeting.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Beautiful Boy (2018)

The 2018 film Beautiful Boy shows how far a father will go in order to save his troubled and meth-addicted son. Starring Steve Carell as David Sheff and Timothée Chalamet as his son Nicholas, this biographical family drama navigates a world filled with pain, sorrow, and drug addiction.

Why it's a good option if you want to be sad: There are times in Beautiful Boy when you wish David would simply give up on his son, but he continues to see the good in Nicholas even when the rest of the family has given up on the troubled youth. This movie is a testament to the undying love and forgiveness of a father who can't stop caring for his son, no matter how much it damages every other relationship of his.

Stream it on Amazon Prime here.

Those are just 11 of the saddest movies I could find on Amazon Prime, but with a vast library of titles which seems to only expand each day, I'm sure I'll be making an update to the list in the very near future. If your favorite movie that makes you sad didn't make the list, let us know in the comments, and remember to check back for the saddest movies on other streaming platforms like Netflix here on CinemaBlend.

Most of us were first introduced to Lucas Hedges in his breakout performance in Manchester By The Sea, but the young actor from New York City was already an accomplished actor by the time he was nominated for an Academy Award in Kenneth Longeran's 2016 emotional gut punch.

In fact, Lucas Hedges has had quite a life, both leading up to Manchester By The Sea and after he became one of the most well regarded young actors in Hollywood. Since he was first featured in Dan In Real Life (which was directed by his father, Peter Hedges), the 23-year-old has worked with everyone from Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig and a few other notable directors in between. The thing about Hedges is that even though you may think you haven't heard of him, you've seen in some of the most prolific movies of the past five years. Let's take a look at how he got there.

He Is The Son Of Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Peter Hedges

Long before Lucas Hedges was popping up in critically acclaimed indies and being nominated for major awards, his father, Peter Hedges, was making quite a name for himself in his own right. You might not have heard of Peter Hedges before, but you have certainly seen one of his well regarded films or at least heard of them.

The elder Hedges got his start in Hollywood when he wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which was based off his 1991 debut novel of the same name. The 1993 drama was nominated for numerous awards, including Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Arnie.

Peter Hedges would go on to be nominated for an Oscar of his own for his screenplay of the 2002 romantic comedy About A Boy. Over the years, Hedges would continue to write and direct several pictures, including the 2018 family drama Ben Is Back, which starred his son, Lucas as a recovering teenage drug addict upon his return from rehab.

Hedges Was Nominated For His Breakout Role In Manchester By The Sea

Lucas Hedges would follow in his father's footsteps and earn an Oscar nomination of his own for his portrayal of Patrick Chandler, 16-year-old, who upon the sudden death of his father falls under the care of his broken uncle, Lee Chandler, played by Casey Affleck. Throughout this sob fest, Patrick and Lee are forced to overcome traumatic moments from their past as they learn to cope with the loss of the one man who held their lives together.

Hedges, who had a few credits to his name at this point in his career, acted well beyond his years when he played the shy, confused, and grieving teenage boy who just wants to find some level of normalcy in his shattered world all while guiding his uncle through old memories from an incident that would bring any parent down to their knees in tears.

How A Middle-School Play Earned Lucas Hedges A Role In A Wes Anderson Movie

Lucas Hedges first broke out on the scene for his role of Redford, the de facto leader of the Khaki Scouts in Wes Anderson's 2012 coming of age story Moonrise Kingdom. Hedges, who had only been in one movie up to that point (his father's Dan In Real Life) didn't go through the conventional casting process to earn his spot in a Wes Anderson film though.

In a 2017 profile with Huff Post, the actor revealed that his performance in a seventh-grade production of Nicholas Nickleby caught the eye of a casting director who would then help him secure his spot in Moonrise Kingdom. Hedges also told the Washington Post that he started acting his middle school's productions because he felt like the kids acting were on some grand adventure and he wanted to be a part of it.

This wasn't the last time Hedges would be cast in a Wes Anderson movie as he later appeared in The Grand Budapest Hotel as a pump attendant.

Hedges Is An Ally To The LGBTQ Community

Two of Lucas Hedges' most prominent roles came in Lady Bird and Boy Erased, in which he portrayed a homosexual teenager coming to terms with his sexuality in both films. In an interview with Vulture, Hedges revealed that he felt a connection to both of those characters as the roles awakened the actor to the way he felt as a teenager, when he didn't quite feel like if he was straight or gay:

When later asked by The Advocate if he saw himself as an ally or a part of the LGBTQ community, Hedges explained that he was more of an ally, stating:

Beanie Feldstein Introduced Hedges To Mid-90s Director Jonah Hill

After wowing audiences in Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Boy Erased, Hedges showed up as a completely different character in Jonah Hill's skateboarding throwback Mid90s in 2018. In Hill's directorial debut, Hedges plays Ian, the stone cold older brother of main character Stevie (Sunny Suljic) who ends up being more complicated than anyone expected.

How Hedges got the role is a pretty interesting story that makes Hollywood look like an even smaller circle of relationships. His Lady Bird co-star Beanie Feldstein just so happens to be Jonah Hill's younger sister, and introduced the two while she and Hedges were filming Lady Bird, according to a report in the The Massachusetts Daily Collegian.

Lucas Hedges Made His Broadway Debut In 2018

Two years after being nominated for his role in Manchester By The Sea, Lucas Hedges reunited with the film's director, Kenneth Lonergan, for the 2018 Broadway revival of Lonergan's 2000 play The Waverly Gallery.

The memory play has been described by Playbill as being a story about a 24-year-old by the name of Daniel (Hedges), whose grandmother, who just so happens to be the owner of an art gallery, is battling Alzheimer's disease. The production would go on to take home two Tony Awards in 2019, including best revival of a play.

He Has Movies And TV Series Coming Up

There's no rest for the weary as Lucas Hedges continues to bring his talents to a number of upcoming projects. First on Hedge's list of roles includes that of Malcolm Price in French Exit, a surreal comedy in which he will share the screen with Michelle Pfeiffer as Frances Price, a penniless widow who movies to Paris with her son (Hedges), and her cat, who just happens to be her reincarnated husband (Tracy Letts).

Next, Hedges is slated to star alongside Meryl Streep in Steven Soderbergh's comedy about an author who sets off on a trip with her friends and nephew in an attempt to come to terms with her past. And finally, the young actor is attached to B.J. Novak's FX anthology series, Platform.

As you can see, this isn't the last we've heard of Lucas Hedges. This is just the beginning.

While there are a variety of streaming options available for subscribers to choose from, there are a few that have emerged as bigger favorites, for different reasons. A lot of these streaming services have gotten into original content, and over the past couple of years Amazon and Netflix in particular have emerged as key players in the creation of original movies. There is one big difference, however. Netflix's movies go straight to the subscription streaming service, while Amazon's movies do get a theatrical release, first. Here's why Amazon's Roy Price says the service's movies are going to the big screen, first:

As Roy Price is noting, it's not just filmmakers who want to see their movies in a theater setting, but that a lot of Amazon customers still want to see the movie with the full cinema experience. In a lot of ways, it sounds like a win-win situation. Taking this a step further, Roy Price also notes at MIPTV that perceptions have also played a lot into Amazon's decision, as a lot of people only think of a movie as a real movie--as opposed we're assuming to a TV movie--if it has gotten that theatrical release. Roy Price also says that theatrical releases help with reviews, general knowledge and more:

Amazon has really been pushing for good critical reception with its original movies, and the company did get that with Manchester By The Sea, which was nominated and won awards at a lot of big ceremonies, including the Oscars where it nabbed statues for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Amazon's philosophy is in sharp contrast to Netflix, which has shelled out quite a bit of money for its own movie originals. However, movies from Adam Sandler and a whole slew of other movies in the works, like Will Smith's Bright, are heading straight to Netflix rather than giving people the chance to catch the flicks in theaters first.

There may be room for both philosophies on the market, and Amazon has already proven its model, at least in terms of earning prestige, with the aforementioned Manchester By The Sea. At MipTV (via Deadline) the studio also shared that it would like to produce at least 15 movies a year, and the company wants those movies to be films people care about. We'll have to wait and see what happens over the long haul, but we'll keep you posted every step of the way.

Part of the reason that the Academy Awards expanded the Best Picture category to up to 10 nominees was in hopes of attracting more interest by bringing in more popular films. It hasn't worked. A new poll of the movie going public has uncovered the fact that a full 60 percent of them can not name a single movie that's been nominated for Best Picture this year. Of course, part of the reason for this is likely that most of those surveyed haven't seen most of the movies either.

The survey was conducted by National Research Group earlier this month on behalf of The Hollywood Reporter. It covers a variety of topics related the Oscars and film. What's possibly even more surprising than the fact that 6 out of 10 people on the street don't know who the nominees are, is the fact that even when prompted by the film's title, most could not recognize that a film had received the nomination. It's one thing to ask a random person on the street what the best Picture nominees are. It's another to ask somebody if they know if La La Land was nominated for Best Picture.

For what it's worth, La La Land was the movie that most people were able to name as being a nominee. A whopping 32% could name it. From there it drops significantly as only 19% could name Fences as one of the choices Academy voters have. Hell or High Water faired the worst among nominees as only 5% could name it. That doesn't mean that many people had actually seen these movies. Less than 30% of people asked had seen Arrival while only 25% had seen Manchester by the Sea.

The good news for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and ABC, is that the fact that nobody knows who the nominees are apparently won't impact their viewing of the ceremony, as 70% of those surveyed still plan to watch the show, which should make for solid ratings if that number holds up across the country.

On a related note, while most people weren't aware that Jimmy Kimmel would be hosting the telecast, once they were given this information, the majority seemed positive on the choice. Only 12% said that Kimmel hosting made them less likely to watch the show, while over half said that it made them more likely to watch. For the rest, the host made no impact.

As somebody who writes about movies every day, I'm certainly more than a little surprised by these numbers. While I understand that not everybody goes to see movies every week, I still would have expected some number greater that half could at least name one Best Picture nominee. Films like La La Land and Hidden Figures have been punching above their weight at the box office since their release at the end of last year. This would seem to indicate that people care about these movies and so it wouldn't have been surprising to see that reflected here.

How many Best Picture nominees could you name before you began to read this story? I haven't even mentioned four of them in this article. Do you know what they are? Let us know in the comments.

Figuring out how individual people are going to react to something is nearly impossible because people are really hard to predict. However, this hasn't stopped somebody from trying to use pure numbers to figure out who the big winners are going to be at this weekend's Academy Awards. Based on the model it looks like La La Land is likely to prevail on Sunday as Best Picture, while that's maybe not too surprising, what is shocking is how, based on the numbers, it's not even close.

According to Ben Zauzmer at The Hollywood Reporter, his mathematical model is based on a combination of previous awards results, critics scores, and even current betting odds. Based on the formula, not only is La La Land the frontrunner, it's got a 58.9% chance of winning, blowing away the competition. The film sitting in second place is Hidden Figures with an 11.2% chance, primarily thanks to its big win at the Screen Actors Guild awards. Most people would agree that La La Land is the likely winner.

There is one award that La La Land is even more likely to take home, however, and that's Best Director. Damien Chazelle is being called the 86% probable winner there. He won the Directors Guild of America Award and that fact by itself makes him the likely Oscar winner. It's been 15 years since somebody won at the DCA but didn't get the Oscar.

Most of the acting awards look to be pretty locked up as well based on these numbers. Viola Davis has an 83.6% chance to take home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Emma Stone will be your Best Actress by 67.8%. Mahershala Ali will win Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight with a likelihood of 55.3%. Only the Best Actor award appears to be in contention. Casey Affleck is in a good position of 49.5% likely to win for Manchester by the Sea. However, Denzel Washington is comparatively close behind him with a 29.5% chance. If we go strictly by the number Affleck would look to have it locked but that one's closer than most others.

Finally, we have the two screenplay awards. Best Adapted Screenplay looks to be well locked up. Moonlight, which is based on a play based on the life of the author is sitting at 49.2% with both Lion and Arrival fighting over second place at around 20%. The coin flip category this year looks to be Best Original Screenplay, as Manchester by the Sea appears to be the favorite with 42.8% but La La Land is right behind them at 40.5%. That may be the one that determines your Oscar pool at work.

Do you think these numbers add up? Let us know which category you think is the most likely to see an upset.

The Oscars might air during February, but other than that big ceremony, the month is not really known for big movies. That counts both for theatrical releases and for DVD, Blu-ray and Digital releases for the month. We do have some fun movies and some awards winners and nominees coming out earlier in the month, but there are a few things fans should get excited about in February. If you'll take a look later on you'll notice that crowd pleasers like Doctor Strange and Fuller House: Season 1 will be available on Blu-ray for the first time. (The latter you can also catch on Netflix.) Don't discount awards nominees like Arrival, Loving and Manchester By The Sea, either. Take a look at the full list, below.

In addition, if you are looking for the January 2017 DVD, Digital and Blu-ray releases, head here. Unless otherwise noted in the Digital column, Digital releases are the same days as the Blu-ray and DVD releases.

Loving Blu-ray Review

Over the last couple of years, Joel Edgerton has taken roles in wonderful but underseen films like The Gift and Loving, the latter of which is headed onto Blu-ray this week. The film, from Focus Features follows the story of Mildred and Richard, who fall in love in the racially segregated Virginia in 1958. Their love is stronger than the law and they fight against the illegality of interracial marriages still present at the time. That's the simple basis for the story, but Jeff Nichols' Loving is a story that is more based in performance that it is propelled by a strong narrative. Both Edgerton and Ruth Negga put in masterful and---shall I say it?---loving performances here. The Blu-ray release, which comes from Focus Features and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, actually offers a surprising number of extras for a movie with such a small budget and overall box office impact. Making of and feature commentary components exist along with real information about the landmark case "Loving v. Virginia" and perfecting the cast. You can take a look at the Blu-ray, which also comes with a DVD and Digital copy of the film, here.

Dirty Dancing: 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review

Everyone needs a copy of Dirty Dancing in their household, which is why repeat releases of the classic Emile Ardolino film are not the worst idea. The latest is Blu-ray release or, if you are willing to shell out, a Limited Edition box set that includes a wallet, compact mirror, a room key chain for Baby's room and shooting script with notes, post cars and much, much more. If you aren't willing to shell out more than $55 bucks for all that cool swag, no worries whatsoever. Lionsgate Home Entertainment also has a regular Blu-ray that also comes with a DVD and Digital copy of the classic film. More than six hours of extras are also part of this edition. Most of these have been found on other releases of Dirty Dancing. There were a couple of Patrick Swayze interviews that are brand spanking new to the 30th Anniversary Edition of Dirty Dancing and that were worth a perusal. Most of these extras should be new to non-fanatics, however. There are screen tests and outtakes and interviews with the cast, not to mention commentary on the film. A lot has changed in 30 years, although Jennifer Grey is still kicking it in the eighties thanks to Red Oaks. This release is a reminder of a fun time at the cinema and it's definitely one to own if it isn't in your collection already. Order the regular Blu-ray copy at an extremely reasonable price here.

Tuesday, February 7 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Trolls

Justice League Dark

Loving

The Take

From Dusk Till Dawn: Season Three

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season

Blackway

American Pastoral

Almost Christmas

Spin Out DVD

Beyond Redemption

The Eagle Huntress

The 9th Life of Louis Drax

Cross Wars

Sabrina Down Under DVD

The Twilight Zone: The Complete '80s Series

Desierto

The Take

Frank & Lola

Dynasty: The First Season DVD

Sesame Street: Singing with the Stars 2

Week of Tuesday, February 7 Early Digital Releases

Nocturnal Animals

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

Hacksaw Ridge

Edge of Seventeen Blu-ray Review

It's hard to be a teenager. You're so close to being an adult and yet so far from understanding the complexities of the world you live in. You haven't met that many adult people with adult perspectives. You still live in the bubble of your small world and even smaller high school. A lot of teen dramas have explored the difficulties of these formative years, but Kelly Fremon Craig's script sets itself apart by using many of the painful parts of being a teenager and wrapping them in enough dark humor and warm moments to keep you invested during the film's hour and 44 minute runtime. Hailee Steinfeld can still pull off playing the insecure---and poorly dressed---high school student Nadine and Blake Jenner's jock character Darian is played here as someone who is also more complicated than the average teen flick would make him. If anyone is underused here, it's Woody Harrelson, as straight-faced teacher Mr. Bruner, who absolutely takes no shit from his students and adds a little levity to the film. This one was a quieter film at the box office, but Edge of Seventeen is still a good watch. Order your own copy, complete with a DVD and Digital copy, here.

