“Everybody Wants Some″ and “Sing Street”: The Best of the First Third of 2016

Wow! Is the year moving quickly or is it just me? With it now being May, we’ve officially finished up with the first third of the calendar. As such, I wanted to once again highlight the best of the year so far, consisting of my top ten and various awards for 2016 to date. Much like last time around, when I did the first quarter of the year at the start of April, I’m mostly limiting it to things that have already hit theaters. My only exception is that I’m including titles from the recently concluded Tribeca Film Festival. There are some others from the year that I’m fond of and might have otherwise included, but I didn’t want to cheat too badly, so they’re on hold and will be given a special citation. Basically, it’s an arbitrary decision, but I didn’t want to open things up too much. Anyway, let’s get to the fun stuff, with a small preview to come first, before the nitty gritty of it all…

As you’ll see below, I have a few new additions to my favorites for the year so far, in addition what I previously cited last month. There once again is also a place for a film or two that would have cracked my list but isn’t out yet, so they’ll have to settle for a quick little special citation. In terms of 2016 so far though, it really remains all about Deadpool and Everybody Wants Some for me. Now, we’ve since had Sing Street really come on strong to make for a really delightful top three, along with Tribeca Film Festival alums like Between Us and Dean (neither of which have a release date yet, but I’m bending the rules for festival flicks, as mentioned above). Noticeably absent from any consideration is Captain America: Civil War, I know, but that’s because circumstances have prevented me from making any press screenings, so I’ll be peeping it out like everyone else over the weekend. The rest of my picks? Well, you can see them coming up next, so let’s start this rundown now!

Below you’ll find my top ten of the year so far, along with a handful of my picks for the best in certain individual categories, as well as my awards for the first quarter of 2016. Here you go, and as always, enjoy these handful of lists:

10. Eye in the Sky
9. Green Room
8. 10 Cloverfield Lane
7. Demolition
6. Between Us
5. Where to Invade Next
4. Dean
3. Sing Street
2. Deadpool
1. Everybody Wants Some

Honorable Mention: Everything is Copy, Midnight Special, Tumbledown, A War, The Witch, and Youth in Oregon

Special Citation/Exemption: The Lobster and Weiner (seen earlier this year but not out until later on in May)

Next, the ten best performances of the first third of 2016:

10. Frank Langella in Youth in Oregon
9. Zoey Deutsch in Everybody Wants Some
8. Patrick Stewart in Green Room
7. Jason Sudeikis in Tumbledown
6. John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane
5. Mary Elizabeth Winstead in 10 Cloverfield Lane
4. Jake Gyllenhaal in Demolition
3. Olivia Thirlby in Between Us
2. Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool
1. Glen Powell in Everybody Wants Some

Honorable Mention: Morena Baccarin in Deadpool, Joel Edgerton in Midnight Special, Blake Jenner in Everybody Wants Some, Kevin Kline in Dean, Helen Mirren in Eye in the Sky, and Kristen Stewart in Equals

(Again, had The Lobster been deemed eligible under my random rules, Colin Farrell would have shown up on this list above, but I’ll have to save him for consideration when I do my best of the first half article in July)

Now, on to the awards for the first third of the year…

(Obviously, my number one pick above would be my choice for Best Picture so far (with number two the runner up, and so on, but here are the other awards I would give out)

Best Director: Richard Linklater for Everybody Wants Some (runner up: Tim Miller for Deadpool and John Carney for Sing Street)

Best Actor: Ryan Reynolds for Deadpool (runner up: Jake Gyllenhaal for Demolition and Jason Sudeikis for Tumbledown)

Best Actress: Olivia Thirlby for Between Us (runner up: Mary Elizabeth Winstead for 10 Cloverfield Lane and Helen Mirren for Eye in the Sky)

Best Supporting Actor: Glen Powell for Everybody Wants Some (runner up: John Goodman for 10 Cloverfield Lane and Patrick Stewart for Green Room)

Best Supporting Actress: Zoey Deutsch for Everybody Wants Some (runner up: Morena Baccarin for Deadpool and Analeigh Tipton for Between Us)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Deadpool (runner up: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and The Jungle Book)

Best Original Screenplay: Everybody Wants Some (runner up: Dean and Sing Street)

Best Ensemble: Everybody Wants Some (runner up: 10 Cloverfield Lane and Green Room)

There you go ladies and gentlemen…now to see how the rest of the first half of 2016 turns out, which I’ll detail in July with a mid year look back. Until then!