2016 was a movie year with interesting dichotomies.  On the one hand, many studio films and sequels fell flat (particularly over the summer).  On the other hand, it was a fantastic year for independent cinema, surprise original genre hits, and social/political documentaries.  For me personally, it was the first year I attended the Sundance Film Festival, and managed to see a personal best 75 films released this year.  Of those films, here were my favorites (presented here as [spoiler-free] unless otherwise noted).
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