Arrival Blu-ray Review

What a slow but great week for movie releases. Between coming-of-age story Edge of Seventeen and science fiction drama Arrival there are a lot of cool female performances out this week. Amy Adams may have been gypped out of an Oscar nomination, but Arrival was one of my favorite movies in 2016 and certainly my favorite performance from a lead actress last year. Even if you aren't usually a science fiction fan, Denis Villeneuve's beautifully shot film is emotional enough for even those who aren't big science fiction advocates. When linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) are tasked with making contact with a species of aliens that have appeared suddenly on Earth, they must reach into the unknown and place their trust in each other and what lies ahead. What they find is engaging, mesmerizing and totally worth owning on Blu-ray and DVD. The extras on Paramount Home Media Distributions set are lengthy, which means there is 80 minutes worth of stuff to work through. I particularly enjoyed the extra "Nonlinear Thinking" which explained the major process involved in the editing that went down in Arrival. Other extras focus on language and more. A Digital copy also comes with the Blu-ray flick, which can be purchased here.

Tuesday, February 14 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Arrival

The Edge of Seventeen

Bleed For This

King Cobra

Quarry

Christine DVD

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Week of Tuesday, February 14 Early Digital Releases

Dr. Strange

Bad Santa 2

Allied

Hacksaw Ridge Blu-ray Review

Hacksaw Ridge has been the little World War II drama that could ever since it was released. Made on a $40 million budget, the story of WWII pacifist Desmond Doss brought in nearly $175 million worldwide, and accrued some awards nods this season. It makes sense, as the young man's story is told eloquently, and the simple storyline never drags because warfare is a remarkably attention-grabbing topic. (It also makes sense because awards shows are suckers for war movies.) Still, if you missed the Mel Gibson-directed movie, Lionsgate Home Entertainment is bringing it to Blu-ray and DVD for the first time. It's also out on 4K, if you have the capacity, but we took a look at the regular Blu-ray, which comes with a few bonus features, including deleted scenes and a message from Mel Gibson. I'd skip those and go straight for the jugular... and by that I mean the super lengthy documentary that accompanies the film. That looks at the film through both a "making of" and an historical lens, and even features some interview footage from Desmond Doss' son (the protagonist of the movie died back in 2006). You can order the extremely reasonably priced new release here.

Manchester By The Sea Blu-ray Review

Unlike a lot of the releases this month, Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea isn't a fun or exhilarating movie. The Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated tale of a handyman named Lee (Casey Affleck) returning to his hometown after his brother suffers a heart attack and dies. Although Manchester is a beautiful town, it holds bad memories for Lee and he is forced to confront some of those memories and make tough choices as the movie wears on. The film is not often the happiest and certainly isn't something you'd want to watch on a lark, but it's easy to see why Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams have been noted for their outstanding performances. The cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler, Gretchen Mol and Lucas Hedges, is a standout all around. Lionsgate Home Entertainment's film is probably not one you'd need to own on Blu-ray, simply because of the climate the film is shot in and they way it was filmed. The extras on the disc, too, are nothing to write home about. Still, the movie is one that should be seen, and now you can do so in the comfort of your own home before the Oscars air. Order your own copy here.

Tuesday, February 21 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Hacksaw Ridge

Grace And Frankie: Season 2

Nashville: The Complete Fourth Season

Bad Santa 2

Nocturnal Animals

Manchester By The Sea

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

Week of Tuesday, February 21 Early Digital Releases

Jackie

Moana

Doctor Strange Blu-ray Review

Marvel has been touting the home entertainment release of Doctor Strange for weeks now. The Digital release dropped a couple of weeks ago, and now you can access a physical copy that will look pretty on your shelf and hopefully be worth a re-watch or five. Doctor Strange isn't my favorite story in the Marvel Cinematic universe, especially as Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange can often be a bit of an ass, but he's still an entertaining ass, and the movie is also one of the most visually accomplished flicks ever created. It's entertaining and it's eye candy. What a package

Walt Disney Home Entertainment really went all out for this release. There are a ton of bonus features, including lengthy audio commentary with director Scott Derrickson. If you are interested in what Marvel has coming up, Marvel Studios Phase 3 Exclusive Look is a good bonus feature for you. There is tons of information out on the Internet about films from Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 to Infinity Wars, but this extra provided a nice overview. If you want to talk about how detail-oriented this set is, there's even an adorable little 3D component for the Digital movie code that comes with the Blu-ray release. Some extras tied to the Blu-ray release have been released prior to the Blu-ray hitting shelves, so for a taste of those, check out the gag reel and a deleted scene.

If you are looking for other exclusive information tied to the Blu-ray release head here. In addition, you can purchase Doctor Strange on Blu-ray for a great price over at Amazon.

Allied Blu-ray Review

Allied kind-of flew under the radar after news of Brad Pitt's divorce from Angelina Jolie spread like wildfire. While the movie doesn't have some of the spark of this years Academy Awards pool, Robert Zemeckis' latest movie is likable and emotional--certainly worth a watch if not an addition to your collection. Allied comes in 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray, but we took a look at the Blu-ray review, which still pops on our TV at home as bombs light up the London sky and two spies play a most dangerous game. Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard both tear up the screen as war torn lovers and if you like the danger--and in this case romance--of the WWII era, you'll like the bonus features on Paramount Home Media Distribution's set. Most of the bonus features are behind-the-scenes stuff. One looks at production design, but the more exciting segments are the ones that look at the weapons, vehicles and the music in Allied. Give those a watch, even if you skip the rest. You can order your own copy of Allied here.

Tuesday, February 28 Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Doctor Strange

Allied

Fuller House: The Complete First Season

Chronic

Moonlight

Rules Don't Apply

Shut In

Contract to Kill

A Place To Call Home DVD

Officer Downe

Rules Don't Apply

This year marks the 89th Academy Awards ceremony, with a crop of notable nominees that will fight it out to take home the highest honors in the film world. So naturally, in order to handicap your Oscar pool properly, as well as keep current in the conversation with all of your movie-inclined friends, you're going to want to see, at the very least, the entire field of Best Picture candidates. In the past, this used to be a real pain, as most Best Picture nominees would already be out of the theaters and stuck in that limbo between theatrical and home video release.

But in the past decade or so, it's become much easier to stay current thanks to both the ever-shrinking window between both mediums and big theater chains running special events that run the entire line-up. Which is why we're pleased to have compiled a list of all nine Best Picture nominees and whether you can still see them in theaters or when they'll be available on home video. Keep in mind, release dates and theatrical exhibitions are subject to change, so be sure to double check your local theater listings and your streaming/purchasing venue of choice.

AMC/Regal Marathons

Probably the easiest, and most fun, way of catching all nine Best Picture nominated films is through the programming packages that AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas are both offering in February. In the case of AMC's Best Picture Showcase, the nine films are spread across two weekends (February 18th & 25th), and will cost $65 for a two-day pass, with individual passes running at $32.50 (Feb. 18th only) and $37.50 (Feb. 25th only). Though if you're feeling strong, you can watch all nine films in one day in select locations. For all of the details, including Stubs Rewards perks and discounts on two-day passes at the box office, head to AMC's official site.

Regal Cinemas, on the other hand, is running their Best Picture Film Festival of programming from February 17th straight until Oscar night on the 26th. For $35, you can see all of the films, but there is a catch: all nine films are scattered throughout the length of the festival, so you'll need to do some schedule optimization in order to catch them all. However, if you're looking to catch only a couple stragglers and don't need the entire pack, this is probably the best option. Further details & scheduling can be found at Regal's official site.

But let's say you're not interested in going to a multi-picture marathon, or just want to catch your favorites at home. The following are individual listings for each film and how you can catch them in all of their singular glory.

Hell Or High Water

Synopsis: Two brothers (Chris Pine & Ben Foster) rob a local Texas bank chain blind, all in the name of protecting their family's land. But a wily sheriff (Jeff Bridges) is hot on their tails, and giving them a run for their money.

Is It Still In Theaters: It depends. Some theaters have brought the film back in limited capacity due to its award nomination.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: Hell or High Water is currently available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.

Possible Streaming Options: iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu & FandangoNOW.

Arrival

Synopsis: When several alien crafts arrive on Earth, and are in need of interpreters, linquist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is drafted to make first contact with the species known as the Heptapods. Tensions mount, and the world is on the brink of something risky, with Louise's efforts making the difference between peace and war.

Is It Still In Theaters: Yes. Thanks to Paramount, Arrival celebrated its 8 nominations by bringing the film back to theaters with some extra bonus footage for one day only. But there are some theaters still showing the film in limited showtimes, so look closely at your listings.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: Now (Digital HD)/February 14th (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: iTunes & Amazon Video.

Fences

Synopsis: Troy Maxon (Denzel Washington) is beloved and feared by his own sons and wife (Viola Davis.) Fences tells the story of the Maxon household, the ups and downs the it suffers as his youngest son grows up and life's pressures push the family into some dark corners.

Is It Still In Theaters: Yes, but it could be winding down soon, so you should probably run out and see this one while you can.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: February 25th (Digital HD)/TBD (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: Amazon Video & FandangoNOW.

Hidden Figures

Synopsis: Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson,) Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer,) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) are three young African American women that helped NASA change the world during the early age of the space race, while having to simultaneously combat the inequalities of institutional racism. Yet their story hadn't been told until much later, partially thanks to this film.

Is It Still In Theaters: Yes. Hidden Figures is still in the thick of it's wide release window, so you should be able to catch this one before Oscar night.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: Hidden Figures is currently listed as having a "Spring 2017" release date for home video/Digital HD.

Possible Streaming Options: No streaming options have been announced for this title at this time.

Hacksaw Ridge

Synopsis: Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) never carried a gun and never fired a shot during his tour of duty during World War II. What he did do was rescue 75 wounded soldiers from the field of battle, and he did it out of pure faith and shining humanity. Based on a true story.

Is It Still In Theaters: You might find some theaters still running Hacksaw Ridge, particularly after its nomination drive. But it's not going to be easy.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: February 7th (Digital HD)/February 21st (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: FandangoNOW & Vudu.

Lion

Synopsis: Saroo (Sunny Pawar) wandered off from home as a child and managed to go as far as Australia. As an adult (Dev Patel), he becomes curious about his origins after memories of his childhood town start to resurface. With some internet knowhow, he embarks on a journey to uncover his past. Based on a true story.

Is It Still In Theaters: Yes, though you should probably check your indie theaters and/or bigger multiplexes to increase your odds of catching this Lion.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: TBD (Digital HD)/March 21st (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: No streaming options have been announced for this title.

Manchester By The Sea

Synopsis: Lee (Casey Affleck) returns home after his brother's untimely passing, and is greeted with legal guardianship of his nephew (Lucas Hedges.) Coming home could offer some much needed closure, but also looks to open up old wounds as he is reunited with his ex-wife (Michelle Williams.)

Is It Still In Theaters: Manchester By The Sea looks to be winding down in its theatrical exhibition window.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: February 7th (Digital HD)/February 21st (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: FandangoNOW & Amazon Video.

Moonlight

Synopsis: Through three narratives in as many different time periods of his life, the story of Chiron (Alex Hibbert/Ashton Sanders/Trevante Rhodes) unfolds. We learn about his hard life at home, his relationships with those around him and ultimately the type of person he will become because of both.

Is It Still In Theaters: Moonlight is heading to home video soon, but there are still some limited locations that might be showing the film.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: February 14th (Digital)/February 28th (Blu-ray/DVD)

Possible Streaming Options: Amazon Video, FandangoNOW & Vudu.

La La Land

Synopsis: An aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a stubborn Jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) meet and fall in love in the city of dreams. But can a person chase their dreams while holding onto the one they love as they do the same?

Is It Still In Theaters:____Yes, very much so. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if this stayed in theaters up until the actual awards themselves. In fact, the film is heading back to IMAX as of today, so check your local listings.

When Will It Be Available On Digital HD/Home Video: No Digital HD/home video release dates have been set for this title.

Possible Streaming Options: No streaming options have been announced for this title.

Tuesday morning marks the announcement of the nominations for the 2017 Academy Awards. The "big game" for movie fans and professionals alike, this list is going to be the playing field to end all playing fields for the class of 2016. The competition will be fierce, and as with any field of runners and riders, there's a good mix of the expected and the unexpected.

So with our own optimism, and a dash of reading the tea leaves of the awards season that's come before, we have a list of what we feel are going to be locks and longshots for landing a place on the honor roll. Of course, there's still a degree of uncertainty, as Hollywood has taught us time and time again that longshots can be winners, and dreams can come true. In that event, we reserve the right to be just as surprised as you are.

Best Picture Lock: La La Land

There's absolutely no question that La La Land is going to be nominated for Best Picture come Tuesday morning. With buzz being extremely strong since it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and said enthusiasm failing to die down, the odds have always been in Damian Chazelle's favor. But now, with a record breaking 7 Golden Globes in its hands, another day of sun has turned into a season of splendor for this bittersweet tale of love and dreams.

Best Picture Longshot: Arrival

It hasn't been an easy ride for Arrival, despite gaining similar amounts of traction to La La Land after debuting in Toronto. With an almost complete shut out from even being nominated at the Golden Globes, the signs are pointing to the possibility that this Denis Villeneuve's examination of an extremely grounded first contact scenario is a non-starter with awards judges. We're holding out for a nomination for Amy Adams, but we're not so hopeful that Best Picture will stick the landing.

Best Animated Feature Lock: Zootopia

Honestly, if you'd asked around the offices of Cinema Blend whether Disney would land a Best Animated not with Zootopia or Moana, you'd get a mixed bag. It's not that one film is significantly worse than the other, on the contrary, they're both fantastic. But Zootopia was released in March, and the later the year gets, the more you tend to forget about some movies. Not Zootopia apparently, as its reputation has kept it alive in everyone's minds. Though the fact that it's streaming on Netflix probably helps too.

Best Animated Feature Longshot: Kubo and The Two Strings

2016 has been an embarrassingly good year for animated films, so picking who gets shut out is really hard. Unfortunately, if we were to guess who'd be leaving empty handed come tomorrow morning, Kubo and The Two Strings would be the film we'd end up picking. Again, there's no doubt that this film is staggeringly beautiful and absolutely brilliant. But between two, possibly three Disney films landing noms, Sausage Party's awards play, and My Life As A Zucchini making an even later splash in the field with a Golden Globes nomination, this race seems a bit more crowded with contenders than usual.

Best Actor Lock: Casey Affleck

Manchester By The Sea has always felt like more of an acting nomination contender than a Best Picture lock. Nowhere is that more present than in Casey Affleck's performance in Kenneth Lonergan's mournful, yet sometimes humorous drama. Winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama certainly helps, but if you're a Casey Affleck fan, you knew that this was merely a fait accompli after years of hard work.

Best Actor Longshot: Ryan Reynolds

Let's address the elephant in the room: Ryan Reynolds isn't getting a Best Actor nod for Deadpool. While the Golden Globes have the luxury of splitting into two different sections for Drama and Musical/Comedy, the Academy Awards do not have that distinction. As such, it's very doubtful that the normally comic-phobic Academy will be throwing much love towards the Merc with the Mouth, and it's a damned shame too, because Reynolds's performance is absolutely pitch perfect.

Best Actress Lock: Viola Davis

The question isn't whether Viola Davis will be nominated as a Best Actress candidate for her work in the powerful film Fences, but rather who else will try to stand in her way? While some would tell you this is a Best Supporting Actress role, as the character of Rose Maxon could be perceived as a backseat to Denzel Washington's Troy. However, between Davis' performance and the context of her character in the source material, we can't help but argue vociferously that she's not only a Best Actress candidate, she's our frontrunner to take it home.

Best Actress Longshot: Taraji P. Henson

Hidden Figures, for the most part, feels like it's come too late in the awards race to be buzzed properly. If we were to bet on any nominations heading towards this well-regarded latecomer, it'd be for Best Picture and possibly Best Original Song. But if the movie's recent popularity at the box office has truly improved its chances at awards glory, then surely there's enough room for Taraji P. Henson to make her way into the running for Best Actress. While we're still skeptical, as it's a crowded field already, we're still hopeful.

Best Original Screenplay Lock: Manchester By The Sea

Kenneth Lonergan is no stranger to the Oscar dance, as he was previously nominated twice for Best Original Screenplay, thanks to You Can Count On Me, and Gangs of New York. This year should undoubtedly be his third turn at bat, as Manchester By The Sea has quickly rose through the ranks to challenge all comers in the awards season blitz. While it's hard to say if it'll be a strong contender for winning, especially since Moonlight took the top Drama prize of Best Picture at the Golden Globes, it's most certainly a strong contender.

Best Original Screenplay Longshot: La La Land

Another harsh lesson in Golden Globes reality: La La Land probably won't get that coveted Best Original Screenplay nomination, and if it does, it surely will not win. While being a charming film, the story does seem a little thin, with many characters existing as Macguffins more than living characters. With Moonlight and Manchester By The Sea giving chase, and the singular nomination pool, Damian Chazelle's writing nod seems like a longshot in our book.

