2016 may have started with a hiss and a roar, but there’s no shortage of films on their way that have us plenty excited. Over the next ten-and-a-bit months, expect everything from nuanced drama, to barely believable true stories, head-scratching auteur business, and – of course – super-powered folks pummeling the living hell out of each other. Read on as Steve Newall and Liam Maguren briskly count down 50 flicks they’re hankering for below…
50. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
IN CINEMAS MARCH (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/TRAILER
“Being arguably the single most-indebted DC movie to the work of Frank Miller to date, pose-striking and all, has me more interested than I expected to be, if only to have a grumble.” – SN
49. Kung Fu Panda 3
IN CINEMAS MARCH (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/TRAILER
“There were whispers that Kung Fu Panda wouldn’t get a third film, so I’m simply happy this exists to wrap up the plot threads the sequel left hanging.” – LM
48. Independence Day: Resurgence
IN CINEMAS JUNE | MORE/TRAILER
“Giant UFOs entering Earth’s atmosphere look as striking as they did in the original, and the intriguing notion of a post-attack Earth stealing alien tech could be setting up strong franchise mythology.” – SN
47. Keeping Up With the Joneses
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE
“Sure, this is a well-worn premise – a couple in the suburbs find out their neighbours are spies – but when the director of Superbad casts Jon Hamm, Zach Galafianakis, Isla Fisher and Gal Gadot in a comedy, I’m there.” – SN
46. X-Men: Apocalypse
IN CINEMAS MAY | MORE/TRAILER
“Now that Bryan Singer has successfully purged all the crap X-Men films from his universe’s timeline, we can look forward to the series’ own universe-purging baddie in action – Apocalypse.” – LM
45. The Jungle Book
IN CINEMAS APRIL (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/ TRAILER
“Jon Favreau has made an entire talking jungle out of the tiger from Life of Pi – how can you NOT be excited for this?” – LM
44. Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
IN CINEMAS DECEMBER
“After the forgettable Dark Shadows, Tim Burton’s taken some interesting directions with Frankenweenie and Big Eyes. We hope this adaptation of this popular novel will see a complete return to form.” – LM
43. Zootopia
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE / TRAILER
“It wouldn’t have mattered how bad the trailers looked – Disney Animation Studios has blindsided my expectations for the last few years simply by making great family films. This one probably won’t be any different.” – LM
42. Mahana
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE/TRAILER
“Lee Tamahori, Witi Ihimaera, Temuera Morrison – a primary school kid could do the maths on this one.” – LM
41. The Boss
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE/TRAILER
“I was afraid Melissa McCarthy would be stuck doing crap like Identity Thief and Tammy for most of her career, but then the kick-ass Spy came out and made me a believer again – and I have faith in her as a business titan-turned-Girl Scout mother in The Boss.” – LM
40. Jack Reacher 2
IN CINEMAS OCTOBER | MORE
“Some people hated Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. I didn’t care; I just remember seeing him crack a dude’s skull using another dude’s skull. That was awesome. I want another.” – LM
39. Money Monster
IN CINEMAS JUNE | MORE/TRAILER
“Plenty of great films have embraced the money movie subgenre of late, and while this looks like a tamer entry, there could be something to this blend of 99 Homes and Network – especially thanks to its leads.” – SN
38. Colossal
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED)
“I freaking love Nacho Vigalondo’s time travel tale Timecrimes, and while his subsequent films haven’t had such razor-sharp focus, I’m still amped to see what he can do with the kaiju monster genre.” – SN
37. Tickled
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE
“For those who have followed David Farrier’s investigation into this bizarre-o tickling competition from day one, they’re hungry for closure. I’m one of them, and we get a critically-acclaimed documentary to finish it off.” – LM
36. Sully
IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER
“The only way to top seeing a high-as-a-kite Denzel Washington fly a plane upside down is getting Clint Eastwood to helm a pic about a pilot landing a plane on a goddamn river (and it be true).” – SN
35. The Magnificent Seven
IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER
“A reboot of a remake of a Japanese classic? That’s a tad convoluted. Here’s a simpler sell: Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Peter Sarsgaard and Matt Bomer lead a blockbuster Western…” – LM
34. Jane Got a Gun
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE
“…or give the Black Swan a gun. Either way, my Western needs will be met.” – LM
33. Genius
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED)
“The Berlin Film Fest chose this for their main competition, putting Colin Firth once again in the box seat of award-winning critical acclaim he hasn’t experienced since, hmmm, Kingsman: The Secret Service.” – SN
32. The Intervention
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED)
“New Zealand’s Own™ Melanie Lynskey took home a Sundance award for starring in this dramedy about a couple realising their friends have taken them on holiday to have an intervention about their marriage (we’ve ALL been there).” – SN
31. 10 Cloverfield Lane
