My Favorite Films of 2016

1. La La Land (My husband and I have seen it three times and we can't wait to see it again.) 

My husband's blog post about La La Land

2. Paterson (David and I have seen it twice and can't wait to see it again.)

3. Neruda (I saw this film in early November. Months later, I am still thinking about it. Films that leave me thinking about them months and years later, are what I am after.)

4. Elle (Isabelle Huppert, the world's greatest actress)

5. Batman v Superman (to the haters, pbbbbbbtfffff. It's not a Marvel movie nor should it have to be and I really wish that some of you would stop comparing them.)

6. Arrival (another film that we saw twice.)

7. Doctor Strange

8. Neon Demon

 

9. Cemetery of Splendor

 

10. Rogue One

11. Cameraperson (this really should have been nominated for an Oscar.)

A Very Short List of Films I have not seen yet but hope to do so soon (there are more that aren't on this list but these are the ones that come to mind.)

Things to Come

Zootopia

The Red Turtle

Kubo and the Two Strings

The Salesman

One More Time With Feeling

My husband's blog post about a poster that we won pretty much sums up 2016 for us. 

It was a roller coaster of a year because of his health problems. Yet, it was a stellar year in film for us. 

February through July had David in and out of hospitals, doctors' offices and in bed. What kept him sane was film, which has always been his passion. When we were able, we took full advantage of living where we live (La La Land) to see many (if not all) of the above films with either the director or cast in attendance for Q and A's. Thankfully, most were free (even though that translates to time spent standing in line and thankfully, most of the time spent paid off with some film gems that will forever stay with us.)

Seeing the crew and cast talk about their work adds another layer to the film and only enriches our journey. We were lucky to see what we saw last year and to have met the people that we met. More importantly, we were extremely lucky that my husband was given (and is still being given) much needed medical care. and that these little shimmers of light projected on a screen continue to enrich our lives especially in a year in which we so badly needed them. And they say that magic doesn't exist...