Best Adapted Screenplay Lock: Arrival

While Arrival may be a longshot to take a Best Picture nomination home, we would think that it has much better traction for a nomination tipped towards Eric Heisserer's adaptation of Ted Chiang's short story, Story Of Your Life. Both it's innovative approach to a Sci-Fi theme we've seen often, and its focus on the power of language and translation, it's a timely message that reminds us that we have to truly listen in order to understand our own world, not to mention that of the Heptapods. And we all know the Academy loves message movies.

Best Adapted Screenplay Longshot: Deadpool

Seriously guys, we loved Deadpool. It was everything you'd want from the character's solo debut, it healed the wounds of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it made Ryan Reynolds bankable again. We can't sing the praises for this baby high enough, but again, there's more competition on the Oscar level than most others. The recent wave of nominations in various guild-centric awards certainly bode well for the film, but that's not always the indicator for a lock at the Oscars.

There are a handful of pre-cursor events that happen prior to the announcement of the annual Oscar nominations that give contenders real hope. To see ones name, or even their film, recognized by the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, and yes, even the Golden Globes or the Critics' Choice Awards, means that you are still in the running, and you have a legitimate shot at hearing your name on Oscar noms morning (which will be one week from today -- Tuesday, January 24, so circle the date on your calendar).

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts -- or, the BAFTAs -- are another outstanding indicator of the films, directors, actors and actresses that are leading contenders in the Oscar race. Since 2007, the BAFTAs have lined up with the Oscars in the Best Picture category six our of nines times, accurately predicting wins for Argo and The Hurt Locker (when they looked like runners up during the nomination process). Even when the BAFTAs differed from the Academy, as they did the last two years with The Revenant and Boyhood, they had eventual Oscar winners Spotlight and Birdman in the running in their Best Picture category.

Looking at the full list of BAFTA nominees for 2016, here are the ones I think have a very good shot at making the cut for Oscars on Tuesday, January 24:

Best Picture

Arrival

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Four of the five films nominated by the BAFTAs have a shot at earning Best Picture nominations from the Academy, with Arrival being the only one that could conceivably be left on the outside looking in. La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea strike me as mortal locks for Best Picture noms, while the BAFTAs love for Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake likely won't continue on this side of the pond.

Best Director

Denis Villenueve, Arrival

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Of the five men named by the BAFTAs, I only see three making the cut at the Academy, with Ken Loach and Ton Ford (Nocturnal Animals) traded out for different names at the Oscars. Right now, if I had to gamble, I'd put good money on Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) taking at least one slot, with the other going to Garth Davis for the sentimental Lion.

Best Actor

Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Here's where the Academy and the BAFTAs start to separate (though I wish they were in lock step). The BAFTAs honored Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals) and Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) for outstanding performances in spectacular movies. But I don't like their Oscar odds, and can see them getting replaced by Denzel Washington (Fences) and Tom Hanks (Sully). That fifth slot, which the BAFTAs gave to Andrew Garfield, could stay his, though it might be for Silence instead of Hacksaw Ridge, if enough Academy members see Martin Scorsese's latest.

Best Actress

Amy Adams, Arrival

Emma Stone, La La Land

Natalie Portman, Jackie

These three seem to be the names that are repeated most often in the Best Actress category ,and I expect all three of them to receive Oscar nominations on Tuesday, January 24. However, where the BAFTAs went with Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt for Florence Foster Jenkins and The Girl on the Train, respectively, I tend to think the Academy will recognize either Annette Bening (20th Century Women) or Isabelle Huppert (Elle). I'm also holding out hope for Taraji P. Henson, as well as for Hidden Figures to have an impact in multiple categories. We shall see.

There you have it, folks. The 2017 Golden Globe awards finally aired, and a lot of well-deserved awards were handed out over the course of the evening. From La La Land to Atlanta, the night served as an excellent affirmation of the best and brightest in the current Hollywood landscape. That said, there were still quite a few snubs that definitely need to be addressed.

With that in mind, we have taken it upon ourselves to compile a list of the five biggest snubs from this year's Golden Globes ceremony. Some of these snubs are actors, while others are entire films, but all of them went wholly overlooked at the awards ceremony this year. Check out our entries and let us know what movies and actors you think should've won. Now, let's get the ball rolling with one of the evening's earliest (and most surprising) snubs.

Best Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali

The fact that Mahershala Ali did not win a Golden Globe for his work on Moonlight is nothing less than shocking for anyone who has seen the film. The actor delivered a career-defining performance in Barry Jenkins' drama as drug dealer Juan, and he had already cleaned up at numerous other award ceremonies leading up to the Golden Globes. He seemed like definite a shoo-in. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's performance in Nocturnal Animals was impressive, but his Golden Globe win defied all expectations and conventional wisdom. That said, let's see what happens for Ali when the Oscar nominations roll around, because he's certainly still deserving of more recognition.

Best Actor Comedy/Musical - Ryan Reynolds

I am not going to try and convince you that La La Land didn't deserve to win the Best Picture, Musical/Comedy category. That's nearly impossible. However, with regard to lead actors in that category, Ryan Reynolds deserved to walk away with the Golden Globe this evening over Ryan Gosling. No disrespect to the La La Land star, but Reynolds adapted a nearly-impossible-to-adapt character and managed to carry almost every single scene in the movie with an incredible magnetism and charisma. He brought a (literally) insane energy to Deadpool as the titular anti-hero, and he was an absolute force of comedic nature. Beyond that, a win would've gone a long way towards reaffirming the legitimacy of the comic book movie genre.

Best Animated Movie - Moana

Of course, we have heaped nothing but praise upon Zootopia over the course of the last year for its whimsical charm and compelling social commentary. However, the fact that Moana didn't bring home the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film was nothing short of shocking this evening. Aside from the fact that Moana is packed to the brim with strong performances and beautiful musical numbers, it's also a complete and utter technical marvel in its depiction of nature. Moana broke new ground in the realms of filmmaking technology, animated storytelling and representation of island cultures. It didn't walk away with the Golden Globe this year, but it deserves your respect and admiration nonetheless.

Best Screenplay - Manchester by the Sea/Moonlight

There's no denying that La La Land is a piece of technical wizardry that's acted, directed and produced in immaculate fashion. That said, Damien Chazelle's Los Angeles-based musical is also relatively conventional when it comes to its screenplay and its overall narrative. When it comes to the Best Screenplay category at this year's Golden Globe awards, there were actually two prominent snubs: Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Both films feature tight, beautifully written stories that derive much of their charm from the scripts themselves, and both were wholly deserving of big wins this year. We take solace knowing that these films didn't walk away completely empty-handed, but this is one category that either one of them deserved to win.

Best Actress, Drama - Natalie Portman/Amy Adams

Last, but not least, we have what could easily be considered the most surprising snub of the entire Golden Globe ceremony. Seriously, nobody saw this coming. All eyes were on either Natalie Portman or Amy Adams to take away the Best Actress, Drama category for their respective roles in Jackie and Arrival, but that's not how it played out at all. The Golden Globe went to Isabelle Huppert for her role in Elle. Conventional wisdom had suggested that Portman or Adams would walk away with the award this evening, but the fact that the role ultimately went to Huppert seems to indicate that the category will become even more hotly contested by the time the Oscars roll around. We will have to wait and see.

Those are our picks. What are yours? Let us know what films and actors you think got snubbed in the comments section below to keep this conversation going!

After a surprisingly cool opening that mixed twists on La La Land music with callbacks to the other Golden Globe-nominated movies and TV shows, Jimmy Fallon kicked off his monologue tonight, as his the traditional pattern with all these Golden Globe ceremonies. Due to some technical difficulties involving an uncooperative monitor, the transition wasn't that smooth, but after a few seconds, the host of The Tonight Show started to drop jokes.

Due to the monologue being shorter than usual, as well as incorporating material from the TV side of things, Jimmy Fallon didn't spend a lot of time in the realm of movies, but he still got a few digs in. Here are the four movies that he took shots at during the Golden Globes opening.

La La Land

Jimmy Fallon kicked off his movie chuckles by pointing out how Ryan Gosling played a jazz pianist in La La Land. However, he warned everyone watching in the audience at home that they shouldn't look up "Ryan Gosling pianist" online because it's an "HR nightmare." See, it's funny because...okay, I don't really need to explain it. Phallic humor aside, La La Land has been getting excellent buzz since it premiered last summer, and it has soared even higher since it was released in theaters a few weeks ago. Gosling plays Sebastian Wilder, who's trying his hardest to open a jazz club. Looking up Gosling's pianist skills may prove risky on Google, but it's definitely worth seeing him in this role if you haven't already.

Manchester By The Sea

Manchester By The Sea is one of the most critically acclaimed dramatic movie of 2016, but everyone who's seen it will likely agree that it's a depressing affair. So much so that Jimmy Fallon called it the only thing in 2016 that was more depressing than 2016 itself. Yep, 2016 was a real downer for multiple reasons, but movie-wise, Manchester By The Sea was definitely emotionally tough. Starring Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler, the movie followed Chandler as he looks after his nephew after the boy's father dies. So yeah, if you're having a bad day or are in a dream mood, don't turn to this movie if you're looking for something to brighten your spirits.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Sorry to those of you who love Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the movie still finds itself the target of jokes and jests. Jimmy Fallon pointed out how Matt Damon was in the room during the ceremony, and how The Martian star is best known for his "greatest acting role," which was telling Ben Affleck that he liked Batman v Superman, though the host then quickly assured viewers that he did like the movie. While Batman v Superman was critically successful last year, taking in over $870 million worldwide, it was met with a lot of negative reviews, ranging from the dark tone to the choppy story. The home media release of The Ultimate Edition helped change some minds, and Affleck's Batman been well received by many, but sadly for Warner Bros, Batman v Superman wasn't the success they hoped for. Now I'm legitimately wondering what Damon said to Affleck about the movie.

Florence Foster Jenkins

Florence Foster Jenkins followed the eponymous real life figure, a New York heiress (played by Meryl Streep) who managed to become an opera singer despite her lack of musical talent. Fast forward to 2016, Jimmy Fallon joked how despite her title as the world's worst opera singer, Jenkins turned down the opportunity to perform at soon-to-be President Donald Trump's inauguration. Considering all the other performers who are opting not to take part in the ceremony less than two weeks away, that's saying a lot! Florence Foster Jenkins also starred Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg and Rebecca Ferguson, and while the movie itself earned good reviews, we definitely hope that Streep doesn't have to sing that atrociously again in another project.

The year has slowly but surely begun to draw to a close, and as such it's time to look back on all of the amazing cinema that hit theaters over the course of 2016. I have to say: I am pretty impressed. From dramas to comedies, and even a few superhero movies, 2016 turned out to be a truly stellar year for film. With the recent release of the Golden Globe nominations (and the imminent announcement of the Oscar nominations) we will soon know the true winners from the last year.

That being said, everyone has his or her favorites for the year; it's the subjectivity of film that makes it so fascinating. With that in mind, I have taken it upon myself to compile my list of the ten best movies from 2016. Some of these movies made me laugh, others made me cry, but pretty much all of them universally took my breath away and reminded me why I go to the movies in the first place. Now, if you will indulge me, allow me to kick off this list with one of the year's most gripping and intimate stories.

10. Manchester By The Sea

Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea is an emotional sledgehammer of a movie. It's the story of man coping with the loss of his brother, the newfound responsibilities of taking care of his brother's teenage son, and the demons that arise when he returns to his hometown in order to try and keep things together. It's an incredibly simple and straightforward narrative, but the performances from actors like Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams elevate it to another level entirely. There's a palpable layer of humanity at its core, and that's what makes it so heartbreaking.

That being said, what ultimately makes Manchester by the Sea such an enjoyable film is the way in which it presents a family coping with loss in such a realistic way. Yes, it's a film about tragedy, but it also takes the time to showcase the bizarre humor that rears its head whenever a tragedy strikes. The film can have you laughing in one moment, and crying in the next, and it works because the impeccable acting completely sells its emotional complexity.

9. The Edge Of Seventeen

The fact that Kelly Fremon Craig's indie dramedy The Edge of Seventeen flew so criminally under the radar this year will go down as one of the biggest cinematic injustices of 2016. Despite garnering an impeccable 94% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film only brought in a $15 million box office gross against a $9 million budget. I have said it before, and I will most certainly say it again: it was the best fall release that nobody went to see.

That being said, out of all the "coming-of-age" teen movies to hit theaters since John Hughes' hey-day, The Edge of Seventeen is unquestionably the best and most unflinchingly honest. The film uses a relatively stripped down and non-flashy approach to win audiences over -- relying instead on Craig's razor-sharp writing and some impeccable performances from its leads. Hailee Steinfeld has turned in several stellar performances since her debut in the remake of True Grit, but if she can continue delivering performances on par with The Edge of Seventeen's Nadine she will solidify her place as the next Jennifer Lawrence.

8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

To call Rogue One: A Star Wars Story an experiment in blockbuster filmmaking would be nothing short of an understatement. The film stripped away so many of the familiar elements that we have come to expect from a Star Wars movie (Jedi, the Skywalker family, etc.) but it still managed to deliver an engaging and enthralling tale about entirely new characters. At first, we thought that we didn't need to know the story of how the Rebels obtained the Death Star plans, but we were so wrong. To put it bluntly: the experiment paid off, and the Star Wars franchise will never be the same now that Lucasfilm and Disney know what they can do with this timeline.

I think that's ultimately what makes Rogue One so endlessly enjoyable as a fan of the saga. Sure, the well-crafted action sequences are great, but the film also serves as a reminder of how big the Star Wars galaxy can truly be. No longer encumbered by the need for the familiar, future Star Wars films will have the opportunity branch off into new directions and explore entirely new narratives. They have Gareth Edwards' expert handling of the first standalone Star Wars story to thank for that.

7. The Nice Guys

Shane Black has always been the master of the buddy movie dynamic, and his 1970s noir-esque comedy. The Nice Guys, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has not lost a step since the days of Lethal Weapon. The insane charm of Ryan Gosling's Holland March and Russell Crowe's Jackson Healy carry the film, and I would honestly pay to watch two hours of them simply riffing off of one another in a bar. The awesome throwback story is just icing on the cake.

As a May release, The Nice Guys definitely flew under the radar compared to mega blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War, but it's definitely well worth your time. Although it didn't make a huge impression at the box office upon its release, I have strong feeling that it will age incredibly well and develop a strong cult following as time goes by. Holland March and Jackson Healy are simply two of the best original characters in recent memory, and they deserve the franchise treatment.

6. Captain America: Civil War

The Russo Brothers had a real challenge on their hands when Marvel made the decision to adapt Mark Millar's classic Civil War arc into a movie. The biggest obstacle? The simple fact that Marvel Studios did not have nearly enough of the requisite characters and properties to properly adapt the story. However, that didn't stop The Russos, and they ultimately managed to craft a film that feels firmly rooted in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe while also honoring the legacy of the source material.

It would be easy to praise Captain America: Civil War simply for its sheer spectacle. After all, the Berlin airport sequence is arguably one of the best superhero action scenes in recent memory -- if not all time. However, what makes Civil War truly work is the fact that every single character is so profoundly realized. The verbal battles between these heroes are just as compelling as the physical ones, and even newcomers like Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther feel beautifully balanced and welcome in this world. Civil War is a watershed moment for the superhero genre, and proof that size isn't something to fear when making a comic book movie.

5. Hell Or High Water

Many filmmakers have tried and failed to revive the American western in recent years, but David Mackenzie's Hell Or High Water is the closest thing the genre has seen to a renaissance in quite some time. Telling the tale of two brothers who resort to robbing banks in order to save their home, Hell Or High Water is a gorgeous looking (and impeccably acted) movie that genuinely sells the tragic beauty of the dying American west.

The beauty of a movie like Hell Or High Water is the way in which it manages to tell a story that feels simultaneously timeless and timely. It's an easily understandable story of brothers and desperation that could work in almost any setting, while also using the contemporary setting of West Texas to its advantage. Chris Pines and Ben Foster play two archetypical desperados set against the backdrop of a modern American setting that has been ravaged the economic recession and the war in the Middle East. If aspiring filmmakers want to work within the western genre, they would be wise to look to Hell Or High Water for inspiration.

4. La La Land

Damien Chazelle is on one hell of a hot streak lately, and La La Land may truly be the Whiplash director's best film to date. A story about love, dreams, and the difficulty balancing the two, La La Land is a stylish and vibrant piece of cinema that will instantly endear you and make you long for a bygone era of filmmaking. There is no doubt that Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are looking down on this film approvingly.

Like many of the films on this list, La La Land is the type of movie that comes around once in a lifetime -- if you're lucky. It's an exquisitely shot film that uses color, lighting, and the kinetic energy of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone to its full advantage. Even if you do not have an affinity for musicals, this movie's inherent charm, emotional intelligence, and brilliant camerawork will make you a true believer.

