Matt's Blog

Brisbane Film Critics Select 'La La Land' As Best Of 2016

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Since 2011, I have been pulling together a list of the best movies of the year according to the Brisbane-based critics who I run into regularly at preview screenings.  Those films to have topped prior year lists have been Drive in 2011, Argo in 2012, Gravity in 2013, Boyhood in 2014, and Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.

To come up with an overall top 10, I’ve used a simple points system and applied it to the list of each critic. It is as follows:
  3 points – the top film on each list.
  2 points – the films ranked between 2nd and 5th on each list.
  1 point – the films ranked between 6th and 10th on each list.


If two films finished on the same score, the film that appeared on the most number of top 10 lists is ranked higher (as an indication of wider approval).

This year's winner was clear cut.  La La Land was the top ranked film of 5 different critics and featured on 8 of the 10 top ten lists.  It remains the frontrunner for the Academy Awards in February.

Only 3 other films appeared on at least 50% of the critics' lists.  Arrival took second place with Spotlight and Nocturnal Animals also having strong support.

This year's top 10 list included a broad mix of genres.  Making the cut were two American horror films (Green Room and The Witch), a New Zealand comedy (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and a French thriller (Elle). 

On that note, here are the top 10 movies of 2016 according to Brisbane critics…
 
Brisbane Film Critics - Top 10 Of 2016
  1. La La Land
2. Arrival
3. Spotlight
4. Nocturnal Animals
5. Carol
6. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
7. Green Room
8. The Witch
9. Room
10. Elle
10. I, Daniel Blake

You can view a table of all the votes and final scores by clicking here.

A big thanks to all the critics who were able to contribute. Hopefully we'll do it again next year!

You can check out information on all the Brisbane critics (along with their choices for the best and worst of 2016) below.
 

 

Matthew ToomeyMatthew Toomey

Born in Brisbane, Matt Toomey was introduced to the world of cinema when he landed a job at a video store fresh out of high school in 1995. A few years later, he started his own website and reviewed movies regularly on a community radio station. In 2005, he joined the team at 612ABC and can be heard reviewing the latest releases every Thursday morning. He can also be heard weekly on regional ABC throughout Queensland.

Website: www.thefilmpie.com
Twitter: @ToomeyMatt
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. Brooklyn
2. Spotlight
3. Sing Street
4. Anomalisa
5. Nocturnal Animals
6. The First Monday in May
7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
8. Truman
9. Embrace of the Serpent
10. I, Daniel Blake
 
 
Best Australian Film:
The Daughter
Best Animated Film:
Anomalisa
Best Documentary:
The First Monday in May
Best Performance:
Saiorse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Worst Film:
David Brent: Life on the Road
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Bad Moms
Brooklyn

 

Sarah WardSarah Ward

Sarah Ward is a freelance film critic, arts writer, and film festival organiser. She is the Australia-based critic for Screen International, a film reviewer and feature writer for ArtsHub, the weekend editor and a senior writer for Concrete Playground, and a contributor to SBS, Metro Magazine, and Screen Education. Her work has been published by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Junkee, Lumina, Senses of Cinema, Broadsheet, Televised Revolution, and the World Film Locations book series. Sarah is also the editor of Trespass Magazine, and a film and TV critic for ABC radio Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast.

Websites: www.artshub.com.au
www.trespassmag.com
www.concreteplayground.com
http://www.sbs.com.au/guide/person/sarah-ward
http://www.screendaily.com/sarah-ward/1100859.contributor
Twitter: @swardplay
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. La La Land
2. American Honey
3. Carol
4. The Wailing
5. Midnight Special
6. Arrival
7. Goldstone
8. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
9. The Neon Demon
10. Your Name
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. Tori Erdmann
2. Things to Come
3. Jackie
4. Manchester by the Sea
5. Kedi
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Goldstone
Best Animated Film:
Your Name
Best Documentary:
Weiner
Best Performance:
Adam Driver (Paterson)
Worst Film:
Mother's Day
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Nerve
La La Land

 

Baz McAlisterBaz McAlister

Baz McAlister is deputy night editor at The Courier-Mail. A blow-in from the wilds of Northern Ireland, he started watching horror films at the age of ten and never fully recovered.

Website: bazmcalister.wordpress.com
Twitter: @bazmcalister
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. La La Land
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3. Hell or High Water
4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
5. Arrival
6. 10 Cloverfield Lane
7. Don't Breathe
8. Greenroom
9. I, Daniel Blake
10. Deadpool
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Hacksaw Ridge
Best Animated Film:
Moana
Best Performance:
Amy Adams (Arrival)
Worst Film:
Suicide Squad
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates
La La Land

 

Garry WilliamsGarry Williams

Garry Williams is a reviewer for Film Club, a radio program broadcast on 4ZZZ (102.1FM) each Thursday from 6-7pm.

Website: 4zzzfm.org.au/program/film-club
Twitter: n/a
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. Captain Fantastic
2. Spotlight
3. The Big Short
4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
5. La La Land
6. Captain America: Civil War
7. The Revenant
8. Everybody Wants Some
9. Snowden
10. Midnight Special
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. The Stooges: Gimme Danger
2. Lantouri
3. Lo and Behold
4. National Bird
5. Alice in Earnestland
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Goldstone
Best Animated Film:
Anomalisa
Best Documentary:
Where to Invade Next
Best Performance:
Amy Adams (Arrival)
Worst Film:
American Honey
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
La La Land
Captain Fantastic

 

David EdwardsDavid Edwards

David Edwards is the editor and film critic for The Blurb, a website that provides the latest news and reviews for arts entertainment in Australia.

