‘Annie’
December 19
In the upcoming remake of the classic musical Annie, the title role will be played by Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest person to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. Miss Hannigan will be played by Cameron Diaz and Benjamin Stacks (the “Daddy” Warbucks character) will be played by Jamie Foxx.
This version of Annie has been updated for the modern world. Gone is “Daddy” Warbucks and in is Benjamin Stacks, a business tycoon running for mayor of New York City. We don’t expect that the film will make any awards season push (even gaining positive reviews could be tough), but odds are it will be a popular family film this holiday season.
‘Mr. Turner’
December 19 (limited)
Mr. Turner premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and recently played again at Telluride, and it’s received nothing but positive reviews (currently all 19 reviews filed on Rotten Tomatoes are positive). It shouldn’t be a surprise given the film’s writer and director Mike Leigh is a seven-time Oscar nominee, but this could be a major player this awards season.
Legendary character actor Timothy Spall has a rare leading role in Mr. Turner, and he won Best Actor at Cannes, beating out stiff competition that included Foxcatcher stars Steve Carell and Channing Tatum. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Spall make the jump and receive an Oscar nomination too. In addition to Spall, Mr. Turner also stars Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, and Karl Johnson.
‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’
December 25
A lot of movies are coming out this Christmas day, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is one of them. This sequel to the modestly successful Hot Tub Time Machine features a lot of returning players in front of and behind the camera. Like its predecessor, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was written by Josh Heald, directed by Steve Pink, and stars Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, and Rob Corddry. Other members of the cast include Adam Scott, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase, and many more.
“The hot tub doesn’t take you where you want to go, it takes you where you need to go,” Chevy Chase says in the trailer. Where Hot Tub Time Machine 2 needs to go is outrageous R-rated hilarity, and the trailer hints that it might be successful.
‘The Interview’
December 25
The Interview looks to be one of the most controversial movies of the year. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made their directorial debut last year with the summer hit comedy This is the End, and this year they’re releasing their second directorial feature The Interview which they wrote with Dan Sterling. Like the prior, this film will star Rogen and James Franco.
The Interview will star Franco as a reporter who lands an interview with Kim Jong-Un (Randall Park). When the U.S. government finds this out, Franco’s reporter character and his producer played by Rogen are tasked with assassinating Jong-Un, something that, obviously, won’t go smoothly.
We’ve been looking forward to this movie for quite some time, and it looks to be quite hilarious. Rogen and Goldberg already made one of the funniest comedies of the year in Neighbors (as producers), and their written and directed project looks even better.
The big question here is how much of Rogen and Goldberg’s vision will remain untainted. After the trailer was released a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman called the film “a most wanton act of terror and act of war, and absolutely intolerable.” Later it was revealed that thousands of buttons worn by North Korean officials would be digitally altered and that a late third act plot point may be altered (click the link to see potentially spoiler-filled details). We hope Rogen and Goldberg’s vision stays primarily intact, but we don’t want the movie to start World War III.
‘Into the Woods’
December 25
Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Mackenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen, and Johnny Depp, Disney’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim (music) and James Lapine (book)’s Into The Woods hits theaters on Christmas Day 2014.
There’s a rule when it comes to the Oscars, never, ever count out a film released in the heat of awards season that stars Meryl Streep. With a whopping 18 Oscar nominations, Streep has been recognized by the Academy Awards for her performances more than any actor in history.
Nearly everything bodes well for Into the Woods Oscar chances. A big part of that is director Rob Marshall who has already proven with Chicago that he has the ability to direct a musical to Best Picture. With Lapine’s return to adapt his own book for the screen, we have very high hopes for Into the Woods. Is there a chance it could be too dark for Oscar voters? Maybe. Is there a chance Disney will dumb it down too much? Maybe. We’ll just have to wait and see.
‘Paddington’
December 25
We’ll be honest: our excitement for Paddington was higher when Colin Firth was set to voice the titular bear, but we’re sure Ben Whishaw will do a fine job. His supporting cast is impressive; new Doctor Who lead Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, and Hugh Bonneville all have roles in the film.
