It’s December, ladies and gentlemen!
The year is almost over! How has your year been? Because it’s been a great year for films, huh? December is also a tough month to set, because this is the big Oscar month, so a lot of films end up getting limited releases, expansion releases, and then wide releases. So if anything is off, it’s because of that. I’ll do my best to get everything where it’s suppose to go, and if not I’ll come back and update the schedule. So let’s jump right in the films that will close out the year.
Also, Happy Whatever-It-Is-You-Celebrate!
7th
Re-Release Anniversary: Schindler’s List
Limited Release: Vox Lux
An unusual set of circumstances bring unexpected success to a pop star (Natalie Portman). I honestly don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand, you got Portman and Law, and the story itself looks interesting, but there is just something keeping me at bay with it. Hopefully, when, or if, I see it I’ll be wrong. Vox Lux co-stars Jude Law, Raffey Cassidy, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Ehle and Willem Dafoe.
Limited Release: Mary Queen of Scots
Based on the book “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart” by John Guy, Mary Stuart’s (Saoirse Ronan) attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution. This just looks awesome. You have two great leads in Ronan and Robbie, and a great story itself, plus I’m sure we’ll be hearing about this come Award Season. Mary Queen of Scots co-stars David Tennant, Gemma Chan, Joe Alwyn, Jack Lowden and Guy Pearce.
12th
Once Upon a Deadpool
The “we just want more money” stunt is upon us with Once Upon a Deadpool. The movie is an edited down version of Deadpool 2 from earlier this year, expect this time we’ll have a story framing device with Deadpool telling the story to Fred Savage. The movie will play up until December 25th, so if you want to see a toned down version of Deadpool 2, I guess this is for you.
14th
Expansion: If Beale Street Could Talk
Mortal Engines
Based on the series of books, a mysterious young woman named Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) joins forces with Anna Fang (Jihae), a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head, and Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an outcast from London, to lead a rebellion against a giant predator city on wheels. Mortal Engines co-stars Stephen Lang, Caren Pistorious, Colin Salmon, Frankie Adams and Hugo Weaving.
The Mule
Inspired by the real story of Leo Sharp, Clint Eastwood returns in front of the camera since 2012’s Trouble with the Curve, as a 90-year-old horticulturist and WWII veteran, who is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Michigan for a Mexican drug cartel. The Mule co-stars Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne, Taissa Farmiga, Alison Eastwood, Dianne West and Andy Garcia.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Jump Street movies, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The LEGO Movie), and co-written by Lord, Spider-Man crosses parallel dimensions and teams up with the Spider-Men of those dimensions to stop a threat to all reality. The voice cast includes Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage and Liev Schreiber.
19th
Mary Poppins Returns
A sequel to the classic film – decades after her original visit, the magical nanny (Emily Blunt) returns to help the Banks siblings (Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer) and Michael’s children through a difficult time in their lives. Mary Poppins Returns co-stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke.
21st
Second Act
A big box store worker (Jennifer Lopez) reinvents her life and life-story and shows Madison Avenue what street smarts can do. Second Act co-stars Milo Ventimiglia, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Charlyne Yi, Dave Foley, Annaleigh Ashford and Treat Williams.
Welcome to Marwen
A dramatization of the 2010 documentary film Marwencol, Robert Zemeckis co-writes and directs the story of a victim (Steve Carrell) of a brutal attack who finds a unique and beautiful therapeutic outlet to help him through his recovery process. Welcome to Marwen co-stars Leslie Mann, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monae, Eiza Gonzalez, Gwendoline Christie and Diane Kruger.
Aquaman
The newest addition to the DCEU, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world. Look, my dislike for how Warner Bros. handled the DCEU is pretty known, but in case you don’t know, I hate it. The dilemma I have with Aquaman is I love that James Wan (The Conjuring movies) is directing, and some of the visuals look great. HOWEVER, I’m not sold on Momoa as Aquaman, sure he has the look, but can he actually carry a whole movie himself, that can also carry a good story (yes, I’ve seen the Black Panther comparisons). I do want to walk out liking this, but I’m not holding my breathe for anything. Aquaman co-stars Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren and Nicole Kidman.
Bumblebee
A spinoff of the Transformers franchise, on the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. I’ll admit, I wasn’t really looking forward to this when it was first announced. The Transformers movies have been extremely underwhelming, to say the least, but then it was announced that Travis Knight, LAIKA CEO, would be making his live-action directorial debut (he made his directorial debut with Kubo and the Two Strings) I got onboard. Since then, with the trailers and the feel and tone, Bumblebee is actually a movie I’m looking forward to now. Let’s just hope it doesn’t disappoint. Bumblebee co-stars John Cena, John Ortiz, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Rachel Crow and Kenneth Choi. The voice cast will include Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux and Peter Cullen.
25th
Destroyer
A police detective (Nicole Kidman) reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace. Destroyer co-stars Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Scoot McNairy, Beau Knapp and Bradley Whitford.
On the Basis of Sex
The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones), her struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. On the Basis of Sex co-stars Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Cailee Spaeny, Jack Reynor, Stephen Root, Kathy Bates and Sam Waterston.
Holmes & Watson
A humorous take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysterious featuring Sherlock Holmes (Will Ferrell) and Doctor Watson (John C. Reilly). Holmes & Watson co-stars Rebecca Hall, Lauren Lapkus, Kelly Macdonald, Pam Ferries, Noah Jupe, Bella Ramsey, Steve Coogan, Hugh Laurie and Ralph Fiennes.
Vice
Directed and written by Adam McKay (The Big Short), the story of Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), the most powerful Vice President in history, and how his policies changed the world as we know it. Vice co-stars Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Lily Rabe, Tyler Perry, Jesse Plemons, Shea Whigham and Eddie Marsan.
28th
Stan & Ollie
Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Hardy (John C. Reilly), the world’s most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song – a grueling theatre tour of post-war Britain. The film also stars Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda and Danny Huston.
So, what are you looking forward to?
Movies with Chris 