Top 5 Films of 2016

Well, the door's about to close on another year at the movies. 2016 will go down as Hollywood's biggest, just nudging out last year's record-breaking haul, even though attendance at the nation's theaters remained flat.

Yeah, it's pretty easy to keep breaking records when all you have to do is raise ticket prices. If this keeps up, pretty soon we'll be paying $50 for a Thursday matinee.

I can tell you I visited fewer multiplexes this year, pretty much avoiding them completely from May - August, as the industry trotted out its weakest summer slate in recent memory. But as usual, things picked up considerably in the fall, and by year's end I had trouble keeping up with all the films I wanted to see. Below you'll find my Top Five Films of 2016.

1. The Lobster: Released abroad in 2015, this bizarre little gem about a society where singles have 45 days to find a mate or face being turned into an animal opened here in the States last spring and was easily the most exhilarating and original piece of cinema this year, all anchored by a wonderfully wacky script and great performances by Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Seek this one out.

2. La La Land: Ask anyone, I'm not a fan of musicals, but damned if this "little" Hollywood fable from Whiplash director Damien Chazelle didn't sway me with its bewitching cinematic charms. Both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone provide undisputable proof on why they're two of the most charismatic and consistently watchable actors working today. I'm still humming "City of Stars."

3. De Palma: This fascinating documentary from Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow on virtuoso filmmaker Brian De Palma is a film geek's dream, just two hours of pure cinematic joy about a man born to tell stories visually.

4. Moonlight: Barry Jenkins' moving tale of self-discovery is subtle-yet-powerful cinema, featuring wonderful, career-defining performances from Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and André Holland.

5. Captain America: Civil War: Not just the most entertaining popcorn movie of the year, but arguably the greatest super-hero film Marvel has ever produced. Simply two hours of great action, humor and heart. The things Saturday-matinee dreams are made of.

Rounding Out The Top 10: 6. Manchester By The Sea 7. Fences 8. Hell or Highwater 9. Loving 10. Midnight Special

Most Overrated Film of 2016: Hail, Caesar! - This unfunny, nonsensical Hollywood farce from the Coen Brothers has shown up on a lot of Top 10 lists this year. Seriously? The only thing I can remember about this self-indulgent dud is waking up at the end of it.

Happy New Year!

Remembering Carrie Fisher

I was at an early screening this morning and just got in to learn of the passing of Carrie Fisher at 60.

I was hoping for the best after her heart attack and subsequent hospitalization Friday, but in the back of my mind I was bracing for the worst. At least get her through Christmas, I thought.

Carrie Fisher was my first childhood crush. I was six in the spring of 1977 and had just experienced a bigger-than-life space adventure called Star Wars. The film had everything a young boy could love: spaceships, robots, alien creatures, dashing heroes, a terrifying villain and a beautiful princess.

In her form-fitting white robe and bun-curled hair, Leia Organa commanded your attention the moment you first saw her on screen. Striking to look at, sure, but as spunky and courageous as any of her male counterparts. From the second she starts to verbally spar with the imposing Darth Vader, you knew she was more than just a pretty face. Leia's mettle is underestimated throughout the film, but every person she tussles with - from Governor Tarkin to Han Solo - comes to eventually respect her unrelenting spirit and fortitude.

That spunkiness was on display even more in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. As a respected leader of the Rebel Alliance, Leia can't admit she has feelings for Han Solo, no matter how hard the scruffy smuggler goads her on. Her building frustration is classic to watch unfold - looks of distain, mumbling to herself - and really is one of the main reasons Empire is considered the best of the Star Wars saga today.

I could have cared less about dolls growing up. But you better believe I had every Leia action figure released from 1978-1983. Every guy my age did, whether they admit it or not.

Fisher was always best remembered for Star Wars, but she did have a career outside of the popular space franchise, providing memorable turns in films like The Blues Brothers, Under The Rainbow, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Burbs and When Harry Met Sally.

They say you always remember your first crush. Well, rest assured, sweet princess, in that galaxy far, far away, you will never be forgotten.

Quick Flick Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The story of how the Rebel Alliance stole the plans to the dreaded Death Star that ultimately enabled Luke Skywalker to destroy the Empire's planet-killing superstation has intrigued legions of Star Wars fans for nearly 40 years.

The brainchild of Lucasfilm visual effects veteran John Knoll, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story finally shines a light on that crucial missing chapter, the first non-episodic SW film in the franchise's five-decade-long history.

Rogue One centers around the plucky Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the long-since-abandoned daughter of Imperial scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) who the Alliance learns has dispatched a messenger to rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) with information on a new super weapon the Empire is close to testing. It seems Jyn and Gerrera are old acquaintances, a bond the Alliance hopes to exploit so Gerrera will share his valuable bestowment.

Jyn reluctantly agrees to act as the go-between and is teamed with rebel intelligence officer Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the sardonic K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk), a repurposed Imperial droid who frequently can't help but convey his "bad feelings" about the mission.

Unfortunately, the reunion with Gerrera is cut short and the information lost when the Empire decides to test its new weapon on the city surrounding the extremist's compound, forcing Jyn and her companions to find a new way to retrieve the crucial data.

Of course with the Death Star lurking overhead, they've got some Imperial baddies standing in their way. There's Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), the ambitious head of weapons research, who shares a secret past with both Jyn and her father, a predominantly featured, CG-enhanced Grand Moff Tarkin (good to see a "resurrected" Peter Cushing working again) and, yes, a certain Dark Lord of the Sith of some repute, who doesn't get a lot of screen time but undeniably makes his presence "felt" in every scene in which he appears.

Speaking of appearances, several characters from the original trilogy make smile-worthy cameos (Walrus Man, anyone?), the most notable of which coming at the very end and providing a seamless transition to the initial 1977 film.

The film does throw a lot of characters (many with heavy, hard-to-follow accents) and plotlines at its audience and the narrative becomes a bit convoluted at times. Also working against the film is the fact that as much as you want to like these new heroes, you know you'll never see any of them again going forward in the saga, making it hard to establish any kind of connection or root for their success.

And while the action is consistent and swiftly paced, much of it comes off as contrived and gratuitous, especially the climatic "heist" sequence at the end of the film that feels more Mission: Impossible than Star Wars.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story serves its purpose for the most part, giving fans the backstory they've desired for years and providing enough nostalgia to remind all of why returning to a 40-year-old space saga never gets old. Grade: B-

Merry Christmas!

Dec. 30: Top 5 Films of 2016