Now that 2015 is over, there are plenty of ‘Best Of’ lists pronouncing the movies you should have seen already. Hell, even we did it at Flickering Myth. But by the end of the year, it’s too late. You suddenly have 50+ films you missed out on to catch up with. Where were the ‘Best Ofs’ as the year was in progress? That’s where Flickering Myth’s Big, Fat Movie Checklist of 2016 comes in.
While there are many retrospective lists online, there are very few resources updated regularly for the movies of the year.
Below are the movies worth watching in 2016, based on their current UK release dates (which these days is pretty similar to the US). Some of the releases have already come out, many upcoming ones will be pushed back or brought forward. We’ll update the list monthly to account for this – as well as adding new films in (those releases that suddenly burst from the festival circuit to the mainstream), and taking some out (for the ‘anticipated’ titles that end up being complete and utter duds). So keep checking back and tracking your progress throughout the year.
Ghostbusters (15th July, 2016) is getting a chance…(it’s since been removed)The columns are simple – the movie title, the UK release date, a brief ‘Netflix sub-genre’ style summary, and a box to mark whether you’ve seen the film or not.
If you feel as though there are any films missing that deserve to be included, let us know in the comments and we’ll consider adding them in.
| Movie | Release | Flickering Myth Sub-Genre | Seen? |
| The Hateful Eight | JAN | Gory Westerns | |
| A War | JAN | Dramas in Afghanistan conflict from Danish perspective | |
| Creed | JAN | Poignant boxing dramas | |
| The Revenant | JAN | 19th Century tales of revenge | |
| Room | JAN | Very emotional dramas of abuse | |
| The Assassin | JAN | Cahiers du Cinema poll topping , 7th Century China thrillers | |
| The Big Short | JAN | Dramas about the financial crisis by Anchorman directors | |
| Spotlight | JAN | Investigate journalism dramas about Catholic pedophiles | |
| Youth | JAN | Philosophical comedy dramas where Michael Caine looks at boobs | |
| Trumbo | FEB | Hollywood Communist Witch hunt comedy dramas starring Bryan Cranston | |
| Goosebumps | FEB | Family comedy horrors with a revived Jack Black | |
| Deadpool | FEB | Wise-cracking, fourth wall breaking superhero flicks | |
| A Bigger Splash | FEB | Erotic thrillers starring Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes | |
| Grimbsy | FEB | Sacha Baron Cohen characters in action comedies | |
| Hail, Caesar! | MAR | Coen Brother Classic Hollywood comedies | |
| Hitchcock/Truffaut | MAR | Documentaries about great French directors interviewing great English directors | |
| High-Rise | MAR | Psychological thrillers set in a block of flats | |
| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | MAR | Superhero movies that feature Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman on screen for the first time in cinema | |
| Zootropolis | MAR | Pixar movies that replace the Monsters in Monsters Inc. with animals | |
| Victoria | APR | Movies shot entirely in one take | |
| Dheepan | APR | Dramas about relocated Sri Lankan Tamil warriors | |
| Midnight Special | APR | Spielbergian homages about gifted children | |
| Eye In The Sky | APR | Ethical questionings over drone warfare | |
| The Jungle Book | APR | Live action adaptations of Disney classics where Bill Murray voices a bear | |
| Captain America: Civil War | APR | Marvel movies that have everyone in but aren’t called ‘Avengers’ | |
| Demolition | APR | Dramas about strangely numb emotional breakdowns | |
| Everybody Wants Some | MAY | Richard Linklater-directed comedies set in the 80s | |
| Green Room | MAY | Horrors with Neo-Nazi Patrick Stewarts | |
| X-Men: Apocalypse | MAY | Superhero films where Oscar Isaac conquers the world, rather than just cinema goers’ hearts | |
| Sing Street | MAY | Heartwarming musicals | |
| When Marnie Was There | JUN | Studio Ghibli fairytales | |
| The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case | JUN | James Wan nightmares | |
| Independence Day: Resurgence | JUN | Science fiction sequels without Will Smith | |
| Notes On Blindness | JUL | Fantastical existential documentaries | |
| Weiner | JUL | Political documentaries about dick pics | |
| Star Trek Beyond | JUL | Science fiction movies via Fast and Furious directors | |
| Finding Dory | JUL | Pixar sequels about forgetful fish | |
| Jason Bourne | JUL | Action movies that replace their lead actor and then go back to the original actor | |
| Suicide Squad | AUG | Grown up versions of Guardians of the Galaxy | |
| Lights Out | AUG | Dark horror | |
| Tickled | AUG | Documentaries about the male tickling industry | |
| Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | AUG | Mockumentaries about The Lonely Island | |
| Sausage Party | AUG | Animated adult comedies where everyone is a sausage | |
| The Magnificent Seven | SEP | Classic Western remakes starring Chris Pratt | |
| Captain Fantastic | SEP | Films with a bearded Viggo Mortensen | |
| Blair Witch | SEP | Found footage horror sequels | |
| Hunt for the Wilderpeople | SEP | New Zealand comedies | |
| The Greasy Strangler | OCT | Absolutely horrid horror comedies | |
| My Scientology Movie | OCT | Documentaries with Louis Theroux | |
| War On Everyone | OCT | Films with deeply unlikeable protagonists | |
| American Honey | OCT | Films with Shia LaBeouf | |
| I, Daniel Blake | OCT | Social activism films | |
| Jack Reacher 2 | OCT | Tom Cruise-starring sequels where he plays some kind of special agent | |
| Doctor Strange | OCT | Marvel movies about magic | |
| Train to Busan | OCT | Zombie films on a train | |
| Nocturnal Beasts | NOV | Stylish thrillers with pretty people in | |
| Arrival | NOV | Good sci-fi films with Amy Adams | |
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | NOV | Harry Potter spin-offs about magical monsters | |
| Your Name | NOV | Crazily successful Japanese animes | |
| Sully | 02.12.16 | Clint Eastwood directed movies about airline captains landing planes on the Hudson River | |
| Moana | 02.12.16 | Family Disney films starring Dwayne Johnson as an ancient Polynesian demi-God. | |
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | 16.12.16 | Star Wars spin-offs about stealing the Death Star plans | |
| Passengers | 23.12.16 | Science fiction movies where Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence hook up in space | |
| Assassin’s Creed | 26.12.16 | Video game adaptations that might finally be acceptable |
Oli Davis is the Co-Editor of Flickering Myth, curator of its Super Newsletter, Lead Producer of Flickering Myth TV and host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @OliDavis.