This year turned out to be a bigger year than in the last few years for me for both games and movies, though mostly movies, as there were more that I happened to be interested in seeing. As such, the following list is much longer than in previous years, to the point where I liked so many movies I split the ones I liked the most between live-action and animation. That aside, the way in which the list is presented is as normal, in that it is a collection of my favorites and disappointments of the movies and games I watched/played this year, presented in no particular order and with review links where applicable.
Top
Live-Action Movies of 2016
To put it simply, Deadpool is one of the
funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and its timing was perfect as it takes jabs at
the recent trends in superhero movies, primarily the type of movies seen in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (Note: As a 20th Century Fox movie,
Deadpool takes place in Fox’s X-Men universe, which gets a number of shout-outs).
What sets this movie apart and makes it seem fresh is that it was a smaller
movie, leading it to be a scaled-down, more personal story, plus it stays
extremely faithful to the source material in terms of character traits and
personalities while also giving it its own identity separate from the comics.
The jokes in the movie also manage to stay funny upon multiple viewings, though
to prevent it from losing its humor value, it is recommended that one savor the
experience like a fine wine.
As a sequel to the 2008 movie
Cloverfield, I wasn’t sure what to expect since the trailers made it appear
like a movie that had nothing to do with the first. What I did get out of it is
a very intense psychological thriller fueled by the superb acting ability of
John Goodman, which left me thinking about it for at least a week after initial
viewing as I tried to grasp the nuances of the narrative. The ending promises a
third Cloverfield movie, though unlike the original, this movie actually made
me want to see more.
As a prequel to the original Star Wars
movie (retroactively labeled A New Hope), Rogue One achieves what the so-called
Prequel Trilogy could not do entirely well and actually tell a meaningful story
that ties directly to the events of the Original Trilogy. The new characters
introduced in this movie are given just enough of a personality and history for
the viewer to become invested in them, and the plot of obtaining the Death Star
plans ultimately creates a very nicely-executed transition point to the
original Star Wars that makes the two movies prime material for a double
feature.
Though I had not watched the Comedy
Central series Key and Peele before seeing this movie, I thought the two actors
were really funny in Keanu, where they play cousins Clarence and Rel, who end
up having to pretend to be gangsters while attempting to recover a kitten that
happened to previously belong to a drug lord. If, like me, the adorable kitten
Keanu attracted you to watch this movie, you should stay for the laughs.
Top
Animated Movies of 2016
When I first heard about this movie, I
became intrigued by its premise and wanted to see what Disney could do with it.
As it turns out, I found myself becoming very invested in its two main
characters, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, as well as what I saw as infinite
potential for storytelling with its setting and premise. The movie notably
deals with racism in its plot, however this movie was better at addressing the
subject since it did not base itself on any real-world events and the usage of
anthropomorphic animals (with the racism angle being between “predator” and
“prey”) helped the message it was sending be more universal without feeling
forced. The movie's tie-in material helps to expand on the unique setting of the
movie, and is something I really wish to see more of in the future.
As a fan of the Ratchet & Clank
series, I was really looking forward to this movie when it was first announced.
I found this movie to have delivered a solid Ratchet & Clank story,
re-imagining the basic events of the original game with some interesting twists
and a good amount of well-executed humor. The only problem I had with this
movie was the fact that I ended up watching it in a mostly empty theater upon
release, since I found this to be a good introduction to the world of Ratchet
& Clank and a great animated movie in general. Hopefully it sees success
through the home video market.
In terms of animation, this is Laika’s
best effort to date, with many effects that will leave you wondering how they
managed to pull it all off in stop motion. In terms of story, it is one that is
very well-written and can actually get rather emotional at certain points. A
must-see for fans of stop motion and of animation in general.
Top
Games of 2016
In relation to the movie mentioned
above, this PS4 re-imagining of the original game takes Ratchet and Clank’s
origin story in an interesting new direction, both in terms of plot and
gameplay. The game takes the basic mechanics introduced in the original game
and combines them with all the best parts of more recent games, plus it has added
replay value with the introduction of card collecting. Overall, I found this
game to be far superior to the original and any prospective fan can use this
game as a good jumping-on point.
Skylanders:
Imaginators
In this year’s installment of the annual
Skylanders game series, the ability to pilot Vehicles in SuperChargers is
followed up with the highly-requested ability to create your very own
Skylanders, known as Imaginators, achieved via special Creation Crystals. While
this sounds really amazing, my only hesitation with actually creating a
Skylander in the game is the fact that, while you have to select 1 of 10 Battle
Classes before creating an Imaginator, the choice of Battle Class is applied
permanently and cannot be undone without somehow resetting the Crystal
(thankfully, the internet has found workarounds that don’t require buying a
whole other Crystal). That aside, the game is a great improvement over previous
entries, with a huge world to explore and a great deal of replay value in the
collectible Imaginator Parts and Chests, in addition to the amount of
customization options presented in creating Imaginators. The creation option is,
at the time of this writing, also available as its own app, Skylanders Creator,
allowing you to experiment freely with the customization options available and
also purchase 3-D printed figures, trading cards, and T-shirts displaying your custom Imaginator. Hopefully the
future of Skylanders shines bright.
Ori
and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Admittedly, what got me curious about
this game was the art direction, as well as the praise that it had gotten.
Sometime after its initial release, I heard about a physical edition, released
as the Definitive Edition, and so waited until then (partially so I could have
an excuse to use my Xbox One). While this was one of a handful of Metroidvania
titles that I ended up playing this year, I found the gameplay to be
interesting, though I learned the hard way that certain abilities were required
in certain sections of the world, and I was well invested in the story until
the end. From my understanding, the Definitive Edition includes some additional
features to the base game that make it easier to play through, although the
original release is also included with the Definitive Edition for those that
are curious (plus it comes with a physical CD of the soundtrack).
