Film Review: 8 Most Anticipated Movies of 2016

Happy New Year everyone! 2015 proved to be a somewhat underwhelming year for film. Despite some few outstanding pieces of cinema, I think it's 2016 titles that are going to scoop up that sweet, sweet Oscar gold this coming February. Here's a little look at my most anticipated films to see this year...

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In 1823, legendary hunter, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), leads a fur-trapping expedition in the uncharted American wilderness but their quest is made complicated by an attack by a tribe. Following a bear attack, Glass is abandoned by his hunting team and believed dead by his crew; forced utilise his survival skills to find the men who left him. Broken but fueled by vengeance, he treks through the wintry, harsh terrain trailing John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and turned his crew against him.

This might just be the year that sees Leonardo DiCaprio finally take home that much-deserved Oscar for Best Actor; not to mention the possibility that Tom Hardy could earn himself his first nomination for Best Supporting. Directed by film legend, Alejandro González Iñárritu, responsible for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014) and Babel (2006), I have such high hopes for the enviable stunning visuals and extraordinary storytelling. I have my heart set on including The Revenant in my Top Films of 2016 - it's in UK cinemas on January 15th.  

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In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter, John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner, Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) find shelter from a blizzard whilst on route to justice in Red Rock. The cabin is inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters; a fellow bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Greeted by four other strangers and with a high bounty on Daisy's head, the eight travellers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.

Quentin Tarantino is back, directing an all-star cast in another bloody narrative and this time it's a western. Shot in 65mm and directed by Tarantino, it's likely to be visually stunning and with an outstanding narrative. Like all Tarantino movies, it's sure to scoop up plenty of nominations come the Academy Awards and this is, for sure, one I cannot miss this year. I will be seeing this on Friday - review to follow! The Hateful Eight is in UK cinemas January 8th.

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Based on the lives of artists Einar and Gerda Wegener comes The Danish Girl (2016). Born a male named Einar (Eddie Redmayne), and with the loving supporting of his wife, Gerda (Alicia Vikander), a young Danish artist prepares to undergo a sex change operation to become Lili. As the first of this case, Lili went on to be a pioneer of the transgender community.

Starring Oscar winning Eddie Redmayne, with a somewhat controversial subject matter and directed by Tom Hooper; the man we have to thank for The King's Speech (2010) and Les Misérables (2012), this has Oscar-bait written all over it. The Danish Girl is sure to be a moving narrative though I feel it may not quite live up to expectations. I hope that Hooper will do the film and the true events justice and believe this is to be an important and powerful submission for this year's Academy Awards. The Danish Girl is in UK cinemas now.

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The legendary Coen Brothers return with another comedy; It's the 1950's and a Hollywood fixer (Josh Brolin) is forced to burst in to action when the world's most famous movie star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is kidnapped and a young actress is pregnant. With the studio's biggest film of the year still in production, it's a race against time to find it's leading star and keep the Hollywood stars in line.

In true Coen Brother's style, Hail, Caesar! appears to be oozing with charisma and wit - not to mention its amazing line up of stars including Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and of course Clooney and Brolin. From the trailer, it seems to embody everything I love about the classical Hollywood era and I can't wait to see this come February 26th in the UK.

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Fury (2014) and End of Watch (2012) director, David Ayer, returns with a narrative outside of his comfort zone with Suicide Squad. Comprised of super criminals such as The Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), a secret government agency recruits prisoners for a deadly assignment to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for their clemency.

You've probably all seen the images of Jared Leto in his Joker attire and I feel that Suicide Squad could be amazing or it could be a total let down. If Ayer sticks to the original comic book stories, we could be in for one hell of a ride. Reprising the role of Batman is Ben Affleck, a hit or miss performance, and with a mixed cast (the likes of Will Smith and Cara Delevingne), I'm unsure what to expect just yet. If this lives up to all the expectation, it could be featuring in the top films of the year. Fingers crossed - Suicide Squad is in UK cinemas on August 5th.

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Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former Special Forced operative, gifted with escalated healing powers and a twisted sense of humour. Subjected to a rogue experiment, Wilson turns mercenary and adopts the alter ego Deadpool in order to hunt down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

It's probably going to be your standard superhero/blood-filled action movie but I'm just fine with that. Though it's not likely to take home any awards or any gain any nominations this year, there's nothing wrong with enjoying some good ole' X/18+ rated fun. Deadpool is in UK cinemas February 10th.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards of Godzilla (2014) fame, is a prequel to the original trilogy set after the Clone Wars. It follows a group of Rebels who set out on a mission to steal the plans for Darth Vader's Death Star.

As of yet, the detailing of Rogue One are being kept under wraps and it's probably for the best so to prevent spoilers. Cast members confirmed so far as Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker and Diego Luna yet nothing has been released as to their characters. Written by George Lucas himself, there are some worries for another Phantom Menace type situation though Disney are still present in the production. I'm very much looking forward to another Star Wars film following the epic success of The Force Awakens (2015) yet I can't help but have my doubts since Godzilla proved to be so underwhelming. 

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Another possible hit or miss is Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. In a prequel to what will become The Justice League (if the comics are anything to go by), Gotham City faces a new threat as Batman (Ben Affleck) embarks on a personal vendetta against Superman (Henry Cavill) whom he believes is too dangerous. With appearances from Wonder Women and Doomsday, this could be a wonderful and gritty superhero movie or it could be a unsatisfying, action-saturation like Man of Steel (2014). I'm certainly intrigued but if the trailers are anything to go by (minus Batman's robotic looking suit), this could just be the greatest action film of the year. Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice is in cinemas 25th March.

It was really hard to narrow it down to just eight movies as there's so so many I'm looking forward to with the Oscars steadily approaching in February. Also ones to watch out for are The Big Short (Adam McKay, 2015), The BFG (Steven Spielberg, 2016), The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau, 2016) and of course, Ghostbusters (Paul Feig, 2016).

This week, I'm really looking forward to seeing Joy (David O. Russell, 2016), The Danish Girl AND The Hateful Eight and to share my reviews with you all. What films are you looking forward to this year? Have you seen any films already this year? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave them below.

Here's to another amazing year of film. Happy New Year everyone!