griggs's - Favourite 2016 Films List
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Embrace of the Serpent (2015)El abrazo de la serpiente
Karamakate, a warrior shaman and last of his tribe, transcends the worlds of men and seeks truth through their dreams. He alone knows how to find the mysterious and psychedelic Yakruna plant; for some it has life-saving properties, for others it is a commodity waiting to be exploited. Two scientists, in two different times enlist Karamakate on their individual quests in an epic adventure into the heart of the Colombian Amazon to find this mythical plant. This Oscar nominated film is seen through Karamakates eyes and bears witness to the effects of colonialism, religion and the exploitation of rubber on indigenous traditions and the environment to which they arc inextricably linked. - Director:
- Ciro Guerra
- Cast:
- Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar
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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)The Cellar
After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in a survivalist's (John Goodman) underground bunker. He claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable. But, as his increasingly suspicious actions lead her to question his motives, she'll have to escape in order to discover the truth. - Director:
- Dan Trachtenberg
- Cast:
- Bradley Cooper, John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
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The Witch (2015)The VVitch: A New-England Folktale
New England, 1630: William (Ralph Ineson) and Katherine (Kate Dickie) lead a devout Christian life with their five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their new-born son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. 'The Witch' is a chilling portrait of a family unrevelling within their own fears and anxieties, leaving them prey to an inescapable evil. - Director:
- Robert Eggers
- Cast:
- Anya Taylor-Joy, Wahab Chaudhry, Ralph Ineson
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Arrival (2016)Story of Your Life
When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are brought together to investigate. As nations struggle to coordinate a response, mankind teeters on the verge of global war, leaving Banks and the team in a race against time for answers - and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity's very existence. - Director:
- Denis Villeneuve
- Cast:
- Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
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Son of Saul (2015)Saul Fia
Saul Auslander (Géza Röhrig) is a member of the Sonderkommando, the Jewish prisoners forced to assist in the machinery of the Nazi concentration camps. While at work, he discovers the body of a boy he recognises as his son. As the Sonderkommando plan a rebellion, Saul vows to carry out an impossible task: to save the child's body from the flames and to find a rabbi to offer the boy a proper burial. - Director:
- László Nemes
- Cast:
- Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn
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Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), son of deceased world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, has boxing in his blood. Looking to win his own title, Adonis heads to Philadelphia and convinces his father's rival-turned-friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), to train him - even as Rocky battles his own deadly opponent outside the ring. Now Adonis has a shot, but first he must develop the heart of a true fighter in this new chapter of the 'Rocky' story from critically acclaimed director Ryan Coogler. - Director:
- Ryan Coogler
- Cast:
- Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
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In the sublime new film from Jim Jarmusch, Adam Driver gives a career-best performance as Paterson, a bus driver in the New Jersey city of the same name. He's also a poet, recording his daily observations and thoughts into a notebook. Paterson thrives on routine: he drives his bus route, he goes home for dinner with his wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), he walks his dog, he visits his local bar for one beer. By contrast Laura's world is ever-changing, with new projects and ideas striking her daily. The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details. - Director:
- Jim Jarmusch
- Cast:
- Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Nellie
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From acclaimed director Ken Loach comes this astonishing story of triumph and adversity in modern day Britain. Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) has worked as a joiner for most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) who is battling to keep her two young children fed. Daniel and Katie find themselves in a no-man's land, striving to pull themselves out of the welfare bureaucracy of modern day Britain. - Director:
- Ken Loach
- Cast:
- Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Sharon Percy
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Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a husband, father and successful motivation speaker, is crippled by the mundanity of his life. On yet another business trip he checks into a clinically commonplace hotel once more. But this time a chance meeting with Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an unassuming, small-town sales rep, throws the dullness into disarry and Michael feels he may have actually met someone who can make a change. From the mind of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and animation master Duke Johnson comes "Anomalisa", a tender, touching and achingly funny black comedy, filmed entirely in extraordinary stop motion animation. - Director:
- Duke Johnson
- Cast:
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Thewlis, Tom Noonan
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Hold onto your chimichangas, folks. From the studio that brought you all 3 taken films comes "Deadpool", the block-busting, fourth-wall-breaking masterpiece about Marvel Comics' sexiest anti-hero: Me! Go deep inside (I love that) my origin story...typical stuff... rogue experiment, accelerated healing powers, horrible disfigurement, Red Spandex, imminent revenge. - Director:
- Tim Miller
- Cast:
- Ryan Reynolds, Stefan Kapicic, Morena Baccarin
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