Hey everybody. My name is Al Robinson, and as much as I love movies, I equally love making lists, especially lists about movies. Last year I became “The Listman” via The Flicksation Podcast, as suggested by Eric Madsen (@Hazer75). I started recording my segments for the podcast around July. It was a really fun run and it came to an end in December. I have decided to resurrect it in written form for Write out of LA. I hope to make this a new regular segment that I will try to release on Sundays. For my first one here, I wanted to give credence to my 5 favorite movies of the spring season of 2016, which I consider the months of January – April. To me there is no winter season. I’d like to pretend altogether that winter doesn’t exist. Usually the spring season doesn’t grant us many great films, but last year was a nice change. We got a bunch of great movies, and these here are my favorite 5.
- Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) – March 30, 2016
One of the best hangout movies. Somehow writer/director Richard Linklater made a movie in which not much happens, but you don’t care. It’s not about the plot, but all about the characters. It’s college baseball players who just want to party and have a great time in the few days before the semester starts. I had a great time watching these guys having a great time.
- Eddie the Eagle (Dexter Fletcher) – February 26, 2016
The perfect underdog story. Eddie Edwards was a real guy in England who wanted to become an Olympian, and had so much drive to be so that he nearly killed himself. He was a one-man ski jumping team at the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. What made him the Eagle was his ability to fly down the hill, and celebrate like a champion afterwards. This movie captured my heart.
- 10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg) – March 11, 2016
This is my favorite thriller of 2016. It’s got a great premise of a possible alien invasion that they keep us guessing until the final act. It’s a movie that takes place almost entirely underground in a bunker, but amazingly never feels claustrophobic. The characters make the film great, and we get an especially memorable performance from the great John Goodman. I can’t wait for the next one.
- Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen) – February 5, 2016
This is the Coen Brothers doing what they do best. They like to blend comedy with drama, and here they do it flawlessly. I love how it’s about Hollywood, and involves scenes of filmmaking. Josh Brolin is a studio fixer that has many things to worry about. He’s really great at his job, and the character is better for it. Also, I love that the Coens here got Channing Tatum to do a song-and-dance number. You just can’t beat that scene. No dames for sure Channing, no dames for sure. This is a movie that will just grow in stature with subsequent viewings.
- Deadpool (Tim Miller) – February 12, 2016
Deadpool is a movie that I don’t think any of us expected to be this great. It’s a perfect blend of comedy and comic-book action. Deadpool is a hilarious and entertaining character that likes to break the fourth wall and for that, the movie overall is very meta. It’s a comic-book movie that doesn’t have an interest in being a comic-book movie. Rather, it’s more interested in being an R-rated romp that is going to live on forever as how to do things the right way. Simply put, I love this movie.