The holiday movie season is mostly a continuation of the fall movie season, except more, you know, holiday-ish. Prestige pictures are still the order of the day, mixed in with some broader entertainment and a few movies you can take grandma to after all that pumpkin pie.
As always, we're here to help make sense of the pileup. So feast your eyes on these five burning questions for the movie year's home stretch, covering everything from Oscar hopefuls to that relaunched space adventure that has everyone in a tizzy. Grab your popcorn.
Which of the season's movies look like legitimate Oscar contenders?
Yes, it's time to have that conversation again. Carol (opening Dec. 25), Todd Haynes' aching 1950s love story starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, boasts magnificent acting, writing and direction. Same for Brooklyn (in theaters now), the bittersweet story of a young Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) coming to America. Recent Oscar winners Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) team up for The Danish Girl (Dec. 18). Bryan Cranston shines as blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo (in theaters). Creed (Wedneday) finds Rocky Balboa training Apollo's son (played by Michael B. Jordan). Liam Hemsworth and Cillian Murphy go whaling In the Heart of the Sea (Dec. 11). Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt star in the mortgage meltdown tale The Big Short (Dec. 18). A smaller contender to look out for: Youth (Dec. 18), starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel.
Then there's the big finish. Christmas is scheduled to bring Concussion, starring Will Smith as the forensic pathologist who blew the lid off the NFL's brain injury plague; The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino's bloody chamber Western; Joy, the latest pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell; and The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in a 19th-century tale of bear mauling and revenge directed by reigning Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu. Because nothing says Christmas cheer like a good bear mauling.
What movies couldn't care less about the Oscars (and might appeal to those who feel the same)?
There's this little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dec. 18)that seems to have generated some buzz. Someone went and remade the male-bonding action classic Point Break (Dec. 25), because that's the kind of thing they do these days. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell play dad vs. stepdad in Daddy's Home (Dec. 25). Tina Fey and Amy Poehler cut loose as Sisters (Dec. 18). Daniel Radcliffe is Igor and James McAvoy is Dr. Frankenstein in Victor Frankenstein (Wednesday).
What about the kids, man? What about the kids?
Pickings are slim, but at least one should be good: Pixar's The Good Dinosaur (Wednesday). Or perhaps you prefer Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (Dec. 18). (If this is the case, please seek help.) On the PG-13 side there's Krampus (Dec. 4), about a kid who accidentally summons a demon to his family home after a lousy Christmas. Allison Tolman of Fargo and Dallas theater fame stars.
What are some smaller films that might escape notice?
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard should make for a memorable couple in the latest screen adaptation of Macbeth (Dec. 11). Tom Hardy should make for a memorable couple as London's notorious Kray twins in Legend (Wednesday). Dane DeHaan, who looks a lot like James Dean, gets to play him in Life (Dec. 4). Spike Lee looks like he's back in firebrand form with Chi-Raq (Dec. 4). Juliet Stevenson plays Mother Teresa -- no pressure or anything -- in The Letters (Dec. 4). Christopher Abbott plays a New Yorker facing down his demons in James White (Dec. 4).
Critic's choice: What three films have Chris Vognar the most excited?
I'll cheat on the first one because I've already seen it: Carol is a masterpiece. Then I'll go with The Revenant, for the DiCaprio-Hardy-Iñárritu-bear-mauling factor; and Macbeth, because I think Fassbender and Cotillard will knock those roles out of the park.
