30 Must See Movies in 2016

Whether it's comic books, videogames, books, sequels or something a little more original you are after, these three lists I have written for The Daily Heckle should hopefully have everyone covered. There are going to be a huge amount of adaptations and franchise additions in 2016 so strap in and read on for my 30 Must See Movies of 2016, handily divided into three different lists!

Top 10 Must-See Films of 2016: No Sequels, No Superheroes (but just one spin off)

Top 10 Must-See Superhero Films and Videogame Adaptations in 2016

Top 10 Must-See Sequels in 2016

Man of Steel Review: The Clark Knight Rises

As producer, Christopher Nolan has left his mark on the new Superman but there was never much chance of him bringing the man who could fly back to earth in the same way as he did with Batman. Zack Snyder has a tougher job to make alien Kal-El and his antagonist General Zod anywhere near as convincing as what Nolan did with another caped crusader in his Dark Knight trilogy. But Snyder does try and he is occasionally successful.

In Man of Steel, Superman's roots as the last son of Krypton are explored and his early years on Earth also get frequent flashbacks that are frequently some of the best scenes in the film. The Krypton set spectacle at the start does not convey the emotion of what is intended and the CG effects are more over whelming than incredible. Snyder over does the style and loses some of the heart despite Russell Crowe as Jor-El acting his socks off like its theatre and Michael Shannon bringing the menace with ease.

What works better are the flashbacks to Clark's childhood down on Planet Earth. Here Snyder matches style with substance; the young Clark struggling to accept his difference from the other children and over whelmed by the extent of his powers. It makes you wish for more from the young Clark; a real Superman Begins that delves deeper into the Smallville years.

For all Man of Steel's epic clashes including a barn storming (and smashing) Smallville set piece, the action can never maintain its hold on the heart or the head where so much special effects are thrown on screen. It's not that there is any problem with the special effects themselves but when the action ramps up and two (or three or more) super beings start going at it, it all loses any sense of believability that has been built up before.

Perhaps it is unfair to expect the same level of grounded realism that made the Dark Knight such a convincing part of the modern world but Man of Steel does try. Metropolis has many recognisable elements and the destruction of the climactic scenes all has that familiar 9/11 feeling with dust covered survivors, buildings falling and a city turned to ash. Unfortunately there is very little sense of the extraordinary amount of death Zod's plan has caused and Superman saves far too few people in his city to warrant the happy ending that is undoubtedly on the cards. Again, the CG effects over whelm rather than immerse.

So the Nolan influence is present as even in the midst of all the spaceships and super beings pounding seven shades out of each other, there is some sense that Superman is a believable creation and the world of characters (most notably the military) reacts accordingly. However occasionally there are just too many CG filled shots with one Superman vs giant space machine fight being particularly far out and therefore hard to engage with. It is all very well to believe a man can fly but when you have a hero fighting giant CG tentacles, it quickly loses interest... unless of course that is exactly what you came to a Superman movie for.

Better but still occasionally over loaded are the scenes of combat between Superman and Zod. While Shannon gets lumped with numerous clichés for threatening lines, the clashes are occasionally spectacular and drawn out only a little too long. At least their faces are not computer generated and their acting convinces.

It is a shame that Shannon gets so many heard-it-all-before lines as there is a good strong character in Zod and it is easy to quickly put Terence Stamp's version out of mind. The script is filled with solid characters, making this the most convincingly constructed Superman movie ever. The Kents are concerned, noble foster parents to Kal-El with Kevin Costner giving a fairly brief but powerful performance, there is an overly obvious but welcome attempt to make Lois Lane a strong and smart journalist (but who still needs frequent rescue) and Clark himself is a man with a secret and a real desire to keep it.

As Kent/Kal-El Henry Cavill has more than just the incredible physique and the handsome face. While he might make the ladies swoon, he also completely convinces as both the other worldly outcast and in a brilliant final scene the Clark Kent we are all so familiar with. Cavill is excellent, as is Hans Zimmer's wonderful score even if there is nothing quite matching the original Superman theme.

