MORE BEST OF 2016 LISTS SURFACE! SOME FROM EUROPE!

Starting late this year means that I missed the debuts of some lists, two from highly respected European publications. They're down below. The lists keep coming, too. Film Comment and The Playlist (my favorite film site) have given us their lists this week. Most of the current favorites appear, with one rolling a turkey by topping three of the lists. Let's see how it breaks down.

Let's get the well-respected, willfully obscure, very French Cahiers Du Cinema list out of the way first. It's the first list I've seen this year that totally leaves out Moonlight, but that may be due to international release dates (which is why Carol, last year's runner-up, is on this list). It's also the first list to have titles that I've never heard of before now and upon further research, it turns out some are comedies! Vive le France.

1. Toni Erdmann (10)
2. Elle (9)
3. The Neon Demon (8)
4. Aquarius (7)
5. Ma Loute (6)
6. Julieta (5)
7. Staying Vertical (4)
8. La Loi De La Jungle (3)
9. Carol (-)
10. Le Bois Dont Les Reves Sont Fait (1)

Sight and Sound, the film publication of the British Film Institute, dropped their list this week. No big surprises here, but with two of her movies here, it does provide more evidence that Isabelle Huppert is possibly the world's greatest actress and if you've seen The Piano Teacher, you already knew that. More points for both Erdmann and Moonlight.

1. Toni Erdmann (10)
2. Moonlight (9)
3. Elle(8)
4. Certain Women (7)
5. American Honey (6)
6. I, Daniel Blake (5)
7. Manchester By the Sea (4)
8. Things to Come (3)
9. Paterson (2)
10. The Death of Louis XIV (1)

Published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Film Comment is an excellent magazine. I should subscribe. Their list also gives weight to the Huppert theory. They also love Chantal Akerman. They weren't crazy about La La Land. Also, how did I miss Certain Women? More points for Erdmann and Moonlight!

1. Toni Erdmann (10)
2. Moonlight (9)
3. Elle (8)
4. Cemetary of Splendor (7)
5. Certain Women (6)
6. Paterson (5)
7. Manchester By the Sea (4)
8. Aquarius (3)
9. Things to Come (2)
10. No Home Movie (1)

Finally, The Playlist gave us their year-end best of list yesterday. It's my favorite film website and I think they've had a pretty good year. Their festival coverage is pretty much exhaustive and they are pretty even-handed when it comes to their criticism. The fact that they include four of my favorite movies of the year so far makes me feel smart. Nice to see The Lobster mentioned. More points for Erdmann and Moonlight!

1. Moonlight (10)
2. Arrival (9)
3. Paterson (8)
4. La La Land (7)
5. The Lobster (6)
6. Jackie (5)
7. Manchester By the Sea (4)
8. Green Room (3)
9. The Handmaiden (2)
10. Toni Erdmann (1)

Toni Erdmann gained some serious points this round, but the Moonlight juggernaut continues to dominate the polls. We'll see if any more lists come out this week to shake things up.