the
film reel NOW PLAYING ON THE BIG SCREEN
Santa Claus is coming to town and he is bringing Hollywood’s most buzz-worthy movie offerings of the year. Tom Cruise returns to his role as elite spy Ethan Hunt in the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible series he has fronted since 1996. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL finds the actor scaling the world’s tallest building as he tries to discover who framed his team for bombing the Kremlin. Hunt’s team includes Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton. The movie opens in IMAX at the Dec. 16 box office, where it will find competition from other tried-and-true franchises such as Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks. Director Guy Ritchie is back with another Goth-meets-CGI inspired take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s quintessential fictional detective. Jude Law once again plays Dr. Watson and Robert Downey Jr. returns to the title role in SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS. The financial success of this film’s 2009 predecessor made the sequel a nobrainer and, in this installment, Holmes faces his infamous adversary Professor Moriarty.
ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON
1980s nostalgia has been kind to big-screen updates of The Muppets and The Smurfs. Now children of the ’80s can take their little ones to a third helping of the live action/ CGI mash-up featuring their favorite singing chipmunks with ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED. This segment of the family-friendly franchise finds Alvin, Simon and Theodore stranded on a deserted island with the Chipettes. Jason Lee THE CHIPMUNKS RETURN returns to the role of the Chipmunks’ human father figure, Dave, while celebrities such as Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate squeak-ify their pipes as the voices of the uber-talented rodents. Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman, the writing and directing team behind Juno, reunite for YOUNG ADULT, a comedy featuring Charlize Theron as a former homecoming queen who returns to her hometown to reclaim her old flame in spite of the fact that he is now married and has a baby. Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson also star in this 30-something coming-of-age story. Playwright Yasmina Reza’s Tony award winning play God of Carnage comes to the big screen in limited release with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly playing two sets of parents who meet in an ill-fated attempt to calmly and civilly discuss a brawl between their sons. Exiled director Roman Polanski takes the reins for CARNAGE. The Christmas box office kicks off on Dec. 21 with the highly-anticipated American adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novel THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig star in this thriller from director David Fincher (The Social Network). Craig also has a voiceover part in the day’s other major opener, an update with a popular Belgian comic book character. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN is a family-friendly CGI offering which Steven Spielberg directed and co-produced with Lord of the Rings movie mastermind Peter Jackson. A limited release opener returns Glenn Close to a role she played in an off-Broadway production. ALBERT NOBBS is the portrait of a woman in 19th Century Ireland who takes on a male persona for 30 years in order to work. Mia Wasikowska co-stars as her love interest. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson star in director Cameron Crowe’s (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) take on the true story of a single dad who purchased a struggling zoo to help strengthen his family. WE BOUGHT A ZOO is based on the book by (and real life experiences of) Benjamin Mee. Christmas day brings THE CAN A ZOO SAVE A FAMILY? DARKEST HOUR, a sci-fi alien invasion thriller starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), and something a little more in tune with the spirit of the season from director Steven Spielberg. The highly-regarded director tells the story of a magnificent horse used in combat during World War I, taken from a young man who cared deeply for him in WAR HORSE. The film’s score comes from legendary composer John Williams. by MARIAH GARDNER, MOVIE GURU
vergelive.com | community driven news | December 14, 2011 31