29 movies you have to see this holiday season

We have hit the prestige movie season. While some get excited about the summer and its big blockbusters, 2016 didn't have the most exciting summer at the cineplex. Others (like me) love when the holidays are upon us because that's when the Oscar-worthy movies come out on a weekly basis.

Yes, there are still some major blockbuster releases that shouldn't be ignored like "Rogue One," "Doctor Strange," and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," but there are also dramas like "Manchester by the Sea," "La La Land," and Martin Scorsese's long-awaited "Silence."

Here are 29 titles coming out by the end of the year that you shouldn't miss:

"Doctor Strange" - Now playing

For the first time the Marvel Cinematic Universe is delving into the mystical realm of the comics and the result doesn't disappoint. "Doctor Strange" is a worthy origin story, but the dazzling special effects are what will stay with you.

"Hacksaw Ridge" - Now playing

Mel Gibson has been locked in a PR nightmare for the last 10 years following a DUI arrest during which he made anti-Semitic remarks. But it seems like time has healed those wounds at least enough that his latest directing effort is winning over audiences. It stars Andrew Garfield as a World War II medic who becomes the first conscientious objector in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

"Trolls" - Now playing

Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake are just a few of the stars who lend their voices in this animated comedy about a pair of Trolls who set out on an adventure to rescue their friends.

"Loving" - Now playing

Director Jeff Nichols delivers a powerful movie based on a true story about an interracial couple (played by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) in 1958 Virginia who are sentenced to prison for getting married.

"Arrival" - Now playing

This emotionally charged sci-fi movie stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner as scientists who have been called upon by the military to decode what is being said by aliens who have just landed on earth.

"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" - Now playing

Newcomer Joe Alwyn plays 19-year-old Billy Lynn, who is on a victory tour following heroic fighting in Iraq. Director Ang Lee uses flashbacks and groundbreaking camera technology to show what Lynn experienced on the battlefield as he prepares to be honored by his country.

"Bleed for This" - Now playing

Miles Teller plays real-life boxer Vinny Pazienza, who after a near fatal car crash is told he'll never fight again. But "Paz" isn't convinced and undergoes one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" - Now playing

Decades before Harry Potter unlocks his powers, Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) stops in New York City while on his creature-finding global excursion that leads to quite the adventure.

"Manchester by the Sea" - Now playing

Casey Affleck delivers one of the best performances of his career as an uncle named Lee who is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies. However, Lee is struggling with his own difficult past.

"Nocturnal Animals" - Now playing

Director Tom Ford delivers a movie filled with mind games that you won't forget. Amy Adams plays an art gallery owner who is tormented by the novel her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) has sent her.

"Allied" - Now playing

With stars Bad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, director Robert Zemeckis delivers a spy thriller mixed with a love story.

"Bad Santa 2" - Now playing

Is this a sequel we really wanted? Time will tell. Billy Bob Thornton returns as Willie, the often drunk career criminal whose front is being a mall Santa.

"Moana" - Now playing

For the latest Disney animated movie, we follow a young woman named Moana as she sets sail to a fabled island along with demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).

"Lion" - Now playing

This Oscar contender stars Dev Patel as Saroo Brierley, who was separated from his family at 5 years old and adopted by an Australian family. Now 25, he sets out to find his birth family. The film also stars Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman.

"Jackie" - Now playing

Natalie Portman delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as Jacqueline Kennedy in the days following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.

"Office Christmas Party" - Now playing

This outlandish comedy starring Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, and Kate McKinnon follows an epic Christmas party held by a branch manager who believes he and his workers are getting laid off.

"La La Land" - Now playing

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone give incredible performances as two goal-driven people who find love in Los Angeles. The story is then elevated by director Damien Chazelle's lively musical themes.

"The Founder" - Now playing

Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's. The story follows how this salesman turned a simple idea into a multibillion dollar business — and burned some bridges in the process.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" - Now playing

It follows the mission that leads to the events that take place in "A New Hope." Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) plays the leader of a group of rebels who steal the plans to the Death Star.

"Assassin's Creed" - Now playing

Based on the popular game, the movie stars Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch, who learns he's a descendant of the secret Assassins society.

"Passengers" - Now playing

Traveling to a distant colony planet, Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) and James (Chris Pratt) wake up 90 years early after their sleep chambers malfunction. It's fun at first, until they realize the whole ship is in danger.

"Sing" - Now playing

Think of it as "American Idol" with animals. Hoping to save his theater, a koala bear named Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) starts a singing competition and some unlikely talents sign up to take part.

"Patriots Day" - Now playing

After turning the worst oil spill in US history into a movie ("Deepwater Horizon"), Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg team again to recount the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

"A Monster Calls" - December 23

Get the tissues ready for this one. With the help of a talking tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson), a young boy must cope with his mother's terminal illness.

"Silence" - December 23

Martin Scorsese's two-decades-in-the-making adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's 1966 novel follows two 17th-century priests who face persecution when they travel to Japan to spread Christianity. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Drive, and Liam Neeson.

"Fences" - December 25

Denzel Washington directs and stars in this adaptation of the August Wilson play. He plays a father trying to raise his family in the midst of racial unrest in the 1950s. The film also stars Viola Davis.

"Gold" - December 25

Matthew McConaughey is almost unrecognizable with a receding hairline and overweight look as he plays a man who searches for gold in an Indonesian jungle.

"20th Century Women" - December 25

Mike Mills ("Beginners") has put together an incredible ensemble cast that includes Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, and Greta Gerwig to tell the story of three women who explore love in 1970s Southern California.

"Live by Night" - December 25

Ben Affleck writes, directs, and stars in this Prohibition-era gangster movie.

"Paterson" - December 28

Adam Driver gives a powerful performance in Jim Jarmusch's latest movie about a bus driver living in Paterson, New Jersey, who is also a poet.