3. Green Room

Punk rockers fighting for their lives against an army of neo-Nazis. At first glance it sounds like an absolutely ridiculous premise, but Jeremy Saulnier's Green Room takes that idea and absolutely runs with it. The film follows a band called The Ain't Rights who witness a murder while performing at a white supremacist compound, and their subsequent fight for survival once it becomes clear that the skinheads aren't going to let them walk out of the building alive.

Green Room is nothing less than a master class in suspense filmmaking. The film is unflinching in its depiction of brutality, and it manages to completely sustain its tension throughout its entire run time. In an era defined by sanitized violence and bloodless horror, the grisly deaths (of good guys and bad guys like) are an impressive show of guts (sometimes literally) by Saulnier. Green Room also happens to be one of Anton Yelchin's final performances before his tragic death over the summer, making the film even more chilling in hindsight.

2. Don't Breathe

While Green Room is an impeccable single-location thriller, it simply cannot beat Fede Alvarez' Don't Breathe. Riding high off of their well-received Evil Dead remake, Alvarez and actress Jane Levy have once again teamed up for a thriller about three career criminals who break into the home of a blind ex-soldier -- only to find that he's far more capable of fighting back than they realized. The film was an exercise in pure, sustained tension, and it had me biting my nails from start to finish. With that in mind, it is unquestionably the best horror film to hit theaters in 2016.

The ultimate beauty of Don't Breathe is Fede Alvarez' willingness to utilize The Blind Man and his house to their full potential. Scares come in all forms in this movie, and they can come from any angle at any time. Certain members of the audience were particularly turned off by one specific scene involving a turkey baster, but I personally feel like that endlessly upsetting scene had its place, and elicited the desired response from the audience. If you're looking for a horror film that's going to tap into every single one of your fears and phobias, look no further than Don't Breathe.

1. Deadpool

Deadpool shouldn't have worked. After a decade of waiting -- coupled with Ryan Reynolds' total misfire as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- there's simply no way that Deadpool should be as good as it is. Tim Miller's action is smooth and well-choreographed, the jokes (even when they're completely juvenile) are smart and well-timed, and the entire film moves along at a brisk pace -- clocking in at a tight 108 minutes, which is unheard of for a superhero movie. It bucks all comic book movie traditions, and that's why it works.

Those are all elements that make Deadpool good, but what makes it great is the sheer amount of heart and soul we find waiting just beneath the surface. Deadpool is not defined buckets of blood and an onslaught of dick jokes; Deadpool is the best movie of the year because it genuinely makes you feel for an inherently irreverent anti-hero. There's a palpable passion behind this movie, and it seeps into every single frame. In a year that was defined by hollow spectacle and overly grim superhero battles, Deadpool proved to be the one blockbuster that hit every single beat on the emotional spectrum and left us wanting more. "Deadpool; that sounds like a fuckin' franchise"

2016 was a year when we needed good movies. As you probably noticed, the past 12 months have been a roller coaster ride of deaths and depression, with those two duking it out for supremacy on a nearly weekly basis.

Movies provided us with much needed escapism from these worries. And even when films were shrouded in grief, they were created with such beauty and poetry, and examined the inevitabilities of life in such a through-provoking way that you felt emboldened and all the better for having them. But what has been the cream of the crop from the point of view of this battle-weary expat? Who, it should be mentioned, over the course of the year has seen 103 movies, a handful of which he rather enjoyed. Well, to find out, just have a gander through my top 10 films of 2016 list below.

10) Rogue One

Rogue One isn't a perfect film. Far from it, in fact, as its choppy opening act takes a while to be ironed out. Its fight sequence on Jedha managed to rejuvenate spirits, but the sneak attack on Eadu felt a little flat, while the lack of Darth Vader and the eerie presence of Grand Moff Tarkin meant that going into the final forty minutes, there was a real concern that Rogue One would underwhelm.

Thank the heavens for Tony Gilroy then, who was allegedly brought on to help reshoot and restructure the final act. Obviously director Gareth Edwards deserves kudos, too, as Rogue One's deliciously gritty aesthetic and style, which was heavily inspired by a plethora of war films, meant that the film built and built all the way to its enthralling conclusion. And thanks to a little help from a returning friend, and arguably Darth Vader's greatest ever sequence, Rogue One finished at a crescendo that led seamlessly into A New Hope, and left you wanting more.

9) American Honey

Oh Andrea Arnold, how the world of cinema salutes you. Well at least those of us that took in and experienced American Honey do. For a film that won the Cannes Film Festival's Jury Prize (Arnold's third time of doing so), was met with sterling reviews and has been picking up nominations and awards at the British Independent Film, Independent Spirit, London Film Critics, Los Cabos International and Stockholm International, to name but a few, you'd expect American Honey to have garnered much more attention.

It feels right that American Honey has bubbled under the radar, though, as it tells the seldom heard story of a mag-crew traveling across the south of the United States. It's like a feisty, resentful, overtly sexual and violent Paper Moon. Arnold's penchant for street casting and American Honey's exaggerated length only add to its verisimilitude, which she then peppers with sudden moments of sex, violence and conflict. Sasha Lane stuns in the lead, while Shia LaBeouf puts in one of the best performances of the last decade in an invigorating supporting role. You can check out my full review for American Honey here.

8) O.J. : Made In America

Is it a five-part television show? Or a preposterously long movie? The debate will forever rage on, but the fact that I endured all 467 minutes of O.J.: Made In America, sat in a cinema and that ESPN Films released it theatrically so that it could be in Oscar contention means I'm considering it as the latter. It also means that I can celebrate its vast achievements, because even though it rages on for over 7 and a half hours O.J.: Made In America ebbs and flows and builds and builds in such a precise and wonderfully paced fashion that you're always captivated.

It's dark, complex, meticulous, heart-breaking and tragic, while it covers ever considerable angle in such a human and relatable fashion that you feel like you've been given comprehensive coverage of the second most famous trial in human history, after Jesus Christ.

7) Hell Or High Water

Simple? Yes, but oh so effective. Hell Or High Water is just pristine in every fashion. That's despite the fact that it's a nitty-gritty subversive blend of the Western heist and thriller genres, which is enthralling as it is grounded and real. You can feel the bullets zipping by and sand on your face. Taylor Sheridan's bare-bones script juggles with themes of fatherhood, family, revenge and the banking crisis, but is never overwhelmed by them.

Instead, it gives us a clear understanding of the motives of its bank robbers, with Ben Foster standing out as the loose cannon older brother. Jeff Bridges matches his majesty as a Texas Ranger, and David MacKenzie's expert direction, aided by Giles Nuttgens' sumptuous cinematography, delivers thrill after thrill when necessary, but he also has the awareness to confidently simmer things down and ruminate when required, too. It's just a joy to watch unfold. You can read my review for Hell Or High Water here.

6) The Witch

Released all the way back in February, it says a lot about the power of The Witch that it's not just popped on my Top 10 list, but on many others' across the cinematic community. A horror film that doesn't need jolts, shocks or gore to impress, The Witch instead meanders and unsettles for its zipping 93 minute-long running time, with writer director David Eggers' use of natural light and plotting that's drenched in mystery only adding to its creepy aura and atmosphere.

But, for me, its true gut punch comes right at its end, with The Witch's pre-credits card adding an extra layer of depth and toil that's immediately unnerving. Utterly bewitching. You can read my full review for The Witch here.

5) Everybody Wants Some!!

I was never overly taken with Boyhood, which seemed to be lauded for Richard Linklater's perseverance more than anything else. When Linklater's been at his best (The Before trilogy, Dazed & Confused), he's like a cinematic laureate, probing into existential quandaries in a poetic and entertaining fashion. Everybody Wants Some!! does just that through the prism of a hyper-masculine, hyper-competitive college baseball team, with Richard Linklater showing his eye for casting by assembling a mesmerizingly buzzing ensemble that inject the film with an energy and zest for life that it can coast on.

At the same time, Everybody Wants Some!! brims with ideas and questions, while the precise details of period mean that it's drenched in a nostalgia that you just want to hug. Kick ass soundtrack, too.

4) La La Land

The next four films each border on genius for their own reasons. Take La La Land, which seems to have deeply moved everyone who has gone to see it. It's understandable, because La La Land just makes you want to instantly grab your long-lost first love, hug them with gusto, plant a kiss on their cheek and then tell them about your life and how they still make you smile. I could watch La La Land every day.

It's the antidote to anyone feeling slightly blue, slightly lost and the perfect remedy to the mundane summer offerings. Ryan Gosling has never been more charming or delightful a screen presence, and you'll be listening and trying to dance along to "Another Day Of Sun," "Someone In The Crowd," and "City Of Stars" until your ears and feet are bleeding. In fact, there's so much to be enraptured by with La La Land that you'll want to be cocooned inside of its all singing, all dancing world forever.

3) High Rise

High Rise is gloriously divisive. There are those who couldn't stand Ben Wheatley's adaptation of J.G. Ballard's 1975 book of the same name, finding it borderline incomprehensible. I'll admit that there were times during High Rise that I found myself aghast and lost in its maze. But I was never bored. There was just too much visceral energy, gorgeous visuals and mesmerizing performances to be hypnotized by. Then once I caught up, I was forever compelled, with High Rise sticking with me and leaving me in a daze for the subsequent hours and days that followed.

It's a tour-de-force of imagery and subtext, as well as brutally original, with Ben Wheatley conducting proceedings with in an operatic and dreamlike fashion that borders on genius. You can read my full review for High Rise here.

2) Manchester By The Sea

Manchester By The Sea is a glorious slog. That's what you'd expect it to be considering that it's the tale of Casey Affleck's Lee Chandler, who deserves every single accolade and award that's set to come his way for his towering, yet nuanced portrayal, coming back to his hometown to care for his nephew after his older brother suddenly dies. But what makes Manchester By The Sea just so powerful and impacting is the fact that writer and director Kenneth Lonergan doesn't pull any punches, while still finding plenty of genuine humor that you eagerly lap up because of the tense atmosphere.

Lee Chandler is forever broken, and for good reason, too. But he incrementally recovers in a deeply human, almost anti-cinematic, fashion that's all the better for eschewing pacing and characterization traits we associate with film. Manchester By The Sea is so affecting you'll feel changed, more appreciative and emboldened when its finished. It still has the shittiest trailer I've ever seen, though.

1) Supersonic

Where were you when we were getting high? If you were right there, living and breathing Oasis, then Supersonic is everything you've ever wanted in a documentary about the band. As an Oasis die-hard, I went into Supersonic firmly believing that it would be an entertaining enough regurgitation of information that I already knew about Noel, Liam, Bonehead, Guigsy and their interchanging roster of drummers. But roused by a tidal wave of new behind the scenes footage, director Mat Whitecross gives us a no-holds barred, extensive account of the band's meteoric rise all the way up to their historic Knebworth gigs.

The Live Forever sequence is transcendent, while it possesses more off-the-cuff laugh-out-loud moments than most stand-up comedians can even fathom, Whitecross knows where the heart and soul of the story of the band's success is, though. But he never forces the beguiling conflict and love of Noel and Liam Gallagher down your throats. Instead he punctuates Supersonic with tender and honest moments from the duo that will make your heart sink and swell in equal measure. It's a true triumph that should instantly be regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll documentaries of all time, and proof of why Oasis really will live forever.

The year 2016 saw no shortage of tremendous movies arriving on the big screen -- and a great deal of credit for many of them belongs to the screenwriters. We've watched fun adventures and devastating journeys, and also listened to some amazing speeches and back-and-forths between richly-drawn characters. Today we're here to specifically celebrate the latter and identify the best lines of movie dialogue in the last twelve months.

This wasn't an easy list to create, particularly when taking into consideration both genre and the context of each scene, but we've manages to narrow it all down and select our Top 10 of the year. Read our selections below and on the next few pages, and hit the comments section with your favorites from 2016.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains some spoilers for the films that are examined. If you go to a page that features a movie you haven't seen, please make a mental note of the title, and head on to the next page!

"You know who else was just following orders? Adolf Hitler." - The Nice Guys

Snappy dialogue from stepped-on anti-heroes has been Shane Black's bread and butter since breaking out on the scene with his Lethal Weapon script in the late 1980s, and it's a huge part of what makes The Nice Guys such an incredible experience. The banter between Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is absolutely genius, as each sequence is peppered with brilliant one-liners that speak directly to the characters delivering them. A perfect example of this is Holland's odd fixation with Nazis and Germany -- which gets filtered through his special brand of stupidity. This is how you get a line as great as "You know who else was just following orders? Adolf Hitler" -- said to a cop who is just doing his job guarding a crime scene and won't let Holland leave. It's one of hundreds of brilliant lines in The Nice Guys, but it's our favorite.

"Would that it were so simple." - Hail Caesar

Hail, Caesar's Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) is unquestionably one of the greatest characters that Joel and Ethan Coen have created. The sibling filmmakers have made a number of movies about serious idiots before, but Hobie is one of the funniest, and an easy frontrunner for dumbest -- highlighted by his experience on the set of the fake period drama Merrily We Dance. Director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) practically has an aneurysm trying to get him to properly say the line, "Would that it were so simple," and the increasing frustration and confusion during the sequence only makes it more and more hilarious. And, of course, it all leads to a wonderfully executed punchline with the line ultimately given a two word replacement that sums up a lot of the Coens' latest: "It's complicated."

"A non-zero-sum game!" - Arrival

At its core, Denis Villeneuve's Arrival is the story of the importance of communication. More than just being about humanity's need to communicate with the aliens that have come to Earth, it's about our need to communicate with each other in time of crisis. This all comes together within a realization that Louise Banks (Amy Adams) has when trying to figure out how the nations of the world can work together -- and it comes down to the idea that a deal can be reached where everyone gets a bit of something they want, allowing everyone to be satisfied as a result. It's the domino that falls within the film that takes the narrative through to its amazing, twisty end, ultimately making Arrival one of the best movies of the year.

"I am one with the Force; the Force is with me." - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Star Wars franchise is laced with iconic quotations -- particularly when it comes to talking about The Force. This in mind, you'd think it would be impossible for the series to come up with yet another one... and yet Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story does exactly that. We can't say which of the screenwriters on the project, Chris Weitz or Tony Gilroy, came up with Chirrut Imwe's repeated mantra, but it's a phrase that Star Wars fans will be quoting for decades going forward. It's not only an articulately constructed and simple line, but it also happens to be deeply associated with two of the film's most emotional and awesome moments.

"Don't let it be forgot. That for one brief, shining moment. There was a Camelot. There won't be another Camelot. Not another Camelot." - Jackie

Pablo Larrain's chilling, nightmarish historical drama Jackie is about sudden transition in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Natalie Portman loses herself in the identity of Jackie Kennedy, an icon and a seemingly untouchable figure of American political royalty who'd knocked from her perch when an assassin takes her husband. While then world moves on (in a harsh and swift fashion), Mrs. Kennedy is left to put back the pieces... not just of her sanity, but of her legacy. Larrain frames Jackie with a rare press interview, with Portman controls the writing of her character's lasting history. And the above quote reminds us that on that fateful day in Dallas, Texas, our country was changed in deeply profound way, and we will never be able to go back. (Contributed by Sean O'Connell)

"Do you sell drugs?... And my momma, she do drugs, right?" - Moonlight

We've discussed some seriously heavy scenes from 2016 films so far, but they have all been delivered in the second act or later. Barry Jenkins' Moonlight wastes no time in making audiences' hearts leap into their throats, as he accomplishes it with one very simple back and forth in the first act. Little (Alex Hibbert) has been well taken care of by Juan (Mahershala Ali) -- who has protected him from bullies, and given him meals and a place to sleep -- but as they get closer the young kid starts to put some important puzzle pieces together. While sitting around a dining table, Little innocently confronts Juan about selling drugs to his mother, and the tension is palpable and heartbreaking -- particularly thanks to Ali, who locks up his first Oscar win with his reaction to the questioning. It's subtle and incredible, much like the movie at large.

"Big house! It's funny that I only ever see two of you. It's almost like the studio couldn't afford another X-Man." - Deadpool

Picking a line from Tim Miller's Deadpool for this list was a significant challenge. Thanks to an amazing script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and the quick wit of actors like Ryan Reynolds and T.J. Miller, the comic book blockbuster has so many amazing lines that some just disappear beneath continuous audience laughter. That said, I ultimately settled on the perfect bit of dialogue that both sums up the titular character's attitude and his special ability to break the fourth wall. Over the course of six X-Men features, audiences have seen hundreds of students milling around Xavier's School For Gifted Youngers, and yet Deadpool features literally just two residents: Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It's an element that geeks would be quick to point out themselves in reaction to the film, but the Merc With The Mouth hilariously hangs a lampshade on it, and makes it one of the best moments in the movie.

