Beautiful, sincere and emotionally pure, there’s a lot more going on in J.A. Bayona’s powerful gothic melodrama A Monster Calls than initially meets the eye…There is nothing pandering about the director’s adaptation of Patrick Ness’ novel, he and the author joining forces to bring to life a motion picture that pulls at the heartstrings with an effortlessness that’s extraordinary.

Hidden Figures is a revelation. Not just because of the story, one that had been seemingly forgotten, if not buried, for over five decades, but also because of the subtle sincerity that drives the narrative forward, the film itself an inspiring tale of intelligence, perseverance and achievement that in lesser hands easily could have become a facile melodramatic slog and not something utterly glorious

Silence isn’t a movie for the faint of heart, the struggles of not just this pair of devout men but also those who follow them a complicated sojourn of faith, suffering, forgiveness, sacrifice and grace that left me bruised, battered and stunned by the time it ended.

Let’s get this out of the way first: 2016 was a tsunami of horrific news.

Fontaine’s intimate epic of faith, science, resilience and sacrifice, inspired by a true story, is a monumental achievement, this post-WWII saga of a French doctor (portrayed brilliantly by Lou de Laâge) coming across an abbey filled with pregnant Polish nuns an unforgettable stunner that held me spellbound first frame to last. Masterful.

Set immediately before the events of 1977’s Star Wars, this side story taking place inside the intergalactic confines of George Lucas’ massive science fiction universe is a down-and-dirty, WWII-style slugfest that’s got far more on its mind than its simple story of espionage and heroism would initially lead one to believe.

I’m not going to go into detail on these this year; I just don’t have the energy or heart to tear anything apart, let alone films I felt particularly let down by. Let’s just say these are the ten motion pictures I hope to never have to deal with again. I’m pretty sure nothing more needs to be said.

Our list of the Top 100 Films of 2016. Enjoy sifting through them all.

This is a good movie, at times even a great one, and if not for a few minor missteps right at the end I’d not hesitate for a second to call The Autopsy of Jane Doe a terrifying little gem as well as one of the year’s most spectacularly discomforting winners.