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE/TRAILER
“We’re only given two months to process the fact that a Cloverfield follow-up will be in our eyes. We don’t know what to think, what’s going on, if this is even a sequel. And that’s kind of exciting.” – LM
30. Finding Dory
IN CINEMAS JUNE (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/TRAILER
“If the plot to Pixar’s Finding Nemo follow-up just had Nemo getting lost again, then maybe we’d be worried that this sequel lacked inspiration, but with the focus shifted to Dory, things could (and probably will) get interesting.” – LM
29. The BFG
IN CINEMAS JULY | MORE/TRAILER
“I’m psyched for two reasons: Spielberg is making another live-action film for kids (the last one was 1991’s Hook) and that we’re getting another Roald Dahl adaptation. How did this film not happen in the ’90s?” – LM
28. The Accountant
IN CINEMAS OCTOBER
“Numbers are sexy and cool, and so are accountants, and so is Ben Affleck, and so is Anna Kendrick, and so we’ll be going to see this movie about doing maths for a living (OK, it’s actually an action movie).” – SN
27. Doctor Strange
IN CINEMAS OCTOBER | MORE/TRAILER
“With Asgard having been brought to the screen successfully in the Thor films, enter Marvel’s next trippy property, a tempting team-up of occult weirdness and SFX wizardry.” – SN
26. Sausage Party
IN CINEMAS AUGUST
“If This is the End wasn’t chaotically crazy – and filthy – enough for you, then boy do Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have a movie for you, this R-rated animated tale of a sausage’s quest across a supermarket to discover the truth about his existence.” – SN
25. Suicide Squad
IN CINEMAS AUGUST | MORE/TRAILER
“Deadpool‘s proven that bastard superheros can work, and DC’s got their own Asshole Avengers to unleash on a genre in need of a shake-up.” – LM
24. Assassin’s Creed
IN CINEMAS DECEMBER
“If Warcraft sucks, then Assassin’s Creed is our only hope for a great videogame film coming out this year…” – LM
23. The Birth of a Nation
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED)
“Sundance-winner steals and repurposes the title of cinema’s most well-known racist propaganda pic for the true tale of a young man – and slave – who’ll grow up to lead a rebellion against his oppressors.” – SN
22. Sherpa
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE/TRAILER
“You know what last year’s Everest was missing? A gigantic fight scene. At least this documentary has one (allegedly).” – LM
21. Ghostbusters
IN CINEMAS JULY (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/TRAILER
“This might sound like sacrilege, but I was never into getting the old bustin’ gang back together – the new cast being made up of women is borderline irrelevant when they’ve got the makings of a great new team.” – SN
20. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE/TRAILER
“An American comedy on the war in Afghanistan? That’s been done to both great and horrific results. Given Tina Fey’s in the lead, I’m predicting the former with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” – LM
19. Jason Bourne
IN CINEMAS JULY | MORE/TRAILER
“The world’s changed a lot since Bourne has been away, not least of all by proving that Jeremy Renner isn’t up to scratch in comparison with Matt Damon, who makes a welcome return alongside director Paul Greengrass here.” – SN
18. The Neon Demon
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED)
“Oh, Nicolas Winding Refn, you wonderful colour-blind fellow who as a consequence renders strikingly visual violent tableaux, please make a horror-thriller about a model in LA and call it Neon Demon – oh wait, you have.” – SN
17. High-Rise
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE/TRAILER
“J.G. Ballard’s 1975 novel chronicled the decline of what was then a near-future housing tower, but in the hands of Ben Wheatley (Kill List) and actors Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller and Elisabeth Moss, this looks a perfectly pitched blend of retro-futurism, paranoia, and the disintegration of British politeness – even humanity.” – SN
16. Moana
IN CINEMAS DECEMBER (IN 2D AND 3D) | MORE/TRAILER
“It feels like eons since Disney first announced this animated Polynesian fantasy tale. I was ecstatic then, and am just as ecstatic now. By the year’s end, I assume I’ll still be buzzing.” – LM
15. Captain America: Civil War
IN CINEMAS MAY | MORE/TRAILER
“The biggest mistake one could make is assuming this Marvel Disney film will stick to convention. It won’t. Even though the world isn’t about to be destroyed for once, it will undergo a monumental change. And someone we love is going to die.” – LM
14. Green Room
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE/TRAILER
“Following up Blue Ruin with more of the same colourful thrills, Green Room takes things up a notch by (a.) being about a punk band and (b.) pitting them against violent racists led by Patrick Stewart.” – SN
13. The Light Between Oceans
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE/TRAILER
“Following Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, one can assume Derek Cianfrance’s cinematic eye for drama will continue with the Oscar-calibre acting of Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz. Hell, Cianfrance might nab his own Oscar nom for once.” – LM
12. The Witch
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE/TRAILER
“If you couldn’t make it to Fantastic Fest or Sundance like two-thirds of Kiwis did, you probably still heard that this Salem period horror is scary as shit.” – SN
