The 24 best movies you probably didn’t see this year
Focus Features, Oscilloscope, Paramount Pictures
At the end of every year, critics and award groups highlight their picks for the best movies of the year, and movie studios tout their biggest blockbusters in box-office memos.
Those movies are usually pretty great, but there's more out there that's worth watching.
Some of the features on this list were swept under the rug. Some didn't resonate with audiences when they hit theaters, were marketed poorly, aren't part of the Oscar conversation, or are rightly recognized in some circles, but those circles aren't wide enough. While some have been recognized by critics, they may be smaller indies catered toward a smaller niche.
One thing they have in common is that they're all excellent. Here are the 2016 movies you may have missed.
"Hail, Caesar!"
Twitter/@HailCaesarMovieWhat it's about: A Hollywood fixer scampers around the studio and tries to keep all of his stars happy while also keeping his marriage together.
Why you should see it: It's really, really, funny. Josh Brolin is perfectly deadpan as Eddie Mannix as he tries to make sure all of the studio's stars are in line, and it might have the best cast of any movie this year. The Coen brothers flick is filled with colorful characters and absurd subplots that features George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill, and — in a star-making turn — Alden Ehrenreich, who was recently cast as a Young Han Solo.
"Midnight Special"
Warner Bros.What it's about: A young boy has uncontrollable supernatural powers. His father pulls him away from a cult that wants to use him, and the FBI tries to track them down.
Why you should see it: 2016 was filled with movies and shows with Spielbergian vibes, like "Pete's Dragon" and "Stranger Things." The best of them was "Midnight Special," which was somewhere between "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T." "Midnight Special" doesn't quite become a full-blown fantasy movie, but director Jeff Nichols knows how to use it to make a well-crafted story and go deep into the emotional connections between parents and children. 13-year-old Jaeden Lieberher also does a great job as the main character, Alton, and the film boasts a stellar supporting cast that includes Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, and Bill Camp.
"The Lobster"
A24What it's about: In the movie's dystopian world, people are sent to a hotel and need to find love within 45 days or they're turned into an animal. David (played by Colin Farrell) needs to find his match.
Why you should see it: "The Lobster" is one of 2016's strangest movies, and to succeed, it has to run a delicate balance between being a touching story about humans finding emotional fulfillment in a strange world, or failing and becoming merely a weird movie. Luckily, thanks to its game actors (Farrel, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, and a few others), it totally works — and it might even make you cry.
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