December is finally here, which means the second-biggest season for movies (behind summer, of course). As usual there is the mixed bag of yawner Oscar-bait films, big franchise films, and kiddie/family movies. I must admit this year's awards season looks a little weaker than most, but there's still good fun to be had at the movies.
In addition to my picks, there are two other movies coming out from the master of all cinema which I will discuss in a special section at the end of this post.
Hugo
With no new releases coming out this week (at least not in wide release), this is the time to catch up on any movies you may have missed but still want to see. My choice: Hugo, which opened November 23rd. Martin Scorsese, director of such dark crime-centric films like Taxi Driver and The Departed, turns to children's movies for the first time with this 3D charmer about an orphan boy living behind the clock in a Paris train station. The muddled plot also includes something about a robot boy, a key shaped like a heart, and a secret left behind by his dead father. However strange it may sound, people are coming out the of theater crying. Probably worth a look. While the young lead is an unknown, the film co-stars Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass), Ben Kingsley, and Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat).
New Year's Eve
While the release date is a bit premature, this film follows the success (and formula) of Valentine's Day to produce another celebrity-stuffed surefire hit. An immense ensemble cast- made up almost entirely of stars- are all dreading the ball dropping on the new year in New York City. Love is found, lost, and talked about in detail in this romantic comedy. I wasn't a fan of Valentine's Day, but I did really love its predecessor, He's Just Not That Into You. Let's hope this one is more like the latter! The cast includes (but is definitely not limited to) Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Robert De Niro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Zac Efron, and Jessica Biel.
Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol
The fourth film in the immensely popular action series is almost upon us! Directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and produced by J.J. Abrams (director of the third film), this film involves Ethan Hunt and his team of (mostly) new characters being framed for bombing the Kremlin and on the run to find out who set them up. Tom Cruise returns, as does Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, while the rest of the cast includes Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Paula Patton (Precious), and Josh Holloway (Lost).
Another sure-to-be-popular sequel opening the same day: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, pitting Holmes and Watson (Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, respectively) against the evil Professor Moriarty. Fans of the original Holmes short stories know the significance of that fateful encounter.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The most anticipated film of the season (for some, of the year) is sure to be a huge movie event, and something everyone should pay attention to, even if they aren't interested in seeing it. The adaptation of the massively popular book (and remake of the 2009 Swedish film) is about a journalist (Daniel Craig) hired to solve a decades-old cold case of a missing girl. When he discovers new evidence that the girl may have been murdered, he enlists the help of a young punk computer hacker with a photographic memory. Lisbeth Salander is played by Rooney Mara (The Social Network) and is already one of the most famous (and controversial) fictional characters of the last decade. David Fincher directs this dark, twisted thriller, which is definitely one to watch come Oscar season.
Also opening the same day: the family-friendly drama We Bought a Zoo. The title says it all: Matt Damon plays the head of a struggling family who buys a run-down zoo and tries to rebuild it. Based on a true story.
Sunday, December 25thExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Taking the coveted Christmas Day slot, this is an adaptation of the popular book by Jonathan Safran Foer. After his father dies in the 9/11 attacks, a young autistic boy goes on a journey to find the lock that matches a key his father left behind. The book is an avant-garde mind-trip, and the film promises to be more straightforward. Fans of the book will undoubtedly cry foul at many of the changes made, but it still looks like a charming film, if maybe not strictly for kids. Co-stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.
Popcorn Pick Special Section
Steven Spielberg
If you've been paying attention to the movies coming out this holiday season, it's been impossible to miss the fact that the master has returned. Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg- arguably one of the best directors in the history of film- is coming out with not one, but two movies this month- both being released within a week of each other. If you take a closer look, it's also impossible to deny that both films look...well, for lack of a better word, boring.
The first is The Adventures of Tintin, out December 21st. The first animated film Spielberg has ever done (and his first 3D film), this is an adaptation of a comic book about a young boy journalist and his faithful dog going on a quest to find a sunken ship with a secret cargo. Done in the style of Indiana Jones movies, and marketed to kids, it's hard to imagine any kids seeing this movie. The comic books are very popular...in Europe, where the film will surely be a hit. But in America, very few people have heard of Tintin, or his dog Snowy. Adding stars to the cast of this motion-capture film (Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis) doesn't help since you don't get the star power of their faces.
At this point in his career, Spielberg has reached a stage where he can do whatever he wants- indeed, he's even earned that right. But doing films that no one wants to see can't possibly be fulfilling for him, the guy who made Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Jurassic Park. While Popcorn Pick is about choosing movies worth seeing, I'm so incredibly disappointed at these films that I felt compelled to mention them. If I do see them, it will be out of sheer morbid curiosity, and it will probably be on DVD.
These are my un-Picks, you could call them. Before you judge me, remember that I am one of Spielberg's biggest fans, and have been eagerly waiting three and a half years for his next film. That I get these two instead of another potential classic is very disheartening.
But, chin up! There's still good movies out there! My next post will be the best and worst movies of the year- my most popular, and controversial post by far. See you then!