11. Hail, Caesar!
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE/TRAILER
“You could say you need to see this film because it’s from the Coens, or that it stars a wealth of A-listers, or that it’s a love-letter to Golden Hollywood. But, really, you need to see this for that one Channing Tatum sailor boy music number.” – LM
10. La La Land
IN CINEMAS JULY | MORE
“We need more dancing musicals. We need more films by Damien (Whiplash) Chazelle. We need more Emma Stone + Ryan Gosling. We need La La Land right now.” – LM
9. Phoenix
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE/TRAILER
“German duo Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss caught lightning in a bottle with 2012’s Barbara. If any filmmaking-acting combo can strike lightning twice – and catch it – it’s them. That’s what we’re banking on with Phoenix.” – LM
8. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
IN CINEMAS MARCH | MORE/TRAILER
“There’s some Aotearoan cinematic alchemy going on here, we reckon, and if this is as much of a homage to Kiwi flicks of the 70s and 80s as we’ve heard, holy shit this’ll be great, proudly parochial viewing.” SN
7. Midnight Special
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE/TRAILER
“Jeff Nichols is a filmmaker to get excited about, skilled with an intelligence and command that is so clearly evident in his previous films (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud). We cannot wait to see how he applies his methods to science-fiction.” – LM
6. Bad Santa 2
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE
“Just when you stopped being cynical about Christmas, it’s time for Billy Bob Thornton to further lower your expectations of the season and of human beings in general, hopefully joined by a little person, a ridiculous kid, and approximately 80,000 drinks.” – SN
5. Bad Neighbours 2
IN CINEMAS MAY | MORE/TRAILER
“No, we didn’t expect this to be so high on the list either, but dammit – we laughed lots in Bad Neighbours. The only thing this sequel is doing differently is giving young women equal opportunity to be just as dumb and irresponsible as the frat boys. And we can’t wait.” – LM
4. Everybody Wants Some
IN CINEMAS APRIL | MORE/TRAILER
“This ‘spiritual successor’ to Dazed and Confused is likely to be a welcome addition to the ranks of ‘hangout films’ as Quentin Tarantino described the genre (oh, yeah, did I tell you fifty times I interviewed him yet? Cos I did, everyone. Yep.)” – SN
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
IN CINEMAS DECEMBER | MORE
“I don’t know what excites me more, the standalone anthology story aspect, another great female lead, the men-on-a-mission plot, director Gareth Edwards, or – oh, I’ve got it now – Ben freaking Mendelsohn co-starring.” – SN
2. Silence
IN CINEMAS 2016 (UNDATED) | MORE
“It’s taken 25 years for this Martin Scorsese pic to get underway, but that’s probably nothing compared to the endurance that will be shown by this film’s persecuted Christians and missionaries in 17th Century Japan.” – SN
1. The Nice Guys
IN CINEMAS MAY | MORE/TRAILER
“Now with extra ‘From the Director of Iron Man 3‘, Shane Black’s back with what looks to be a hilarious action thriller, typically full of excessive violence, profanity, and a brilliant pairing of actors (but will Russ hit anyone with a phone?)” – SN
