The 13 Most Underrated Movies of 2016
by Moviefone Staff
Say what you will about the world at large, but 2016 was a pretty great year for movies. And for all the films that are getting the kind of year-end awards buzz, there are just as many quality films that were released and subsequently ignored. Here are the films you probably overlooked.
'Blood Father'
Jean-François Richet. Gibson plays a skuzzy tattoo artist who attempts to track down his missing, drug addled daughter. The ing cast is surprisingly strong and Gibson's performance is almost note-perfect. He feels right at home in this kind of grungy grindhouse action movie. Welcome back, Mel.
'Age of Shadows'
I am literally the only person I know who saw this film. (It's South Korea's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, which is a real eff you to "The Handmaiden," but could mean that people actually see it at some point.) It's a real shame because this movie is totally amazing -- a sumptuous spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied Korea that has numerous odes to De Palma's "The Untouchables." It features one of the more finely textured performances of the year, courtesy of the always incredible Song Kang-ho, and feels like the type of movie they just don't make anymore.
'High-Rise'
Tom Hiddleston plays a doctor who moves into a futuristic apartment building whose architects seem to be hiding insidious motives and whose residents are driven slowly insane. Any movie this dark that also manages to include several covers of ABBA's "S.O.S" should be seen by everyone.
'Hunt for the Wilderpeople'
Next year, Julian Dennison). While this sounds like a totally syrupy set-up, it actually is quite dark and melancholy and hilarious and, in the movie's unexpected third act, takes on a larger, more adventurous dimension that would be criminal to spoil here.
'Keanu'
Keanu" seems destined for cult immortality.
'The Lobster'
"Yorgos Lanthimos). At turns bleak and hopeful, "The Lobster" is genuinely unlike anything you've seen all year.
'Love & Friendship'
Kate Beckinsale's peerless performance (one of the year's best).
'Miss Hokusai'
"Jackie" isn't the only visionary biopic about a marginalized female historical figure. There was also "Miss Hokusai," a Japanese animated film about the life of Katsushika Ōi, whose father was Hokusai, the famous painter behind that "waves" painting that hangs on countless dorm room walls. The story unfolds with a similarly painterly vibe, as a series of vignettes, that allows you to appreciate her as an artist and a person.
'Nerve'
Bewilderingly overlooked, this nifty thriller about a nefarious role-playing game/social network, is breathlessly entertaining and anchored by a pair of likable performances by Dave Franco.
'One More Time With Feeling'
In 2015, Australian musician Nick Cave's son died in an accident after falling off a cliff. So, instead of doing a press tour for the release of his latest album, he commissioned a 3D documentary to be made by his friend and frequent collaborator, Andrew Dominik. The resulting doc is beautifully and bruising; it's oftentimes uncomfortably confessional and the entire enterprise, filmed in velvety black-and-white, feels draped in a kind of suffocating sadness. It'll be on home video next year; have a stiff drink ready.
'Queen of Katwe'
Ostensibly part of the Disney sports movie lineage that includes everything from "The Mighty Ducks" to "Million Dollar Arm," "Mira Nair makes a quietly powerful, altogether authentic triumph.
'Tale of Tales'
Of course Salma Hayek eating a monster's bloody heart.
'Voyage of Time'
One of the reasons a movie can be overlooked is that you literally can't figure out how to see it. That was case with Voyage of Time." It was released on only 12 IMAX screens that were located in places like science museums, made even more confusing by the fact that at around the same time, a different version -- featuring twice as much footage and different narration (this time by Cate Blanchett) -- was being screened. The point is that if you can see the film (and you should), it's totally trippy and amazing–like the beginning of "Tree of Life" but with more dinosaurs.
