Movies and Books in Review - 2016

Every year, usually in December, I publish a list of movies I’ve seen that year, or that year prior if I don’t actually publish until January.

This year I was slower in getting the list out, but here is my list of books and movies for the year 2016. As usual, this is only for movies or books I’ve seen that year, rather than reflective of the year the book or movie was published. So my “Bests” of 2016 are not always going to be contemporary media.

*= Books or movies I’ve already seen or read, but were re-visited in 2016.

Books

Already Awake by Nathan Gill

Being: The Bottom Line by Nathan Gill

Book of Revelation by Translation by R. Mark Arey and R. Philemon Sevastiades. Adaption by Matt Dorff. Illustrations by Chris Koelle 

Very Good. Difficult to follow, and very surreal, but gets a high mark for its beautiful illustrations

Contact by Carl Sagan

Slow and lumbering at first but story and interest eventually pick up. Nevertheless, never seems to hit optimum pace.

*Da Vinci Code, The by Dan Brown 

Read in Spanish.

Death in the Jungle: Diary of a Navy SEAL by Gary R. Smith and Alan Maki 

One of the better SEAL memoirs.

*Deception Point by Dan Brown 

Read in Spanish

Delta Force: The Army’s Elite Counterforce Unit by Col. Charlie A Beckwith (Ret.) and Donald Knox 

Good, but a little slow and dry.

Direct Means to Eternal Bliss by Michael Langford 

Extremely clear and extremely blunt.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Moving and well-paced. A worthy sequel to “The Shining” and good story.

From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Illustrator) 

Slow to get started, and never really hits a good stride, but very dense, detailed and ultimately, well-thought out.

Full Stop by John Wheeler 

Clear, firm, uncompromising, to the point, if you are ready for it.

Glossika Mass Sentence Method: Dutch Fluency 1 by Mike Campbell and Jan Baars

Glossika Mass Sentence Method: Dutch Fluency 2 by Mike Campbell and Jan Baars

Glossika Mass Sentence Method: Dutch Fluency 3 by Mike Campbell and Jan Baars

Glossika Mass Sentence Method: Mexican Spanish Fluency 1 by Michael Campbell and Daisy Gomez

Glossika Mass Sentence Method: Mexican Spanish Fluency 2 by Michael Campbell and Daisy Gomez

Hammer of Eden by Ken Follet 

Good, but slow starting. Not one of Follet’s best.

Hornet Flight by Ken Follet 

A little slow at first but picked up the pace and became engaging.

How To Practice Self Inquiry by Ramana Maharshi 

To the point but merits re-reading to be fully absorbed.

How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator by Corinne McKay 

Good and useful. I look forward to seeing how it helps this year.

Inside Delta Force: The Story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Eric L. Haney 

Fast-paced, well-written, with an engaging narrative.

Introduction to Spanish Translation by Jack Child

Informative but not terribly useful. It does have valuable lists of false friends and idioms, though.

Last Rescue, The: How Faith and Love Saved a Navy SEAL Sniper by Howard Wasdin and Debbie Wasin with Joel Kilpatrik 

Quite good and poignant, though not nearly as good as his first story. Enough messages of faith to possibly merit a place in a religious bookshop, too.

Lose All The Way by Joey Lott 

Clearly written and very down-to-earth, but too short.

*One Moment of Realization (Audio) by Gilbert Schultz 

Clear and direct, as is his usual style

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain 

A little slow moving, but validating

Richest Man in Babylon, The by George S. Clason 

Excellent, fairly simple, and engaging.

Seven Steps to Awakening, The: Powerful Quotes by Ramana Maharshi, Annamalai Swami, Vasistha and Sankara, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Muruganar and Sadhu Om 

Very good at points, and a planting seeds to geminate at other points.

Son, The by Phillip Meyer 

Other than the first few chapters, I only read Eli’s chapters. The rest of the book was slow and dull.

Unborn, The: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei 1692-1693. Translated by Normal Waddell 

Bankei was a true master and among the best in pointing it out, even today.

*Walking Dead, The: Vol. 1: Days Gone By by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn and Tony Moore

*Walking Dead, The: Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn and Tony Moore

Watchmen by Alan Moore (author) and Dave Gibbons (illustrator) 

Beautiful illustrations and immersive story, but ultimately not my style of story.

Whips and Whip Making – 2nd Edition by David W. Morgan 

Informative and Educational

World Without End by Ken Follett 

Well paced, soulful, sad, entertaining, engaging. You look forward to coming back to its world.


2016 Book of the Year
World Without End by Ken Follett

Honorable Mention
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Movies
I include my predictions of Academy Award nominations, as this list was compiled before the nominations were announced.

10 Cloverfield Lane - 2016
Tense and claustrophobic. Remarkable that it keeps the audience guessing about what the reality in the movie really is.

Arrival – 2016 

Poetic and soulful, although at times a bit slow. Also, it was disappointingly simplistic in going into how the language works. Possible nominations: Adapted Screenplay, Actress (Adams), Cinematography, Visual Effects, Editing

Big Short, The – 2015 

A little technical, but still very user friendly, well-paced and very funny in its (ir)appropriate way.

Carol – 2015 

Well-acted and well told, but slow and not terribly interesting.

Casablanca – 1942

The excellence of this film still holds up after all these years. Timeless or nearly so.

Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World – 2014

Less about film making and more about the artist. Unsettling and yet backlit with life and hope, just like Giger’s art.

Deepwater Horizon – 2016

Tauntly told and very well acted. Possible nominations: Supporting Actor (Malkovich), Supporting Actor (Russell), Visual Effects, Editing, Direction, Art Direction/Set Direction, Sound Design

Devil’s Knot – 2013

Well told, but long, which worked against it.

