We’re over halfway through the year, but the best films of 2016 are still ahead of us.
There have already been some major movies this year. Some good (Deadpool, 10 Cloverfield Lane), some not so good (Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad), but even though blockbuster season is almost over, we’ve still got some excellent big screen entertainment still to come.
1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker
Directed by: Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters)
In UK cinemas: 16th December
Following the foundation of the Galactic Empire, a wayward band of Rebel fighters, led by Jyn Erso, come together to carry out a desperate mission: to steal the plans for the Death Star before it can be used to enforce the Emperor’s rule.
2. Doctor Strange
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton
Directed by: Scott Derrickson (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Sinister)
In UK cinemas: 28th October
After Stephen Strange, the world’s top neurosurgeon, is injured in a car accident that ruins his career, he sets out on a journey of healing, where he encounters the Ancient One, who later becomes Strange’s mentor in the mystic arts.
3. Assassin’s Creed
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and Michael K. Williams
Directed by: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth)
In UK cinemas: 6th January
Career criminal Callum Lynch is rescued from his own execution by Abstergo Industries, the modern-day incarnation of the Templar Order. He is forced to participate in the Animus Project and relive the memories of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha, an Assassin during the Spanish Inquisition.
4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Colin Farrell
Directed by: David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Legend of Tarzan)
In UK cinemas: 18th November
In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives at the Magical Congress of the United States of America for a meeting with an important official. At this meeting is a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt.
5. The Magnificent Seven
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard and Haley Bennett
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen)
In UK cinemas: 23rd September
As the town Rose Krick is put under the siege of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the residents enlist the help of seven outlaws, headed by bounty hunter Sam Chisolm, to protect them while they prepare for the anticipated violent confrontation. However, upon meeting the town’s residents, the Seven find themselves fighting for much more than money.
6. War Dogs
Starring: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana de Armas, J. B. Blanc and Bradley Cooper
Directed by: Todd Phillips (The Hangover Trilogy, Due Date)
In UK cinemas: 26th August
Two friends in their early 20s exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts. The pair gets in over their heads when they land a $300 million deal to arm the Afghan Military – a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people.
7. Hacksaw Ridge
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Corr, Teresa Palmer, Richard Pyros and Rachel Griffiths
Directed by: Mel Gibson (The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto)
In UK cinemas: November (date TBA)
Based on the true story about US Army medic Desmond T. Doss, a conscientious objector who refused to bear arms, yet was awarded the Medal of Honor for single-handedly saving the lives of over 75 of his comrades while under constant enemy fire during World War II.
8. Passengers
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Aurora Perrineau and Kimberly Battista
Directed by: Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game, Headhunters)
In UK cinemas: 23rd December
The spaceship Starship Avalon, on its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as “Homestead II” and transporting 5,259 people, has a malfunction in two of its sleep chambers. As a result, two hibernation pods open prematurely and the two people that awoke are stranded on the spaceship, still 90 years from their destination.
9. Bleed for This
Starring: Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal, Ciarán Hinds and Ted Levine
Directed by: Ben Younger (Boiler Room, Prime)
In UK cinemas: 2nd December
Vinny Paz, a struggling boxer, refuses to retire from boxing after an accident leaves him severely injured.
10. Blair Witch
Starring: James Allen McCune, Valorie Curry and Callie Hernandez
Directed by: Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest)
In UK cinemas: 15th September
A group of college students ventures into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James Donahue’s sister Heather, who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch after her disappearance 20 years prior.
11. Arrival
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario)
In UK cinemas: 11th November
When multiple mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team is put together to investigate. Humankind teeters on the verge of global war as everyone scrambles for answers – and to find them, the team will take a chance that could threaten their lives, and quite possibly humanity.
12. Moana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmcxLUSRTQ
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Auli’i Cravalho, Nicole Scherzinger and Jemaine Clement
Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker (Aladdin, Hercules)
In UK cinemas: 2nd December
In ancient Oceania in the South Pacific, the young Moana is a born navigator who sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her journey, she teams up with her hero and legendary demi-god Maui.
13. Deepwater Horizon
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien and Kate Hudson
Directed by: Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Hancock)
In UK cinemas: 30th September
On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’s largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. This story honours the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.
Synopses from IMDb and Wikipedia.
