NAMELESS AND FAMELESS

Most Anticipated Films of 2016

A List by Adam Scullin

 

It's always funny to look back on what your most anticipated films of any given year are when that year comes to a close. There were quite a few films I had on my list at the beginning of 2015 that I never even ended up watching, and others that I did but were simply disappointing (I'm handing down a life sentence to Chappie for disappointment). Once again, it's that time of the year (January) when I have to write up a list of what films I'm most excited for, only to embarrass myself later on.

 

These lists are hard. Very hard. Primarily because at the start of the year, the only films you really know anything about are the big action blockbusters, and so they tend to dominate this list. When I wrote the 2015, knew absolutely nothing about The Big Short or Carol or Room or  Spotlight, or any of the films that are expected to be big players at the Academy Awards. That's just how it is. We don't find out about them this early in the year. However, there are some dramas we are warned about early enough to be able to get excited for them an include them in lists like this.

 

A final note is, to me, an important one. This isn't a list of the movies I think will be the best. These are the movies that I am personally most excited for in 2016. This means there may be movies high up, or even at number 1, that aren't the obvious pick for movies that are most highly anticipated worldwide. These are my most anticipated movies. Please keep that in mind.

 

So, without further delay, let's get stuck into some honourable mentions!

 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Hail, Caesar!

 

The latest effort from the Coen Brothers (Fargo, No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski) is sure to be one of the more interesting films of 2016. Following Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a Hollywood 'fixer' who cleans up and solves problems for big stars, Hail, Caesar! tells the story of Mannix's adventures following the disappearance of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), an A-lister in the middle of playing Julius Caesar in a major production. Boasting a supportung cast of Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill and Dolph Lundgren, Hail, Caesar! is sure to either disappoint or exceed expectations, with little middle ground. 

 

Independence Day: Resurgence
 

I still hate myself a little bit for not having Independence Day: Resurgence in the final list. 'Honourable Mention' seems almost like an insult, given how insanely awesome the original 1996 blockbuster was. Though I'm sure I'll regret it, ID:R will have to make its bed here for now. Set two decades after the first invasion, it seems Earth's greatest enemy has finally decided it's time to come back and have a second crack at our wonderful planet. With the same director (Roland Emmerich) on board, and both Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum reprising their iconic roles as President and Scientist, all the cards are in place for Independence Day: Resurgence to be every bit as awesome as the original was. Now, hopefully we can get Bill Pullman to pull off another awesome monologue we can quote repeatedly for the next two decades...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Disaster Artist

I won't deny it. I absolutely love watching The Room. It is such a horrible, horrible movie. So horrible that it is incredibly entertaining. I've been aware of Greg Sestero's book The Disaster Artist for some time, but I never even dreamed that a film would be made about the creation of the worst serious movie ever. And on top of that, we have The Franco Brothers teaming up on it, with Zac Efron makaing himself known and Alison Brie popping up as well. The film also features performances from Josh Hutcherson, Sharon Stone, Seth Rogen (!), Kate Upton (!!) and Nathan For You's Nathan Fielder (!!!). With James Franco directing, this film is sure to be a heap of fun and done in the kind of loose, carefree way that a detailing of The Room needs to have.

 

Finding Dory
Pixar are a fantastic company. When they set about to do something, they don't screw up. Sure, I didn't find Inside Out to be as awesome as I was expecting, but that was an original movie. What we have here is a sequel to arguable Pixar's finest film, Finding Nemo. What is scary about Pixar doing a sequel to something as sacred as Nemo is that although the chances of greatness are stacked extremely high, so too are the chances of failure. When going back to a property like Nemo, there is an incredible amount of risk involved. However, as we saw with Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, Pixar have a strong track record for sequels to sacred work, so let's hope Finding Dory follows in those footsteps, as I'm sure it will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody Wants Some

Rochard Linklater is releasing another film. Considering this is the guy who directed Boyhood, Before Sunrise and School of Rock, this is lready enough to get excited for. Add on to that the fact that this is being advertised as the spiritual successor to Dazed and Confused, and suddenly we have a whole lotta reason to be keen on Everybody Wants Some. The trailer was released. It looks awesome. I'm actually finding it hard to justify why this film didn't make it past the 'Honourable Mentions' stage of this list. However, it was incredibly tight and having already extended the final list from 10 films to 15, Everybody Wants Some just had to sit out, unfortunately. But hey, there's another list at the end of the year that this has a pretty good chance of getting to the top of! 

 

Star Trek: Beyond
This movie would have to be the definition of mixed feelings. I loved Star Trek with a passion. I'm a fan of the original series and I loved what J.J. Abrams did with it when he got put in charge. Though Star Trek Into Darkness wasn't as good as the first film, I still really enjoyed it. However, Star Trek Beyond has been a magnet for worrisome headlines from the moment J.J. Abrams was announced as the Episode VII director. From non-stop script rewrites to a hopeless search for a director, the only thing that comforts me is the fact that all the cast will be returning. While I have my fingers crossed that Star Trek Beyond will be just as much fun as the previous entries, I'm filled with too much doubt to push it past the 'Honourable Mention' stage.

 

Warcraft

Warcraft will be a very, very interesting movie. The first of two major video game adaptations coming this year, Warcraft has a lot riding on it. Particularly, the future of video game movies. The World of Warcraft franchise is without a doubt one of the most successful in video game history, and it is finally coming to the screen in hopes of revitilising a fantasy genre that has felt largely dead since the Lord of the Rings films ended in 2003. The success or failure of Warcraft could lead studio executives to believe that video games are either a solid investment (when done right) or confirm the popular belief that video games just do not tranlsate to the big screen. No pressure! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the 'Honourable Mentions' out of the way , it's finally time to dig into Nameless and Fameless' Fifteen Most Anticipated Films of 2016! Let's go!