TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

It's been a hard year, y'know? Nothing made me happier than to ring in the new year last night with friends and family. I know what you may think: years are arbitrary markers of time, what difference does it make? Even if 2017 isn't an automatic clean slate for us all, it's what it represents, isn't it? And that's all the cinema is, life represented. This year offered a lot of hope...and superhero movies. In my personal selections of the five greatest films released this year (1/1/16-12/31/16), you'll see reoccurring themes of grief, family, hope, identity. It was a stellar year for the movies, and the fact that I had to leave gripping films like Love & Friendship , Nocturnal Animals , Hacksaw Ridge and Sausage Party (my ultimate guilty pleasure) off the final cut. And I still haven't movies I've been dying to see like Fences , The Lobster or Hell or High Water . Revel in the new year with me and enjoy my list! 5. SING STREET I nodded knowingl...

As predicted, there were some fresh, diverse faces present in the list! Let's take a look and see who's up!  BEST COMEDY/MUSICAL: La La Land predictably picked up quite a few nominations, but of course the most stunning surprise here is the presence of the Merc with the Mouth! I almost pegged Reynolds for a Deadpool nomination, but I thought it was too far-fetched. The indie everyone's fallen in love with, Sing Street , was this year's little film that could that only garnered one nomination, but in a big category.  La La Land Florence Foster Jenkins 20th Century Women Deadpool Sing Street BEST DRAMA: David Mackenzie's neo-western has been targeted for Oscar love ever since its late August release, and with several nominations here it's apparent. The highly Oscar-bait looking Lion also did quite well in its categories, and hey, if it can net Dev Patel the Academy Award nod he was robbed of in Slumdog , let it happen! Moonlight Manchester by the Sea ...