While the trailer doesn’t give us any indication of the quality of the film, we’re sure Paddington will be a popular choice for families on Christmas and the weeks after as that’s certainly the audience it’s geared towards. Paul King isn’t an especially proven writer or director, but with Harry Potter producer David Heyman guiding the film we certainly are hopeful that it succeeds.
‘Unbroken’
December 25
This one looks remarkable. Though Angelina Jolie’ narrative debut as a director (In the Land of Blood and Honey) was less than a success, we aren’t counting her out yet. We believe she’ll turn out to be quite the talented director, and Unbroken will likely be the movie to prove it to everyone.
It will certainly help that she’ll have quite the script to work from. After Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence left Unbroken and Jolie was tapped as the new director, Oscar winning writers and directors Joel and Ethan Coen were tapped to rewrite William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese’s early drafts of the script.
It looks as if Unbroken could be a huge player this awards season. Given its World War II setting which the Oscars typically love, there’s a good chance Unbroken could earn nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and it could even have a shot at winning. It will have stiff competition, but this could wind up being the movie this year.
Though the film has yet to screen, it looks like 23-year-old star Jack O’Connell doesn’t have a huge chance of earning an acting nomination. This could be the film that puts him on the map as one of the next big breakout stars, however. The film also stars Jai Courtney, Garrett Hedlund, and Domhnall Gleeson.
‘American Sniper’
December 25 (limited)
Like Fury director David Ayer with Sabotage, American Sniper director Clint Eastwood already delivered a major disappointment this year in Jersey Boys, but that shouldn’t automatically mean American Sniper doesn’t have a chance to be one of the year’s best films.
American Sniper is a passion project of Bradley Cooper’s that he developed as a producer, and he originally brought on multi-Oscar winner Steven Spielberg. Spielberg ended up dropping out of the project, and multi-Oscar winner Clint Eastwood was brought on to replace him.
The movie is based on U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s memoir of the same name with a script by Paranoia screenwriter Jason Dean Hall. The film will certainly rely on Eastwood having a great film left in him. The film’s late release date is reminiscent of Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby. To expect a film that great would be expecting too much, but if the film is that great it would be something special.
‘Big Eyes’
December 25 (limited)
Can Tim Burton make an Oscar contender of a movie? In Big Eyes, Burton has taken on a project outside of his comfort zone this year. It will be great to see the director take on the kind of project that he normally wouldn’t.
He definitely picked the right kind of project to do it with too. Big Eyes has been touted as the film that could finally land Amy Adams her first Oscar. With five nominations under her belt with nothing to show for it, this very well could be her year. The film could also make a play in other categories like Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz. With its December 25 release date, Big Eyes will be a prime Oscar candidate.
Big Eyes stars Adams as Margaret Keane, the highly successful painter who had to deal with her husband Walter (played by Waltz) taking credit for all of her work. The film will follow the pair’s relationship from its beautiful beginning to its courtroom end where Margaret and Walter have to participate in a “paint-off.”
‘Selma’
December 25 (limited)
Selma is another Christmas release that is expected to be a major Oscar contender. All of the pieces involved make this look like a very special film.
Selma will tell the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his historic struggle to secure voting rights for all people which concluded with the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. If done well, a biopic of this topic could be a major film, but if it’s done poorly it could be forgettable like Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom last year.
We have every reason to believe this will be done well. Writer and director Ava DuVernay is becoming a force in Hollywood on multiple levels, and her two narrative feature length movies (I Will Follow and Middle of Nowhere) have been critical successes.
David Oyelowo stars in the film as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he could very well receive an Oscar nomination for his performance. Of course, the film will have to screen for an audience before that can be predicted accurately. Many thought Idris Elba was a frontrunner last year before Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom flopped. Oyelowo stars alongside Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lorraine Toussaint, and many more.
No trailer yet.
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