HOLIDAY SEASON PREVIEW!

For movies, the Holiday Season, late November through Christmas Day, is like a compressed version of the Summer Movie Season, which is when the studios flaunt their biggest "event" films.  The holidays are like a second place major movie season, where movies that wouldn't meet the deadline for summer or were otherwise unfeasible for a summer release but just as prominent as those that are can find a release date.  There's also the odd awards season heavy-hitters, especially those that hold an appeal for wider audiences, as opposed to the artistically-obsessed independent films that usually appear in September.  It's the usual time of year for Disney Animation's annual feature release, a few action-adventure spectaculars and some heart-warming and/or heart-sickening family flicks, and this is one of the most promising holiday seasons in years.

NOVEMBER 22
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE  (ACTION-ADVENTURE/THRILLER)
Directed by Francis Lawrence; Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Jena Malon, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language.
What's it about?:  Continuing the saga of revolution across the 12 districts of the futuristic dystopian nation of Panem, ruled by the tyrannical and decadent Capital, Katniss Everdeen (newly-minted Academy Award-winner, Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are now celebrated victors of the infamous gladiatorial competition, the Hunger Games, and their acts of defiance have begun to spread the seeds of rebellion.  With the threat of a very real war on the horizon, and intent on seeing Katniss and her dissidents smothered into oblivion, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) oversees the preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, a "Quarter Quell," in which the competitors are made up of champions from previous years, and everyone is a skilled killer.
Why to be excited:  Last year's THE HUNGER GAMES was a spectacular example of an alignment between critical and popular acclaim, with great acting, action and production, plus, it proved that while it may not be as bloody as BATTLE ROYALE, you can still pull off an effective movie about kids slaughtering each other in a bloody melee within a PG-13 rating.
Why to be worried:  There has been a change of directors, from PLEASANTVILLE and SEABISCUIT director Gary Ross to I AM LEGEND and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS director Francis Lawrence, who may not turn out to be as steady a hand or as insightful a mind.

NOVEMBER 27
FROZEN  (FAMILY/ANIMATED/FANTASY)
Directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee; Featuring the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Alan Tudyk, Ciaran Hinds
PG for some action and mild rude humor.
What's it about?:  Very loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen, Walt Disney Animation's 53rd animated feature is the story of two sister princesses; adventurous and optimistic Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), the elder of the two and heir to the throne of Arendelle, with magic powers over snow and ice, but who is also insecure and temperamental.  When Elsa loses control, she freezes the kingdom in an eternal winter and hides herself away in a palace of ice, and an arrogant duke convinces the kingdom that she is a monster.  Anna teams up with a mountain man named Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) to find her sister's castle and make amends, before Arendelle is frozen forever.
Why to be excited:  Disney Animation has been picking up a lot of steam lately, with 2010's excellent TANGLED and last year's WRECK-IT RALPH, as well as the spectacular Academy Award-winning animated short that played with the latter, PAPERMAN.  Disney has had their eyes on The Snow Queen for decades now, and even though the story has now changed nearly beyond recognition, this is the result of extensive development.  Also, the early reports have been raves, comparing it to the Disney Renaissance's crown jewel of the awards, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Why to be worried:  The previews suck (in fairness though, Disney may just have a bad set of preview editors, because some of Disney's best films in recent years, such as TANGLED and THE MUPPETS, have had trailers that ranged from unimpressive to terrible).

DECEMBER 13
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG  (ACTION-ADVENTURE/FANTASY)
Directed by Peter Jackson; Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Stephen Fry
PG-13
What's it about?:  The second chapter in the epic trilogy adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the band of dwarves led by the dwarf prince, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), encounter perils in the forests of Mirkwood (wherein lives LORD OF THE RINGS fan-favorite, Legolas, played once again by Orlando Bloom) before reaching their destination of the Lonely Mountain, inside which Bilbo encounters the fearsome dragon Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch).  Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) leads a council to exorcise and reveal the ominous Necromancer, who was discovered in the first film.
Why to be excited:  The trailers thus far have been pretty cool, and it adds another piece to the three-chapter mega film that the trilogy is, but most of all, the action and intrigue quotient is rising as the dragon Smaug becomes a major player and the competing forces of the story collide.

Why to be worried:  Anybody who still thinks that this trilogy will measure up to THE LORD OF THE RINGS once seen all in one is kidding themselves; all of the LOTR films were vastly better than THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, and even if these next two parts are stellar, this trilogy will still have a weaker link than any in LOTR.  The decision to turn the one book into three films is obviously excessive, even when you cram in the stuff from Tolkien's appendices to make an unnecessarily more direct link to the LOTR trilogy, and the result for the first film was that it slogged along at a death crawl most of the time.  I do not like the new computer-animated orcs either.  Why the hell could they not make a "Pale Orc" with prosthetic makeup like they did for all the close-up orcs in LOTR?

