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Nicole Kidman stars
in The Golden Compass. |
With
Oscar season gearing up for its annual holiday push, it’s easy
to lose track of the movies that remember to entertain before
beating us over the head with moral platitudes and melodrama.
That’s why you won’t find movies like Paul Thomas Anderson’s (Boogie
Nights) sprawling epic There Will Be Blood (Dec. 26)
anywhere below, and you can forget about indie comedies like
Juno (Dec. 14) making the list.
Instead, here’s a
look at some of the other films you’ll be hearing about
in December.
The Golden Compass: Dec. 7
Based on the first
part of Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy, the
story follows a young girl (Dakota Blue Richards) who is thrust
into a battle between good and evil in a parallel universe.
Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and his Casino Royale co-star
Eva Green star, but the real draw is the spectacular visual
effects. Think of it as this year’s Chronicles of Narnia,
only (supposedly) anti-religious. Ah yes, there’s nothing quite
like scandal emanating from a children’s book.
The Perfect
Holiday: Dec. 12
Sparks fly after a young girl asks a department store Santa
(Morris Chestnut) to bring her mother (Gabrielle Union) a
husband for Christmas. We’ve seen far too many Christmas
comedies that are as funny as a lump of coal (remember
Surviving Christmas and Deck the Halls?). Here’s
hoping that one of the first from a black perspective can break
the mold.
I Am Legend: Dec. 14
Will Smith plays
the last man on Earth after a deadly plague, but that doesn’t
mean he’s alone. Indeed, the only place where Smith is ever
alone is at the top of the box office — you’d have to go back to
The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000 to find his last
failure. Not even the Toms (Hanks and Cruise) can match that.
Smith’s charm, talent and versatility make him worth every
penny.
Alvin and the Chipmunks:
Dec. 14
Jason Lee (My
Name Is Earl) sets his career back a few years with this
live-action movie that follows computer-generated chipmunks
Alvin, Simon and Theodore as they become pop music sensations.
Now really, did this have to be made? Even 7-year-olds are
annoyed by the terrible trailer.
National Treasure:
Book of Secrets:
Dec. 21
Nicolas Cage
globe-trots with the same principal cast from the first film as
he tries to find the truth behind the
Lincoln
assassination by tracking down the missing pages in the diary of
John Wilkes Booth. The sheer fun of the original is enough to
inspire interest here.
Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street:
Dec. 21
Tim Burton (Batman)
brings Stephen Sondheim’s musical to the big screen with Johnny
Depp in the title role as a barber who kills those who’ve
wronged him in the past. Nobody does gloom and doom better than
Burton, but we’re still not sold on Depp singing or Helena
Bonham Carter in anything.
Walk Hard: The
Dewey Cox Story:
Dec. 21
From the guys who
brought us Knocked Up and Superbad comes this
faux-biopic about a musician’s (John C. Reilly) ups and downs
throughout a turbulent career. Reilly (Talladega Nights)
is an underappreciated comedian who can sing, and there’s not
much else out there in terms of comedy.
Aliens vs.
Predator: Requiem:
Dec. 25
No plot
description needed, just exclamation points!! And what a cool
title: Requiem. What we wouldn’t give for Sigourney and
Arnold cameos! |
