My Anticipated Movies of 2016!

2016 looks like a blockbuster year.  It has a ton of movies coming out from some popular book to movie adaptations to some really good looking horror and then moving into live adaptations and video games turned into movies. There are a few sequels and superhero movies are still apparently a thing even though they are starting to annoy me a little bit at this point. Then we have one where I think is just milking a franchise and trying to grab those fan boys and girls just like its book itself was to me. And then, even for some rather bad first parts, there are comebacks with a second movie with a bigger and better cast, but we’ve all seen enough movies that sometimes the cast itself can act its butt off but if the script is empty and/or cliche then it just falls apart anyways. I’m not making speculations and I reserve any expectations but these are the choices for this year that I hope to catch in theatre.  I always try for 12 movies seen in theatres every year (plus the 10 or 11 from Fantasia Film Festival on the side).

I’m done with my rambling. Let’s check it out! Trailers and a little explanation as to why they are in my anticipated list in the order of their release dates according to CinemaMontreal.com 😉

The 5th Wave [January 15]

I’m going to aim to read the source material before heading into the movie or deciding if I will go see it but the trailer looks decent.  The concept of the aliens and war works and I’m a fan of Chloe Grace Moretz so this has a lot of promise for me. However, I can’t shake off the feeling that its a little Katniss mixed with The Host and a billion other YA books that has recently been adapted to the big screen.

Anomalisa [January 15]

The music, the animation style, the stories about being human and life: those things all work for me.  Its as simple as that being the reason why I’d want to see this. It looks like a great movie which might just have something to say.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  [February 5]

I’m on record to be in love with Pride and Prejudice.  The era, costumes, class of classics are fantastic.  Some of you may have an issue with zombifying many things but I don’t.  I really like Zombie movies and there are some really fantastic and creative takes to the genre itself.  When you mesh two popular things together, you could be surprised at what could come out of it.

The Witch [February 26]

Witches, creepy, good atmosphere, intriguing storyline. I think this one has a lot of potential to pack in a good horror adrenaline rush.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children [March 4]

no trailer

I was pretty unimpressed with the novel because it didn’t sell what it was trying to portray but there is no doubt that there is a really dark atmosphere here and who else can do a better job than Tim Burton who might just find his footing again with this one.  Plus, it has one of my favorite young actors, Asa Butterfield.  I really think he can pull this off.  I wonder how they will portray the peculiar children also.

The Jungle Book [April 15]

I’m not exactly sure about the whole Scarlet Johansson narrative in the trailer but the ton of the movie is absolutely breathtaking.  It looks absolutely wonderful.  These Disney movie live adaptations are turning into downright visual feasts.  It does have me all excited to check it out. And I’m not even a huge fan of The Jungle Book animated version to begin with.

Captain America: Civil War [May 6]

Its a weird feeling to be most anticipating Captain America.  I’ve felt that he’s really grown on me because the Marvel franchise is the best with Captain America’s two movies.  He feels real and just everything works.  Captain America portrays his honor well and for this one, we have a few of the other superheroes coming in.  I’m not sure if I like the overlap but it could work out.

Now You See Me: The Second Act [June 10]

It is rare that I put sequels in anticipating lists but this year, there seems to be a few. I love magic movies and I really bought the concept of Now You See Me.  The general feeling was pretty average to this one but I think that it could seriously work as a sequel if they play their cards right.  Although, I can’t help having a feeling that they might be stretching the story a little but somehow, I’m still pretty excited about it.

Star Trek: Beyond [July 22]

Star Trek is a little hard to pinpoint my excitement. They have made a really nice action-adventure so far.  Into Darkness was not as great as the first but the tone of Beyond is really different and the trailer might have increased my excitement a little.

Assassin’s Creed [December 21]

no trailer

While I haven’t played much of Assassin’s Creed, I do acknowledge that those games have fantastic graphics and the characters are quite good.  My husband is a huge fan and with Michael Fassbender involved and my immense love for him, I really hope that this is one video game successfully adapted into a movie.