Dr. Strange – 2016

Cumberbatch is good as always, but this superhero movie didn’t feel like it brought anything new to the table. Possible nominations: Visual Effects

Eight Crazy Nights – 2002

Good animation, but the movie in general was ho-hum and not my style of humor.

Enemy Below, The – 1957
A war movie that still holds up in acting in special effects.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – 2016
Not bad, especially for Potter fans, but felt shallow. Possible nominations: Visual Effects

Fifty Shades of Gray – 2015
Masterpancaked. Not terrible. The bad reviews are more on the overhyped end. It could have been much better.

Godfather, The – 1972
Well-crafted, well-paced, well-acted. A nearly flawlessly told story.

Godfather, The: Part II – 1974

Well told, but not as well paced as the first film.

Green Room – 2016 

Intense and at times shocking.

Hacksaw Ridge – 2016

An okay movie of an amazing story. Best part was realizing that all of the actors and actresses were doing fake American accents to cover their Australian ones.

Hail, Caesar! – 2016 

Funny and hits all its marks, but just doesn’t have a lot of staying power. Quirky, but rather forgettable.

Hannibal – 2001

Surprisingly good. Acting is great and Ripley’s story telling is masterful, as usual. Gary Oldman is stellar and literally unrecognizable.

Hannibal Rising – 2007

Even as an origin story it feels forced. The source material also felt shoe-horned in. Not even all that fascinating.

Hardcore Henry – 2016

Fun, very violent, and at times felt exactly like a FPS video game.

Hateful Eight, The – 2015 

Not as violent as many of Tarantino’s other films, this one feels almost like a play. Brilliant performances all around, as usual. A commendable modern Western classic. The cinematography was done with the soul of a visual poet. Possible nominations: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design, Art Direction, Sound.

Hell or High Water – 2016

Well-written, well-acted, and above-average cinematography. Funny and at times shockingly violent. A good modern Western. Predictions: Screenplay (Original), Cinematography

I, Robot – 2004

Mostly holds up.

*Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – 2008

The weakest and worst-written of the bunch, but still has the spirit and magic of the series. A fair movie, made worse mostly in by comparison with its superior predecesors.

James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge – 2014
Fascinating and adventurous.

Jason Bourne – 2016 

Exciting and intelligent as usual, although very much the weakest of the Jason Bourne movies.

*Jungle Book, The - 1967

A classic, and still holds some of its power, but in other ways has aged.

Midnight Special – 2016

Very well acted, simply told, but very complete sci-fi story. Rings with truth and believability.

Mulan – 1998 

Good, as usual, although formulaic. But Disney movies are for how a story is told.

Omen, The - 1976

Still well-made, but the feel of the horror doesn’t seem to translate over the years.

Raiders!: The Great Fan Film Ever Made – 2015 

An excellent and well-crafted documentary that captures the magic of the original and the love of the Adaption. A near-perfect documentary.

Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Adaption – 1989
A superb and delightful twin to arguably the greatest adventure movie ever made. This film glows with the love and magic that movie making and the love for movies is all about.

Re-Animator – 1985

Funny, but felt a little drawn out.

Reel Injun – 2009

Entertaining and educational. I wish it had contained more about Dances with Wolves or a clip from the Oscar being accepted in Lakota.

Ref, The - 1994

Fair, but somewhat tedious Christmas comedy.

Revenant, The – 2015 

Poetic cinematography is the real star here, but excellent acting and story telling lead to a very visually powerful film

Rogue One – 2016 

Good as a standalone movie and as a backstory. But did seem to somehow lack a Star Wars Spirit.

Room – 2015

One of the best and most moving films of the year. Excellent chemistry between the lead actors. Larson is particularly good and deserved any and all praise she gets.

Shallows – 2016

Surprisingly tense and at times well-made. Some very remarkable cinematography. But ultimately nothing special.

Silence – 2016 (February 2017) (Good)
Beautiful to look at, but very drawn out. It does capture Andrew Garfield’s conflict in faith, battling against the eternity of damnation vs. saving the lives of the Christians around him. Felt like a Terrance Malick movie, although not quite as prone to meander when Malick waxes poetic. Cinematography nomination was well-deserved.

Split – 2016 

Surprisingly good, given Shyamalan’s shaky record (although not as shaky as everyone says, in my opinion). James McAvoy deserves a Best Actor nomination. Possibly best original screenplay, too. Technically it is first rate, as it is with all of his movies. Twist was a bit of a small one though, considering his history.

Star Trek Beyond – 2016

Weak and rather dull for the new ones. Some action and nice set pieces, but low on story. And sad to see Chekov’s scenes.

Tora Tora Tora! – 1970

Nice to see both sides told almost equally and in their own languages. But not as good as I had hoped.

Walk, The – 2015 

Well-paced, with excellent set direction, cinematography, acting, writing and special effects.

Where To Invade Next – 2016

Funny and with a heart.

Witch, The – 2016

Brave, dark, atmospheric. It seems to unweave a little in the middle, but holds an overall sense of foreboding. Excellent cinematography.

X-Men: Apocalypse – 2016

Entertaining, but a bit of a let down. Special effects were too cartoony.


Best Movie Watched of 2016:
Arrival

Honorable Mention
Room – by far and away the most moving movie of the year

Spiritual Honorable Mention 
Raiders!: The Great Fan Film Ever Made
Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Adaption
These movies were not far off, and I felt a special category needed to be made due to the impact that the Indiana Jones, and especially Raiders of the Lost Ark has had on me. 

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