The Best Movies I Saw (for the First Time) in 2016: Part 2

Continuing where we left off....
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
This was, by far, the most startling movie I saw this year, and it was released almost 40 years ago. Diane Keaton, the same year she made “Annie Hall,” plays a very different character here, a manic, sexually adventurous (to say the least) woman who descends into a nightmarish underworld of one-night-stands, creepy hookups and very dangerous men. I’d heard about it for years but was never able to find a copy, until it aired very late one night on the greatest of all channels, TCM. It’s not a pleasant ride by any means, but it is fascinating, and it ends with one of the most brutal, bleakest scenes I’ve witnessed in a long time. Worth a look, if you’re braced for this sort of thing.

The Hateful 8
For some reason, I wasn’t excited about seeing this Quentin Tarantino movie when it was in theaters, but boy was I wrong. I should’ve had faith in Quentin, who has yet to make a movie I didn’t like (though the endless dialogue scenes in “Death Proof” were pushing it, Q). This film had endless dialogue, too, but I found it mesmerizing watching a great cast (Kurt Russell, Samuel Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern and others) drive each other to the brink of murder, then drive each other way past that brink. Looked great, was consistently surprising and, as per Quentin’s usual M.O., was chock full of genuinely shocking violence. It’s long as hell, but I can’t wait to see it again.

The Arrival
Wrote about this one not long ago, so you can read more here. Smart, atmospheric and ultimately hopeful (unlike, ahem, most of the movies on this list), it’s anchored by a truly great Amy Adams performance and creates one of the most thrilling sequences I’ve seen in a long time without using any action, dramatic camera angles or high-tech special effects. (I won’t spoil it, but it’s when she makes a phone call.)

The Nice Guys
I’d heard good things about this crime comedy from writer/director Shane Black, and I was not disappointed. It’s very funny, very well-made and surprisingly sharp. It’s the sort of movie that throws you into the middle of a situation (in this case, a boy in 1970s Los Angeles looking at a model in a girlie mag, then having a car driven by that same model crash through his house) without pausing to make sure you understand what’s going on. Like our confused heroes, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, you’re expected to pay attention and try to keep up, and the effort is well worth it. So many comedies these days are sloppy, lazy affairs that it’s genuinely exciting to see something that’s this dense, packed with great jokes, fun characters and imaginatively staged action scenes. (The end result of the fight between Gosling and Keith David is one of the most memorable, most surprising things I’ve seen all year.) Definitely check this one out.

Steve Jobs
I tend to think Aaron Sorkin is more than a tad overrated, but I have to admit his screenplay for this offbeat biopic was pretty damned brilliant, especially the structure: Instead of trying to pack the Apple co-founder’s entire life into a movie, Sorkin instead focuses on three backstage scenes: Jobs getting ready to introduce the MacIntosh in 1984, Jobs getting ready to introduce the NeXT computer in 1988, and Jobs getting ready to introduce the iMac in 1996. Of course, this being a Sorkin script, there’s plenty of drama with ex-girlfriends, estranged children, angry co-workers and, in an especially Sorkinesque touch, returning mentors. It’s all beautifully done, though, with director Danny Boyle giving each era its own distinct look, and the cast – including Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jeff Daniels and a never-better Michael Fassbinder – bringing it all to life. I wish more biopics would focus on what’s interesting and leave the rest out. The result would be much better movies – movies like this one, for instance.