My Top 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2016

Let's face it: it might be tough for a Star Wars movie to NOT take the number one spot on my anticipated lists over the next few years. The Force Awakens lived up to my insane expectations, so of course I'm excited to see what's next in this franchise. Director Gareth Edwards says he wants to make a morally ambiguous film that brings the WAR into Star Wars, with inspirations like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down. That sounds incredible.

Days of Future Past was just about everything I was looking for from a comic book movie, and successfully set the long-running franchise back on track after it had gotten very convoluted. With Apocalypse we're being re-introduced to many of the characters we have already seen from the X-Men films, but younger iterations. And Oscar Isaac looks to be a very scary villain for the team to take down. It's definitely one I can't wait to check out.

Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of comedy in Marvel films but with Deadpool it seems all-too-appropriate. The merc with a mouth was used in the most horrible ways in X-Men Origins: Wolverine so it's cool to see Ryan Reynolds get another shot to do this character justice. It's unclear if Deadpool will work outside its niche audience, but after the hilarious trailers I'm excited to see the shenanigans that ensue.

The disappointment of Avengers: Age of Ultron (in my opinion, at least) makes me a bit less enthused about Captain America: Civil War. But the directors for this one are Anthony and Joe Russo, who made one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe films in The Winter Soldier. Civil War has a ton of characters to juggle and has its work cut out for it in serving as a springboard for future Marvel movies while still being a story about Captain America. And let's not forget how exciting it is to just see these heroes fight each other in the first place.

When people see this trailer in the theater they usually just laugh, but I think that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is content with that and willing to take itself seriously to just the right extent. I for one think that it is great to see a bunch of chicks kick zombie butt, and there's some impressive shots in the well-cut trailer like a POV zombie decapitation shot. This film looks like a lot of fun, and will hopefully surpass the underwhelming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

A year ago it looked like Zootopia might be a dud. Disney seemed to have thought we had no experience with walking and talking animals and treated that like it was a big deal. But the marketing has turned my pessimism into optimism. It looks like a heartfelt and very funny mystery story with a clever script and great animation.

The new expanded DC universe's second film actually is a pretty cool idea. Taking many of the iconic villains and having them in their own film as anti-heroes is a risky proposition, but one that might actually work. There have already been some criticisms about Jared Leto's Joker, but at least they seem to be trying something different here. Suicide Squad is one that I'll be eagerly waiting for in the later summer months, and I'm more enthused for it than I am for the mainline entry Batman v. Superman.

Promising to be one of the grittiest films we've ever seen, Triple 9 looks the push the boundary on violence while not forgetting the importance of storytelling. The cast is incredible and the trailer is strong. I can't wait to take a dive into the criminal underworld, and am looking forward to see what director John Hillcoat (known for the underrated film The Road) has in store for us

The Coen Brothers roll up with another film this year that will probably be beloved by critics by nobody will see. Hail, Caesar! looks pretty darn funny and promises some quirky shenanigans with an A-list cast of heavy-hitters.

Paula Hawkins' book runs too long at times, but feels ripe for an amazing film adaptation. It has drawn comparisons to Gone Girl, which was my second favorite film of 2014. And with great actors like Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, and Luke Evans involved, The Girl on the Train is definitely going to be a must-see film when it releases next fall.

Assassins' Creed (and Warcraft to an extent) feels like the final chance to make a video game into a strong movie. The talent and budget here is definitely promising, and I like that it is telling an original tale in the saga rather than simply copying the plot of one of the games. My question is how the movie will dabble into the modern-day conspiracy angle, which is becoming increasingly ignored in the games. Assassin's Creed is one of the most unknown things this year, and how it turns out will be exciting to see

Nobody likes the fact that Disney is planning live-action adaptations of all their classics, but with The Jungle Book it at least appears they are doing a very good job. This movie actually appeared on my top twenty most anticipated last year, but now it appears that it is finally ready to be released. The Jungle Book is definitely a difficult story to do, but it appears to be in good hands with some great special-effects work and a top-notch voice cast.

Maybe one of the big problems Batman v. Superman has run into is that it has felt like this movie has been in the works forever. The much-talked about film is finally releasing in a couple of months, and I'm still very interested to see how it turns out if not all that hopeful. I think a lot of us are worried that we will be witnessing the DC Comics universe fail to stick the landing this year, but we'll see how this movie is handled.

Typically indie films sneak onto the scene without my having any chance to get excited about them. The Witch is a horror film that looks absolutely terrifying and has already gotten plenty of positive reviews through film festivals. I love how subtle and less-is-more The Witch's trailer makes it look. While it could fall flat, it also could be on the scariest movies in years.

I love me a good Western, and though The Magnificent Seven has been pretty quiet so far, I get the feeling that it could be a strong entry in the genre that we will be talking about as one of 2016's best for years to come. Why? I'm not quite sure, but despite being a remake with a pretty derivative title it feels very fresh and unique. And let's not forget that Chris Pratt is in it, who helped make Jurassic World such a smash success (at least at the box office).

The follow-up to Blue Ruin, a massive Kickstarter success, from director Jeremy Saulnier could also be one of the year's best. It's too early to say if the film will hit as hard as his debut feature, but the teaser trailer that was released the day of this writing looks pretty incredible and intense, helped with some great narration by Patrick Stewart.

The only reason this film could be included on this list is because I waited so long to make it, but this odd surprise spin-off to Cloverfield had a truly incredible reveal just two months before the movie's release. Part of the appeal is how different it is from the original film in the franchise, and that we know so little about it other than that there are only three cast members.

I can see the complaints now: Moana is too similar to Lilo and Stitch. Well, maybe, the most basic beach setting is familiar, but the little we know of the film's plot looks very unique and exciting. It would be risky to go against Disney Animation right now, who has been churning out success after success in the past few years. The concept art we'vee seen so far looks awesome, and Moana all-around looks like family-friendly entertainment not exclusively for girls.

It's possible that this one would suck, but the animation style and very serious first teaser trailer make Kubo and the Two Strings stick out. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding Kubo for sure, but hey, big actors like Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, and Matthew McConaughey were enticed by the project so I will be as well. This has underrated gem written all over it.

After Denis Villeneuve's trilogy of dark and gritty excellence: Prisoners, Enemy, and Sicario- many are looking forward to how he tackles a different genre entirely. Science fiction is new territory for him, and it will give an indication to how much excitement we should have for the upcoming Blade Runner sequel. I'm always up for some more original sci-fi, and Story of Your Life promises just that.