First, I have to start by saying I had an incredibly busy fall which prevented me from getting out to the theater as much as I would have liked to. Unfortunately, I have not seen many of the films which have garnered the most oscar buzz including Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or Highwater, Manchester by the Sea, La La Land, Arrival, Silence, The Edge of Seventeen, and Moonlight. Therefore, this list will be vastly different from the lists of many others although I’m sure it would be comprised of much of those titles had I seen them.
5. Kubo and the Two Strings
From Laika studios and first-time director Travis Knight comes a passionate love letter to storytelling itself. The film is an absolute must-see for all movie lovers and writers. Kubo features an incredible blend of CGI and stop-motion animation that will most likely be overlooked at the Oscars but deserves all the awards and praise it can get.
4. Deadpool
After a decade of championing the project, Ryan Reynolds finally brought Deadpool to fruition with director Tim Miller. The film which ended up becoming the highest grossing Rated-R film of all time was made on a modest budget of 58 million dollars and felt just as large as any Marvel or DC feature thanks to Miller’s VFX house Blur Studios doing much of the visual effects for free.
3. Sing Street
An incredible coming of age story of a young boy who finds his voice (pun intended), leading him to become a man and conquer his world. The film set in 1980’s Dublin features an incredible soundtrack of original songs written by director John Carney and singer-songwriter Gary Clark, sung by the film’s star Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.
2. Captain America: Civil War
The Russo Brothers once again prove themselves as the best Directors in the MCU. They do an incredible job balancing out both Team Cap and Team Iron Man throughout the film. The motivations are clear and the characters are provided equal screen time to support their sides of the argument. It doesn’t matter whether your Team Cap or Team Iron Man, you can absolutely understand the opposing side. What makes it so compelling is that both sides are right.
1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
No, Rogue One isn’t perfect. It suffers from a lack of characterization and some pacing issues but it still manages to come together in the end and serve as an incredible lead into A New Hope.The third act is a borderline masterpiece which delivers some of the greatest moments in Star Wars history. Never again will we look at the original Star Wars nor the Rebellion in the same way. The film itself opens the door to the limitless potential Lucasfilm has with standalone Star Wars features separate from the Skywalker saga.
Alternate World 
Never got to see Kubo – definitely on the list of films to catch up on! Cool list though man! What ones didn’t you get round to seeing?
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Kubo is so fantastic! You have to see it! I haven’t had a chance to see Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or Highwater, Manchester by the Sea, La La Land, Arrival, Silence, The Edge of Seventeen, and Moonlight unfortunately. I’m dying to see Arrival and The Edge of Seventeen.
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Hell or Highwater and Arrival’s made my top 10 – can’t recommend those two enough! But we are waiting for the release of a few of those here in the UK so being patient at the moment! Which movies did you hate?
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I’ll be watching both of those the day they are released digitally for sure! I absolutely hated Suicide Squad and X-Men: Apocalypse. I could barely make it through either. What about you?
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Haha exactly the same bud, hated both with a passion and I think it was more fuelled with disappointment more than anything else! You much of a superhero fan at all?
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Lol yeah although Margot Robbie was pretty great herself. I never really read comics plus I’m more of a Star Wars guy but when I was young I was very into the 90’s Batman, X-Men, and Spider-Man cartoons. I had high hopes for Suicide Squad because of how well it was done on Arrow but yeah… lol
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That’s true but it was definitely trouble behind the scenes that caused such problems! Ah nice man, what do you think of the new franchise so far? Do you reckon Disney will do it justice?
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Lol yeah. So far so good. Personally I think Kathleen Kennedy was the best person Lucas could have handed it over to and it’s evident Bob Iger understands just how important the franchise is. I absolutely loved TFA. I understand peoples issues with it being similar to ANH but I think it needed to be to course correct from the prequels. I did have some issues with Rogue One at first but its grown on me big time. The third act makes the whole movie work I just wish they had gotten someone better than Gareth Edwards to helm it. I’m dying to see David Yates or The Russo Brothers make a Star Wars film.
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Yeah man, they definitely got the right team together for it! There was a lot of similarities but all films have a doppleganger in some form or another and it worked, so no complaints haha I would love to see Abrams have another go to be honest or perhaps James Gunn but more a spin off than the main ones!
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I would be down for both of those as well! Having Abrams return would give them the opportunity to have a perfect book end like feel to the new trilogy. I think visually Trevorrow will do a good job but I’m worried about Episode IX. I’m a huge Jurassic Park fan, one of my all time favorite movies but Jurassic World was such a disappointment. I’ve only been able to get through it once. The scenes never felt like they added up to anything. James Gunn would be a perfect addition to the Star Wars franchise. I hope the mouse house will eventually alternate directors back and forth between Marvel and Lucasfilm.
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