While Snyder frequently gets carried away with the spectacle and special effects, the story and particularly Kal-El's characterization is strong enough to make Man of Steel take off. Though it may not convince as much as Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, Superman is a tougher caped crusader to sell in the real world. Man of Steel does however make Clark Kent fascinating and ends the film with the potential for a sequel that will take him onto much more familiar ground. With hints that Lex Luthor might be the next villain in Man of Steel 2, let’s hope Snyder tones down the CGI in favour of more practical and believable effects and makes a Man of Steel 2 that really flies.

Recent reviews at I Love That Film:

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Ruby Sparks Review

The Look of Love Review 

21 & Over Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

Spring Breakers Review

What's going on with The Wolverine?

Don’t call The Wolverine a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, no matter how much it looks like one. This is being forcefully billed as a standalone picture, most likely to distance itself from the disappointment of Gavin Hood’s 2009 prequel.

The Wolverine follows the original X-Men trilogy, the Wolverine prequel and the X-Men prequel First Class to become the sixth instalment in the series.

Based on a hugely popular limited series of early 80s comics by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, it has taken some perseverance and determination from Fox and Jackman to see the return of everybody's favourite X-Man.

With Christopher McQuarrie’s script in place and director Darren Aronofsky set to helm the film, all looked good for the return of Wolverine in 2010. Then despite signing contracts with Fox, Aronofsky suddenly jumped ship.

The directors considered to replace Aronofsky included the likes of Jose Padilha (now shooting the Robocop remake), Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen), Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go) and Justin Lin (Fast and Furious 6).

However in June 2011 a new director was found. James Mangold, the director of the Oscar bothering Walk the Line and modern classic Cop Land took the reigns with Mark Bomback hired for a rewrite.

James Mangold’s film will see Wolverine get out of his depth while in the Land of the Rising Sun. He will be at his most vulnerable; being pushed to his physical and emotional limits and forced to confront samurai steel and his own immortality. 

It features Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper, a villain torn straight from the pages of the comics. A girl who likes to play with toxins, Viper is snake-like and cares little for other people.

 

Most importantly is the addition of Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) confirmed to be playing Kenuichio Harada a.k.a. The Silver Samurai. His mutant ability to charge his weapon with energy capable of cutting through anything and his silver coloured samurai style armour will make him a formidable enemy.

Mangold has been tweeting his influences while making the film; influences that include classics such as Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales, Powell and Pressburger’s Back Narcissus and Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Vertigo. 

The Wolverine opens nationwide July 26, 2013.

Here is the brand new trailer:

What do you think? Is this the Wolverine movie you've been waiting for?

Who could replace Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man?

Iron Man 3 has flown into the second biggest opening weekend ever spot right behind The Avengers movie of last year. There have been rumblings about Robert Downey Jr being ready to hang up the helmet and leave Tony Stark in his past but now Kevin Feige has stepped up to claim that there will most certainly be an Iron Man 4 with or without RDJ.

People seem to be suggesting that as RDJ's contract with Marvel has just expired, that he is now putting all this talk about leaving Iron Man behind out into the world just so that he can re-negotiate a better contract for himself going forward. Equally, Kevin Feige could be speaking out about Iron Man 4 just so that he can scare RDJ into running back for another whopping paycheck. Feige even mentioned that he can see Iron Man going on until Iron Man 10 or 20 and that he could last as long as James Bond, hinting at many changes to the man behind the mask.

Pepper ponders replacement

But all this talk is most likely bluster. Marvel wants RDJ. RDJ most likely wants another minimum $50 million pay day. Frankly the thought of anyone being paid that kind of money makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit. And the thought of somebody being greedy enough to want to bargain for more money makes me even sicker.

I understand that RDJ seems pretty damn essential to Iron Man 4 right now and I'm sure his agent will be negotiating hard with Marvel seeing as to the fans of the films, RDJ IS Tony Stark. If Iron Man makes obscene money in cinemas then a RDJ is a big reason for that and should be paid accordingly. But I heard he was paid $50 million for Avengers and something similar for Iron Man 3 and those are just disgusting figures. Call me a Commie but I don't think anyone in this world deserves that much money, especially when you consider how many people are starving across the world.

