Friday, December 30, 2016

Remembering 2016: Best Movies?


From superhero rivalries, love stories, sci-fi stories, real-world stories, any story you've been through, the year 2016 has been a great year for movies, no matter how good or bad they are, as long as they catered to specific kind of audiences, be it fantasy, drama, horror, comedy, kids, or any other genre they know.

So, let's list down the best movies of 2016...

1) Deadpool - Deadpool told me that his dream of having his own movie just like any other superheroes he know has came true, all courtesy of his new best friends, Ryan Reynolds, who played as Deadpool in this film, and director Tim Miller. Life couldn't get even more exciting than this action comedy flick that packs more chimichangas than any other superhero flick Deadpool hates, except his own. 

2) Zootopia - In the world of Zootopia, animals are behaving just like us, doing their hectic lifestyles, and enjoy whatever on their hearts' content. In this mammal metropolis, everything is possible. The film centers on two protagonists; Nick Wilde, your basic city fox (who turns out to be a scam artist, by the way), and Officer Judy Hoops, a female cadet police officer who strives to fit in with her larger colleagues, and together, they can get through all sorts of Zootopia, knowing what is like to be wild in the urban jungle they're stepping on.

3) Batman v. Superman - The Dark Knight clashes against the Man of Steel in one of the most anticipated films of 2016 and with the surprise appearance of Wonder Woman, this epic showdown never felt so alive until the very end.

4) Captain America: CIVIL WAR - Another movie about superhero rivalry, this time from the world of Marvel superheroes. In this film, following the most tragic incident that spiraled the fate of the Marvel Superheroes, the US Congress passed a bill that require all superheroes to unmask their true identities before the public. Iron Man supports the idea but for Captain America, he condemns this ideology. Because of such disagreements, they will decide that they will battle against each other in order to decide the fate of the heroes. However, for each side, they're not alone.

5) Train to Busan - Even South Koreans are not safe in the zombie apocalypse and one of the most frightening films ever made by the Koreans is the latest example of why this kind of genre remained popular among horror fans. It all started as a quiet train ride to the city of Busan until a zombie pandemic turned it into an inescapable death trap and only a handful of survivors trying to get them out of the zombie train alive.

6) Finding Dory - Sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo, it brings the aquatic tale we all love when you and I are young to a new direction and promises the same comic dialogue we all love. Of course, TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres reprises her role as, hers truly, Dory as well as Albert Brooks as Marlin from the first flick. Unknown to her bittersweet past, Dory sets on an adventure to reunite with her parents after a terrible incident separated them years ago, and that meant she ends up on another side of the ocean. With the help of old pals Marlin and Nemo as well as new allies such as the octopus Hank, whale shark Destiny, and beluga whale Bailey, Dory will have to keep swimming to reunite with her long lost family, no matter the odds.

7) Imagine You and Me - Becuase 2016 marks the 1st anniversary of AlDub, the love team that made famous for their Kalyeserye antics, all their hard work from their TV appearances finally got what they deserved; their own movie titled Imagine You and Me. This film is considered to be the perfect present for AlDub's 1st Anniversary. In fact, because this film is so romantic for the AlDub nations too many, this film was shot entirely from Italy.

8) Pokemon The Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel - 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise and to honor such a glorious occasion, the third and final film based on the Pokemon XYZ saga features two brand new Pokemon that can be obtainable on their games. In this 19th Pokemon film, Ash, Pikachu, and friends, made a fateful encounter with Volcanion, a mythical Pokemon who has strong disdain on human beings, and then the unlikely alliance puts them on a quest to save the Artificial Pokemon Magearna from a corrupt minister trying to take advantage of its Soul-Heart for a hostile takeover.

9) your name. - Makoto Shinkai's masterpiece has became the talk of the town and became one of the best movies in Japan. It was named as one of the highest grossing film of 2016 in Japan, earning over 21.3 billion yen and sold 16.4 million tickets. It centers on the theme of miracles and love and it centers on the love story of Mitsuha, a high school girl from a rural village, and Taki, a schoolboy from Tokyo.

