After the nonstop rush of the 2016 summer movie season churning hit after hit, we have now reached the point in the year where both Oscar-bait and new franchises begin. With promising films on the horizon from Adam Wingard’s Blair WItch to Marvel’s Doctor Strange, we are in for a very promising fall movie season.

Blair Witch

Director: Adam Wingard

Rated: R

Release Date: September 16th, 2016

Sixteen years after the first installment of the Blair Witch series, Blair Witch creeps into theatres. It comes with an all new cast, director, and story that is looking to give us an early Halloween scare. The film follows a young man named James who discovers a video possibly showing his lost sister in the Blair witch’s sinister woods. So James puts together a group of his friends into the woods to search for his sister, but what they find is not what they thought. The film currently has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9/10 on IGN so far, and it looks like it will be joining the ranks of The Conjuring 2 and Don’t Breathe as one of the best horror films of the year.

Snowden

Director: Oliver Stone

Rated: R

Release Date: September 16th, 2016

The long delayed film about one of the world’s most wanted man, Edward Snowden, is finally being released into theatres. Snowden channels the life of Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, after he leaked classified information from the NSA to the press, exposing government surveillance activity. Platoon’s director Oliver Stone will be giving his own spin on the infamous true story with Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Nicholas Cage, and Scott Eastwood rounding out the cast, and it will help propel the film to beg audiences to wonder if Snowden is a hero or a traitor?

Magnificent 7

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Rated: PG-13

Release Date: September 23, 2016

It looks like a new western has come to town, but not just any western, a new vision on a classic film. The Magnificent 7 is about how a group consisting of a sharpshooter, a bounty hunter, Comanche warrior, an explosive gambler, a tracker, an outlaw, and an assassin were hired to come together and save the town of Rose Creek from Bartholomew Bougue. But the audience will soon realize that the real battle will be about more than just money. With the Magnificent 7 being played by none other than Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier, it looks like a very stacked cast that will surely become a hit with any person looking for a good showdown at high noon.

Birth of a Nation

Director: Nate Parker

Rated: R

Release Date: October 7, 2016

With the United States in the process of picking a new leader in 2016, let’s take it back to a time where our nation was just laying a foundation. A slave who is a leader in religion will have to become a different leader in the United States, a leader of a people without a voice in our country. Birth of a Nation is the telling of the controversial and inspiring story of how a literate slave and baptist preacher named Nat Turner, who is traveling with his master preaching for profit. But when he sees the scope of how slavery is in our country, he then orchestrates an uprising that will make him take action and not just stand there and preach. Leading up to a violent rebellion for freedom in Southampton County in a battle to fight against slavery. The cast consists of Nate Parker, the star and director of the film, Gabrielle Union, Armie Hammer, and Aja Naomi King. This Oscar hopeful looks to shine through the fall movie season with solid reviews and give audiences a brand new perspective of what went down in our country to help abolish slavery.

The Girl on the Train

Director: Tate Taylor

Rated: R

Release Date: October 7, 2016

No. 1 on The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2015, the psychological thriller novel The Girl on the Train makes it way into theatres. In the film, train commuter Rachel Watson fantasizes everyday during her commute about a young couple who lives close to her ex-husband. Then one day, she makes a shocking discovery and begins to investigate a mystery revolving around the couple whose house she passes every day, with results that will change everything. The adaptation of the Paula Hawkins novel includes Emily Blunt playing Rachel Watson, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Justin Theroux, and Rebecca Ferguson. The Girl on the Train film from the looks of it seems to be an intriguing and complicated story that will leave everyone in shock, plus the performances of a top-notch cast and Blunt as the lead will possibly make this one of the best thrillers of the year.

Rings

Director: F. Javier. Gutierrez

Rated: NR

Release Date: October 28, 2016

Another videotape, another day of peril awaiting the characters of the Ring movie series. Thirteen years after the events of the first movies, Rings centers on the story of Julia who discovers that her boyfriend has watched the mysterious tape that kills whoever watches it in seven days. In order for this to stop she puts herself in danger from the tape, and in doing so discovers something far worse that no one has seen before. Much like the Blair Witch, this film brings new life to an old horror franchise through the form of a new director F. Javier Gutierrez and new to the series actors Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, and Jurassic World’s Vincent D’Onofrio. While buzz should surround the film as it gets closer to its release date, people should expect this film to provide at least a good scare. Let’s see if the film can scare the same way, the first film did to audiences back in 2002.