So with that in mind, if RDJ is really trying to scrounge more money from Marvel, then I think no matter how much you like Iron Man and RDJ, we need to seek out a replacement. If there really is to be an Iron Man 4 and RDJ won't commit, who do you think could step into RDJ's shoes?

I personally hope they get Shane Black to direct again but admittedly I would find it very hard to replace RDJ. It needs to be someone with a layer of likeable arrogance and I'm sure that's not that easy to find. What do you think?

Iron Man 3 Review at Filmoria

Today is the day the embargo was lifted on Iron Man 3 reviews so even though I got to go to a special screening a whole week ago, I wasn't able to share my review until today.

Iron Man 3 Review at Filmoria

Not only did I get to see the film a week early, but writer and director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce also showed up to introduce the screening. They both seemed very eager for us all to like the film and kept reminding everyone that it takes a lot of time and effort to make these films.

Patrick Samuel from Static Mass took this photo

Being cynical old me, I expected it to be a bomb due to their desperate pleas. If you want to know how I felt about the film after seeing it, you'll just have to head on over to Filmoria to read the review. Check out the trailer below if you haven't already seen it a hundred times!

Iron Man 3, Bernie and 21 & Over

I have three more preview screenings lined up over the next fortnight; Iron Man 3, Bernie and 21 & Over. April is turning into a very busy month for film screenings. I already had Evil Dead, Olympus Has Fallen and The Look of Love in the bag but now I have three more to add to the list.

While I'm not the biggest comic book lover in the world; Iron Man, Batman and Hellboy are definitely my three favourite comic book characters and Robert Downey Jr has been consistently charming and funny in the last two Iron Man films. The addition of Shane Black on writing and directing duties is the biggest draw though. Shane Black has written some brilliantly witty and action packed scripts and his directorial debut with Downey Jr starring was the wonderful Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That film made me fall almost completely in love with Downey Jr and is a huge reason for his successful comeback surely. If only it had done the same for Val Kilmer.

Also that Superbowl spot for Iron Man 3 that just featured a bunch of people falling out of a plane with Iron Man deciding what to do next was pure marketing genius. THAT's how to get me interested in a film (without showing me too much of the story)! I hope Kingsley is as epic as he looks! Here is the Superbowl spot if you haven't seen it, plus the full trailer:





Bernie re-teams director Richard Linklater with Jack Black after the success of School of Rock. I'm looking forward to seeing this as I've got a lot of love for Linklater and it looks pretty quirky, fun and with an interesting and slightly different role for Black than normal. Still, it's really just filler until Before Midnight gets here! I sure hope that nice Mr Matthew McConaughey is playing a slightly more pleasant character than in Killer Joe though! Check out the trailer below:



Finally there is 21 & Over which looks pretty funny but I wouldn't be surprised if all the best bits are in the trailer. I guess it could potentially be this generation's Ferris Bueller. Or it could just be a horrible mess full of crass stereotyping. I want to hope its as fun as the trailer looks in places. Check it out:



Any of these take your fancy?

Is it just me… or should Warner Bros forget a Batman reboot?

Is a Batman reboot really necessary... I mean ever? For my money, The Dark Knight Rises is the best comic book movie that will likely ever be made. Christopher Nolan’s final take on Batman and Bruce Wayne scaled dizzying heights of greatness with its grand, emotional and epic storytelling.

The entire Dark Knight trilogy was a miracle rebirth for a character that should have been all but forgotten after the 1995 disaster that was Batman and Robin. George Clooney’s nipples, Alicia Silverstone’s Batgirl and Schwarzenegger’s comical if he wasn’t so damn awful Mr Freeze all nailed Batman’s coffin shut for eight years.

 

Looking to the future

Nolan revived the franchise with a new direction, a new Batman and a very different vision from what had come before, whether from Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher. Batman Begins began a new trilogy but only in 2005 was this attempted after the wounds inflicted on Bat fans were finally starting to heal.