10) Star Trek Beyond - The Star Trek franchise reaches its 50th anniversary this year and over the past five decades, Trekkies have been part of the 24th-century space exploration and heroism that dates back from the original, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. From the Federation, Vulcan, KCA, Augments, the infamous Klingons, the Romulans, and many other factions fans encountered, the 50-year timeline of the Star Trek franchise never felt so unique, so unique, fans live up to Spock's "Live Long and Prosper" tagline. As Trekkies live long and prosper to the next five decades, the big 50th anniversary birthday present has arrived and it's none other than the third installment of the Star Trek movie series. Star Trek Beyond features the most dramatic storyline ever told in the history of Star Trek and in this third installment, disaster struck at the USS Enterprise crew on an unknown planet, spiraling them out of control and survival is at stake for the whole crew. This film brings back and introduces a vivid cast of characters from Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. Bones McCoy, Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, including Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as the fan-favorite Mr. Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and many others, especially the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov. (Rest in Peace, Yelchin)

11) Moana -  The folks that brought us Thanksgiving hits like Frozen and Zootopia gave us this year's latest Thanksgiving weekend treat called Moana just to delight everyone who has a heart on all things Disney with spectacular visuals, storyline, and the characters that will become highly recognizable for future generations to come. It's about a young girl named Moana (played by Auli'i Cravalho) who sets off to an unforgettable adventure to save her people. From there, she teams up with a once powerful demigod named Maui (played by action star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and then voyage across the seas right up to the moment where Moana discovers her true self that was carried over by her ancestors. Nothing says its going to be easy but for an odd couple like a young free-spirited girl and a powerful being, anything is possible.

12) Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers - Comedian and TV presenter Vic Sotto reprises his role as the loveable yet wisecracking warrior who comes out from his retirement and save the day once again in this latest installment of the Enteng Kabisote films based from the classic Okay Ka Fairy Ko sitcom. This is the first time this film couldn't make it to the list of film festival entries of this year alongside Mano Po, which sounds sacrilegious by some but no matter what, it still delivers some jokes, some drama, and some family values this latest installment is.

13) Yokai Watch Soratobu Kujira to Double Sekai no Daibouken da Nyan! - The third Yokai Watch film based on the hit TV series sees a mix of anime and live action elements, giving viewers a more intriguing but enjoyable feast for the holiday season while introducing new Yokais on the film, including the brand new Koalanyan, which is playable on the Yokai Watch 3 games. The live action parts of this latest Yokai Watch film stars Ryouka Minamide as Keita (Nate), Kento Yamazaki as King Enma, Takumi Saito as Nurarihyon, Minami Hamabe as Kanami Minami, Yuina Kuroshima as Emi-chan (Amy), Yuu Sawabe as Kuma (Bear), Kenichi Endo as Jinmenken (Manjimutt) and many others.

14) Rogue One - While Star Wars fans got some hangovers from 2015's The Force Awakens and waiting for the sequel to arrive in the end of 2017, this spin-off prequel film, Rogue One, which is the first of the Star Wars anthology films, awakes fans into the hidden truth behind the war between the rebels and the empire. It centers on the unsung band of rebels trying to steal the plans of the Death Star, making it the turning point of the legendary warfare throughout the galaxy far far away.

15) Die Beautiful - Both this film and Eat Bulaga presenter Paolo Ballesteros, who starred on it, won the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival for best film and best actor. In this film, Paolo plays the role of a transgender who dies in a beauty pageant and her final wish is to "die beautiful" and become a celebrity for every evening of her wake.

16) Sunday Beauty Queen - Shown at this year's Busan International Film Festival, it was the only documentary flick that made it to the top eight of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival. It highlights the life and times of Filipina OFWs doing everyday jobs and then became free to do whatever they like on Sundays, mostly taking on a beauty pageant or something.

There are so many great films shown this year but let's leave it there and keep going with this yearender before 2016 ends and 2017 begins with more and exciting movies in store for the moviegoers.

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