Doctor Strange

Director: Scott Derrickson

Rated: PG-13

Release Date: November 4, 2016

As the Ancient One once said, “You think you know how the world works? What if I told you, your reality is one of many.” Let that be a bit of foreshadowing as we get into the strange world of the Sorcerer Supreme. Fresh off of Captain America: Civil War, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will introduce yet another hero to expand its universe with none other than Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange tells the story of how famed neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange is injured in a car accident. This results with him no longer being able to do his passion anymore, so he goes on a journey of healing. On this journey he finds the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, who will then mentor and teach Stephen the mystic arts in order to help them stand against a stronger foe, Kaecilius. Doctor Strange features one of the best casts seen in any Marvel film to date with Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Doctor Strange, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel Mcadams, Benedict Wong, and Mads Mikkelsen playing the villain Kaecilius. As it is the long awaited premiere of the first live-action portrayal of Doctor Strange, the hype for this film is high and with such a strong story and cast, this will make it a very promising film. Keep in mind that in the world of Doctor Strange, the impossibilities are endless.

Arrival

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Rated: PG-13

Release Date: November 11, 2016

Based on the book Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, comes Arrival, the story of a confrontation between two worlds. Arrival explores the mystery of an odd spaceship that landed on Earth. A linguist named Louie Banks, a mathematician named Ian Donnelly, and a U.S. army colonel named Colonel Weber are brought together to go to the site to check it out. As humans try not to start a war with this new species, Banks and her team need to be careful as they begin to see that what they are doing will endanger themselves and all of humanity in the process. Arrival unites the talents of Sicario director Denis Villeneuve, and actors Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker in the starring roles. While the film still has a while before its arrival in theatres, it has already premiered at the Venice Film Festival to high critical praise. Rotten Tomatoes has given it 100% so far and IMDB has given it an 8.7/10. With such strong praise from critics, good visuals, and an interesting sci-fi story, Arrival should have no problem being a hit with the general public and science-fiction fans.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Director: David Yates

Rated: PG-13

Release Date: November 18, 2016

In 2011, audiences said goodbye to the Wizarding World with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Now in 2016, Potter fans are returning to J.K Rowling’s Wizarding World, but 70 years before Harry Potter and in New York. Inspired by the Hogwarts textbook of the same name, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find them introduces Newt Scamander to the world, who is a magizoologist who makes a stop in 1920’s New York. There he is at the Magical Congress of the United States of America for a meeting with an important official and with him a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. But, when the briefcase is misplaced the creatures escape from the briefcase, sending the American wizarding authorities after Newt, putting a stronger strain on non-magical and magical relations and the New Salem Philanthropist Society looking to rid the world of magical people once and for all. The cast consists of The Danish Girl’s Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton. It should be interesting to see how this spinoff of the beloved Harry Potter property will appeal to the franchise’s large fan base, but with J.K Rowling making her screenwriting debut though, it should have no problem appealing to critics and fans alike. This movie will start a new Wizarding World franchise that will expand our view of Harry’s world by giving us new characters to adore and cherish.

Moana

Director: Jon Clements and John Musker

Rated: PG

Release Date: November 23, 2016

From Zootopia to the Montinui Island, Walt Disney Animation Studios looks to be changing it up this year by introducing their first film to take place in Oceania. The journey starts with Moana Waialiki, the daughter of the chief who comes from a long line of navigators. She must embark on a journey to a fabled island after her family needs her help, with the help of demi-god Maui and her pet chicken Hei-Hei by her side. On the way, they will be exploring the wide open oceans and meeting other famous figure of the Hawaiian and Polynesian mythos such as Pele, the Goddess of fire and volcanoes. A fresh new face will be playing Moana and that is Auli’i Cravalho and joining her is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing Maui. Grammy winner Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote songs for the soundtrack to give the film an authentic Polynesian feel. The 56th Walt Disney Animated Classic will join the ranks of Frozen, Zootopia, and Big Hero 6 as another smash hit for Walt Disney Animation, looking to give other animated Oscar nominators a run for their money.