7) Silence
Since the 1970’s, Martin Scorsese has consistently released movies that score 90% or more on Rotten Tomatoes, including titles as diverse as Hugo and Taxi Driver. Even Scorsese films that have been less well received, such as Gangs Of New York and The Wolf Of Wall Street, still score around 75%, which is a stunning achievement when you consider how broad his back catalogue is. Scorsese is a living legend, there’s no doubt about it, and any major release from him is guaranteed to count among the most successful movies of the year.
In 2016, Scorsese returns to the director’s chair with the film Silence, starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as two Jesuit priests who encounter persecution in 17th century Japan. Epic historical dramas tend to fare well critically and the moral ambiguity of the novel upon which the film is based sounds ideal for Scorsese’s outlook on the world.
The film has been adapted by screenwriter Jay Cocks, who was Oscar nominated for his work on The Age Of Innocence and Gangs Of New York. While this doesn’t guarantee that Silence will be another Scorsese classic, the odds are certainly looking in its favour.