What movies to see in 2016: Ghostbusters, Batman V Superman, The Revenant

IT’S not all about Star Wars. There are Nice Guys, lady ghostbusters and Fantastic Beasts coming to a cinema near you in 2016. Here’s our top picks.

The must-see movies of 2016

IT’S not all about Star Wars you know.

Here’s our pick of the cinematic offerings that await in 2016:

The Revenant

January

Everything you have heard about this exhausting, yet exhilarating epic is true.

Except that bit about Leonardo DiCaprio getting interfered with by a bear. That’s the internet for you.

In a career-best performance with Best Actor Oscar written all over it, DiCaprio plays an 1820s tracker left for dead in the wilderness at the height of winter.

How he journeys back from the brink of death — motivated by a thirst for vengeance — is the stuff unforgettable cinema is made of.

Co-stars Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) under the direction of Alejandro Inarritu (Birdman).

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Spotlight

January

The film tells the true story of the efforts of a team Boston Globe journalists to uncover a pattern of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

The stories generated by the group resulted in a Pulitzer Prize.

A top-shelf cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci and a resurgent Michael Keaton (Birdman).

Broolyn

February

Gifted Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Hanna) stars as Ellis, an Irish girl whose only hope of a better life rests on a job placement in faraway New York City.

After a difficult period, Ellis meets her Mr Right.

And then, everything goes wrong back home. A beautiful story that covers the spectrum of emotions without taking any manipulative shortcuts.

The Daughter

March

The key homegrown release of 2016 will be The Daughter, a hard-hitting ensemble affair that some pundits believe is on a par with Lantana.

The prospects of this tale of a failing family business in a dying Australian timber town becoming a watershed success
can only be enhanced by a cast featuring the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto and rising star Odessa Young.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Henry Cavill as Superman in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

March

The planet-shaking battle of wills promised here — with Batman (Ben Affleck) as the good guy, and Superman (Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill) going rogue — is sure to refresh the enthusiasm of jaded moviegoers.

An all-star support cast includes Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons. The immortal Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) makes her live-action screen debut ahead of her 2017 movie.

The Nice Guys

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in "The Nice Guys".

May

For an actor who has been in the highest echelon for most of his career, Russell Crowe has been noticeably reluctant to get out of his easy chair in recent times.

This funky, fun-looking detective caper set in 1970s Los Angeles looks like a canny choice to remind us of his talents.

Crowe plays a veteran standover man hired by a down-and-out investigator (Ryan Gosling) to solve the disappearance of a young woman and the death of a famous porn star.

If the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling clicks, this has the makings of a must-see.

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters 2016 style: Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon.

July

All together now: “Who you gonna call?”

In the case of this reboot of the hit paranormal comedy series from the 1980s, the producers had nothing but female stars on speed-dial.

The return of Ghostbusters in the 21st century is a totally gender-flipped affair, with the shoes of the original ’Busters trio Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis filled by Kirsten Wiig (The Martian), Melissa McCarthy (Spy) and Kate McKinnon (TV’s Saturday Night Live).

The original Ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. Photo: Columbia Picutres

The Secret Life of Pets

September

It has been a good while since a fresh, all-ages animation franchise won the hearts of the movie-going public.

Of all the original cartoon offerings in 2016, this stands the best chance of sticking around for some time.

The action takes place primarily in a New York apartment building, and focuses on the after-hours exploits of domestic pets.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The latest film franchise set in the Harry Potter universe is inspired by the companion book.

November

Fantastic Beasts will launch a new fleet of features centring on the adventures of Newt Scamander, an eccentric and introverted wizard embedded in the British Ministry of Magic. Though neither a prequel nor sequel to the Harry Potter saga, this is set in the same world as JK Rowling’s best-known creation at Hogwarts.

The story this time around kicks off in the 1920s. Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne plays Newt, supported by Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Ezra Miller.

Red Dog 2: True Blue

December

December 2016 will be decimated by the hoopla and hubbub of yet another horse bolting from the Star Wars stable (provisionally titled Rogue One).

Nobly leading the local resistance will be a prequel to 2011 family hit Red Dog.

The story will zero in on Red’s formative years as a cunning canine in the Outback. If it is half as good as the first instalment, queues will immediately form outside cinemas. LP