DECEMBER 18
AMERICAN HUSTLE  (CRIME DRAMA)
Directed by David O. Russell; Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner
R
What's it about?:  Fresh off of last year's Academy Award-winning SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, writer/director David O. Russell's newest is a fictionalization of the FBI's ABSCAM operation from the late 1970s and early 1980s, which exposed public corruption in the political, commercial and mob affiliations on the East Coast.  Starring an ensemble cast, Christian Bale stars as a brilliant con man pressed into cooperating with the FBI, along with his mistress/novice partner-in-crime, played by Amy Adams, to infiltrate the criminal underworld of New Jersey which leads up to the Camden mayor (Jeremy Renner), while Bale's neglected wife (Jennifer Lawrence) could bring the whole thing crashing down.

Why to be excited:  David O. Russell is returning to form following his good but simplified THE FIGHTER and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, with a film for which the advertising emulates a groovy GOODFELLAS-esque tone, which can't be a bad thing.  Furthermore, the cast is amazing and the screenplay was listed as one of the best unproduced screenplays back in 2010.
Why to be worried:  There aren't many reasons, beyond David O Russell's occasional misfires, and it may be a bit too convoluted, but overall, this looks like a strong bet.

DECEMBER 20
ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES  (COMEDY)
Directed by Adam McKay; Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Kriten Wiig, Harrison Ford
R
What's it about?:  With the 1970s behind them, the Channel 4 new team of anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell, in his signature role), lead field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), dimwitted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and sportcaster Champ Kind (David Koechner) have gone their separate ways and fallen into lives of disarray, when they get the call to reunite the news team for an all-new 24-hour news channel during the rise of cable television.
Why to be excited:  The previews and other marketing ploys have been hilarious, including Ben & Jerry's special edition flavor "Scotchy Scotch Scotch" ice cream, an autobiography of Ron Burgundy called Let Me Off At the Top!: My Classy Life and Other Musings, and "Rich Mahogany Edition" re-release of the original on Blu-Ray.  There's also just the fun of bringing back together these cult-classic characters for an encore.
Why to be worried:  The comedy genre has a terrible track record for successful sequels, because comedy is one of the most difficult to get right anyway, so the good ones are typically of a "lightning in a bottle" sort.  Plus, Will Ferrell hasn't had a good mainstream movie for a while now.

DECEMBER 20
SAVING MR. BANKS  (DRAMA/COMEDY/BIOPIC)
Directed by John Lee Hancock; Starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, B.J. Novak, Colin Farrell
PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images.
What's it about?:  Based on a true story, prim Australian author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) haggles with folksy American Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) over the particulars of developing her children's book Mary Poppins as a major movie over the course of decades, interwoven with Travers' memories of her troubled childhood and her father (Colin Farrell), where she found the inspiration for her tale of a magical nanny who came to save a father.
Why to be excited:  It's the first time that Walt Disney, an American icon, has been brought to the screen in a dramatized portrayal, and Tom Hanks is perfectly cast in the role.  It's also a relatively little-known story behind the scenes of MARY POPPINS, one of the most popular films of all time and considered the filmmaking peak of Disney's illustrious career.
Why to be worried:  John Lee Hancock, director of sentimental true-life family dramas like THE BLIND SIDE and THE ROOKIE, is directing, and one of the the biggest challenges to this kind of film is keeping a delicate balance to sentimentality.  Furthermore, Walt Disney can be a divisive figure, and the balance of maintaining accuracy, warts and all, is hugely important to this movie's success, especially when Walt Disney Pictures is behind the film  (they're really the only company with the legal rights to get this kind of movie made).

DECEMBER 20
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS 3D  (FAMILY/ADVENTURE)
Directed by Barry Cook & Neil Nightingale; Featuring the voices of Charlie Rowe, Angourie Rice
PG
What's it about?:  In what looks like a cross between Disney's DINOSAUR and DreamWorks' SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, this feature-length adaptation of the 1999 BBC miniseries of the same name tells the story of three Pachyrhinosaurus from they moment they hatch and as they come of age to lead the pack in migration, during which they intermittently encounter the predatory Gorgosaurus during the Late Cretaceous period, filmed with live action backdrop footage and computer-animated dinosaur characters.
Why to be excited:  It's definitely an interesting prospect as an attempt to credibly depict dinosaurs in nature, emulating the feel of a nature documentary (the dinosaurs do not speak, not outside of narration voice-overs), plus, it's dinosaurs.  Dinosaurs.
Why to be worried:  The limitations of a $65 million dollar budget (plenty sizable for some movies, but a bit low for a film where all the characters are photo-realistic CGI) are evident in the previews, with the animation being serviceable but still not as thoroughly rendered as may be desirable, and the story appears formulaic and in service to the visuals.

