Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts, Moana and 11 Other Films to Look Forward to for the Rest of 2016

It's August! Over the weekend, the highly-anticipated, much-talked about, action-packed, and gritty DC film Suicide Squad marched its way in theaters. Though like its predecessor Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice back in March, Suicide Squad was met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans. Still, it was one of the most anticipated movies this year and the last few days prior to its theatrical release were the most tantalizing.

So if you have seen Suicide Squad and think there could be no other movie worth spending money on this year - well, we still got five months before this year ends, and the movie list only grows. From action-packed, animated, fantasy, romantic, and comedy - 2016 still has a wide array of movies to offer; you might even find a movie palate cleanser in the coming weeks! Now I've written this in ascending order and tailored to my movie taste, but I hope you find a blockbluster in this list suited to your taste as well.

• Initial Release: August 12, 2016
• Director: David Lowery
• Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
• Metacritic: 72%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

At the time of my writing, the movie hasn't even been publicly released, but there are already rave reviews for this fantasy/adventure film. For sure kids and adults alike will enjoy this because who doesn't love dragons, right? I know I still believe in them.

• Initial Release: August 19, 2016
• Director: Timur Bekmambetov
• Genre: Epic Period/Action

The director behind Night Watch, Day Watch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Unfriended is also the director behind this remake of epic period film of vengeance and redemption, for modern audiences. The film has been termed as a "re-adaptation" and "new interpretation" of Lew Wallace's 1880s novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

• Initial Release: September 16, 2016
• Director: Sharon Maguire
• Genre: Romance/Comedy

Oh, Bridget, how we love you so! After 12 years, we finally got another of Bridget Jones' story, though this time around in lieu of Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), we got Patrick Dempsey to rival Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and not just for Bridget's affections, but also the baby!

There are no ratings on this yet because we'll probably get the answers of who Bridget Jones's baby daddy is once the film crawls its way to theaters. There are three different endings to this one and even the cast doesn't know which of the three possible endings we'll get to see in September. But, I have written a theory back in April explaining who is Bridget's baby daddy and why I think so!

• Initial Release: September 23, 2016
• Director: Antoine Fuqua
• Genre: Crime/ Action

Seven outlaws to team up against a corrupt industrialist who terrorizes their town, The Magnificent Seven is a remake within a remake (a remake of the the 1960s film of the same name, which was also a remake of The Seven Samurai). But with all these new cast members, I haven't been more excited to see a Western film again.

• Initial Release: September 23, 2016
• Directors: Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland
• Genre: Comedy/Animation

Ah, the age-old story of how babies were made/delivered to parents. Now those of us who never knew about this legend 'til now (seriously, I never did until researching for this article), will know the story of "how babies were made".

• Initial Release: March 3, 2016 (Russia); September 30, 2016 (USA)
• Director: Tim Burton
• Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Visionary director Tim Burton will bring us Ranson Riggs' debut worldwide best-selling novel for the big screen. At first glance at the book, I thought it was horror, but like its title, it's peculiar and unique, and the movie promises us the same. It would be amazing to finally see with our own eyes what the book aptly and vividly describes!

• Initial Release: October 14, 2016
• Director: Gavin O'Connor
• Genre: Crime/Drama

One over three of DC's Trinity, Ben Affleck stars in this film as a mathematics savant who uses CPA office as a disguise to do freelance accounting for dangerous criminal organizations. J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick also joins him in this film.

• Initial Release: October 14, 2016 (Netherlands); November 4, 2016 (USA)
• Directors: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn
• Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Dreamworks' upcoming animated feature, with the voices of Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel, and James Corden isn't just a treat for our visuals - but also our ears as well!

• Initial Release: October 20, 2016 (Russia)
• Director: Edward Zwick
• Genre: Mystery/Crime

Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Jack Reacher in this another adaptation of British author Lee Child's 2013 novel of the same name. It's been four years since the adaptation of One Shot (renamed Jack Reacher in the film) so it's high time that we get another one! Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is definitely another treat for books-to-film fans!

• Initial Release: November 4, 2016
• Director: Scott Derrickson
• Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Another much-anticipated MCU film, every trailer release, news, speculations, and even posters are closely watched out for. Even non-superhero savants would see this as a treat - even just by judging how magical those Dr. Strange Posters are! Despite getting criticisms due to the whitewashing of 'The Ancient One', I think this film will still have all the fantasy and sci-fi enthusiasts flocking to the theaters.

• Initial Release: November 17, 2016 (Germany) ; November 18, 2016 (USA)
• Director: David Yates
• Genre: Fantasy/Action

The events of Fantastic Beasts set in 1926, predates that of Harry Potter's. This movie will be a real treat to Potter fans because it tells the story of other famous wizards other than The-Boy-Who-Lived, and also the ever-expanding Wizarding World. This film would be amazing as this is the first in the new (Potter prequel) series which only had one book - Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - so everything will come as a surprise to us, and we'll not have frustrated moments due to book scenes being left out in the film!

• Initial Release: November 23, 2016
• Directors: John Musker, Ron Clements
• Genre: Fantasy/Action

I can't say much about Disney's new princess other than I'm so excited to see this young navigator set sail to find an island! Finally, a Disney movie with the princess not falling in love to a prince, but rather with her passion for the ocean and oceanic adventures!

• Initial Release: December 14, 2016 (Italy); December 16, 2016 (USA)
• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

The upcoming Star Wars story will be the first stand-alone movie in the space opera. It's set before the events of A New Hope, with the Rebels tasked to steal the plans for the Empire's Death Star.

Though the film had reshoots, Rogue One will be the perfect antidote for Star Wars fans whilst they wait for 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII.

• Initial Release: December 21, 2016
• Director: Justin Kurzel
• Genre: Science Fiction/Action

The upcoming Assassin's Creed is based from the videogame series of the same name. Though because of the flops of the videogame-based movies and their unfaithful movie adaptations, I hope this Michael Fassbender-led film will exceed expectations despite being set in modern days. After all, this film will expand the videogame series' mythology!

The meme from last year was true all; 2016 is the year we run out of money. But, we're wholly satisfied for having seen all, if not, most of the best stories captured in film, this year has got to offer. Cheers for more movies in the coming years!

Which movies will you see in the upcoming weeks?