"I can't beat it. I can't beat it." - Manchester By The Sea

Cinema history is filled with stories about individuals who find their way back from the brink following a terrible tragedy within their own lives -- able to restart their life happy and renewed. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea is not one of these films. By the end of the story, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is able to crack a smile or two at times, and even has his moments of joy -- but it's all fleeting. The truth of the matter is that Lee just can't shake the insane guilt that plagues him following the death of his children, even with the support of his family and ex-wife. It's devastating, but it's an element of Manchester By The Sea that makes it special, unique, and depressingly real, and it's all summed up in Lee's the four word phrase said twice to his nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges).

"I want it to be over. I can't stand knowing that she'll go. I want it to be finished!" - A Monster Calls

Young Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) carries a demon with him throughout all of J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls, and its name is Guilt. It manifests itself in destructive and anti-social behavior because it quietly tortures the boy, who is suffering emotionally living with his dying mother (Felicity Jones). It's something that he keeps entirely to himself up until The Monster (Liam Neeson) forces it out of him in the film's conclusion, Conner screaming his deepest, darkest secret to the world: that he just wants his mom to die so that all of the waiting will just be over. It's both a shocking and emotional scene, loaded with verisimilitude in its portrayal of the protagonist's grief. It's one of the most powerful cinematic moments of the year, largely thanks to one line.

"I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. Don't you think I ever wanted other things? Don't you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life? What about me?" - Fences

In bringing August Wilson's Fences to the big screen, Denzel Washington had the wherewithal to basically make a direct adaptation that changes very little from the source material -- and that includes many of the most powerful monologues. This includes what is one of the most earth-shattering moments of the story, when Troy (Washington) reveals to his loving wife, Rose (Viola Davis) that he is going to have a baby with another woman. He tries to explain his actions by saying he doesn't want to stand in one place his whole life, but Rose's response is utterly shredding and incredible, as she makes him realize the way in which she has dedicated her entire life to him. Davis' delivery is so stunning that you have to lean back in your chair to take it all in, and by the end you're literally left trembling.

The jury's out on 2016, as a movie year. Many jumped on an early bandwagon proclaiming this to be a disappointing year, and while the tide is starting to turn in the opposite direction as more and more critics release their end-of-year Top 10 lists, I tend to agree with the people who admit there was greatness released in 2016, but you had to dig to really find it.

With that in mind, my Top 10 took longer to finalize than is usual. Titles I contemplated that didn't make the cut include Nocturnal Animals, Star Trek Beyond, Hail, Caesar!, Everybody Wants Some!!, Green Room and Weiner. But when pressed to pick 10 movies from 2016 that I truly loved -- and planned to revisit often -- I could only cook up the following list. So dive in, and then tell me in the comments what your favorite movies of 2016 were:

10. Captain America: Civil War

It'd be easy to take Marvel Studios for granted. Fourteen movies into this grand, cinematic construction, the studio routinely releases exciting, emotional, humorous and lucrative blockbusters that please millions and show rival studios how this type of large-scale world building should be done. Except, when you look at the efforts of those rivals -- from Fox and the Fantastic Four to Warner Bros. and the DCEU -- you realize that weaving these blockbusters together is no easy task, which is why I appreciate Captain America: Civil War so much.

In addition to be a rousing trilogy capper for Chris Evans' expertly cast Star-Spangled Avenger, Civil War boasts the most moving parts of any Marvel movie before it, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo seamlessly tell multiple stories that affect the Marvel characters we've grown to love in so many ways. Civil War drove a deeper wedge between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, and the collateral damage of that broken relationship affected all of the Avengers. It introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man, and the worlds they occupy. It featured the MCU's most elaborate set piece in the Berlin airport battle, but made this Top 10 list because of its small character moments, the ones that remind me that we'd be wrong to ever take the MCU for granted.

9. DePalma

A master class in filmmaking, and essential viewing for anyone who calls themselves a fan of cinema. And yet, DePalma couldn't be more simple of a conceit. Co-directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow sit down with legendary director Brian DePalma, and ask him to tell stories, into the camera, about the various films from his storied career.

But WHAT A CAREER! Of course, Brian DePalma comes off as a colorful, vivid, egotistical but extremely knowledgeable storyteller. But when he namedrops his inner circle of 1970s colleagues -- a couple of guys named Scorsese, Spielberg and Coppola -- you have to pause the film and wrap your brain around the contributions of this group to the history of cinema. But DePalma makes my personal list because I thoroughly enjoyed listening to each and every behind-the-scenes story the director shared regarding the filming of such classics as Carrie, Carlito's Way, Scarface, The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill and the first Mission: Impossible. Now I pray that Baumbach and Paltrow do the same thing with a string of filmmakers, because I'd kill to see Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppola and more in a similar documentary, year after year.

8. Manchester By The Sea

Grief porn. That's what Kenneth Lonergan's peddling here. Every scene of Manchester By The Sea bears the heavy weight of loss, of sad but relatable characters dealing with a harsh new reality caused by an unexpected loss. "Relatable" is important, for it's those of us who have been struck by an important death that will recognize the painful truth imprinted on the performances and dialogue of Manchester.

So, it's bleak and tough and a strange movie to recommend. Because who wants to spend two hours ensconced in a tomb of mourning? However, Lonergan so beautifully surrounds the current story in Manchester By The Sea with wispy traces of happier memories for the anguished Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), leaving you compelled to keep watching: to find out what happened to his immediate family; to find out why he left Manchester; and to find out why he's emotionally unable to return. The entire cast is phenomenal in the way they underplay the material, and Manchester By The Sea slowly, methodically wraps its icy fingers around your heart and soul, knowing exactly when to squeeze out that last glimpse of light and hope. Prepare for the worst, and appreciate the ride.

7. The Nice Guys

As our own Eric Eisenberg pointed out in his own personal Top 10 list, we loved when Ryan Gosling did stuff in Los Angeles this year. Gosling showed off two very different, yet equally recognizable, sides of the City of Angels in 2016, and both made my Top 10. Let's start with the seedy crime-noir of The Nice Guys, a movie that I pray kicks off an anthology of stories told by Shane Black and centered around mismatched private dicks Gosling and Russell Crowe.

Essentially, The Nice Guys is an extension of the types of movies Black specializes in: an odd-couple crime caper along the lines of Lethal Weapon of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that is drenched in unique period detail and fuelled by a rat-tat-tat screenplay that fires off memorable zingers. The story's an admirable rehash of a '40s or '50s noir thriller, with a simple case growing exponentially more complicated the more our bumbling heroes peel back new layers. And while Crowe and Gosling are a delightfully gruff pair, it's the latter's gift for physical comedy that routinely elevates The Nice Guys to insane heights. Gosling's toilet bit -- with the hand cast, the loaded gun, the stall door, and the lit cigarette in his pants -- earns this movie Top 10 placement alone. Thankfully, the rest of the movie makes it worthy for end-of-the-year inclusion, as well.

6. Zootopia

What an incredible year for Walt Disney Animation. And a year that continues the studio's amazing hot streak that includes Big Hero 6, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled. We are in the midst of a new Renaissance of storytelling and animation over at Disney, with Zootopia being near the top of the bunch for intelligent, hilarious, inspiration and socially conscious movie making.

Basically, though, I just adore Officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the picture of perseverance who moves to the big city of Zootopia with a dream of being the top cop... only she's assigned to the lowest run of the law enforcement ladder. That doesn't stop Judy from messing with a slick grifter named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman, perfectly cast), and doubling down to solve a missing persons case that -- similar to in The Nice Guys -- is just the tip of a corrupt iceberg. Zootopia has fantastic original characters and boasts breathtaking animation, but it transcends traditional animated movies when it digs into the conspiracy plot to label those we view as different to be "savages." Pair Zootopia with the equally excellent Moana (which could easily have filled this spot on my Top 10), and you'll see why Walt Disney Animation has been outpacing Pixar since John Lasseter turned his attentions from the latter to the former.

5. Hell or High Water

Hell or High Water reminded me that movies don't have to be complicated to be brilliant. Sometimes, all you need is a stripped-down, bare bones story of bank-robbing brothers (and the colorful sheriff hot on their tails) to produce one of the most tense and terrific movie-going experiences of the year.

It helps that the sheriff is played by charismatic Jeff Bridges, playing that laconic and smooth-talking country law agent that he brought to the screen once before (though in a different time period) in True Grit. And he's tracking a pair of combustible, but well-intentioned, criminals in Chris Pine and Ben Foster, both operating at the top of their game. Hell or High Water essentially plays like a modern Western, utilizing the finest tropes of that genre. But airtight direction, stellar pacing and compassionate characterization make this movie a must-see story about Rust Belt Americans handed a shit sandwich by a corrupt bank, and deciding it's high time they did something about it.

4. Sing Street

Pure bliss, especially if you have ever played in a rock band at any point in your life. John Carney has a knack for pairing catchy pop gems with painful coming-of-age stories, from the hopeless romantics of Once to the struggling songwriters in Begin Again. Sing Street is his best film, with his most memorable soundtrack of original songs and his most charming characters, all occupying a loving tribute to '80s glam rock and power-pop alt-rock musical rebellions.

If there was any justice in Hollywood, actor Jack Reynor would have a healthy For Your Consideration campaign backing his brilliant turn as the older brother, Brendan, helping his younger sibling, Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) navigate his first crush and the obstacles that come with assembling a rock band. Sing Street is run-of-the-mill teen angst drama, but it's peppered with spectacular musical cues by Duran Duran, The Jam, The Cure and more, as well as original songs penned by Conor and his friends. It's one of the happiest times you can have at the movies in 2016.

3. Arrival

The smartest film you'll see all year, and one of the few 2016 movies that rewards its audience with repeating screenings. Why? Because director Denis Villeneuve structures his thrilling First Contact drama like a puzzle that can't fully be understood until the final piece is revealed in the very last scene of the movie. And once that drops, everything you thought you understood about Arrival changes, and you'll immediately want to go back to the beginning and experience it all over again.

The story's concept is familiar. Aliens arrive in our atmosphere, and park spaceships over major global cities. But instead of waging war, our planet's nations send a top linguist (Amy Adams) and a mathematician (Jeremy Renner) on board the ships to try and establish a shared method of communication. Arrival is an urgent and suspenseful thriller, though -- like all of the best science-fiction -- it says as much about our society today as it does about the future predicted on the screen. And that ending! It makes everything about this already wonderful movie that much better.

2. A Monster Calls

No movie made me cry harder in 2016 than J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls. This one's personal, as I have a 12-year-old son who's going through some (though thankfully not ALL) of the emotional hardships and adolescent worries plaguing young Conor in this beautiful movie. But the sentiments shared in this gothic fairy tale are universal, which explains why audiences around the globe are responding with collective sobs into soggy handkerchiefs. This tear-jerker works on multiple levels.

Credit goes to Bayona, a masterful storyteller who resembles Steven Spielberg for the way he's able to marry raw emotion to large-screen spectacle. Much like in The Impossible, Bayona delivers eye-popping visual effects (here, a living tree monster with endless stories and Liam Neeson's gruff cadence) and heart-pounding emotional twists. And Bayona's assisted by a fantastic young actor named Lewis MacDougall, who humanizes Conor's suffering and carries A Monster Calls over the finish line. Few movies have devastated me -- in a good way -- the way A Monster Calls did. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

1. La La Land

The movie I've been screaming about from my own personal mountaintop since I managed to screen it in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. La La Land is Hollywood movie magic. An effervescent, melancholic, romantic, heartfelt and joyous movie-going experience, it revives the idea of the Movie Musical (a genre long since abandoned by our industry's creative types) and updates it for a contemporary generation by telling them a familiar story about making it in Los Angeles. There are no golden tickets handed out by American Idol judges, no overnight sensations cashing in on their 15 minutes of fame. These are beautiful grinders, fighting and scratching for their chance... and sometimes regretting when they finally earn it.

Damien Chazelle is a genius. His Whiplash also led my year-end Top 10 when it was released in 2014, and his follow up exceeds all expectations. From his opening number in the middle of a Southern California traffic jam, Chazelle commands the screen and maneuvers his viewpoint through an impossibly delightful journey through first loves, creative frustrations, the birth and death of experimental jazz, grueling auditions and lost loves... all to a soundtrack of glorious and original show tunes.La La Land is the year's best movie, in my opinion. Now, tell me. What is your choice?

While terrible in other aspects, 2016 was a remarkable year for film. From beginning to end, I got to see more than 130 movies released this year, and while that included some really bad stuff, most of it actually ranged from good to brilliant. While that wound up making me very happy over the last 12 months, it also made the construction of the list that you're about to read annoyingly challenging.

From January to December, we saw a huge number of impressive movies come out in a wide variety of genres, but ultimately I settled on the following 10 as my favorites of the year. Read all of my selections and reasons, and then hit the comments section below to share your own personal Top 10s of the year!

#10: Deadpool

Back in 2010, I got my hands on a copy of the Deadpool script written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. In the days, weeks, months and years after, I occasionally looked at a few pages, and laughed at a couple great scenes... but I never read the full thing. Why? Reading the full thing would have meant ultimately spoiling the big screen experience, and while it took forever for the thing to get made, I never lost faith that it would. That faith was rewarded in 2016, with the vision of Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, director Tim Miller and star Ryan Reynolds shared with the world, and it also came with the bonus factor of being one of the best movies of the year.

Limited by a tight budget, Deadpool is a very small-scaled, simply-told superhero story that basically unfolds in three sequences - but it's the film's exploitation what what's so amazing about the titular character that makes it such a victory. That same tight budget came packaged with permissions to go full-on R-rated, and that freedom is used in the best way, with all the blood and cursing adding distinct flavor to the ridiculous action and hilarious dialogue. In case it isn't clear, I've been a fan of Deadpool comics for years, and this movie was pretty much everything that I could have wanted -- and it's why it made my Top 10 of the year.

Read my full review here.

#9: Moonlight

I went into my screening of Barry Jenkins' Moonlight based solely on the recommendation of friends and colleagues. I didn't see a single trailer, and I didn't even know what it was about. So imagine me, stunned, as I sat back and watched one of the most incredible dramas in recent memory unfold -- blown away by the depth achieved with its trifurcated narrative following a deep and emotional journey about a young black man's experience growing up in poverty.

If Mahershala Ali doesn't win an Oscar for his performance in Moonlight, I will happily dine on a shoe -- but his is just one of many brilliant performances that come out of the narrative. Playing Little/Chiron/Black through the different stages of his life, Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes are all individually outstanding, as are turns from Naomi Harris and Janelle Monae (making her live-action acting debut). Within its circumstances and context, it manages to be both tragic and uplifting, and it's captured with immense beauty by Barry Jenkins -- who is now firmly on my list of must-watch directors. Moonlight is a special film for a special period in time, but it will also be appreciated for years to come as a quiet masterpiece.

#8: Hunt For The Wilderpeople

In Hunt For The Wilderpeople, writer/director Taika Waititi finds light where there's a whole lot of darkness. On its surface, it's the story of a shipped-around foster kid whose favorite guardian winds up dying, leading him to get lost in the bush and the target of a manhunt alongside his gruff, unfriendly "uncle." Pitch black as that may seem, however, Waititi molds that material into one of the funniest comedies of the year -- and it's in doing so that the filmmaker has fully emerged as a legitimate talent and one of the industry's best rising directors.

As the rambunctious Ricky Baker and the cantankerous "Uncle" Hec, Julian Dennison and Sam Neill make up one of the best duos in 2016 cinema, as there is a seemingly endless number of laughs generated from their dynamic (particularly as their entire situation navigating the bush escalates to ridiculous levels). Of course, Waititi and his actors also never ignore the gravity of the material they're working with either, and it's within striking the flawless balance that Hunt For The Wilderpeople is taken to the next level. It's a film that I know I will watch many times in the future (I've watched it many times already), and it beautifully raises all of my expectations and hopes for what Waititi does in the future.

Read my full review here.

#7: Captain America: Civil War

Being a comic book fan, the real pleasure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for me is its continuity and crossovers. More than just demonstrating a respectable amount of forethought and creativity, they are the elements that bring the movies closer to their subject material, and grow the magical and amazing fictional world filled with heroes. Of course, this isn't to say that I don't enjoy the standalones like Doctor Strange, but that I have a greater appreciation for the projects that can really capitalize on what came before them. It's a big part of what makes Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War a brilliant cinematic experience, and one of my favorite films of the year.

As I wrote about at length, the third Captain America movie is brilliant in that it feels like what everything in the Marvel Universe has been leading to at this point -- and considering there have been 12 other features, that's an amazing feat. It puts perfect punctuation marks on the ways that its two leads, Chris Evans' Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, have evolved over the course of their adventures, and the way in which Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's script balance the monster-sized ensemble is mesmerizing (particularly with the added challenge of introducing brand new heroes and villains to audiences). Add its stunning action into the mix, with the Leipzig-Halle Airport showdown being the best superhero sequence we've ever seen, and what it comes together as is everything a blockbuster should be.

Read my full review here.

