7 years ago 7 years ago

This Nerd’s Most Anticipated Films of 2016

by Chase Gifford 7 years ago7 years ago

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This is by no means every single film I want to see this year. Quite frankly this list is already too long so to add more is just crazy. Not to mention that some films haven’t announced release dates for this year and honestly I’m not aware of every film intended to be released in 2016. This is my list of just some of the films I’m looking forward to this year. My intention is to come back and write a brief summary of each film once I have seen it. Mostly this is out of curiosity to see how well 2016 does for film. This is a year long trek into both great films and awful ones, I’m just hoping for more of the first. I would love to know what films you are looking forward to as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! 🙂
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13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
January 15th

Yes it’s a Michael Bay film and I know I talk a lot of trash about the man but two factors have made me curious about 13 Hours- 1. It seems that Bay may have actually taken a project seriously (I realize this is a stretch but there it is) 2. The subject is fascinating for so many reasons that its director isn’t enough to keep me away. I may live to regret this. 99% chance I’ll regret it but here’s to hoping.
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Jane Got a Gun
January 29th

Directed by Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) and featuring a great cast with Natalie Portman in the lead as Jane who will do anything to get her husband back from a dangerous gang; including turning to her ex-lover for help. For the most part, O’Connor has made films set in heavily populated cities around the modern era. I’m excited to see what he can do in the old west.
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Hail, Caesar!
February 5th

A Coen Brother’s comedy is an instant yes for me. Add together the stellar casts they always manage to bring in and the daring storytelling and you have a winning formula. George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin, Jonah Hill; it would be shocking if this failed.
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Deadpool
February 12th

A foul-mouthed superhero that kills and breaks the fourth wall. Ryan Reynolds was born to play this character and I have the utmost confidence that for once, Century Fox is listening to the fans and giving us what we want. If they could only do this with Fantastic Four everything would be mostly okay. Ah hell I forgot about what they did to Spider-Man… dammit Fox get your shit together! Hopefully Marvel will revive this character without too much interference from those F*cks at Fox. 🙂
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Eddie the Eagle
February 26th

I’ll admit while I am interested in the story and the humorous looking duo of Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton it’s Egerton that I am most interested in watching. His breakout role in Kingsman blew me away. He managed the perfect balance of humor and spy bravado and definitely held his own in the more violent scenes. When I saw his performance I couldn’t wait to see what else he could do. He does appear briefly in Tom Hardy’s Legend but his role there is small so Eddie the Eagle will be his next big chance to continue to prove himself. Hopefully Matthew Vaughn will return to direct Kingsman 2 and Egerton can bring back “Eggy”.
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Triple 9
February 26th

A gritty crime drama is one of my favorite film genres. When the line between good and bad, right and wrong is blurred it makes for some truly tense moments. I will admit the cops and robbers idea has been done to death but if done right every now and then a true classic can emerge. Will Triple 9 be a classic? I have my doubts but there are some factors that could make it at the very least a damn entertaining thriller. It’s helmed by John Hillcoat, director of Lawless and The Proposition and stars a big name ensemble featuring Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck and many more. This has the potential to be more than mediocre.
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The Witch
February 19th

Ever since films like Under the Skin, Enemy, The Babadook, It Follows and Goodnight Mommy came into my life I have thirsted for other films like these. Are there horror elements? Of course but more than this these films deal with real life issues such as superficiality, depression, paranoia, schizophrenia. With these elements added the horror is then amplified in a major way. In some cases these are more drama than horror but none are without their share of scary monsters whether they can be seen or not. From the first time I saw the trailer for The Witch I was hooked. It immediately reminded me of these other films and the chance to experience what I hope it has to offer is exciting. These and hopefully The Witch are thoughtful, intriguing horror films and these days that is such a rarity. (I realize Under the Skin and Enemy aren’t billed as horror but the scenarios they create and the outcomes are very horror-like and evoke similar feelings.)
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Desierto
March 4th

This one came out of nowhere for me. I heard nothing about it and saw the trailer for the first time while waiting for The Hateful Eight to start. The premise was decent but not exactly enough to pull me in. But take such a simple idea and add Jonás Cuarón and his rather famous father, Alfonso Cuarón, the filmmakers behind the global phenomenon Gravity and suddenly you have my attention. (Gentlemen, you had my curiosity. Now you have my attention.)
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Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
March 25th

This one is almost entirely hoping that what looks to be a film suffering from “Spider-Man 3 syndrome” is in fact a great superhero thrill ride that somehow manages to balance all of the plates it seems to be trying to spin. While I do expect a few broken dishes here considering Man of Steel wasn’t perfect but despite this it was entertaining enough for me to say I liked it. Visually I know it will be awesome so at least my eyes will be well fed.
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Demolition
April 8th

My interest in the story is there but mostly I am excited to see what’s next for director Jean-Marc Vallée who helped McConaughey earn his best actor award for Dallas Buyers Club. A plus is one of my favorite actors working today is the lead, Jake Gyllenhaal and his co-stars feature Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper. This has a lot of talent behind it and although the premise of a husband dealing with the tragic loss of his wife is a heavy subject to focus on it shouldn’t be anything less than enthralling.
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Green Room
April 15th

This movie just sounds absolutely absurd. While admittedly I don’t know a whole lot about it, the cast and premise sound intriguing. This could be one hell of a bizarre and highly twisted journey into hell. A guy can hope anyway. Almost forgot to mention that Patrick Stewart is part of the fun and from what I’ve heard he isn’t exactly the good guy in this horror tale.
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Captain America: Civil War
May 6th

I don’t think I really need to put a lot into explaining why this should be nothing short of awesome. Captain America pitted against Iron Man. Touted as Avenger 2.5, this promises to be a kick-ass time at the movies. Grab some popcorn, get something to drink and hold on for a wild ride. Marvel hasn’t failed me yet, no reason to think they’ll start now.
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The Nice Guys
May 20th

