Coming Soon...(2016)

Yes, this blog still exists (amazingly). It has become much less frequented that it was in the early years. Since then I have grown older; I graduated from uni; I have had to face reality (get a job) and I'm still looking to do something meaningful. But those should not be reasons for this blog to disappear completely. There are numerous posts that I started but never got round to completing, so hopefully when I have a bit more time on my hands they will get to see the light of day.

In the mean time, much like just over a year ago, here is a brief list of films coming out before the end of the year that I am particularly looking forward to and I will try to see these to the best of my ability. Will these have a chance of making my list of the top films of 2016? Who knows. All I will say is that it's going to take some doing to dethrone the current number one inhabitant. Yes, I realise that I may have left some out of this list and I apologise, but sometimes the best films will be the ones you go into blind, knowing nothing about. So, here's what I'm looking forward to in film before the end of 2016...

• Captain Fantastic - September 9th
• A family from the forests of the Pacific Northwest, who lose their mother, are forced to abandon their paradise and enter the real world. Looks offbeat and quirky. Much praise so far for lead performance from Viggo Mortensen as the father trying to do everything with the best intentions.

• Hunt For The Wilderpeople - September 16th
• It's from New Zealand (the greatest country in the world), about a nationwide man hunt for a juvenile delinquent and his foster uncle who disappear into the wilderness. Starring Sam Neill and Rhys Darby. Plus, it's from Taika Waititi who made What We Do In The Shadows - the funniest film in the last few years.

• Alone in Berlin - September 29th
• Mixed reviews of this film so far. My parents want to see this more than I do because they've read the original Hans Fallada novel, so I will try to facilitate them. Was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival when we were actually there (in Berlin I mean; we unfortunately didn't go to see anything at the festival), about a family during the Second World War who lose their son in battle and decide to form a resistance to the Nazi regime. Features three of my favourite acting talents - Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson and Daniel Bruhl - so there is something for me after all.

•  The Girl On The Train - October 7th
•  Based on the novel by Paula Hawkins published in 2015, which was described as "the new Gone Girl" - a missing person mystery told from multiple perspectives. And you may remember that Gone Girl was one of my favourite films of 2014. From the director of The Help, starring Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson and Justin Theroux.

 

•  I, Daniel Blake - October 21st
• From the writer-director duo of Paul Laverty and Ken Loach, who brought us Sweet Sixteen, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and The Angel's Share. Like TWTSTB, this film won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Plus, it's set in Newcastle.

• The Accountant - November 4th
• Ben Affleck plays a maths savante, who works as a freelance accountant for a number of dangerous criminal organisations and decides to un-cook the books on them. Also stars Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons.

• Sully - December 2nd
• Based on the true story of Chesley Sullenberger who pulled off the 'Miracle on the Hudson' in January 2009, saving the lives of 155 people. Starring Tom Hanks, whose best work always seems to be when he's portraying a real-life person, and directed Clint Eastwood.

•  Assassin's Creed - December 26th
• Will we finally get the first ever film based on a video game that isn't complete rubbish? Well, things look promising especially considering that it is not recycling the same characters as the original series of games. Plus, it is made by the same team who gave us Macbeth last year - director Justin Kurzel, cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.