It's that time of year again, when Hollywood goes all-out to capture moviegoers' excitement during this most exuberant holiday season. As always, we've sifted through the overload of new movies to bring you the December Movie Guide, ten films worth checking out while you're out during some downtime from all the gift shopping this month!
The Warrior's Way
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston
Directed By: Sngmoo Lee
Opening: December 3, 2010
Enter the unique fantasy action world of this visually-stunning modern martial arts western starring Korean actor Dong-gun Jang who plays an Asian warrior assassin forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands. Rounding out the ensemble cast are Kate Bosworth, Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush, Danny Houston, and Tony Cox.
CraveOnline's Call: Ninjas at war with cowboys. If you need anything more than the trailer to get your ass in theaters, it's time to seek help. This looks awesome.
I Love You Phillip Morris
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann
Directed By: Glenn Ficarra
Opening: December 3, 2010
Based on a book by Houston Chronicle crime reporter Steve McVicker, the fact-based film casts Carrey as Steven Russell, a married father whose exploits landed him in the Texas criminal justice system. He fell madly in love with his cellmate, who eventually was set free, which led Russell to escape from Texas prisons four times.
CraveOnline's Call: I saw this on a plane to London several months ago, and was surprised by the fact that U.S. markets had been so slow in releasing it. Two straight, good-looking leading men as gay lovers is definitely a head-turner in Hollywood, but it's not like it hasn't been done before (here's lookin' at you, Brokeback Mountain). The film is brilliant, dark humor at its finest, both Carrey and McGregor shine like never before, and Ficarra's perspective is a delightful ride.
The Company Men
Starring: Ben Affleck, Thomas Kee, Craig Mathers
Directed By: John Wells
Opening: December 10, 2010
In his feature film directorial debut, John Wells paints a heroic and honest portrait of where our culture is today. The force behind such celebrated shows as ER, The West Wing, Southland and the upcoming Showtime series Shameless, Wells brings his signature combination of nuanced character work and uncompromising drama to this story of a group of co-workers who must rebuild their lives after corporate downsizing. Ben Affleck plays Bobby Walker, a golf-playing marketing and sales exec whose sense of self crumbles when he loses his job. Company founder Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to fight the good fight against the layoffs, only to discover that he has made himself a target. And older worker Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) gives in to blind fury as he waits for the inevitable.
CraveOnline's Call: A film about the struggles of the average good-guy everyman couldn't be more perfectly timed, with a significant chunk of the country tightening their belts with uncertain future prospects. It's good to see Tommy Lee Jones back in action, as well as old Coach Craig Mathers. Affleck we could take or leave, but he looks committed here.
The Tourist
Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Rufus Sewell
Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Opening: December 10, 2010
A remake of the 2005 French film written and directed by Jerome Salle. Thriller concerns an American tourist who finds his life in danger when a female Interpol agent uses him as a dupe to flush out an elusive criminal with whom she once had an affair.
CraveOnline's Call: It'll be the talk of the town the week after release, then fade quickly. Neither Jolie or Depp's acting chops are to be questioned, but their onscreen chemistry might be a dealbreaker. We'll have to check this one out for curiosity's sake alone. But curiosity aint killing my $20 bill. I'll wait for the rental.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Starring: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Will Poulter
Directed By: Michael Apted
Opening: December 10, 2010
Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace, their royal friend King Caspian and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep, find themselves swallowed into a painting and onto the Dawn Treader. Their mission -- on which rests the fate of Narnia itself -- takes the courageous voyagers to mysterious islands and a river that turns to gold, to fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies and to a reunion with their friend and protector, the Great Lion Aslan.
CraveOnline's Call: Grew up on the books? Got a little brother or sister? Then this is definitely on the to-do list between now and Christmas. Sure to be visually dazzling and full of over-the-top CGI action sequences (the franchise is fighting for its life after the uninspiring last installment), the next chapter in the Narnia Chronicles is a no-brainer for us.
Tron: Legacy
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde
Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Opening: December 17, 2010
“TRON: Legacy” is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Oscar®- and Golden Globe®-winner Jeff Bridges), a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade—a signal that could only come from his father—he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe—a universe created by Kevin himself that has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons, landscapes and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.
CraveOnline's Call: Right, like we need to discuss this. If you're reading this, that means our clever little ruse worked and we're ahead of you in line. Better catch up, this one's going to be hard to get into through Christmas.
True Grit
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin
Directed By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Opening: December 22, 2010
Charles Portis' novel is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory. While the original film was a showcase for John Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's point of view. The original starred Kim Darby as the teen, Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.
CraveOnline's Call: This could go down as the Coen Brothers' most monumental, epic film. The trailer alone is immensely enthralling, a gut punch of exhilarating execution in a classic remake that's been a long time coming.
Little Fockers
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Barbra Streisand, Owen Wilson, Harvey Keitel
Directed By: Paul Weitz
Opening: December 22, 2010
It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get in with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moonlighting for a drug company, however, Jack's suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back. When Greg and Pam's entire clan - including Pam's lovelorn ex, Kevin (Owen Wilson) - descends for the twins' birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he's fully capable as the man of the house. But with all the misunderstandings, spying and covert missions, will Greg pass Jack's final test and become the family's next patriarch... or will the circle of trust be broken for good?
CraveOnline's Call: The last one was a little ridiculous, and this one is definitely going to be a lot ridiculous, but it's hard not to want to see what they can do next with the strange tension between Stiller and DeNiro. After all, that's really the meat of both the previous films, isn't it?
Gulliver's Travels
Starring: Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel
Directed By: Rob Letterman
Opening: December 22, 2010
The bigscreen adaptation of Gulliver's Travels, with Jack Black taking on the title role of Lemuel Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Liliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.
CraveOnline's Call: You may have noticed that movies cost a hell of a lot of money these days. That being said, it's a bit hard to rationalize spending upwards of $50 on a movie date to see Jack Black hanging out with a bunch of tiny people for an hour and a half. Films like this are specifically what Netflix is for.
