2016 Movies
My Top Picks
Deadpool: Laughed more in this movie than I have in more or less any movie in the last five years.
Doctor Strange: A superhero film that somehow feels as fresh as the first Iron Man film.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: I wasn't expecting much from this but the CGI on Tarkin and Leia was awesome. The story was fairly good too.
X-Men: Apocalypse: I can't say I was terribly excited for this film even though the last one was great. Thing is, it was great. Low expectations I guess.
Captain America - Civil War: There's not a lot to say about this film. It was good. The beginning felt a bit talky but apart from that it was very good. The Black Panther was especially good. If nothing else, it rounds off probably the best superhero trilogy (every Captain America film was good) - It's funny too because I really wasn't looking forward to the first Captain America film.
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice: This movie wasn't as bad as the critics suggested but it certainly needed some work. (mild spoilers follow). There are multiple dream sequences and a "precognition sequence) but the movie never explains them and it's up to the audience to figure out how (and why and what). -- PS: If you saw the movie but not the flash, you didn't get it. I had to explain it to the kids mid-movie even though they're pretty good on DC lore. The movie assumes that everyone remembers every little detail about "Man of Steel" but then stupidly re-explains how Batman's parents died.... again. There are plot points which hinge on ridiculous coincidences, such as the two titular heroes having mothers with the same name... And being able to hear your girlfriend knocking underwater amid the sound of exploding buildings. Also, let's just save girlfriends and mothers during the big fight.... don't worry about anyone else trapped under buildings. The introduction of other DC characters apart from Wonder Woman is very poorly handled and wasteful. Aquaman and Cyborg should have been held off for their own movies. The whole movie is 3 hours long and could have done with a decent editor as there's way too much superfluous junk in there. (The useless pointless dream sequence starring a hero and their long-dead adoptive father). I'd rather have seen a shorter movie with the promise of the additional material being available on a special-edition blu-ray. Also saw the extended version... it's heaps better.
Bridget Jones' Baby: At least it was heaps better than the second film.
Moana: Far better than expected. I loved the water as a character.
Star Trek Beyond: Good but not brilliant.
Zootopia: Another great kids animated film. I love the sloths -- pretty sure I could relate to having been served by them.
Notable Mentions ("Surprise" Films)
Alice Through the Looking Glass: I really didn't enjoy the first Alice film. I think I had to watch it three times before I really understood what it was trying to do. Through the looking glass is a different beast altogether. A much more fun film, better structured and with an awesome performance from Sasch Baron Cohen.
Deadpool: There's just no way I could have expected Deadpool. Wow.
Lights Out: I'd seen the short long before I saw the main film. I'm amazed that they managed to extend it so well. It never feels padded.
Sausage Party: Can't say I was looking forward to this at all. It looked crass and silly... which it was .. but it was also an unexpected whole lot of fun.
Arrival: I absolutely hated Arrival on my first viewing (see the review in the disappointments section). I was tired when I saw the movie and I was looking for a Sci-Fi action spectacular. I fell asleep in it too. I realised as I read the reviews that I'd missed something important and I decided to give it another go, with subtitles on for easy following, with the right frame of mind and in small chunks (over my 45 minute bus trips). I got it second time around... and yes, it's really good.
The Boy: A pretty good film, quite scary in places. Missed a couple of opportunities at the end but otherwise good.
Sully: Sully looked like a great movie was trying to get out of a dull one. When all was said and done though, it was a pretty good movie with a message that is very important today.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: I was expecting a "Harry Potter Ripoff" but it was much better than that.
Suicide Squad: I really wasn't interested in this movie. It turned out okay though.
Finding Dory: I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. I think it might even have been better than Finding Nemo. The octopus was the star though.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk: I think I only watched this because it was in 3D. I don't think the 3D was particularly memorable but the film was okay.
