2016 Movie Season Close-Out, Part One

Summer 2016 gave us some big hits and some very big misses. For every Captain America: Civil War and Kubo and the Two Strings, we got (insert bad movie of choice here).

Fall and Winter 2016 promises to give us some major blockbusters — a gorgeous new Disney animated adventure, a Harry Potter prequel, and another chapter set in a galaxy far, far away. In part one of our 2016 Movie Season Close-Out, we have a highly anticipated adaptation of a huge young adult series by a Hollywood heavyweight, as well as some remakes and nerd-friendly films you might want to check out.

The Nerd Caliber team will screen and review as many of these as we can, so check back around the film’s release date for our take. Until then, we included a few comments to pique your interest.

[divider]

September 30

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

American teen Jacob discovers his grandfather’s wild stories about children with unusual powers might be true. During a trip to a mysterious island off the British coast, he locates Miss Peregrine’s house and meets the kids who live there, where he joins the fight against a nefarious group bent on controlling time.

Gregg Snider: “I enjoyed the books and I’m hopeful that the movie, which features 100% less Johnny-Depp-playing-a-quirky-man-child than most Burton films, will be reasonably faithful to the story. I’m screening it this week, so check back later this week for my review.”

Rodney Brown: “I like that it looks less like a Tim Burton movie than usual. But, that could be good, or very bad.

[divider]

October 11

Shin Godzilla

You know the story: an accident in Tokyo Bay releases a massive kaiju bent on destroying Japanese cities. “Shin” is Japanese for ‘genuine’ or ‘fidelity’, and as such, this looks like a faithful retelling of the classic original with modern CGI.

Rodney Brown: “Interesting new monster design, great looking modern Japanese action movie style.”

Gregg Snider: “Looking forward to a faithful, modern version that doesn’t mess with the original formula too much. Also, giant kaiju.”

[divider]

October 14

Max Steel

Teen Max McGrath discovers he can generate the most powerful energy, but to control it, he needs to bond with an alien named Steel. As Max Steel, they will fight an alien force and search for answers about their origin.

Gregg Snider: “I don’t know much about Max Steel, but it looks like it might be a fun if predictable CGI-heavy romp.”

Miss Hokusai

The touching story of famed ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints) artist Katsuhika Hokusai, told by his daughter and fellow artist, Katsuhika O-Ei. Based on the popular manga Sarusuberi.

Gregg Snider: “I first heard of Miss Hokusai while researching this piece. I can’t wait to see it. The production stills are reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films. Not to mention, I have several tattoos based on Hokusai prints so I’m obviously a huge fan of his work.”

[divider]

October 15

Yo-Kai Watch: The Movie Event

Originally released in Japan in 2014, based on the hugely popular anime, Yo-Kai Watch. Evil Yo-kai steal the Yo-kai Watch to help keep humans and Yo-kai from becoming friends. Nate and friends travel back in time to fight Tokio Ubanube and save the world.