By Dennis D. McDonald

Not all of these were actually released in 2016 but even older films can be new if you have never seen them before. In no particular order:

1. Taika Waititi’s HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (heartwarming and quirky wilderness chase comedy)

2. Denis Villeneuve's ARRIVAL (thoughtful and epic science fiction)

3. Min Kyu-Dong's THE TREACHEROUS (violent and sexy historical action)

4. Ana Lily Amirpour's A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (urban hypnotic dread)

5. Jean-François Richet's BLOOD FATHER (dad-rescues-daughter nonstop action)

6. Disney's ZOOTOPIA (world building on an amazing scale)

7. David Mackenzie's HELL OR HIGH WATER (contemporary American adult drama)

8. Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane's FINDING DORY (comedy adventure with occasional inspired craziness)

9. Alan Rickman's A LITTLE CHAOS (artistically focused historical drama)

10. Henry Hobson's MAGGIE (thoughtful zombie film)

11. Don Herzfeldt’s WORLD OF TOMORROW (astonishingly original short animated science fiction)

12. Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi's WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (totally original reality show style vampire comedy)

13. Chris Rock's TOP FIVE (seriously adult comedy and I do mean adult)

Copyright (c) 2016 by Dennis D. McDonald