The Biggest Disappointments
Arrival: I knew this would be like Contact, which I mostly disliked. The difference is that Contact was pretty good all the way to a real letdown of the ending. In the case of the arrival, it's only good for about 30 minutes. Then you realise that it's not going to get any better. There's so many jokes I can make about this film. The only thing I was really hanging out for in the arrival was its departure... and of course, it's a perfect example of why any aliens coming here need to learn the language first. Oh, what a disappointment. (This is Review 1, see the Surprises section for Review 2)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them: Forget Star Wars, forget the Hobbit.. If you want to show how bad a prequel can be, look no further than this tripe. Dark moody and faceless. At the end of the film, I still didn't know the name of any of the characters. I thought it was just me and my hearing but the kids didn't know any names either. If you don't care about the characters, you won't care about the movie. I think the sequels are all going to be ones to see on DVD.
Independence Day: Resurgence: There's nothing massively wrong with the plot of this film, it's just that for the most part, nobody cares about any of the characters and whether they live or die. That's the real difference between this and the original.
London has Fallen: After the first film, I was expecting great things but it kind of devolved into a street shootout.
Gods of Egypt: I was expecting a primarily SFX screensaver here but even then, I think it failed to deliver.
Dad's Army: All they had to do was follow an existing template. The characters were spot on but the story was awful.
Monster Calls, A: This looked so good... but it was so boring.
Disappointments Room: Very disappointing.
Risen: This wasn't a bad film, it was just a lost opportunity. Emotionally it was "empty" compared to what it might have been had it followed Mel Gibson's stylistic choices from the Passion.
All the films I've seen at the Cinemas in 2016
5th Wave, The
Deadpool
London Has Fallen
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
Captain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
X-Men: Apocalypse
Central Intelligence
Independence Day: Resurgence
Ghostbusters
Star Trek Beyond
Secret Life of Pets, The
Bridget Jones' Baby
Lights Out
Sully
Inferno
Deepwater Horizon
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Accountant, The
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Films from 2016 that I saw on the "small screen"
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Angry Birds Movie, The
BFG, The
Boy, The
Brothers Grimsby, The
Conjuring 2, The
Cure for Wellness, A
Dad's Army
Dirty Grandpa
Disappointments Room
Divergent Series: Allegiant, The
Fifty Shades of Black
Finding Dory
Gods of Egypt
Great Wall, The
Huntsman: Winter's War, The
Ice Age: Collision Course
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Jungle Book, The
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda 3
Me Before You
Mechanic: Resurrection
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Moana
Monster Calls, A
Ouija 2
Pete's Dragon
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Ride Along 2
Sausage Party
Shallows, The
Sing
Storks
Suicide Squad
Warcraft
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Witch, The
What's Left to See from 2016
The boldfaced titles are the ones I'm most interested in;
* Denotes titles I've acquired but haven't gotten around to watching yet.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Arms and the Dudes
Azhar
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Bastards
Before I Wake
Ben-Hur*
Besties
Boss, The
Catfight
Choice, The
Collide
Conner4real
Criminal
Demolition
Eddie the Eagle
Everybody Wants Some
Finest Hours, The
Forest, The
Founder, The
Free State of Jones, The
Gambit
Girl on the Train, The*
God's Not Dead 2
Going in Style
Green Room
Hail, Caesar!
How to Be Single
I Saw the Light
Jane Got a Gun
Keanu*
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Kevin Hart: What Now?
Kidnap
Knight of Cups
La La Land
Lake, The
Legend of Tarzan, The
Maggie's Plan
Magnificent Seven, The
Man in the Dark, A
Masterminds
Meyers Christmas, A
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Midnight Special
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Miracles from Heaven
Money Monster
Monster High
Mother's Day
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Nation Awakes
Neighbors 2
Nice Guys, The
Nine Lives
Norm of the North
Now You See Me 2
Other Side of the Door, The
Patient Zero
Purge 3, The*
Race
Ratchet & Clank*
Regression
Same Kind of Different as Me
Shut In
Snowden
Space Between Us, The
Spectral
Strangers 2, The
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Triple 9
Trolls *
USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
Viral
When the Bough Breaks
Young Messiah, The
Zoolander No. 2