“Kubo and the Two Strings” — Jan. 23

From the studio that brought the world “Coraline” and the “Boxtrolls” comes a new stop-motion feature film, “Kubo and the Two Strings.” Set in Ancient Japan the story follows Kubo (Art Parkinson), a young musician with one eye, as he searches for his father’s Samurai armor to try and stop his grandfather, the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), from taking his other eye. When his mother (Charlize Theron) dies while protecting him from her evil sisters (Rooney Mara), Kubo sets off on an adventure with his former-statue-turned-real-monkey Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a small origami Samurai (who also came to life) to find the different pieces of armor. Along the way they meet Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), a Samurai who doesn’t remember much about his past but does remember that he knew the famous Hanzo — a Samurai who is also Kubo’s missing father. The four of them journey to the “Hall of Bones” to find the “Sword Unbreakable” and the “Garden of Eyes” for the “Breastplate Impenetrable.” As Kubo tries to obtain the “Helmet Invulnerable” he is attacked by the Moon King. Now Kubo must use his magic, along with the magic of his mother and father to defeat the Moon King, a feat that is easier said than done.

“Moana” — Jan. 30

Disney’s 2016 film “Moana” focuses on a young Polynesian girl named Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and her quest to help save the world from darkness. Years after being chosen by the sea to be the next bearer of the Heart of Te Fiti (a goddess who created life and the islands), Moana finds out that her island’s resources are running out fast. She asks her father, Chief Tui (Temeura Morrison) if she can leave to find more fish but he denies her request. Gramma Tala (Rachel House), Moana’s grandmother, tells her that this is because of the lava demon Te Kā, who creates a darkness that makes the ships disappear. However, in true Disney fashion the head-strong girl goes out anyway to try and find the demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson) — who stole the heart and released the demon in the first place. Moana eventually manages to find Maui but returning the Heart to Te Fiti is no easy task. The team (made up of one human, a demi-god, a pig and a chicken) encounter pirates, a giant coconut crab and finally the lava demon Te Kā. Moana must discover her purpose in order to figure out how to defeat Te Kā and restore her island.

“Dr. Strange” — Feb. 6

Marvel’s latest creation “Dr. Strange,” ventures away from its main heroes to feature a different comic book legend, Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cucumberpatch). Once a gifted neurosurgeon, Dr. Strange loses the use of his hands in an accident and tries everything to get them to work again but to no avail. After meeting Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), a man who was able to walk again after being a paraplegic, he learns that the cure for his hands may be in a place called Kamar-Taj. There he meets Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a sorcerer who teaches Strange about the mystical arts and the powers that protect the Earth. He must use these newly gained powers to stop Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) from releasing Dormammu from the Dark Dimension. To do that he may have to go against the wishes of his teacher and against the very fabric of nature.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” — Feb. 13

Return to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowlings’ new movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” This film takes place in New York City in the Roaring ‘20s when Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives on a trip to Arizona. However, the trip gets a little delayed when he is distracted by No-Maj (the American equivalent of a Muggle) Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) — the head of the New Salem Philanthropic Society– he accidentally switches briefcases with No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). Unfortunately for Scamander, his briefcase was full of magical creatures. When Jacob opens the case, several of the creatures escape. Scamander, who was already in trouble with the Magical Congress of the United States, now has his hands full with trying to wrangle the creatures before they can expose the magical world.

“Edge of Seventeen” — Feb. 27

“Edge of Seventeen,” is this quarter’s pick for a romance-feel-good movie. Nadine’s (Hailee Steinfeld) life has been difficult since her dad passed away. While she is at a party with her brother and his girlfriend, Nadine runs into fellow classmate Erwin Kim (Hayden Szeto). The two decide to ditch the party and spend time at an amusement park. As their  friendship grows, Nadine discovers that Erwin is a rich, yet lonely filmmaker who invites her to his film premier. Throughout all of the struggles that Nadine goes through with her family and other relationships, she talks with Mr. Bruner who tries to give her advice on what to do. Eventually, Nadine ends up at the film premiere where she has the opportunity to finally open up to other people.

“Passengers” — March 6

The last space movie to come out of 2016, “Passengers,” stars Jennifer Lawrence (as Aurora Lane) and Chris Pratt (as Jim Preston) aboard the starship Avalon on the way to Homestead II. During the 120 year flight to the new planet, Jim’s hibernation pod malfunctions and he wakes up 90 years too soon. After living by himself for a yea,r with his only company being an automatic butler (Michael Sheen), Jim decides to wake up Aurora — a writer with a sense of humor — and tell her that it was another pod malfunction. She buys the story and the two of them begin their lives together, until one day the butler slips up and tells her the truth. This causes a fight to break out between Jim and Aurora. While they are still fighting they are met by another early riser Gus (Laurence  Fishburne) who tells them that there is a problem with the ship and it is up to them to fix it. Jim and Aurora must now work to both survive and fix the ship so that the other 4,997 people aboard the ship reach their destination.

“Sing” — March 13

Dreamworks Studio presents another anthropomorphic hit, “Sing.” Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) owns a failing theatre and decides that the only way to save it is to host a singing competition. Unfortunately, his assistant, Ms. Crawley, writes on the signs that the grand prize is $100,000 instead of $1,000 (the actual prize amount). This news brings out all sorts of animals, from a variety of backgrounds, including a shy elephant, the son of a getaway car driver, a street musician and a housewife. Though the personal challenges of the contestants make getting the show rolling difficult, Buster Moon remains optimistic that it will save his theatre. The show must go on and even when the theatre is destroyed, the curtains will eventually fall on the greatest musical event the city has ever seen.

*Major Plot Points Provided By The Movies’ Wikipedia Pages