December Movie Releases

Filmdistrict/Warner Bros. Pictures/Paramount Pictures/Universal Pictures/The  Weinstein Co.

December7                                                                                                                                                                                                   The year’s final month kicks offs with three releases at the cinema. If you’re looking for an all-star cast look no farther than Playing for Keeps. The Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness) directed film stars Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Judy Greer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Uma Thurman and Dennis Quaid. In Playing for Keeps, Butler plays an ex-sports star who tries to get his life back on track by coaching his son’s soccer team.

Competing against Playing for Keeps is the gambling comedy, Lay the Favorite which also offers a star studded cast in the form of Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rebecca Hall and Joshua Jackson. Also opening this week is Hyde Park on Hudson in a limited release. The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and focuses on his relationship with his distant cousin Margaret Suckley (Laura Linney).

December 14                                                                                                                                                                                If you are someone who like to have options when it comes to theater visits than this is not your week as there is only one new release but with that release being The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I can understand why no studio wants to release a film this week. The Hobbit will a be box office monster as it will easily be the highest grossing film of December and could even pass The Avengers $1.5 billion for the highest grossing film of the year. Personally, I think The Avengers number is safe but I will not be surprised if The Hobbit crosses the billion dollar mark. It will also be interesting to see what kind of critical reception it receives which will help determine if it will be a major awards contender.

December 19                                                                                                                                                                                                       If early buzz is any indication, the three movies receiving a special Wednesday release is the first half of what looks to be a huge week of releases.  In The Guilt Trip, inventor Andy Brewster (Seth Rogan) takes his mother Joyce (Barbara Streisand) on the road with him as he attempts to sell his new invention. 

If you prefer drama over comedy, you don’t have to worry as there is plenty of that opening on this day as well. Written and directed by Michael Haneke, Amour looks at how age and illness affects the relationship of elderly couple George (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuella Riva). The French film looks to be a lock for an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film.

Also looking to make a splash at the Academy Awards is Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty (limited release), a film that focuses on the United States hunt for Osama bin Laden. Bigelow’s last film, The Hurt Locker, took home six academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director and as Zero Dark Thirty is receiving praise from critics who have seen the film, it could also be a major winner come February.

December 21                                                                                                                                                                                         Historically, the Friday before Christmas has been known to be loaded with releases and this year is no exception as there is six movies arriving to theaters. The mesmerizing choreographing of Cirque du Soleil finds its way to the big screen with Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away in 3D. With Valkyrie and Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol , Tom Cruise has been a part of holiday releases before and this year he is back as the title character in Jack Reacher. The Impossible, staring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, is about a family that is affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Set in 1960’s New Jersey, Not Fade Away is the story of a group of friends that attempt to find success by forming a band.

An adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel of the same name, On the Road tells the story of Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) and his travels with Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his girlfriend Marylou (Kristen Stewart). With its tagline being “The sort-of sequel to Knocked Up”, This Is 40 revisits the marriage of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), the couple from 2007’s Knocked Up.

December 25                                                                                                                                                                                     Christmas day’s three releases offer a little something for everyone. Billy Crystal and Bette Midler are Grandparents in Parental Guidance. In this family comedy, chaos ensues when Artie (Crystal) and Diane (Midler) agree to watch over their grandchildren.

 If you are looking for something a little less family friendly, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is where you will find it. Yes, I doubt that this will be one to take the kids too based on Tarantino’s style but, boy; the man is good at his craft. Out of all of the December releases, this is the one that I am looking forward to the most. It should have a solid run at that box office but also could make some noise during awards season. Tarantino’s films aren’t really what the Academy tends to lean towards so a Best Picture win is unlikely but as he is a master with words and his films are always rich in dialogue, he has won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay with Pulp Fiction and nominated for Inglorious Bastards so it is not crazy to consider him a major contender when it comes to Best Screenplay.

Speaking of Academy Awards, Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables also hits theaters this Christmas. The musical, staring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, is being considered a major contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Few have seen it so only time will tell if it is a true contender but if it is able to live up to the hype and win Best picture, it will first film with a Christmas release date to win Best Picture since My Fair Lady in 1964.

December 28                                                                                                                                                                                       The final Friday of 2012 features two limited releases. Dustin Hoffman steps behind the camera to direct Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins in Quartet. Also in a limited release, Promised Land features a familiar director/writer duo in Gus Van Sant and Matt Damon. Good Will Hunting also featured Van Sant as its director and Damon as one of its writers.