The 40 Films I Loved Most in 2016 - #20-11

20. Couple In A Hole
Director: Tom Geens, UK release date: 8 April

Eccentric drama about the terrible impact of grief on a husband and wife living like savages in a French forest. Paul Higgins (The Thick Of It) and Kate Dickie (The Witch) are both superb as the eponymous couple who have survived a tragedy but failed to cope with its emotional fallout. Geens' film falls away a little towards the end but otherwise this is a near-perfect blend of pitch-black humour and melancholy.

19. The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau, UK release date: 15 April

Rich and rewarding adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original stories that also pays fulsome homage to the beloved 1960s animation (The Bare Necessities, Trust In Me and I Wan'na Be Like You all get an airing). You'd be hard pressed to find more immersive CG anywhere and the voice cast is uniformly terrific, boasting as it does the likes of Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

18. Embrace Of The Serpent

Directors: Ciro Guerra, UK release date: 10 June

The story of an Amazonian shaman and his relationship (sometimes friendly, sometimes not) with two European scientists - 40 years apart - as they descend into the great river's heart of darkness, searching for a mythical plant with great healing properties. Big themes, sumptuous cinematography and moments both disturbing and thrilling make for an intoxicating brew. 

17. Mustang

Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven, UK release date: 13 May

Oscar-nominated drama chronicling the lives of five orphaned Turkish sisters, imprisoned then forced into marriage by their conservative guardians. Its subject matter is dark but the film never slips into clumsy melodrama. Instead, it is hopeful, defiant and surprisingly filled with humour, as director Ergüven explores the clash between modern and traditional Turkish culture.

16. Author: The JT LeRoy Story
Director: Jeff Feuerzeig, UK release date: 29 July

The jaw-droppingly odd tale of Laura Albert, the 30-something US author who created and enjoyed enormous literary success as JT LeRoy, a fictional male alter-ego played in public by her sister-in-law. Beloved by celebrities and feted by the fashion world, LeRoy appeared to have the world at his/her feet... until the deception was discovered. Perhaps told far too much from Albert's perspective, Feuerzeig's documentary is nevertheless fascinating.

15. The Measure Of A Man

Director: Stéphane Brizé, UK release date: 3 June

A French companion piece to I, Daniel Blake (see #13), Brizé's film uses France's economic downturn to explore the effects of austerity on the male psyche; specifically how it can emasculate, humiliate and ultimately dehumanise even the most resolute. Veteran French actor Vincent Lindon has never been better as a former factory worker struggling to keep his family's head above water after two years of unemployment.

14. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Directors: Akiva Schaffe and Jorma Taccone, UK release date: 26 August
The Lonely Island's no-holds-barred mockumentary gives the Bieber generation the same kind of kick up the backside This Is Spinal Tap administered to the rock community 30 years ago. Like Tap, Andy Samberg (starring here as spoiled pop/rap megastar Conner4Real) and his compatriots understand that musical parodies only work if the songs themselves are actually good. And the songs here definitely are - they're also utterly hilarious.

13. I, Daniel Blake
Director: Ken Loach, UK release date: 21 October
The veteran socialist director's Palme d'Or winner dissects the UK government's war on the vulnerable in an impassioned and unapologetic polemic. After suffering a heart attack, Dave Johns (as Blake) feels the full force of state bureaucracy as he attempts to claim enough money to live on while being bullied and frustrated by a parade of jobsworths. The scene set in a food bank, in which a penniless young mum (the excellent Hayley Squires) eats cold baked beans straight from the tin, made me sob like an infant.

12. Spotlight

Director: Tom McCarthy, UK release date: 29 January

The Best Picture Oscar winner focuses on the Boston Globe's 2001 investigation into a local cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. Its absence of directorial flashiness or melodrama allows an excellent ensemble cast (including Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton), sharp writing and methodical plotting to shine. Authenticity and decency are unfashionable qualities but McCarthy's film exudes both.

11. Arrival
Director: Denis Villeneuve, UK release date: 10 November
Amy Adams is an eminent linguist with a tragic secret, recruited by the US government to communicate with a fleet of alien ships, newly parked up at various locations across the globe. As someone who knows his sci-fi, the film's big twist didn't kick me in the shins quite as hard as it did some, but was still exquisitely delivered. Villeneuve's eerie, elegiac movie absolutely nails the wonder and madness of first contact.

**Next up: the top 10**

My 20 favourite films of the year so far

Strange brew: The Witch is my film of the year... so far

To qualify for this list, films had to have had a UK cinema release between January 1 and June 30 2016. That some of these films were out in the States (or elsewhere) last year is irrelevant; it's only when they were released here - in the United Kingdom - that matters to me. I haven't included any movies that went straight to VOD, DVD etc - they will probably get their own 'best of' list at the end of the year. 