Yo-kai
Watch 2: Fleshy Souls
I became a fan of Yo-kai Watch, about
spirits that affect people’s lives by inspiriting them, through the anime
airing on Disney XD (at the time of this writing), and so became somewhat
interested in the game. Though I have not completed the main story at the time
of this writing (I have gone through a good majority of it), I was able to get
into it since I had previously seen Yo-kai Watch: The Movie, for which this
game and its counterpart, Bony Spirits, are the source material. That aside, the
game has an interesting combat system, involving a party of 6 Yo-kai split
between front and back rows, and the Yo-kai themselves are fairly memorable due
to each one having their own personality.
Top
Disappointments of 2016
This movie is what you get when you hype
up a sequel to Man of Steel and take too long to get it off the ground. The
pacing was extremely slow to the point where I was constantly checking my watch
every 10 minutes, plus it was difficult to follow along with what was happening
since it seemed like the plots of 2 or 3 other movies were crammed into one in
an attempt to establish the idea of the DC Extended Universe. Incidentally, the
actual fight that was hyped up all this time only lasts for 10 minutes within the
last 30 minutes of the movie and with absolutely no payoff, making me feel like
I had essentially wasted my time. There are hints of what’s to come in the DC
Extended Universe, which I want to all be better than this movie.
While certainly an improvement over
Batman v Superman, it’s really not saying that much in the grand scheme of
things. This movie felt as though DC and Warner Brothers were trying to copy
the successful Guardians of the Galaxy, by developing a more ragtag group of
characters to the tune of older music against a theoretically more
light-hearted story, and falling short of that endeavor. Whereas Guardians
succeeded in developing all five of its main characters enough to where you
understood who those characters were, Suicide Squad only really focused on
Harley Quinn and Deadshot most of the time, plus the editing of the movie makes
its events really hard to follow (not to mention scenes involving the Joker
don’t really have much of a payoff). My only hope is that the first 3 installments
of the DC Extended Universe so far, including this one, do not set a permanent
precedent of the rest of the franchise.
Unlike Ratchet & Clank, I came into
this movie as a non-fan hoping the story would be able to stand on its own, and
also because it was directed by Duncan Jones (son of the late David Bowie), and
I left rather disappointed. While I can agree that it looks accurate to the
games (from what I have seen of them), the plot requires you to have prior
knowledge of Warcraft lore to able to follow along, plus I found myself getting
lost with all the unusual character names (some of which get somewhat obscured
by prop Orc teeth) as well as the Orcs generally looking rather similar to each
other. In short, if you are looking for a good introduction to Warcraft lore
that doesn’t just drop you in the middle of everything, look elsewhere.
Ice
Age: Collision Course
If you ever needed evidence that the Ice
Age franchise has been running for too long, this movie would be it. I will
admit I felt a little confused by a sudden increase in characters because I
managed to skip the fourth installment, Continental Drift, however even with
that, I could not get into the inherent wackiness of this particular movie,
partially because of its odd pacing and the out-of-place references to modern
times, as though there wasn’t much thought put into delivering a good story
(not to mention the weird focus on jokes involving male nipples). The only
reason to watch this movie is for Scrat, and even then, it still had me wishing
the plot-important meteor would actually hit the Earth and finally end the Ice
Age.
Since animation studio Illumination made
the great Despicable Me, the original movie so far being the best the
franchise, I wanted to like this movie despite what the trailers had shown (not
to mention their overuse of “Bounce” by System of a Down). Rather
disappointingly, all of the potentially good moments in the movie were in said
trailers, and my enthusiasm for those moments waned due to overuse in
advertising, plus the story is essentially a rehash of Toy Story, except with
animals in place of children’s toys (Toy Story also did it better). Not seen in
the trailers, the movie also gets surprisingly dark at times, which justifies
(and possibly stretches) the PG rating. I want success for the studio’s
upcoming Despicable Me 3, though I’m also a bit on the fence about watching Sing
after having seen Pets.
Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
As a recent convert to Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles via the IDW Publishing comic, it was really nice to see how well
TMNT artist Mateus Santalouco’s art style was able to translate to 3D, and
combined with the writing and voice acting felt like seeing the comic come to
life. While the gameplay itself was actually pretty interesting, including the
ability to switch between the four turtles at will, the main thing that makes
this a disappointment is that, compared to the prior Platinum game
Transformers: Devastation, this game felt like it was a bit short on the story
side and it didn’t feel like it had much replay value outside the main story
and the ability to collect comic book covers. For what it is though, the ride
is fun while it lasts.
Honorable
Mentions
Seasons
after Fall
As with Ori and the Blind Forest, this
is a game where the main draw for me was the art direction, as well as, in this
case, the core gameplay mechanic of being able to control the four Seasons to
solve puzzles. Not only did this game deliver on both fronts, it also presented
a rather interesting mythos involving the way the Seasons work in-universe.
Though it did get a little difficult at times, mainly in finding whatever was
required for 100% story completion, I still had a good time playing this game.
Stories:
The Path of Destinies
Another game where I was attracted to
the art direction, what I got was a hack-and-slash containing elements of a
choose-your-own adventure book, where you have to play through the game enough
times to figure out the Truths within the narrative and be able to get the best
ending. The gameplay does admittedly get a bit repetitive after a while,
however it is worth exploring each level as much as you can, plus I got very
invested in the story and wanted to see how it would all actually play out. For
those like me that prefer physical media, it has been released as a physical
game disc for PC by way of a partnership between Indiebox and GameTrust,
GameStop’s new game publishing arm.