#6: Paterson

Jim Jarmusch movies aren't necessarily for everybody. They definitely require a certain amount of patience and meditation, and I don't really think I could fault anybody for highlighting a certain level of pretension in his work. That on the table, I definitely consider myself a Jim Jarmusch fan and in Paterson he has created one of his greatest works to date.

The film is very much inspired by the work of poet William Carlos Williams (in the same way Dead Man analyzes William Blake), but is largely a beautiful call to action to creative people everywhere to not only express themselves, but to also share their expressions. Set in Paterson, New Jersey and centered on the quiet life of a bus driver named Paterson (Adam Driver), Paterson is a simply constructed narrative that is literally a "week-in-the-life," but finds wonderful themes and symbolism through random encounters and mysterious repetitions. In a subtle yet challenging role, Driver is tremendous, as is Golshifteh Farahani -- who plays Paterson's girlfriend, Laura, and has a complicated yet fascinating relationship with the audience's perception of her as a character over the course of the movie. It's one of Jim Jarmusch's greatest films to date, and it will not only certainly satisfy established fans, but hopefully will also inspire interested cinephile newcomers to discover his work.

#5: Manchester By The Sea

When constructing my Top 10 list for the year, one of the most important elements that I take into consideration is rewatch-ability. There are some movies that are great, but really can be only watched once -- and I love taking in a film multiple times for both entertainment and analyzation purposes. Manchester By The Sea appears on the outside to be more of a "one-timer," as the incredibly heavy emotional material that comes with the kind of loss featured within it is typically only something that can really be endured once. It's to writer/director Kenneth Lonergan's immense credit, however, that the film manages to be both emotionally devastating and provides a rich enough experience that it calls for re-exploration.

The paces that Casey Affleck's Lee Chandler are put through are immense -- the plot driven forward as he is made guardian of his teenage nephew following his brother's death -- but the most impressive aspect of Manchester By The Sea is the way in which it's able to approach it all with a realistic perspective. The film certainly knows when and how to tear your heart out as you're experiencing the story, but it's also shockingly funny at times -- the humor particularly found in the relationship between Lee and his nephew (Lucas Hedges). Given the way the story unfolds and what we learn about the characters over the course of their individual arcs, it's a movie that I'm eager to look at again with different perspective -- and that's why it's made my Top 10 of 2016.

#4: The Lobster

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and I share something in common: a healthy appreciation for the weird. I was first exposed to his work with his 2009 film Dogtooth, and it's legitimately one of my favorite movies of the still-young century -- existing as a commentary of fascistic society while also being strange sci-fi tale that lives in its own world. The latter quality very much also exists in his latest film, The Lobster, and because it also comes armed its own critical observations and interesting ideas, it easily ranks as one of my favorite features of the last twelve months.

Co-written by Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou, The Lobster is set in a world where romantic partnership is mandatory, and the punishment for not following the law is that you are turned into an animal of your choosing. If this description alone just raised your eyebrows, it's a film that you need to check out, because it's wondrous in its commitment to its own absurdity. Forced to play the material entirely straight, Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, and John C. Reilly all put on magnificent performances, and allow the inherent satire regarding societal views on relationships to perfectly stick. If you're new to Lanthimos' work, give yourself some time to adjust to what the film is throwing at you, because if you adjust to its groove I'm confident you'll appreciate it as much as I did.

#3: Arrival

Given how much science-fiction is geared towards teenagers, it's remarkably refreshing to get a smart example that refuses to talk down to its audience. This is Denis Villeneuve's Arrival in a nutshell. While it has a high-concept plot -- aliens visit Earth and we must find a way to talk with them -- the way that it develops is elegant and brilliant, ensuring that future viewings will be even more rewarding. Taking on themes that are incredibly relevant and important to the world today (dealing with the essentialness of communication in a world growing both closer together and further apart), it really is the best kind of sci-fi in addition to being one of the best movies in recent memory.

I can't say that I was completely shocked by my love for Arrival, as Denis Villeneuve has firmly established himself as a tremendous talent, especially when he's collaborating with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins. His 2013 film Prisoners made my Top 10 list for that year as well, albeit for completely different reasons -- which actually speaks to both surprising variety and consistent quality in the director's work. In addition to featuring elegant and creative designs for the extraterrestrials, and a fascinating use of dream sequences and flashbacks, Arrival is stunningly constructed, and Villeneuve gets remarkable performances from stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. It's not only a must-see, but a movie that you must see twice.

#2: La La Land

Musicals aren't my thing. Of course, I never dismiss anything outright going into a screening, but history shows that my appreciation of the genre isn't as strong as my love of detective noir or sci-fi adventure. That being said, I went into Damien Chazelle's La La Land fully expecting to love it, as I was thoroughly impressed by his directorial debut, Whiplash (my #3 movie in 2014). In case you couldn't tell by its placement on the list you're currently reading, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

Implementing exquisite long takes that both capture incredible choreography and the stupendous, emotional performances by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Damien Chazelle totally knocks it out of the park with his sophomore effort. In addition to having a beautiful soundtrack that elegantly highlights the movie's larger themes, it also has a unique and excellent narrative about the people who come into your life exactly when you need them, and help you to push yourself to become the person that you want to be. It's an extraordinary piece of filmmaking that is entirely guaranteed to pick up a huge collection of devout fans -- if not also a few pieces of hardware throughout the upcoming awards season. Admittedly I've personally learned that I'm kind of a sucker for "Ryan Gosling Doing Stuff In LA" movies, so keep that bias in mind - but that also leads me to my final entry on this list...

#1: The Nice Guys

It's fitting that I'm running my Top 10 list this year right after Christmas, because the holiday and the works of writer/director Shane Black have long been linked together for me. Because so many of Black's movies are set on and around December 25th, I have a longstanding tradition of using the day to marathon these titles. This year I got to add The Nice Guys to the end of a run including Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Good Night, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Iron Man 3 -- and I'm absolutely thrilled that I did, because it was my favorite movie of 2016.

As suggested by some of the other titles on this list, I'm a huge fan of film noir storytelling, clever dialogue, and dark comedy, and all three of those things flow through the veins of The Nice Guys. While one would never really think of them working together in a buddy capacity, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are utterly genius together, and construct scenes that have had me tearing up with laughter during multiple viewings. Armed with a sharply-tuned mystery, smart-aleck kids, and twisted heroes, it has Shane Black's DNA all over it, and as such is a pure delight. One of the biggest disappointments of the year for me was that nobody showed up to this one when it came out in theaters, but let this be my message to you all: this is a film that everybody can and should enjoy, and if you have any opportunity to watch it, it's an opportunity you should take.

Read my full review here.

The Runner Ups: 10 Cloverfield Lane; Captain Fantastic; Everybody Wants Some!!; Fences; Hell or High Water; Kubo And The Two Strings; Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World; Loving; Moana; Morris from America; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Sing Street; The Witch; War Dogs; Zootopia

This is it, folks. The year 2016 is closing up shop, and in just a few days we'll all find ourselves living in 2017. To celebrate this, all this week Cinema Blend will be running a wide variety of Top 10 lists -- including those limited to genre and superlatives, and others just based on subjective preference. And what better way to really get the ball rolling than with our site-wide Top 10 movies of the year list?

Throughout the year (as we did in 2015), we have our writers keep close track of every movie that they see and give it a score between one and five. We then take the average of the scores from everyone, put them in descending order, and eliminate any title that wasn't seen by three or more people. The result of this is the list you'll find below. Read on to see our choices, and leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

#10: The Nice Guys

Average Score: 4.3125/5

In a perfect world, Shane Black's The Nice Guys would have wound up being one of the biggest hits of 2016. It's truly rare that we get a movie this good -- one that features a dynamite and hilarious pair of lead performances; a compelling and well-drawn plot; and a perfectly utilized period setting. The bad news is that in reality the film wound up not doing as well as one would hope... but the good news is that it now exists to be shared and enjoyed and shared and enjoyed for all eternity.

The first of two brilliant Ryan Gosling/Los Angeles movies this year (we'll get to the second one in a bit), The Nice Guys is a remarkable throwback to classic buddy movies and noir detective stories -- but comes together as a fresh and original package. In the same way that Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer are perfect together in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shane Black discovered something brilliant in the pairing of Gosling and Russell Crowe, and fans will forever be thankful. If you slept on this one when it came out in May, do yourself a favor and catch up with it as soon as possible.

#9: Deadpool

Average Score: 4.4/5

Every so often, some big name in the industry chimes in with their opinion that the superhero genre will soon die. Comparisons are made to westerns, and it's explained that it's only a matter of time before the market is saturated and people stop caring. If Hollywood were totally mismanaging the material, this would probably be accurate -- but the truth is that Tim Miller's Deadpool is proof positive of why comic book blockbusters still have plenty of great years ahead of them.

The key to staving off saturation is variety and creativity, and Deadpool is unlike any superhero movie you've ever seen. On beyond the extreme violence and cursing, there is the jibber-jabber mouth, the constant fourth wall breaking, and firmly anti-hero status -- all of which make it a special experience. It's the role that Ryan Reynolds was truly born to play, and the scale it achieves with incredibly few resources and its tiny budget only make it more extraordinary.

#Tie-6: High-Rise

Average Score: 4.5/5

Since making his directorial debut with the dark comedy Down Terrace in 2009, Ben Wheatley has quietly earned an audience with his weird auteur style. His latest, High-Rise, certainly fits this mold - based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, and its oddness was appreciated on such a level by our staff that it's made our team Top 10 list with an average score of 4.5 out of five.

It's certainly not a movie for everybody - particularly those who get freaked out by non-sequitur weirdness -- but High-Rise is a fantastic dystopic tale that thrillingly jumps in its escalation and features a number of impressive performances from its excellent ensemble cast (including Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons and Elisabeth Moss). It's wonderful and sharp social satire that keeps its edge from beginning to end.

#Tie-6: Kubo And The Two Strings

Average Score: 4.5/5

While not exactly destroying at the box office, the folks over at Laika are doing some incredibly magical things in cinema. They got our attention right away with Coraline in 2009; stunned us with ParaNorman in 2012; and surprised us with The Boxtrolls in 2014. That's eight years of reputation building, so we didn't expect too much of a shock going into Kubo And The Two Strings... and yet it still managed to completely bowl us over.

Made as the directorial debut of Laika President/CEO Travis Knight, Kubo And The Two Strings wears its Asian influences on its sleeve, and with the beauty and specificity of origami, weaves an incredible story full of beauty and emotion. The stop-motion work is utterly breathtaking (at moments you just have to take a step back and realize the magnitude of the work that went into making it a reality). The year 2016 was a shockingly great one for animation, but Laika's latest entry was one of the best films all around.

#Tie-6: Manchester By The Sea

Average Score: 4.5/5

There were a lot of films in 2016 that made us feel the intense pain of grief and loss, but none did it more expertly or brilliantly than Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea. Casey Affleck puts on the best performance of his career as a grieving brother who is given guardianship of his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges), and the film is often an emotional punch to the gut and just an incredible piece of storytelling.

The secret to the movie's success is in a mastery of tone. The film bot only never beats you over the head with its more depressing subject matter, but is also often quite funny -- lending it incredible verisimilitude (the dynamic between Affleck and Hedges is particularly excellent). It not only allows Manchester By The Sea to actually be entertaining and watchable, but also only enhances its more hardcore subject matter. When it brings the hammer down, it brings it down hard, and it's a special and rare cinematic feeling that we recognized.

#5: Captain America: Civil War

Average Score: 4.55556/5

Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War is a legitimately special film in that there truly is no blockbuster quite like it. Not only is it the capper to what can easily be called one of the greatest superhero trilogies of all time, but it is also the product of 12 different projects that preceded it. The effort that it took to put together was monumental and the final product is without question one of the greatest comic book movies that we've ever seen.

Captain America: Civil War brought together more heroes than any other Marvel Studios project before it, but the way in which Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's script and the Russo's direction keeps them all balanced and with a specific part to play is nothing short of magical (the Leipzig-Halle Airport sequence being the ultimate example). Considering that the same team of writers and directors will be handling the upcoming The Avengers: Infinity War, it goes without saying that the Cinema Blend staff has a lot of confidence about the MCU going forward.

#T-3: Arrival

Average Score: 4.57143/5

As big fans of genre, we here at Cinema Blend love it when boundaries get pushed and new ideas are explored within it -- and that's exactly what Denis Villeneuve's Arrival delivers in hefty doses. Clearly inspired by the hard-sci-fi writers of the early 20th century, it takes a simple premise (aliens landing all over Earth with no specific raison d'etre), and uses it as a platform to tell an amazing and complex story about the importance of communication.

Last year it was Ridley Scott's The Martian that got us positively giddy about the creative possibilities of science-fiction in the right hands, and Arrival keeps that flame lit. It's an incredibly smart and well-told puzzler that successfully doesn't show its hand until late in the game -- and the way its layered is only going to make repeat watches that much more rewarding.

#T-3: La La Land

Average Score: 4.57143/5

Around the Cinema Blend offices, movies don't get much more beloved than Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. The film earned 5-star ratings from the entire editorial staff when it was released in 2014, and as such we spent the last two years waiting with baited breath for what Chazelle would do next. That project turned out to be the musical La La Land, and in case you couldn't tell from its ranking on this list, we all enjoyed it quite a lot.

La La Land is a film that enraptures you from the very start -- with its one-shot, traffic-set musical number "Another Day Of Sun" -- but it holds you tight with a full soundtrack of beautiful songs and amazing performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. It's dramatic and hilarious at the same time, and in the same way is both inspiring and heartbreaking. It's really a remarkable bit of cinema... and now we all are desperate to see what Damien Chazelle does in Round Three.

#T-1: Sing Street

Average Score: 4.625/5

As you've seen from many of the great movies we've talked about here, 2016 was a year that featured some absolutely delightful features, but amongst the Cinema Blend staff none earned that adjective more than John Carney's Sing Street. It's true that we see a large number of coming-of-age stories every year, but this one is incredibly special -- particularly with its utilization of a blissful original soundtrack.

In a year when we lost so many incredibly talented artists, we really needed films that explored the power and history of music, and Sing Street is a movie that very much does that -- telling the journey of young Conor Lawlor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) as he finds inspiration to follow his heart and start a band. With an average score of 4.625 out of five, it ranks as our favorite feature of the year, tied with...

#T-1: Moana

Average Score: 4.625/5

There's a good chance that movie fans will spend decades debating which of the two 2016 Walt Disney Animation films is better: Zootopia or Moana. Among the Cinema Blend staff, the former was incredibly popular, earning an average score of 4.25 -- but the latter earned grades that tie it as the number one pick for the year.

Really, there is no reason not to love Moana. The animation is utterly stunning, and character design is excellent. The narrative is inspiring, and the heroes are fun, funny and wonderful. Oh, and we haven't stopped humming numerous songs from the soundtrack since the movie came out in mid-November (with so much credit belonging to Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda). This is a film that audiences of today will not only be watching for years to come, but it will be passed down for generations as great family filmmaking and mythological storytelling.

Because the Actors branch makes up such a significant portion of the Academy membership, the nominees for the annual Screen Actors Guild can often have a major impact on the ongoing Oscar race. If that's the case, then this morning's announcement of the 2017 SAG Awards nominees threw some weight behind Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight, but put a ding in the armor that has encased La La Land up to this point.

SAG doesn't do a Best Picture, per se. They do Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the equivalent award, and this year they went with: Captain Fantastic; Fences; Hidden Figures; Manchester By The Sea; and Moonlight. I have no real issue with those selections, though in seeing that, I realize that my current personal frontrunner, La La Land, has an uphill battle to win a Best Picture Oscar without this SAG recognition. Still, outside of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (who each received individual nominations), the full ensemble for Damien Chazelle's magical musical doesn't do much, so an ensemble snub is understood.

Here's the full list of 2017 SAG Awards nominees:

The 23rd annual SAG Awards will be handed out on Sunday, Jan. 29. The ceremony airs live on TNT and TBS at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

With the year drawing to a close, we have officially reached peak awards season. As most avid moviegoers already know, this is the time of the year when the best movies fight tooth and nail for Oscar recognition, thus leading to the widespread use of the term, "Oscar bait." These films generate a ton of buzz every year, but now it seems that Samuel L. Jackson isn't too enthused by them. The actor explained:

During a recent appearance at the Dubai International Film Festival (via The Wrap) Samuel L. Jackson took a shot at "Oscar bait" movies -- particular Manchester by the Sea. His opinion towards the film seems to be its lack on inclusion, and the fact that it doesn't necessarily speak to him on a personal level. By his own estimation, Manchester by the Sea is a movie that's more emblematic of a white experience, and it simply doesn't resonate with him. In a grander sense, this seems to cut to his core thesis that most Oscar season movies (from Manchester to Moonlight) lack broad appeal that crosses cultural or ethnic barriers.

