If all that loot underneath the tree is not enough, the nine movies opening over the next week is like frosting on a gingerbread cookie for movie goers.
Getting strong reviews is American Hustle, and writer/director David O. Russell is on a roll. His previous two movies, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook were both critical and box office successes and earned numerous Academy Award nominations.
Russell will again be busy at awards ceremonies this year as American Hustle should be the darling of the awards season, already receiving seven Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and some for its appealing cast. He not only reunites with Fighter stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams but also Silver Linings stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro with Jeremy Renner thrown in for extra star power.
Set in the 1970s, this dark comedy is a fictional story based upon Abscam, an actual FBI sting that centred on a bogus sheik and led to bribery convictions of corrupt U.S. politicians.
There have been many roles Tom Hanks was born to play and becoming Walt Disney seems to be yet another in his amazing career. Saving Mr. Banks chronicles how Disney’s classic Mary Poppins made it to the screen and the testy relationship between him and author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) that almost derailed it. Fans of Mary Poppins will definitely want to check it out because it shows Travers’ inspiration for many of the classic characters.
Based upon the BBC Earth series of the same name, Walking with Dinosaurs 3D is a tale set in the Late Cretaceous period 70 million years ago. Featuring computer animated dinosaurs in live-action settings, it tells the story of three young dinosaurs trying to survive in their dangerous prehistoric world.
Directed by Barry Cook (Mulan, Arthur Christmas), the production uses the latest knowledge of dinosaurs plus the latest 3D technology to provide an immersive tale for families.
And starting on Christmas Day, here is a list of other movies to choose from: Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street, Stallone and DeNiro duking it out in Grudge Match, Ben Stiller’s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin, Justin Bieber’s Believe and Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom. More on these next week.
