January is usually the time of year where I catch up on the
prior year’s films, because there are a lot of really good films that expand
into theaters during this time. And let’s face it… January is dumping ground
for new studio releases. Instead of being down in the dumps, and complaining
about the dull and unimaginative new YA movie release, this site would be
better off looking at some of the potentially great new movies we have coming
this year.
Now, let’s whip out the calendar and look at films that are
worth screaming in anticipation for…
My Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2016
10.) Captain America: Civil War (May 6)
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| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
The Age of Ultron
is over, and now the Marvel Cinematic Universe is at Civil War. This film has
Captain America, Iron Man, the rest of the current Avengers crew, Winter
Soldier, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, two villains, and a couple
government staff. Talk about capacity overload. Even so, it looks like a story
of a family divided that’s anchored on the Steve-Bucky p̶a̶r̶t̶n̶e̶r̶s̶h̶i̶p̶
love. I adore how Writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely brought
Captain America into modern day with a film about post-war adjustment and
soldiers returning home, so I can’t wait to see how they approach Civil War.
Plus, they’re reteaming with Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who look like
they’re tackling full-on superhero for this one, so this may end up as the event film to kick-start the Summer
season.
09.) Moana
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| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Disney can keep Zootopia,
and even Finding Dory, because Moana looks like the animation treasure
of the year. Disney has been making improvements in diversity during their
recent resurgence, with films like The
Princess and the Frog, Frozen, and Big Hero 6. Those films are such substantial standouts in the recent animation
pool, so there’s nothing hindering me from thinking Moana will end up the same. Ron Clements and John Musker (of The Princess and the Frog) are directing
and writing this film, with Taika Waititi also writing. This is a film with a
female lead from the South Pacific and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Polynesian
demi-god. It sounds incredibly fun and like a total rebound from Lava last year.
08.) Assassin’s Creed
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| 20th Century Fox |
This may be the first time in a while that an Assassin’s Creed product has appeared on
a Most Anticipated list, but for good reason. Last year’s Macbeth was made totally watchable by Kurzel’s directing, and
Fassbender and Cotillard’s performances. This film looks to be a Macbeth 2, in the sense that all of the
highlights of that film are returning. Cotillard is a grace to every screen she
is on, Fassbender is brilliant at playing captivating, villain-like characters,
and Kurzel knows how to portray bloody, brutal imagery. The film will most
likely have an easy time locking in to the Assassin’s
Creed atmosphere, while also taking the franchise somewhere new.
07.) The Jungle Book
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| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Admittedly, Disney is 1 for 3 when it comes to their
live-action remakes of their animated films, but last year’s Cinderella really showed me the beauty of
revisiting and modernizing these properties. I trust Director Jon Favreau enough
with the technology to deliver a beautiful, vibrant, and character-driven
adventure film, much like I remember the original animation to be. Even the voice cast is summing up to be great,
with talents such as Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson,
Lupita Nyong’o, and Giancarlo Esposito comprising the cast. There’s only a
slight chance I won’t be in tears, singing along, when Murray starts singing “The
Bare Necessities”.
06.) Suicide Squad
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| Warner Bros. Pictures |
Turns out waiting for that second trailer was worth putting
off this list for. This looks like the most insane and most visually
interesting comic book film we’ve gotten in a while. I feel like Director David
Ayer is a good match to this film and DC’s overall aesthetic, because he can
confidently tune in to punk and irreverent, as well as otherworldly realism
without letting the “dark and seriousness” consume the film’s characters or
narrative. The characters look weird. The action sequences look insane. And
more importantly, the film looks fun. With a film titled Suicide Squad, that’s all I could ever want.
05.) Midnight Special
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| Warner Bros. Pictures |
Writer/Director Jeff Nichols solidified himself as a
filmmaker to look out for with his coming-of-age film about love, Mud. That film really hit with me, and I
had no idea what I to expect. Now, we arrive at his next film, a sci-fi
thriller that resembles the dark sci-fi films of the past. It sounds right up
my alley. The film stars Joel Edgerton, the always compelling Adam Driver, and
Michael Shannon as the protective father, which I find very interesting. This
will probably end up being something special.
04.) Hail, Caesar!
 |
| Universal Studios |
The first and only Coen Brothers directed film I’ve seen is Inside Llewyn Davis, and that film is
enough to get Hail, Caesar! in my top
10 most anticipated films of the year. The film itself, as depicted by the
trailer, gets it in to the top four. The film looks like a stylish and
hilarious romp through 1950s Hollywood, with a silly kidnapping plot as an
added bonus. Also, George Clooney as a movie star playing a Roman, Scarlett
Johansson as an actress playing a mermaid, and a Channing Tatum dance number as
three more added bonuses. Even with the unlikely chance this film disappoints,
I’d still pretty much give it credit for getting me to start on that Coen Brothers
filmography.
03.) Everybody Wants Some
 |
| Paramount Pictures |
“Goodbye 70s… Hello 80s!” should
be the tagline of Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused. And coming off Before Midnight and Boyhood,
there’s no way I’m not excited for the new Linklater. I just love the way he
captures time and meaning with his loose narratives. If you don’t know what I’m
talking about, just check out Dazed and
Confused and Boyhood. With the
former being the more recommended one, because this film looks like an 80s
version of that film. It looks like a joy to watch and a film I can’t wait to
experience.
02.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
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| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
The Force awakened, made money, and is now moving on to a
spin-off film. Rogue One takes my
number two spot not because it’s a Star Wars film, but because it’s a Gareth
Edwards film. In case you missed it, Edwards hit some Spielberg-level high with
the ending of his first feature film, Monsters,
and he also made the best modern monster film with his Godzilla film back in 2014, so obviously, you give that guy a Star Wars film about rebels stealing the
Death Star plans. Rogue One is going
to be insane. Not only is that diverse cast exactly how I want an intergalactic
operation to be portrayed, but they’re incredibly talented as well. I’m pretty
intrigued to see some actual footage from the film, considering they have people
from sci-fi films like Edge of Tomorrow
and Jupiter Ascending, and war films
like Zero Dark Thirty, Saving Private Ryan, and Black Hawk Down working on production. This
is the Star Wars film to get down and
dirty into the actual war part.
Surprise me, Edwards.
01.) The Nice Guys
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| Warner Bros. Pictures |
If you follow Audiences Everywhere (which you should),
you’ll already know my most anticipated film of 2016 is Shane Black’s The Nice Guys. I’ve been looking forward
to this after Black announced he’d be doing more movies after Iron Man 3. In some way, I’ve been
programmed to look forward to this after I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Black is known for the two previously
mentioned films, as well as Lethal Weapon,
Long Kiss Goodnight, and Last Boy Scout. This will be his third directorial feature, and hopefully, my next
Christmas tradition. The film pairs the problematic duo of Russell Crowe and
Ryan Gosling to solve a bigger-than-expected crime, as is the Shane Black way.
The film looks wacky and insane, aka the Christmas gift I can’t wait to open.
All these films look like gifts I can’t wait to open. It’s
months of waiting, but once I’m watching the films, I’ll be in total bliss
delving into them.
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