Website: www.theblurb.com.au
Twitter: @TheBlurbMag
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. Carol
2. La La Land
3. The Witch
4. Nocturnal Animals
5. Arrival
6. Kubo and the Two Strings
7. Hail, Caesar!
8. The Nice Guys
9. Cafe Society
10. Zootopia
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. Land of Mine
2. Personal Shopper
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Goldstone
Best Animated Film:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Documentary:
Weiner
Best Performance:
Amy Adams (Arrival)
Worst Film:
Suicide Squad
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
10 Cloverfield Lane
Carol

 

Peter GrayPeter Gray

Peter Gray is a Brisbane based freelance entertainment writer specialising in film. Currently the entertainment reporter/film reviewer for QNews, Queensland’s largest LGBT publication, and regular contributor to Hush Hush Biz, The Iris and This is Film.

Website: hushhushbiz.com
qnews.com.au
Twitter: @ratedPDG
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. La La Land
2. Nocturnal Animals
3. The Revenant
4. Room
5. Arrival
6. Elle
7. The Hateful Eight
8. Spotlight
9. The Jungle Book
10. Green Room
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. Personal Shopper
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. Hush
4. Z for Zachariah
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Goldstone
Best Animated Film:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Documentary:
Justin Timberlake & the Tennessee Kids
Best Performance:
Jacob Tremblay (Room)
Worst Film:
Zoolander 2
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
The Shallows
La La Land

 

Michael DaltonMichael Dalton

Websites: http://www.tommagazine.com.au/
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. 45 Years
2. Elle
3. Arrival
4. Paterson
5. The Witch
6. Eye in the Sky
7. Nocturnal Animals
8. Julieta
9. Ouija: Origin of Evil
10. Trumbo
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. Krishna
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. De Palma
 
 
Best Animated Film:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Documentary:
Tab Hunter Confidential
Best Performance:
Isabelle Huppert (Elle) & Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Worst Film:
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Deepwater Horizon
45 Years

 

Dave CreweDave Crewe

Freelance film critic with a fondness for arthouse and schlock in roughly equal measure. Founding editor of ccpopculture, and freelances for SBS Movies, Junkee, Metro Magazine and Screen Education, amongst others.

Website: ccpopculture.com
Twitter: @dacrewe
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. La La Land
2. I, Daniel Blake
3. Green Room
4. Sherpa
5. Hail, Caesar! 
6. Spotlight
7. Love & Friendship
8. Nocturnal Animals
9. Elle
10. Room
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. Personal Shopper
2. The Childhood of a Leader
3. Lost and Beautiful (Belle e Perduta)
4. The World of Us (U-ri-duel)
5. In Jackson Heights
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Hounds of Love & Hacksaw Ridge
Best Animated Film:
Your Name
Best Documentary:
Sherpa
Best Performance:
Kirin Kiri (After the Storm)
Worst Film:
Zoolander 2
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Swiss Army Man & Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land

 

Ella DonaldElla Donald

Ella Donald is a student and freelance journalist and film critic. Writing professionally since she was 15, her first job was co-owning Fashion of Glee, a site which garnered worldwide press and acclaim from publications like Elle and fashion houses like Kate Spade, and was profiled by Tumblr. Always having too much to write about, her work has appeared in publications globally including Little White Lies, Kill Your Darlings, SBS Sexuality, 4:3, and bMag, as well as on her own blog Monumental Pictures; writing about film, TV, pop culture, dance, and other areas of the arts. She was a participant of the Critics Campus at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

Website: elladonaldwriter.wordpress.com
Twitter: @_pingus
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. Carol
2. La La Land
3. American Honey
4. Mustang
5. High Rise
6. Green Room
7. Spotlight
8. Maggie's Plan
9. The Neon Demon
10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
 
 
Top Unreleased Films:
1. 13th
2. Lemonade
3. Manchester by the Sea
4. Chevalier
5. Our Little Sister
 
 
Best Australian Film:
Girl Asleep
Best Animated Film:
Moana & Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Documentary:
13th
Best Performance:
Rooney Mara & Cate Blanchett (Carol), Royalty Hightower (The Fits), Riley Keough (American Honey), Ralph Fiennes (A Bigger Splash)
Worst Film:
Demolition
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
The Nice Guys
Carol

 

Shayne GrieveShayne Grieve

Shayne currently teaches Film and TV at Grace Lutheran College and tries to justify all his cinema visits as professional development.

Website: www.thisisfilm.com
Twitter: @_thisisfilm
 
 
Top 10 Released Films:
1. La La Land
2. Room
3. The Hateful Eight
4. The Witch
5. Arrival
6. Green Room
7. Son of Saul
8. Anomalisa
9. Hell or High Water
10. Spotlight
 
 
Best Animated Film:
Zootopia
Best Documentary:
Sherpa
Best Performance:
Jacob Tremblay (Room)
Worst Film:
Ben-Hur
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Swiss Army Man
La La Land