DECEMBER 25
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET  (CRIME DRAMA/COMEDY/BIOPIC)
Directed by Martin Scorcese; Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jon Faverau, Jean Dujardin, Kyle Chandler, Margot Robbie, Cristin Milioti
R
What's it about?: Based on the memoirs of Jordan Belfort, a brilliant but corrupt New York stockbroker who refused to cooperate with a federal investigation of a massive securities fraud operation he was behind along with many others on Wall Street, along with the corporate banking industry, organized crime and politicians.  Along the way to his fall from glory, Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives a high life of decadence and moral depravity, all the while defrauding his investors.
Why to be excited:  Anything directed by Martin Scorcese is worth getting excited about, plus he's teaming back up with his new "Bobby De Niro," Leonardo DiCaprio, making it their fifth film together.  The previews have been great so far, filled with glitzy amorality and black humor that Scorcese has thrived on in some of his best films.

Why to be worried:  The film was meant to release on November 15 but ran into trouble due to a lengthy first cut over three hours long and further rumored issues that edits were necessary to avoid an NC-17 rating.  After a week of uncertainty as to whether the film would even be ready in time for consideration in the upcoming awards season, it's since been announced for a Christmas Day release.  While this isn't necessarily a harbinger of disaster, previous "would've, could've, should've" been great Scorcese movies that faced similar struggles like CASINO (1995) and GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002) have been relatively disappointing (note the emphasis on "relatively").

DECEMBER 25
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY  (ADVENTURE/COMEDY/DRAMA)
Directed by Ben Stiller; Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Patton Oswalt, Shirley McLaine
PG for some crude comments, language and action violence.
What's it about?:  Based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber, and a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye musical-comedy, Ben Stiller directs and stars as the title character, an ineffectual worker at Life magazine who spends his days daydreaming spectacular fantasies of heroism outside of his mundane day-to-day life, but is thrust into a global adventure in search of a missing picture required for the final issue of Life.
Why to be excited:  The teaser trailer certainly got some buzz going with its hallucinogenic dream imagery accompanied by the Beastie Boys' song "Of Monsters and Men," and Stiller has made some solid previous directorial-starring efforts like ZOOLANDER and TROPIC THUNDER.  One way or another, it's got to be better than the Danny Kaye version.
Why to be worried:  So far, we don't have a whole lot to go on, other than the mixed-to-poor response from its premiere at the New York Film Festival.  Plus, the recently revealed PG rating is so strongly associated with family audiences, but none of the marketing has hinted at any such intentions.

DECEMBER 25
GRUDGE MATCH  (SPORTS COMEDY)
Directed by Peter Segal; Starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kevin Hart, Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger
PG-13 for sports action violence, sexual content and language.
What's it about?:  The leading men from the two most famous boxing movies of all time (ROCKY and RAGING BULL) unite in this film about two old boxing rivals, Henry "Razor" Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy "The Kid" McGuigan (Robert De Niro), who hold a 30-year grudge and when an incident while doing some motion-capture acting for a video game becomes a viral sensation, rekindling interest in their rivalry, the long-retired fighters get the opportunity to enter the ring again to see who really would have won the botched match where it all started three decades ago.
Why to be excited:  There is something fun to the idea of seeing Robert "Jake LaMotta" De Niro and Sylvester "Rocky Balboa" Stallone swapping punches in the ring as two old guys, even if its evidence of their cheapened reputations.
Why to be worried:  Director Peter Segal's resume is made up of mostly generic comedies, the best of which is GET SMART, but also includes bland cult-favorites TOMMY BOY and some of Adam Sandler's bad (but not as spectacularly bad as some) "comedies."  It could be funny, but its unlikely to be at all unique outside of its stars.

DECEMBER 25
47 RONIN  (ACTION-ADVENTURE/FANTASY)
Directed by Carl Rinschl Starring Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, and thematic elements.
What's it about?: A big-budget Hollywood reinterpretation of the "national legend" of Japan, Keanu Reeves stars as an outcast half-British samurai who joins up with a clan of ronin, samurai warriors without a master, who seek revenge on the evil lord who killed their master and had them banished.  On their quest, the forty-seven ronin encounter mystical perils and high adventure as they pursue honor.
Why to be excited:  Samurai do not get the attention they deserve in American movies, even with the enormous influence of Akira Kurosawa's films, including SEVEN SAMURAI, and this is a big budget, super-samurai adventure.

Why be worried:  Oh, where to begin?  If you've heard of the problems that accompanied Disney's financially disastrous THE LONE RANGER, they're not quite on the same level, with 47 RONIN shot primarily back in 2011, with reportedly extensive re-shoots.  The release date has changed twice, originally for November 21, 2012, then February 8, 2013 and now, finally completed, for Christmas Day.  It's the film debut of director, Carl Erik Rinsch, whose previous work was exclusively in "visual and stylish" brand blurbs (it's not unheard of to give a big-budget feature to an unheard of filmmaker, but most of them at least have an independent film or two on their repertoire), and has apparently had difficulty grappling with the epic scope of the film.  Plus, Keanu Reeves is starring, and his acting (or lack there of) usually demands the service of the script rather than vice versa.  The international audiences may still pick up the pieces, but otherwise, it looks headed for disaster.