As 2016 draws to a close, we’re sticking to our annual tradition of appreciating our favorite geeky things from the past year. Yesterday we began by looking at some of the biggest disappointments of 2016. With the negativity out of the way, today we’re turning to the positive side of the year. We polled the Fandomania staff to find out what everyone’s favorite movies for 2016 were, and here are the results.
Captain America: Civil War
“Out of the already enormous catalog that makes up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Civil War is my favorite film. It uses the structure of a comics storyline that has become a modern classic and reshapes it in ways that feel new and exciting. It also features one of the very best fight scenes of the year and introduces what may end up being the best Spider-Man ever to grace the big screen.” – Jason Dorough
“Once again Marvel hits it out of the park with another great movie. I liked the different angle they took on the whole registration issue, and I even found myself siding more with Iron Man in this version than in the comics (for reasons that are probably too complex to go into in just a few sentences).” – Chad Walker
“I can’t say enough good things about this movie. The plot, the characters, and the effects were amazing. It was, in my opinion, one of the best Marvel films to date. Of course, loving Sebastian Stan as the Winter Solder never grows old.” – Mandi Harris
“I had been dreading the visualization of this landmark comic book event for a while because of how many bad emotions would come with it, but the movie managed to balance that with some character exploration that showed the lines of battle are not always so clearly drawn. I understood why Cap made his decisions, even if I didn’t agree with them, and I certainly understood why Tony made his. And when the bad times lingered on, at least I had hope for the future in the form of Spider-Man. Fight on, my superheroes, fight on.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Deadpool
“He’s a snarky anti-hero that cannot die, what’s not to love? The appreciation Ryan Reynolds has for this comic book character came through loud and clear, giving us a movie that is great for multiple rewatches and quotable dialogue. ‘Fourth wall break inside of a fourth wall break? That’s like… 16 walls!'” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
“Deadpool is an impressive combination of over-the-top violence and humor with the perfect amount of metanarrative that really captures the character. As great as Ryan Reynolds was (and he is great in this, don’t get me wrong), I especially loved seeing Morena Baccarin in such a different role.” – Chad Walker
“This is the best Marvel movie Fox has made, and it’s one of the best superhero movies anyone has made. I wasn’t even that big of a Deadpool fan prior to seeing the movie, but I’m now convinced that this is the role Ryan Reynolds was born to play.” – Jason Dorough
“I’ve never laughed so hard during a superhero movie. I loved how Deadpool made fun of the superhero tropes. I think the movie was like a breath of fresh air. We all needed a superhero movie that was different.” – Mandi Harris
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
“As a long time fan of Star Wars, I love how this fills in some back story / plot holes from A New Hope. I also enjoyed seeing characters who were not the ‘heroes’ of the overall story, though they were the heroes of their own story. The creators made some bold choices with this movie, and to me they paid off quite nicely.” – Chad Walker
“This is a distinctly darker Star Wars movie than we’re used to having, and while the pacing is a little uneven in the middle and all the characterization was offloaded to the Catalyst tie-in novel, there’s enough great stuff in Rogue One to make it one of my favorite movies of the year. Not to mention that it has what just might be my favorite Star Wars ending yet.” – Jason Dorough
Zootopia
“Be true to yourself and never give up on your dreams. With witty characters, an engaging storyline, and fantastic animation this movie has earned a cherished place in the history of Disney works. I’d love to see what further adventures Judy and Nick got up to on the streets of Zootopia.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
“When you go in expecting a happy-go-lucky Disney movie, and end up watching something that is low key about race relations. What a turn of events, but one I absolutely loved.” – Kendra Beltran
Ghostbusters
“As the great Taylor Swift once sang, ‘Haters gonna hate, hate, hate.’ But in all seriousness, I enjoyed this movie. Was it the original? I’ve heard no. Was it as great as Bridesmaids? Personally, no. Was it a movie I’d buy in the $5 bin? Oh hell yeah (but that’s because I only buy movies at that price). Comical, hilarious, and Kate McKinnon serving up something too real when she double fisted those guns in the end.” – Kendra Beltran
“Even though it got a lot of unneeded criticism, the Ghostbusters remake paid great respect to the original with in-jokes and cameos while also forging its own path and storyline. I would follow these fearsome women into any ghost fight, and I wouldn’t mind their eye-candy secretary hanging around either. Oh, Kevin.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Doctor Strange
“This movie was mostly lighthearted, fun, and visually stunning. I know some people have Benedict Cumberbatch exhaustion, but this film renewed my interest. The movie was highly entertaining, and I look forward to seeing more Doctor Strange.” – Mandi Harris
Don’t Breathe
“It’s not often that a horror or suspense movie really impresses me, but Don’t Breathe really grabbed me. It’s a fairly simple story about a trio of burglars trying to rob a blind man, but it goes off the rails very quickly and descends into some of the most tense and disturbing situations I saw in movies this year.” – Jason Dorough
The Legend of Tarzan
“This film was way better than I expected it to be. The storyline was great, and so were the character portrayals. I like how Tarzan cares for his family and will do anything to protect them.” – Mandi Harris
The Hateful Eight
“The first time I saw The Hateful Eight, I wasn’t crazy about it. I’ve been longing for another contemporary crime movie from Tarantino, and this one didn’t scratch that particular itch. With time, though, the movie grew on me, and I now think it’s one of the best scripts we saw all year.” – Jason Dorough
The Jungle Book
“These live action movies usually make me cringe, but this one — where is Idris Elba’s Oscar nomination for best actor because Shere Khan was absolutely, fabulously terrifying.” – Kendra Beltran
Angry Birds
“As someone who has never played the game and went in knowing nothing more than it was about a pissed off bird, it was actually hilarious and had a great message in the end. Plus, screw pigs — they are the worst!” – Kendra Beltran
The Edge of Seventeen
“It doesn’t matter how old you get, when you watch a good ass coming of age movie, you feel it. Hailee Steinfeld was golden, but one shouldn’t sleep on her costars Woody Harrelson and Blake Jenner, who stole the show in the end.” – Kendra Beltran
Me Before You
“A love story that is not going to end with the two main characters running off into the sunset together to live in happiness. Me Before You looks at the hard truths of love and letting go. Even though everything can’t always be solved by finding the one you want to spend your life with, it does help the process.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
