Author: Ian D.

When John Wick hit theaters in early-2014 it was a shock to the cinematic system.  Not only did it contain a return to form from America’s favorite savior Keanu Reeves but it was a stunning spectacle, harkening back to the real stunts of the 70’s-grindhouse era combined with Steve McQueen physicality.  It was exactly what it was and nothing more, a refreshing middle finger to the bloated slate of spandex and robot punching that pollutes our summer months.  John Wick has far more in common with The Raid than Transformers and was so much better for it.

Count me in the (I’d assume growing) faction of online critics who is rooting for the Shyamalanaissance.  The man has thrilled us in a myriad of ways over the year – whether it was seeing dead people, a seemingly unhurtable man with a calling or aliens who go bump in the night – his modern Hitchcockian yarns have been wonderful and spooky.  That said, he’s also slipped – like face on the concrete slipped. 

2016 was a year filled with momentous moments…mostly all of them horrific or just plain bad.  Surprisingly, outside of the typical summer slate of garbage – the Cineplex delivered.  To come up with a Top Ten this year was next to impossible…so I included 11.  I could’ve included 20.  So in a year that took so much at least we were given time to escape. Without further ado, the DrunkSunshine Top Ten (11):

It’s been reported leading up to the release of Silence that Martin Scorsese has been trying to get it made for roughly three decades. Hollywood’s preeminent struggling Catholic has scraped tooth and nail between projects to get this film made, to reckon with his own faith, his own doubts. It’s all at once a noble effort and one that threatens to alienate even his most ardent fans.

“Here’s to the fools who dream,” is the beautiful refrain that carries the dazzling new La La Land. It’s a simple throwback to the musicals of the 1950’s that simultaneously celebrated and revered Hollywood in all its glamour. Damien Chazelle squeezes every ounce of that nostalgia on screen through his beautiful lead actors and gloriously over-the-top song and dance numbers.