Movie Review: La La Land

Vibrant. Joyful. Spellbinding. Not going to lie, the premise of La La Land was relatively familiar and decidedly generic, but the film masterfully made it into something else entirely thanks to the stunning performances of both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling - both portrayed their role with such aplomb. On a technical standpoint, the film was on point. The music was beautiful and well-placed, the editing was good, the direction was impeccable, and the cinematography was just breathtaking. Oh, and that ending tugged right at the heart. La La Land was a brilliantly conceived cinematic experience that's charming, hopeful, and heartbreaking all at once. Whatever yoi do, find this movie. See it! 9.5

DAM NATION Year-End List: 10 Worst Movies of 2016

Now that we've looked at the Best Films of 2016, we like to turn the spotlight on the worst. This year has had its fair share of films that fizzled faster than we expected and it's time to look back at the movies that didn't just disappoint, but caused us the most pain. Haha.

And just like my "best" list, it’s not physically and financially possible for me to go and watch ALL films that were released this year, so you may not find some of the garbage here.

Read on to see what made the shortlists and let us know in the comments what made yours.

DAM NATION Year-End List: 20 Best Movies of 2016

Like every year, 2016 seems to have gone by far too quickly. But, like almost every year, 2016 was filled to the brim with a couple of great movies. From moving dramas to the usual big summer blockbusters, and endless movie franchises, DAM NATION had its work cut out sifting through all the diverse, and downright good films of 2016.

One thing though, it’s not physically and financially possible for me to go and watch ALL films that were released this year, so you may not find some of them here. And yes, I regret to say that I haven't seen the other early Oscar favorites, so again, you will not see them on this list.

Read on to see what made the shortlists and let us know in the comments what made yours.

Movie Review: Doctor Strange

If Marvel has any weakness, it is that they have no freaking clue how to make a bad film - the Man of Steel kind of terrible. I mean, with Doctor Strange, they amazingly extended the streak of successes that stretched all the way back to the original Iron Man. Quite frankly, I was expecting some heavy handed combination of outlandish special effects masking a superficial and convoluted story with two-dimensional characters, but instead, I was treated to an actual well-acted, well-crafted story with actual character development within the framework of a compelling plot. The casting was excellent. All of the actors fit into their roles in ways that transcend the normal Marvel movie. Benedict Cumberbatch, in particular, brought smugness, sincerity, and charisma to the role that I don't think many actor could have pulled off. I thought the action sequences were fine and the visual imagery and effects employed were outstanding. Doctor Strange was, to me, an appealing Marvel movie. It had enough moments of pizzazz to intermittently soar, and while not perfect, this was an excellent introduction to the character. 9

Movie Review: Train To Busan

Who knew? I seriously came into the cinema not knowing what to expect, but Train To Busan delivered on all fronts. In many ways, this film shared in common the pandemic tales of I Am Legend, Contagion, or even World War Z, but somehow, this came off more as a thriller than an actual horror. I found it refreshing that the film didn't rely heavily on gross out murders and graphic blood spattered effects, but still maintaining a terrific balance of suspense, terror, and drama. The screenplay moved on fast without losing the tension, the direction and narrative worked seamlessly together, the main characters had a vast amount of charisma, and visually, the film was superb - the cinematography, editing, and graphics were quite stellar. Train To Busan wasn't, by any means, perfect, but it was none the less a thrilling must see for any zombie and Korean story fan. It's zombie with a heart. Heh. 9

Movie Review: The Shallows

I don't usually take shark movies seriously, but The Shallows was just wickedly good. The tight narrative was simple, but managed to give the film some sense of urgency creating a consistent pacing and the the tension building progressively was incredibly impressive. I also thought the decision to have a bit of a background about the lead character was good as it held my interest and allowed me to connect with her. That, of course, worked mostly with Blake Lively's superb performance. She had a considerable charm and surprisingly convincing acting chops to carry the entire film by herself. I thought she gave the performance of her life after she single handedly demonstrated her great acting range as she took me through a wide variety of emotions from calm, to desperate, to terrified. The Shallows wasn't a game changer by any means, but it did exactly what it needed to do, and that's a shark movie I never knew that I needed. 8.5

Movie Review: Suicide Squad

Given how fantastic the trailer was, I felt like it was impossible not to feel some hype for Suicide Squad. No, the film arguably fell a little short of what it could've been, but it wasn't as bad as some critics made it out to be. Sure, the plot needed to be a lot tighter, the pacing was annoyingly problematic - the flashy montages and exposition at the beginning went on way too long that and as soon as something happened, the film just decided to skip ahead and left the others as one dimensional characters - and Cara Delevingne as the villain was hysterically awful, but that's not to say that there was no redeeming qualities to the film. Margot Robbie, for one, was every bit as good as I hoped for. I thought that visually, the film looked good and the special effects were on par with other films under this genre. The action sequences were also pretty strong if a bit repetitive and while the soundtrack felt a little forced in parts, it still came off fresher than usual. Suicide Squad wasn't as bad as Fantastic Four, and it was still pretty entertaining, but it somehow felt like an OK movie. They really need Wonder Woman to be something special to pull this universe out of this state of just being "Ok". 7

