The makers of last year’s ‘Macbeth’ bring us an adaptation of the hugely successful video game series, starring Michael Fassbender as a criminal forced by a shadowy organisation to unlock the memories of his deadly ancient ancestors.
Directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons among others.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-fi
UK Release: 1st of January US Release: 21st of December 2016
A Monster Calls (2016)
“Conor” is a 12-year-old boy and yet clearly the man of the house, self-sufficient and a carer for his ailing young single mother; but when life’s struggles begin to take their toll, the local churchyard’s giant yew tree transforms into an imposing monster who guides “Conor” through difficult times with three fantastical stories, in this moving fantasy/drama from director J.A. Bayona.
Directed by J.A. Bayona and starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones and Sigourney Weaver among others.
Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
UK Release: 1st of January US Release: 6th of January
Silence (2016)
When two 17th century Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan on mission to spread Christianity and determine the fate of their mentor, they encounter open hostility and face persecution in Martin Scorsese’s historical period drama adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s award-winning novel.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson among others.
Genre: Drama
UK Release: 1st of January US Release: January
6th
Neruda (2016)
Director Pablo Larraín’s unique detective-thriller treatment of the story of Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet and communist party politician Pablo Neruda, who was persecuted by the government when a right-leaning administration took power in the late 1940s.
Directed by Pablo Larraín and starring Gael García Bernal, Luis Gnecco and Alfredo Castro among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama
UK Release: 6th of January US Release: 16th of December 2016
12th
La La Land (2016)
Writer/director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) takes his Jazz sensibilities to Tinseltown in an all-singing, all-dancing musical dramedy, starring Ryan Gosling as a jazz musician who falls for Emma Stone’s aspiring young actress in L.A. in this modern interpretation of a “Golden Age” Hollywood genre staple for both new and old generation alike.
Directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and J.K. Simmons among others.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical
UK Release: 12th of January US Release: 25th of December 2016
13th
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
A stoic and blunt Boston handyman is forced back to his coastal old stomping grounds by the death of his brother and is confronted by new and unexpected responsibilities regarding his teenage nephew; but his Massachusetts trip stirs up un-confronted emotions about the tragedy which left him a shell of a man in this poignant and honest drama from writer/director Kenneth Lonergan.
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan and starring Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges and Michelle Williams among others.
Genre: Drama
UK Release: 13th of January US Release: 18th of November 2016
Live by Night (2017)
Ben Affleck returns to the director’s chair and stars as an ambitious prohibition era gangster trying to get his piece of the American dream, but his mob “paradise” has a heavy price in this gritty 1920s crime period drama based on the award-winning novel by Dennis Lehane.
Directed by Ben Affleck and starring Ben Affleck, Zoe Saldana and Sienna Miller among others.
Genre: Crime, Drama
UK Release: 13th of January US Release: 13th of January
20th
Lion (2016)
Biographical drama based on the true story of Saroo Brierley; a poor 5-year-old Indian boy who was separated from his family and became one of India’s many street children a thousand miles from home, only to be adopted and raised by a loving family in Australia, but who then embarks on an odyssey to track down his lost family over 25 years later.
Directed by Garth Davis and starrring Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar and Nicole Kidman among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama
UK Release: 20th of January US Release: 25th of November 2016
Split (2017)
When three teenage girls are kidnapped and held captive by a troubled man with 23 distinct personalities, they must find a way to escape before his most fearsome incarnation is born in this horror/thriller from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring James McAvoy, Haley Lu Richardson and Anya Taylor-Joy among others.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
UK Release: 20th of January US Release: 20th of January
Jackie (2016)
Natalie Portman stars as former American first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of the JFK assassination, struggling to keep her family together while protecting the legacy of her late husband in this biographical drama from acclaimed Chilean director Pablo Larraín.
Directed by Pablo Larraín and starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and John Hurt among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama
UK Release: 20th of January US Release: 2nd of December 2016
27th
T2: Trainspotting (2017)
The Boyos are back in town!; 20 years older but none the wiser, ready to reminisce and settle old scores while misbehaving in a whole new broken world of excess and addiction, as Danny Boyle re-injects his own groundbreaking 90s British classic into a new generation.
Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Ewen Bremner among others.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: 10th of February
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Mel Gibson returns to the directorial chair after 10 years for a biographical drama about Desmond Doss; a World War II hero, Seventh-day Adventist and combat medic who refused to carry a weapon or kill, only to become the first conscientious objector in U.S. Army history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington and Teresa Palmer among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama, War
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: 4th of November 2016
The White King (2017)
Young “Djata” lives a normal idyllic life in a totalitarian state oblivious to the brutal realities around him, but when his father is mysteriously abducted by the authorities, “Djata” will come face-to-face with the oppressive realities of his society in this dystopian but historically grounded sci-fi drama based on the bestselling Hungarian novel by György Dragomán.
Directed by Alex Helfrecht & Jörg Tittel and starring Lorenzo Allchurch, Agyness Deyn and Jonathan Pryce among others.
Genre: Drama
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: N/A
Sing (2016)
‘The Producers’ meets ‘Zootopia’ meets ‘American Idol’, when a Koala hatches a scheme to host a huge singing competition in an effort to save his failing theater in this animation from the creators of ‘Despicable Me’, featuring the voices of Hollywood’s finest.
Directed by Garth Jennings and starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Taron Egerton among others.
Genre: Family, Animation, Comedy
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: 21st of December 2016
Denial (2016)
Biographical drama about American historian Deborah Lipstadt, who was sued by infamous Holocaust denier David Irving for libel in her characterisation of his inflammatory declarations, in a landmark British case with implications for the very historical basis of the “Third Reich’s” atrocities and how they’re viewed.
Directed by Mick Jackson and starring Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall and Tom Wilkinson among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: 21st of October 2016
Christine (2016)
Rebecca Hall stars in a biographical drama about the final days of Christine Chubbuck; a Florida local news reporter whose psychological issues and personality traits conspired with a deep-seated resentment about her work, driving her to commit suicide on live television in 1974, one month shy of her thirtieth birthday.
Directed by Antonio Campos and starring Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall and Tracy Letts among others.
Genre: Fact-based, Drama
UK Release: 27th of January US Release: 14th of October 2016
#TriviaTuesday: A cost-cutting insect-like suit was the early design for the alien hunter in 1987's 'Predator'—unsuccessfully worn by the character's first actor Jean-Claude Van Damme—but it was ditched for a now iconic Stan Winston design at twice the price. Money well spent. pic.twitter.com/pvbTmpgUIB
#TriviaTuesday: ‘Big Kahuna Burger’ is most certainly the fictional fast food of choice in the Tarantinoverse, appearing or referenced in 'Reservoir Dogs', 'From Dusk Till Dawn', 'Death Proof', 'Four Rooms', as well as its starring turn in 1994’s 'Pulp Fiction' of course. pic.twitter.com/k3xVsbDuA6