Of course, it's worth noting that Samuel L. Jackson knows a thing or two about awards season. He has earned one Academy Award nomination over the course of his lengthy career, and it was definitely not for a typical Oscar bait movie. His performance as Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction catapulted him to stardom in 1994, and garnered him his first (and only) Oscar nomination to date. If more films could follow Pulp Fiction's lead and maintain a broader appeal, Jackson would likely have much more faith in the Oscar process.

Later on during his appearance at the film festival, Samuel L. Jackson similarly critiqued movies that appear designed from the ground up to invoke an emotional reaction from the audience. Movies like Collateral Beauty take a maudlin approach to their subject matter, and it doesn't necessarily ring true to someone's real life experiences. Regardless of how good Collateral Beauty is, there's definitely an undercurrent of truth to Jackson's comments; these days we can pretty much tell when a film is trying to reach for the stars during Oscar season. Maybe it's time for something a bit more subversive.

What's your take on Samuel L. Jackson's Oscar bait opinion? Do you think he has a point? Give us your take in the comments below!

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:

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!

Now that we are getting into December, the Awards Race begins to take a clearer shape. Every year, around this time, top critical organizations begin to recognize the best in cinema, and when we start to hear the same titles repeated by various film groups, we in the media can start to determine frontrunners, as well as also-rans.

To that end, recent wins for Damien Chazelle's La La Land and Barry Jenkins' Moonlight from the top critics' groups in New York and Los Angeles helped propel those movies into Frontrunner categories in several top races. As was pointed out, Jenkins has claimed a Best Director trophy from pretty much every group that has tried to hand one out, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review. Can one of these films peak too soon? That has happened in the past, where backlash against a presumed "Winner" settled in, prompting Academy voters to push their weight behind another film. There's still a LOT of time to go, with a few more shoes to drop before this competition is squared away.

The Critics' Choice Awards happen much earlier this year, airing on Sunday, December 11 instead of their usual January slot. That could give some valuable momentum to one of the following movies, or take some air out of a tentative campaign or two. For the moment, here's where I think everyone stands:

Best Picture

The Frontrunners

La La Land

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

The Contenders

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Jackie

Lion

Loving

Patriots Day

Sully

The Dark Horses

20th Century Women

The Founder

Nocturnal Animals

Silence

The Longshots

Allied

The Birth of a Nation

Live By Night

A Monster Calls

Best Director

The Frontrunners

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

The Contenders

Clint Eastwood, Sully

Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge

Pablo Larrain, Jackie

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Martin Scorsese, Silence

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Dark Horses

J.A. Bayona, A Monster Calls

Garth Davis, Lion

Jeff Nichols, Loving

Robert Zemeckis, Allied

The Longshots

Ben Affleck, Live By Night

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water

Morten Tyldum, Passengers

Best Actor

The Frontrunners

Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Contenders

Joel Edgerton, Loving

Andrew Garfield, Silence

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Tom Hanks, Sully

Michael Keaton, The Founder

The Dark Horses

Ben Affleck, Live By Night

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals

Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Miles Teller, Bleed for This

The Longshots

Ethan Hawke, Born to be Blue

Logan Lerman, Indignation

Matthew McConaughey, Gold

Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation

Best Actress

The Frontrunners

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

The Contenders

Amy Adams, Arrival

Annette Bening, 20th Century Women

Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Ruth Negga, Loving

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

The Dark Horses

Amy Adams, Nocturnal Animals

Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane

Rebecca Hall, Christine

The Longshots

Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship

Marion Cotillard, Allied

Susan Sarandon, The Meddler

Best Supporting Actor

The Frontrunners

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

The Contenders

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures

Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash

Ben Foster, Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

The Dark Horses

Adam Driver, Silence

Aaron Eckhart, Bleed for This

Aaron Eckhart, Sully

Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins

Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins

Liam Neeson, Silence

Issey Ogata, Silence

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Mykelti Williamson, Fences

The Longshots

Alan Rickman, Eye in the Sky

Jeremy Renner, Arrival

Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie

Best Supporting Actress

The Frontrunners

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

The Contenders

Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Margot Martindale, The Hollars

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

The Dark Horses

Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

Sienna Miller, Live By Night

Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures

The Longshots

Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky

Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe

Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea sneaks up on you. It quietly lures the audience in with flawed, complicated characters who wrestle with a dreadful and universal certainty: death. When you least expect it -- truthfully, because you have been expecting it the entire time -- the movie unloads in one pivotal scene between Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, and in that moment, you'll be reduced to tears while also feeling an overwhelming desire to celebrate the power of Lonergan's accomplishment.

Stop reading this review if you want to go into this raw, honest and gut-wrenching drama unblemished, because I do believe that the less you know about the story, the better the emotional waves will work on you. Even in this review, I'll do my best to protect the bulk of what's going to happen, because Kenneth Lonergan controls how details are revealed using flashbacks, asides and conversations that arrive when he wants them to.

What you need to know is that Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who leads a quiet and unassuming life, because he's avoiding some difficult truths in his hometown of Manchester. Only, Lee gets called home when his older brother, Joe (the always dependable Kyle Chandler), dies from heart failure. Unexpectedly, Lee is named custodian of his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick (a fantastic Lucas Hedges), and the two independent men try to figure out how to move forward with that new reality.

And that's all that I really want to tell you. Lee has skeletons in his closet that have kept him out of Manchester, and that material allows Casey Affleck to underplay his part until it's time to exorcise those demons. Manchester director Kenneth Lonergan does two things extremely well: he weaves in scenes of Lee's happier moments in Manchester, when Patrick was a child and Lee had a normal life of his own; and he teases a powerful reveal of why townsfolk in Manchester don't trust Lee, and don't want him around.

Much like Manchester By The Sea patiently treads water until it's chosen moment to strike, Amazon Studios -- a new player in the annual awards race -- is quietly navigate the choppy waters piloted by perennial contenders such as Focus Features, The Weinstein Company and the "Big Boy" studios of Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony, and Disney. They know they have a compelling dramatic player in their hands, and they're waiting to see how the chips fall before they decide when and where to push. But when we least expect it, if they play their cards right, Amazon could be standing at the podium on Oscar night collecting trophies for Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and a Best Picture statue for Manchester By The Sea, because the movie certainly deserves to be in those conversation.

Look around. Do you see? Better movies are starting to find their way to theaters, after months of a creative, cultural drought. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, ticket buyers can actually choose from big-ticket franchise efforts (Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) to crowd-pleasing animated features (Moana). And in addition, the Oscar contenders are finally starting to reach larger audiences. Moonlight, Loving, Nocturnal Animals and Manchester By The Sea and joining films like Allied, Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge and Bleed for This at multiplexes. It's a magical time of year.

This also means that Oscar analysts (myself included) are seeing more films, and the charts below can tighten up as mysterious films start to show their cards. Silence just released a trailer, and a few other movies have yet to fully pull back their curtains, but the majority of the playing field has been revealed as we head into Thanksgiving weekend. The Broadcast Film Critics Association will have their nominees on the table soon. The Indie Spirit Awards just revealed their nominees. And major regional critics groups, from New York to Los Angeles, will help make the larger Oscar picture a little more refined in coming weeks.

For the moment, here's where I think everyone stands:

Best Picture

The Frontrunners

La La Land

The Contenders

Arrival

Fences

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Jackie

Lion

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

Patriots Day

Sully

The Dark Horses

20th Century Women

The Founder

Hacksaw Ridge

Live By Night

Loving

A Monster Calls

Nocturnal Animals

Silence

The Longshots

Allied

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

The Birth of a Nation

Passengers

Rules Don't Apply

##

Best Director

The Frontrunners

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

The Contenders

Clint Eastwood, Sully

Pablo Larrain, Jackie

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Martin Scorsese, Silence

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Dark Horses

Ben Affleck, Live By Night

J.A. Bayona, A Monster Calls

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge

Jeff Nichols, Loving

Morten Tyldum, Passengers

Robert Zemeckis, Allied

The Longshots

Garth Davis, Lion

Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book

John Lee Hancock, The Founder

Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water

##

Best Actor

The Frontrunners

Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Contenders

Joel Edgerton, Loving

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Tom Hanks, Sully

Michael Keaton, The Founder

The Dark Horses

Ben Affleck, Live By Night

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Andrew Garfield, Silence

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals

Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls

Matthew McConaughey, Gold

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Miles Teller, Bleed for This

The Longshots

Ethan Hawke, Born to be Blue

Logan Lerman, Indignation

Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation

Chris Pratt, Passengers

##

Best Actress

The Frontrunners

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

The Contenders

Amy Adams, Arrival

Annette Bening, 20th Century Women

Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Ruth Negga, Loving

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

The Dark Horses

Amy Adams, Nocturnal Animals

Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane

Marion Cotillard, Allied

Susan Sarandon, The Meddler

The Longshots

Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship

Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train

Rebecca Hall, Christine

Jennifer Lawrence, Passengers

##

Best Supporting Actor

The Frontrunners

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

The Contenders

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash

Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

The Dark Horses

Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures

Adam Driver, Silence

Aaron Eckhart, Bleed for This

Aaron Eckhart, Sully

Ben Foster, Hell or High Water

Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins

Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins

Liam Neeson, Silence

Jeremy Renner, Arrival

Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

The Longshots

Tracy Letts, Indignation

Alan Rickman, Eye in the Sky

Mykelti Williamson, Fences

##

Best Supporting Actress

The Frontrunners

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

The Contenders

Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Margot Martindale, The Hollars

Sienna Miller, Live By Night

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

The Dark Horses

Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky

Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures

Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe

The Longshots

Leslie Mann, The Comedian

Julianne Moore, Maggie's Plan

While the bulk of our nation analyzes the results of last night's presidential election, we here at CinemaBlend turn our attention to something that's a little more our speed: The Race for the Oscars, or as I'd nicknaming it this year, "All of the films that are probably going to lose to La La Land."

OK, so, it's far too early to declare any race over. And as the aforementioned presidential race just taught us, anything is possible when it comes to a vote. But as I sit down and survey the landscape of Hollywood's Oscar hopefuls -- with a few movies still to show their cards -- the 2016 Academy Awards race boasts something we haven't seen in a few cycles: a clear-cut frontrunner. Across the board, Damien Chazelle's euphoric movie musical La La Land looks like the movie to beat in the Best Picture category, making a strong debut at the Venice Film Festival and then riding a wave of critical momentum through the rest of the fall film fest season. It still needs to play to an actual audience -- which will begin in December -- but at the moment, it's my Top Dog in the Oscar marathon.

And believe me, this IS a marathon, not a sprint. I say it every year, and I'll remind you often, as we check back in with the nominees all jockeying for position. Let's kick off our first round of Awards Blend predictions with some important dates. Next year's Oscar ceremony will be held on February 26, 2017. Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 24. There's no host, as of yet, but here are the films and performances we think will be represented in the top six categories:

Best Picture

The Frontrunners

La La Land

The Contenders

Arrival

Fences

Hell or High Water

Jackie

Lion

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

Sully

The Dark Horses

20th Century Women

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

The Founder

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

Live By Night

Loving

A Monster Calls

Nocturnal Animals

Patriots Day

Silence

The Longshots

Allied

The Birth of a Nation

Passengers

Rules Don't Apply

Best Director

The Frontrunners

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

The Contenders

Clint Eastwood, Sully

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Martin Scorsese, Silence

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Dark Horses

Ben Affleck, Live By Night

J.A. Bayona, A Monster Calls

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge

Pablo Larrain, Jackie

Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Jeff Nichols, Loving

Morten Tyldum, Passengers

Robert Zemeckis, Allied

The Longshots

Garth Davis, Lion

Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book

John Lee Hancock, The Founder

David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water

Best Actor

The Frontrunners

Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Denzel Washington, Fences

The Contenders

Joel Edgerton, Loving

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Tom Hanks, Sully

The Dark Horses

Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Andrew Garfield, Silence

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals

Michael Keaton, The Founder

Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation

Miles Teller, Bleed for This

The Longshots

Ethan Hawke, Born to be Blue

Logan Lerman, Indignation

Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls

Dev Patel, Lion

Chris Pratt, Passengers

Best Actress

The Frontrunners

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

The Contenders

Amy Adams, Arrival

Annette Bening, 20th Century Women

Ruth Negga, Loving

The Dark Horses

Amy Adams, Nocturnal Animals

Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures

Susan Sarandon, The Meddler

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

The Longshots

Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship

Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train

Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane

Marion Cotillard, Allied

Jennifer Lawrence, Passengers

Best Supporting Actor

The Frontrunners

None yet

The Contenders

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash

Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

The Dark Horses

Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures

Adam Driver, Silence

Aaron Eckhart, Bleed for This

Aaron Eckhart, Sully

Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins

Liam Neeson, Silence

Jeremy Renner, Arrival

Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

The Longshots

Armie Hammer, The Birth of a Nation

Tracy Letts, Indignation

Alan Rickman, Eye in the Sky

Best Supporting Actress

The Frontrunners

Viola Davis, Fences

The Contenders

Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

The Dark Horses

Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky

Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe

Kristen Stewart, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

The Longshots

Julianne Moore, Maggie's Plan

Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea sneaks up on you. It quietly lures the audience in with flawed, complicated characters who wrestle with a dreadful and universal certainty: death. When you least expect it -- truthfully, because you have been expecting it the entire time -- the movie unloads in one pivotal scene between Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, and in that moment, you'll be reduced to tears while also feeling an overwhelming desire to celebrate the power of Lonergan's accomplishment.

That same path to glory may be adopted by Amazon Studios, a new player in the annual awards race who can quietly navigate the choppy waters piloted by perennial contenders such as Focus Features, The Weinstein Company and the "Big Boy" studios of Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony, and Disney. But when we least expect it, if they play their cards right, Amazon could be standing at the podium on Oscar night collecting a Best Picture statue for Manchester By The Sea, which played the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, because the movie certainly deserves to be in the conversation.

Stop reading if you want to go into this raw, honest and gut-wrenching drama unblemished, because I do believe that the less you know about the story, the better the emotional waves will work on you. Even in this piece, I'll protect the bulk of what's going to happen, keeping all spoilers off of the page. What you need to know is that Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who leads a quiet and unassuming life, because he's avoiding some difficult truths in his hometown of Manchester. Only, Lee gets called home when his older brother, Joe (the always dependable Kyle Chandler), dies from heart failure. Unexpectedly, Lee is named custodian of his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick (a fantastic Lucas Hedges), and the two independent men try to figure out how to move forward with that new reality.

And that's all that I really want to tell you. Lee has skeletons in his closet that have kept him out of Manchester, and that material allows Casey Affleck to underplay his part until it's time to exorcise those demons. Manchester director Kenneth Lonergan does two things extremely well: he weaves in scenes of Lee's happier moments in Manchester, when Patrick was a child and Lee had a normal life of his own; and he teases a powerful reveal of why townsfolk in Manchester don't trust Lee, and don't want him around.

It's precisely the type of material that the Academy embraces, which is why Amazon Studios -- which snapped up the distribution rights to Manchester By The Sea following its Sundance premiere -- has a fantastic shot at breaking new ground by being the first streaming service to back an awards contender, and possible winner. They'll have to campaign, and they'll have to spend money. But the categories in play for Manchester include Picture, Director, Actor (Casey Affleck), Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams), screenplay and beyond.

Wins in any of those categories will go a long way toward establishing these fledgling studios like Amazon, Netflix and more in the brand new landscape of Oscar contention.

Let's face it, the summer blockbuster season has been a bust. Almost everything after Captain America: Civil War has disappointed (outside of the random The Nice Guys or Star Trek Beyond), so we have been looking ahead to the next few months to pull us out of our cinematic doldrums.

The Toronto International Film Festival is an annual tradition for Team CinemaBlend, for various reasons. The programming, from top to bottom, is unrivaled. And being in TIFF for 10 days allows us to get an enormous leg up on the Oscar race, to which we pay very close attention from now until the end of the year. There are far too many incredible films playing in the numerous sub-sections of Toronto's massive slate. So I'm taking a laser focus to their calendar and pulling out the 11 films that I believe will emerge from TIFF with that valuable -- and ever elusive -- Oscar buzz.

Which of these movies are you most excited about seeing?

La La Land

Based on the talent he showed with the searing and terrifying Whiplash, we'd stand in line for days to see anything that director Damien Chazelle delivered. But when you tell us that it's a musical starring classic talents (and silver screen beauties) Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and we are over the moon with anticipation. The duo play struggling artists trying to make it in Los Angeles, and the reviews forLa La Land out of Venice and Telluride over the Labor Day weekend were pure bliss. This one's a guaranteed hit, and now we're waiting to gauge its Oscar chances. Could this be the new The Artist... a sure-fire Best Picture winner?

Arrival

Denis Villeneuve makes intelligent and challenging feature films that often leave you contemplating the message long after you have left the theater -- from Prisoners and Sicario to Enemy, with Jake Gyllenhaal. His latest, Arrival, is his first foray into science-fiction, and of course, it will be out of the ordinary, with Amy Adams playing an expert linguist who is recruited by the government to communicate with aliens when the extraterrestrials make first contact. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker co-star.

