HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW—MUST-SEE COMEDIES, DRAMAS AND FANTASY TO ADD TO YOUR LIST!

Out of the Furnace

Christian Bale takes on his first post-Dark Knight role as a man who must fight for the freedom of his younger brother (Casey Affleck) from one of the most vicious street gangs in the country. This action-thriller, produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, will be a refreshing change from all those gooey, feel-good holiday movies this season.
Release date: December 6, 2021
Starring: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Willem Defoe, Forest Whitaker

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The second installment in Peter Jackson’s stunning Hobbit trilogy sees Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the army of dwarves continuing on their dangerous journey and encountering a slew of obstacles before coming head to head with the dreaded dragon, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). While the first wasn’t mind-blowing, this second part getting strong buzz due to the beefier plot as well as the return of beloved Elf, Legolas (Orlando Bloom).
Release date: December 11, 2021
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly

American Hustle

David O. Russell’s highly anticipated, star-studded period thriller is bound to be the talk of Oscar season. Christian Bale stars as a con man who is forced to work with the FBI and is thrown into the seedy underbelly of New Jersey’s mafia and powerbrokers.
Release date: December 18, 2021
Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

This highly anticipated sequel brings back the beloved staff of Channel 4 news including Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and Champ Kind (David Koechner). Having hit rock bottom after the prosperous ‘70s, the TV legends re-band when they are invited to join a new 24-hour news channel.
Release date: December 20, 2021
Starring: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Kristen Wiig, Christina Applegate, Vince Vaughn, Fred Willard

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen Brothers are bound to clean up at the 2014 Oscars with their latest effort about a struggling folk musician, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), as he navigates his way through the ups and downs of New York City’s folk scene while dealing  with his own personal issues.
Release date: December 20, 2021
Starring: Oscar Isaac, John Goodman, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake

Walking With Dinosaurs

You don’t have to be a kid to indulge your dinosaur fantasies. With this new prehistoric offering you’ll be able to satisfy your dinosaur hunger with this new movie based on the beloved 1999 BBC documentary of the same name. Telling the story of a Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi who, along with his two childhood friends, leads the migration of his herd to fight the predatory Gorgosaurus, Gorgon.
Release date: December 20, 2021
Starring: John Leguizamo, Justin Long, Tiya Sircar, Skylar Stone

47 Ronin

Keanu Reeves plays Kai, an outcast who is recruited by a group of warriors without a leader (known as a Ronin) who seek revenge against the evil Lord Kira who is responsible for the death of their master and their banishment. Depicting the fictional account of a real group of 18^th century samurai, this movie is a fantastical adventure with tons of action, and is a great return for Reeves on the big screen.
Release date: December 24, 2021
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Kou Shibasaki, Jin Akanishi

August: Osage County

A star-studded cast of award-winners shines in this family drama based on the play by Tracey Letts. When Weston patriarch, Beverly, suddenly disappears one day, his daughters reunite with their estranged mother and old wounds are opened while new conflicts ensue leading to a bitter yet inevitable ending. Having been the talk of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, this movie is bound to clean up at the Oscars.
Release date: December 25, 2021
Starring: Meryl Streep, Sam Shepard, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson

Believe

Beliebers will rejoice at the release of Justin Bieber’s newest feature film, which follows the young heartthrob in his day-to-day life. It  will include never-before-seen interviews and guest appearances by Ludacris and Mike Posner. The follow up to 2011’s Never Say Never, the film is the perfect Christmas Day for all Beiber fans, whether they’re naughty or nice.
Release date: December 25, 2021
Starring: Justin Bieber, Ludacris, Mike Posner, Rodney Jenkins

Grudge Match

Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone reunite on screen in this hilarious movie about a pair of ageing boxers with a decades long grudge to settle. They finally get their chance in one last match, but a lot has changed in thirty years and staying calm and getting back into shape may be a bigger challenge than they expected.
Release date: December 25, 2021
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger, Kevin Hart

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller is back in the director’s chair in what may be his best work yet. Stiller stars as Walter Mitty, a reclusive employee of Life magazine with a vivid imagination and fantasy world in which he spends most of his time. While working on the final issue of the infamous magazine, Mitty sets out on a fantastical journey to locate a missing photograph, which is necessary to complete the issue.
Release date: December 25 2013
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristin Wiig, Adam Scott, Patton Oswald, Sean Penn, Shirley MacLaine

The Wolf of Wall Street

Martin Scorsese returns with his go-to actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, to tell the story of the wild and often crooked stockbrokers of 1980s’ Wall Street. DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, a successful broker who initially refuses to participate in a large securities fraud case. Rumour has it that this role may finally win DiCaprio his long deserved Academy Award.
Release date: 25 December, 2013
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Ethan Suplee, Jon Favreau

—By Sarah Khan