Let’s Do This, 2016: A Look At The Year’s Awesomely Nerdy Content

Dear readers,

Previously on The Adventure is Afoot, we reflected on how awesome 2015 was for pop-culture fans – the return of Star Wars, a new Avengers movie, Mad Max, Inside Out, etc. etc.  But 2016 is set to be even more jam packed with geeky goodness, and we’re well into the fray already.  So.  Y’all  ready this?

Superhero Central

Is it just me, or is this the most comic-film saturated year yet?

Deadpool

• We already had the pretty much perfectly executed Deadpool, which I have to say I was a little iffy on going in. I questioned whether it’d be my brand of humor and if it would go over the top with that or violence.  I’m not familiar with the character beyond the many hilarious pics and gifs of Deadpool cosplays at cons, but I ended up really enjoying it.  Such a fun flick, Deadpool hit a lot of the right notes balancing story, fourth wall humor, and genre parody.

B-Man vs. S-Man

• Dawn of Justice was also recently released, and if Deadpool was the ‘surprise’ success story then this one has to go down as the ‘surprise’ low-review movie of the year so far.  The bro and I saw it a couple of weeks ago and I have to say it was better than I thought it would be (thanks negative media).  While I haven’t been a huge fan of the new DC films thus far, I want to give it a chance.  And while the movie certainly has its issues, for the most part I was invested and interested in the characters.  If you’re on the fence about seeing it, give it a try and come to your own conclusion (then come back and so we can compare notes).

Justice league, assemble?

Captain America: Civil War

• On the Marvel side, we’ve got Civil War opening this week and it looks phenomenal (emotional, traumatizing…).  I have to say that it is interesting that both B-Man vs. S-Man and Civil War are coming out at the same time, and both in a politically significant year.  I didn’t make that connection until fairly recently (of course, now it seems rather obvious) but what better time, I suppose, to sell choose-your-side mentality than in such a charged climate?

But seriously, 2016, what’s with all this heroes pitted against against heroes?  Can’t we all just get along?  Isn’t surviving an election year enough?

Suicide Squad

• Another DC flick, Suicide Squad is heading our way this Summer and I have mixed feelings on this one.  It’s generating a lot of excitement, but in most cases I’m one of those people who has a really hard time rooting for villains.  Can I empathize with them and come to an understanding on how they got to be where they are?  Sure.  But cheer them on as they do horrible things with twisted justifications offered as an excuse? However, it is being set up as a reverse, ‘villains being called in to do the hero work‘ story, so we’ll see.

Plus: X-Men: Apocalypse and Doctor Strange!  Am I missing any?

Disney

Zootopia

• Currently in theaters, Zootopia is a must-see and wouldn’t be surprise me if it remains one of the best movies of 2016.  The story and characters are smart, entertaining, and funny, and Disney really nailed it in terms of heartfelt story with social commentary.  Zootopia addresses discrimination in every form confidently and cleverly.  It makes common-sense statements about extremely relevant issues, opens a door for further conversation.  Plus, as a ‘kids’ movie, it does so in a way that makes it impossible to let hotheadedness into that conversation.  Major props, Disney.

The Jungle Book

• Alright, so there’s no way you could have missed the announcement in recent weeks of The Jungle Book’s release.  I’m a lot more excited for this one than I expected to be when a live-action version of the story was first announced.  It looks visually stunning, the score sounds amazing, the cast is A+, it’s Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, among others) – how can this not be a magical experience?

Finding Dory

• And we’ll just keep swimming right along to Pixar’s newest film, Finding Dory.  Is it possible that a person exists in this world who thinks Finding Nemo is a terrible movie?  I mean, I suppose it’s possible.  I can admit that their sequels can be hit or miss, but I have high hopes that Finding Dory will be close to par with the original.  Then again, I don’t foresee a time in the near future where I won’t err on the side of giving Pixar the benefit of the doubt, for even the rare ‘miss’ isn’t a bad movie.  My guess is that a lot of care will have gone into this one, so I, for one, am looking forward to June.

Plus: Moana (!), Disney’s version of The Big Friendly Giant (err, is it sacrilegious if I admit that I missed out on reading this one as a kid?), a revamp of Pete’s Dragon (also unfamiliar with the original…), and Alice Through the Looking Glass.

And More Big Hitters

• Just as exciting, a new Star Wars movie (Rogue One), genderbent Ghostbusters, the new Star Trek Beyond, and two new Harry Potter-verse stories (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them & The Cursed Child) are headed our way this year!

On Your Television

The X-Files (Reboot)

• If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll have definitely noticed a new X-Files trend around here.  Although it (sadly) has already come and gone, 2016 marked the return of the series to t.v. in the form of a 6-episode mini season event.  But more on that to come!

Sherlock

• Also already come and gone was a new BBC Sherlock episode in the form of a sort of Christmas special (hey, we’ll take new Sherlocks whenever we can get ’em!).  They aired the special in theaters and it was great.  I wasn’t expecting it to tie into the larger story arc of the series, but they spun it brilliantly to make it work just so.  Moffat, Gatiss, and crew did a fantastic job bringing that whole Victorian-horror genre to life in this one, and it maintained the wonderful sense of humor that should always accompany the world of Holmes and Watson.  And, yeah, also more to come…

Gravity Falls

• The finale of Gravity Falls bringing Weirdmageddon to an end.  I’ve only recently caught the Gravity Falls bug thanks to a rec from my cousin, and when I did, it was a done deal.  The show now easily counts among my favorites and I only wish there could be more of Alex Hirsch’s fantastic series.

Oh, hey – guess what?  More to come on this one, too.

Plus: More superheroes (and villains) – Flash, Arrow, Agents of Sheild, Gotham, etc. -, season finale and return of Star Wars Rebels, the return of Steven Universe, and more!

In Your Gaming System

• On the console end of things, 2016 is bringing the 4th and final installment of the super fun Uncharted series.  It’s a franchise that feels true to the tone and style of video games of past, one I love and that sadly seems to be dying out.  There’s hope yet, though, and 2016 will see the return of Star Fox for Nintendo plus a new Legend of Zelda game and 20th anniversary Pokemon memorabilia, while other franchises with new releases include Persona and Final Fantasy.  Then there are the intriguing-looking/new altogether titles for 2016 including No Man’s Sky and Firewatch.

Honestly, the reason for this post is mostly because it blows my mind a bit with how much nerd-variety pop-culture 2016 is packing…

Mind blown.  (Thanks, Bill!)

We’re in the midst of an era where such content is the norm.  Will it last?  (That’s rhetorical, but a geek can dream.)  But, however long this cycle does last I plan to enjoy it.

Your turn!  What geeky things are you most looking forward to this year?  Leave a comment with your thoughts below!

And as always, thanks for reading, cheers.  Until then…

Mischief managed