Whoever takes on the frankly silly task of topping Nolan’s trilogy is cruising for a bruising. It will take something seriously impressive to do justice to what Nolan, Bale and the rest of the crew and cast achieved over the past seven years.

Reports initially suggested the possibility of a 2015 reboot (only three years after The Dark Knight Rises) but recent rumours suggest it is more likely to be 2017 or possibly beyond. I’m sure that most Bat fans will agree that this can only be a good thing!

See what is says there... The legend ENDS!!!!

If you want to watch a Batman film so desperately, go out and buy Nolan’s trilogy on Blu-ray and watch the films again, then work your way through the exhaustive special features. If that doesn’t satisfy your desire for the masked vigilante then start a petition to have Nolan’s films put back in the cinemas where they belong. I for one will sign that petition if it comes along in 2017 or so. I’d even consider forking out for an IMAX visit.

Please don’t urge Warner Bros into rushing into a financially motivated reboot. We do not need any more Batman stories for now. A script does not need to be hastily cobbled together, just because Warner Bros want to keep milking their caped crusader cash cow. No one in their right mind would try to best Nolan’s trilogy at this point so you will be most likely getting the work of a madman.

There was eight years between Batman and Robin and Batman Begins. Eight years it took to get the right director, script and cast and to let us Bat fans come to terms with a reboot. That was after a disaster. Whatever follows The Dark Knight Rises is taking on a modern masterpiece.

Marvel only waited five years to reboot Spider-man and grosses were down and frankly the new film felt completely pointless. Man of Steel may only be arriving seven years after Superman returned but at least it has Nolan behind it and is again, following a disappointment. 

I urge Warner Bros to give The Dark Knight a rest at least until 2020. He’s earned it. Or is it just me?

I Love That Blog Post #12

Check out some of the stuff I've been reading and enjoying recently!

The Droid You’re Looking For asks are horror films actually scary and does it even matter?  http://tdylf.com/2012/08/27/are-horror-films-actually-scary-does-it-even-matter/

Ever wondered why superhero movies can be so unsatisfying.  The Movie Blog has some answers http://them0vieblog.com/2012/08/27/man-vs-superman-chronicles-climax-the-scale-of-superhuman-violence/

Cinematic Corner highly rates one of my favourites, Monster, starring Charlize Theron http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/monster.html

The Kid in the Front Row talks about the lack of diversity of Hollywood’s output http://www.kidinthefrontrow.com/2012/09/cinema-is-about-hearing-from-all-voices.html

Front Room Cinema launches an attack on trailers for trailers http://www.frontroomcinema.com/midweek-mumble-does-our-marketing-need-more-marketing/

Be sure to check them out!  Happy reading!

I Love That Blog Post #4

Oh my gosh I love reading your blogs!  I love them all but they are taking over my life!  Here's a recent selection of some of the most interesting stuff I've been reading and I highly recommend you all read too if you haven't already!

Keith has a pretty damn perfect list of 5 Phenomenal Superhero movies http://keithandthemovies.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/5-phenomenal-superhero-movies/#comment-233

Anomalous Material have introduced me to ‘End of the World’ which sounds totally awesome!  http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/2012/05/emma-watson-jason-segel-will-cameo-in-seth-rogens-end-of-the-world/

Mike at Man, I Love Films is a voice of reason who thinks superhero movies are just all right! http://manilovefilms.com/everything-else/editorials/2012/05/can-you-avenge-a-genre/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-you-avenge-a-genre

Max at Impassioned Cinema shares a hilarious and clever short film http://www.impassionedcinema.com/votw-applicant/

Who’s the greatest villain?  http://fogsmoviereviews.com/2012/05/08/tossin-it-out-there-who-do-you-think-is-the-greatest-villain-of-all-time-2/

TOP OF THE BLOGS! THIS is why you/I/we study film and don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s a waste of time! http://manilovefilms.com/everything-else/2012/05/why-study-film/

That last one nearly made me weep! Please give the links a click and be sure to check back next time for more blog posts I love!