2016 was one hell of a shit year.. to say the least. Yet I believe that it was a great year for cinema. We’ve seen diverse filmmaking becoming more mainstream, blockbusters taking greater chances with their themes and Ryan Reynolds became one of my favourite comedy stars (yes, 2016 brought us ‘Deadpool’.. finally.) I haven’t seen many of the ‘awards’ movies as most of them don’t come out until January in the U.K… hang tight for my thoughts on them.
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them
The spin-off/prequel/extension of the Harry Potter series was everything I hoped for and more. It actually shocked me how comedic it was in contrast to some of the Harry Potter entries (that is thanks to a few beasts and great comedic characters). Returning from directing the last 4 Harry Potter entries is David Yates and this time J K. Rowling herself, wrote the script. A great action family adventure with features that will please both a younger and mature potter-verse audience!
The Conjuring 2
The sequel to 2013’s horror hit brought the James Wan directed movie to Enfield, London to focus on one of the most documented stories of a haunting in history. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return. There’s a scary old man, a nun and a harrowing love story all wrapped up in a nice tight little horror film that has many scares throughout. One of my favourite horror films of the past year!
Batman vs Superman
A very controversial pick, however, I loved this film. Okay, let me back track, I understand the film has it’s ‘flaws’ the narrative can be confusing and quite hard to understand. However, having this deeper, darker narrative and a more mature theme excites me to no end. A mature, dark superhero movie maybe even franchise? Sign me up! Wonder Woman and her incredible theme tune steal the movie for me (Gal Gadot what a casting!)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Part Star Wars movie, part tragedy, part war movie. ‘Rogue One’ was the Star Wars movie we all needed. Telling the story of the rebels gathering the plans for the Death Star (setting up the very first Star Wars Movie.. ‘A New Hope’.) ‘Rogue One’ is more of a war film than any Star Wars movie before it. Gritty, dark and emotional. The ending absolutely pays off and packs such an emotional punch, I was crying hysterically in the cinema (I was also hungover). We also see a hologram of a young Carrie Fisher (RIP Queen) which will bring any Star Wars fan to tears.
The Jungle Book
A visually stunning movie that brought to life one of my favourite stories from when I was younger. With an all-star cast featuring Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Lupita N’yongo and Bill Murray ‘The Jungle Book’ was the ultimate cinematic experience. Nothing this year has wowed me as much as some of the shots in this movie. The impeccable blend of CGI around the one human actor throughout the film blew me away. A must watch for anyone!
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