2016 Recap - The Horror Films

2016 was a solid year for the horror genre but maybe not one of its best. There were several films that really stood out and there were others that needed a bit more work or just didn't live up to their potential. Below, you will find a list of all the horror movies I saw this year broken into three categories along with the recipient of my favorite horror film of the year.

The Conjuring 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Conjuring 2

The Director: James Wan (Furious 7)

The Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente, Madison Wolfe, Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh, and Patrick McAuley.

The Story: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a malicious spirit. (From IMDB)

Why Him? - Movie Review

The Movie: Why Him?

The Director: John Hamburg (I Love You, Man)

The Cast: James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mullally, Keegan-Michael Key, Griffin Gluck, Zack Pearlman, and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Story: A college student invites her family to spend their Christmas vacation with her and her eccentric boyfriend so they can get to know each other.

The Monster (TFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Monster, an official selection of the 2016 Tacoma Film Festival, tells the story of what could happen when your car breaks down on a little used stretch of highway in the middle of a forest at 12:15am. The movie was directed by Bryan Bertino and features acting performances by Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine, and Aaron Douglas.

Passengers - Movie Review

The Movie: Passengers

The Director: Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

The Cast: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Sheen, and Andy Garcia

The Story: A malfunctioning spacecraft heading to a colonization planet causes two people to be woken up from cryosleep 90 years too soon and they need to figure out why before disaster strikes.

Now You See Me 2 - Movie Review

The Movie:
Now You See Me 2 brings back the Four Horseman and their bag of tricks to match up against an unknown foe who seems to have their number.The film was directed by Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and features Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Sanaa Lathan, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jay Chou, and Tsai Chin.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Movie Review

The Movie:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the latest installment of the Star Wars saga and tells the story of how the rebel alliance obtained the plans for the infamous Death Star battle station. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the movie features acting performances from Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelson, Jimmy Smits, and James Earl Jones.

La La Land - Movie Review

The Movie:
La La Land is a comedic musical drama about a musician and an actress who inadvertently and inexplicably cross paths on their way to fame. The film was written and directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) and features acting performances from Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, J.K. Simmons, Rosemarie DeWitt, Callie Hernandez, Finn Wittrock, and John Legend.

Office Christmas Party - Movie Review

The Movie:
Office Christmas Party is a holiday comedy about an office Christmas party. The movie was directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck and features a star studded cast that includes Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, TJ Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Jillian Bell, Kate McKinnon, Rob Corddry, Sam Richardson, Randall Park, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, and Karan Soni.

Hacksaw Ridge - Movie Review

The Movie:
Hacksaw Ridge is based on the true story about a young man who enlisted into the army during World War II and became one of America's greatest heroes without ever holding a gun. The film was directed by Mel Gibson and features acting performances from Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, and Teresa Palmer.

Hell or High Water - Movie Review

Hell or High Water was directed by David MacKenzie from a screenplay written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario). The film, starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, and Gil Birmingham, follows two brothers as they execute a scheme to keep from losing their family ranch and the pair of Texas Rangers who are hot on their trail.

Nocturnal Animals - Movie Review

The Movie:
Nocturnal Animals, written and directed by Tom Ford, is a dramatic thriller about a writer whose violent novel has his ex wife wondering if he may be seeking revenge for their failed marriage. The film features acting performances from Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, and Laura Linney.

Sky on Fire (Chongtian huo) - Movie Review

Sky on Fire is an action thriller that follows a security lead of a high tech pharmaceutical company who must keep top secret stem cell research from falling into the wrong hands. The movie was written and directed by Ringo Lam and features acting performances from Daniel Wu, Simon Yam, Hsiao-chuan Chang, Amber Kuo, Ka Tung Lam, Leon Lai, and Jingchu Zhang.

Manchester by the Sea - Movie Review

Manchester by the Sea, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, follows a man who must deal with his brother's death, the will that leaves him as the guardian of his 16 year old nephew, and a return to the hometown that he had to get away from. The film features acting performances from Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges.

Bleed for This - Movie Review

Bleed for This, written, produced, and directed by Ben Younger, is based on the true story of boxer Vinny Pazienza and his struggle to return to the ring after a near fatal car crash. The film features Miles Teller in the starring role as well as Aaron Eckhart, Amanda Clayton, Christine Evangelista, Ciarán Hinds, Ted Levine, and Katey Segal.