A Slow December at the Cinema

November gave us some memorable films, some of those for good reason and others sadly the opposite but nonetheless it was an interesting month of cinema; this month looks to be another intriguing mix with some definite contenders to watch out for in the awards season. There’s also some releases on this list that may not turn out spectacular but should be worth the watch.

Sully (02/12)

Directed By: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Mike O’Malley

Plot: The story of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the American pilot who became a national hero after landing his damaged plane on the Hudson River to save the passengers and crew, and the investigation that followed, threatening to destroy his career.

Why Should You See It: Certain to be a knockout performance from Hanks, having already been released in the US to shining reviews, it’s almost definitely going to be worth the watch; and who can resist a true to life story?

Reviewed here: https://filmcarnage.wordpress.com/2016/12/30/review-sully/

Office Christmas Party (09/12)

Directed By: Josh Gordon, Will Speck

Starring: Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, Rob Corddry, Jillian Bell, Sam Richardson, Vanessa Bayer and Jillian Bell

Plot: When the CEO (Aniston) tries to cancel her hard-partying brother’s (Miller) branch, he and his CTO (Bateman) must throw an epic party to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs. As you’d expect, things soon start to get out of hand.

Why Should You See It: This one is certainly not a sure thing, it’s entirely possible it could go badly and not just within the film but there’s some fantastic comedic talent teaming up here and the promise of ridiculous and outlandish behaviour which should be highly entertaining to watch.

Reviewed here: https://filmcarnage.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/review-office-christmas-party/

Snowden (09/12)

Directed By: Oliver Stone

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Rhys Ifans, Nicolas Cage, Tom Wilkinson and Joely Richardson

Plot: A top contractor leaves his job at the NSA knowing that a virtual mountain of data is being collected on the unsuspecting public, deciding to release this information he puts himself in the position of traitor, hero and fugitive.

Why Should You See It: Again another that was already released in the US to positive review, with a heavy hitting director, a real-life story and a potentially fantastic performance from Gordon-Levitt, this should be an interesting watch this December.

Reviewed here:https://filmcarnage.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/review-snowden/

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (16/12)

Directed By: Gareth Edward

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen and Genevieve O’Reilly

Plot: Taking place before the events of the original trilogy, the story of The Rebellion’s efforts to steal the plans to the Death Star.

Why Should You See It: Star Wars fan or not, The Force Awakens opened up the possibility for further additions to the franchise that could be just as satisfying as the originals, curiosity as to whether this one could do the same is reason alone to see it. Though another reason would be for the fact that these are the films that 3D technology was made for, it’s just incredibly entertaining to watch on the big screen.

Passengers (23/12)

Directed By: Morten Tyldum

Starring: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia and Laurence Fishburne

Plot: While travelling on a spacecraft to a distant colony planet, there is a malfunction in the sleep chambers which awakens two passengers, 90 years too early. The two must come to accept spending the rest of their lives on the ship, until they discover that might be shorter than they think.

Why Should You See It: Pratt and Lawrence working together is the reason to see this film, it has a rather unusual and potentially ridiculous plot but the combination of two such energetic and charismatic actors is something that needs to be seen.