There were a lot of great films in 2016, as well as some duds. It’s hard to know how well a movie will do until it hits theaters. But among the films that break the box office and the films that are given negative reviews all around, there are a handful of films that go overlooked. Some films are incredibly well-made but don’t receive the popularity and praise that they deserve. Here are a few incredible films from 2016 that you probably didn’t see:
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Taika Waititi is hardly a little-known director. After all, Marvel tapped him to direct Thor: Ragnarok. However, his film Hunt for the Wilderpeople went surprisingly unnoticed. This film is an adaptation to Wild Pork and Watercess by Barry Crump, a legend in Waititi’s home of New Zealand. The end product is a charming film that is both a tribute to New Zealand’s rugged outdoors and a family-type story about a miserable teenager. The dry sense of humor in this film makes it stands out, and it’s confusing that it didn’t do better at the box office.
Kubo and the Two Strings
From an aesthetic perspective, Kubo and the Two Strings is truly incredible, a stop-motion animated yarn about a one-eyed boy named Kubo. In the movie, Kubo must find his father’s armor with the assistance of a silent knight made of origami paper, a monkey and a samurai-beetle with amnesia. With some of the most inventive set pieces in contemporary filmmaking and well-known cast members such as Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey, it’s surprising this film didn’t do better. The film is packed with action and humor, but the adrenaline of its visuals is made even more memorable by the deep sadness that it evokes. The film has many unpredictable twists and turns, and no one could have predicted how much it would be overlooked after its release.
How to Be Single
While most romantic comedies fit a particular mold, How to Be Single is refreshingly different. Ever since Sex and the City, we have seen a number of films and TV shows focusing on the dating habits of single people. Many are still based around the idea that a woman’s main goal is to get married. While Sex and the City began to change this, How to Be single points out that even this format involved women talking primarily about men. This revolutionary film emphasized the importance of being alone without falling into a pattern of co-dependency. Ultimately, the film demonstrates that it is okay to be single, and sometimes it is even preferable. With a comedic performance by Rebel Wilson and a nuanced performance by Dakota Johnson, it is surprising that this film didn’t achieve more success than it did.
Not all good works of art go noticed. Given the high number of films that came out in 2016, it makes sense that a few went ignored. It’s just a shame that these revolutionary works of film had to be among the movies that didn’t do well.
