2016 was a miserable year for pretty much everything other than films; somehow cinema dodged the perpetual misery cloud that plunged the rest of last year into a dismal series of disasters. So, let's pretend the apocalypse isn't around the corner as I count down my favourite films of last year. 10. Captain America: Civil War Civil War deals with similar issues to Batman V Superman but far more effectively. Its characters have convincing motivations and the two sides are argued so well I’m still not sure which team I’m on. Its spectacle is huge, especially during the now iconic airport fight, but the emotional depth is equally big. The final showdown is claustrophobic and character driven; it’s significantly more epic than Age of Ultron ’s third act without a floating city in sight. 9. Doctor Strange Whilst Captain America: Civil War is their most mature, Doctor Strange is Marvel’s most inventive film. Following the trope-ridden Avengers: Age of Ultron , Doctor Str...

After my fourth viewing of The Force Awakens , something was missing. I stand by my original review , but I get the plot issues now. Relying heavily on fan service was risky and, whilst The Force Awakens pulled it off masterfully, once the nostalgic excitement wore off the story left didn't feel substantial enough. Rogue One , on the other hand, is a stand-alone film. It has no franchise building pressures; the franchise has already been built. So, it has every opportunity to be original. Does it take that chance? All The Risk Taking The Force Awakens was about as Star Wars as you can get. It drew most of its elements from the original trilogy, including the characters, the tone, the settings and the plot itself. It was a giant nostalgia-splosion. Sadly, there was little new stuff, and the stuff that was new was drenched in Star Wars tropes. This didn't bother me immensely; unrelenting nostalgia was what I expected. However, they couldn't get away with another film...