The Little Prince and Eye in the Sky are potentially on this list except it has no set release date yet.  They seem to both be supposed to hit theatres in March 2016 except Montreal doesn’t seem to have a date set so for your pleasure, here are the trailers as well!

RUNNER-UP: 13 Hours, Warcraft, Finding Dory, Deadpool, The Secret Life of Pets, The BFG, Through the Looking Glass, The Legend of Tarzan, Suicide Squad, The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun

WHAT MOVIES ARE YOU ANTICIPATING THIS YEAR?

Now You See Me (2013)

The post for yesterday didn’t really happen but I did manage to squeeze in a movie on my down time and I felt like I needed a little magic in my life so I put in a movie I’ve been wanting to see since it hit the big screen but missed because lets just say, I was the only one that was enthusiastic about it.  Despite the pretty much average reviews, I still have rather high hopes for this one. Lets do it! Back on track with catching up on 2013 flicks 🙂

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine

Four solo magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Wood Harrelson, Dave Franco) come together to form the Four Horsemen. In their first act in Las Vegas, they attempt to rob a bank and give back to the audience.  This alerts the FBI and the case is handed to  Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) who is forced to team up with Interpol agent, Alma Dary (Melanie Laurent) to try and catch them.  Meanwhile, they seem to always be a step ahead.

Now You See Me is a crime/mystery thriller.  Let me first talk about why this movie drew me in.  First of all, its about magic.  I like that stuff.  I’m one of those really easily tricked people and I can never replicate or figure out how any trick is done so I’m the optimal target audience for this because I’ll just lick it right up and not really think but enjoy the show.  Second, notice the cast up there.  Its full of actors and actresses I like (if not, love).  I’ll elaborate on that point a bit later. Last, its essentially a heist flick, a thriller and a mystery, all of the above is one of my favorite genres.

Now You See Me is very much like watching a magic show.  Everything is flashy and there’s plenty of action.  The first two acts were fun and impeccable to watch on screen.  The effects were not so 2013 but more 2003 but thats okay, I’m not very nitpicky about that sort of thing. Its really just something I noticed.  The action was great and for the most part, I was pretty drawn into the movie.  The only deal was that there was something missing to pull me in completely because right near the finale, I pressed pause and was about to shower and then I noticed I had 15 minutes so I sat back down and continued on.  Usually, I don’t want to leave my chair at the end.  So I acknowledge something wasn’t there, I just can’t pinpoint what. Maybe its the connection to any of the characters…I need to think that one through again.

With that point we head into the characters.  Other than Dave Franco being a new face (which I’ve only seen before in 21 Jump Street) in The Four Horsemen, I really like the other three.  Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson worked fantastic in Zombieland so I was hopeful about their performance here and it didn’t disappoint.  I love Isla Fisher because she is quite good in a lot of the roles. Dave Franco was pretty good too and well, he has charm and style.  The Four Horsemen meshed well together and that carried a good part of the movie to a good level for me.  And then we come to our opposite party, Melanie Laurent and Mark Ruffalo.  I’ve only seen these two previously separately in one other movie before this one, I was alright with them in this.  I can’t help but feel like it could have been better, but I’m no expert at this so its just a feeling I’m getting. Finally, we have two of my favorite actors: Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.  They may have very small roles but I pretty much have admitted that Michael Caine doesn’t have to do much and he can be totally awesome, the same goes for Morgan Freeman 🙂 Great actors can portray what they want to convey in their facial expressions and these two do it so well.

Now You See Me is really a movie that resembles watching a magic show. You either buy it or you don’t.  For me, my fascination for magic probably made me like this movie a lot more than the majority of viewers.  The cast and their chemistry with each other brings the movie to a more enjoyable level as well.  There are some part of the plot that seems to fall flat, especially nearing the end when it becomes a bit more predictable in some parts where I did guess it but it could have gone both ways.  After these are magicians, so you never know if what happens is what they planned or not.

There is no doubt in my mind that I believe this is a good movie.  I would gladly watch it again, maybe not in abundance but its one that I bought their acts and I had fun and was entertained.  Thats what matters in the end, right?

Have you seen Now You See Me? What do you think about it?