1. This is the most embarrassing one to admit, but, um, Isabelle Huppert is an incredible actress. It's not that I didn't "know" that per se, but now that I've seen Things To Come and Elle (and not just, uh, I Heart Huckabees) I fully understand. And I want more!
2. Beyonce Knowles has finally transitioned from an artist with some songs that I admit are very good to someone who can shape a cohesive and moving piece of art.
3. Ralph Fiennes is a comedic treasure. After A Bigger Splash, Hail Caesar!, and 2014's Grand Budapest Hotel, I now have an insatiable appetite for his electric energy and comic timing!
4. It's okay to not like Kylo Ren. But mark my words, history will laugh its ass off at you if you sleep on Adam Driver.
5. The award for the year's Most Dominant Film Genre goes to. . .the Documentary! Of my Top 40 films of the year (all of which are B+/A- and above), an astounding seven of them are documentaries. And that doesn't even include getting to spend time with Steve Gleason (what a lovely human being and what a genuinely sweet movie) and having my personal documentary hero, Werner Herzog, show up to do some wonderfully eccentric musing about volcanoes.