Twas the weeks before Christmas, and in megaplexes galore. Movies were coming out; most interesting, some bores.
The holiday movie season is one of those things that are a mixed bag. BUT. That being said, as a closet movie nerd, here are my top picks for holiday movies you have to see. We've got from now until mid-January to see all these, so strap in!
1. Moana
This is just a winning combination. You've got Disney's impeccable animation, an original story that isn't your quintessential "princess needs a guy to save her from a tower" garbage, and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music for this. None of these things are a losing combination. Oh, and The Rock is also in it. Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? I do. It's called "box office gold"
2. La La Land
This new musical (which is a statement that I love uttering) has music and lyrics by budding Broadway stars Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (creative team behind the current Broadway darling 'Dear Evan Hansen') and stars my favorite people ever: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, and JK Simmons. This. Go see this. This is a game changer. And trust me, this will be an Easy A. HAHA!
3. Collateral Beauty
I'm a sucker for a good drama, and this fits the bill. It stars Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet and a slew of other stars. Even it's remotely mediocre, it has Helen Mirren in it and I have the biggest crush on Helen Mirren. Nope, I can't explain it, but she's just perfection. Let's hope this makes up for Seven Pounds, which was one of the most bizarre Will Smith dramas I've ever seen.
4. Passengers
I don't know about you, but when I first heard that Katniss Everdeen and Andy Dwyer were gonna be in a movie together, I screamed from joy. But in all honesty, I'm excited to see Chris Pratt's performance in this. He's fantastic with comedy (as we all know), but to see him as a romantic lead really intrigues me, and to see his personality mesh nicely with J.Law's personality (just see his Instagram feed if you don't believe me) makes me even more excited for this film.
5. Jackie
I'm always a fan of a good biopic, and I think that Natalie Portman's the best woman for the job to portray one of America's most famous First Ladies. In a time of political turmoil, this movie strikes me as a film that's gonna put not only Natalie Portman back on the Oscar map, but director Pablo Larrain there as well. Biopics have nothing to do with Christmas, but I think that this is one of those presents that you never knew you wanted, but once you have it, you're much happier.
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
I'm SOOOOO excited for this. I really fell in love with Felicity Jones' acting after her performance in "The Theory of Everything", so seeing her take on a Star Wars film is exciting to me. I also really love that Forest Whitaker is in this film. He is one of those actors who makes each film he is in that much more special. He's truly a master class. I'm excited to see what this story does for the franchise and what this does for the sci-fi genre in general
7. Fences
Denzel! Viola! Based on a play! All of these things are singing to me. It's lovely to see Viola Davis play off of someone as powerful as Denzel Washington. Reprising their roles that they played in the Broadway revival, it's very exciting to see Denzel's work behind the camera. This could (FINALLY) be the year that Viola Davis wins the Oscar for Best Actress. She's got some competition with Emma Stone in "La La Land", but I think Viola could pull off the upset. August Wilson was an incredible playwright, so seeing a prolific author's work come to life makes the theatre nerd in me happier than someone who has tickets to "Hamilton".
Well, readers, what are movies you're stoked to see this holiday season?
