A semi / biannual tradition begins here at Plot and Theme as I decide it is time to rank movies again according to my very own standards. My opposition to lazy list-style articles notwithstanding, every now and then taking a glimpse of the best trees in the forest offers potentially interesting observations. That is certainly true in this case, as I will not only briefly summarize and recount my favorite ten movies that I’ve seen released in 2016, but also discuss the relatively poor output of the big blockbuster landscape for this year. I’ll also predict whether there are any saviors on the horizon, or if 2016 is doomed to be remembered as a year of flops, both critically and commercially.
News
Variety Article Discusses the Fight for Gaspar Noé’s “Love”
Today, an article in Variety details the struggle to prevent far-right wing elements of French politics from stamping Gaspar Noé’s Love with an Under-18 rating (our equivalent of NC-17 in the States). The piece is articulate and informative, and likely portends the difficulties that Love will face in other nations as well. If you’re at … Read more
A Game of Musical Chairs Set Off by Alicia Vikander’s Casting in “Bourne 5”
This whole week has been a whirlwind of casting news, kicked off by the announcement of the new Spiderman. Again, castings that were supposedly set in stone (and reported upon in the movie news) have proven less solid by the time the ink finally dried. In this case, Alicia Vikander has officially been named the … Read more
Finally – Tom Holland is the New Spiderman
You would be forgiven for thinking that the powers that be had already decided on the new Spiderman for the second reboot of the beloved web-slinger and his introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many movie news outlets were quick to anoint Asa Butterfield a couple of months ago, but all of them were quick … Read more
Stars in Sci-Fi: A Look Ahead at “Story of Your Life”(AKA: “Arrival”) and “Passengers”
While it is plenty fun to watch gigantic dinosaurs chase and eat people, or see alien spaceships invade Earth, I prefer a more muted, thought-provoking science fiction film. For instance, I can guarantee that I will end up enjoying Ex Machina more than Terminator: Genisys or Avengers: Age of Ultron, simply because of the originality … Read more
Open Road Films to Offer “Dope” for Bitcoin
In an exclusive story from The Wrap, production company Open Road Films announced that they would be allowing tickets for their film Dope to be purchased with the digital currency bitcoin. The indie comedy, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival this year, prominently features bitcoin as a plot detail when the main … Read more
Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” to Debut on Select 70mm Screens on Christmas Day
After Inside Out is released next week (which I get to see on Tuesday!), there’s probably only two films that I absolutely have to see for the remainder of 2015: Star Wars The Force Awakens, and Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight – and it looks like I’ll get to see both in December. It was … Read more
20th Century Fox Moves “The Martian” Release . . . Forward!
It seems like 20th Century Fox was pleased with the response to its marketing onslaught for the new Ridley Scott film, The Martian. The film was originally slated for a November 25th release date, but the production studio announced today that the release would be moved to October 2nd, swapping places with another Fox property, … Read more
“Jenny’s Wedding” Acquired by IFC, Set for July 31st Release
In a Variety Exclusive it was announced that IFC has acquired the rights to Jenny’s Wedding, an indie dramedy (which is apparently a word we’re going forward with) starring Katherine Heigl, Alexis Bledel, Linda Emond, and Tom Wilkinson. The film was written, directed, and produced by Mary Agnes Donoghue, who has a number of writing … Read more
World War Z Sequel Set for July 2017
It looks like we’re actually getting a sequel to World War Z, which had exactly zero to do with the anthology of stories by Max Brooks (a similar phenomenon can be experienced by watching I, Robot after paging through Asimov’s collection of stories of the same name). This isn’t entirely unexpected, as the original grossed … Read more