1. The Witch

Director: Robert Eggers UK release date: March 11

Eggers' debut feature is a masterful exercise in slow-burn horror which sees a 17th century Puritan family battling demons within and without. Impressively researched, unsettling and filled to the brim with palpable dread, The Witch is about as far removed from formulaic multiplex 'jump scares' as it is possible to get.

2. Victoria

Director: Sebastian Schipper UK release date: April 1

German crime thriller about a naive young Madrid girl led into criminality by a group of men on the mean streets of Berlin. An incredibly impressive technical achievement (the film was shot in one long take - no tricks, no shortcuts), that Laia Costa - the Victoria of the title - imbues with real heart and soul.

3. Son Of Saul
Director: László Nemes UK release date: April 29
We've seen the hell of the WWII death camps on film before but never quite like this. Set in Auschwitz in 1944, it tells the story of a Jewish Sonderkommando (a prisoner forced to help the Nazis dispose of dead bodies) trying to arrange a proper burial for a boy he believes to be his son. Profoundly moving and utterly heartbreaking.

4. Couple In A Hole

Director: Tom Geens UK release date: April 8

Harrowing drama about the terrible impact of grief on a husband and wife living like savages in a French forest. Paul Higgins (The Thick Of It) and Kate Dickie (The Witch) are both superb in a tale that perfectly blends pitch-black humour and gut-wrenching emotion. 

5. Spotlight

Director: Tom McCarthy UK release date: January 29

The Best Picture Oscar winner focuses on the Boston Globe's 2001 investigation into a local cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests. Its absence of directorial flashiness or melodrama allows an excellent ensemble cast (including Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton), sharp writing and methodical plotting to shine.

6. Embrace Of The Serpent
Directors: Ciro Guerra UK release date: June 10

The story of an Amazonian shaman and his relationship (sometimes friendly, sometimes not) with two European scientists - 40 years apart - as they descend into the great river's heart of darkness, searching for a mythical plant with great healing properties. Big themes, sumptuous cinematography and moments both disturbing and thrilling make for an intoxicating brew. 

7. Hail, Caesar!
Directors: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen UK release date: March 4
Slight but joyous love letter to Hollywood past with wit and charm to burn. Full of great performances (George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich) and clever pastiches of old movies, especially Channing Tatum's No Dames, an hilariously homoerotic song and dance number featuring a bar full of sailors.
8. Mustang
Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven UK release date: May 13

Oscar-nominated drama chronicling the lives of five orphaned Turkish sisters, imprisoned then forced into marriage by their conservative guardians. Its subject matter is dark but the film never slips into clumsy melodrama. Instead, it is hopeful and defiant.

9. Welcome To Me
Director: Shira Piven UK release date: March 25
Kristen Wiig is a revelation as a bipolar woman who scoops $86million in the lottery and uses the cash to buy her own (bizarre) talk show. It's surreal, sad, funny and human but most importantly refuses to patronise or infantilise its protagonist.

10. Remainder
Director: Omer Fast UK release date: June 24

Tricksy but inventive memory-loss drama in which Tom Sturridge forgets vast swathes of his past when he is hit on the head by an object falling from a London office block. Constantly has you on the back foot as its plot shifts from downbeat melodrama to surreal crime caper.

11. The Big Short

Director: Adam McKay UK release date: January 22

A breathlessly entertaining dissection of 2008's global financial meltdown, seen through the eyes of the men who knew it was coming and got filthy rich as a result. Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling are all great and McKay must be applauded for the inventive, fun ways in which he explains some pretty tricky concepts. Smug? A bit. Smart? Most definitely.

12. Joy

Director: David O Russell UK release date: January 1

This unconventional biopic of Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano has some interesting things to say about the entrepreneurial spirit and American capitalism - i.e. battling to get rich can harm your relationships, strip you of your innocence and play havoc with your dress sense. Jennifer Lawrence, in the title role, is as ridiculously charming as ever. 
13. Eye In The Sky

Director: Gavin Hood UK release date: April 15

Incredibly tense examination of modern drone warfare, which is also surprisingly complex and refreshingly even-handed. Boasts terrific performances from Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman, in his final screen role.

14. The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau UK release date: April 15
Rich and rewarding adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original stories that also pays fulsome homage to the beloved 1960s animation (The Bare Necessities, Trust In Me and I Wan'na Be Like You all get an airing). You'd be hard pressed to find more immersive CG anywhere and the voice cast is uniformly terrific (Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson).

15. Welcome To Leith
Directors: Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker UK release date: February 12

Chilling documentary about a group of neo-Nazis - led by notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb - attempting to take over a tiny North Dakotan town. The locals are initially caught on the back foot, but it isn't long before they organise a fightback in hopes of sending Cobb and his toy-town Gestapo packing. 

