As 2016 comes to close and we settling into the first few weeks into 2017, it’s time to go through my list of movies I saw in 2016 and pick the ten best titles. This year’s total was 69 new movies, and for those new to my lists, that includes all new movies, no matter when they came out. So the easiest step in the process is weeding out the older movies, but then comes the hard part. It took a few passes, but I finally have my top ten, so sit back and grab some popcorn, because here comes my top ten movies of 2016…

The Summer of 2016 is over and the Fall movie season is upon us. As the studios and indies prepare to unleash the prestige pictures and family friendly blockbusters they have been holding on for this moment, I’m taking a look back at the ten best films I’ve seen so far this year. Please bear in mind that there are titles like The Neon Demon and Hell or High Water that I would love to see, but have not yet received the opportunity to do so. Who knows? They might just make my end of the year list. But, for now, here’s my picks for the 10 Best Movies of 2016 … So Far.

We’ve already seen a couple of impressive trailers for the wonderful looking Kubo and the Two Strings. The movie is a stop-motion animated feature from LAIKA Entertainment, makers of Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls. The movie stars Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro.

While trailers are exciting, it’s seeing what goes in to making these meticulous stop-motion films that’s most fascinating. Focus Features has released a new making of featurette for Kubo and the Two Strings called “Myth of Kubo.” You can check it out below.

A second trailer has been released for Kubo and the Two Strings, the latest stop-motion animated feature from Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls creator LAIKA Entertainment. The movie stars Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro.

Unlike the wonderful first trailer, which was all about the visuals and music, this new trailer focuses more on the film’s story.

Click on over to the other side to check out the new trailer.

We’ve seen a few really gorgeous stop-motion films come out of LAIKA Entertainment, including Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls. With their latest effort, Kubo and the Two Strings, they most certainly appear to be continuing that trend after watching the new trailer for the movie, which mixes both awesome visuals and an epic instrumental cover of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

The movie stars Game of Thrones actor Art Parkinson (who plays Rickon on the HBO series—which is pretty cool as his TV big brother, Bran actor Isaac Hempstead Wright, starred in LAIKA’s The Boxtrolls) in the role of Kubo. Joining him on the cast is Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro.

Click on over to the other side now to read a synopsis for the movie and check out the trailer.