Loving

Falling in love is hard enough. Trying to foster a loving relationship when you are an interracial couple in 1958 proves to be impossible for Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga in Jeff Nichols' heartbreaking Cannes Film Festival hit. Nichols has a fantastic body of work that includes Mud, Take Shelter and the recent Midnight Special. But in France, where Loving made its debut, critics fell head over heels for both Edgerton and Negga, putting both of their performances in the challenging romance on the radars of awards trackers. It opens everywhere in November, and we're eager to get an early look at what looks to be a tender and tough drama.

Manchester By The Sea

Another film that comes to Toronto with some powerful pre-fest buzz, Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea stars Casey Affleck as a Massachusetts native who must return home to the town he left behind years ago after his brother (Kyle Chandler) passes away. In the process, Affleck's character becomes the ward to his nephew, who he barely knows -- and doesn't' really want to raise. Affleck's turn is generating monster praise, though he acts alongside fellow masters Chandler and Michelle Williams. This one is a must see.

A Monster Calls

Much like Damien Chazelle (mentioned earlier on this list), J.A. Bayona has become a filmmaker you simply do NOT miss at the multiplex. His tsunami drama The Impossible was the perfect balance of eye-popping visual effects -- I still have no clue how he staged that tidal tragedy -- and gut-wrenching family emotions. And in A Monster Calls, he's tackling terminal illness, as a young boy calls on a mystical creature to help him cope with him mom's sickness. From what we are hearing, you better have tissues ready for Monster. And with Bayona moving on to the Jurassic World series, we can't wait to see how his effects work has evolved.

Snowden

We are cheating a little bit here, because we were lucky enough to catch a very early screening of Oliver Stone's Snowden at San Diego Comic-Con... a screening that included a special Q-and-A session with Snowden, himself, beamed in from Russia! Now the politically charged biopic is trying its luck on the film festival circuit, where it could generate support for Joseph Gordon Levitt's portrayal of the NSA whistleblower. Stone takes a different approach to Edward Snowden than the recent, laser-focused documentary. Snowden spends more time developing the coder's personal life, with contributions from the lovely Shailene Woodley. Will that be enough to win over audiences, and Oscar voters?

The Birth of a Nation

Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation arrives in Toronto with a luggage rack full of baggage. Having impressed critics in Sundance, the writer/director/star found himself confronting skeletons from his personal closet pertaining to a rape charge (of which he was exonerated). Toronto will be the first test of the public's opinion of Parker and his film following the recently-surfaced criminal investigation. Though he was found innocent, the incident could cast a long shadow over the film, making it difficult -- and uncomfortable -- to discuss the movie in the frivolous forum of an awards race.

American Honey

Finally, we are putting Andrea Arnold's Cannes sensation American Honey on your radar, because of the raves we heard out of that festival earlier this year. The plot sounds simple enough, with Sasha Lane playing a wayward teenage girl who gets caught up in a whirlwind affair with a traveling salesman (Shia LaBeouf). But Arnold's movie reportedly captures the complication of American youth in 2016, and film -- being such a time capsule of each generation -- has the ability to comment on the Now for audiences of all ages. We're anxious to see what emotions American Honey stirs up inside of us.

Also of note, on our radar at TIFF 16:

American Pastoral

Bleed For This

Deepwater Horizon

LBJ

Lion

The Magnificent Seven

Mascots

Nocturnal Animals

Paterson

Queen of Katwe

Even though we've got to go through 6 whole months before the 89th Academy Awards is scheduled to take place on February 26, 2017, the film industry is already gearing towards the ceremony. Starting this weekend with The Light Between Oceans, starring Michael Fassbender opposite Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz, we get our first real taste of Oscar hunting output, which will be followed next Friday with Clint Eastwood's Sully, which stars Tom Hanks in its lead role.

While these films will have to build up a head of steam to be in the race for Best Picture nominations, there's every chance that one or both of Tom Hanks or Michael Fassbender will be in contention for the Best Actor gong. But which actors deserve to be in the running for the five available Best Actor nominations come February? Well, take a gander below to see the frontrunners.

Tom Hanks - Sully

Clint Eastwood directing Tom Hanks in a tale of an American hero that saved the lives of hundreds of people is Oscar bait if I've ever heard it. Sully sees Hanks portraying Chesley Sullenberger, who back in 2009 crash landed the stricken US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River and then struggled to survive the invasion of his private life that followed. There are a few reasons why Tom Hanks deserves yet another Oscar nomination. First of all, he's Tom Hanks. Need more? OK, well he's one of the most talented thespians that has ever stood in front of a camera, something that his rack of accolades throughout his career has already proven. But, for me, it's the fact that Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Captain Phillips, or a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Saving Mr. Banks, that really underlines why he deserves another shot at his third Best Actor gong. Still doesn't forgive his hair in The Da Vinci Code, though.

Casey Affleck -- Manchester By The Sea

Having already received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work as the titular scaredy-cat in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Manchester By The Sea marks the first real chance since then that Casey Affleck has been withing a shout of another nod. Sure, his performances in The Killer Inside Me and Ain't Them Bodies Saints were worthy of recognition, but since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, where it was purchased by Amazon Studios, Manchester By The Sea has been building up an impressive reputation thanks to some sterling reviews. Casey Affleck has been at the fore of this praise, with his restrained emotion and intensity being lauded as he has to deal with the sudden death of his older brother, and the fact that he's made the legal guardian of his nephew Patrick.

Miles Teller - Bleed For This

Most people are still a little unsure about Miles Teller. Cocksure interviews over the last few months, and the failures of Fantastic Four, Allegiant, and Get A Job have diminished his sterling work in the likes of The Spectacular Now and Whiplash that made him one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood. Bleed For This, which is the biopic of Vinny Paz, a struggling boxer that refuses to retire after a car crash breaks his neck, should help to change this stance. Bleed For This's trailers already suggest that Teller has gone all out for the role and he already appears mesmerizing, while it's another perfect chance for him to showcase the innate, but still redeemable, dickishness that he possesses, too.

Brad Pitt - Allied

Since Leonardo DiCaprio brought an end to all of the discussions about when he'll finally win a Best Actor gong last February thanks to his performance in The Revenant, we can now expect this chatter to move over to Brad Pitt. Pitt, who won as a producer, already has received three Oscar nominations for acting (Best Supporting Actor for 12 Monkeys, Best Actor for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Moneyball), and his role in Allied suggests that he could be in line for yet another, too, as it possesses all the Oscar acting traits that voters desire. Not only is it set during World War II, but it's a love story about two assassins that fall in love, it is directed by the previous Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis, while its trailers also suggest that it's going to look absolutely beautiful, too.

Michael Keaton - The Founder

For the past two years, Michael Keaton has popped up in the consecutive Best Picture winners, Birdman and Spotlight, but each time he failed to take home a personal Best Actor gong for his own collection. Sure, it hurt his chances just a tad that he wasn't nominated last year for Spotlight, but he was deemed a shoe-in by many for Birdman only for Eddie Redmayne to sneak in and take it away from him. But Hollywood loves a trier and a redemption story, and if early buzz is anything to go by, we can expect another Best Actor nomination for Michael Keaton later this year thanks to his work in The Founder, which sees Keaton portraying Ray Kroc, the man who grew McDonald's into the multi-billion establishment that we all know and turn to when we're peckish and in a hurry. Slightly evil and driven by power and money, Kroc is capitalism personified, and might be just the role to finally land Keaton an Oscar.

Denzel Washington - Fences

Since winning the Best Actor gong for 2001's Training Day, Denzel Washington hasn't given too many other performances that were likely to earn him the same acclaim. Sure there was Flight and American Gangster, which he, as per usual, excelled in, but their plots and subject matter were never going to appeal to Academy voters. Fences' powerful premise teases that it will change all that. Set in 1957 Pittsburgh, Washington plays Troy Maxson, a former Negro league baseball player who now works as a trash collector and is struggling to pay for his family and deal with how his life has unfolded. It's a role that Washington knows very, very well, too, having performed it on Broadway back in 2010, which saw him claim that year's Tony Award. Denzel Washington is directing the cinematic adaptation of Fences, too, and if he's firing on all cylinders and the film is a critical success, then it's hard to look beyond him for Best Actor.

Ben Affleck - Live By The Night

The fact that Argo won Best Picture and Ben Affleck wasn't even nominated for Best Director or Best Actor suggests that his redemption tale isn't quite complete just yet. Especially as Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice might have made some people hate him all over again. But it's undeniable that since Hollywoodland, and because of his directing work on Argo, The Town, and Gone Baby Gone, Affleck has become one of the most intriguing leading men in Hollywood. Live By The Night's epic story of bootlegging during Prohibition, which sees the prodigal son of a Boston police captain go from rum-runner to gangster, sounds like it provides Ben Affleck with the substantial material necessary to finally draw the acclaim of Academy voters, while at the same time appealing to mainstream audiences.

Ever since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival all the way back in January, Manchester By The Sea has been heavily touted as an awards season contender. With a limited November release date that's set to expand across the country in December, it's clearly being lined up for critical prizes, Oscar gongs and, at least, nominations. And from the first trailer for the film, it's clear to see why.

The plot for Manchester By The Sea hardly breaks new ground, as it sees Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) struggling to come to terms with the sudden revelation that he's the legal guardian of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges), following the death of his older brother Joe Chandler (Kyle Chandler). Because of this revelation, Lee Chandler moves back to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where he is confronted by his separated wife Randi (Michelle Williams), and also looks to reacclimatize to the surroundings that he left behind.

But while it's not exactly original, the trailer suggest that Manchester By The Sea should be buoyed by some tip-top performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges, who is all set to break out with this film following his smaller roles in Moonrise Kingdom, Kill The Messenger and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

At the same time, there's clearly plenty of humor, heart, and drama that all looks as though it's presented in a touching and powerful way, too. That's despite the fact that the trailer's over the top and heavy handed ballad song choice is immediately enough to make anyone wary.

Another reason to be excited about Manchester By The Sea is that it marks the return of Kenneth Lonergan to the big screen following a five-year absence. Lonergan's most famous piece of work is probably his Academy Award nominated screenplay for Gangs Of New York, but he drew a plethora of plaudits and accolades for his work on You Can Count On Me, including another Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Sure, he also wrote the truly awful The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle all the way back in 2000, but he also came up with the story and cowrote Analyze This, wrote _Margaret _-- which Lonergan spent five years in post-production on trying to agree on its final cut - and has repeatedly dabbled in theatrical works, too.

There's actually a bit of pressure on Manchester By The Sea to perform well at the box office, which you don't usually associate with an indie film. That's because Amazon Studios spent $10 million acquiring it at Sundance, meaning that they'll want to see a decent return on their investment.

If they don't then Amazon Studios might decide to release similar films they purchase online instead, which would diminish the impact of such cinematic fare. We'll see what Manchester By The Sea can muster up when it's finally released on November 18.

For 10 days in January – every January, really – the eyes of the film community turn to the snow-capped mountains of Park City, Utah as Hollywood brings its best and brightest to the Sundance Film Festival. Yet, Sundance can be an unpredictable crap shoot. For every Brooklyn, Dope or The Diary of a Teenage Girl, there’s an experimental headscratcher that makes you wonder how certain movies get invited to such a big stage.

Now that the dust (or snowflakes, I suppose) is starting to settle on the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, these are the five titles that generated the loudest buzz. Some will continue to work the film-festival circuit, stopping in Austin for South By Southwest or New York for the Tribeca Film Festival. Others will go on the shelf until October or November, so they can contend for Oscars and other year-end awards. But when these five movies make it to your town, make sure that you find the time to screen them.

Sing Street

John Carney makes joyous, crowd-pleasing, romanticized and heartfelt movies that are rooted in distinct, memorable musical choices. Once you realize he’s the mind behind Once and Begin Again, you get an idea of what to expect out of Sing Street. And yet, even with that knowledge, we were surprised by the outright raves for the director’s latest, which follows an Irish teen who recruits his outcast friends in the 1980s to start his own band. Why? Because of a girl, of course. ScreenCrush says that the film’s "sheer joy and enthusiasm is so infectious it’s very hard to not clap, cry and, yeah, jump out of your seat." Sign us up. The Weinstein Company picked up Sing Street, but so far have only given it a March 17 release date in Ireland and the UK. Stay tuned, U.S. crowds.

Manchester By The Sea

From the upbeat to the downtrodden. Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is, by all accounts, a devastatingly hard and heartbreaking drama about an uncle (Casey Affleck) tasked with raising his nephew after the boy’s father passes away. The film met near-universal praise, particularly for Affleck’s work, with Peter Howell of the Toronto Star, exclaiming that the actor "demands Best Actor consideration for his soulful depiction of a broken father who returns to his seaside Massachusetts hometown for a family funeral that will reopen old wounds." Manchester was sold for nearly $10 million to Amazon. The film’s distribution is still being worked out.

The Birth of a Nation

Speaking of high-dollar deals, Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation set new records are Sundance when it sold to Fox Searchlight for $17.5 million. If Birth ends up being the Oscar contender that analysts think it can be, that price tag may look like a bargain. The Birth of a Nation is a biopic of Nate Parker, a slave who led a revolt in Virginia in 1831. As the Academy deals with diversity issues, expect a strong awards push for Birth at the end of this year.

Swiss Army Man

Not all buzz is positive. Swiss Army Man, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano, was deemed so bad that audience members walked out in droves. Why? Well, I’ll let our own Corey’s description break it down. "Swiss Army Man revolves around a lost traveler played by Paul Dano. During his journey, he finds himself on a beach where a corpse, played by Daniel Radcliffe himself, washes ashore. That corpse becomes his traveling companion, and it continually passes gas throughout the 90 minute bizarre romp." Yep. Fart jokes. Endless fart jokes. But the feedback on Swiss Army Man is so bad, it almost makes this movie a must-see. Right?

Morris From America

The coming-of-age genre was alive and well at Sundance this year (though, to be honest, that festival traditionally shines a bright light on those types of stories), and Chad Hartigan’s Morris From America received its fair share of raves. The twist on this one? The story follows a 13-year-old American kid whose father moves him to Germany, forcing him to figure out how to fit in. Craig Robinson (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine) collected critical love, and the movie in general was adored. It sounds like the ideal Sundance Film Festival movie, and we’ll see it for ourselves once A24 picks the right release date.

The annual Sundance Film Festival has long been the prestige market for independent cinema. Every year, new films are discovered, new stars break out, and filmmaking talents are lauded. The people involved in production hope that all their hard work will be rewarded as distributors and studios pick up interesting new films with potential. This has been the standard method of operation, but two new players, Netflix and Amazon, are rocking the boat and impacting how business gets done in Park City.

Both outlets have made big splashes recently when it comes to producing original content, both in film and television, and have expanded the scope of the movies they distribute. This trend looks to be growing even more as the New York Times reports both Amazon and Netflix are, up to this point, the biggest spenders at Sundance.

Most traditional distributors wait until later in the festival, which runs through January 31, to purchase anything, watching to see what films build buzz and captures the most attention. In fact, none of the usual suspects have snatched up the rights to much of anything, while their new-school competitors have been busy. Amazon has already picked up four films, while Netflix has added three to their collection, and they are reportedly actively pursuing a few others.

These new players have shown that they’re not afraid to go toe to toe with their rivals either. Amazon’s biggest get was Kenneth Longergan’s Manchester by the Sea, a drama starring Casey Affleck as a man coming to terms with family tragedy that has gathered quite a bit of hype over the first few days of Sundance. They spent $10 million on the rights, outbidding the likes of Fox and Universal in the process. Netflix purchased the Ellen Page-led dramedy Tallulah for a hefty $5 million; the Paul Rudd-starring road movie The Fundamentals of Caring for $7 million; and Under the Shadow, and Iranian horror movie that caught many an eye. Even when they don't buy a title, they've been responsible for driving prices up, as happend with The Birth of a Nation.

Not only do Amazon and Netflix have money to spend, filmmakers who want to see their work get the widest possible audience are embracing these newer outlets as well. Streaming is a big deal these days, which I’m sure you noticed, and the reality is that these outlets often provide more potential viewers than a traditional theatrical release.

Despite moves like Netflix putting Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation in theaters to qualify for awards consideration, the streaming giant has largely concentrated on that side of things. Amazon, however, is taking a more traditional approach, planning to give the likes of Manchester by the Sea, and their other acquisitions—documentary Author: The JT Leroy Story, the Rachel Weisz-starring Complete Unknown, and the Jane Austen-based Love & Friendship—standard cinematic runs. They’re even teaming up with traditional distributors for the theatrical side of things—for instance, they’re working with Roadside Attractions on theatrical release of Love & Friendship.

This is just another way that companies like Netflix and Amazon are continuing to make their presence felt and alter the way that people consume movies. I’m sure they’re not done at Sundance, and you can bet they’re not finished shaking up the industry as a whole.