16. Zootropolis
Directors: Byron Howard and Rich Moore UK release date: March 25
A rabbit cop teams up with a criminal fox to unearth a massive conspiracy in Disney's utterly charming anthropomorphic adventure. Under the ubiquitous 'You can be anything you want to be' life lessons, there are laughs aplenty, seriously impressive world building and some surprisingly adult themes. Beautifully written and animated, this is a joy from start to finish.
17. Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures
Directors: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato UK release date: April 22
Fascinating documentary chronicling the life and controversial career of US photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS in 1989. As well as presenting an honest portrait of his many relationships (including with Patti Smith), it expertly charts the increasing sophistication of his work. There was an awful lot more to the man than a dozen or so notorious S&M shots.

18. Youth
Director: Paolo Sorrentino UK release date: January 29

Sorrentino's follow up to the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty is an eccentric, tragicomic meditation on old age, grief and regret. Michael Caine is reliably superb as the retired composer waiting for the end at an exclusive Swiss spa, while Harvey Keitel turns in his best performance for years as a movie director chasing past glories.

19. Everybody Wants Some!!
Director: Richard Linklater UK release date: May 13
'Spiritual sequel' to the director's superior Dazed And Confused, this time focusing on the members of a 1980 Texas college baseball team. Beer is downed, weed is smoked, trash is talked, and occasionally these likeable jocks get around to hitting a ball or two. Good clean fun bathed in enough rose-tinted nostalgia to float a battleship.
20. Goodnight Mommy
Directors: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz UK release date: March 4

Unsettling Austrian horror about twin boys who become convinced their mother is no longer who she says she is. Directing duo Fiala and Franz build the levels of tension, paranoia and nastiness very nicely but I'm not sure the finale's big twist is entirely necessary.

The Last 5 Films I've Seen

Past imperfect: Remainder boasts a mind-boggling ending 

Next week I'll be posting a list of my 10 favourite films of the year so far. One or two of these might even be on it...

1. Embrace Of The Serpent (2015): Colombian director Ciro Guerra's film is a hard sell - it's subtitled, black and white and contains two separate but linked story strands that run alongside each other. But please don't let any of that put you off. It tells the story of shaman Karamakate and his relationship (sometimes friendly, sometimes not) with two European scientists - 40 years apart - as they descend into the Amazon's heart of darkness searching for a mythical plant with great healing properties. Big themes, rich cinematography and moments both disturbing and thrilling make for an intoxicating brew indeed. It's been compared to Herzog and Coppola, but I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it.

Amazon Prime: Embrace Of The Serpent is truly intoxicating

2. Remainder (2015): Tricksy but inventive memory-loss drama in which Tom Sturridge (Far From The Madding Crowd) forgets vast swathes of his past when he is hit on the head by an object falling from a London office block. Eventually out of hospital, and now very rich thanks to a multi-million-pound compensation payment, he sets about recreating his memories using actors and the vast resources he can now access. Omer Fast's film has you constantly on the back foot as you aren't sure what's real, what's imagined or simply wrongly recollected, the plot shifting from downbeat melodrama to surreal crime caper as it glides effortlessly through the gears. The final 20 minutes - complete with mind-boggling ending - are cracking. 

Mind games: Remainder keeps you on the back foot

3. Evolution (2015): You'd be hard pressed to find a stranger film this year than French director Lucile Hadzihalilovic's dizzying and disturbing Evolution. Set in a seaside town populated only by young boys and women, it evokes David Lynch, David Cronenberg and, perhaps most of all, HP Lovecraft. The boys are given weird medicine and fed disgusting-looking food by the women, who then conduct medical experiments on them at a local hospital. I'm deliberately holding a lot of stuff back because my words couldn't do justice to just how otherworldly and odd this film is. Not only that but it's hauntingly beautiful to look at, too. 

By the sea: Evolution has a Lovecraftian vibe

4. A Bigger Splash (2015): A relationship drama-cum-thriller which sees stadium rock star Tilda Swinton recovering on the Italian coast from a throat operation. But her sun-kissed idyll, in the company of lover Matthias Schoenaerts, is gatecrashed by a boorish old flame, played by Ralph Fiennes, and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). The first half is light and funny but proceedings soon head down a somewhat darker path as lingering tensions rise to the surface then grow uglier and uglier. It doesn't entirely work but is elevated by the performances (especially Fiennes and Swinton) and a gratifyingly caustic take on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. 

No fun in the sun: A Bigger Splash is gratifyingly caustic

5. The Conjuring (2013): One of those modern chillers that relies on "boo" moments and not much else. James Wan's film sees Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play married ghostbusters trying to help a family bedevilled by a dark supernatural presence in their house (the Amityville horror, basically). For the most part, it's nicely told (I particularly liked the Annabelle doll subplot) but starts to unravel a bit towards the end. I never believed any of the characters were in grave danger either, which isn't really what you want from a supposed horror film.

Horror-lite: The Conjuring just isn't scary enough