Movies Not to Miss: November 2016

Writer: Casey Lee

Which of these are you going to watch?

We are getting closer to the end of the year but the release schedule is not letting up. While only a few of the potential award contenders have trickled in, but some of the more anticipated franchise fare is what will be keeping us busy. The highlight of the month though would be Malaysian cinema, with a couple well-made titles coming our way.

This November is not going to get any cold in the cinemas, so here are movies not to miss this November!

Trolls are colourful creatures that live in their little village where music, dance and hugs makes the world go round. When many of the Trolls are kidnapped by the Troll-eating Borgens, it is up to princess Poppy and her grumpy and pessimist friend Branch to try and the save them.

Based on the toy line for children with zappy hair colours, Dreamworks Animation brings the second feature animation ever made for the franchise and turns it into a modern musical adventure with poppy tunes and electronica. Voiced by a snazzy cast with Justin Timberlake as the survivalist Branch, Anna Kendrick as the merry Poppy, and additional characters by Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand and James Corden, we won't be able to stop the feeling with the music provided by Timberlake, Gwen Stefani and Ariana Grande.

General Release Date: 3 November

After returning from the war in Iraq, private Billy Lynn tours across the United States as a hero which ends with a halftime show at a Thanksgiving football game. As Billy makes his halftime walk, he recalls what has happened during the war and the lives lost.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Ben Fountain, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" is a war drama that stars newcomer Joe Alywn as the titular character, but has a well-known cast of Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garett Hedlund, Vin Diesel and Steve Martin. This Chinese-American collaboration is directed by Ang Lee, and just like "Life of Pi", he will be innovating "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" with a 120 frames per second frame rate, making it the movie with the highest (and smoothest) frame rate that will be screened in cinemas, to capture the glitz of being a war hero and witnessing the tragedies of war.

General Release Date: 10 November

When Newt Scamander arrives for the Magical Congress of the United States of America, a magical briefcase containing a host of dangerous creatures and their lairs was open and set upon the world. As Newt sets out to recover the fantastical beasts, he has to tip toes not to further strain the tense relationship between the wizards and the no-magics, and also avoid the attention of the New Salem Philanthropic Society who wants to destroy all wizards.

It feels good to be alive to be able to see another movie set in the Harry Potter universe, even though it is a spin-off that is set in the 1920s. Everything we have seen from the trailers so far is nothing short of fantastical, from the setting of the period, the magical creatures, and the tone that can be dark but befitting to the universe of Harry Potter's magical reality. Director David Yates is back to recreate the world created by J.K. Rowling (since he did direct the last four movies), and Eddie Redmayne has proven to be a likable lead in the cast, that only gets better with Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller and Ron Perlman. This would be another Potter trilogy to look forward to in the coming years.

General Release Date: 17 November

Ash Ketchum and his friends find themselves at the doors to a mechanical city that has been guarded by Volcanion for 500 years and is distrustful of human visitors. When an evil minister of the Azoth Kingdom comes to steal Volcanion's power source; the Heart-Soul, Ash and Volcanion must come to trust each other when a new mystical and mechanical Pokémon is unveiled to steal the Heart-Soul.

Thanks to Pokémon Go, it has never been a better time to be a Pokémon fan who has followed the series to its latest season. Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka and directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, "Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel" will be the last movie for the Pokémon: XY series and will feature a few new and unknown Pokémons. So put on your trainer's cap, head to the nearest cinema, and maybe you'll catch a few more Pokémons.

General Release Date: 24 November

When Saroo Brierly was five years old, he was separated from his family after sleeping on a train in India. Later adopted by an Australian family and grown into an adult, Saroo is determined to reunite with his real family and uses Google Earth to search for them.

Adapted from the amazing but non-fictional story by Saroo Brierley himself, this could be Dev Patel first ticket to the awards race as he plays Saroo, and will be supported by a just as powerful cast of Rooney Mara, David Wenham and Nicole Kidman. After its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, this feature length directorial debut of Australian director Garth Davis was secured by the Weinstein Company to be its Oscar bid next year.

General Release Date: 24 November