Here’s another one that has all the working parts to create something fantastic. From Shane Black, director of Iron Man 3 and the highly underrated dark comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys has a lot going for it in the casting department as well with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling leading this crime thriller into funny but intriguing directions.
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X-Men: Apocalypse
May 27th
X Men Apocalypse
After Matthew Vaughn helped revitalize the X-Men franchise with First Class, Bryan Singer returned to finish what he helped create back in 2000 and helmed Days of Future Past now continues this epic saga with Apocalypse. Featuring the same cast from First Class and Days of Future Past, this has the ability to capture lightning in a bottle yet again. Let’s hope for another kick-ass scene with Quicksilver too.
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The Conjuring 2
June 10th

The Conjuring was further proof of James Wan’s affinity for horror; good horror I mean. Favoring practical effects and slow building scenes that permeate with tension and ultimately terror all added up to this modern classic. If releasing The Conjuring wasn’t enough he also released Insidious Chapter 2 in the same year. Two strong horror films in a single year; if history is to repeat itself The Conjuring 2 should be a good bit of frightening fun.
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Independence Day: Resurgence
June 24th
Independence Day 2
Nostalgia Alert! Nostalgia Alert! Even if this movie is awful and Roland Emmerich’s most recent efforts would suggest the high likelihood of failure I suspect I will enjoy this anyway. I review film so maybe that isn’t the proper approach to judging a film but to deny my love for the original and excitement for the sequel would be a lie. Jeff Goldblum returns to the big screen after a long hiatus and it features other old cast members like Bill Pullman and Vivica A. Fox. Some new faces include Liam Hemsworth and the up and coming star, the gorgeous Maika Monroe of It Follows fame. This should be a fun sci-fi actioner.
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The BFG
July 1st
The BFG
A classic tale from Roald Dahl directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg about The Big Friendly Giant. It sells itself. This should be a fantastical adventure with giants that guarantees immense amounts of glorious imagination from Dahl, Spielberg and its cast. If you’re familiar with the original novel then you already know what’s in store with this fairy tale.
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Suicide Squad
August 5th

While this would have benefited from an R rating, it still has a lot of potential. Director David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) orchestrates an ensemble cast featuring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and numerous others. The bad guys are finally getting their moment and I trust they won’t waste the opportunity. A blockbuster in the making for sure. Much like Kick-Ass was a spin on the superhero genre, Suicide Squad should be another twist on the familiar.
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Sausage Party
August 12th

All I know is it’s an adult themed animated adventure featuring food as its main characters, in particular a sausage. It’s also written by the comedy duo, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. If this isn’t promising enough, the film is voiced by a wonderful cast with the likes of Kristen Wiig, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Jonah Hill and many others. An R rated comedy about grocery food should be a fun albeit strange experience and I intend to be witness to it. (FYI- The image above is nothing official. It’s just an image I found that amused me.)
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The Magnificent Seven
September 23rd

Other than seeing the original and hearing of the new cast being directed by Antoine Fuqua I don’t know much. I am hopeful though. Fuqua is a strong visual director and with a cast of Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington and plenty more talent this should be a good amount of fun. The question remains- will it be as good as the original? Only time will tell.
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Doctor Strange
November 4th

This will be the most original outing for Marvel since Guardians of the Galaxy and since that worked out so well I have faith this should be no different. It also has the benefit of starring the enigmatic, always engaging Benedict Cumberbatch. The most worrying detail is the director, Scott Derrickson. He did a fantastic job with Sinister but completely shat the bed with his follow-up Deliver Us From Evil. He has shown potential but he’s also shown he has his shortcomings. Hopefully Deliver Us From Evil was nothing more than a fluke.
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
December 16th

More Star Wars is always a good thing. The first of many spin-offs, this should be the most original installment of the Star Wars Universe, at least on screen. Gareth Edwards (Godzilla-2014) takes the reigns this time around as a team of Rebels sets out to steal the plans for a new weapon known as the Death Star. Felicity Jones stars. Hopefully this will continue the success of Episode 7.
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Assassin’s Creed
December 21st
Assassin's Creed
I’m hoping history can be made here and the first film adapted from a video game that’s actually good will be Assassin’s Creed. Michael Fassbender stars and gets his direction from his Macbeth director, Justin Kurzel. Fellow Macbeth cast member Marion Cotillard also stars. Hopefully with this tremendous cast, we could witness the first video game movie that doesn’t make you regret your life decisions.
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Jason Bourne 5
July 29th
The Bourne franchise is one of the best modern action properties of the last twenty years (The Bourne Legacy not included). Matt Damon returns to the iconic character Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass also returns as director. This should be a visceral, thrilling actioner with lots of mystery and intrigue. A familiar formula isn’t always a bad thing.
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Inferno
October 14th
Ron Howard and Tom Hanks return for the next installment of the Da Vinci Code series. Inferno promises to be replete with amnesia induced paranoia and a manhunt of the once respected Robert Langdon (Hanks). The second installment, Angels & Demons wasn’t as great as The Da Vinci Code but it still managed to entertain. Let’s hope for another thrilling ride from Howard and company.
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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
October 21st
Jack Reacher may have been released in January but it certainly didn’t belong there. Reacher is a strongly performed action film with wide shots allowing for great fight scenes. Christopher McQuarrie directed the first outing for Reacher but this time around Edward Zwick takes on the sequel. With a great history of films behind him, Zwick is more than capable. Tom Cruise will return as the ever-elusive Jack Reacher traveling and doling out his own form of justice.
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Passengers
December 21st
Beyond a cast and small description of the premise I know nothing of this one. I’m simply hoping for something good. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star.
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