Movie Review: Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond was ambitious and thematically convoluted than it's predecessor, but it was still a great action romp that has plenty of thrills and spills. The acting was great all around, the direction and cinematography were brilliant, the screenplay was great, and the characters were incredibly well written and developed. The visuals were, of course, quite impeccable, the shots were immaculately composed, and the scoring was genius. Star Trek Beyond didn't go to new territories as much as the first two films, but I cheered at the spectacle of the action scenes, laughed at the jokes, and was just thoroughly entertained. The first rebooted Star Trek film was tough one to beat, but this almost came close. 8.5

Movie Review: Ghostbusters

I went in skeptical, and came out pleasantly thrilled. Nothing will ever replace the original for me, but I wouldn't let that stop myself from enjoying the reboot of Ghostbusters for what it was, and yes, it was insanely entertaining. The ladies were great - Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones were particularly sensational - the chemistry between actresses worked wonderfully, and the humor though almost slapstick at times was stupidly funny. The visual effects were great and just cartoonish enough to walk the line between fun and convincing, and some of the action sequences were riveting. That smoke scene at the end were, arguably, one of the most delightfully well-time sequences I've seen this year. This version of Ghostbusters was thematically and tonally different from the original, but it made for a fresh take on the series. No, it wasn't perfect as I felt the writing could've been a lot more tighter, but just the sheer joy I had watching it made up for it. 8.5

Movie Review: Independence Day: Resurgence

Absolute nonsense. I knew that Independence Day: Resurgence wouldn't be anything revolutionary, but I wasn't expecting it to be this lame. Seriously. The writing was lazy and not well thought out, the characters were way too bland that I had no reason to care about any of them, the ending felt like an afterthought, and the visual effects, though epic in scale, came off surprisingly average. The biggest problem it had though was the hackneyed story. Don't get me wrong. I'm personally not entirely big on the story line when it comes to major blockbusters that put emphasis on visuals - as long as it accomplished what it sets out to be - but I genuinely felt like I was cheated when I left the cinema. Haha. Just look at it this way, Will Smith avoided this sequel and, I guess, you should too. 3

Movie Review: Finding Dory

I have a lot of love for Pixar and the joy their films bring with their brilliant and ground breaking original stories, but sequels (or prequels) save for Toy Story were mostly underwhelming at best and with the studio recently mining old successful franchises for new ideas, a sequel for my absolute favorite Finding Nemo had me worried. No, Finding Dory didn't reach the same emotional heights as some of the best Pixar films and the story was relatively generic, but I still found it to be extremely entertaining, full of great visuals as it exploded with color and variety and beautiful animation. The chemistry between the characters were palpable, the voice acting were top class, and the humor was spot on. While this was not revolutionary nor Pixar's best, Finding Dory was still quite solid. It's a sequel geared towards the whole family that was sort of light on heart, but engaging enough and a lot better than most cynically churned out sequels. 8

Movie Review: Now You See Me 2

Bigger, but not necessarily better. Sure, Now You See Me 2 was still charming, energetic, and good-natured fun, but it was also loaded with plot holes and contrivances that pulled me slightly out of the film. I found the plot too complex to follow at times - that thin line between reality and magic was gone - and the pacing was a little problematic as well as the predictable ending. All that being said, the film as a whole was generally satisfying and the characters - other than the annoying Woody Harrelson's twin - were well-written. I was even shocked that I enjoyed Lizzy Caplan as Isla Fisher's replacement. Now You See Me 2 wasn't as good as its predecessor and it's far from being an eternal masterpiece, but it had its moments and it was nevertheless a fascinating look into the world of magic. 6.5

Movie Review: X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse may not be as good as First Class or Days of Future Past, but I interestingly didn't feel disappointed all that much either. The film covered familiar themes with a fairly solid narrative and impressively strong cast, but the pacing felt clunky as it took a lot of time to set things up and the struggle to find its tone and focus was noticeable. The writing was also a tad uneven especially Apocalypse's dialogue, which at times were reduced to a bunch of cliches. The excellent cast made the material work though. Michael Fassbender was outstanding adding a great deal of pain and tragedy to his character. James McAvoy and Sophie Turner were also pretty terrific, as well as Evan Peters who stole the show once again with Quicksilver. Of course, the visuals were good and that's already a given. Was X-Men: Apocalypse a reboot? A sequel to a prequel? A final chapter to a trilogy? I don't know, but it was, on it's own, a decent X-Men film. 7

Movie Review: Captain America: Civil War

I went into Captain America: Civil War with unfairly gargantuan expectations, and somehow, the film managed to exceed all of them, which is rare in the realm of tiring sequels and lazy remakes. The narrative was simple but tightly focused, the script sparked up the exposition with some sparkling dialogue, and the characters were very well defined. It was astoundingly impressive how the film managed to fit in so many 'big' characters into one film and yet it never felt unbalanced and convoluted - there was a fluid coherence to everything that was quite striking. On a technical standpoint, the film, as expected, was beyond reproach from the flawless visual effects down to the spectacularly choreographed action sequences. Captain America: Civil War was an absurdly entertaining action spectacle that may just be, bar none, the best superhero movie ever! This made me do something increasingly rare in these over-franchised times - root for a sequel. Ha. 10

Movie Review: The Huntsman: Winter's War

No, The Hunstman: Winter's War was far from being a great movie, but it remained to be a perfectly watchable one. The visual imagery was exquisite, the cinematography was glorious, the costume design was stunningly beautiful, some of the fight choreography looked awesome, and Charlize Theron was absolutely crazy majestic. The film somehow overreached though as the story departed more radically from the context of the classic, but I also can't deny that the concept to turn this fairy tale into a straightforward fantasy-adventure was strangely appealing. If only the execution of the plot was handled better and not rely heavily on lame genre tropes, the movie would've had a stronger emotional foothold. The Hunstman: Winter's War may be flawed and somewhat disjointed, but it was aesthetically confident and quite entertaining. That is all. 7

Movie Review: The Jungle Book

I generally don't find The Jungle Book appealing - so yes, I had to drag myself just to watch the film - but this totally made me change my mind. The Jungle Book has to be one of the most immersive, fun, and visually stunning movies I've seen in recent memory. No, it didn't break any grounds and the film was not without its flaws, but there was magic in this rework. I thought the film was outstanding in laying down the groundwork of its narrative, the character development was impeccable, the voice acting sounded terrific, Neel Sethi who played Mowgli was sensational, and of course, the visuals were beyond reproach creating a splendid world with superbly rendered details. The Jungle Book wasn't really meant to transcend the material, but it was a delightful romp with a strong theme and a lot of charm. 9.5 

Movie Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Dark. Twisted. Intense. I was genuinely skeptical with the whole film taking place mostly inside a bunker with only three characters to latch on, but 10 Cloverfield Lane was so immensely involving and intense that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The context of the movie was solid, the emotions were tangible, the mystery was arresting, and John Goodman was diabolically deranged. Also, the immersive nature of the cinematography was fantastic as it reinforced the isolation within the confines of the setting. True, the strange final act was a tad disappointing that it somehow pulled me away from the narrative, but I digress. 10 Cloverfield Lane had everything to be a terrible film, but other than the ending, it turned out to be a solid premise backed by an effective if a bit uneven screenplay and outstanding acting performances. 8

Movie Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Where to even begin? Quite frankly, I didn't expect much from the film given how it was universally panned by critics, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn't entirely awful. Far from it, actually. The visual effects, as expected, were absolutely impressive, the action sequences weren't too heavy-handed and mind-numbing enough to put Michael Bay to shame like Man of Steel, and that final act was riveting. The performances were also uniformly good. Henry Cavill was still pretty charismatic and while I had reservations with Ben Affleck as the new Batman, I thought he pulled it off quite nicely. It was Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman though that had me squealing like a fangirl. Haha. All that being said, the film certainly had its fair share of problems. The plot, for one, was too cluttered that it felt like it didn't know if it wanted to be a political action thriller or a Justice League setup. The pacing was terrible - the first half was hard to pass by and it grew tiring long before the climax kicked in because it was just too much of everything - the editing felt choppy, and Lex Luthor was perplexing to say the least. Clearly, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was heavily flawed, lacking laser sharp focus and was too ambitious to a fault, but still a solid piece of entertainment. 7

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 3

Not going to lie, I expected Kung Fu Panda 3 to be a half-witted sequel playing on the same jokes over and over again - how many of this can you make given the premise? - but I was extremely surprised at how well this film turned out. Yes, the story was nothing new and basically a derivative of some of the film we've seen before, but I don't think it mattered. The animation was very vibrant and energetic, the comedy was bigger and broader than before, and the voice performances were spot on. Simply put, Kung Fu Panda 3 was a great sequel. Nothing was lost in terms of appeal, luster and charm, and while it was  clearly in the same vein as the original and a plot line that was all too familiar, this animated film built on it as any good follow-up should do and altered just enough to make it feel fresh. 8

Movie Review: Allegiant

Allegiant was the final book of The Divergent Series - unnecessarily cut into two movies - that I did not feel for, root for, relate to, or enjoy from start to finish. Why? Because I have already watched this type of movie before, just far, far better than this series crapped out. The story was strikingly convoluted that I was more confused here than I was with both Interstellar and Inception. The action sequences were mediocre at best, the suspense were half baked, and the acting performances were mostly uninspired. True, it was visually stunning for the most part, but even that did not add enough value to the film. Not that I expecting anything extraordinary from Allegiant - believe me, my expectations were really low - but it seriously felt like torture sitting through the entire film. Pfft. 3